Volume Three: Academywide Rampage - Sure Enough, When You Enter a New Map, You Have to Check the Guide First

Elina Yass.

That's how the girl, who is the new roommate, refers to herself.

How should I put it... it's a very subtle feeling.

She was a pretty girl—but only "pretty," in other words, "Quite beautiful." Perhaps because I've seen too many stunning beauties, I felt a little lost in the face of Elina, who could only be described as "quite beautiful."

Seeing her extend her hand to me, I reached out and shook hers.

"Ah, hello, Classmate Yas-- "

"Come on, don't be so formal. Just call me Elina. I prefer people to call me by my name."

"Well then, Elina, nice to meet you. You can also call me Xiao Ye or A Ye."

"Let's just call her Senior Ye. Calling her too intimately might attract jealousy from your fan club."

"Haha, fan club stuff is such an exaggeration, I'm just a little bit known."

"How could that be? You're too modest... Oh, by the way, Senior Ye, you're in the Higher Division, right? Which department are you in?"

"Second year of Higher Division, majoring in the Communications Department, you could be considered a special sports student, what about you?"

"First year of the Higher Division, Literature Department. I've just arrived at the Central United Academy, just like you."

And so, we started chatting.

... well.

It may be a bit harsh to say this, but chatting with her... is really pointless, it's as bland as plain water.

But this is good too. After being surrounded by all sorts of beautiful women all the time, having a plain roommate with a milder palate once in a while is a nice change of pace.

Haoyue's side--

"..." No one was there.

Haoyue put down her luggage and carefully looked around the dormitory. It was a very simple room, more desolate than elegant. There was a bed on each side of the room. The bed on the left was very clean, and the furniture, such as the table, chairs, and bookshelves, was spotless, clearly having just been cleaned by the cleaning staff. This should be her territory.

But on the other side...

The bed and furniture on the right were covered with a thin layer of dust, clearly untouched for a long time. The sheets and duvet cover were a dull gray-black, devoid of any girlish charm. Apart from an old alarm clock, there was no other decoration. The bookshelf held only a few books, and the clothes basket was empty. Obviously, this place belonged to someone, but that person hadn't returned to the dormitory in a long time.

A nameplate hung above the bed on the left side of the room, reading "Haoyue Tartaglia."

The nameplate on the other side is--

"... Xiao Wu?"

This name tag is strange.

"Xiao Wu" is definitely the name of the owner here, but it's just the given name, not the surname. The place where the surname should be written is covered in black ink and can't be seen at all.

"Looks like this guy really hates his own surname... no, maybe he hates his family?"

Well, it's none of my business anyway. As long as I have Xiao Ye, that's enough for me—that's what Hao Yue thought.

"It's good that my roommate isn't here~ I'll just keep going until midnight tonight! The main course is, of course, Xiao Ye ~"

La la~ Hmm~ La la la~~~ Haoyue hummed an off-key pop song as she took something out of her bag. During the months she had been separated from her sweetheart, Haoyue had also undergone arduous training, but her singing skills had not improved at all.

She unfolded the things she was carrying and spread them out on the bed.

"Although it's shameful to rummage through Xiao Ye's suitcase when she's not looking, there's nothing I can do about it..."

White cotton panties, black lace panties, pink thong panties, a pair of ochre-red stockings, and three surprisingly large bras.

"We finally reunited, but you're acting all indifferent and playing the 'idle game' with me. Consider this your punishment~ Use it while it's still fresh!"

On the other side--

"--!?"

I suddenly felt a chill for no reason.

"What's wrong, Senior Ye?"

"It's nothing... I just suddenly felt a chill down my spine."

Knock knock knock.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Excuse me, are the students from room 338 here?" someone asked from outside, their voice sounding slightly immature.

"Yes, I'm here."

"Please come in."

"Sorry to bother you--"

The door creaked open, and a girl with eyes slightly smaller than mine walked in. She had slightly wavy chestnut hair and soft features; she was quite cute. Was she a junior from somewhere?

She bowed deeply as soon as she entered and said, "Greetings, are you Liu Ye and Elina?"

"Yes... you don't need to be so polite."

"Get up quickly."

"Then, then..." The girl quickly straightened up, adjusted her glasses, looked at me, blushed, and lowered her head again.

"Excuse me, uh... let me introduce myself, I'm the dorm supervisor for this building."

... ah?

"You said you're... the dormitory supervisor?"

"Well, I know I'm not really like her, but I somehow took over her position after my mother stepped down... That's not important! You two are both recent students at the Central United Academy, right? I suppose you don't know much about the Central United Academy or Mikael Girls' Academy yet, so I'm here to explain."

"I see, that's very thoughtful service."

And so, our gentle and kind dormitory supervisor began her meticulous explanation.

"Let's start with the daily meals! Mikael Girls' Academy has 57 canteens of various sizes. Although they're called canteens, they're at least equivalent to five-star restaurants. The caviar with snake liver at Canteen No. 3 is delicious, Canteen No. 10 has excellent Taktolov Sweet Wine, Canteen No. 17's Southern Spirit Fruit Mousse is very popular, and Canteen No. 31's Lingling Fish Stewed with Wisteria Grass is also fantastic..."

Caviar with snake liver? Taktolov Sweet Wine? Southern Spirit Fruit Mousse? Lingling Fish Stewed with Wisteria Grass? What on earth is all this? I looked at Elina, who seemed just as confused.

"Then there are clothes! Although Mikael Girls' Academy are required to wear school uniforms during the week, they can wear their own clothes on weekends. The central and southeastern parts of the Mikael Girls' Academy's school are commercial districts where you can buy all kinds of clothes and jewelry, Vansimol, Louisnel, Fucci, and Vera."

Wong, they all have large branches here! And there's more...

What kind of clothing brands are these...? I looked at Elina again. This time, she didn't look completely bewildered, but she had a wry smile on her face.

"Um, could we stop here for a moment?"

"Oh, okay, do you have any questions?"

"... What were all those dish names and clothing brand names you just mentioned...?"

Thump—the cute female dorm supervisor tripped and fell.

"It's... it's Taktolov Sweet Wine! The kind that's all the rage among aristocratic ladies lately! And Vansimol, the famous brand that collaborates with many high-ranking nobles..."

"I'm sorry... I didn't grow up in a wealthy environment, I don't understand what you're saying at all..."

"Ah... wait, really? Liu Ye is so beautiful and outstanding, I thought she must be some noblewoman or even Princess from royalty—I'm so sorry! I didn't mean anything by it!"

"Relax, relax... I'd rather hear about specific precautions than general life advice, like which organizations to be wary of, or which people to avoid."

"... Indeed, there are quite a few. If we're talking about those you absolutely shouldn't mess with, it's those two— the Enforcement Team and the Scavengers. The Enforcement Team is composed of the strongest students, monitoring the entire Central United Academy's discipline; they have branches in many colleges. While the Enforcement Team used to be tough, they weren't entirely untouchable. But since the new captain Wu Cangsheng, took office a few years ago, the Enforcement Team has become like local tyrants. They use extreme methods to maintain order, forbidding anyone from disobeying, and acting arbitrarily... It's not so bad for the Mikael Girls' Academy, but I've heard some students from other schools are already suffering terribly, sigh..."

As for the Scavengers, they are even more dangerous than the Enforcement Team. They are dangerous individuals who have been driven to desperation or have committed serious crimes. They are not truly affiliated with any organization and sell themselves to the higher-ups of the Central United Academy for high rewards, carrying out various dirty missions in the shadows... Generally, they wear dark bodysuits, masks, or helmets when carrying out missions. If you see such people, stay far away immediately!

"I understand... Could you tell me about the Club Hunt? I already know its general overview and nature, but could you tell me the specifics?"

"This year's Club Hunt will be held in two months and will last for fifty days. At that time Central United Academy will pre-select the 15 strongest gangs, known as the 'Top Fifteen Societies'. If you can defeat any one of the Top Fifteen Societies, you will get a lot of points and various subsidies directly from the high-ranking officials of the Central United Academy. The benefits are numerous."

"I see, 'The bigger the tree, the more the wind will blow'..."

"However, you should also join a club, the Student Council, or a charity organization. After all, that's the fastest way to integrate into campus life."

"Okay, we'll consider it."

"Hmm... that seems to be all I wanted to say. I'll be going now. Feel free to contact me anytime if you need anything; I'm on the first floor... oh! There's one most important thing I forgot to mention!"

She sidled up to us with a serious expression, as if she had something important to say, but her soft, adorable face made it impossible for her to be serious.

"Although the Central United Academy is the world's most prestigious institution of learning, its dark side is also extremely terrifying. For a long time, illegal societies, gangs, cults, and other organizations have sprung up one after another, controlling various casinos, dance halls, brothels, black markets, and so on, seemingly impossible to eradicate. However, just a few years ago, a new organization called 'Black Crow' emerged out of nowhere, sweeping away all other forces with absolute power and seizing sole control! Black Crow can be said to be the main enemy of the current Enforcement Team and the Scavengers. They are meticulous in their work, and their members address each other by code names, making it very difficult to capture their high-ranking members. You must be extremely vigilant against those guys!"

"Oh, I'll be careful."

As expected of Elina, even her way of being perfunctory is so ordinary.

"Yes, me too..."

I'll just give a tentative response. The dark side of the academy, the dark organization of those chuunibyou brats—these things are just too cliché, aren't they? Will we see groups, schools, items, and other academy secret societies in the future? And then there are the eight urban legends plus the upside-down bald white rhinoceros beetle and the like... Why not just turn it into Academy City?

You see, I didn't come here to experience campus life, and shameless campus romantic comedies are definitely not on my radar. I have only one goal: to get rid of Boundary Breaking Armor as soon as possible and then leave!

But... where is the Boundary Breaking Armor?

"Hey, dorm supervisor, can I ask you a question?"

"Please go ahead~" She seemed excited when I took the initiative to ask her a question.

"Is there anything... um... really powerful stuff in the Central United Academy?"

"Something powerful? You mean those Spirit Artifacts and Treasure Artifact made by academies that specialize in training craftsmen?"

"It's somewhat similar but not quite the same; in short, it's something that defies common sense and borders on an urban legend."

"A legendary item... Ah, believe it or not, there really is one!"

"Really? Tell me quickly!"

"It's said that this happened a few years ago; some students were walking in the suburbs when they saw someone using it—"

"In use--"

"Twin guns capable of piercing the heavens and the earth!"

"... ha?"

Dual-wielding pistols?

Although I don't know what the Boundary Breaking Armor looks like, in my imagination it should be some kind of battle armor; dual pistols or something like that are too far off.

"... Is there anything else?"

"Anything else? I don't know... Oh right, if it's the League of Scholars..."

"The League of Scholars?"

"Yes, the League of Scholars is the largest academic organization in the Central United Academy. Everyone knows they exist, but no one really understands them. There are many bad rumors about the League of Scholars. It is said that there are many geniuses and madmen in it, and that they conduct a lot of inhumane experiments, such as creating zombies, human modification, and Frankenstein's monster... However, they always act in secrecy. Although they have a bad reputation, I have never heard of anyone actually dying because of them."

Is it the League of Scholars?

Enforcement Team, Scavengers, Black Crow, League of Scholars.

I've learned quite a few things I need to pay attention to...

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Haoyue has been abstinent for so long that she's almost become a nymphomaniac... Okay, that's about it for the background introduction. Next up is the third main character after Ye Jiang and Haoyue-chan!