The Peaceful Life Has Vanished

A creature with long, spindly limbs was crouched in the hallway, sobbing.

Its massive body blocked the path completely.

Bai Yuze retreated step by step, terrified of startling the monster before him.

Is this even human?

Regardless of whether the creature was human or not, the most sensible course of action right now was to stay as far away from it as possible.

Bai Yuze felt incredibly fortunate that he could see clearly in the dark; otherwise, he likely would have ended up in a friendly embrace with the monster.

Since the path ahead was blocked, Bai Yuze turned to take another route, glancing back at the creature from time to time to ensure it didn't launch a sneak attack.

Fortunately, Bai Yuze followed the other path until he reached the end of the hallway.

He looked around and discovered he was inside a dilapidated house.

How could this hallway possibly connect to a ruined house?

Suddenly, the surrounding environment began to collapse, and the floor started to vanish.

Am I about to wake up?

Bai Yuze immediately realized he was about to exit this absurd yet realistic dream, so he tried his best to commit everything he had seen to memory.

"Strange hallway, long-limbed creature, ruined house! And also..."

A flash of white light streaked past, and Bai Yuze opened his eyes, a look of confusion lingering in his gaze.

"Classmate Bai Yu, it's time to attend the entrance ceremony."

Beside him, Sakayanagi Arisu watched him with a smile.

"Classmate Sakayanagi! Do you have paper and a pen? I have something very important!"

Although Sakayanagi Arisu was a bit puzzled, she still handed the paper and pen to Bai Yuze. After taking them, Bai Yuze quickly wrote down everything he had seen in his dream.

Once finished, Bai Yuze let out a breath, simultaneously pondering the contents of the dream.

If it were an ordinary nightmare, Bai Yuze wouldn't have cared, but ever since arriving in this strange Classroom of the Elite world, he had become cautious, fearing that one moment of carelessness would lead to another death.

"Did Classmate Bai Yu dream of something interesting?"

Bai Yuze had been sleeping the whole time, and the moment he woke up, he asked her for paper and a pen; the truth was clearly that he had dreamed of something, though whether it was interesting or not was another matter.

"Uh... interesting... I wouldn't say so."

A hallway, a creature, a house—none of these things had anything to do with being interesting.

"Alright, let's not talk about this. Let's hurry to the entrance ceremony."

Bai Yuze changed the subject, and seeing this, Sakayanagi Arisu found it difficult to press further, so she simply picked up her cane and headed toward the entrance ceremony venue with Bai Yuze.

Just as the two stepped out of the classroom, a voice called out to stop Bai Yuze.

"Bai Yuze, come with me to the office."

It was the Class A homeroom teacher, Mashima Tomoya.

"Teacher, aren't we supposed to be attending the entrance ceremony?"

Calculating the time, the ceremony was about to begin, so a conversation at this moment seemed somewhat unreasonable.

Mashima's expression was complex.

"You don't need to attend the entrance ceremony; this is also the will of the school's upper management."

Hearing Mashima's words, Bai Yuze looked at Sakayanagi Arisu with a puzzled expression.

And Sakayanagi Arisu also wore a look of confusion on her face.

It seems Sakayanagi Arisu doesn't know about this. Is the Teacher Mashima in front of me the real Mashima?

Mashima seemed to notice Bai Yuze's vigilance; he covered his head and gave a bitter smile.

"I'm not one of those things transformed. I'm looking for you because I want to talk about what happened earlier."

Seemingly afraid that Bai Yuze would be scared and run away, Mashima took a few steps back.

"Then repeat the rules on that note in the classroom a few times."

Bai Yuze still didn't feel at ease.

In the end, Mashima was able to repeat those rules, which finally earned him Bai Yuze's trust.

"Sorry, Classmate Sakayanagi, you'll have to go to the entrance ceremony alone."

"It's fine."

Sakayanagi Arisu smiled slightly and then left.

Bai Yuze followed Mashima toward the office.

There were no other teachers in the office.

Mashima pulled over a chair and sat down, simultaneously pushing another chair toward Bai Yuze.

"Sit."

"No need, I'll just stand and listen."

Mashima smiled, reached out, and picked up the teapot to pour two cups of water.

"Sit down. Our conversation won't be short."

Seeing this, Bai Yuze had no choice but to sit. As soon as he took his seat, Mashima reached out toward him.

"Hand it over."

"What?"

"The item."

Bai Yuze was extremely confused. What was going on? Were all Japanese people in anime riddle-mongers?

"I'm talking about the Gui Dan," Mashima paused. "That vermilion-colored sphere."

"It's gone..."

"The school won't take it for nothing; we'll transfer 4 million points to you."

"It's really gone..."

Bai Yuze repeated the same phrase.

Mashima frowned.

"That thing is of no benefit to you. Keeping it on your person will continuously attract misfortune."

"I'm really not lying!"

Bai Yuze recounted what had just happened to Mashima, who fell into silence after listening.

"Student Bai... do you prefer a peaceful life, or a life full of stories?"

"Uh... a peaceful one, I suppose. Why?"

Having been a shut-in in his past life, Bai Yuze knew his own limits. He would leave those adventure stories to the protagonists.

"I'm sorry... but the life you prefer may be gradually drifting away from you..."

Bai Yuze: ???

"Did you dream of a strange corridor?"

Seeing the look of surprise on Bai Yuze's face, Mashima smiled and offered some comfort.

"No need to be surprised. That corridor is actually the ability of the Gui Dan. What you saw is actually what you are about to experience; later on, you will encounter the things you saw in your dream."

"Things I'm about to experience?" Bai Yuze pondered. "Will I die?"

"That depends on your own capabilities."

Mashima smiled and picked up his water cup to take a sip.

"Since you say this is an ability, then I'm not the only one who possesses it, right?"

Bai Yuze was certain of one thing: he was special, but he was definitely not the only one.

The fact that Mashima understood this ability so well implied that he either possessed it himself or had dealt with people who did.

"That's correct. You are not the only student with this ability. As for how many there are, you'll have to explore that for yourself."

Mashima did not deny it, openly confirming Bai Yuze's suspicion.

"One last question: what kind of school is this, exactly?"

"Hahaha, sorry, I can't explain that clearly. If you survive, then I won't need to waste my breath explaining it anyway."

Mashima replied with a smile, his words revealing that Bai Yuze's upcoming experiences would be fraught with danger.

"Alright, haven't you still not bought the things for your dorm room? Hurry up and go; if the store closes, you won't be able to buy anything."

Mashima signaled for Bai Yuze to leave. He had thought it would take a lot of time to persuade Bai Yuze to hand over the Gui Dan, but now that it had been absorbed by Bai Yuze, there wasn't much left to discuss.

Bai Yuze nodded and stood up. Just as he was about to step out of the office, Mashima called out.

"Bai Yuze, make sure you come back alive."

Bai Yuze said nothing and pulled the door shut behind him.