I slowly opened my eyes and faced an unfamiliar ceiling. However, I was very comfortable where I was, so I remained still.

  '...Did I pass out in the real world when I died?'

  My suspicions were confirmed as I saw a blonde nurse approach me. I turned my head to face her, and she let out a small sigh.

  "...My goodness. It's the first day and you've already ended up here. I'm assuming you died in the virtual world, yes?"

  "That's right."

  "Do you feel any pain right now, as if you lost your limbs?"

  "No."

  "Are you feeling afraid, as if you might die at any given moment?"

  "No."

  "Is there any sort of mental confusion, as if you're not sure why you should be alive right now?"

  "No."

  The nurse sighed again, but this time it was a sigh of relief as she smiled at me afterwards.

  "It looks like you have a strong mentality. It can be jarring for anyone to face death, even in a virtual world, so it's a relief that you seem alright. Anyways, the ranking exam has been over for a long while, so feel free to return to your dorm since you're feeling well. If you ever start feeling any of the symptoms I mentioned earlier though, don't be afraid to come visit me here. Evergreen Academy has some of the best mental health resources out there, and I'd be more than happy to help."

  "Understood. Thank you."

  I got up from the comfort of the sick bed and was about to leave the nurse's office, but the nurse spoke up again.

  "Oh, one other thing. A friend of yours came to visit earlier, but I wasn't sure whether you'd be in a stable condition or not when you woke up, so I sent him away. You might want to go reassure him."

  "...Alright, thanks for letting me know."

  I left the nurse's office and returned to the dorm room quickly, because I had a feeling that Red was the friend the nurse had mentioned.

  When I opened the door, I saw Red anxiously fiddling with his phone on his bed. However, when he saw me enter, he stopped fiddling with it and opened his eyes wide.

  "Is that you Gene? I'm not hallucinating, right?"

  "Why would you be hallucinating?"

  Red leaped up from his bed and put his hands on my shoulders, as if he were determining whether or not I was real. When he realized that I was in fact standing here, he broke out into a grin.

  "Ah! Gene! Why'd you scare me like that? I thought my one and only roommate was going to die!"

  Red aggressively shook my shoulders, and I tried my best to brush off his hands.

  "Isn't that a bit of an overreaction? At worst, I probably would've just fainted for like a week or something."

  "That's still serious! Don't you know that dying in a realistic virtual reality has been directly linked to cases of temporary mental instability?!"

  "The nurse mentioned something like that too... wait, isn't that just straight up grounds for a lawsuit? The virtual reality people should really work on a solution for that."

  "No, it's not. They're not liable because they list several warnings about the possible symptoms of using virtual reality and dying in virtual reality."

  "Huh. Is that how that works?"

  "Apparently. Oh, anyways! I got you some fruit!"

  Completely derailing the conversation, Red rushed over to the mini fridge and brought out several different packages of sliced fresh fruits.

  "It's a get well soon gift! I didn't know what fruit you liked, so I kind of just got them all."

  "I'm fine in terms of getting well soon but... isn't fresh fruit really expensive?"

  "Hm? I don't think so?"

  "Well... okay then, thank you for the gift."

  "You're welcome!"

  I was actually feeling quite hungry since I hadn't had anything since the morning, so I grabbed the package of sliced kiwi off of the counter and began eating that. It was good in the same way that fresh fruit is always good and juicy, but they were surprisingly not as delicious as the pancakes I had earlier in the morning.

  "...You should eat some fruit too."

  "But they're yours."

  "I feel awkward eating it alone."

  "Mm... alright then!"

  Red grabbed the strawberries and began eating those happily. But then he stopped eating them, and he looked at me like he had an epiphany.

  "Hey Gene."

  "Yeah?"

  "Let's go bake some cake!"

  "...What?"

  ? ? ?

  Somehow, I ended up sneaking into the school's kitchen with Red.

  Evergreen Academy actually had a huge canteen that served lunch and dinner to the students, however I had missed this time frame today because I was passed out. The canteen was attached to the staff kitchen, and Red had confidently crawled through the window where students passed in their trays while I had reluctantly followed. The dorm area had a kitchen too, but it was nowhere near as nice as the staff one.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  "So, you do know how to bake cake, right?"

  "Of course I do! In fact, I know how to bake and cook lots of different things!"

  "It sounds like you really enjoy making food."

  Red laughed, and he showed a very bright expression as he pulled the needed ingredients for the cake from the shelves.

  "Yeah! It's really fun... you know, when I was younger, I was a bit reluctant to start cooking. When I began though, I just felt so relaxed and... well, happy. But I think what truly made me fall in love with cooking is when I saw someone enjoy my food. I was just filled with immense pride and joy at seeing someone appreciate something that I made, you know?"

  "...I think I understand the feeling a little."

  I wasn't sure about the exact situation Red had described, but from my own experiences it felt nice when I was acknowledged for doing an excellent job with the dishes or cleaning up.

  "I'm a bit curious though. You seem to really like cooking, so why not become a chef instead of a hunter?"

  At my words, Red hesitated a little, and his bright expression lost some of its sincerity.

  "...Ah, well, I think being a hunter suits me more."

  "I see..."

  I didn't try to pry more into what Red had said. Everyone had their own secrets to keep, and it was up to them whether they wanted to tell others or not.

  I tried to think of another conversation topic to get rid of the slight awkwardness that had settled between us, but I couldn't think of anything. So instead, I just opted to apologize to him.

  "I'm sorry."

  "Huh? What for? You didn't ruin the cake, right?"

  "Of course not. I don't know anything about baking, so I haven't even gone within 5 feet of the bowl."

  "Oh! You should let me teach you then!"

  Red brightened right back up, and he looked at me with enthusiastic eyes.

  "...Okay. Sounds good."

  I gave a small smile and let Red guide me to the right ingredients and tools to use.

  'I guess there was nothing to worry about in the first place with Red's personality.'

  A couple of hours later, the cake was finished. It was a strawberry shortcake with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. It looked a bit messy, because Red had let me do the decorating, but what really mattered was the taste.

  I took a bite of cake with a little bit of everything on it. The soft texture of the cake combined with the silky and cool whipped cream made for a heavenly combination, and the burst of the strawberry afterwards perfectly complimented the taste.

  "It's good."

  "Yeah! We did great!"

  Red had a proud look on his face as he ate, and even though I didn't contribute much, I felt a little happier knowing that we baked this cake together.

  ? ? ?

  "Good morning everyone. Today, your ranks will be announced."

  It was already the next day, and I was intently listening to Instructor Barrett. I was actually pretty curious as to what rank I would get, although I expected it to be nothing great.

  "These ranks are split into three categories, each corresponding to one of the exams. They are also school wide, meaning you are competing against the sophmores, juniors, and seniors as well. Furthermore, there will be more chances for you to take the ranking exam later this year. So, don't be discouraged even if you get a low rank."

  A large screen slowly dropped down the ceiling from behind Instructor Barrett and showed everyone's ranks. They were split into three colors representing the three exams, red being offense, black being defense, and blue being support. Looking at the screen, I saw my name near the bottom of the offense list.

  'Gene Halvanna, Rank 392/403. Yeah, that about checks out.'

  Honestly, I was surprised that there were even eleven people who scored less than me. I figured they must've been people who were terrified of monsters, slackers, or people who miraculously got accepted into Evergreen Academy like me.

  I looked over to where Red was, and he seemed a bit disappointed with what rank he had. I scanned the screen from the bottom with my eyes and eventually found Red's name.

  'Red Maxard, Rank 365/403. Hey, that's not bad at all!'

  "Good job, Red."

  "Huh- oh, ah, thank you."

  "If you're disappointed, think about it this way. You're stronger than about half of our grade's offense students. Furthermore, this is just a baseline of our current abilities, without any training, experience, or education. You've got four years to work hard and get the rank you want, so take it step by step. No need to beat yourself up if you stumble a bit."

  Partially inspired by Instructor Reina's words, I tried to give some encouragement to Red. It worked, as Red's eyes became bright and he gave me a genuine smile.

  "...Man, having to listen to this encouragement speech feels a bit cheesy."

  "Next time I'll just leave you to wallow in your depression then."

  "Haha, sorry, sorry! In all seriousness though, thanks. I'm feeling optimistic now!"

  "No problem."

  In the time that we were chatting, Instructor Barrett had brought out a table with a lot of small things on it. It was hard to see what exactly they were though because I was sitting in the corner of the lecture hall with Red.

  "By now, you should've seen your rank. On this table, there are different colored and numbered name tags, and they correspond to the ranks that you achieved. Instructors will use these to identity you during class. If you are uncomfortable with displaying your rank, it's possible to hide your rank as well and just display your name.

  I've organized these name tags in the order that's on the board, so you shouldn't have too much trouble finding yours. Please come down in an organized manner and grab your name tag. Once you have it, return to your seat."

  After Instructor Barrett was finished speaking, he stepped aside and let everyone come down to get their name tags.

  "Oh! Gene! I'll grab your name tag for you! What rank did you get?"

  "Rank 392."

  "Ah... that's... uh..."

  "Yeah, I know it's a bit rough, but it's the rank I deserve right now."

  "...Well then, let's both work hard like you said and make it into the top 50 of our grade next time!"

  "...Yeah. Definitely."

  I smiled as Red enthusiastically joined the crowding students to grab our name tags. After a few minutes, he returned triumphantly and placed one into the palm of my hand.

  "Ta-da!"

  "Thanks."

  "No problem!"

  I carefully examined the name tag I was now holding, which was actually a metal pin. My name and rank was embossed on it in a strong ruby color, resembling the fact that I took the offense type exam. I also discovered that I could flip back my rank as well due to a small hinge in the back, hiding it from view as Instructor Barrett had mentioned.

  'The real question is how Evergreen Academy managed to make such high-quality name tags in less than a day.'

  Playing with the pin and letting my mind wander, my attention only snapped back to reality once Instructor Barrett continued talking.

  "There's one last thing for today's homeroom. As most of you know, since yesterday was the ranking exam, today starts your first real day of classes. However, individual schedules have not been made for each student yet. So, just for today, offense students will go to Instructor Reina, defense students will go to Instructor Jenny, and support students will go to Instructor Lee for morning classes. If you have any questions about anything, feel free to ask me, otherwise you may be dismissed."

  As Instructor Barrett completed his lecture, many students began leaving while some decided to stay behind. Red and I were a part of the former, and so we started finding our way towards Instructor Reina's classroom.