Chapter 1: Entrance Ceremony (1)

“Damn it!”

Did I survive?

“Yes! Humans aren’t meant to just die…!”

The joy of life!

The moment I open my eyes, I feel a surge of happiness!

“Ooh! OHHHHH!”

A scream bursts out in fierce ecstasy!

The overwhelming joy and pleasure unique to those who have died and come back to life has enveloped my brain! I’m alive…! I’ll gift a homemade ham set to the kind stranger who called for help and the paramedics!

Indeed, humans aren’t supposed to just die. There’s no doubt someone heard my cries and called for an ambulance.

There’s talk these days that Korea is losing its warmth, but it’s all bullsh*t. If I find the bastard spreading such talk, I swear I’ll kill him.

“Huff!”

A wave of relief washes over me as I brush off my excitement. My eyes are welling up with tears. A sudden seizure, of all things. People need to experience this themselves to truly understand it. They need to understand the pain of others. Maybe I should start a campaign to recommend acute epileptic seizures to all citizens.

But then.

“What the…?”

This isn’t a hospital.

It’s not even my home. I’m outside? And in some alleyway that I don’t recognize. But first, I need to check my physical condition.

I immediately felt around my body to check for any abnormalities.

I’m in my early twenties and I just had a seizure and fainted. Unbelievable. My parents must be so worried. I was seriously considering getting a thorough health checkup soon.

Clank.

Something is fastened at my waist.

“What’s this?”

Huh.

“A knife?”

No.

A sword?

“No way, why is this here?”

I’m too surprised to speak.

Looking at my waist, there’s a sheath attached to some kind of belt, and a knife is sheathed in it. Surprisingly, I’m currently in a state like a medieval soldier, carrying a knife.

When did I get this?

I’ve never bought or seen it before. The only time I’ve ever worn some sort of weapon at my side was during military service.

The knife looks pretty cool, but who in their right mind would wear such a thing and go outside?

In this beautiful modern society, only inhumane psycho freaks would go around carrying a sword.

“No way, are these lunatics?”

But it’s not just one or two.

Up ahead. Students in what look like strange uniforms, weapons like swords sheathed at their waists, are all moving in one direction on the street outside the alleyway.

Did I participate in this cosplay parade with a sword after I fainted and some crazy sleepwalking broke out?

I just woke up, so my head doesn’t seem to be working properly.

Why on earth am I even here?

“…”

A profound confusion envelops me. Upon closer look, the clothes I’m wearing aren’t mine, but identical to those worn by the students strutting around over there.

“Mum, help me.”

What I feel is terror.

I’m standing in an alleyway, and suddenly fear engulfs me. I immediately returned the immense happiness I had felt after barely escaping death.

What the hell happened while I was briefly unconscious?

Did I faint during a seizure?

Swiftly, I reached into my pocket.

My phone is there.

But it’s…

“Damn it… it’s not mine.”

It isn’t my phone.

It’s a completely unfamiliar model. Where did my Galaxy go? This is neither an iPhone nor an LG phone. What country’s phone is this? It’s sleek, but I have no idea where it’s from.

But when I entered my familiar pattern, it unlocked immediately. Does that mean I subconsciously set my usual pattern on this unfamiliar phone? Me?

“…”

Anyway, the phone was entirely empty. It was as if it was just bought, with only the standard apps installed, and the contact list was completely clean.

But there’s one message.

[Ares Academy Entrance Ceremony Schedule]

“Ares Academy?”

Is this some game pre-order? What on earth happened to me? But I notice there’s only one hour left until the entrance ceremony.

Now’s not the time to focus on something like this.

I immediately download a map app to check where I am and find the way home, but none of the apps I know are there.

Neither Chrome nor Naver, not even Daum?

“…”

Is this some other world?

Chills run down my spine.

Somehow, I managed to use the basic web app to look up a map.

“Oh my god, damn.”

Why is the map of South Korea like this? Something’s seriously wrong here. Cold sweat drips down my face. I’m overwhelmed by the urge to break down and cry.

Could it be… like a hidden episode in Gulliver’s Travels, have I been transported to a planet similar to Earth, but different? A place inhabited by beings that look like humans but are actually monsters?

“Wallet.”

I put my phone back into my pocket with an ominous thought and took out my wallet. I’ve never seen this wallet before. I don’t even know the brand. My wallet was a damn Louis Vuitton.

“ID.”

Thankfully, my ID was there.

[Kim Geun-chul]

“That’s me.”

Name: Kim Geun-chul. My photo is on the ID. But the date of birth is strange. The ID… is somewhat yellowish, never this red.

“What? Awakened?”

Moreover, there was a label saying “Awakened” on the ID. What’s this? Is it referring to someone who has taken an Awakening drug?

I can’t understand it. There’s no way someone made this while I was asleep and put it in my pocket. Either I’ve lost my memory or I’ve been caught up in something really strange.

One or the other.

“Student ID.”

And the student ID.

[Ares Academy Student ID]

[Kim Geun-chul]

Ares Academy again.

I thought I must have been hit by the Arirang system while picking up game pre-registration goods.

“Huh?”

Wait a minute.

I’ve seen this somewhere recently.

Ah, right. That game.

The game I got today.

War Heroes of the Academy.

The school name is there. Now that I think about it, this uniform-like outfit. It seems familiar, as if it was exactly from there.

“Damn.”

An astonishing imagination.

“Did I really, no joke, end up inside the game?”

Even as I spoke, it felt absurd. Such an outrageous thing could not exist in reality. But no matter how I look, this place seems too real.

Just then.

— Ding.

“AAAAAAAH!”

A bizarre noise echoed, and a pudding-like hologram window appeared before my eyes!

“Damn it!”

I was startled and yelled out!

I must have really entered the game!

Probably at the moment I passed out earlier!

After calming my mind a bit, I adjusted my clothes and stepped out of the alley. I saw a few students dressed in the same uniform as me.

Well, that aside… The buildings around here are quite tidy? From my point of view, having lived in a red-brick house all my life, this place looked rather affluent. It was as picturesque as a European tourist site.

Anyway.

For now, I should follow the assistant’s directions. I’m not sure what’s going on. And there’s this surreal guide popping up a quest window, urging me to attend the entrance ceremony.

Fearing the consequences of not complying, I decided to go with the flow. It’s a quest, so I should do it. The reward is 100 coins, but I wish it were Bitcoins. It feels so unreal that I don’t even know what I’m babbling about.

With that thought, I followed the other students around me.

“…”

Throughout the journey, an uneasiness gripped my heart.

Did I really end up inside the game? Damn it, this lack of realism is just too much. It’s an unthinkable situation beyond all comprehension.

But the most worrisome thing was that I didn’t know much about this game.

All I did was briefly browse the wiki.

I know it’s a superpower battle series. Does that mean I have to fight the monsters that appear in the game, too? What else do I know… The protagonist is a fast-growing character with a great personality? And there’s a character with a bad personality?

Not much else, really.

As I walked with these thoughts,

“Oh.”

An impressively majestic building came into view. It was of enormous size and grandeur, incomparable even to typical universities. A fortress-like structure in shades of white stood tall, with what looked like circular walls stretching out around it.

So that’s Ares Academy?

In the setting, it was described as an institution to nurture superhumans. That’s about all I know. If I’d known it would come to this, I would’ve read the wiki more diligently!

Who would’ve thought I’d live to regret not reading a game’s settings…!

“Damn it.”

I marveled at the building’s grandeur, splendor, and the sheer size of the grounds as I went inside. It’s such a flashy place that I thought it would captivate my gaze, but for now, it doesn’t really register.

I simply found the auditorium where the entrance ceremony was to be held and took a seat.

It’s completely different from the auditorium I used when I was in high school.

Anyway.

There were many students inside. It’s buzzing, chaotic. The only difference from a real school must be that all these kids are carrying weapons. And their hair is fancy, I guess? There’s something unique about all of them… but kids?

Then how old am I supposed to be?

I’m currently 24, did I become younger?

“Huff.”

I’m just repeating my thoughts while mulling over this indescribable feeling.

“The entrance ceremony will begin!”

So, the entrance ceremony has begun.

“Hurry up and start, bastard.”

Let’s see what kind of bullshit they’re going to pull. I crossed my arms and focused on the stage. Suddenly, from somewhere, a jump and a descent, and a landing on the stage… what?

Anyway, the moment I saw the black-haired woman in uniform making a flashy entrance.

“Future heroes!!!! Welcome to Ares Academy!!!!”

ㅡWaaaahhh!

“Ugh! Sh*t!”

As the woman in uniform shouted, a gust of wind blew out! Damn, that woman just breathed out a gust of wind! Does this even make sense!

“Ugh sh*t? Who said Ugh sh*t!!!!”

“Gulp…!”

Was I heard from this distance?! The hall was engulfed by an outcry filled with fury! No matter how you look at it, isn’t it too much to drift like this in the middle of an entrance ceremony?

I should act ignorant!

“…!”

I clenched my teeth and slightly bowed my head to hide.

“You there, the one who just bowed his head!!! No use pretending!!! Stand up now!!!”

ㅡWaaaah!

Like a wind targeting, my hair fluttered sharply. I got caught. At the same time, all eyes in this space turned towards me.

“Uh, um. Are you talking to me?”

“Hey! Apologize quickly…!”

“This guy is screwed!”

The students sitting around me were whispering, urging me to apologize… Damn, can anything go right?!

“I’m sorry! I was startled and shouted!”

Let’s start with an apology!

—