August 24 (Saturday)
9:05 PM
The digital rally for the section's newest tribute continued well into the night.
After Jiro officially locked in his participation for the Poster Making contest, the party immediately provided backup support.
Anila Bakuda, fully embracing the chaotic energy she and Deanne had sparked earlier, officially registered herself for the Kasuotan (Fashion Show) category. The Vanguard was stepping up.
Then, the issue of Jiro's missing inventory was swiftly resolved by another Vanguard member. Jesper Arufe quickly replied in the chat, volunteering to provide his own coloring materials for Jiro to use.
Item acquired. Weapon secured. The party mechanics in this server are actually functioning optimally, Jiro mused, reading the messages.
Later that evening, Hidy sent the official Google Form link for the Buwan Ng Wika 2024 participants' registration. Jiro and Anila both clicked the link and filled out their details.
It was official. They were the lone representatives of BEEd 1-A. The section's pride now rested entirely on their stats.
August 25 (Sunday)
10:35 AM
While the rest of the cohort was busy recovering their HP during the actual rest day, the local merchant officially opened her shop in the group chat.
Ate Reo Bairo dropped a massive local trade offer. She tried to offer BEEd 1-A a much cheaper alternative for the KSU PE uniform pants. The prices varied depending on the stats—from Small at P180 up to Extra Large at P250.
It wasn't official campus merchandise; it was actually sewn by her kumare (a close friend who sews clothes).
To prove the absolute value of her offer, Reo also showed them the original prices of the official KSU PE uniform set. It was a heavy P750 in total—P350 for the shirt and P400 for the pants, regardless of the size.
For the budget-conscious college students, that was quite expensive. This was exactly why many of them immediately opted for Ate Reo's cheaper pants option, especially since Mr. Casto was chill enough not to strictly require them to wear the complete, official KSU PE uniforms.
The group chat flooded with orders. Down payments were officially activated and transferred to the Lore Master's account.
However, Jiro Sanata and a few other BEEd 1-A students completely ignored the merchant's ping. For some reason, they didn't place any orders, keeping their gold securely in their own wallets.
August 26 (Monday)
10:22 AM
It was a holiday—the tail end of the long weekend. The academic servers were offline, but the Commander was always active.
Hidy Medona dropped an important update into their main section group chat. She forwarded an image.
It was a digital logo. A circular badge designed with the classic, clean aesthetic of a standard elementary school emblem. Wrapping around the border was the name of their exclusive organization: Builders of Elementary Educators' Society. The acronym BEES sat proudly at the bottom. In the very middle of the badge was a graphic of a kid reading a book while wearing a graduation cap. The entire design was highlighted by a baby pink outline, the official color of the organization.
Since this exclusive BEEd organization had just been established very recently, in August 2024, they were currently in the process of forging their official guild crest.
Hidy Medona: "Hi guys. Did you read our BEED exclusive group chat? Kindly support this design as this was made by our Vfresh 🎉 @Princess Cleria. Please heart it guys, it'll be our official logo 😊"
Jiro stared at the image on his screen. He liked it. The Vice President definitely had some solid digital art stats.
But as his eyes scanned Hidy's message, his Shonen radar snagged on a specific phrase.
Wait, Jiro wondered, furrowing his brow. What BEED exclusive group chat? Did I miss a server invite? Again?
He didn't wait. He immediately opened a private message to Hidy, asking her to share the link to this hidden sanctuary. Instead of sending a link, Hidy simply added him directly.
You have been added to the group.
Jiro entered the new digital domain. It wasn't just his section; it was the overall BEEd campus group chat, ranging all the way from freshmen like him to the veteran seniors. The global chat.
He scrolled up and quickly analyzed the battlefield. It was a logo-making competition. There were three different logos recently sent to the chat as entries.
He found Princess's work among the three. The voting rules were simple: the entry with the most heart reactions by 11:59 PM tonight would win.
Without hesitation, Jiro tapped the heart icon on Princess's design. Support the party member. Plus 1 vote.
He watched the numbers. Surprisingly, Princess's logo was absolutely dominating the other two entries by a wide margin. The Vfresh had the popular vote.
August 27 (Tuesday)
12:05 AM
Just past midnight, in the very early hours of Tuesday, the final tally was locked in.
Princess's logo officially won the contest, securing exactly 49 votes. The Vice President had successfully forged the permanent crest of the BEES.
In the main section group chat, the victory was met with low-energy, late-night approval. Only the Class Treasurer actually typed out a message.
Lindsey Soliko: "Congratulations vfresh."
The rest of the class, probably half-asleep, simply bombarded Lindsey's message with heart reacts. Victory acknowledged.
5:05 PM
The peaceful Tuesday afternoon was suddenly interrupted when the Class Treasurer dropped a financial bomb into the main section group chat.
Lindsey Soliko: "@everyone I remind po your class fund contributions tomorrow 🥰"
Ah, yes. The weekly gold extraction phase.
Her bestie, Aprille Bolente, immediately reacted. But she didn't use a thumbs up or a heart. She dropped a completely normal, unironic angry react on Lindsey's message.
To double down on her refusal to pay taxes, Aprille specifically replied to Lindsey's message with a barrage of emojis.
Aprille Bolente: "😡😡😡😡"
Chaos was instantly activated just for their weekly financial quest. Both Lindsey and Reo immediately put a laugh react on Aprille's aggressive protest.
Lindsey seemed to go mad a bit, but it was purely comedic. She quickly replied to her own message to issue a formal follow-up rule.
Lindsey Soliko: "ps. our class fund is P10 per week po not per day."
Aprille, standing her ground, just dropped another normal angry react on the clarification.
The Commander stepped in, observing the hilarious friendly fire.
Hidy Medona: "Oh, this is getting heated."
Both Aprille and Hidy laughed at that message. The financial tension dissolved back into their usual banter.
Shifting the topic away from their wallets, Aprille asked the group chat about their upcoming server-wide event.
Aprille Bolente: "What time on Thursday?"
She was referring to the highly anticipated Buwan Ng Wika 2024 event originally scheduled for August 29.
Hidy Medona came to the rescue to provide the intel. But something was entirely wrong.
Instead of an event poster, Hidy accidentally sent a screenshot of their standard weekly class schedule. Basically... there was no Thursday on that schedule. It was their designated vacant day.
A few seconds later, the Commander realized her massive error.
Hidy Medona: "Ay wait, it was rather Buwan Ng Wika"
She just laughed it off, trying to recover from her glitch.
Before the confusion could spread, the section's designated Apex Strategist and solo poster-making tribute entered the digital chat.
Jiro Sanata: "Afaik, around 8 AM to 5 PM on Thursday"
Hidy, completely surprised by his sudden drop of accurate intel, immediately questioned him.
Hidy Medona: "Where does that come from?"
Jiro Sanata: "Well... I just found it on the participants' registration form."
Classic Jiro. Reading the fine print that everyone else skipped.
With the information officially verified by their own representative, Hidy finally announced and confirmed the parameters to the whole class.
Hidy Medona: "Gow 8 am to 5 po ^^"
8:05 PM
The parameters were set. Everyone was mentally preparing for a Thursday event.
But the system decided to drop a massive, unannounced patch note.
Vice President Princess Cleria forwarded an urgent announcement to the group chat.
Princess Cleria: "Good evening po @everyone. Just wanna update you guys that our Buwan ng Wika celebration was moved to August 30 which is Friday, 1pm until 6pm. This was suggested by our Campus Director, so I hope everyone can prepare properly for the event. Thank you!"
Wait.
A ticking time bomb of realization slowly went off in the minds of the BEEd 1-A cohort.
Friday? They had regular classes on Friday morning. Heavy, unforgiving classes. Both led by the red-haired idol professor: Dr. Ricky Manazaki. They had MMW (Math 1) from 8 AM to 11 AM, followed immediately by NSTP 1 from 12 PM to 3 PM. And if that wasn't enough, they had the looming, possible appearance of Mrs. Giany Talashiro for their anticipated UTS class from 3 PM to 6 PM.
If the Buwan Ng Wika event was moved to Friday at 1 PM... it was going to collide directly with Dr. Manazaki's domain and completely run over Mrs. Talashiro's schedule.
Absolute scheduling chaos. The Friday Curse was mutating into something far worse.
11:20 PM
Just before the long, uninterrupted break officially concluded on Tuesday night, the local government unit of Taytay dropped a sudden weather patch update.
Due to the relentless, intermittent rainfall from the Southwest Monsoon (Habagat) triggering a Yellow Rainfall Warning across the region, the LGU officially suspended face-to-face classes from Kindergarten all the way up to Grade 12.
It was a massive, server-wide victory for the lower-level players. They got to stay in their cozy beds while the rain battered their roofs.
Meanwhile, the college students were completely exempted from the suspension list.
Because obviously, once you enroll in a state university, the system assumes your physical stats automatically level up. You lose your right to rest during a storm, but in exchange, you gain the ultimate Filipino student passive skill: you become completely waterproof. The heavy rain debuff simply does not apply to the higher education bracket.
The Wednesday grind seemed inevitable.
August 28 (Wednesday)
7:33 AM
The heavy rain was already pouring down relentlessly throughout the town of Taytay. The skies were dark, the streets were flooding, and the temperature had completely dropped.
Despite the "waterproof" status of college students, the BEEd 1-A cohort was glued to their phones, desperately waiting for an announcement for a possible suspension. At least for now, their morning alarm clocks had already gone off, and the dreadful reality of commuting in the storm was setting in.
8:11 AM
The main group chat pinged. The Commander had arrived.
Hidy Medona: "good morning! i have bad news po about our class sched today 🥺"
The entire section held their breath. Did the two TBA ghost instructors now named? Was Dr. Manazaki taking over their Wednesday?
A few seconds later, Hidy dropped the follow-up message.
Hidy Medona: "just kidding! no need to go to school hihi stay safe ＼(^o^)／"
The chat instantly exploded. It was a fake-out! A glorious, anxiety-inducing fake-out! The institution had been merciful. Their only official professor for the day, Mr. Brackin, had canceled his face-to-face session, and the TBA ghost instructors were obviously still nowhere to be found.
The Lore Master, whose blood pressure had likely spiked through the roof from the initial message, suddenly replied with absolute gamer rage.
Reo Bairo: "What the hell are you @Hidy Medona. I would almost put blades on my motor e 😂"
The joke landed perfectly. The relief washed over the entire section.
But the Commander wasn't just dropping fake-outs. She had actual administrative side quests to distribute while they were all safely chilling in their spawn points.
Hidy Medona: "Guys, another announcement po! By Monday next week, I will start collecting the P20 membership fee for our exclusive organization, BEES."
She quickly followed up with a financial mercy patch.
Hidy Medona: "I won't collect the fee this week po because we already have too many expenses right now eh."
A compassionate tax collector indeed.
Hidy then laid out the lore and benefits of joining the newly forged guild.
Hidy Medona: "The purpose of our organization is that we will get to experience all the projects provided by BEES for FREE! We will host our own events through these membership fees ah. As of now, we are actually looking for a printing machine service exclusive for BEEd, since we have a lot to print eh."
What Jiro didn't fully realize yet was that not only was Hidy Medona the newly elected Assistant Treasurer for the College of Education's FEC, but she was also the designated Treasurer for the exclusive BEES organization.
Double whammy money baby. She was literally managing the gold reserves for two different factions at the same time. The ultimate financial boss.
Before anyone could fully process the incoming P20 deduction, Hidy dropped one final, heavy reminder.
Hidy Medona: "And also guys! By Monday, I will collect the reaction paper activity for Mr. Brackin's RPH ah."
Ah, right. The 500-word offline fetch quest.
With the administrative bombs successfully dropped, the chat finally settled. They had successfully bypassed the Wednesday Raging Road. The extended rest week was fully activated. They could stay in their beds, listen to the rain, and recover their HP in peace.
They only had to face the campus—and the incoming scheduling apocalypse—on Friday.
Throughout their unexpected rest day, albeit still rainy and gloomy outside, most of the BEEd 1-A students weren't just sleeping. They were actively grinding for a crucial cosmetic requirement. The impending campus-wide Buwan ng Wika event demanded strict traditional attire—Filipiniana or Kimona for the girls, and Barong Tagalog for the boys.
It was a massive server-wide fashion quest, and the students were frantically searching everywhere to hire, rent, or borrow their outfits.
In their COF group chat, the tall muse was the first to successfully complete the acquisition phase. Mira sent a video clip of herself twirling in a glamorous Filipiniana. She had rented it online, looking like an absolute high-tier VIP. Ivyn followed right after her, showcasing her own acquired loot—a vibrant Kimona decorated mostly with orange and flowery designs. They were treating it like a premium skin showcase.
While the girls were spending their gold and effort to secure the best aesthetics, Jiro stayed painfully simple.
The Apex Strategist didn't need to rent or buy. He just opened his closet and executed the ultimate item recycle. He prepared his classic Barong Tagalog and a pair of standard black slacks. It was his legacy armor. He had actually borrowed this exact outfit for his Senior High School graduation back in May 2024 for his Grade 12 STEM completion—and he had conveniently "forgotten" to return it to the owner ever since.
He inspected the fabric. It was still clean, completely undeformed, and required absolutely zero gold to equip.
Cosmetics acquired. Loadout perfectly optimized.
August 29 (Thursday)
The sacred T/TH immunity buff was fully active once again. It was a rest day, a final breather just a day before the massive campus-wide event.
10:20 AM
Jiro was comfortably chilling on his mattress when a notification suddenly popped up from a forgotten digital realm.
His old CT COF group chat appeared on his screen. The ghost of his past server was trying to haunt him again.
He tapped open the chat. Mina had sent a picture.
It was a candid shot of Shelly and Leslie sitting inside the massive KSU Morong auditorium. They were evidently trapped in some required morning orientation or event, and their faces were a masterpiece of absolute exhaustion. They wore the most neutral, deadpan, and deeply tired expressions imaginable. Their HP bars were visibly draining just by listening to whatever was happening on stage.
Jiro couldn't help himself. Seeing his former comrades suffering the grueling Morong routine while he was safely lounging in his bed in Taytay was too ironic. He tapped his keyboard, dropping a casual, teasing reply.
Jiro Sanata: "HAHAHAHA, they look so bored 😭😭😭😭, eme."
He hit send, expecting a lighthearted banter or maybe a complaining rant about their auditorium boredom.
Instead, he received an instant, brutal system notification.
Mina removed Jiro Sanata from the group.
Jiro blinked. He stared at the small gray text at the bottom of the screen.
Wow. No warnings. No "Why did you disappear?" interrogations. Just a swift, merciless kick. Mina had officially declared that Jiro was no longer part of their circle anymore. The bridge wasn't just burned; it was completely nuked.
Jiro let out a dry, cynical laugh, shaking his head.
Oh wow. That was too sudden. They were pissed off hahahaha.
Instead of feeling hurt, the Apex Strategist just felt a profound sense of closure. The ties were finally severed.
He navigated back to his chat list. There was still one lingering ghost tying him to his past life—the main CT NSTP 1 group chat that he had either been dragged back into or hadn't fully cleared out of his inbox yet.
He didn't hesitate. He tapped the settings icon.
Leave Group.
He didn't drop a dramatic farewell message. He didn't type "Permission to leave po." He just vanished into the digital void, executing a flawless, final stealth exit.
Morong Server: Permanently Disconnected.
11:53 AM
Just as Jiro successfully purged the old server from his inventory, a beautiful, terrifying alarm clock rang from his current, active server.
Dr. Ricky Manazaki decided to drop an absolute bombshell into the MMW/NSTP 1 - BEED 1A group chat.
Dr. Ricky Manazaki: "Attention BEEd 1 - NSTP Class! You are all required to join our NSTP Virtual Common Module Orientation this Friday, August 30 at 2 PM to 5 PM. Attendance is a must! After that, we will have a quiz."
Jiro stared at his screen. His Shonen radar was screaming. The sirens were blaring.
Wait a minute. Hmmm.
He mentally reviewed the timeline. The Campus Director had explicitly moved the massive, mandatory Buwan ng Wika 2024 celebration to Friday, August 30, from 1 PM to 6 PM.
And now, Doc Rick was mandating a strict, unskippable Virtual Common Module Orientation on Friday, August 30, from 2 PM to 5 PM.
Overlapping hitboxes. It was a literal double boss fight happening in two completely different dimensions at the exact same time!
Are we supposed to dual-wield devices? Jiro panicked internally. Sit in the noisy, sweltering gymnasium for the Buwan ng Wika event, wearing our thick traditional Barongs and Filipinianas, while simultaneously balancing our phones on our laps, watching a 3-hour NSTP livestream, and then answering a quiz?!
And it was even worse for the actual tributes. Anila was competing in the Kasuotan fashion show. Jiro was competing in Poster Making. How were they supposed to physically execute their competitions on stage or on their drawing boards while taking a mandatory virtual quiz?
Before Jiro could even fully process the sheer absurdity of the scheduling glitch, Doc Rick sent another message.
Dr. Ricky Manazaki:Sent a link.
It was the registration form link. The exact same NSTP registration link that had famously crashed and burned a few weeks ago, locking everyone out with a "You need permission" error.
But this time... it actually opened. The technology had finally evolved.
Jiro sighed heavily and tapped the link to comply with the mandatory registration.
The digital form loaded. He filled out his basic stats: Name. Email. Program, Year and Section (BEEd 1-A). NSTP Component (LTS).
Then, he reached the final box.
Student Number:(Example: KSU TA2023-00000)
Jiro stared at the prompt. The system explicitly provided the Taytay campus format (TA for Taytay).
He looked at his own official, permanently scarred student number.
KSU M2024-06519
The 'M' stood for Morong. It was the mark of the outsider. The glitched code of a transferee who escaped the warehouse.
Whatever, Jiro smirked, tapping the keyboard. He didn't even try to format it or ask for clarification. He just typed it in exactly as it was. I am basically an undocumented immigrant in the Taytay server eh. Take it or leave it.
He hit submit.
The registration was done. But the massive Friday collision was still looming over their heads.
What the hell was happening in the KSU server? It was officially guaranteed. The entire BEEd 1-A cohort now only had two confusing choices for tomorrow afternoon: watch the colorful Buwan ng Wika event physically happening right in front of them in the gymnasium, or stare down at their phones to watch a mandatory NSTP livestream event.
The system was breaking down, and the Struggling Learners were trapped right in the middle of the glitch.
END OF THE STRUGGLING LEARNERS