Academy Life Starting from Minus #1
Honestly, I bet every person alive has imagined it at least once—what if I became a character inside a game?
The strategy forums for D&A were packed with posts exactly like that.
The bullies who used to harass me, the teachers who just stood by and watched lol First, I’d blast the top bully with 10th-circle magic Light Fury. Especially that one guy who messed with me every single day—he’d realize what was happening way too late and start begging for his life, but there’s no way I’d spare him lol
Most replies to posts like these were nothing but mockery, but even I used to lie in bed and wonder what it would be like if I really became a character from the game.
If I had been a character in D&A, earning and saving money would have been ridiculously easy. I never would have suffered so much trying to pay off two hundred million in debt all by myself.
Of course, it was only a daydream.
But why did it actually happen?
Fine, let’s say the odds were like winning the lottery. But why did it have to be this guy, Victor?
There were so many characters in D&A. Enlil, Psyche—even Neva, the eternal last-place student, would have been acceptable. Victor, however, was a mid-boss who died in every single route.
“Disciplinary Committee Executor of the Student Council, Victor. By the laws left behind by our exalted ancestors and the gods, the Council of Delegates and the noble Student Council hereby dismiss you.”
“I, Victorica Arclight, raise an objection. There is a high probability that the transfer student… Luke Freit, who faced Victor, resorted to illegal measures.”
“Objection overruled. An executor exists to guide the students. No matter the reason, defeat is unacceptable. Therefore, the defendant Victor’s status is hereby demoted to that of a regular student.”
Bang. Bang. Bang.
The shadows seated on the high dais muttered their judgment. Even when I lifted my head, the blinding sunlight pouring through the windows behind them hid their faces. One thing, however, was certain: those shadows on the dais were declaring complete ruin for Victor’s life—for my life.
In Prison Academy, having the disciplinary committee’s executor demoted to a mere regular student was as horrifying as a noble being reduced to a slave.
At least the Student Council vice president, Victorica, raised her voice in my defense.
“Honored delegates, I request expulsion instead! Everyone here knows what happens to student council officers who are demoted to regular students. Please, at least expel him…!”
“Objection overruled.”
“Victorica, aren’t you being rather blatant in your protection? No matter how close your engagement, you should strictly separate public duty from private affection. It seems the Arclight family has truly declined.”
At this point it had gone beyond bewilderment. Yet even as everyone blamed me for offenses I had never committed and pressed me from all sides, the reason I could remain calm was thanks to this.
Steel mentality, my ass. The quirk Steel. It had definitely been a trait that raised defensive and survival stats in the game. Countless other effects floated through my mind. To think this character Victor possessed such a quirk. I only learned about it after twenty thousand hours of play. Well, he was a mid-boss who couldn’t join the party, so it couldn’t be helped.
Thanks to the quirk, I could stand before the terrifying delegates of Prison Academy—people who felt like criminal investigators—without wetting myself. Since things had come to this, I might as well ask one thing.
“I have a question for the delegates.”
The moment I raised my hand, one of the shadows snapped.
“Look at this fellow’s manner of speech…! An orphan with no lineage whatsoever dares speak to our delegates in such a tone…? Even if you are currently a student, among the delegates are those from families that reach the heavens, such as the Blackstar Duchy…!”
It was only natural they would grow angry at my rude, cold tone. But if I didn’t speak this way, my stomach would twist with pain like I desperately needed a toilet. It was better than defecating in front of everyone.
…I wouldn’t actually defecate, right?
Anyway. Something in the earlier conversation had caught my attention, so I endured the glares and asked.
“As far as I understand, there are neither dukes nor commoners on this Prison Island. Therefore there should be no compulsory reason for me to use honorifics when addressing the delegates. Am I mistaken?”
According to the game’s setting, weren’t all students equal under the student council laws handed down from the ancient ancestors? Yet these delegates were acting exactly like nobles or superiors. Was there a difference from the game’s setting? I needed to confirm it.
Whether this world was identical to D&A or different was critically important to my survival.
I recalled the dialogue from the game I had played for so long. There must have been lines about the Prison Academy student council regulations. Especially the school rules I had been forced to memorize during those annoying random quiz minigames.
“Article One, Paragraph One of the Student Council Laws. All students are equal under the student council laws. A delegate and a regular student are no different. Am I wrong?”
Let’s find out whether this bizarre reality matched the game or not.
“Th-that is…”
“Ahem.”
“Hmm…”
I could clearly sense their panic. Maybe I shouldn’t have asked. Their reaction was strange. If I stayed here any longer, it wouldn’t be surprising if someone dragged me off without a trace before I could even become the mid-boss and die to the protagonist Luke. Better to leave.
Still, there was one last thing I wanted to confirm.
“One more question. I have been dismissed from the student council and demoted to regular student, correct? I am asking whether it is demotion rather than expulsion.”
“Yes.”
Someone answered. It was the shadow that had been listening to the entire exchange with clear disinterest. From the voice, it seemed to be a woman. I could vaguely make out that she was resting her chin on her hand.
“Now that you are a regular student, you will no longer receive the student council’s protection. How far your fiancée’s light can protect you, I do not know. Still, do try to survive on this equal, prison-like island, Victor.”
Her seductive voice and the way she laughed—hohoho—felt somehow familiar. But right now, escaping this place was more important than worrying about that.
“Then I bid you all farewell.”
“I avoided expulsion.”
With words that still felt unnatural on my tongue, I turned and left the tribunal chamber. In my heart I wanted to let out a long, refreshing sigh, but Victor’s body was far too strict to permit even that.
What a noble aristocrat.
Whoosh.
Outside the room stretched a wide cloister-like corridor. Refreshing wind and open scenery greeted me through the broad windows. The roar of waves crashed loudly. The breeze brushing my face carried the thick scent of salt.
It was only natural. According to the setting, Prison Academy was an educational institution built atop a blessed lofty island. A place no one could leave at will, and no one could enter at will. That was why it was called Dungeon’s Academy.
In truth it was named for the countless underground dungeons, but that truth only appeared in the latter half of the story.
Anyway. Facing the view like this felt entirely new.
“Beautiful.”
The game I had loved so much had become reality and now lay vividly before my eyes. Whether thanks to Victor’s steel mentality or my twenty thousand hours of gameplay, my heart actually fluttered a little despite the situation.
“So.”
What now?
What do you mean, what now? I had to graduate somehow and survive. Graduating from here meant your abilities would be recognized anywhere. A diploma from Prison Academy was essentially a medal. If this place was the same as or even similar to the game, simply possessing that diploma meant there was virtually no chance of starving to death.
Above all, this character Victor would die if he left Prison Academy. For some unknown reason, he would turn into a monster.
“Avoiding expulsion and becoming a regular student is fortunate.”
I wanted to smile, but my stomach immediately tingled in warning. As expected, this Victor only accepted stiff, rigid behavior and rejected everything else.
Still, it didn’t matter.
“That’s enough.”
Not expulsion, but regular student. That was sufficient. If I succeeded in remaining here, real luck might finally follow me.
“Perhaps…”
Using the knowledge and experience I possessed, becoming wealthy within the academy and living in comfort might not be impossible at all.
“Is it truly possible?”
I asked myself. The answer came instantly.
Of course. Two hundred percent possible.
It was something only I—the twenty-thousand-hour veteran, no, the one who had practically become petroleum at the bottom of Prison Academy’s deepest dungeon—could accomplish!
“Victor.”
While I was organizing my plans, someone called me from behind. At the sharp click of heels I turned my head and saw silver hair swaying in the sea breeze. Indifferent golden eyes gazed straight at me.
“Victor, I just returned from pleading with the delegates to expel you. It would be better to be expelled and return to the mainland than to live as a regular student.”
“……”
Was this real? I needed to graduate.
Even in Victorica’s eyes as she tried to have me expelled, there was clear goodwill. Driving me toward ruin with goodwill—this was worse than outright malice.
When I remained silent, Victorica continued.
“Victor, even though it is a marriage decided by our families, you are still my fiancé. Return to the Arclight family’s main estate. If it is you… the family head and my siblings will not treat you poorly.”
So this was goodwill for her fiancé, even if only in name. Doing one’s absolute best in the given role despite a loveless, family-arranged relationship. That was Victorica Arclight, vice president of the student council.
Seeing it in person, even as a hardcore fan of D&A, it was moving. However…
The problem was that Victor, once expelled from Prison Academy, would later return as a grotesque, squirming monster for some unknown reason. Even with dot graphics, the way he writhed was truly horrifying. I had no intention of becoming that.
“Victorica.”
“What? Do you have something to say? If it is words of gratitude, you need not speak them. And do not misunderstand. It is not because I hold affection for you. It is merely repayment for everything you have done for the student council and for me until now.”
The way she snorted was honestly cute. To think such a beautiful woman was my fiancée. It was an excessive honor—so excessive I could brag about it to the entire neighborhood.
However, now was the time to say this.
“Our engagement is annulled. I shall remain at this academy.”
“…Wh-what did you say?”
Color flooded Victorica’s face—the same face that had remained proud even before the academy’s exalted delegates. But it could not be helped. To distance myself from the Arclight family that would fall into ruin after Act Eight, this was the only method. I could confidently say that now, before the first semester began, was the perfect time.
When you already know where the bombs will fall, the best course is to avoid that place entirely.