Chapter 1
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Magic Academy Freshman
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I opened my eyes, and the world had completely changed.
Yesterday, I'd fallen asleep while scrolling through the gallery in my cozy one-room apartment.
But when I woke up, my room had turned into some fantasy webnovel back alley.
Shit. No way that's possible. Looks like I'd been dropped into a world I didn't know about.
There hadn't been any special event that screamed possession or reincarnation.
Just the usual community browsing before bed.
This didn't feel like a dream. All my senses were crystal clear.
"Excuse me. Could you move up a bit?"
"Huh?"
Right then, someone tapped my back.
I turned around to see a redheaded woman glaring at me with clear annoyance.
She was stunning— the kind of beauty that left me speechless for a second.
As I stood there gaping, she jerked her chin toward the space in front of me.
"...Oh."
That's when I realized I was smack in the middle of a massive line.
This queue was longer than the one at that super cost-effective Korean buffet near my place during opening rush.
I went there all the time, but with all the office workers nearby, you had to time your lunch perfectly.
There was a huge gap between me and the person ahead.
I bowed my head apologetically and hurried to close it.
Us Koreans live by "hurry hurry," but dropping the line like that in an open rush? Pure instinct, isekai or not.
"But..."
I started to ask what the hell this line was for, then hesitated.
Classic shut-in nerd trait. Can't just ask directly—gotta glance around or search online first. Calls are out of the question; email inquiries only.
Real-life chit-chat is tough for internet generation folks.
I could've just asked the woman behind me, but she seemed pissed, so...
Still, being stuck in the line made it hard to figure out what was going on.
Just step out and check? No can do. Korean instinct: when everyone's lining up, you join first and ask questions later.
I was already halfway—bailing now meant going to the back.
Better hold my spot and see.
I figured out what the line was for when I absentmindedly slipped my hand into my pocket.
That's right. This was the academy open rush line.
More precisely, the entrance exam open rush for Merhen Magic Academy.
All these people had lined up to take a shot at getting in.
Looks like it was an academy world.
But which academy story I'd possessed into? No clue. I hadn't read any academy webnovels lately anyway.
No specific details to pinpoint a work.
Best to assume I'd been dropped into a completely unknown isekai.
At least "Merhen Magic Academy" screamed wizards' school.
Magic-focused world.
Probably need to learn and show off spells inside to survive.
Merhen Academy, though. Such a generic magic academy name—made it impossible to ID the original.
The name on my exam slip: Ian Isaac.
Another super generic name. How many novels had an Ian as the protag?
Could be an extra, not the hero. But probably not from any novel at all.
Below that: commoner orphan background.
Start was trash-tier.
Don't isekai possessions usually come with cheats?
No status window or anything?
Status Window.
It actually popped up.
But it was pathetic. Nothing there.
Just Mana Capacity and Collected Magic slots.
No spells collected. No idea if 100 mana was good or not.
"We're screwed."
It was so bad, the words slipped out loud.
The person ahead whipped around, but I was too bummed to care.
Actually, I was embarrassed about mumbling to myself and pretended nothing happened.
Then, instead of the lame status, a massive screen filled my vision.
The "Archmage Gallery" screen looked just like the communities I used to browse.
Scrolling down, posts were popping up steadily—a lively place.
Archmage Gallery? Never heard of it.
One of those galleries for 25-year-old virgins only?
But the post titles were wild. Like they were actually casting real magic.
I clicked one that caught my eye.
Here's a compilation of papers on improving mana costs for explosion magic. I'll update whenever I have time, and mark the ones I wrote separately.
Also linking all the useful posts floating around the gallery at the end. Make use of them, fellow Archmages.
Thanks as always.
Mana cost management is useful in all sorts of fields beyond explosion magic. Thx.
Compilation posts are always upvoted.
What the hell is this?
Just a straight-up info compilation. Seemed useful, but full of incomprehensible terms.
Instead, I clicked something more shitposty.
A few years back, some guy kept begging me to teach him magic, so I took my first disciple in centuries. This punk bailed after just one year.
Back in my day, you'd do chores for at least a decade before maybe learning Mana Breathing Method.
No grit these days. That's why no newbies joining.
Hoeeng~
What did you even make him do? For real. No wonder the newbie ran. Spill—what'd you have him doing for a year?
Meditate, obviously. Can't even qualify without a full month straight. But this kid kept breaking focus weekly—took a year to fail what should've been a month.
That's 'cause it's you. Normal kids can't meditate a whole month lololol.
Meditation King legend. How long you gonna meditate?
Bet his mana capacity's the highest from all that meditating.
Mana capacity from meditation only? Useless if you can't cast spells ffs.
Meditation's inefficient af. Only long-lived races like dragons pull it off. Humans burn out before learning spells.
Commune with nature and it's all good.
What the hell is this now?
This one I could at least follow.
So these guys are all actual wizards? Real ones?
Not weird for an isekai to have magic, but...
Calling themselves archmages was odd. They all talked like legit grandmasters.
Time to post something. See what reactions I get.
I'm definitely no archmage like them.
25+ years without a date qualifies me as a virgin wizard, but zero real magic skills.
Anonymous ㅇㅇ should work. Saw plenty of non-fixed nicks here.
Feels just like my old communities.
Pretty active post rate, so need a solid troll title to hook 'em.
Half-ass it and it gets buried, no reactions.
What is this place? Archmage Gallery? You guys mean real wizards? Like abracadabra stuff?
Woke up suddenly in line for some magic academy entrance exam open rush.
Can't use any magic. What do I do?
Comments rolled in fast.
What kinda troll is this?
Hawawa? Total no-fun post~
Augh fuck, what troll bait is this? Not even funny.
Don't shitpost, go sleep.
What? Total troll dismissal vibe.
At least confirmed these folks were real mages.
I was about to post again begging them to believe me when...
This seems legit.
?
?
A bunch of ?s, then:
Hoe~?
The mod Jootak himself.
Gallery manager, like the one I knew.
Gallery requires mana capacity minimum to access. Checked—this guy's at 100. Mundane human level. Not a real mage.
How tf does mana 100 get in the gallery?
Fresh muggle joins gallery lol.
Hawawa, muggle's been a while~!
That make sense?
Mana 100 is pure af lol, total muggle.
Checking how. Might take time. Gallery system's high-level magic—even we can't crack it fully.
Jootak verified my muggle status.
Shitpost frenzy ensued.
After mod auth, comments exploded.
Muggle? You swing a sword?
Swordcel joins gallery lol.
Swordcel popped out suddenly lolol.
Here to add another swordcel to the gallery lol.
Magic academy? Gonna be a student?
Like meditation?
Explosions... like them?
Lol how long since a newbie? Gonna learn magic?
Hawawa, Lulu-chan protects powerless citizens as a magical girl!
Muggle? What's your muscle stat?
Look at 'em all piling in.
Newbie bait. Especially these no-heir types.
dd crazy bastards coming out. Mana 100 muggle is prime legend bait tho.
No clue what was going on, but massive aggro pulled.
Not my title skills, probably.
Muggle = non-mage?
No purge vibes. They were hyped, treating me like prime bait.
Then one comment froze the fire:
Wait, muggle said he's waiting for magic academy entrance exam? How's a muggle even in the exam line?
Right. What now?
To survive this world, gotta get into the academy.
Safety nets inside, probably.
Plus, learn magic to protect myself.
As I panicked, the frozen gallery reignited.
Academy exam's toe hair level. No sweat. If a muggle can even do it.
Start meditating now to boost mana. Piece of cake. Like meditation?
Exam's soon, when you meditating?
Just magical girl transform~!
No magic? Brute force it.
Lvl 1 char leveling content gonna be hilarious lololol.
Yo. Combat spell or two's all you need. Think you can?
Look at these excited bastards piling in lololol.
Want to help? Magic's not hard^^