Waffel stepped forward, wiping sweat from her brow as she stared at the shimmering wall near the windows. Her voice carried clearly, steady despite the heat.
"The barrier itself is what's generating the heat," she said. "It's the thrum structure instructions."
Several heads turned toward her.
"Breaking thrum barriers is simple in theory," Waffel continued. "You figure out its opposing color and strike it at its weakest point. That's the standard method."
Azalea nodded once, quickly seizing the instruction. "Then, anyone who is an Ichor Weaver, come forward. I need you to analyze the barrier's properties as you guys are the most physically sensitive to thrum."
There was a brief pause before movement.
Maku stood first, rolling his shoulders as he approached the wall. Nagi followed him, brushing past a few students. Kenth rose last, almost hesitantly.
The moment they touched the barrier, their hair highlights began to glow.
I watched Tasora from the corner of my eye.
Her fingers tapped against her desk faster now. The rhythm had lost all patience, each strike sharper than the last. She hated waiting.
"This barrier is weird," Kenth said lightly. "It's dense, too dense."
Nagi nodded, squinting as she pressed her palm harder against the surface. "Yeah. It's thick. And it doesn't feel like it was made by just one person."
Her voice dropped slightly. "Were they planning for us to fail this? Like, whoever survives the longest gets the most points?"
The thought sent a ripple of unease through the room.
"No," Maku said, still focused, eyes narrowed. "That contradicts Heather's clue."
Azalea crossed her arms. "I agree. This isn't a survival test. It's a coordination test. Teamwork."
She looked back at the class. "If that's the case, unraveling the barrier probably requires everyone's cooperation."
The heat surged over time.
Breath grew shallow. Sweat rolled freely, only to thin out and evaporate almost instantly, leaving skin dry and burning. A few students stumbled back to their seats, dizziness creeping in.
Finster shifted uncomfortably, feeling useless doing nothing. "What do you want me to do," he asked Azalea. "Just standing around isn't helping."
"Calm down," Azalea replied sharply. "We don't need you rushing in and making things worse."
And as if seeing Azalea calming someone was the last straw, Tasora's chair scraped loudly as she abruptly stood up.
"Hey, Green head."
Azalea and Finster both turned toward the back.
"I wasn't talking to you," Tasora continued flatly. "I meant that short green head over there."
Azalea's face twitched.
"Sho-short," she repeated, disbelief bleeding into rage. "How dare you..."
Tasora ignored her completely. "I'll destroy the barrier by force. Problem solved."
Azalea was still stuck on the insult. "Take that back. I'm a late bloomer! Just because you're rank one doesn't mean I won't fight you."
Tasora looked at her for a bit and exhaled....
"Ha... Even if everyone here fought me together," she said calmly, "you'd still lose."
Silence.
Every eye in the room snapped toward her. Even the ichor weavers stopped analyzing. The glare she received could have killed an ordinary person.
Tasora met it with the same expression one would give a group of children throwing a tantrum.
Then Kenth spoke.
The most timid person in the room.
"Why don't we test that right now?"
He stopped touching the barrier. His silver highlight flared brightly, brighter than before, and a curved and sharp horn slowly emerged above his head.
The shift in pressure was overwhelming.
Finster swore under his breath and grabbed Azalea around the shoulders, restraining her as she struggled violently. "I'm doing my best to keep this peaceful," Azealea rabidly screamed, "and you have the nerve to call me a dwarf or a gnome."
The situation was about to grow worse. Though this was expected, since it also happened in the novel, the outcome was not what I wanted.
So I acted first.
I enhanced my hand.
And detonated it in the air .
BOOOOOOOM.
The shockwave thundered through the classroom, rattling desks and snapping every ounce of attention toward me in an instant.
After the echo of the explosion faded slowly. Every conversation died instantly.
I lowered my hand and exhaled.
"That's enough," I said, keeping my voice steady.
Tasora was still bristling despite her emotionless face, her thrum leaking into the air like static. I stepped closer and placed a hand lightly on her wrist.
"Calm down," I murmured. "And remember what I just told you."
She looked at me, irritation still burning in her eyes.
Without another word, I subtly tilted my head and pointed with my eyes toward the corner of the room.
The CCTV camera.
Her jaw tightened.
"…So that's how it is," she muttered under her breath.
"Everything here is being watched," I said quietly. "Every move. Every reaction. If you continue, I don't think your merit points will love you in the future."
Tasora clicked her tongue, then slowly withdrew her pressure. The oppressive weight she carried receded, just enough to let the room breathe again. She crossed her arms and looked away, clearly unhappy but no longer escalating.
At the front, Finster was doing the same.
He had Azalea firmly restrained, one arm wrapped around her shoulders as she struggled, face flushed red with fury.
"Enough," he said in a tired voice.
"Let go of me," Azalea snapped, trying to elbow him.
"You're getting angry over being called short," Finster continued, trying his best not to chuckle, "Which, I mean, objectively speaking, you are."
There was a brief pause.
Azalea went completely still.
The air around them felt colder than Polaris's ice.
"…What," she said slowly.
Finster, somehow oblivious to the danger, pressed on. "I'm just saying. It's not an insult if it's accurate. You're below average height. Statistically."
That was a mistake.
Her rage redirected instantly.
She twisted just enough and bit down hard on Finster's arm that was holding her down.
"OW!!!"
Finster yelped and immediately released her, clutching his hand in pain. "That was completely unnecessary."
"You're lucky that I'm letting you off with just that."
Azalea straightened her uniform, still shaking, then finally drew in a deep breath and forced herself still. She shot Tasora one last murderous glare before folding her arms tightly across her chest, breathing hard.
Finster backed away, nursing his hand, muttering something under his breath about how honesty was clearly dangerous.
Kenth's horn receded just as quietly as it had appeared. His silver highlight dimmed, and he returned to his usual withdrawn posture and went back to his work analyzing the barrier.
The room settled.
Barely.
When everyone seemed just calm enough to listen, I spoke again.
"Don't you guys find it odd?"
Heads turned toward me.
I raised my hand and pointed.
Straight at Finster.
"Why that kid is perfectly fine," I continued, "while the rest of us are sweating bullets and struggling to breathe."
Slowly, one by one, people looked where I was pointing.
Then someone noticed it.
"He's not sweating."
"Wait… he really isn't."
I took a slow breath and continued before the tension could flare up again.
"Maybe we're approaching this incorrectly."
A few heads turned toward me again.
"Hey, kid. What's your core color?"
Finster blinked, then answered without hesitation. "Green."
"Anyone else here with a green core," I asked, scanning the room.
Silence.
No other hand went up.
Maku's eyes widened slightly. He caught on immediately.
"I see," he murmured. "Let's test something new."
He turned toward Finster. "Try attacking the barrier."
Finster hesitated for only a second before shrugging. "Sure."
He stepped forward and struck the barrier.
The effect was immediate.
The sweltering heat rose even more
It surged violently, pressing down on everyone at once. Breath caught in throats. Sweat evaporated the instant it formed, leaving skin burning and dry.
Several students cried out in shock.
Finster recoiled, eyes widening. "Oh. It's hot."
For the first time since this started, sweat appeared on his forehead. Still, it was not enough to force him to take off his coat.
But the room itself reacted violently.
The heat surged again, heavier than before, crashing down on everyone else. A few students cried out as the temperature spiked.
Waffel sucked in a sharp breath, eyes widening as realization struck. "So that's why the barrier is so thick," he said. "It's layered. Precisely structured to be broken by specific core colors."
She wiped sweat from his face. "But every layer we peel away amplifies the heat."
Azalea clenched her fists, frustration flashing across her face before she forced herself to refocus. "Alright," she said sharply. "We adapt."
She looked around the room. "Everyone, gather here."
Students moved quickly, desperation lending them speed.
"Solaris," Azalea continued, "generate an ice construct. Wide range."
Solaris nodded and raised her hands. Frost surged outward, forming a crystalline structure that radiated cold. The temperature within its range dropped noticeably, blessedly so.
Azalea pointed toward the edges of the cooling zone. "Now listen carefully. Step outside the cooling range."
A few students obeyed, wincing almost instantly.
"If the heat overwhelms you," Azalea said, "go back into the cooling range immediately. If you're fine, stay outside and attack the barrier."
She looked around, voice firm. "We're going to sort this out layer by layer."