Prologue: The Stage is Set
Teonor Academy. It was the setting of my favorite web novel, I Became the Academy's Scoundrel.
Simply graduating from this place guaranteed a noble title. Better yet, as long as you possessed talent, you could enroll regardless of your social status. Naturally, geniuses and prodigies from every corner of the world flocked to its gates. It was the most prestigious of institutions, often hailed as the cradle of the high nobility. Consequently, it was a hotbed for all kinds of incidents and accidents, never knowing a quiet day. They say if you gather five people, at least one of them is bound to be a lunatic. Here, those lunatics just happened to be geniuses.
But this year was bound to be exceptionally chaotic. After all, this was the year of the grand entrance—the year the protagonist and his heroines, who attracted trouble just by breathing, would finally enroll.
Why was I rambling about a novel, you ask? Simple. Because I woke up inside that very academy novel.
A month had already passed since I first opened my eyes in this world. Though I was utterly bewildered at first, thirty days was more than enough time to adjust. When I transmigrated into the body of a senior a year ahead of the protagonist, the god who dropped me here must have wanted to ensure I wouldn't die some pathetic death on the streets. My personal combat power was more than sufficient. No, "sufficient" was an understatement. It was overwhelming.
Still, they say more is always better. It was certainly preferable to be overpowered than weak. When I factored in the cataclysmic events destined to unfold in the future, even my current strength couldn't guarantee survival. I needed to become even stronger.
"Well then. Is today the day?" I muttered, gazing out the dormitory window.
The academy's main gate, usually pristine and quiet, was bustling with merchants of every stripe. Students clad in crisp, tailored uniforms walked through, their faces tight with nervous anticipation. Among the crowd, I spotted several faces I recognized from the novel's official illustrations.
There was the sweet, innocent-looking blonde country girl. Next was the granddaughter of the Ice Magic Tower Master, her sky-blue hair fluttering in the wind like the ice queen from a certain animated movie. Then came the princess of the world's greatest empire, her burning golden eyes harboring an insatiable ambition. And finally, a remarkably cautious-looking, red-haired female knight. The heroines of I Became the Academy's Scoundrel, all classmates in the same year, were entering the academy, each exuding a distinct, commanding aura.
Yet, there was someone else who arrested my attention far more than any of them. A heavily obese boy dressed in garishly luxurious clothes, walking in amid a barrage of contemptuous glares. He looked so round that a gentle nudge might send him rolling down the path, but the sheer, unyielding will burning in his eyes was far from human.
I murmured under my breath. "Idrian Goldenroad."
The Hero of the Beginning, now possessing the body of the empire's greatest scoundrel. The savior who had once vanquished the primordial evil, Apophis, and restored light to the world. The true protagonist of this world was preparing to spread his wings.
I had waited a whole month for this. The first major event that served as the prologue and marked the true beginning of this world: the freshman entrance ceremony. The grand annual spectacle hosted by the academy had finally begun.