Chapter 108.2 Merfolk Shore
The weather was good on the following day. Having learned from the previous day, everyone applied sunscreen before heading out.
With their campus cards, Wen Shi and the others could finally have breakfast in the cafeteria.
At a nearby table, there were other players also examining their class schedules.
The information on the form was quite detailed, including class locations and teachers, all clearly marked. The new students’ first class was in Room 102 of the Melodic Harmony Building, a two-hour lecture with a fifteen-minute break after each hour.
A senior student passed by and upon seeing the teaching staff, he paused, sneering, “Mr. Ruan detests people without real talent the most. You special admissions students, get ready to be put in your place.”
After saying that, he moved to another table.
Two students were already sitting at that table. One of them grinned, “Mr. Ruan is actually handling new students this year. Don’t know if they’re lucky or unlucky.”
“For those with talent, it’s certainly a good thing. As for those who got in through special admissions, hehe.”
Mingzhu Music Academy sent an external admissions team every year to various places to scout for new students. The rationale was to gather more diverse musical characteristics from different regions and achieve a broad inclusivity.
The voices of the senior students were loud. It seemed deliberate, as if they wanted to create psychological pressure.
This tactic worked pretty well. Not every player was well-versed in music theory. Many were tone-deaf. Upon hearing these comments, their expressions turned unpleasant.
Wen Shi calmly observed the senior students’ behavior and noticed that there was no mixing of genders while seated. Everyone seemed afraid of crossing the boundaries of the no-romance regulation.
He shrugged. “They forbid dating, but they make all the new students, regardless of gender, live in the same building.”
Ji Yuanzhi, who had just returned from getting food, set down his tray. “Back when I was in university, there was a girls’ dormitory where students would commit suicide every year. But they couldn’t tear down the building. They eventually converted it into a boys’ dormitory.”
Wen Shi: “Did it work?”
Ji Yuanzhi shook his head, indicating he didn’t know. “They changed it the year after I graduated.”
But at least one thing was clear.
The academy’s strict prohibition on romantic relationships and their actions—like housing all the students together—probably stemmed from frequent haunting incidents. They likely wanted to suppress these paranormal occurences with so-called Yang energy.
Breakfast took up some time. After the meal, the group hurried towards the Melodic Harmony Building.
Room 102 was an amphitheater-style classroom that could accommodate two classes of students.
The seats in the last two rows were all taken, and in the front row closest to the podium, there was only one student seated: the Wandering Corpse.
Wen Shi: “……”
He wasn’t surprised at all.
“To the second row.” Just before the Wandering Corpse got killed due to his terrible singing, he could only create a supernatural event to promptly summon the other party back.
After Wen Shi sat down, he kept massaging his temples. He felt that the Wandering Corpe’s already limited loyalty was hanging by a thread.
Sensing his master’s presence, the Wandering Corpse turned his head and patted his not-so-heartbeat-filled chest. His dim eyes regained some liveliness. “I’m making my debut.”
Wen Shi managed an encouraging smile and gave a thumbs up. “You’re making your debut.”
Then, the loyalty rating surged by 0.5.
At nine fifty, all the surviving players were present.
The cakes were in limited quantity. Wen Shi didn’t believe everyone completed their quests last night. Considering the past day, the medical results must be out by now. The fact that no one had been eliminated indicated that failing the blood test wouldn’t lead to instant death.
One student had been expelled for a tattoo, yet those with failed medical results were retained.
Wen Shi’s expression darkened.
He thought of a phrase from the background story: “For medicinal, culinary, and entertainment purposes.”
The academy’s arduous search for the whereabouts of merfolk wasn’t solely about hunting them down.
A melodious piano tune drifted in.
Accompanied by the bell signaling the start of class, a man of exceptional appearance and aura entered the classroom. With gentle facial features, he stood at the podium, giving off the sensation of a refreshing breeze brushing against one’s face.
The principal and two mentors entered with him.
The principal exuded a composed and amiable aura. The male mentor beside him was as icy as a mountain, his narrow eyes carried a commanding presence. The other female mentor had extremely fair skin, radiating a faint glow like a pearl.
They found three vacant seats at random. Mr. Ruan at the podium explained, “This session is an open class.”
From top to bottom positions, everyone’s voice at Mingzhu Academy possessed a magnetic quality. When each person spoke, it was as though they were singing.
“I believe everyone knows how to read sheet music.” Mr. Ruan appeared gentle but was actually quite firm, implicitly requiring the students to know such thing.
There was a vintage gramophone in the classroom. As the record turned, the projector displayed the musical score.
The title of the song was “A Warm Day in the Sunshine.”
Although the title sounded normal, the melody was full of twists and turns. The first thirty seconds had an upbeat rhythm, capturing the bright sun overhead. However, after thirty seconds, the singer’s voice became indistinguishable in terms of gender. Both the lyrics and the melody took a sharp dive. Amid the increasingly eerie tune, there were hints of sobbing and screaming.
If Wen Shi were to describe it, the song could be expanded to “People Burned by the Sun.”
He adjusted his posture and, disregarding the strange and chilling song, tried to listen with an appreciative expression.
Amidst the blood-curdling singing, the system’s prompt sounded like a refreshing breeze:
【Main Quest: Participate in the Concert
Quest Details: Mingzhu Music Academy will soon hold a concert. As a member of the academy, how could you miss this grand event?
Note: Only students with overall weekly rankings in the top fifty are eligible to attend the concert. Points rewards are then calculated as usual after the instance concludes.
Note: If you can secure a performance slot at the concert, rewards will be doubled.
Note: If you survive until the concert’s performance is over but don’t have a chance to attend or perform, rewards for that session will not be granted.】
In the tiered classroom, players instinctively sat up straight, clearly having received the issued quest.
In the S-level instance, elite players weren’t too panicked. One significant reason was the high number of participants, inevitably including average players brought in as cannon fodders.
The main quest had reappeared quickly, as if everything was proceeding smoothly.
As the song on the record reached its conclusion, Mr. Ruan stepped down from the podium and stood by the gramophone. He rested a hand on the black box below it. “To assess everyone’s musical ability, I will randomly select a student to repeat what was just sung.”
The classroom fell silent, everyone praying not to be chosen.
Mr. Ruan held the roster in his right hand, fixing his gaze on a name. “Eulia.”
Players who weren’t chosen let out a sigh of relief.
Nobody in the room stood up.
Mr. Ruan’s gentle tone gained a hint of coldness as he repeated himself.
Ji Yuanzhi kicked the seat in front and whispered, “Eulia, it’s you.”
Both the Wandering Corpse and Wen Shi were equally surprised: Wait, Eulia?
Ji Yuanzhi: “……”
Did you guys even bother to check whose acceptance letter was snatched?
Before Mr. Ruan’s gaze grew ominous and he called the name for the third time, the Wandering Corpse stood up.
He couldn’t read sheet music, but he wasn’t afraid of the situation. He attempted to mimic the melody he had just heard. Without waiting for the teacher’s prompt, he prepared to sing.
Wen Shi’s heart raced. The Wandering Corpse couldn’t even speak clearly, let alone sing. The only silver lining was that there was no instrument class today. If it was just singing, at worst, he’d go off-key.
As the principal entered the room, he hardly blinked, his slightly dim eyes fixing on the Wandering Corpse.
The mentors also adjusted their sitting postures slightly.
For those well-versed in music theory, whether it was genuine or fake singing, errors and flaws, intentional bad singing–all of it could be discerned with a pair of ears.
The Wandering Corpse seemed to be searching for the right key, producing a “raspy” sound from his throat. Feeling ready, he opened his mouth to begin–
“It’s a sunny day on the shore…”
This wasn’t a song. It was a venomous curse.
Wen Shi and the other two were the closest. They felt as if a bulldozer had just passed by, swiftly followed by speeding motorcycles. The jet-like noise surrounded their ears.
Nausea, dizziness, disgust… eventually, they all felt as if they had been hit by a wrecking ball.
Just as Wen Shi was considering whether to exchange for earplugs, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that Jian Qingrong’s left eye socket, wrapped in gauze, was starting to ooze blood. Song Yan’s nose was bleeding, and Ji Yuanzhi had a hint of blood at the corner of his mouth. He had accidentally bitten his tongue when the Wandering Corpse started singing.
“!” Were they all bleeding from their seven orifices?
Compared to the Heavenly Melody skill, the Wandering Corpse’s singing induced the same nauseating impulse, although it lacked the ability to stack and impose a buff that slows down the actions of other creatures.
Wen Shi looked at Mr. Ruan, who was said to value real talent. Veins were bulging on his hand, which was resting on the edge of the black box. The sturdy box seemed on the brink of breaking at one corner.
The mentors and the principal, who were usually exposed to refined music, had never endured such torment before.
“How could this be?”
Wen Shi frowned. The Wandering Corpse’s singing was clearly off. Could it be because of the harp? That harp had absorbed the blood of the resentful craftsman. Perhaps the Wandering Corpse inherited these grudges when he sang.
As his master, Wen Shi was immune to most of all the damage the Wandering Corpse came to bring. While he was still pondering, he heard a retching sound.
The principal seemed to be struggling.
Wen Shi quickly raised his hand, stood up, and fetched the trash can from the front of the classroom. He respectfully handed it to the principal. “You can vomit here.”
In order to receive rewards, he had to strive to secure a performance slot at the music concert. Gaining the approval of the higher-ups was crucial.
The principal, tormented by the Wandering Corpse’s singing, looked at Wen Shi. “You…”
“Hello, Principal. My name is Aaron,” Wen Shi introduced himself proactively, “I’m skilled in dancing.”
A sword dance that enlivened all directions with the motion of the weapon.
The Wandering Corpse, who was singing, looked over. During the “Dark Wedding,” he had witnessed Wen Shi’s sword dance and greatly appreciated the charm it held.
When the main quest prompt sounded, as Wen Shi’s war companion, the Wandering Corpse once again intermittently eavesdropped on it. Like Wen Shi, he was quite envious of the opportunity to perform at the music concert.
They must debut as a duo. The Wandering Corpse had even come up with a name for them: Melodic Dance Pair.
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