Januar sat in his seat as usual. His body ached and begged for a little more sleep, but Januar wouldn't allow it. Usually, it wasn't long before Januar's body just took what it wanted, but on this day, a restlessness kept Januar awake.

His fingers tapped on the ElectroPad in front of him. The image alternately zoomed in and out, only making Januar more nervous.

"Cut it out. What's wrong?" Normally Kay kept quiet, though no one could hear him except for his cardholder, the same wasn't true for Januar. To avoid attracting negative attention, the two decided to talk to each other only during pauses.

Januar shrugged his shoulders slightly as if a shiver had gone down his spine, but Kay understood his meaning.

Januar himself did not know what was going on, a bad feeling as if something was about to happen clung to his heart and could not be shaken off.

Had something happened to his family?

This thought robbed him of all remaining calm, he would've liked to stand up right here and now and rush home. Unfortunately, skipping school was a big offense, much bigger than falling asleep in class, and Januar didn't want to disappoint his family with such a blemish on his grade.

Januar took his hand off the ElectroPad, intentionally challenging sleep by closing his eyes while listening to the professor's monologue.

Unfortunately, even that didn't work.

His eyes darted around the classroom, just about everyone focused on the new and old material the teacher was raving about. But Januar noticed that some of his classmates kept glancing over to him.

An uneasy feeling joined his restlessness.

He quickly averted his gaze from his classmates and looked out the window instead. Feigning ignorance.

Seven pairs of red eyes stared at him.

Januar bolted up from his seat.

"Mr. Stolz! Are you trying to scare me to death?!" the professor hissed at him in shock. Januar also flinched in fright, he quickly turned to his teacher and stuttered softly, "D-do you mind if I go to the bathroom?"
Januar blushed heavily at this question, unfortunately, this had been the only excuse he could think of at the top of his head.

"You're giving me a heart attack because you have to go to the bathroom? If you're not going to pay attention, please at least don't disrupt class. In the future, you can just leave, but as inconspicuously as possible, are we clear?" The teacher resolutely pushed up her glasses, a soft giggle going around the classroom.

Januar muttered a 'Yes.' before rushing out of the room.

After closing the door behind him, his eyes wandered to the windows that adorned and at the same time illuminated the entire hallway.

He had to swallow hard to suppress the scream that wanted to escape from his lips.

Seven pairs of red eyes were still glaring at him. But the ravens had lost their lively and perfect form.

Blood dripped from pitch black feathers like tar, necks were twisted in a deathly fashion, shimmering plumage was missing, unable to hide the bones underneath. This way, all 7 sat crammed on the window ledge, watching Januar through the glass.

Januar gulped once more, turned on his heel, and ran toward the restrooms.

He locked the door of a stall and huddled on top of a toilet.

"What the hell was that?!" Kay stood with his back to Januar as if to make sure those horrendous creatures didn't follow them.

'Pak!'

They both whirled around and looked at the source of this noise.

A lavishly decorated card now lay still on the floor, harmless compared to what lurked outside.

Januar bent over, the fingers, which were trying to lift the card from the floor, trembling.

Seven ravens looked down on a blue spot, which could barely be identified as sage. Their sharp claws dug into the branch they were sitting on, as though it was about to shatter into a thousand pieces. Their red eyes blazed with hatred, and if looked directly at them, it was as if you were the object of their hatred.

The Seven Ravens.

This title was scrawled over the ravens as if they wanted to tease you.

Slowly, Januar's hand with the card dropped onto his leg.

His heart pounded hard against his ribs.

How could this be?

How was it possible for him to already hold his second Soul-Realm Card in his hands?

And these ravens, he had never heard of card players hallucinating because of their cards.

Kay also understood the weight of this discovery. After 2 months in this world, most of which he spent with January at school, he had to remember at least this much.

"How much time do you have before you are pulled into a 'Realm'?"

The most important thing now was preparation, which meant finding a quiet room in which no one would interrupt Januar.

"About an hour!" answered Januar hastily, quickly leaving the cubicle.

After a glance at his ComWatch, Januar realized that only 20 minutes of the lesson remained. Relief flooded his body, the way home took 10 minutes at most, so he had plenty of time.

Januar intentionally avoided looking at the windows, when he stepped back into the classroom, the teacher did not even glance at him. And he sat down in his seat without a word.

Januar quietly began to pack his things so that he could leave immediately after class ended.

Twenty minutes flew by.

As soon as the professor rang the end of the lesson, Januar jumped from his seat and headed for the exit. But just like yesterday, one of Januar's classmates got in the way. Januar paused briefly before running past them and rushing down the hall.

"Look out, to your left!"

Thanks to Kay's warning, Januar was just able to leap to the right before a fist hit the spot where he had been standing only seconds before. He immediately recognized his attacker's steel gauntlets.

Leopold, along with a few other of their classmates, began to surround him, blocking all possible escape routes.

"Too bad, didn't think you would be able to dodge. Doesn't matter, now we have all the time in the world to give you a well deserved beating," Leopold shrugged as he watched Januar regain his footing.

As though Leopold's words were the starting signal, the students lunged at Januar. Januar did his best not to get hit by their fists and kicks as he searched for a way out. Leopold also swung his steel fist, forcing Januar into the defensive.

"You may have gotten a little faster, but unfortunately you're still the same old useless Jan," Leopold laughed as the other students relentlessly beat Januar.

He kept Januar from dodging and the others did the rest, a perfect strategy! Fred really had the best ideas! Leopold watched with satisfaction as Januar was gradually driven into a corner, he couldn't wait to punch him once or twice himself.

A minute passed and just as Januar seemed to give in despite his enhanced physique, he grabbed Leopold's fist with one hand.

"Now!"

After this shout, Januar swung his leg around, his waist twisting, the momentum from the movement robbing Leopold of his balance. The latter fell forward and was yanked along by Januar as he built up even more momentum. Suddenly, Januar released his grip, but because of inertia and the extra weight of his gloves, Leopold stumbled into the encirclement of classmates.

His fall prevented by his classmates, Leopold looked up, but Januar had also taken advantage of inertia. He dashed away from them, this time at full speed. Once again, the others could only look on in stupefaction.

"It worked, haha! I beat Leopold!" Januar squealed happily, even though he knew he had caught Leopold off guard with his attack and it wasn't entirely fair, he couldn't contain his joy at his victory.

Kay nodded with a grin.

To think that discus throwing could be used for something like this... Maybe they could try to get revenge on Januar's classmates with this technique!

He just had to keep training Januar and eventually-

Suddenly two pairs of hands grabbed Januar and dragged him into an alley not far from the school, before he could even think of fighting back, a cloth was pressed over his mouth and nose.

The world around him sank into an overpowering black.