Ren Isana was full of interest after learning about the combat zone's features. You could even experience death? Now that was fascinating.
*A full-dive game?* It was likely designed to increase combat experience. It could even manifest various monsters to fight against, and you could even select their strength levels.
Of course, if you didn't want to fight monsters, you could just fight your classmates. You could go all out without holding back. Even if you killed a classmate, it didn't matter—at most, they would just experience a moment of pain.
Upon learning this, Ren Isana and Ais's eyes immediately lit up. Ais couldn't help but look at Ren and say, "Once this place is available, please fight me with everything you have!"
A true battle to the death. She wanted to fight Ren like that; only a life-and-death struggle would allow her to clearly see the gap between them. Ais was thoroughly tempted.
"Ais!" Lefiya grew anxious upon hearing Ais's words. They hadn't even fully understood the situation yet, and she already wanted a deathmatch with Ren? What if something went wrong?
"Lefiya, don't worry, there won't be any problems. If there were, the school surely wouldn't have made this available," Ais reasoned simply.
Logically speaking, anything released for student use should be safe. She might be a bit airheaded at times, but she thought clearly about these matters. It wouldn't be a big deal.
Hearing Ais's reasoning, Lefiya sighed helplessly. "But still, what if something goes wrong? You could actually die..."
Lefiya voiced her concerns. Experiencing death didn't sound like a fun time, and she didn't want Ais taking unnecessary risks.
"Only by facing death can I become stronger. Lefiya, you're too timid." Ais looked at Lefiya with utmost seriousness.
Suddenly being lectured by Ais made Lefiya feel depressed. Did she say something wrong? Was she really too timid?
"Relax, you have to trust this place. Remember, this university represents the absolute pinnacle of magic technology and science in this world," Ren Isana chimed in.
Lefiya's worries were completely unfounded—a classic case of anxiety clouding judgment. If she kept going, Ais would probably end up scolding her. The thought made Ren chuckle inwardly.
Hearing Ren say this, Lefiya pursed her lips and said no more. *I hope so.* She was naturally cautious about the unknown, simply because she truly didn't want Ais to encounter any accidents.
Although it was a bit regrettable that they couldn't enter the combat zone yet, the group didn't dwell on it. They left the area together and headed back to the dormitory district to eat.
As lunchtime arrived, the dormitory district grew lively. The group found a restaurant, casually finished their meal, and returned to their dorms to rest.
Shikimori and Mahiru Shiina began studying the magic spells shared in the group chat. Both of them were dual cultivators of martial arts and magic, so they naturally knew some spells, just with different focuses.
Knowing that their classmates had already mastered these spells, Shikimori and Mahiru Shiina started asking around the girls' dormitory for guidance.
Meanwhile, the others continued to study [Flight Magic]. So far, Kumo was the only one who had truly mastered this spell; the rest had barely scratched the surface.
They could fly, but their Magic Power might suddenly cut out. To completely master it, they needed continuous practice. This spell was still a bit too difficult for everyone at their current stage.
Although they stumbled along the way, taking over two months to slowly get the hang of it, it was still progress.
The group's first day of enrollment passed just like that. In the blink of an eye, the second day arrived. After waking up, brushing his teeth, and hanging up his laundry, Ren Isana sat on his balcony to bask in the morning sun.
His door was open, allowing the morning lake breeze to blow in. It was incredibly relaxing.
"I think this is the place, right? 211?" Ren, who was scrolling through his phone on the balcony, suddenly heard voices coming from below. Curious, he stood up and looked down.
He saw two boys walking together toward the building. A flash of surprise crossed Ren's eyes. A blue-haired boy and a black-haired boy wearing headphones. *More anime characters?*
Only this time, they weren't girls, but guys. Ren carefully sensed their auras and muttered to himself, *So they're just humans.*
Ren had already recognized who they were: Kojou Akatsuki and his best friend Motoki Yaze. They were from the same world as Natsuki Minamiya, though this Kojou Akatsuki wasn't the Fourth Progenitor—he was a completely normal human.
Motoki Yaze felt the gaze from above and couldn't help but look up. Seeing Ren, he paused for a moment before waving in greeting. "Hello there, classmate! Excuse me, is the dormitory for the Special Elite Class here? Oh, right, I'm Motoki Yaze."
Hearing this, Ren nodded. "Yeah, just swipe your card to come in."
Their conversation drew the other boy's attention. Kojou Akatsuki also looked up at Ren and greeted him, "Hello, classmate. I'm Kojou Akatsuki."
"Ren Isana." Hearing Kojou introduce himself, Ren nodded and gave his own name.
Having confirmed the location, the two took out their student IDs, swiped the main door, and walked inside. Watching them enter the dorm, Ren didn't say anything more.
*Just how many people are joining this Special Class?* Originally, there were 43 students. With Ais and her group of four, it became 47. Now, adding Shikimori, Mahiru Shiina, and these two, that made 51.
*Are there more coming?* Ren couldn't help but wonder. He figured he'd find out later. Since tomorrow was the official start of the semester, everyone who was supposed to come should have arrived by now, right?
While Ren was lost in thought, Kojou Akatsuki and Motoki Yaze successfully settled into their rooms. They were right across from each other, and the classmates living next door enthusiastically greeted them.
Being peers, it was naturally easy for them to get along. Before long, the two were pulled into the class group chat. Seeing the massive pile of files in the chat, they were completely dumbfounded.
They learned a lot from their new classmates—especially the fact that the class representative had already been decided before school even started. All the magic spells in the chat were created by the class rep, and once you were in this class, you could learn them however you wanted.
Of course, after explaining all this, the classmate speaking to them turned very serious. "Our class is special. I hope you two can get along well with everyone and not cause any unpleasantness."
He didn't want latecomers ruining the class's harmony. If they did, he wouldn't mind taking the lead to "bully" the newbies a bit, and he was sure the others would back him up.
Ren Isana probably wouldn't do such things, as he treated everyone in the class equally. But that didn't mean the rest of them wouldn't. It was better for them to handle these warnings to the newcomers.
Kojou and Motoki were taken aback by the warning, but they instantly understood his intentions. They immediately promised to behave; they weren't difficult people to get along with anyway.
Besides, that class rep sounded incredibly powerful. Otherwise, how could he have created such magic? They had just joined and immediately received massive benefits—why would they ever cause trouble?
No way. They were more than happy to adopt a "whatever the boss says, goes" attitude. Having a big shot who could teach them new magic as their leader—wasn't that a stroke of incredible luck?
Seeing their reaction, Ren's classmate grinned. "Everyone here is pretty easygoing, so don't worry. If you have any problems, just bring them up in the group chat anytime. If we can help, we definitely will."
He had been observing the two closely. Seeing not a trace of dissatisfaction in their eyes, he nodded in satisfaction inwardly. He also confirmed a suspicion: anyone placed into this class had likely been thoroughly vetted.
The school wouldn't just toss bad apples in here. If they did, those bad apples would end up miserable, bullied by the entire class!
It was laughable to even think about. The whole class was a tight-knit crew now. Newcomers wanting to stir up trouble? They wouldn't even get the chance.
He chatted with the two for a while longer, casually using the [Cleaning Magic] he learned yesterday to tidy up their rooms before leaving.
After he left, Motoki Yaze and Kojou Akatsuki exchanged glances, both breathing a sigh of relief. Kojou scratched his head. "It seems we've joined one hell of a group."
Looking at the magic cultivation methods in the group chat, Kojou couldn't help but marvel. *These spells were created by a high schooler... That's just absurd.*
Motoki Yaze was also staring at his phone, his eyes locked on [Piercing Magic] and [Piercing Magic Cannon]. "I've heard of these two spells. The school is supposedly going to gradually teach them, but I didn't expect us to get our hands on them right after enrolling. This hasn't even been publicly announced yet."
His family had some influence, so he was privy to a lot of insider information, including details about these spells. However, he knew very little about this Special Elite Class. It felt as if this class had been thrown together out of nowhere.
But looking at it now, that didn't seem to be the case. It was clearly prepared well in advance, and everyone in this class had been admitted to Dimensional Nexus University together, with the two of them joining at the very end.
"Well, it looks like we've found ourselves a massive carry," Kojou remarked, putting his phone away and gesturing for Motoki to take out his belongings.
The two had grown up together. Motoki Yaze's family was filthy rich, which was why he owned a Spatial Backpack, and Kojou's luggage was entirely stored inside it.
While they were busy unpacking, the other residents on the second floor dropped by one after another to say hi and introduce themselves. People from the third floor came down as well. In just over half an hour, they had met the majority of their classmates.
Back on his balcony, Ren Isana continued enjoying the breeze. He naturally sensed everything happening in the dorms but didn't pay it much mind. Just as he was happily scrolling through videos, someone else arrived downstairs.
This time, there was no talking. The person simply took out an access card, swiped it, and walked straight in, heading directly for the fifth floor. Ren caught a glimpse of her appearance.
A tall girl with a single ponytail. Seeing her, Ren raised an eyebrow. *That girl with the tongue-twister name... Sayaka Kirasaka? Did we just raid Natsuki Minamiya's home turf?*
*Wait, is Asagi Aiba going to show up too?* Just as the thought crossed Ren's mind, a blonde girl appeared below. After confirming she was at the right place, she swiped her card and walked in.
Ren was rendered speechless. *She actually came. This is just ridiculous. What about the others?*
Just when Ren thought more anime characters he recognized would show up, he was left slightly disappointed. The next two arrivals were completely unfamiliar to him, and both were guys.
They were locals, much like Leo and the others, not characters from any anime. This made Ren feel a bit of regret. *But as of now, the class has 55 people, right?*
Although the dorm could house 80 people, it surely wouldn't be completely filled, would it? Just as Ren was pondering this, his phone suddenly buzzed with a text message. He picked it up and saw it was from Natsuki Minamiya.
Natsuki Minamiya: [Pull me into your group chat. While you're at it, add all the newly arrived students, and make me an admin.]
Seeing the message, Ren was speechless. *Logically speaking, shouldn't you create your own group chat? And be the group owner yourself?*
After grumbling inwardly, Ren added her to the chat and sent a message to the group: "Someone pull the new students in. The ones on the second floor and the fifth floor."
Not long after the message was sent, everyone started popping up in the chat. Ren casually set Natsuki Minamiya as an admin. About five minutes later, several more people were added to the group.
A few were added by the classmates, while others were pulled in by Natsuki Minamiya. Looking at their avatars, they were people Ren and the others were very familiar with. *Shizuka Hiratsuka and Yor Forger?*
Yukino Yukinoshita: [Shizuka Hiratsuka, why are you here? (Kitten Question Mark Emoji)]
Shizuka Hiratsuka: [Call me Teaching Assistant Hiratsuka. Bet you didn't see that coming! I'm your TA now. (Smug Emoji)]
Natsuki Minamiya: [Tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM, gather in the classroom. Don't be late. Those who just arrived, take some time to get to know each other. @Ren Isana, this is your class representative from now on. When you go to other worlds for missions, you will all follow his orders.]
After notifying all the students, Natsuki Minamiya casually propped Ren up, firmly establishing his authority in the class. The newly joined students had to listen to Ren—this wasn't a discussion; it was an order.
These words weren't meant for Ren and his original classmates, but for the newcomers. Seeing this message, the new students were quite surprised.
However, no one had any objections. To them, it didn't matter who the class rep was, and none of them were interested in the position anyway.
Having said her piece, Natsuki Minamiya finally lifted the chat mute. Immediately, a flurry of "Received" messages flooded the screen. Aside from that, Sora was busy aggressively promoting the magic files in the group to the newcomers.
Ren pondered Natsuki Minamiya's message. *Follow my orders for everything when heading to other worlds? Does that mean we'll be going to other worlds soon?*
Ren Isana: [@Natsuki Minamiya, are we heading to other worlds next?]
The moment this message was sent, the entire group chat fell silent. Staring at Ren's text, everyone's eyes lit up. *New jobs already?* The students who had been in Ren's class from the start couldn't help but feel a surge of anticipation.
Natsuki Minamiya: [Yes. I'll give you the details tomorrow and explain the specific arrangements then.]
She didn't deny it, simply dropping that sentence before going quiet. Seeing this, Ren muttered to himself. He had thought they would need to attend regular classes for a good while.
To think there was already something for him to do right as school started? This was truly absurd. Was their class just going to be exploring other worlds from now on?
At this thought, Ren's eyes brightened. If that was the case, it wasn't a bad deal at all. He was actually looking forward to it. Compared to suffering through boring classes at school, he much preferred playing around in other worlds.
After all, regular studying was far too easy for him. Going to other worlds to learn new things was what he anticipated the most.
Sora: [@Ren Isana, Class Rep, it's noon. Time to eat?]
Ren Isana: [Let's eat. The new students should come along too. We're all one big group now.]
Seeing Sora's message, Ren extended an invitation to the newcomers. It seemed everyone had arrived; the entire class consisted of exactly 55 people.
*An odd number...* Forming teams might be a bit troublesome. After all, they usually operated in four-person squads. Were they going to switch to five-person squads now? Otherwise, one team would be left with only three people.
If they did five-person squads, that would make exactly 11 teams. That actually sounded pretty good. Ren sighed and decided not to overthink it. He'd just wait and see how Natsuki Minamiya arranged things tomorrow.
Seeing Ren's message, the people in the group chat eagerly responded. Not a single person refused. Gathering for a meal was a great way for everyone to get acquainted.
Ren locked his door and headed downstairs. The others quickly emerged from their rooms as well. Once everyone had gathered, the massive group set off toward the dining hall together.
Along the way, everyone got to know each other. The new guys were all pretty easy to get along with, so it didn't take long for them to blend right in. As for the girls, it went without saying—with an extreme extrovert like Sora around, there was zero worry about the new girls failing to integrate.