The Mage of Primordial Chaos

"Ngh…" I shook my head as the world around me appeared once more, but… it was a far different sight from what I had been expecting.

Before, I was in an isolated alleyway between two buildings, but now, all around me was lush green space, bright and beautiful. The scent of nature overlapped with life, and all in all, this was just about the dream place to have a picnic.

A massive tree towered over me, providing a great shadow from the sunlight, and a few meters away, a large glistening blue lake lay. The sound of birds chirping and cicadas singing just made me want to close my eyes, lie down and relax, but…

"Big Brother Xuan Kai~!" Qing Yue's clear voice rang out to me, and I turned to see her rushing towards me with open arms. I caught her with a hug, and smiled slightly.

"Qing Yue… where exactly is this?"

"This is inside Ling Xin's Magic Artifact," Qing Yue explained, tilting her head. "She didn't explain it to you?"

"Uh… nope. I just kinda got tossed in here without any warning."

"My bad, my bad," Ling Xin said with a smile, suddenly appearing beside me. "I just wanted to give you a little surprise, y'know? Judging from your reaction, I'm guessing it worked."

"Well, yeah… for better or worse," I muttered under my breath. "But then again… what is this artifact, that can store a miniature world within it?"

"It's a pretty high-grade treasure I obtained when I was exploring a secret realm a while back," Ling Xin explained. "I'm not sure where it came from, but after getting it appraised at an appraisal center back before the old Fragment fell, I discovered its power and capabilities. It can be used as a storage space, a relaxation method, or an escape tool. Quite nice, is it not?"

All the girls present nodded and flashed her a solemn thumbs-up, indicating their satisfaction. And honestly? Who was I to disagree? This place was beautiful, to say the least.

"Yeah… it's a good place to sit and relax, that's for sure," I replied truthfully. "Kinda makes me wish I had one myself."

"Oh? If you want it, take it," Ling Xin said, smiling. "I don't really need it that much anyway."

I blinked. "You sure?"

"Of course. What's mine is yours."

"Right… I'll make it up to you sometime, then," I said. "But for now, let's eat. There's not much time left until lunch break is over."

I took out each of the girls' meals from my Space Locket, and they dug in happily. The food was, naturally, delicious, given it was made by top chefs from around the world personally hired by the IMF. We spent some quality time together, eating while appreciating the beautiful view inside of Ling Xin's Magic Artifact—which, by the way, was called the 'Pocket World Jewel'. It looked like a jade pendant from the outside, but actually carried a whole dimension of its own on the inside.

In any case, after we finished eating, it was time to head to the next class. Since all of us were in the same 'homeroom', it meant we had all of our courses together to avoid disorganization and just for simplicity's sake.

"Let's see here… it says the next course on our schedule for today is Physical Education. So basically… gym class?"

"I doubt it'll be that easy," I said, sighing. "If this was a normal school, sure, but Counterhex Academy is about as far away from that as you can get."

"Right. It's best to assume the worst, and prepare for some hellish military-style training coming up," Feng Mian said. "Depending on the personality of the teacher, though, we may be able to get let off easier than other classes…"

*****

Ah, yes. 'Depending on the personality of the teacher, though, we may be able to get off easier than the other classes.'

That's what Feng Mian had said. However, what she failed to mention, though, was the opposite—in case the personality of said teacher was strict and harsh.

Unfortunately for us, that was exactly the case for our class. And not only that, but said teacher had a brewing hatred for me as well thanks to certain things I've done in the past, and she was going to now take full advantage of this opportunity to pay it all back to me hundredfold.

Earlier, when Ling Xin dropped us off and headed to her Administration Campus since she had no other classes, being a homeroom teacher, she had flashed a meaningful wink at me before leaving. At the time, I didn't know what the gesture meant and thought it was just another one of her flirtatious tricks, but now I knew. I knew, and I was absolutely terrified.

I gulped.

"… Good afternoon, Ms. Sylvoir. It's a fine day outside, isn't it?"

Indeed, the Physical Education teacher was none other than Sylvoir, Elemental Founder of the Library of Infinite Beginnings and also someone who I very much regret offending. I had many questions, of course, but I couldn't ask them with everyone else around. I needed to ask her about it when we were private and alone together. 

Or… alternatively… I could use telepathy to communicate with her.

"… Good afternoon," Sylvoir replied with that cold voice of hers, shooting me a somewhat sinister smile. "You're right, the day is quite fine outside… perfect for some training."

"R-Right…"

Using telepathy, I then sent her a message of worry.

… You're not going to be biased towards me, right? If you purposely make me do more than everyone else, the others will pick up on something unusual.

'Worry not,' she replied in my head. 'I won't make it too obvious.'

So you're going to be doing it after all! And not 'too' obvious?! What's that supposed to mean? It's going to be sorta obvious, but not really?!

… Uh. My dear Miss Sylvoir. Is it too late for me to apologize?

'What happened to that nickname you're so fond of, Xuan Kai? Sylvie, was it?'

I'm sorry!!!!!

I wanted to collapse and kneel on the spot, but I couldn't exactly do that. Instead, I tried to worm my way out of the situation.

O-Okay, listen. You agreed to it, remember? That was the favor I asked of you. You can't deny that, right?

'Of course I cannot. Indeed, it is the favor you asked of me, and I agreed to let you address me as Sylvie. In other words, when you call me 'Sylvie', I will respond. However, nowhere in the favor you asked did you state that I had to be happy about this nickname, and could not take any vengeful actions against you for it. In other words… you dug your own grave, Xuan Kai.'

…

.....

… I'm dead, aren't I?