The Admissions Building suddenly burst into flames, drawing the attention of the other university students outside, who began discussing it.
"Wh... what's going on?"
"A fire? How?"
"Which 'genius' was doing research in a classroom?"
"Anyway... looks like this entrance exam is going down the drain!"
"What the hell does that have to do with me? I've still got reading to do at the library. Stop standing around blocking the way..."
There were also students who paid no attention to the fire at all, hurrying about and focusing more of their energy on studying. They made up no small proportion, and most were relatively outstanding students.
And the outcome was indeed as they had said. It was only a fire, after all. It just took a little longer to put out, only dying down after about three minutes, by which point the entire Admissions Building had been blackened.
At Miskatonic University, the fire- and explosion-prevention facilities were actually quite comprehensive.
Some experiments were inherently prone to catching fire, or even exploding, or triggering unusual phenomena.
So fires breaking out and being extinguished were not particularly rare, and this one caused no widespread disturbance.
After the fire stopped, almost every classroom was empty. Only a little ash remained on the melted, deformed seats, proving that people had once been there.
In a classroom on the third floor.
This was the center of the fire, or rather, the place where it had started.
Large quantities of fire-extinguishing mist sprayed from the ceiling, filling the entire room and beginning to cool it down.
On the podium.
An old man with an imposing face stood there, but his beard, eyebrows, and even his hair had all been burned away.
His clothes had burned into ragged strips, making him look like a beggar who had