Classes of the Combat Department were all scheduled in the morning. Yuka dragged herself out of bed and gave her timetable a cursory glance to check the location of her first class.
"Ah, theoretical class in the central teaching building on a sleepy Tuesday morning," Yuka thought as she pulled on her clothes.
She tapped on the details and discovered the day's topic included basics like the history of the Alliance. But what caught her eye was the focus on the 'Insectoid Atlas.' 'Insectoids have been extinct for almost a century, what's the point of studying them now?' she pondered.
With this question in mind, she and Ayoi stepped out and made their way to class. Yuka took a seat in the back row, with Ayoi munching on a sandwich next to her. "Heard the theory exams are a tough nut to crack," Ayoi mumbled between bites. "Scoring full marks is a rare achievement, usually claimed by those brainy logistics majors."
As the class bell chimed, a professor wearing a monocular eyeglass entered. He thudded down a textbook hefty enough to squash someone and addressed the mecha specialization students, "Good morning, everyone. I'm Professor Pickle, and I'll be your guide through the theoretical wilderness this term."
He pushed up his glasses and said, "I have high expectations. You're expected to memorize this entire book. An e-version is available in the 'Library' section of your opticomputer. We'll have just two exams – midterms and finals. Your final grade will be the average of these two."
Scanning the room, he added, "Missing or skipping classes will cost you marks."
"Now, let's begin," Professor Pickle turned on the electronic whiteboard. "We'll skip the history section... I assume no one here is clueless about the history of the IMPERIAL Alliance of the Stars?" He emphasized 'Imperial' a bit too much, triggering chuckles around the room.
Crown Prince Fred clenched his fists, his face turning a shade of displeasure. 'Is the professor mocking the royalty?' he thought.
Yuka, smirking slightly, downloaded the e-book from the library and flipped to the page Professor Pickle was about to cover. But her smile vanished the next second.
The image on the screen showed a massive insect, a blend of green and black, with three pairs of spiked legs and a mosquito-like proboscis.
"This common variety," Professor Pickle's voice filled the room, "is known as the 'Soldier Insect.' They are numerous and serve the 'Queen'. Their proboscises are sharp, designed for the efficient extraction of human brain matter."
Professor Pickle set aside his monocular eyeglass and continued, "Let's turn to the next page. This limbless creature is a type of soft-bodied insect. It uses the suction cups on its underside to attach to human skin and can drain a person's blood in three minutes."
Ayoi, looking at the flesh-colored soft-bodied insect on the screen, quietly put away her half-eaten yogurt.
"There's another kind of insectoid, the parasite called 'Alcoholic.' They're tiny, almost transparent with a tinge of color. These critters hide in food and water, infiltrating the human body that way."
"Within twelve hours of Alcoholic's entry, the host experiences stomach pains, fever, dizziness, and hallucinations. If the infected person consumes a moderate amount of alcohol during this period, it can kill Alcoholic. But after twelve hours, the parasite takes full control, growing dozens of times in size. When fully matured, they burst out of the host, continuing their attack on humans."
After flipping through several more nauseating pages of the Insectoid Atlas, someone couldn't take it anymore. They dashed out of the classroom, heading straight to the restroom to vomit wildly.
Pickle paused, then said coolly, "You're lucky to be born in an era without insectoids, but you must never forget these dreadful creatures, nor the blood, sweat, and lives sacrificed by the predecessors of the Alliance Army."
"That's the real value of the Insectoid Atlas class," Pickle looked at the students, their faces a mix of emotions. "These invaluable records were paid for with their lives. In your midterms and finals, you'll need to identify the insects I've taught and detail their attack methods."
"As for the insectoids' weakness," Pickle's tone became grave, "there's only one for all insect types: the Queen."
"Kill the Queen, and all insectoids die."
Yuka gazed at the blurred image of the Queen. Despite the haze—since Queens were heavily guarded by other insects, capturing this photo was a feat in itself—nothing could mask the indescribable disgust it evoked.
The Queen looked like a enormous chunk of flesh, with many egg sacs filled with teeming insect eggs. Her mouth was like an abyss, lined with sharp teeth, with Soldier Insects feeding her at the mouth.
Pickle sighed, "A hundred years ago, the Alliance Army sacrificed eight entire legions to kill the Queen and eradicate all insectoids."
"Although the only weakness of the insectoids is the Queen, to kill an individual insectoid, you just need to penetrate its head," Professor Pickle explained. "Remember, aim for the head and ensure they're truly dead, not playing possum."
Pickle sighed, "Insectoids possess a certain level of intelligence. They know no fear, and all their actions are directed towards feeding the Queen, providing her with the nutrients to breed and expand their species. Cutting off their legs or head is useless; you have to destroy their core located in the brain."
Ayoi, grimacing, whispered to Yuka, "I might not be able to stomach lunch today."
Yuka simply hummed in response, her gaze fixed on the image of the insectoid, her face expressionless. The butler, sensing her turbulent mental state, swirled in her agitated mindspace, asking softly, "Master, why are you upset?"
Yuka exhaled softly, steadying her emotions, "It's nothing." It was just that these insectoids resembled the demonic beasts from her past life in the apocalypse world.
When the class finally ended, students hurried out, their faces still pale. Passing senior students smiled knowingly at their green complexions.
In the cafeteria, Ayoi admired how Yuka calmly ate her sweet and sour meat soup, saying, "You're really something."
Yuka replied, "There are many more theory classes this term, you can't avoid meat forever."
"True." Ayoi bravely tried to forget the images from class, closing her eyes as she took a bite of her chicken.
"What do you plan to do this afternoon?" Ayoi asked.
"I think I'll check out the history department," Yuka mused, intending to transfer there eventually.
Ayoi nodded, "I can't join you, I have to visit my brothers."
"No problem." Yuka placed her tray in the automatic cleaner and left.
The history department had its own building, which Yuka found on the far right of the central teaching complex. She entered a classroom and chose a corner seat in the last row.
Most students sauntered in at the last minute, and the teacher arrived right after the bell. Within five minutes, the class had descended into a casual vibe with students gaming or sleeping, except for one girl with a ponytail diligently taking notes.
Yuka watched everyone's relaxed demeanor and nearly shed tears of joy. This was the life she had yearned for.
As the ponytailed girl raised her hand to ask a question, the teacher, perhaps unaccustomed to such eagerness, approached her with enthusiasm and began an impassioned explanation. "Capital Octoxis wasn't always known by that name. In the pre-cosmic era, it was called 'Imperial Nexus' and was the common dwelling place for all humanity. Back then, humans hadn't yet ventured beyond the Milky Way..."
Yuka, struggling to stay awake, eventually fell asleep, her head resting on the desk.
The bell signaling the end of class woke her. Rubbing her eyes, she fished out her vibrating opticomputer.
A message from Ayoi in their group chat popped up: "Girl! Heard there's a performance by the hotties of the art department tonight. Wanna check it out? It's at the art department's theater!"
Yuka slowly typed, "Sure, where should we meet?"
Alex quickly replied, "I'm free tonight. Let's do it."
"Let's meet at the theater entrance!" Ayoi suggested excitedly.
"Okay," Yuka and Alex agreed.
Yuka arrived to find Ayoi eagerly waving at her. Soon, Alex, his leg wound now scabbed over, joined them, his smile genuine and warm. "Let's head in!"
The small theater was nearly full, but they managed to find three seats together. As they settled, the people in front turned around. "Yuka, Ayoi, hello," greeted Donny, who then nodded at Alex, "Prince Alex, good evening."
Alex, caught off guard, quickly responded, "Hello."
Vivian peeked from the front row, smiling at Yuka, "Hey, Yuka, you're here for the show too?"
Yuka nodded in greeting, her eyes flickering between her and Donny. Noticing this, Vivian raised her chin, glanced at Donny, and explained to Yuka, "Don't get it wrong, this boring lady and I aren't friends. Our families are just old acquaintances, and our parents insist we hang out."
Donny remained silent.
The lights dimmed, and Vivian turned forward. "The show's starting, let's talk later."
A deep male voice narrated, "Long, long ago, there was a princess..."
The red curtains drew back, focusing light on the 'princess,' a man whose pec muscles strained against the fabric of the princess dress. Yuka couldn't help but twitch her mouth in amusement.
The narrator continued emotionlessly, "And then one day, a wicked dragon captured the beautiful princess."
The farcical scene took a dark turn when a person in a green dinosaur costume rushed onto the stage, attempting to grab the 'princess'... and failed. Instead, it appeared more like the princess was kidnapping the dinosaur, as they awkwardly shuffled offstage.
"Then, the knight appears," announced the narrator.
A young man wielding a wooden sword stumbled onto the stage, his movements awkward. As he weakly swung the sword, nearly hitting himself, his body suddenly convulsed.
Yuka furrowed her brow as the knight clutched his throat, collapsing to his knees, retching. The narrator, confused, murmured, "This isn't in the script."
The knight's eyes bulged, his face turned red in a struggle to expel something, but nothing came out. The director, calling out the knight's real name from below, urged him to exit the stage.
The chaos in the audience grew louder until the director, unable to bear it, climbed onto the stage and tapped the young man's shoulder. As the knight turned, his neck burst open, spraying the director with blood.
Yuka saw something horrifying: black, shiny forelegs emerging from the gaping hole in the knight's neck.
The theater fell silent, then erupted into terrified screams.
Yuka stood up as the knight's head flew off, but someone else was quicker to act. Kenji, from the front row of the audience, swiftly climbed onto the stage and fired several shots into the knight's neck.
Blood and a strange green fluid splattered his face, but his expression remained unflinching, his hand steady as he continued to fire with perfect accuracy.
When the knight's body finally slumped to the ground, Kenji stopped his gun. The audience, already in shock, recoiled in fear as the blood-covered Kenji stepped off the stage.
Amid the chaos, Yuka stood out, locking eyes with Kenji from across the room.
Both of them realized the gravity of the situation: things had just taken a serious and dangerous turn.