WARNING: AUTHOR BIOMETRICS INDICATE ACADEMIC DISTRESS.

  Greetings, my beloved readers and enablers. You have successfully completed Arc 1: The Speckless Beginning. Your support has been marginally acceptable. (Okay, it’s been the one thing keeping me from spontaneously combusting. Happy?)

  LOGISTICAL UPDATE: This story was not scheduled for release. It was a tactical launch, an emergency ejection from my brain against all better judgment. I saw the cliffhanger, I knew you needed to suffer through it, and I pulled the lever. My impending exams can suck it.

  AUDIO LOG TRANSMISSION: AN EXAM FRUSTRATION SONG

  (To the tune of a very angsty pop-punk song)

  Woke up to a system screen,glowing in the dark

  Said"Welcome to your prof, now make your mark"

  Got a textbook for a weapon and a highlighter that's blue

  But the words all start to swim and I don't know what to do!

  My brain's a scrambled egg,my notes are a disgrace

  There's a giant,looming monster called a "D-" on my face!

  'Cause it's a CRITICAL HIT!From Academic Pain!

  My motivation's broken,bleeding on the floor again!

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  They call it"Final Exams," I call it a cursed spell!

  I'm a Level 1 Student in a Level 100 Hell!

  OH,THIS IS BULLSHIT!

  The professor's the final boss with a sneer upon his face

  Dropping trick questions in this awful,silent place

  My pencil is a useless twig,my will is nearly dead

  I should be reading item ten,I'm scrolling through memes instead!

  The clock is ticking down,it's a predator's low growl

  And the only thing I'm leveling up is my internal scowl!

  Sound of a textbook being thrown... followed by a tired, muffled...

  ...Kraaah...

  IMMINENT HIATUS PROTOCOL ACTIVATED.

  That's right. I am entering my own personal "Trials of Academia" arc. My stats are about to be tested in the most boring, soul-draining dungeon known to humankind: The Library.

  FOE: FINALS (Level 99 Boss)

  STATUS EFFECTS: [Crippling Anxiety], [Sleep Deprivation], [Caffeine Overload]

  HOST SURVIVAL PROBABILITY: Let's not calculate that.

  Do not mistake this for a surrender. This is a strategic withdrawal to grind my INT stat. I will return in December not just as Sakura Saki, but as Sakura Saki, the Exam-Slayer.

  And upon my return? THE GLOWING RECTANGLE OF MISERY WILL DELIVER.

  Expect a chapter avalanche. A regular, relentless posting schedule that will make our previous mongoose battle look like a polite tea party.

  Thank you for your patience, your comments, and for following. It means more than my filtered shrieks can convey.

  Stay furious,

  Sakura Saki

  (Now entering a focused grinding session. Do not disturb.)