Entrance Ceremony Day # 2
Entrance Ceremony Day # 2
I shot to my feet, bowed deeply, and apologized loudly.
If I'd known my mouth was gonna blast out a shockwave like that, I would've kept my goddamn trap shut. The sheer injustice was driving me insane.
"You screamed because you were startled?! You are a cadet who aspires to become a hero!!! Cursing and shouting over a mere voice! Such a lapse in composure is unacceptable!!! Cadet! What is your name!!!"
Holy shit, am I getting expelled?!
"Kim Geun-cheol, ma'am!"
"Kim Geun-cheol! This Chairwoman will be watching you!"
She jabbed two fingers at her own eyes, then pointed them straight at me as she said it!
"Since you apologized properly, I'll forgive you! Take your seat!"
"Take my seat!"
Her presence was so overwhelmingly powerful that I ended up echoing her words back like a goddamn boot camp recruit...!
"Hrk!"
My heart was pounding like crazy! What kind of woman is built like that? I parked myself in my seat and tried to calm my pounding heart!
How many students in the world get called out by name by the Chairwoman on entrance ceremony day?!
This is terrifying!
Anyway.
She was a woman with a gaze so razor-sharp that just looking at it made you feel like you were gonna piss yourself. Plus, she had a scar near her eye, like Scar from The Lion King. Her overwhelming presence was genuinely frightening. And the uniform—with those shoulder tassels and that long, flowing jacket draped over her shoulders like a cape—made her even more intimidating.
"Hoo."
From there on, the entrance ceremony proceeded with an almost astonishing level of sheer force.
"This Chairwoman is so very proud of all of you!!!!"
The Chairwoman kept firing her voice out like she was blasting a windstorm, and documents and such kept flying around everywhere.
And on the screen behind her, a whole list of the Chairwoman's achievements and school history scrolled by. From what I skimmed, the Chairwoman is one of Korea's most powerful Awakened individuals, a war hero from some past war, and this school is an extremely distinguished academy.
That's the game setting, right?
Not sure. I've gotta look into this properly.
"Now, the new cadet oath will begin! This year, astonishingly, we have two top incoming cadets! This Chairwoman is truly amazed and satisfied!"
Delighted by this, the Chairwoman smiled with satisfaction.
"Joint top cadets! Top cadet Ryu Cheon-hwi! And top cadet Leona! Come forward!"
Le-, what?
Leona?
What kind of batshit insane parent names their kid something like that? Every time I see shit like this, my blood pressure skyrockets. Don't give your kid a joke name for fuck's sake! Also, is "Le" even a Korean surname?
No, wait. She's gotta be foreign.
—Swish.
A beautiful woman with long silver hair stepped up onto the stage. That must be Leona... She's real pretty. Guess she really is a foreigner.
But Ryu Cheon-hwi? A person named Ryu Cheon-hwi? Ah! I think I skimmed this bastard's wiki page earlier before I passed out while brushing my teeth! He was definitely the protagonist's rival character, right?!
"Top cadet Ryu Cheon-hwi! Come forward!"
But the guy won't come up.
"Top cadet Ryu Cheon-hwi! I am calling you!"
The Chairwoman shouted even louder, but he still didn't come out. A guy in a suit quickly dashed over and whispered something in the Chairwoman's ear, and she instantly exploded with rage.
"What?! The brat didn't come at all?! Isn't Ryu Cheon-hwi that bastard Ryu Seong's son?! Why the hell didn't Ryu Seong send his kid to the entrance ceremony, that son of a bitch!!! That clueless bastard hasn't changed one bit since the old days!!!"
This entrance ceremony is a total shitshow, for real.
I have never in my life seen an entrance ceremony like this.
Anyway, she ended up doing the new cadet oath solo.
"We, the entering class, do solemnly pledge to become proud heroes who will fight for the world."
"Good, good! Our top cadet Leona! This Chairwoman will be watching over you!"
"Thank you, Black Yaksha."
Black Yaksha... that's a nickname straight outta Inuyasha or something.
"Call me Chairwoman!"
"Yes, ma'am."
And with that, the entrance ceremony came to a close.
"All cadets, please head to your dormitories! You should have received a text message, so check it and proceed!"
The moment it ended, people who looked like teachers popped out and announced that. So, off to the dorms it is.
I checked my phone, and sure enough. A text had arrived with my dorm assignment.
"..."
Let's go, then...
* * *
And so, I arrived at the dormitory.
—Ding.
―――――――――――――――――
「Quest Complete」
「Attend Ares Academy Entrance Ceremony」
―――――――――――――――――
A cheerful notification chime rang and a hologram-like window popped up in front of my eyes. I was mentally prepared this time, so I didn't freak out.
「Reward: 100 Coin」
"Then give me the money, you asshole."
I still don't know what it is, but another notification popped up saying I'd acquired 100 coin, and then all the windows vanished.
"What the hell?"
I didn't actually get anything tangible. Wait, did it deposit it into my bank account? This is a game world, after all. If they gave me coin... that probably means the money went into some kind of in-game inventory and I can spend it at some kind of shop.
"Ugh."
A sigh escaped me.
"It's daunting. So damn daunting."
Seriously daunting.
Do I really have to live here now?
I'm on the verge of shitting myself in shock, and I barely know anything about this game. The tiny bit of wiki I read and some old internet meme I saw—that's literally it. Hell, the only reason I even started was that someone mentioned there was new DLC and I thought I'd give it a quick glance and downloaded it.
"..."
This is godawful beyond belief.
Let's try to get a handle on the situation.
The entrance ceremony is over. It's 11 o'clock now, so they said I should eat and then be at the designated classroom by 1 PM. I've got time until then.
"And conveniently, there's a computer."
The dorm was a single room. Maybe about 330 square feet? It had everything you'd expect, and it looked like enough for living alone.
So now I'm a hero cadet. Apparently, I'm an Awakened who has awakened superhuman powers, and that's why I get this kind of treatment. Well, they're the ones fighting enemies like monsters, so I guess they'd need decent treatment.
Anyway, I've got a computer, so let's do some information gathering.
I can't live with this anxiety if I don't figure out what this world is all about. We speak the same language, but it feels like I've been stranded in a foreign country.
And I need to find a way to get back home too... but I honestly have no clue about that one.
"First, let's wash up."
I went to the bathroom, turned on the water, and looked in the mirror.
"Huh? This bastard?"
I actually got younger? This isn't my twenty-four-year-old face. This is my face from when I was about twenty. I'm a few years younger! If you're gonna de-age me, you could've at least taken me back to high school.
Well, I kinda like this.
"Nice."
Enjoying my youth, I finished washing up and went to sit down in front of the computer.
I took out my student ID right away and searched for Ares Academy in the browser. Schools always let you log in with your student ID. I have absolutely zero info about myself, so let's see what I can find here.
"Ohhh."
It logs me in.
I immediately poked around the website and managed to find my application form and personal details. Heh. My information-gathering skills are truly impressive. I applauded myself and moved the mouse.
[Name: Kim Geun-cheol]
[Age: 17]
[Gender: M]
I really am seventeen.
I scanned through my info and checked the family relations and education history sections.
[Attended: Hanbit Orphanage Elementary Division]
[Attended: Dream Village Orphanage Elementary Division]
[Enrolled: Dr. Chaplain Orphanage Elementary Division]
[Graduated: Areumdaun Orphanage Elementary Division]
[Attended: Kind Heart Orphanage Middle Division]
[Enrolled: Ancient Batista Orphanage Middle Division]
[Graduated: Bright Courtyard Orphanage Middle Division]
"The— what?"
I'm an orphan?
[Father: Deceased]
[Mother: Deceased]
"YOU MOTHERFUCKERS!!!!!!!!"
You bastards can't just go around killing off my parents on a whim!
"ARGHHHH!!!!"
I just got hit with a parent insult and I can't even fight back!
What a goddamn way to screw me over! And not only that, but I got bounced around orphanages like a goddamn ping-pong ball! I guess that's how they set it up, but what kind of problems did I have to keep getting shuffled around like that?!
Am I a bomb or something?!
Am I Problem Child A?!
And what the hell is up with Dr. Chaplain Orphanage and Ancient Batista Orphanage?! Those names make no goddamn sense! You can't just put words like that in front of "Orphanage"!
"Hoo!"
I let out an angry breath and scanned through the rest of the information.
[Awakening Period]
This is the most important one. Looking at the date, it seems I awakened about half a year ago from today. So I awakened while I was at the Bright Courtyard Orphanage Middle Division and applied to the academy.
"Awakening, huh."
So I'm a superhuman too?
Do I actually have some kind of superhuman power in my body?
I don't really feel it right now... Let's check.
[Awakening Rank: F]
"Oh. F-rank, you piece of shit. Air fryer son of a bitch."
So I awakened as an F-rank about half a year ago. It feels like getting screwed, but it's still better than being a regular person.
Let's look into this awakening thing.
—Tap tap tap.
I searched it up right away.
"Awakening."
Awakening is literally the process of suddenly gaining superhuman powers. Something like that. Through awakening, an ordinary person becomes an Awakened, and Awakened individuals can effectively combat the monsters and monsterkin that cross over from other worlds.
"Pretty standard setup."
As for this awakening rank business, F-rank is apparently the most common and basic one. Not much different from an ordinary person, but the biggest difference is being able to handle mana.
But the potential for growth is there.
Over 70% of Awakened start at F-rank. This rank seems to be primarily determined by the amount of mana you possess. There's more to it, but to sum it up simply, mana capacity is the most important factor.
"Mana?"
So there's something called mana in my body.
This mana is said to be the fuel that lets Awakened generate superhuman power. It's what you use to shoot flames or exhibit superhuman strength, stuff like that.
Anyway, since I've awakened, that means I can handle mana too... Let's test it out.
"Mana!"
Clenching my fist, I shouted as I threw a jab.
"Mana! Mana! Manaaaaa!"
I'm still not feeling anything... Oh! Right! I've got a sword strapped to my hip!