Chapter 6:

Storming Feelings

Level Up at Love School

What was that?

Did I faint?

And how did I end up back in my room?

I shook my head, trying to clear the haze that lingered after my sudden awakening. I remembered what the system told me right before fainting.

Yeah, I completely failed… And I even lost some of my EP. This is looking bad.

My confidence, bolstered by my experience from my relationship with Sakura, had made me believe that navigating Love School would be a breeze. But now I saw the truth. I had been far too arrogant.

As I rose fom my bed, I moved to drink water, out of habit from the real world, only to realize that water held no real effect here.

But that exam failure…

I have to focus.

I’ll never be allowed to love Sakura if I keep making such stupid mistakes.

And so I decided to head towards the training grounds and challenge Brana again.

***

“Y-you’re kidding…”

I scanned the once-active playground and couldn’t comprehend what was happening.

“Where are all the doors?!”

My mind raced with confusion. How could I retake the test if the doors had vanished? Did I only get one chance?

No, it couldn't be.

If Love School followed any semblance of a regular educational system, even with its RPG twist, there must be a possibility of retakes.

Uncertain of my next move, I decided to return to the classroom.

***

When I entered, the class was already full of students, including Sakura.

“Aah, here you are, dude! Come, have a seat!”

Svet-sensei greeted me and I sat down next to Sakura.

She was fully focused on the lesson.

I felt like something was missing in the classroom.

No.

Rather someone was missing.

Wait.

Where is the purple haired guy with the headphones? I believe his name was Plamen.

Did he also fail the test and hasn’t woken up yet?

“Alright, squad. Today’s lecture is about feelings.”

Svet-sensei wrote the word ‘feelings’ on the blackboard.

Wait a sec.

“Laska… why are we getting a second lecture in a single day?” I leaned toward my girlfriend and asked in a soft voice so that the teacher couldn’t hear me.

“Huh? This is our first lecture of the day, Kiss.”

“What do you mean? Didn’t we just have the lecture about Love and that exam?”

“But… that was ten days ago.”

What?

Ten days ago?!

“W-what do you mean…?”

“Oh, you don’t know? You failed the ‘Love’ exam and therefore were restarted to your last Checkpoint. You were asleep for whole 10 days, which means, you must have lost 10 EPs.”

Laska has explained thoroughly. I must get used to calling her Laska already.

Anyways, so it seems that those Educational Points are actually our time. I lost 10 EPs and it translated into me missing school for ten days.

This could spell an issue. The others had time to study or level up, how do I catch up to them now?

“Hey, Laska, what’s that on your hand?”

My eyes fell upon her delicate fingers and I noticed there was some kind of a tattoo on Laska’s pinky finger, a letter ‘L’.

“Oh this? That’s what you get as a proof of clearing an exam. There is going to be seven exams in total.”

There’s seven exams and I already failed the first one… But Laska… she looks so… strong all of a sudden.

“So, squad! Why do you think we have to learn about other feelings than love?”

“I know, I know!” An orange-haired girl whose brown eyes were being covered by her messy bangs raised her hand high.

“Well, Burka? Tell us.”

Laska looked at her with a smile and I watched Burka closely, too.

“It’s because love isn’t the only vital aspect of a relationship. We have to understand the other emotions as well, right? Right??”

Burka was so impatient that I thought we would fall from her chair, trying to raise her hand higher and higher every time she spoke another part of the sentence.

“That’s correct, dudette!”

“Teehee!” Burka put her hands on her cheeks and sank into her chair proudly.

“Love isn’t everything. Trust, compassion, patience, care, kindness… and many other aspects coming from your honest feelings are as important as love.” Svet-sensei continued, “Let’s try a model situation. Burka, can you come here?”

“Sure!”

Burka sprung from her desk and stood near our sensei.

“Let’s pretend that I am your boyfriend, we have been dating for 7 months. You hate it when I talk about my colleague at work, because you’re jealous. So just play along and try to make me stop in a non-toxic way.”

“Wow, I like that!! Let’s do it, sensei!” Burka hopped on her legs a little.

“…So we went for such a great lunch today, my colleague Miria ordered shrimp toasts and I had the most amazing sushi! Her toast looked so great so she gave me a bite, and-”

“Darling!” Burka stopped sensei’s monologue. “I’m happy for you that you had such a fun day at work and that you get along with your friend Miria so well, but… I can’t help but feel a little insecure about it.”

“Why insecure? We’re just colleagues, we’re not even friends, dud- … darling!”

“She is very pretty and I cannot compare to her…”

“You can compare to any girl on this planet! But true that if you’re the most beautiful one, Miria would be close second.”

“Skill: ‘Mirror Reflection!’”

Burka made the heart-shaped hand sign and shouted something that sounded like a badass attack right from the shonen.

When she called the name of the move, a little mirror appeared out of her hand, facing Svet-sensei.

I am not sure what that skill was but will a mirror-based skill work on him since his face is always covered by that cloth?

“I see.”

It worked?!

“So this is how you feel, Burka… But trust me, there is seriously no reason for you to be insecure. I love only you.”

“Thank you, darling… But I’d rather you respect me more and not talk about Miria in that way. I trust you. And I don’t want to have any doubts.”

“And this, my squad, was a very well handled situation! You may sit down, Burka girl!”

“Thank you, sensei!!” She bowed down and cheerfully returned to her desk. “Yay, I grew to level twelve! Look, I finally caught up to you, Laska!”

“I’m very glad for you, Burka…!” Laska responded honestly but her eyes looked still sad.

“Level twelve?! But I am still just a level two! Laska, don’t tell me…!” I realized that level twelve was far too away right now.

“Well, yeah… while you were sleeping, we all leveled up.”

“Did you make a new friend?”

“That too!” Laska smiled through those melancholic eyes and closed them for a second.

“So, what do you think has just happened in our little acting scene?” Svet-sensei asked.

“She shared her feelings!”

“Burka effectively explained what was bothering her!”

“They both showed a sign of respect for each other and Burka even showcased trust!”

Multiple students have one by one analyzed the situation and answered sensei’s question.

“That’s correct! Burka has utilized a calm manner of speech so that she wouldn’t make it worse and prevented any potential escalation. All the while she opened herself like a book and I could see her true feelings in the ‘Mirror Reflection’.”

“But sensei,” I raised my hand politely, “how does this skill help her in coping with such situations in real world? Nobody has a magical skill that they could use in order to let another person gaze into their soul.”

“That’s true, my dude. But when it comes to Love School, it’s not about the ‘magic’ itself that you use. But rather when and how you choose to use it. That asks for a high emotional intelligence, which is definitely needed in a harmonic relationship.“

Sometimes, I wonder what the government even expects of us.

“Well! Time to put your knowledge into practice!”

***

Svet-sensei took us to the training grounds again.

I found myself in front of the same scenery as before.

“Your assignment: There has been an issue in your relationship. Rebuild or move on!”

Our sensei commanded the door and we were all sucked into a different dimension again.

***

This time, I appeared in a somewhat lavish apartment. I was sitting on a couch when I suddenly heard someone knocking on the door.

I stood up and opened, only to find out that a familiar face was standing outside, crying.

“I’m so sorry~!!!”

“B-Brana?”