Chapter 1
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Prologue
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I like visual novels.
People who have never been in love adore romance genres.
It's because they lack love.
People whose lives have no ups and downs love bleak genres.
It's because their lives are happy.
Likewise, orphans love incest genres.
It's because they have no family.
That's why I like visual novels.
In my life, "beautiful girl" and "romance" were words incredibly distant from me.
No, not just distant. They didn't even exist in the first place.
For reasons like that, folks like me went wild for visual novels, and when they announced one based on an open-world RPG, we cheered out loud.
High freedom, diverse quests, a vast world to explore with high-quality 3D models.
A post-apocalyptic worldview grounded in modern urban fantasy. Attend an ability-user training institution, grow your powers, and conquer the characters around you—that's the core structure.
I could list the game's strengths forever.
Though the biggest perk was climbing a cliff in certain areas to catch a glimpse of panties.
Maybe because more people than expected holed up at home after the virus outbreak in China?
The game exceeded all expectations, rocketing to success overnight.
But the most important part?
This game has no gacha.
Just buy the complete edition for 88,000 won—no need for DLC, no slamming 120,000-won trucks into the screen mindlessly until your desired character pops out.
Conquer a character, add her to your party right away. Varied stories, free updates until the sequel...
The devs said, "Even like this, we're not losing money, so don't worry! If you're still concerned, toss us some donations!"
Less than a month after launch, they were already worshipped as gods in the communities.
And me? Less than a month in, I'd racked up 350 hours of playtime and cleared every achievement.
"...So now what?"
I'd conquered every character.
I'd seen every ending.
Heart Soul Academy - You have achieved all tasks.
Achievements at 100%, naturally.
A little over 10 hours a day, every day—it was inevitable.
Weekends, crashing at 4 a.m. was standard.
No job, poured a whole month into it, and my profile sparkled with the results.
What came next was obvious.
Keep clinging to a game with nothing left to do.
Or finally start job hunting.
The answer was painfully clear.
'Obviously fire up the game first. Daily quests are waiting.'
Seeing the endings and quests doesn't mean it's over.
Based on the characters I've conquered, form a four-person party, optimize the best combos, farm relics and options for them.
No gacha, but the basic framework was straight out of a gacha game.
'Drained all energy, took down the weekly boss? Why's it loading so slow today?'
For some reason, the game took forever to boot up today.
Finally, the main screen.
Smashed the start button and logged in.
There was my meticulously crafted protagonist character, trailed by three heroines.
'Whoever came up with heroines following you in the field? Pure genius.'
Admiration aside, I dove straight into the forgotten dailies, weekly boss, weekly quests, and events.
Didn't forget to burn all fatigue on relic farming either.
Over in a flash.
With story and achievements maxed, only five-minute daily farming left.
"...New story in two weeks, right? Heard it's dark."
Muttering about game updates in my dim room made me look like a total creep.
Need to cut back from now on.
'When do the leaks drop? Usually Chinese testers spill on the test server.'
Fired up the community on another monitor.
Sure enough, leaks were already circulating, just as I figured.
[Leak] Wait, so this character dies? (6)
[Leak] How's a person's name... (11)
[Leak] But why doesn't this one die? (2)
[Leak] So actually, the protagonist's identity is... (3)
[Leak] That staredown is insane lol (5)
"What the hell's going on."
A bright, hope-filled tale.
That was the direction the Heart Soul Academy devs aimed for.
Sure, post-apocalyptic world on the brink of doom, but the protagonist and their circle stayed light-hearted.
A hero emerges to save the crisis-ridden world! That's the protagonist!
The classic heroic urban fantasy path!
Killing off a character—let alone a heroine—in a visual novel game?
Better than branching or NTR drama, but killing a heroine is a massive risk.
Tore my eyes from the blazing community and back to my main monitor.
Peaceful scenery.
Never thought I'd ring in the new year with a sunrise in-game instead of IRL.
'...Not bad, actually.'
While others drag girlfriends out for it, I'm chilling on a rooftop with three heroines who adore me, soaking in the view.
Girlfriends cost maintenance; in-game data? High value, low cost.
"Huh?"
Amid the vista, a red dot caught my eye.
An unread reward in the mailbox—the red dot that pops up for notifications.
'New Year's thing... fatigue pots or affection items?'
Heart racing, I opened the mailbox.
More relic farming today.
A special New Year's gift for the player who has enjoyed our game the most and the deepest.
Hm, got it.
Gift for top players?
Lots who didn't get it, then.
'Gonna post about it on the community after claiming.'
Watching the salt in comments sounds fun.
We gave ordinary rewards to others, but our biggest fan deserves something even more special.
'...Wait, what?'
Special gift?
Exciting.
[Special Gift]
[Accept] [Decline]
Discriminating like this? With the story leaks already pissing people off, they'll rage about favoritism.
Eh, I'm on the winning side—I'll spectate.
Clicked accept with the mouse.
Then my vision winked out.
I open my eyes.
'...Ah, fuck.'
I've devoured enough visual novels to clock this situation instantly.
What are visual novels?
A genre for vicarious thrills.
Would folks craving that neglect other media?
Obvious answer.
No.
Not just VNs—I've binged games, romance dramas, movies, novels... even webnovels.
This setup?
Familiar as hell.
That clichéd webnovel prologue device, hammered in over and over.
The lazy isekai launch for authors too unconfident for original tales!
Textbook heroic path.
Had to notice.
I've possessed the protagonist of Heart Soul Academy.
'Deep breath.'
Close my eyes, open them.
Repeat.
Blink.
Blink.
Unfamiliar ceiling.
Blink all I want, it stays unfamiliar.
'Finally!'
I cheered inwardly.
Way better than my dead-end NEET life—no career, no certs, job hunt abandoned!
Heart Soul Academy protagonist life? A hundred times superior!
Post-apocalypse?
I'm the protagonist—what's to fear?
Grind stats hard, farm relics right, and even "Type 1" falls in three minutes.
I sat up immediately.
Body feels light.
Goodbye to my sedentary shut-in husk.
'Huh?'
Sitting up from bed, half my vision vanished.
Green—no, pale mint threads suddenly shrouded my eyes.
"...?"
Glanced down.
"Boobs?"
Too small for "breasts," but insisting on flat-chested rights... ambiguous weight.
"Why?"
Falsetto.
A woman's voice.
Not a man.
"No, wait, this is..."
This can't be right.
A powerless civilian?
In a post-apoc urban fantasy world?
"F-find rope first?"
Better to off myself...?
Deep breath. Calm down first.
Stay cool.
Yeah. Right.
Mom and Dad always said your impulsiveness is the issue.
Check surroundings first when trouble hits.
Right?
Yeah.
Bed, computer... standard one-room.
And one flashy gift box that didn't fit.
Opened it.
Congratulations on becoming a Heart Soul Academy student.
Check the enclosed letter for entrance ceremony time and place.
Brushed the paper aside.
'Possessed a student? Lucky break. Means I have powers at least.'
Below: student ID, a letter, neatly folded uniform square.
A bit crude, but definitely the design from the game.
[Student ID — Ivy Lane x 1]
'Design sucks.'
Nothing like the original Ivy Lane—neat hair, prim outfit.
Worlds apart from this body with hair draping over the eyes.
[Letter x 1]
[Neatly Folded Uniform Top (Shirt) x 1]
[Neatly Folded Uniform Bottom (Skirt) x 1]
Ivy Lane.
I know the name.
Conquered all heroines—obvious.
One of them I conquered, and...
'Regressor.'
Ivy Lane lacks real conquest elements.
Repeated regressions left her affection for the protagonist maxed from the start.
Her ability: Memento Mori—remember death.
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