Episode 21: Chaotic New Student Entrance Ceremony [1]

Passing through the academy’s main gate after so long gave me a slightly strange feeling.

‘Well, it is my first time from my perspective.’

A mix of excitement that the original story was finally beginning and anxiety about whether I could truly bring this tale to a happy ending.

And then, those fleeting thoughts—whether I’d be able to return when the ending finally came. So many of them passed through my mind.

‘I’m really looking forward to tomorrow.’

Unfortunately, today wasn’t the entrance ceremony.

-Haa, why are we doing a rehearsal? Isn’t it just gonna be a 20-minute speech from the Chairman and then it’s over?

-No, this time they’re saying something about a “Golden Generation” or whatever, so they’re planning a surprise using augmented reality monster generators.

-Back in our day, it was just catching falling paper. The new students are gonna have fun.

-Hey, if you embarrass yourself out there, your school life is over.

As it turned out, today was just a simple rehearsal before the actual new student entrance ceremony.

The general idea was that during the ceremony speech, a Gate would appear in the air, immediately triggering a Dungeon Break, and virtual monsters would rain down—a simulated emergency to see how the cadets would react.

Of course, if she had planned this stunt alone, there would’ve been major backlash from the board. So Chairman Eve had devised a little trick.

That trick was today’s rehearsal.

“Alright, can you move that beam projector over there? Since there won’t be any physical damage, just make it look as threatening as possible.”

“Yes, Chairman-nim.”

“And you—Hansu, was it? Bring over the magic stones we’ll be placing inside.”

“Got it!”

Following Eve’s instructions, student council members were busy attaching beam projectors and augmented reality devices.

-Clank!

-Ugh… Clack!

“Hey, is the student council president really allowed to slack off like that?”

“I’m working hard, A-yul-yang.”

Of course, I was too.

Watching Kang A-yul flying around on her sword, installing magic stones into the ceiling lights, I felt a mischievous urge—maybe it was just my nature. When she accidentally dropped one, I picked it up and installed it on the light in front of me instead of returning it. A loud “Hey!” echoed, but I just chuckled and ran away.

The two of them had this kind of chemistry in the story too, but experiencing it firsthand felt oddly fascinating.

Especially since Kang A-yul had already warned me not to do what I was planning before killing Yun Seongho, I had to act as much like the Yun Se-ah she remembered as possible.

“Alright, just move that last one over… Hey, you! Don’t just stand there watching the already-installed lights—come here and help me with this.”

“…Fine.”

By the way, her work ethic was no joke.

‘She handpicked only the cadets who could relay information to the board, manipulated the magic stones in the meantime to make the augmented reality deal physical damage… As expected, she’s amazing.’

Was she really that happy about being able to mess with the board? She couldn’t stop smiling.

‘In the setting, she said she prepared a pretty rough test to check the skills of the so-called “Golden Generation” cadets… But since a lot of the board members’ kids got in this time… Maybe she’s doing this partly to mess with them on purpose.’

For some reason, the entrance ceremony was being broadcast live to showcase the cadets’ abilities.

The board members’ kids obviously got in through connections, so the idea of immortalizing their shameful retreat in front of the entire nation felt downright malicious.

In the game, I’d just skimmed past this scene, and the only board member I needed to remember was Chairman Eve Maitner… but I knew exactly what the others were scheming.

Namely, their dirty plan to oust Eve from the chairman’s seat, take over, and then send top students to major guilds in exchange for massive under-the-table payments. I knew it all.

In my brief conversations with Eve, I’d mentioned several times how much I wanted to tear the board apart.

“Yun Se-ah, adjust the angle of that light a bit more!”

Kang A-yul, flying around on her sword, keeping an eye on the overall lighting setup.

Maybe because she was floating high up in Raon Academy’s relatively short skirt, the male cadets couldn’t even lift their heads, silently working with their eyes down.

“A-yul-yang, if you fly around so carelessly, the male cadets below won’t be able to look up.”

“Huh? What do you mean…?!!”

-Crash!

She was so flustered she lost control of her sword’s levitation, tumbling down in a ridiculous heap.

Seriously, if you’re gonna ride a sword up there, at least wear pants like me. Not even wearing shorts underneath? What is this?

‘I knew she was the type who acted cool but turned into a total klutz if she slipped up once…’

Faithful to the original, huh.

…

…

…

After the chaotic entrance test preparations ended, only the key members of the student council—including me and Kang A-yul—remained in the auditorium.

Me as the student council president, Kang A-yul as the vice president, and four extras whose names I couldn’t even remember—six of us lined up in order. With a snap of her fingers, Eve instantly teleported us to the positions we’d be in when the entrance ceremony began.

“Well, since you’re all verified individuals… Shall we begin the real entrance ceremony rehearsal?”

-Snap!

With a wave of Eve’s hand, transparent barriers formed around the entire auditorium.

“This way, the kids outside will just think we’re doing some simple cleanup.”

With another casual gesture, Eve explained what was about to happen.

In short, since the new students were said to be exceptionally talented, she wanted to test their skills by simulating a Gate Break using augmented reality combat devices, dropping virtual monsters to observe their reactions. Most of the student council members agreed to the plan.

Well, excluding the minor detail that it was partly to mess with the board members’ kids.

Kang A-yul’s job was to subdue any students trying to escape, while the four extras would pretend to evacuate panicked cadets while secretly manipulating the monsters’ positions to force direct confrontations.

And my role was…

“Se-ah, I’d like you to observe from the corner and record the students’ actions in detail.”

‘I thought she’d assign me to stop escapees. Unexpected.’

I was about to say I could use [Hypnotic Evil Eye] to subtly suggest the students not leave, but I could only swallow my words as I fiddled with the earring clipped to my ear.

…

…

A few weeks ago.

-Thud!

“Guh… I lost, Se-ah-yang.”

“Thank you as always for the spar, Sein-ssi.”

“No, I should be thanking you.”

Those were the words I heard after barely defeating Shin Sein, an A-rank hero ranked 126th in South Korea and a member of the Golden Guild.

Unlike me, a Magician, Shin Sein was a Striker who fought like a cyberpunk protagonist, charging in aggressively with reinforced steel boots to close the distance.

It was a bad matchup for me, but I used psychokinesis and [Hypnotic Evil Eye] to subtly disrupt her attack patterns, buying time before finishing with a “Void Strike.”

Against a Defender, I could use [Hypnotic Evil Eye] to manipulate them and secure victory.

“Listen, your power is way beyond the norm. What kind of cadet can already hold their own against an A-rank hero?”

With those words, Eve immediately rushed off somewhere and returned with an amethyst earring, which she promptly attached to me.

…

…

‘And that’s this earring.’

It supposedly reduces my ability’s maximum output by about 30%.

Eve’s theory was that if I wore this restraint when using [Hypnotic Evil Eye] or Mephisto’s Remnant, the output would be limited, naturally reducing the strain on my body.

After putting it on, I could definitely feel the strain lessen when using my abilities.

More accurately, it felt much more stable when activating my powers.

Eve seemed apologetic about me having to suppress my strength, but… I told her it was fine since I didn’t want attention anyway.

‘If things ever get bad enough that I have to break the earring to use my power, Eve would already know how serious it is.’

I could forcibly destroy it, but unfortunately, doing so would alert Eve to my location and the fact that I’d broken it.

Basically, she wanted me to keep it on unless absolutely necessary.

In other words, if I broke the earring… Eve would come.

‘…Well, anything that happens inside the academy can be handled by Eve anyway.’

My job was just to throw hidden pieces and opportunities at the protagonist while praying they’d take down the final boss.

With that in mind, I went to sleep feeling at ease, looking forward to meeting the protagonist tomorrow and the episodes to come…

On the day of the entrance ceremony.

‘………The protagonist… isn’t here?!’

The auditorium was missing its protagonist.