Chapter 2
Chapter 2
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Entrance Exam (1)
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I received a gift.
And it was from the developer of the game I loved playing.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [☆Developer's Special Gift★] A vibrant message window shimmering in rainbow colors.
Staring at it, I let out a deep sigh.
"Haa..."
Even though I'd received a gift from the developer of a game I cherished, I couldn't bring myself to feel any joy.
"Ah, damn... this is driving me insane."
The reason I couldn't be happy about it?
Right now, I was...
📜 MAIN QUEST CHAPTER. 1 📜 【Enter the Academy】
Enroll in Arena Academy.
⏰ Rewards: 3,000 Points (additional rewards based on performance), Point Shop unlocked, 1 Random Cheat Usage Ticket.
⚠️ Failure: Difficulty greatly increases.
...trapped inside the game.
How the hell did I end up inside a game?
Gripping my throbbing forehead, I recalled the circumstances that led me here.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 【Arena Academy】
It was a game notorious for its brutal difficulty.
True to its name, it revolved around 'duels.'
But it wasn't just about duels.
With RPG elements included, you could venture outside the academy, hunt, farm, and complete quests to gear up and grow stronger.
And crucially, there was an affection system, allowing for romance with the heroines.
Once a heroine's affection hit 100%, you'd unlock CGs, including some steamy 19+ scenes.
The heroines' illustrations were top-notch, drawing in tons of players who hailed it as a masterpiece... but now, it was a dead game played only by diehards.
The reason? Simple.
It was hard.
Insanely hard.
Absurdly, ridiculously hard!
Let me break down why.
First off, your character is randomly generated.
Stats, talents, skills—everything depends on luck.
Meanwhile, the major supporting and main NPCs you're competing against all have overpowered skills and talents.
But you could overcome that with farming, hunting, and quests to grow your character, so it wasn't a huge deal.
So why was the game so tough?
Blame the alien races.
Arena Academy was a 'duel'-themed game that threw in alien invasions.
The world you play in— the Human Realm.
These alien races constantly eyed it, and if you failed to repel them each time they appeared, the world would gradually crumble, leading to total annihilation at the end.
The clear condition was 'Reach #1 in Academy Rankings,' but fail to stop the periodic alien invasions, and it's game over.
Talk about a hectic game.
Still, after sinking 30,000 hours into it and earning a rep as a top-tier vet on the community forums...
⚙ ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED ⚙ [Challenge Completion Rate: 99%] ...I'd cleared nearly all the challenges.
Just 1% left until full completion.
That's when I got an email.
📧 EMAIL ⚙ [To the Player Who Loves My Game.] At first, I thought it was spam.
📧 FROM: megod1005 ⚙ Arena Academy's developer ID was 'megod1005.' So I checked the email right away.
📧 EMAIL CONTENT ⚙ 【To the Player Who Loves My Game.】 From: megod1005 I've been deeply moved by your passionate play in the world I created. As thanks, I'm sending you a gift—please use it to conquer that remaining 1% of challenges. ■ Attached File: Developer's Special Gift No joke there.
I downloaded the attached file immediately.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ And now...
"Haa, that's why you shouldn't download random email attachments..."
Sitting on a worn-out mattress, I grumbled while staring at the translucent message hovering in my retina.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [☆Developer's Special Gift★] "Should I open this thing or what?"
I pondered the message window blinking insistently in rainbow hues, urging me to open it.
But the deliberation didn't last long.
"Fine, let's open it. But first..."
There was something important.
Something you have to say when you get isekai'd into a game.
That was...
"Status window."
The god status window.
⚔ STATUS ⚔ Name: Lee Yoo-jin ⚡ Physical Abilities: 15 💨 - Stamina: 5 - Strength: 5 - Agility: 5 ✨ Mental Abilities: 10 🍀 - Magic Power: 5 🛡️ - Mind: 5 💪 - Holy Power: 0 Talents: None Skills: Transfer (F) What the hell.
These pathetic stats...
"...I'm totally screwed."
The god status window had turned into a trash status window.
Even side characters usually had total stats over 50.
Main characters could exceed 100.
But 25 total? No trash character was this trash.
Still...
"...At least there's one skill."
Transfer skill, huh.
⚡ SKILL: TRANSFER (F) ⚡ Teleports an item you possess to a desired location. - Teleport possessed items within a 1m radius.
- Cannot teleport into living beings.
"Hm, F-rank skill..."
The lowest rank in S, A, B, C, D, E, F.
Still, for its rank, 'Transfer' wasn't bad.
'Teleports an item you possess to a desired location.'
Exactly as it said—any 'location' I wanted.
Sky, underground, inside buildings.
Of course, only within 1m radius, but upgrading the skill rank would enhance its power.
In my opinion, 'Transfer' had serious cheat potential.
No need to whine about it being the lowest rank.
...Though not being able to teleport into living beings was a bummer.
If it could, it wouldn't be F-rank.
"Alright, status check done."
Time to unwrap the developer's gift.
I closed the status window and tapped the still-flickering 'Developer's Special Gift.'
Then [☆Developer's Special Gift★] burst open like fireworks.
And what appeared was...
🎁 [☆Arena Academy☆] ⚔ [v 1.0 plus 8 Trainer]
• God Mode
• Infinite Stamina
• Infinite Energy
• Infinite Mana
• Infinite Items
• Speed Limit Removed
• Super Accuracy
• Enemy Slow Motion
"...?"
I'd seen this screen somewhere before.
"Wait, this is..."
🎁 TRAINER FEATURES ⚔ • • God Mode
• • Infinite Stamina
• • Infinite Energy
• • Infinite Mana
• • Infinite Items
• • Speed Limit Removed
• • Super Accuracy
• • Enemy Slow Motion
Is the developer sane?
"This is an illegal cheat tool!"
No, how is the developer's gift an illegal cheat?
...But since it's from the developer, it should be fine, right?
Yeah, it'll be okay.
The email even said, 'Please use it to conquer that remaining 1% of challenges.'
That eased the anxiety nagging at me.
And that last 1%...
Details showed '???', but I had a pretty good guess.
Probably... all main characters survive, and exterminate the aliens.
The thought had barely crossed my mind when a new message appeared in my vision.
📜 ENDING QUEST 📜 【Clear Conditions】
• All main characters survive
• Exterminate alien existences
• ???
⏰ Rewards: ???
⚠️ Failure: World Destruction (Character corruption counts as failure)
"As expected..."
It matched my guess.
But... what was that third '???'?
No clue at all.
The first two were spot on, but the third was a total mystery.
"Ugh, damn..."
Another headache brewing.
"I'll figure this out later."
For now, I needed to get out of this rundown starting-room shack.
But first...
"Let's try activating God Mode."
Can't reroll characters, so with these garbage stats, I'd need cheats to survive this brutal world.
But contrary to my expectations...
Dong. [No Selection Cheat Usage Tickets x10 available.] "...?"
A short drum sound accompanied the error message.
"Ah."
Bro developer, you can't do this!
If you give me the cheat tool, just let me use it!
"Ah... developer bro!"
This is a bust!
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "No wonder... the main quest reward included a 'Random Cheat Usage Ticket.'"
Random Cheat Usage Ticket.
Probably picks a random cheat from the tool.
But to use 'God Mode,' it required 10 Selection tickets...
Wonder if Random ones work?
"...I'll find out later."
First things first.
"Get in line properly!"
"Step aside if you're not registering for the exam!"
"Hey, no fighting there!"
Register for the Arena Academy entrance exam.
"...It's packed."
In-game, even with crowds, events let you register with a screen flash.
But in reality, I had to stand in these massive lines.
A deep sigh welled up amid the endless queue, but what could I do?
To register, I had to line up.
As I stood there, I reviewed the upcoming exams.
The entrance exam consisted of three tests.
First: Trial of Wisdom
Second: Trial of Courage
Third: Trial of Strength
The Trial of Wisdom: Navigate a maze.
Trial of Courage: Break through illusions.
Trial of Strength: Slay monsters or duel other examinees.
'Gotta sign up and grab some items first.'
If cheats worked instantly, I'd bulldoze everything, but since they don't, I need gear for the tests.
With the right items, even this weak body could pass easily.
As a 30,000-hour vet, the entrance exam was child's play.