Chapter 2
How could the ability name be... Well, I'd decided to enroll in the academy. But the problem was how?
At the moment of possession, I wasn't even a cadet yet. I'd possessed this body right before the original story kicked off. Getting stranded in a world completely different from my old one was already hardcore enough. And now I had to cross the threshold into the academy without even understanding the language? That was way too tough...
...or so I thought, sweating bullets, but luckily all the necessary paperwork had already been cleared. All I had to do was head home, follow the guide that was waiting there, and show up at the exam venue on time. If they'd made me start from the application stage, I would've just given up, for real.
The academy entrance exam was divided into three stages.
Academic test, aptitude/personality test, Unique Ability test.
The academic test was low difficulty with minimal weight. It just checked if you could understand the instructors' explanations and orders without major screw-ups. As long as you had the smarts to get into a decent college, you'd pass easily.
The personality test was no big deal either. As long as you didn't blatantly act like a psychopath, you'd sail through. The fact that people actually failed this seriously gave me chills.
And the final test: the Unique Ability exam. That was the real deal.
The first two were just to weed out total trash. The Unique Ability test checked if you had the potential to wield power and the talent to handle Qi once enrolled.
Qi is like the mana from a ton of fantasy novels—a concept that governs everything from matter to the spirit. Think of it like atoms on steroids.
If you could handle Qi:
One, you'd gain superhuman strength.
Two, senses sharper than an animal's.
Three, with development, you could interfere with external objects—telekinesis, matter creation, that sort of thing.
And crucially, you'd unlock a unique superpower that only you could wield.
The academy was the higher education institution that taught exactly how to harness that Qi power. Even if you aced the academic and personality tests, failing the Unique Ability exam meant instant rejection.
So the waiting room, packed with academy cadet hopefuls, buzzed with thick tension.
Unique Ability was fundamentally talent. Effort mattered, sure, but without the basics, you couldn't even start.
In a few minutes, these wannabes would get their talent judged, and about half would be branded talentless.
It was brutal—you didn't even get a shot at effort if you lacked talent.
The waiting room thrummed with tension, like a single thread holding up a one-ton weight. And then—
This★ body★ makes★ her entrance★.
"Huh... isn't that...?"
"No way, I've seen her on the news. That's Joo Hyowon, right?"
"Joo Hyowon at the academy? For real? Didn't she say she didn't trust those Unique Ability heroes?"
The moment I appeared, the room vibrated with shock.
Whew, what can you do? A beauty's charisma can't be hidden, no matter how hard you try.
...Yeah, just saying.
But it was natural for people to react so sensitively to me. The Joo Hyowon I'd possessed was already famous before the original story even started.
Five years before the main plot, back in middle school, she'd been diving into gates, battling monsters head-on.
Hard not to get famous doing that. Easy analogy: a middle school girl with no military academy or even basic training charging into a battlefield under civilian evacuation orders, taking down armed insurgents.
The consensus was one high school girl equaled two special forces operatives. But a middle schooler who hadn't even reached that level yet?!
Naturally, hero society nearly had a collective heart attack over Joo Hyowon's reckless stunts. It was obvious suicide to anyone.
Whatever her circumstances, leave monster cleanup to the heroes. If you wanna do it yourself, at least enroll in the academy first.
The adults tried blocking her with straight-laced logic, but Hyowon shot back:
'The heroes are too slow.'
'They can't fix the root problem.'
'I can't trust them.'
'I'll get my revenge myself.'
And now that very Joo Hyowon shows up for the academy entrance exam—the gateway for Unique Ability heroes? Bound to be a hot topic.
The real Joo Hyowon probably ignored all those stares. Her head was filled only with revenge against the monsters and hatred for her own weakness.
...That's what the real one would've done, anyway.
Ugh, this is awkward.
It's the exam that decides my life, so why are you all staring at me? Do your own thing, right?
Even if those gazes were aimed at "Joo Hyowon" and not "me," it was still burdensome.
In my old world, I'd have shrunk my shoulders and scurried to my seat under that pressure.
But no need for that now. I couldn't do that.
Be confident. Stride proudly like those stares mean nothing.
If an average nobody like my past self did it, it'd look pathetic. But for a beauty like me now? Pure elegance.
I walked straight down the center of the stares, chin slightly raised, eyes fixed 5 to 10 degrees upward. Legs neither too wide nor too narrow. Expression blank enough for multiple interpretations.
Never learned model walking, but who cares? This face would handle it.
Proof: half the whispers aimed at me turned into hushed gasps.
If even I gasped at my own face in the mirror, imagine everyone else.
Reaching my assigned seat, I nearly let out the gasp I'd been holding.
Whoaaaa—
Came to the academy for the exam, and my seatmate is the protagonist? My heart nearly dropped out.
2D to 3D added some distortion, but no mistaking it. Definitely him—the protagonist of Big Team Academy.
The potential abuser I had to rehabilitate at all costs.
I'd thought his looks were protagonist bias in 2D, but 3D? Still handsome enough to have demand.
Not a perfect flower boy, but that sharp face with heavy dark circles? Decadent vibe always has its fans.
...And with a face like that, he still went abusing women. What a psycho.
Though technically, it was the player's choices.
"...? What's up? Why are you staring like that?"
"Nothing?"
Couldn't let him glimpse my inner thoughts, so I shot back snappily. Instant regret.
That bitchy attitude was the hallmark of early-game heroines in eroge— the type that makes players outside the screen go, Okay, her first.
Luckily, the protagonist didn't take my attitude to heart. This timeline was pre-corruption.
Still, building favor early is smart in these games. Mistake on my part.
Feigning disinterest, I side-eyed his surroundings for info. Anything useful.
Hwa Yujin... default name, huh.
In Big Team Academy, players could name the protagonist. Too lazy? Use a default like this one.
Nothing else noteworthy. Can't exactly chat during exam wait, and blatant staring looks suspicious.
Learning the name was harvest enough.
"Joo Hyowon, please come in."
The wait ended; my turn.
No nerves. I already knew I'd get in.
As expected, the interviewer knew me.
"Welcome, Hyowon. Never thought I'd see the famous Hyowon in person. Wasn't expecting it... nice to meet you."
"...Thanks for the kind words."
"You seemed dissatisfied with our academy and the heroes before, but looks like you've changed your mind. Good sign. We're not perfect or absolute, but we're humanity's strongest defense line. I believe you get that now."
I nodded vaguely. Yeah, pretty much.
Academy had internal issues, but we live choosing the lesser evil, not the best. Losing her parents and distrusting the academy was original Hyowon's baggage, not mine.
"Anyway... wow, your Qi is incredibly refined. Quality and quantity both top-notch. This rivals second-years... no, even juniors or seniors. Impossible for a pre-enrollment civilian, let alone a freshman."
After probing my body's Qi and heaping praise, the interviewer slid a parchment-like paper toward me.
"Place your palm on this paper? It'll judge your Unique Ability."
"Like this?"
I complied. Seconds later, a sucking sensation pulled from my palm, then faded.
"Good. Hand the parchment back?"
"Uh, this?"
"Usually takes longer. The parchment needs time to detect and absorb enough Qi. If it's blocked, it breaks through—that sometimes fails, and that's a fail."
As he finished explaining, text floated up on the parchment.
Light and Darkness
Can simultaneously dominate light and darkness.
Dominates light and darkness at once. Straight-up Yu-Gi-Oh vibes. Overflowing middle school syndrome made it embarrassing to even comment.
I knew it already, but still cringey! Light and Darkness? Total second-year junior high notebook scribble.
Regardless of my tastes, the interviewer freaked out in awe.
"Light and darkness at the same time!? Controlling opposing concepts simultaneously... that's some insane talent. Might even fill one of the Five Heroes' spots someday..."
Hey, teach? Darkness isn't real—it's just absence of light. Control light, you control darkness too, right? That big a deal?
"Excellent, Joo Hyowon. You're free to go. Can't notify on the spot due to procedure, but... heh, expect good news."
"Ah, yes. Thank you."
After a few more tests, I left the interview room.
His reaction screamed acceptance. As expected.
"Phew, didn't do much, but I'm wiped."
Time to head home, stretch out, and crash.
As I walked the hall, the next interview room over was noisy.
"...Training?! ...sexually ...her, ...you say?! What kind of... this...!"
Soundproofing was solid, so fragments only. But that meant the voice was loud enough to pierce it.
Enough to guess: protagonist's interview room.
I shot genuine pity at the door. Probably the exact moment his life started going to hell.
My Unique Ability: Light and Darkness. Mockable middle school vibes, no denying it.
But even mine beat the protagonist's.
His was undeniably powerful.
In a world without superpowers, it'd be a joke. But here, where that chuuni setup was real? Pride-worthy.
Hwa Yujin's? Female Training.
An ability that strengthened a woman's Qi by sexually dominating her.
The power that made this world an eroge.
Easy to imagine the mockery and suspicion ahead.
"Don't think too badly of it. Your ability saves the world, after all."
Not much comfort, though.