Chapter 49 - "Allotropic"
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**Peak Harem Academy – Classroom. Years Ago.**
Sunlight poured through tall windows—warm, lazy, golden.
The room buzzed with chatter.
Rei sat near the back—arms crossed, eyes half-lidded, already bored.
Mio—two rows ahead—doodled mech designs in her notebook, humming softly.
Riku and Miku sat side by side—identical ponytails, identical smirks—passing notes.
Saki—front row, perfect posture—took notes like her life depended on it.
Akane—next to her—stared straight ahead, expression blank.
Near the window: a girl in a white lab coat (even in class), tiny locket dangling from her neck. She adjusted her goggles, muttering chemical formulas under her breath named Weaver.
Another girl—Shin—also in a lab coat, sat beside her, balancing a beaker on her head like a hat.
Classmates laughed.
"Oi, Shin! You gonna brew potions or what?"
Shin grinned—wild.
"Maybe. Want some exploding ink?"
More laughter.
The door slammed open.
**Colonel Hasegawa** strode in—uniform crisp, boots loud.
The room exploded.
"NOOOOOO!"
"Not today!"
"We already studied yesterday!"
"Ruka-chan already given us too much for study."
Hasegawa sighed—dramatic, long-suffering.
"Okay. Okay. Today we skip the textbook."
The class froze.
Eyes wide.
She grinned.
"I'll tell you something interesting we found recently."
Silence.
Everyone leaned forward.
Hasegawa activated the hologram.
Caves appeared—deep, glowing blue.
"As you know… the caves are still unfamiliar. The more we try to understand them… the more complex they get."
Rei raised her hand—rare.
"Why?"
Hasegawa looked at her.
"That's what we don't know. And after this discovery… it became even more complex."
She tapped the screen.
Zoomed in.
"Mana… is an allotropic energy state."
Murmurs.
Hasegawa continued.
"Mana is a gaseous allotrope of the atmosphere. These caves? They're Subterranean Refineries. High pressure. Mineral content. Natural pressurized reactors. They concentrate mana into liquid or solid states."
She zoomed again—on a monster.
"The monsters… are nothing but collections of cave energy."
The class went dead silent.
Everyone—shocked.
Hasegawa smiled—wicked.
"Think of it like a crystal growing in a saturated solution. The mana in the cave is super-saturated. When energy density hits critical mass—it binds with dust, minerals, organic matter. Self-assembly. Mana acts as molecular glue. Creates a colloidal body—solid particles suspended in an energy field."
She pointed.
"They're mindless. Their 'brain' is just chemical feedback loops. Designed to move toward any heat source threatening the cave's equilibrium."
She looked at the class.
"And humans… are walking heat sources."
"But.... there is something is weird for if it's chemical loop."
Akane raised her hand—quiet.
"Then… what about the core? Sana-sensei taught us we kill them by disrupting the core. If they're gas—"
Hasegawa turned.
"They're not gas. The core is still valid. But we're studying. Best explanation so far? The core is the Point of Nucleation. It connects everything. Sets it properly. Disrupt it—and the whole body collapses."
The buzzer rang—sharp.
Class ended.
Hasegawa sighed—mock-exhausted.
"Okay. Day off. Double homework."
The class erupted.
"BOOOOOO!"
"NO WAY!"
"We're not doing it!"
Hasegawa mimicked them—high-pitched, dramatic.
"I'll also not give you marks~"
Laughter filled the room.
Rei shook her head.
Mio giggled.
Saki hid a smile.
Akane stared at her notebook—expression unreadable.
Outside the window—
Sunlight continued to pour in.
Warm.
Golden.
Like nothing had changed.
But something had.
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*End*