At dawn on the following day, Ulan roused from his slumber and blinked his eyes open.
The first thing he saw was an unfamiliar ceiling. Then he saw a bed, a chair, and a desk. And soon the memories of the previous day washed over him in a wave.
'Oh, right, I was assigned to the dormitory.'
Upon the announcement of accepted candidates yesterday, prompt dormitory assignments were made. While the standard was two students per dorm-room, the top 10 rankers were given individual rooms, and Ulan, being the top scorer, received one as well.
However, one thing puzzled him.
"But why am I sleeping on the floor?"
Ulan found himself lying on the floor of the room, despite having a cozy bed right next to him. Why would I choose to sleep on the floor when I have a comfortable bed available?
Thinking so, he looked around the room…
…when something caught my eye. A brochure lay open on the desk.
"That's...."
It was the brochure handed to him by the dormitory supervisor when he entered the dorm yesterday; it contained basic information about Arsene Academy and the dormitory rules to follow while staying.
And the moment he saw it, he suddenly remembered yesterday.
'Yes, I was reading the brochure....'
Suddenly, he felt drowsy and collapsed.
He must have fallen asleep after that. Recalling the situation, Ulan sat back down at his desk. He tried to recall what he had read in the brochure.
"Education at the Arsene Academy lasts four years."
Each grade was distinguished by the color of the necktie; first-year students wore red, second-year students wore blue, third-year students wore purple, and fourth-year students wore black.
"Different grades have different dormitories."
There were a total of four dormitories at Arsene Academy, each allocated to students according to their grade and gender.
The dorms were named after the seasons; the first-year students' dormitory was named Spring Hall, fourth-year students' dormitory was named Winter Hall, and so on.
"The entrance ceremony is tomorrow morning. After the ceremony, we'll be assigned to classes, and then..."
As he meticulously recalled the details, a sudden headache struck him, and Ulan furrowed his brow. Just when the headache had subsided, he recalled the 'real reason' he fell asleep yesterday.
It was something Azur had warned him about.
There was a limit to how much information a person could absorb at once, and Ulan's limit was lower than most.
Just as this realization struck him, he glanced at the booklet again.
The booklet was quite thick, and surely it contained a vast amount of information.
But he forgot Azur's advice and tried to take in all the information at once. As a result, his brain overloaded and he fell asleep.
Having realized the truth of what happened yesterday, Ulan silently nodded to himself.
"There's nothing I can do about it now."
He decided to take his time and look through the booklet little by little. He couldn't afford to faint again.
He'll just have to read one page a day.
After making up his mind, he lay back on the floor again.
However, as he gazed around the room, he felt a sense of suffocation deep in his heart.
And soon, he understood why.
"It's too small."
Actually, it was just the right size for an average student.
But for Ulan, who grew up in the grasslands, it was too cramped; especially considering his towering stature of 2 meters.
"Should I go outside and take a run around?"
He thought that getting some fresh air might relieve the feeling of suffocation and help him feel better. Having made up his mind, Ulan headed towards the exit. But soon, he stopped at the entrance.
[Spring Hall - Notice]
[The main entrance is currently unavailable.]
[Access hours: 22:00 to 07:00]
[If you go out without permission, you will receive a penalty point]
A notification that said he cannot go out.
The same restriction applied to the back gate and the side gate as well.
However, there was one place where no warning was given—the room's window.
"I guess it's okay to go out of the window."
If it were dangerous to use the window, there would have been a warning about it.
After some simple reasoning,
Ulan flung the window wide open and leaped out, falling five stories below.