episode_0001

The adventurer guild, welcoming a new day, was as noisy as ever. People loudly chatting while drunk on alcohol, others searching for party members, and the area in front of quest boards was crowded with no room to move.

Among the crowd was a hooded girl, with a silver rank badge symbolizing a veteran adventurer and a sword at her waist. Ellis, a receptionist at the adventurer guild for five years, quickly scanned the girl’s attire and put on a professional smile.

“Welcome, adventurer! How can I assist you today?”

“Oh, it’s me. Ellis.”

As the hood came off, the attention of those around focused on the girl. Despite not receiving proper maintenance as an adventurer, her appearance captivated the onlookers. Black silk-like hair with a subtle sheen and well-crafted amethyst-like eyes.

A mix of maturity and cuteness in her lovely face brought a sense of joy.

“Oh, Si-an? Weren’t you going to be absent for a while due to the Gold Rank promotion quest?”

“Yes. That’s why I’m here.”

The receptionist’s expression brightened slightly as she flashed a business smile. A smile like seeing an adorable daughter.

I, with a light smile, rummaged through my bag and presented a devil’s horn cautiously wrapped from the north, which made a hefty sound as it was placed on the reception desk.

[Devil’s Horn] [Viscount-grade devil’s horn imbued with a large amount of magic, used as a material for forging magical weapons.]

As the description window appeared only in front of me, I removed it and placed the horn along with the Lord’s certification document on the counter, causing the receptionist’s eyes to widen in surprise.

Enjoying the receptionist’s reaction, I asked, “Will the devil’s horn and the Lord’s certification of Erellim be enough for the Gold Rank adventurer promotion quest and the success proof of Viscount-grade demon subjugation?”

“Of course. Si-an, I knew you would succeed for sure. You prepared in advance, didn’t you? I didn’t expect it to be this quick, though.”

The receptionist handed me a wooden box with a gentle smile. Inside was a luxurious golden rank badge with a sophisticated design.

Handing over my silver badge to the receptionist, I accepted the new rank badge. A golden badge symbolizing the top 5% of adventurers with a single line engraved in the middle.

“Hehe… Thank you as always.”

“No need to thank me. Thanks to you, our branch has seen a significant increase in performance, so it’s a win-win situation for both of us.”

“No, it was just luck. Your help was crucial.”

Muttering so, I pinned the golden badge to my waist. The receptionist gazed at my hand quietly and asked, “At your age, a Gold Rank adventurer and a mark user. You could even aim for the youngest Platinum Rank adventurer, couldn’t you?”

The mark referred to the skill concept from the romantic RPG game “Arcana Academy” that I had reincarnated into.

Manifesting when conquering heroines and adding them to the party, the abilities heroines use.

Manifesting in a random location, form, and ability.

In my case, it was the ability of “Blink” that appeared on the back of my hand. It allowed me to teleport up to 10 meters consecutively five times.

I gazed at the pattern of crossed swords on my hand and chuckled proudly.

“Ahaha… It seems unlikely, but I don’t think that’s possible. I think it’s time for me to retire as an adventurer.”

“Are you planning to settle down now? Well, if you’re a Gold Rank adventurer at your age, with a bit more training for 1-2 years, you could even join the Imperial Knights.”

“No, I have no intention of joining a place like the Knights.”

I replied while looking into the void.

Above the receptionist’s head, invisible to others, a translucent blue window displayed a presence.

[Main Quest – Chapter 0] “Enroll in Arcana Academy.” -Reward: Unlock main quest. -Failure: Death

The word “Death” emphasized in red. Furrowing my brows, I closed the message window.

“By the way, it’s the deadline for applying to the academy soon.”

Five years ago, I remembered my past life.

A regular office worker from South Korea who had spent thousands of hours playing the game “Arcana Academy” and had been reincarnated. I, who used to be a male character, had suddenly created a female character while waiting for the release of Part 2.

When memories of being a man flooded back, I was utterly shocked.

It was around that time that the status window appeared before me.

All I had was the knowledge from Part 1 of the original and the mark inscribed on the back of my hand, a celestial orphan bestowed upon the Empire’s top academy to enroll.

To enroll in the academy as a commoner with no connections, a considerable amount of money was needed.

So, as soon as I regained my memories, I fled from the poor village and blindly stepped into the adventurer guild to pick up hidden pieces from the original.

It took quite a long time for me, a natural homebody, to grow into a respectable adventurer.

“Still, thanks to that, I managed to secure the tuition within the deadline.”

Sitting in the academy auditorium, I breathed a sigh of relief as I looked at the message window that appeared before me.

[Main Quest – Chapter 0] “Enroll in Arcana Academy.” [Completed] “Rewards will be calculated…”

“So, students, be proud of being the best students in the continent…”

As the message window calculated the rewards, I slowly looked around.

Is it a universal truth that the principal’s speech is boring? The pupils who had been sitting for an hour already had dark circles under their eyes.

“Sigh…”

And I, who knew how much longer the speech would last, was no different.

If the in-game dialogue was accurate, there were still hours of various induction speeches for new students ahead.

Moreover, the main characters from the original were nowhere to be seen in this obscure place.

Despite thinking I had confidence from twelve years of primary and secondary education and four years of university life, the limits were starting to show.

No, perhaps it was due to the memories of my past life, where I had resorted to various tricks to skip classes.

“Teacher, um… Can I go to the restroom for a moment?”

“Don’t take too long to come back.”

So, I made up an excuse and quietly slipped out of the auditorium to kill some time outside.

Being a profession with the highest mortality rate, surviving as an adventurer for over five years, the basic stealth technique I possessed was undetectable by the regular guards at the entrance.

The problem was that even the girl walking from the opposite corner did not notice my presence. And I, too, was distracted by the status window.

Walking without any reaction. I collided with the girl who was hurrying towards me.

“Eek?!”

“Ugh?!”

Due to inertia, my body fell backward, and the girl’s body toppled over me. Her soft silver hair draped around me like a curtain.

A moment of delayed pain. Simultaneously, the girl’s features gradually came into view.

“Uh…”

Diamond-like transparent eyes finely crafted. A densely packed nose and lips, giving off a somewhat cold impression.

Her noble elegance in the school uniform and a natural aristocratic grace.

The moment I confirmed the girl’s face, I could not help but stare at her in a daze.

The girl, with a bewildered expression while lying on top of me, was Elena Frost, the unbeatable heroine from “Arcana Academy” and my favorite character.

“Uh, um…?”

Elena Frost was a highly popular character. She captivated numerous gamers, including myself. Although she made her first appearance in the 3rd-year story of the academy and appeared only a few times.

Her presence was significant in the 3rd-year story, and each appearance brought out top-tier illustrations.

How ecstatic users were when an illustration of Elena, the cold Northern Duchess, smiling faintly, was released.

Therefore, in my past life, I would have probably liked seeing the illustration of my favorite character on top of me.

“…”

A brief silence felt heavy. Her usual expressionless face. Her emotionless transparent eyes gazed intently at me.

Her silver hair that draped around us like a curtain. Even though only Elena was visible in this space, I could not help but stare at her, forgetting the pain.

At that moment, I, a mere commoner orphan without parents, had ended my ordinary school life.

“…What are you looking at?”

For a moment, my mind began to race. Perhaps the most ordinary response would be to apologize and seek forgiveness by bowing my head.

Even though I knew that, I still held out my hand, which she took.

Elena, who did not like distinguishing between nobles and commoners within the academy, had a personality close to a meritocracy.

So, as long as I showed proper etiquette, it should be fine. As someone who had gone through middle school, high school, engineering college, and military service, I had no resistance to pretty girls my age. Forgetting that fact, I looked at Elena and replied.

“Oh, I’m sorry. You’re just too beautiful.”

And so, my thoughts and words came out in reverse, taking a moment to realize my mistake. Elena’s frozen face turned slightly red.

How angry would she have to be for her face to turn red, I wondered, along with the realization that my ordinary school life had come to an end.

“…What?”

“Ah? Uh, um… I’m sorry!”

As I stared at Elena’s stiff expression, I realized that my thoughts and words had come out in reverse, and I ran back towards the auditorium, leaving Elena behind, stumbling.

“Wait, just…”

Leaving Elena stumbling behind me.

…

Three days before the academy class assignment test. A familiar name flowed from Elena Frost’s lips.

“Temporary Class A, student number 13, Si-an.”

…

Receiving sympathetic gazes from all directions, I closed my eyes. The piercing stares from the students were uncomfortable.

Was it because of what happened in the hallway yesterday? Did my name spread so quickly? Perhaps it wasn’t a good idea to run away like that.

Amidst the myriad of thoughts crossing my mind, Elena’s cold eyes shone brightly as she looked down at me.

“I challenge you to a duel.”

[Main Quest – Chapter 1] “Accept Elena Frost’s duel challenge, the top student at the academy.” -Reward: Unlock status window function. -Failure: Remove status window function.

“Phew…”

As I gazed at the status window blocking even the last rejection, I let out a deep sigh.