I tightened my hold on Qiqi's hand as we approached the Academy's gates. As usual, they were left open for easy access during the day. While the gates themselves had no signs of damage, the same could not be said for the rest of the place.

Qiqi and I both gasped as we took in the sight of the wide lawn with chunks of dirt dug up in random places. Bits of stone were missing from the main pathway, and I spied the wayward rocks strewn in the grass next to monster drops. Slime secretions, damaged masks, broken arrows, and chipped horns were scattered everywhere. The number of shiny monster drops was immense. Just how long ago did the monsters storm campus, and how many were left?

Evidence of monster activity didn't end there. While the actual campus buildings were further off, I could still see some walls that collapsed and corners crumbling away. Pillars of smoke rose from the rooftops of some buildings, and shattered glass marred the majority of the ground-level windows.

With all this carnage, I was expecting a battle of some sort to actively be taking place, but there was no one in sight. At this time of day, students would normally have been heading to the library to study after class or to the dining hall for dinner. I can't imagine what the chaos of a monster raid must have been like when that peace was disrupted.

"Qiqi," I looked down at her. "What are the protocols for active monster activity on campus?"

Qiqi reached up to the knapsack on my back and hopped a few times in an attempt to reach it. Quickly, I slipped the straps off my shoulders and lowered the knapsack enough for her to grab the notebook. Somehow, the very first page she turned to held the answer I was looking for.

"All available faculty and staff take position to defend against the monsters," she read. "Healers place themselves in the infirmary for potential patients. I am a healer. I should go to the infirmary now."

"What about the students?"

"Hm," she stared at the page. "Underclassmen take shelter in the auditorium. Upperclassmen take position to defend against the monsters alongside employees."

So they wanted the less-experienced students to gather all in one place to avoid the risk of injury. A trusted Academy employee was probably protecting those who couldn't defend themselves, but there were quite a few underclassmen. Could they have all made it to the auditorium without being intercepted by monsters?

"I need to go to the infirmary. Are you…an underclassman or an upperclassman?"

"I'm a first-year."

She would have known this if her memory wasn't so terrible. I did write it down on the infirmary register the first time we met, after all.

"Okay, you should go to the auditorium. Stay safe."

I shook my head. "I'm not letting you walk off to the infirmary all by yourself. You're so small, Qiqi. What if a monster shows up and attacks you?"

"I can do it."

"Alone?" I grabbed her hand again. "You don't have to. We can go to the infirmary together. I may not be an upperclassman, but it would make me feel better if I could see you reach the infirmary safely."

"I should have stayed indoors today," she sighed.

"Let's go." I led us in the direction of the infirmary. "We'll have to be quick, though. It would be bad if a big monster or a bunch of little monsters saw us as a vulnerable target."

"Faster?" Qiqi began to run. "Okay, faster."

Together, we rushed past the piles of monster loot and Academy rubble in a beeline to the infirmary. I kept my attention hyper-aware in the event that a monster was right around the corner, and I could even hear a few roars and growls in the distance.

Flashes of bright colors and loud booms echoed in the air as we drew closer to active combat. The employees and upperclassmen were still engaged in battle, it seemed. Luckily, none of the violence stood in the way of our end goal, and we reached the administration building where the infirmary was. Qiqi breathed heavily, and I felt bad for rushing her tiny frame.

"We're here." I pushed the door open and ushered Qiqi inside.

Qiqi nodded. "I'm here."

I peeked down the corridors from the front hall. They were empty. I strained my ears to listen for sounds of conflict. There was nothing. Qiqi should be safe here.

"Do you remember which way to the infirmary?"

She pointed eastward.

"Good," I smiled and handed her the knapsack. "You can have this back now. Take good care of the plants we gathered, okay?"

"Okay."

Assured she would be well enough on her own, I squared my shoulders and left the administration building.

The auditorium was oh-so-not conveniently located on the other side of campus, and I needed to stay on high alert for the entire duration. I proceeded quickly, sticking close to the sides of buildings where I could hide best and potentially jump through a broken window in case a monster was nearby.

Though time was of the essence, I hesitated after passing by the main fighting ring where Physical Combat was held. The weapon racks that were normally perfectly lined up and neatly organized were smashed to pieces. The splintered wood littered the dirt, and training weapons lay abandoned on the ground.

Sparing a precautionary glance in either direction, I jogged to the area and picked up one of the swords. This one had a metal blade, rather than the wooden ones we normally practiced with. The edges were rather dull, but it was better than nothing. If I were to run into a monster, at least I would be armed. There was also a worn belt sheath covered in dirt, and I quickly fastened it around my waist. Once the sword was secured in its sheath, I continued to move.

Suddenly, a high-pitched shriek sounded from behind a nearby building. It was very much human, and my stomach dropped at the thought of a helpless student getting mauled by a hilichurl—or worse. Without hesitation, I abandoned the auditorium route and carefully approached the source of the noise.

Kneeling nearby some bushes, I peered through the shrubbery to get a good look at what I was dealing with. There was a group of hilichurl fighters circling someone on the ground. I couldn't tell who it was since they were hunched down with arms lifted up to cover their head. An Anemo samachurl swung its elemental staff in the air, creating multiple Anemo currents even I could feel from where I hid.

I'd seen enough.

"Hey!" I jumped out from the bushes. "What do you think you're doing?"

The hilichurls jolted in unison and turned to see who the intruder was, shouting complaints I couldn't comprehend. The student cowering in the center looked up, and a flash of recognition crossed his tearful eyes.

"L-Lumine?"

"Huffman?" I gaped. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in the auditorium with the rest of the underclassmen? How did you end up—hold on a second."

Our conversation couldn't go on with the hilichurls rushing at me. They aimed for my head with their clubs and shouts, and I unsheathed my blade. Muscle memory from weeks of practice in Physical Combat kicked in as I dodged and dived their clumsy attacks. They all growled in frustration.

"My turn."

I launched myself at the closest hilichurl, striking it in the neck first with a horizontal strike. My attack followed with an upward backhand that carried my sword to a downward swoop. The three-hit combination was enough to take the one hilichurl down, but now the rest were coming at me as a group.

"I-I can help," Huffman offered.

I angled my sword at the raging hilichurls. "How?"

"Um…"

"Just stay out of my way." I attacked the group and avoided their counterstrikes. "I don't want to accidentally chop your head off."

"Okay…"

Another horizontal strike, but this time I charged my attack in a fury of slashes. This knocked the group of hilichurls back all at once, but they were quick to regain composure. To make matters worse, the Anemo samachurl began creating currents that pulled me inward, messing with my balance and kicking dirt in my face.

I squinted through the Anemo and tried to focus on the enemies, but my stance was off and I couldn't land any hits on their weak spots. If it weren't for all this Anemo…hang on. Two can play at this game. It was a risky gamble, having Huffman here with me, but I couldn't think of any better way to take out a group of monsters.

It was time to fight Anemo with Anemo.

After so many hours of honing in on my Anemo power, it was easy for me to locate the slight elemental pulse that dwelled deep in my core. As I reached for it, the dormant Anemo began to stir and grow, lightening my limbs and brightening the palms of my hands. To my surprise, Anemo extended to the sword in my grip. The dull blade held a faint glow as the essence of Anemo caressed its length.

I spared a quick glance at Huffman. He was in visible turmoil over the number of monsters, and I highly doubted he took notice of my change in ability.

Striking my opponents, they grunted and yelped as the sword cut through their feeble armor with ease. The elemental energy sharpened my blade, and I concentrated a heavy amount of Anemo at the tip of the sword. It gathered in a whirlwind and pulled the hilichurls—including the Anemo samachurl—in one helpful cluster. I struck them down with one final charged attack powered by Anemo, and the monsters wailed in agony as they were cut into pieces. The hilichurls fell away, mere dust in the wind. The echoes of their screams and the monster drops were the only remaining evidence they'd ever existed.

I let my Anemo power recede, expecting to feel the strong wave of fatigue that often ailed me after heavy usage. To my surprise, only a fraction of my energy was missing. The only difference in how I applied Anemo was how I wielded it with a sword. Could it be that using Anemo with something tangible made it less draining on the body? I stared at the sword in my hand, marveling at the notion.

Professor Minci once said Visions were conduits to the elements. It made sense that using my own body as a conduit would be physically taxing. Instead of using my bare hands to pull Anemo together, the sword can handle its power. This way, I can wield Anemo in any direction, with any amount of force, and as fast as I pleased.

"Archons, you did it!" Huffman exclaimed. "I knew you were crazy strong, but I didn't think you'd actually be able to take on a mob by yourself."

"Is this how you thank your savior?" I sheathed the sword.

"Y-You're absolutely right, thank you! Thank you so much, Lumine." Huffman wrung his hands. "If you hadn't shown up when you did, I would have been a goner for sure."

"Why aren't you at the auditorium?" I asked once more. "It isn't safe for you out here. Did you not have enough time to get there?"

He coughed. "Well, I actually was at the auditorium. I was headed to the library when the monsters attacked out of nowhere, and a bunch of professors jumped into action right away. Most of them went off to fight, but a few ushered the younger students to the auditorium. It really was a secure location."

"So, why did you leave?"

"They took attendance," he explained. "To account for all students. Most of us were accounted for, but a few people were missing. They sent out qualified upperclassmen to look for them, but I got really nervous and wanted to find her for myself. She has no Vision, so I thought she would need help with—"

"Who?"

"Ellin."

"You left the safety of the auditorium to save Ellin?"

"Y-Yeah."

"Because she doesn't have a Vision?"

He nodded.

"Huffman," I tried to make sense of his actions without giving myself a headache. "You don't have a Vision, either. What made you think you'd be able to save her—assuming she needed saving? It would have been best if you stayed put and let the upperclassmen do their job."

"You handled those hilichurls without a Vision just fine! I even saw you strategize your attacks and use the Anemo samachurl's power in your favor."

Oh, so he did notice. At least he misinterpreted my Anemo for the samachurl's Anemo. Huffman's lack of awareness wasn't so bad, after all.

"Ellin is safe," I assured him.

"You don't know that."

"Why are you so sure the upperclassmen don't have things under control? There are barely any monsters left compared to the numbers they started off with, from what I can tell."

"Ellin likes to train in private. She sees you as a role model, we all do. The Visionless student who has the power to break through expectations, that's you. She dreams of achieving even a fraction of your success one day. I know she goes off to secluded locations, practicing with various weapons away from the eyes of our more…judgemental peers."

"You think that's what she was doing when the monster raid began?"

"If she hid well enough, those upperclassmen would have a hard time finding her."

"I'm beginning to understand. Do you know where Ellin likes to train? Is that why you left the auditorium?"

"Well," he scratched his neck. "Not exactly. I've been getting closer with Ellin lately, and we have deep conversations about what it's like being an outlier. Occasionally, I'd catch her on the way to her training sessions, but she never let me come along—even though we're so close."

"So, you don't know?"

"I thought our connection would have led me to her."

There it was, the headache. "Huffman, go back to the auditorium."

"But—"

"Go," I pointed away. "I'll find her. I'll find Ellin."

"How can you be so sure?"

I stared at him. "Am I not your role model?"

"I did say that," he sighed.

"Then trust me."

alternative title: huffman suffering from illiteracy in his inability to read the room