Long after the announcement ended, Yoel still found himself near the auditorium.
Many complicated feelings welled up within him, and he was sure many other students felt the same.
While not knowing would have posed a lot of danger during his stay here, knowing about the problem did not change much.
If anything, the wariness of the students increased, keeping everyone on edge against each other.
Of course, that was because many of the students believed that not only had they managed to infiltrate the dungeon system of the academy, but also managed to get into the academy grounds.
It was a natural conclusion, per se. If they had managed to bypass the security system and change up the settings of the dungeon, didn't that mean that they could get past security and enter the academy physically?
Suddenly, Yoel remembered a distant memory, one that had occurred before they had entered the dungeon.
It had been late in the day, and many examinees, along with students had gone to bed…
Yoel was planning to do the same, until he heard the alarm ring from his cube device, washing his room with an ominous red glow.
He vividly remembered this interaction, because of one specific event that had happened.
The intruders at that time… were able to nullify the defensive systems of the academy.
So, that meant that they had entered the academy long before the dungeon exam had started, was that how they were able to access the information regarding the exam setting, as well?
By simply just de-activating the defensive system placed on that information?
But, would the academy even be so naive as to simply configure a security system around their most sensitive information, and leave it at that?
No… there had to be something supernatural at play, the academy wouldn't just leave it at a security system.
After all, I'm sure there are enigmas related to electronic devices, that can mostly surpass these mundane systems.
So, there had to be enigmas at play, too.
Specifically, ones that are compatible with protection, Yoel assumed.
Suddenly, Yoel arrived upon a realization.
Of course, whatever was happening, had enigmas involved.
After all, the intruders back then…
They had been capable of simply nullifying the security system.
So, an enigma was surely at play. An especially powerful one.
Perhaps, it was some kind of nullification enigma, considering that they managed to get by the security system so easily.
Back then, if Yoel's memory wasn't jumbled, he remembered that even the staff were having trouble dealing with them.
But, to have so many nullification-type enigmas in one group, and to send them out to just die in our academy?
It did not make sense to Yoel.
After giving it a bit more thought, he came to the conclusion about three things.
First, the culprit must be in possession of some sort of nullification enigma, or at least something that temporarily suppresses other abilities.
Secondly, he believed that someone important to their plans was in the group of the examinees.
Whether it be one of their own, some unknown variable they wish to get rid of before enacting their plan fully, or genuinely a target of their mission, he did not know.
Thirdly, they must have used the commotion caused before the exam to infiltrate the academy.
This is such a pain to think about…
"Yoel!"
At that moment, he heard someone calling out to him.
It had been Cole.
The first person to try and speak with Yoel and the rest of the group had been Cole, back then when he was supposed to enter the time dungeon with the rest of his team.
He still remembered how Lilith and Vasil argued constantly back there, and how Yoel's efforts had been for naught.
"Some pretty big stuff came around, didn't it? What do you feel about this, Yoel?"
It seems that Cole had also been affected by the sudden and weird announcement.
Well, it was to be expected. The examinees and students here were just children, after all.
Worries would eventually seep into their minds, one way or another.
Yoel could tell that Cole was trying to put up a neutral front, but behind that facade, he was hiding a turmoil of emotions.
Or rather, he simply assumed that was the case because that was how Yoel was feeling too.
Steeling himself didn't mean taking on everything with an unwavering resolve.
Yoel was, first and foremost, human after all.
The same as Cole.
"Well, it had been on my mind ever since coming back here, so it wasn't that big of a surprise to me."
"Still though, it's very scary… to know that there might or might not be someone out to kill you in the very place you considered safe, isn't it?"
Cole's answer seemed kind of weird, almost as if there had been a hidden meaning behind those words.
But it seems as if Cole had arrived at the same conclusions as Yoel had. It didn't take a genius to do so, after all.
"Come to think of it, that performance you put up there really was cool. A bit too cool, really. You were out like a light for two days, dude!"
Yoel awkwardly coughed.
"I mean, how'd you even pull all that off?"
Ahh. So here it is.
Yoel had been expecting such a question for a long time now. Either from Cole or from someone else from his former companions.
"Well, I don't really know myself!"
To this question, he would just answer truthfully, because no matter how much they pressed him about it, he didn't know.
And what little he did know, he could not reveal no matter what.
It was in a sense, both a lie and a truth.
However, at this point in time, Yoel didn't really feel that bad about lying. After all, he barely knew these people.
And they knew that, so they would most likely stop bringing up this subject after a while.
"It just kinda… happened. I never knew how it worked, but I knew I could do it. But, I can't do it anymore, unfortunately."
But Yoel did not want to leave the conversation at just that, since Cole had asked him this, he would get his payment in full.
And that payment was, to get to learn about his own enigma.
"But say, a lot of people have awakened after coming back from that exam. So, you got any similar news like that?"
"Oh, of course! Actually, it's something related to feathers, but I don't know much about it myself."
As he said that, he waved his hand in a vertical motion, and summoned a feather out of seemingly nowhere.
"It looks pretty nice, but nothing like what you did."
Yoel, who had activated his enigma while he was doing that motion, made a confused face.
"Ooh, is that how you look like when you have your enigma activated, Yoel?"
Cole looked at him with wonder.
His obsidian black eye and the shining purple eye coexisted in perfect harmony. As usual, the black eye gave off a dangerous feeling, while the purple one shone with utter brilliance.
Yoel, completely forgetting such a fact happened when he activated his enigma, had a hard time keeping his composure.
"I-I guess? All I can do though is just look through other shadows. It's nothing like what I did back then."
"Ooh, does that mean you can even look through my shadow? Wanna give it a try, Yoel?"
Yoel blinked. While he could look through shadows of objects and things like that, he had never once tried to look through the shadow of someone else.
When he tried to shift his perception, it felt like an iron wall was between him and Cole's shadow.
And not only that, he had struck that wall with all his might, and head on, too.
Gah, that fucking hurts!
Yoel felt searing pain, but not to any parts of his body.
Rather, his soul was in incinerating pain. It was not his body that had received the damage, but his soul.
Well, that finishes up that theory, although it was painful as hell…
"Well, can you?"
Cole made a confused face, as he saw Yoel's face contort in pain.
"U-Uhh, I don't think I can, man."
"Oh well, I think your face answered that question for you way before you spoke."
A light laughter escaped Cole's lips, as he smiled at Yoel.
What a weird guy, I wonder why he came to find me after that announcement?
"Anyways, have you met up with the others, Cole? I'm sure they got a lot of stuff to say as well."
"Oh, I was actually thinking we could all meet up sometime, to discuss these revelations as a group. I mean, we'll probably be seeing each other a lot during these times, and it'd be important to have people to rely on at this point in time…"
Yoel nodded, understanding Cole's reasoning fully.
He understood how important it was to keep everyone sane during these times, especially now that there was more at stake than simply not failing school.
"Sure, I'm down to meet whenever. Just let me know when!"