I had just begun walking out of the library. It was a massive building surrounded by many smaller buildings.
Most of them were private research rooms for privileged students.
I had my own off on the other side of the campus, but I barely even went there nowadays.
"Hmm?"
'Why are they texting so much?'
My phone had been blowing up since earlier. It was strange.
Night had just settled in on campus, so I expected them to be preparing to go to sleep by now.
I pulled out my phone, the dim lighting of the screen brightening up my face.
[Worst Jungler: so who wants to get some drinks]
[Single as can be: Where?]
[Worst Jungler: the usual place where else]
The messages were relatively recent, sent just a couple of minutes prior.
My thumb gently glided across my phone screen as I typed up a reply.
[Depression hits hard: Just beat the shit out of a first year I'm coming rn]
[Single as can be: Wtf]
I slid my phone back into my pocket and began walking to our usual place.
'It really has been a year. It's kinda surreal. Meeting up with people I never thought I would. Achieving things that I thought were impossible.'
On days like these, I couldn't help but reflect. On my days here. I had already long given up on getting back home.
Eventually, I got to my destination—a small place named Frin's Bar. It was just far enough from the academy that we could go crazy here.
I twisted the doorknob and let myself in.
Alexia and Cale were already drinking as the bartender cleaned a glass in the corner.
'Alcoholics. Can't even wait for me.'
The scent of alcohol was strong, but not too much. The bar was mainly empty.
"Yo."
I sat on the stool next to Cale and ordered a strong whiskey before looking back at them to see Cale chugging down another shot.
"Don't you have a test tomorrow?"
"It's fine. It'll be light work—just a quick assessment."
He sat there, his elbows planted on the counter; he wore a nice three-piece suit with the symbol poking out of his welt pocket.
He had deep green, almost emerald-like hair. It contrasted with his dull green eyes that mirrored jade in color.
'He'll be fine. He doesn't even get that hungover, usually.'
Alexia, on the other hand, had her face planted on the counter.
"Still the same lightweight, huh?"
Cale jabbed, locking his eyes on Alexia, who had just turned her head toward us.
"Fuck off."
Her voice was tired, as if she were on the verge of falling asleep.
She wore a low-cut shirt that showed off her cleavage and tight jeans, her symbol clearly shown on her waist like a keychain.
"One day, someone's gonna take advantage of you when you drink two shots and pass out."
Cale remarked sharply, but he already knew Alexia could take care of herself just fine.
"Someone? You mean you?"
"Hah, not in a million years. A slut like you doesn't deserve me."
"You'd be lucky to even breathe the same air as me, bastard."
They quipped back and forth, neither backing down.
'These guys... when are they gonna grow up? The novel never mentions how idiotic some of these people can be.'
I quickly side-eyed them as they talked. The bartender poured me another shot.
I turned my attention back to the drink before I looked toward the window in the front.
'Gray and red. What a bother.'
"Some academy students are coming toward the bar. Who wants to take care of them?"
"I'll take care of it."
A tired voice rang out as Alexia quickly turned toward the door. The academy students had just walked in.
They looked around rather confused. Three of the top twelve sitting in a bar was a rare event, after all.
"2nd Sentence: Try to listen to them when they tell you something about yourself, no matter how bad—or good."
Alexia recited her 2nd Sentence, a fragment from A Little Life. Even while drinking, her Sentence came out relatively well—a testament to her mastery of the story.
"You didn't see us here today, and you didn't go to this bar today."
And just like that—
They walked out.
No words—no complaints.
They simply walked out, not even bothering to look back at us.
Because to them, there was nothing here.
No bar, no people—just an empty, blank slate.
This was a relatively normal occurrence, mostly because we had a reputation as the top twelve.
The Academy Council was comprised of us.
Each of us represented the top Reader of the main twelve genres:
Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Romance, Sci-Fi, Thriller, Tragedy, and, lastly, Western.
Cale was the top Comedy Reader, and Alexia stood as the top Drama Reader.
Of course, I was the one representing Tragedy.
"Anyway, where are Julian and Karina?"
I tried to shift the topic toward something else, as Cale had begun downing shots and Alexia looked like she was in another realm entirely.
"On a date, probably. That damn fantasy couple."
Her voice seethed with quiet anger as she looked blankly forward.
"Awww~ Don't be jealous now, Alexia. Someone will settle for you, eventually."
"Shut up, Cale."
"Hhahh..."
'I'm tired of these two.'
I pulled out my phone to check my messages, only to find a whopping zero. Then I just scrolled for a couple of moments.
"I'm going on a walk. You guys are boring as hell."
Just like that, I walked out of the bar, leaving Cale and Alexia to do whatever they usually did.
I just—
walked.
My footsteps gently hit the concrete as I strode forward. My eyes looked around the somewhat desolate streets.
Cars flew by every once in a while. The streetlights flickered a couple of times.
Trees—and quite a bit of them. It was relatively uncommon in a bustling city like this, but peering through the trees—it stood.
'Kalemen's Lake. A magical lake that's right here on our campus. The founder specifically built it around this place.'
It glistened in the moonlight—a still, calm surface of blue that seemed to glitter every time a ray of light struck against it.
'Most people think the founder just thought it looked nice, but this lake has important Narrative Power, which means it basically has plot armor.'
That is one of the things that has kept this academy standing for all these years. While the academy had strong Narrative Power at the start, it dwindled as time went on.
'I wonder how Kalemen was able to see how much Narrative Power something had.'
I sat down on the grass just before the lake, admiring the view by myself.
I had nothing better to do.
And that was how my day ended. I watched the lake for a couple of hours before heading back to the dormitory.