Battle Race in the Fantasy World

Battle Race in the Fantasy World – 54

EP.54 Is This the Main Story…?

“Ugh…”

“Groan…”

Kyle thought as he watched the students slump during the morning lecture.

Mondays were brutal no matter where you were in the world.

They had partied and lazed around all weekend, yet they looked like this.

He mused that playing the song from that yellow sponge would probably make them want to kill him.

“Is it because it’s Monday? Everyone seems to be struggling.”

Tisha whispered from beside him.

Always the model student, she didn’t miss a single word of the professor’s lecture.

When a question was asked, she would glance around before providing the perfect answer.

Had she focused on magic instead of sorcery, she might have been offered a teaching assistant position or a spot in graduate school.

Of course, Tisha wasn’t one to fall for such devilish temptations.

She also had decent physical stamina, so she didn’t tire easily.

Studying wasn’t just about brains; it also required the stamina to sit for hours.

She was different from those weaklings who succumbed to the horrors of Monday.

‘This is all because they lack training. Little chicks.’

If they experienced a Jonathan-style weekend, they’d realize Monday wasn’t so bad.

Clicking his tongue, Kyle tried to refocus on the lecture.

“Oh, and this time, the assignment will be a group project.”

“…?”

“Even though some time has passed since the semester started, everyone still seems too distant. So, I’ve decided on this.”

Professor, how can you suddenly drop such a major announcement on us?

At the very least, you should have hinted at the possibility of a group project to give us time to prepare.

This situation had crossed the line, and not just any line, but a very Jonathan-like one.

“…This is a bit much…”

See? Even Tisha thinks it’s over the top!

“Suddenly, I really hate Mondays.”

“Me too, Kyle.”

Looking at the professor who hoped this project would help them make friends,

Kyle sincerely wished for the professor’s hair to fall out.

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“This is really too much.”

They walked down the hallway after the lecture.

Tisha, unable to accept the situation, spoke in a very agitated tone.

“Not only is it a problem to suddenly announce a group project, but we can’t even choose our group members!”

“I kind of expected it. The professor mentioned it was to improve awkward relationships.”

“…So, you’re saying the professor arranged the groups to help us get to know each other?”

Exactly, Kyle said, and Tisha immediately responded, That’s the problem!

How could a forcibly arranged group work well when they were already awkward with each other?

If the goal was truly to improve relationships among students, it would be better to make the entire class one large group to foster cooperation.

“Do you think they’ll listen if we protest?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Why not?!”

“I saw some noble students protesting earlier, and they went back sulking.”

It seemed the professor saw it as a challenge to their authority.

From the professors’ perspective, it might be absurd to protest over something as trivial as group assignments.

The academy wasn’t a place for socializing, it was about learning to work with different people.

If students whined about not wanting to work with unfamiliar or strange classmates, it was naturally frustrating.

But from the students’ perspective, it was understandable.

Working on a project with people you know and get along with versus working with strangers who might not share your mindset—if given a choice, ten out of ten would choose the former.

‘Especially those noble brats. They’re like wild animals.’

From a distance, they looked as proud as peacocks.

But when approached, they would freak out and run away.

Don’t touch me. Don’t come near me. Just look from afar. That’s their attitude.

Of course, this mostly applied to Kyle.

Being associated with Jonathan had never brought him any good.

‘Maybe I should bribe the professor to assign me good group members.’

Obviously, this was just a fantasy. Doing so would get both the professor and the student in serious trouble.

In the Imperial Territory, such actions would incur the wrath of the Imperial family.

Moreover, there was an unspoken rule among the noble families at the academy.

Even if lobbying was common outside, they agreed to maintain some decorum within the academy.

Whether it was a remote rural family or one of the three grand duchies, everyone agreed.

‘Or should I just go crazy and subtly threaten them?’

There was no need to go to extremes.

Just going up to them and asking, “Do you know Jonathan?” while clenching a fist might do the trick.

Ah, come to think of it, that might be the most serious threat in the world.

No matter how he thought about it, the answer was always the same.

He just hoped the professor would assign a reasonable group.

That would be the most perfect scenario.

Ideally, a group with Tisha and filled with commoners.

Noble students were always uncomfortable and obviously cautious around him.

While commoner students looked at him with somewhat favorable eyes,

noble students looked at him like he was an ogre.

Or, if it had to be nobles, at least ones who were moderately cautious and moderately diligent.

A group that was neither too much nor too little would be the best.

‘But what is this sense of unease I feel?’

They say sad premonitions are never wrong.

The rising sense of foreboding made him feel a chill.

Moreover, this world was a ‘romance’ fantasy.

What did that mean? Events that entangled people were bound to happen.

Even if the current situation was far from the original storyline,

Kyle expected that these events would occur, whether he liked it or not.

And exactly one day later.

“…Damn it.”

Kyle cursed as he looked at the group list posted on the bulletin board.

Group 6: … … … … …

Group 7: Tisha, Ian, Elga, Leto, Kyle.

No matter how many times he looked, rubbed his eyes, and looked again, the list didn’t change.

He was stuck precisely, and annoyingly, among those people.

‘…That professor is a devil. I hope he goes bald.’

Just thinking about dealing with Ian, Elga, and Leto was frustrating enough.

And being placed at the very end, like ‘Extra 1’, was extremely irritating.

Considering his current status, he should have been placed at the front or at least second after Tisha.

If not, being in the middle would have been better, but he was at the very end.

He tried to think positively, considering it a blessing to be in the same group as Tisha.

But just seeing the name ‘Ian’ next to hers made him feel suffocated.

Group projects required cooperation above all, and Ian was the worst at that.

Moreover, the Elga and Leto combo was another source of stress.

Elga kept sending strange glances, adding to Kyle’s ominous feeling.

Leto, on the other hand, was spouting nonsense, seemingly oblivious to the frustration he was causing.

At this point, it wouldn’t be surprising if the professor had formed this group just to see if they would all die of stress.

‘Let’s think positively. Yes, positively. Ian, Tisha, and I have the recommendation from the Lord Byun-kyung. And Elga and Leto are here considering the recent improvement in relations between Littorio and Jonathan. So, the professor must have formed this group to help us get to know each other better! To honor our professor’s deep intentions… Yeah, right. Damn it.’

As Kyle sighed deeply once more, he heard Tisha’s voice from behind.

She greeted him and, after checking the bulletin board, muttered, ‘The group assignments are out?!’

Tisha’s expression upon seeing her group members was, to say the least, quite bizarre.

“…”

Her face clearly said, ‘What kind of group is this?’

She was in the same group as Ian, whom she disliked the most, and Elga, with whom she felt the most awkward.

The only reason she didn’t immediately grimace was because Kyle was in the same group.

If Kyle hadn’t been there, she might have rushed to the professor’s office to protest.

“The group is… quite something.”

Tisha’s muttering carried multiple layers of meaning.

Kyle couldn’t help but laugh.

‘Yeah, I expected this might happen. And I thought the chances were pretty high.’

This was a romance fantasy. The main characters were bound to get entangled in events.

He hadn’t read the main story, so he didn’t know if they successfully ended up together.

But he was sure that numerous events were scattered around, waiting to happen.

He had tried to keep his distance from such troublesome matters.

But now, he was so close that he had to worry about what would happen next.

So, why did the professor form this group in this way?

Was it because of the recommendation from the Lord Byun-kyung and the recent reconciliation between the two families?

Or was it the flow of the world guiding things without his knowledge?

Ironically, neither of these reasons was correct.

Why did the professor group these five together for the project?

‘You have to keep an eye on the troublemakers. It’s easier that way.’

One was a diligent student obsessed with sorcery.

Another was a master of provocation, excellent in swordsmanship but failing in everything else.

Then there was the daughter of a grand duchy, untouchable except by the imperial family, and her assistant.

Lastly, there was a terrifying monster who could overturn the academy with a smile.

‘It’s better to have one group causing trouble than five.’

This was the best solution the professor could come up with after much deliberation.

He had stressed so much over forming this group that he nearly went bald in a day.