I Got Suspended Right After Possessing the Game

I was playing a game set in an academy—the kind you’d only see in novels. The protagonist enrolls, meets all sorts of people, makes friends, overcomes hardships, trials, and grueling ordeals. A painfully common story. But sometimes the most familiar flavors are the best. This game was impossible not to get attached to. Every side character had their own deep backstory, and the cast overflowed with genuinely charming people. That’s probably why I couldn’t let it go for so long. The gameplay was solid, the illustrations were beautiful, and the graphics weren’t half bad. There was just one problem… the developers killed off supporting characters like it was nothing.

“Haa…”

I let out a sigh and looked up at the sky. Yeah, I’d been screwed over in more ways than one, but I might as well admit it now. I had been transported into the game I was playing.

I still didn’t know why it happened, but at least I had one clear goal.

Survive and graduate safely.

In this world where everyone except the protagonist died so easily, staying alive came first. Then, once I survived, I would find ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a way home. That was my top priority.

…

“I get that I’ve entered the game I was playing… but getting suspended the moment I arrived? Really?”

The most important thing right now was information. I needed to understand my current situation before I could plan my next move.

“Status window.”

“...This is absolutely pathetic.”

It was already bad enough that I’d been thrown into this mess, but these stats felt like a finishing blow. Even the protagonist started with at least an average of ten in every stat. My head was spinning.

“Still… Vern Flame, huh…”

Vern Flame. In the game, he was called all sorts of things—problem child, scoundrel, disgrace of his family. But none of that was the truth. He had a very painful reason for acting like a delinquent. That alone wouldn’t have been an issue, but the biggest problem was…

“This guy becomes the mid-boss of the original story.”

During summer break, once the protagonist and his party have grown somewhat stronger, they leave the island academy for a short mission on the mainland. Stopping Vern, who has become the mid-boss by then, marks the end of that chapter. After defeating him, the game suddenly becomes much harder and the atmosphere turns dark… but that was still a long way off for me.

Anyway, the mid-boss Vern was infamous for his ridiculous difficulty. He was the kind of boss that made players who had already sunk over twenty hours into the game give up and ask for refunds. Since he used fire, it would have been strange if he didn’t have area-of-effect patterns. He could recover health with his flames, disrupt movement, and even had patterns that were practically instant-kill moves. Vern Flame was so brutally designed that it felt like the developers had created him specifically to torture players.

“But… isn’t this body way too weak?”

Well, there was nothing I could do about it. I had to accept reality. Let’s think positively. The fact that my stats were so ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠terrible meant I could shape them exactly how I wanted. Besides, the Mana Amplification trait could be quite useful.

“So this trait is what made Vern such a pain in the ass.”

Since Vern couldn’t be recruited as a companion, there was no way to check his stats before he became a boss. I never imagined he had been this pathetically weak in the early game.

“.....”

Ha… I really couldn’t see a way out. Just thinking about the dark future ahead made a wave of reality hit me hard. Of all the bodies to possess, why did it have to be this one? Wasn’t it about time I stopped waking up as mid-bosses or extras? It’s not like I left harsh reviews or spammed the developers with complaints. I just played the game a lot!

“This is dizzying.”

No matter how much I complained, nothing would change. The water had already been spilled.

“.....”

For now, I had to survive somehow. Dying after being sent into the game would be far too unfair.

…

By the time I finished organizing my thoughts, the sun had already set. The once-crowded streets had grown quiet, and only the mana-stone streetlamps shone brightly.

“I should head back to the dormitory.”

It was nighttime, so I needed to return soon. Since it was spring, the air felt a little chilly once the sun went down. I was honestly relieved I hadn’t been kicked out of the dorm yet.

But where exactly am I staying?

The academy had four dormitories, A through D, and all of them were co-ed. The most important detail was that students of any rank were mixed together without distinction. Commoners and nobles lived side by side. Most nobles in this game—despite the medieval fantasy setting—weren’t the typical arrogant types. They had been raised as elites and rarely looked down on commoners or purged them. If they met a commoner who was more talented, they coolly acknowledged it. Because most nobles behaved this way, commoners rarely hated or feared them. In fact, many admired them.

Well, that was the surface story. There were plenty of exceptions.

Anyway, using the student ID in my pocket, I returned to the room where Vern had been living. Just like in the game, holding the student ID opened the dormitory door without a key.

“First, I should wash up.”

Although the game’s base setting was medieval fantasy, modern conveniences had been implemented as magic tools for the characters’ comfort. Toilets, running water, lights—even air conditioners powered by mana stones. I used to call it lazy world-building when I played, but now that I was actually inside the game, I felt nothing but gratitude toward the developers.

“A flushing toilet is a serious matter.”

As long as I was comfortable, that was enough. Since the bathroom was made using mana stones, taking a shower was surprisingly pleasant. After washing up refreshed, I roughly dried my hair with a towel and sat on the wide, soft bed to organize my thoughts.

I had possessed the body of the mid-boss. And right after possessing him, I was hit with a fifteen-day suspension from school.

“Hmm… this might actually be a good thing?”

Fifteen days could feel long or short depending on how you looked at it. But for someone who had played this game for a long time, it was the perfect window to strengthen this body.

Still, to think I had really entered the world of the game I used to play… honestly, I still couldn’t believe it. It felt like a dream. Once night fell, I grew sentimental and my thoughts multiplied. After washing with warm water, I sat on the bed with a refreshed body. Soft moonlight poured in through the open window, and the cool night breeze blowing in from outside refreshed me. It was still a bit chilly since it was spring, but I didn’t mind. I had always liked opening the window and sitting quietly, staring at the night sky and feeling the wind whenever my thoughts grew heavy.

I had possessed the mid-boss of the story—someone whose death was practically set in stone—but the fact that I was now inside the game I had played for so long filled me with a strange sense of anticipation. If I wasn’t excited about entering a game I had poured so much time into, that would be a lie. That didn’t mean I had no worries, though. Since I had played it for a long time, I had confidence. But I had grown too attached to the characters. Even though I was struggling just to survive, I kept thinking useless thoughts like—Can I really save all of them and reach a happy ending?

From the moment I possessed Vern Flame, my path had been decided. No, I had decided it. First, I would survive. Along the way, I would save the people around me too. I wouldn’t cling to the original plot. The moment I possessed this body, the original story had already been twisted beyond recognition. In that case, I should do everything I possibly could. Since I knew the original story, I should be able to solve everything. No—this was something only I could do. So… I just had to try my best.

“.....”

After ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thinking for so long, the clock hands had already passed midnight.

I should get some sleep now.

With thoughts of surviving, saving the people around me, and reaching a happy ending where I could return home, I lay down on the bed.

…

“Ah, an unfamiliar ceiling.”

I had always wanted to say that line at least once. The bed was so soft that my back didn’t hurt at all. I felt completely refreshed.

“So… what should I do first?”

Since I had been suspended for fifteen days, I had plenty of time.

“First, I need to properly understand my current level.”

After washing my face to fully wake up, I sat down at the kitchen table. The only thing I knew was information about Vern Flame as the mid-boss. I didn’t know much about him in the early stages. He only appeared briefly at the beginning to harass the protagonist before disappearing, then reappeared as the mid-boss. There was no proper information available. Even the details I knew about Vern had been pieced together from tiny hints scattered throughout the game. The developers had hidden them so well that finding them was incredibly difficult. When the game first launched, there weren’t even proper guides, so I had to discover everything myself. These days it was all neatly organized on the wiki, though.

Setting that aside, I needed to learn about this body. I had to know how strong I currently was before deciding what to do.

I closed my eyes and focused. Even though I had lived in a world without mana, I could sense it as naturally as if I had been born in this one. In this world, mana existed. The mana absorbed by the body was refined into magical power, and the entire process felt as natural as breathing. Contrary to my expectation that handling mana would be difficult, it felt exactly like blood flowing through my veins. In other words, I felt almost nothing. I could sense something, but it was so natural that it barely registered.

But I seemed to know how to use magic.

I pictured fire in my mind, stretched out my left hand, and whispered softly as if kindling a small spark.

“Ignite.”

The moment I spoke, I felt something drain from my body. A small blue flame flickered to life above my outstretched palm.

So this is real magic.

My gaze was completely captured by the blue flame. It flickered gently, burning with a small but vivid light. I knew I would never forget this moment. The blue flame was more beautiful than any fire I had ever seen. But all flames eventually go out. The small flame burning above my hand vanished like a mirage, as if it had never existed at all.

“...Hmm.”

I roughly understood my current level now. Thanks to my trait, the power was decent, but that was it. The capacity of my Mana Core was too small. If I used magic a few more times, I would definitely collapse from exhaustion.

This isn’t premature ejaculation, it’s straight-up instant death. Just how much did they buff him when he became a boss? I salute you, Vern.

Anyway, it looked like ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my immediate course of action had been decided.

“I need to increase my stamina and the capacity of my mana core.”

Let’s start with running.