Entrance Ceremony Day # 1
Entrance Ceremony Day # 1
"Holy shit!"
I'm alive!
"Right! There's no law that says a man just has to die...!"
The joy of being alive!
The second I opened my eyes, I felt a colossal surge of happiness!
"Ohhh! Ooooooooh!"
A shout exploded out of me, pure violent ecstasy!
The overwhelming joy and pleasure unique to a man who was dead and is now alive swept through my brain! I lived...! I don't know who you are, but I am going to send the kind person who reported this and the paramedics a deluxe ham gift set!
Like I said, there's no law that says a man just has to die. Someone must have heard my scream and called an ambulance. No doubt about it.
People say Korea's lost its warmth lately, but that's all goddamn bullshit. If I find anyone who says that kind of crap, I'll kill every last one of them.
"Phew!"
Once I shake off the excitement, the relief washes in. I'm genuinely tearing up. A sudden seizure, what the hell. People just have to experience this to get it. Only then can you understand another person's suffering. I should start a campaign recommending acute epileptic seizures for the entire nation.
But.
"What the?"
This isn't a hospital?
It's not even my place. I'm outside? In some random alley I don't recognize. Still, checking my body comes first.
Immediately, I started patting myself down, checking for anything wrong.
Goddammit, I'm in my early twenties and I'm having a sudden seizure and blacking out? Unbelievable. Mom and Dad must be so worried. I'm seriously thinking I need a full check-up soon, right when—
—Clank.
My hand caught on something at my hip.
"This is...?"
Uh.
"A knife?"
No.
A sword?
"No, what the fuck? Why do I have this?"
I'm too shocked to get words out properly.
Looking at my waist, there's a belt with a scabbard strapped to it, a sword inside. Amazingly, right now I am wearing a sword like some kind of medieval soldier.
When did I—?
I've never bought one or even seen one. The only time I've had a blade at my hip was wearing a bayonet in the army.
The sword does look a little cool, but still, who the hell in the world walks around outside wearing this?
In this beautiful modern society, only inhuman psycho lunatics out of their goddamn minds walk around with swords.
"No, who are these crazy bastards?"
Except it wasn't just one or two.
Up ahead. Past the alley, on the street, students wearing some strange kind of uniform were moving in one direction, all of them with weapons like swords strapped to their waists.
Did I suddenly develop acute sleepwalking while I was briefly out cold and join this cosplay parade with a sword on?
Maybe it's because I just woke up, but my brain doesn't seem to be working.
Why am I even here in the first place?
"..."
Extreme confusion wraps around my whole body. Looking closer, my clothes aren't what I was wearing either. They're exactly the same as what those students swaggering along are wearing.
"Mom, help."
What I feel is dread.
Standing there in the alley, a sudden terror closed in. I immediately returned the colossal happiness I had felt after coming back from the dead.
What the hell happened in the time I was briefly out cold?
Was I even right about having a seizure and blacking out?
—Slide.
I immediately shoved my hand into my pocket.
Phone's there.
There is a phone, but.
"Ah, fuck... this isn't mine."
It's not my phone.
It's even a completely unfamiliar model. Where was my Galaxy? This wasn't an iPhone or an LG. What country's phone was this? It looked sleek, but I had no clue where it was from.
Still, when I input my usual pattern, it unlocked immediately. This is insane. I unconsciously set my usual pattern on a phone I've never bought? Me?
"..."
Anyway, the phone is totally empty. Only the kinds of apps that come pre-installed on a new phone, and the contacts are clean.
But there is one message.
[Ares Academy Entrance Ceremony Schedule Guide]
"Ares Academy?"
What, is this some kind of game pre-registration? What exactly happened to me? Looking at it, there's one hour left until the entrance ceremony.
This is no time to be caring about that.
Right away I tried to install a map app to check where I am and navigate home, but none of the apps I know show up.
There's no Chrome, no Naver. Not even Daum?
"..."
Is this some other world?
—A chill.
For some reason, that thought hits. Still, I managed to search for a map on the default internet browser.
"Oh my god, fuck."
What's up with the map of Korea? This, shit, I really think something's wrong. A cold sweat pours down me. The urge to sink down and cry swept through my brain.
Don't tell me... like some hidden episode of Gulliver's Travels, I've come to an Earth that's similar but different from the original one? A world where humans seem the same but are actually living among monsters.
"Wallet."
Making ominous assumptions, I stuff the phone back in my pocket and pull out the wallet. Another one I don't recognize. No idea what the brand is. My wallet, goddammit, is Louis Quatorze.
"ID."
Thankfully, there's an ID.
[Kim Geun-cheol]
"That's me."
Name, Kim Geun-cheol. My photo is on the ID. But the birth date is weird. And an ID in the first place... it's sort of yellowish. Definitely not this red color.
"What? Awakened?"
Even the ID has something marked about being an Awakened. The hell is this? Does it mean I'm a stimulant user?
I can't understand this. There's zero chance someone made this and slipped it into my pocket while I was asleep. Either I lost my memory, or I really got caught up in something bizarre.
One or the other.
"Student ID."
And a student ID.
[Ares Academy Student ID]
[Kim Geun-cheol]
Ares Academy again.
The moment I thought maybe I got smacked with the Arirang chop while coming to pick up some game pre-registration goods.
"Huh?"
Wait a second.
I feel like I've seen this recently.
Ah, right. That game.
That game I got today.
Academy's War Hero.
That's the name of the school. Now that I think about it, these uniform-like clothes. I thought they kind of looked familiar, and it feels like they're straight out of that game.
"Mom."
A stunning assumption.
"No kidding, am I actually inside the game?"
It was absurd even saying it myself. There's no way something that preposterous exists in reality. But no matter how I look at it, this is reality.
That moment.
—Ding.
―――――――――――――――――
「Quest Triggered」
「Attend the Ares Academy entrance ceremony」
「Reward: 100 Coin」
―――――――――――――――――
"Gyaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
A bizarre sound echoed, and something like a bluish holographic window generated right before my eyes!
"You motherfucker!"
The moment I screamed in surprise, I knew!
I really am inside the game!
Probably from that moment when I lost consciousness earlier!
* * *
After collecting myself for a moment, I straightened my clothes and stepped out of the alley. Looking around, kids wearing the same uniform as me were walking along one by one.
That aside... the buildings around here are incredibly clean? To my eyes, having lived my whole life in a red-brick house, this was a pretty upscale neighborhood. It's got a landscape like some European tourist spot.
Anyway.
For now, let's just follow the staff's lead. I have no idea what's going on. On top of that, this surreal guide was throwing quest windows in my face and ordering me to attend the entrance ceremony.
Feels like I'll see blood if I don't, so I decided to go with the flow. It says it's a quest, so I guess I'll do it. The reward is 100 coin—wish it was Bitcoin. There's so little sense of reality, I don't even know what the hell I'm doing.
With those thoughts, I followed the students scattered everywhere.
"..."
The whole time I was moving, anxiety squeezed my chest.
Am I really inside the game? Mom, fuck, there's a lack of reality and then there's this. An absurdity beyond all bounds. That's exactly the thought.
But more than anything, what makes me anxious is that I don't really know anything about this game.
Glancing at the wiki was genuinely all I did.
I know it's a psychic powers battle story. Does that mean I have to fight the monsters that appear in the game too? What else... the protagonist is a growth-type munchkin with a really nice personality? And there's a character with a bad personality?
I've really got nothing.
As I'm walking and thinking that.
"Whoa."
A cool-as-hell building started coming into view. A sheer size and splendor that you can't even compare to any average university. A fortress-like building in a white motif stood proudly, and from it, something like a circular castle wall stretched all the way around.
So that's Ares Academy.
By the setting, it's an institution that cultivates superhumans. That's it, that's all I really know. If I'd known this would happen, I would've read the wiki more carefully!
Never once in my life did I think I'd regret not reading a game's lore...!
"Shit."
Admiring the building's magnificence and splendor, and the sheer size of the grounds, I walked inside. It's such a dazzlingly fancy place it almost stole my gaze away, but right now, stuff like that barely registers.
I just found the hall where the entrance ceremony was being held, walked in, and sat down somewhere random.
Totally different from the auditoriums I used in middle and high school.
Anyhow.
Inside were a ton of students and a noisy buzz. The only real difference from a normal school was that all these kids carried weapons. And their hair colors were spectacular. Also, everyone seemed a bit unusual... wait, kids?
Then how old am I?
I'm 24 now. Don't tell me I got younger?
"Phew."
While I was just repeating thoughts to myself, chewing on an indescribable emotion.
"The entrance ceremony will now begin!"
The ceremony started.
"Hurry up and start, man."
Let's see what the hell happens. I immediately crossed my arms and locked my eyes on the podium. The moment I saw the black-haired uniformed woman who suddenly jumped from somewhere, landed, and descended upon the podium... what? Anyway, the moment I saw her make that flashy entrance.
"Future heroes!!!! Welcome to Ares Academy!!!!"
—Whaaaaaam!
"Gah! Fuck!"
The instant the uniformed woman shouted, a blast of wind burst out of her! Shit, scared the hell out of me! That woman just blasted wind from her mouth! How does that make any sense!
"Gah fuck?! Who said gah fuck!!!!"
"Gasp...!"
And she heard me from this far away?! Her furious roar swallowed the auditorium! No, no matter what, pulling a stunt like this in the middle of the entrance ceremony isn't right, is it?
At times like this, play dumb!
"...!"
I immediately ground my teeth and ducked my head slightly to pretend I didn't do it, and the next instant—
"You there, the one who ducked his head!!! Playing dumb is useless!!! Stand up immediately!!!"
—Wham!
The wind shot out as if locked onto a target, and my bangs fluttered wildly. Yep, I'm caught. At the same time, every gaze in this space turned toward me.
"H-hey. You. She talking to you?"
"Hey! Apologize, quick...!"
"This bastard's screwed!"
The students sitting nearby called to me quietly, urging me to apologize... ah, fuck! Can nothing go right for me!
"I'm sorry! I yelled because I was startled!"
Let's just apologize first!