"Cornelia, come with me."
Dekan was the first to leave the exam room, but he didn't hurry off with Cornelia.
Instead, he motioned for her to hide with him around the corner of a nearby hallway and wait.
Only after a few Demon Students had come out did Dekan and Cornelia blend in behind them.
The hallway was likely dangerous too, so they needed to let the Demon Students scout ahead.
Dekan and Cornelia kept their heads down and followed the crowd.
The hallway was like a maze.
Whenever they reached a fork, the students split into several groups.
At those times, Dekan chose to follow the largest group.
If you've just arrived at a new school and don't know how to get to important places like the cafeteria or library, just follow the biggest crowd.
Of course, these Demon Students clearly weren't heading off to eat or study.
They looked more like they were searching for a "shelter."
They didn't even dare to run in the hallway, only hurrying along as quietly as they could.
That made Dekan even more certain that moving around the hallway at random was dangerous.
Except for Cornelia.
She was the only student who had left the exam room by legitimate means.
That red Demon Ticket probably kept her safe from the "danger" in the hallway.
"Which way are we going?"
Cornelia asked Dekan in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz.
Her speech had become exceptionally fluent, but she had also figured out that they couldn't speak loudly.
"Just stick with me."
"Okay. And thank you for helping me in the exam room earlier."
The Shadow World had an automatic language-unification mechanism, so even if challengers from different countries were matched together—or if the Shadow World had a special backstory and setting—there would be no language barrier.
Cornelia seemed quite happy to find that she could communicate smoothly with Dekan.
Communication in the Shadow World was actually so much freer than in the real world.
"It was nothing. I'm pretty good at the rules in the first classroom. You might have to be the one to step up later."
Dekan thought for a moment, then asked, "By the way, what do I look like right now?"
"About the same as you normally do. Mm... you seem to look a little better."
Cornelia considered it carefully before replying.
"...Then I think I know what kind of creature I am."
Dekan didn't want to say it out loud.
But to be fair, it might come in handy.
"Shouldn't we meet up with the other challengers?"
Cornelia asked.
"No. It's more efficient for the six of us to split up and explore. The two of us will be fine together."
After all, this Shadow World's mission wasn't about having all six people work together to solve a puzzle. It was a race against time to explore the map.
Dekan watched the exploration progress displayed under Mission Objective 1.
It was increasing, but very slowly.
That meant exploration progress didn't depend entirely on how much ground they covered.
Perhaps different locations in the Demon Academy contributed different amounts to the progress. The more dangerous a place was, the more progress it might give.
Besides.
He couldn't fully trust the others, didn't really need them, and didn't feel like dealing with them.
Those were three perfectly good reasons for Dekan not to contact the other challengers just yet.
Dekan didn't want to run into deadweight who would get in his way, nor did he want to deal with some big brother trying to order him around.
Having Cornelia, a powerful partner who worked seamlessly with him, was enough.
He had already done more than enough by helping the other four leave the exam room quickly.
For now, he stopped worrying about the other challengers and noticed that there were fewer and fewer Demon Students around.
Quite a few had already found classrooms along the way and slipped inside.
It was time to make a move.
Now, even if a Demon Student ahead of them suddenly disappeared, the others wouldn't notice.
"Cornelia, go invite one of the demons over for a chat."
"Okay."
Cornelia suddenly quickened her pace and grabbed the shoulder of a Demon Student up ahead.
The Demon Student whipped around, glaring at Cornelia with fury, ready to lash out.
"You're asking for—"
But he realized he could move only his head. His body wouldn't turn at all.
He couldn't move!
It felt like a small mountain was pressing down on his shoulder!
That wasn't a pat on the shoulder. It was a joint lock!
If she applied just a little more force, she'd crush his shoulder!
Their eyes met, and the Demon Student was so frightened that he didn't know what to say.
Cornelia's cold, unmistakably superior gaze and the terrifying power radiating from her filled him with fear.
And then there was the guy behind her...
Wasn't he the culprit who had turned the exam room upside down?!
Those two had been following him the whole time. It was terrifying!
Dekan stepped up beside the Demon Student and asked in a soft, gentle voice, "Why are you running?"
The moment he heard the question, the Demon Student gritted his teeth in frustration, but didn't dare get angry.
He thought, If it weren't for you, you bastard, we could've stayed in the exam room and waited out the time. Why would we have to risk our necks in the hallway?!
But all he could say was, "...It isn't time for class to end yet. If the Dean catches you in the hallway, you'll be killed."
Dekan said, "Go on. For example, when does class end?"
The Demon Student replied, "After every hour of class, there's a thirty-minute break. You can only move freely through the hallways during breaks. The school plays music to signal the start and end of class."
Dekan nodded.
No wonder the students were looking for classrooms.
Skipping class could get you killed.
Strict rules and a proper academic atmosphere.
His opinion of the school improved again.
Still, it looked like he'd just screwed over all the Demon Students who would've taken the exam.
For the demons, that exam room had actually been a relatively gentle game.
They'd been able to stay safe inside the exam room for two classes and a break before leaving.
But Dekan had blown the exam room to pieces, forcing them to face the horror games in other classrooms.
No wonder that Demon Student looked like he wanted to kill me.
Dekan thought.
Ah, boundless merit.
As the Buddha said, there's no sin in screwing over demons.
"What classroom is that up ahead?"
Dekan pointed ahead.
They were standing in a particularly elegant hallway.
Classical oil lamps illuminated lifelike portraits of demons lining the corridor, lending the horror a touch of elegance.
Farther ahead, a carpet decorated with ornate patterns stretched across the floor all the way to the end.
If he wasn't mistaken, it was probably an art classroom.
Dekan was likely pretty good at games involving painting.
The Demon Student replied, "It's the Cooking Classroom."
Dekan said, "???"
Did they really need to decorate the area around a Cooking Classroom so elegantly?
Was this what they meant by high-society demons?
"Forget it. This one will do."
There weren't many Demon Students left to scout the way, and continuing on would be dangerous.
Dekan headed straight toward the classroom at the end of the carpet.
The Demon Student wanted to turn and run, getting as far away from these two jinxes as he could, but Cornelia showed no sign of letting go.
Her grip shifted into a joint lock on the Demon Student's arm, and she marched him forward.
"Classmate, meeting is fate. Why don't you come with us?"
Dekan said with a smile.
The smile made the Demon Student's blood run cold.
You're planning to use me as a meat shield, aren't you?!
Before you continue