"You all survived your first encounter with the rift monster. But it would be wise to call for an expert during your real run-in with a rift monster. Their claws and teeth secrete poison, so make sure you do not get a scratch on your body."
The teacher warned as she walked in front of the group. Her first plan might have failed to work, but it was only some of what she had in store.
The rift space was a place full of dangers. Just because the first encounter with this place did not leave the students afraid and reliant on their teacher did not mean the other meetings would have the same result.
"Since you got to experience the open rift and we have time, we can check out the following rift environment - the antimatter cave. You were all supplied with protective gear when accepted into the school. It would help if you took it out and activated it now."
The teacher advised her class and took out her gear. It looked like a small badge with much-compressed magic inside it. Lea usually kept herself away from ordinary use of technology, but she had to admit that these protective gears were customized for antimatter caves.
She might have used them if they had been discovered about 10-20 years ago.
'These gears would have saved many innocent lives during our expedition outside the dorm. But, oh well! Better late than never.'
Once everyone had their protective gear on, the teacher took them around the cave's perimeter. Since this was an artificially created space, it took a lot of work for Lea to keep track of the other monsters there. But she was sure their teacher had a record of all the generated monsters here.
If their teacher was not speaking up, she wanted her students to face these monsters.
'Tsk, what a bad teacher we have for our class. She is not helpful to us, and she is not willing to look out for us either. It makes me want to bully her.'
Lea had seen such arrogant teachers in the academy before. People who applied for a post in this school were either after the fame of being a teacher or for the connections awarded to them.
'Is this what grooming is about? Am I being groomed to believe our teacher is good and we should respect her? Somehow, I do not like it.'
"Class, this is the final segment of our tour. All you need to do is bring back the water from the central lake. Once one of you has returned the water, we will consider concluding this trip."
The teacher offered, and the class cheered. This was the last class of the day, and everyone was exhausted.
So naturally, the students most reassured in themselves and their family power decided to make the first move.
"I will go first. It should be easy for me as a part of the Stone family."
Lea was not surprised when Nile Stone volunteered to be the first to try. He was a competitive person and wanted to maintain his first position.
The only one in the class to consider herself Nile's rival was Himawari, another student from a prestigious family with decent abilities.
"Alright. Since we have a volunteer, we should clear the way for him. Huh, is something wrong, Miss Black?"
The class looked at Himawari Black at the same time. She looked startled at being addressed, indicating that she did not intend to raise her hand. But since she had raised her hand, it did not feel fair for her to step back.
'I-I need to speak up. I can't let myself be beaten here. I must let people know that I also want to go out.'
Himawari knew what she had to say in her mind. But her mouth refused to speak up when she tried to open it. The class was beginning to look at her with expecting eyes.
"I…I don't…I mean…I cannot…"
Himawari was shy, so speaking in front of a crowd was impossible. But still, she tried her best to remain calm and speak up.
"Huh! What do you want? You better raise your voice and tell me what you want. Stop beating around the bush like this."
Nile crashed his fist into a boulder, producing a loud noise. It scared Himawari, and she took a step back. The attack also hurt Nile, and he flicked his hand around to relieve the pain.
"Son-of-a…what the hell? Shit, this hurts. But you! You better make your decision quickly. I am not going to wait around for you any longer. If you want to try this challenge, do it after I am finished."
Nile quickly crossed the starting line and took in a deep breath. Then, he gathered all the energy in his feet and propelled himself forward. His attribute was earth, so the Nile could quickly ask across the cave.
"He's good."
"Aww, Nile might end up finishing the challenge on his own. We do not even have to do anything."
Everyone praised him, but Himawari had felt the disturbance in the shadows. She could handle the monster closing in around Nile's destination. At this rate, Nile might end up heading straight into the monster's mouth.
"Lea, should I be on standby? I don't think this situation is clear enough to assess the problem correctly. Her training as an assassin was highly appreciated in this situation. But Lea shook her head.
"Let's hold back for now. I will tell you when you can show your skills. But for now, it would be better for you to keep yourself in check."
Sara disagreed with Lea. Her instincts told her she needed to intervene to prevent a tragedy. But between her instincts and Lea's knowledge, Sara trusted the second option more.
"Fine, I will hold myself back this time. But you better give me a generous time frame to act."
Lea grinned but did not make any promises. She knew about Sara's response time and how much time Sara needed to finish her opponent. She was going to make full use of her opportunity.
Meanwhile, there were a few…interesting characters Lea needed to keep an eye on.
Robina Viscount waved back at Lea, letting her know that Lea had caught her eye. Viscount family was famous for their information-gathering arts. They were the family that had the most abundant resource network.
Lea had known that the young heiress of that family would be in her class, but she had not planned anything regarding her.
'Hmm, I can use Robina often if I plan things right. Should I try leading her around? Now, what can I do to make sure Robina follows my lead?'
Lea was a little busy in her thoughts, so she missed the timing of Nile's attack. Himawari had run out after Nile to warn him, but she was too late. The monsters had already started appearing around Nile's position.
"Teacher, are you not going to help those students? They might get hurt if we leave them like this."
The other students were worried and turned toward their teacher. The teacher had an expression of relief, and she looked at her class with a cocky expression.
"Ah, this is fine. You do not need to worry about anything. This is just a simulation, so everything is just fine. Just focus on the stimulation here. I am sure you will see what I mean soon. You need strong support if you want to survive the rift."
A giant monster emerged from the surface, scaring the whole class. They had only seen such a massive monster in documentaries before.
"Oi, this is not safe. Teacher, I know this is a stimulation and not real, but isn't this too much? That monster might come after us once it's done with those two. I am not ready to die."
The teacher laughed at her student's words.
"The monster will not come after us. And even if it does, I will protect you. That is the difference between being covered by a professional and going alone. Of course, some of you might think that it is insulting to depend on someone else like this."
"But I am only telling you this for your benefit. Depend on me, and you shall be guaranteed a successful future."
The teacher was making too many promises. Most of these pros could only be kept by some influential people. This teacher was advertising herself as a god in front of her students.
"What a pity. It looks like this teacher is no good, after all. I might tell my family that I must skip a year and attend a higher class because my teacher is worthless."
Lea was sure she was the only one who heard Robina's words. But it warned her that Robina was not an opponent to be taken lightly. This class was going to be interesting to take.
"Lea, I am waiting for orders. Tell me when you want me to attack."
Sara's question reminded Lea about the topic she had forgotten. They still needed to save their classmates.