Reborn as an SSS-Rank Guide in the Sentinel Academy [BL]

Julian stared up at Jayden, and for a second the whole hall felt like it was holding its breath along with him.

’say no I dare you. who talks shit like that, huh’ Julian thought, and honestly at this point he wasn’t even scared, just annoyed, the same kind of annoyed he used to get when some new guy on the wall thought he could skip the line and grab the good gear first.

"I don’t really respond well to dares," Julian said, stepping back off the edge of the platform, putting a little distance between himself and the Crown Prince’s face. "or threats. or whatever that was."

Jayden raised an eyebrow, clearly not used to somebody just... stepping away like that. "that wasn’t a threat little one."

"it sure sounded like one to me."

[Host handled that with remarkable composure]

’yeah well I’ve had worse things than a prince breathing down my neck’

A few students in the stands were whispering so loud now it filled up the whole hall, and Julian caught bits and pieces of it. first SSS-Rank Guide ever. Crown Prince wants him. Logan’s such an idiot. did you see his face. Julian tuned most of it out, focused instead on getting himself off that cracked platform and as far away from this mess as his legs could carry him.

Logan hadn’t moved from where he stood, still staring at Julian like he was trying to solve a puzzle that kept changing shape every time he looked at it. His guide leaned in and whispered something urgent, but Logan just brushed him off with a small shake of his head, eyes never leaving Julian once.

"where are you going little one," jayden asked, following a step behind, not rushing, just... there, like he had all the time in the world and fully intended to use every second of it.

"Ah! I’m going away from you of course what else," Julian said, not even bothering to look back.

"that’s very rude to treat an S-class Sentinel little guide."

"I’ve been called worse than that Mr. Sentinel."

Jayden actually laughed at that, short and surprised, like the sound caught even him off guard. "I like you," he said. "most people don’t talk to me like that. most people are terrified of me."

"most people probably have better sense than I do or even better I’ve got more sense than them," Julian muttered, and he meant it too, though not for the reason jayden probably thought.

He made it out into the hallway outside the evaluation hall, and the second those big doors shut behind him, cutting off all that noise, Julian finally let his shoulders drop a little.

’okay. that was a lot’ he thought, leaning back against the cool stone wall for a second, catching his breath like he’d actually been fighting something instead of just standing there getting stared at.

[System recommends host find a quiet location to process recent developments]

’good idea. genius idea actually. Let’s find somewhere quiet’

Julian pushed off the wall and started walking, no real direction, just away, letting the castle-slash-school hallways swallow him up until the noise behind him faded out completely. The halls here were huge, way too huge for a school if you asked him, ceilings so high they practically disappeared into shadow, and windows that stretched floor to some impossible height, showing off gardens outside that looked too perfect to be real.

He turned a corner without really thinking about it and ended up out on some balcony, overlooking what looked like training grounds down below, dozens of Sentinels running drills, sparring, some of them throwing actual fire and lightning around like it was nothing.

’right. this world’s got monsters at the border. this is normal here’ he thought, watching a girl down there knock a guy twice her size flat onto his back without even breaking a sweat.

[Aberration activity has been increasing along the northern border for the past three months. Frequency: forty percent higher than historical average]

Julian’s stomach dropped a little at that. ’wait, wait, wait. what did you just say’

[Aberration activity has been increasing...]

’no I heard you the first time. I mean, what kind of monsters are we actually talking about here. give me details’

[Insufficient data. Records classify Aberrations by threat level only, not by type. However...]

The System paused for just a second too long, long enough that Julian’s chest went tight waiting for it to finish.

[...recent reports from border scouts describe Aberration behavior matching patterns host is already familiar with. Slow movement. Group hunting tendencies. Resistance to standard elimination methods]

Julian’s blood went cold standing right there on that balcony, sun shining down warm and easy like nothing in the world was wrong.

’that’s not’ he started thinking, then stopped, because he already knew exactly what the System was about to say, he just didn’t want to hear it out loud.

[Host. The pattern matches zombie-type Aberrations from host’s previous world]

Julian gripped the balcony railing so hard his knuckles went white, staring down at those Sentinels training below, laughing, sparring, completely unaware.

’what’ he thought. ’no no no it can’t be. I made it out. I finally made it out. I thought I finally got peace’

Behind him, footsteps echoed down the hallway, slow and deliberate, and a voice he didn’t recognize this time called out from the shadows near the doorway...

"so you’re the one they’re all talking about. the SSS-Rank Guide who used to be nobody."

Julian spun around fast, and standing there in the doorway was a man he’d never seen in his life, dressed in a commander’s uniform, scars running down one side of his face, eyes sharp as knives.

"I’ve got a question for you," the man said, stepping closer, voice dropping low. "and I need you to answer very, very carefully."

"what kind of monster did you really fight, before you ended up here?".