“Wow~ there are so many people.”
The entrance ceremony of the central academy of the Dreaming World.
To think I would see it with my own eyes, this was quite a rare experience, I could dare say.
In the sky, there were huge lights I’ve never seen before and countless students below.
It was truly grand and glamorous, far beyond the ordinary school entrance ceremonies I had imagined.
The clothes that people wore were also neat and tidy outfits that I wouldn’t normally see in daily life.
Additionally, among the professors who had already taken their seats above, I could see several familiar faces.
And then, a professor who spotted me raised a hand…?
“Uh.”
The moment I saw that, my body was etched with fear.
A muscular madwoman… no, a tanning girl with solid muscles all over her body.
I never expected someone would wear workout clothes that seemed apt for a gym at the entrance ceremony…!
In this entrance ceremony, the only two people wearing outfits that stood out from others were that professor and me.
One was wearing a T-shirt bought during a sale at a supermarket, the other was in a crop top tightly hugging her dolphin pants.
I wished it wasn’t me, but due to the smell of alcohol on my body, no one was approaching me, and there were no people within 5 meters around me.
Therefore, that professor’s target was none other than me!
“Eek.”
My past PTSD from the gym came rushing back, and I hurriedly tried to hide among the crowd, but it felt like the parting of the Red Sea, disappearing each time someone passed by.
“····.”
Speechless, I had no choice but to drink again and merely averted my gaze, glancing around.
Alcohol is a great help in distorting the unfortunate reality.
As I wandered around the vast entrance hall, I finally discovered a place where various foods were available.
Of course, there were also drinking facilities set up for those with adult status.
“Heh… found the fruit liquor.”
As a student, I technically shouldn’t be able to approach it, but seeing no people around, I thought maybe it wouldn’t matter if I had a sip.
After all, who drinks at an entrance ceremony? It was probably just for show.
“···But that’s me?”
Still, since it was prepared for drinking, I poured some into my bottle from a stacked cup beside me.
It had been a long time since I had enjoyed such tasty liquor, having only been consuming diluted drinks.
“Mm, is it fruit liquor?”
Indeed, as expected, the liquor had a depth of flavor that couldn’t even compare to the convenience store stuff.
“Ugh… no.”
However, I couldn’t drink it like water.
Because of the unique flavor of fruit liquor, it easily masked the alcohol taste, making me want to drink it quickly, though it had quite high alcohol content.
In other words, it could easily get me drunk.
However, if I became accustomed to the taste of such precious liquor, I wouldn’t be able to be satisfied with convenience store diluted drinks anymore.
Thus, a situation could arise where I could no longer be content with diluted drinks…!
“I’ll hold on until I get some money…”
Since it was rare for me to drink, I sat down, savoring the long-awaited taste, when soon a voice came through the connected speakers.
[We will be starting the entrance ceremony shortly, so students are requested to take their seats.]
“Already…?”
I looked at the cup filled with fruit liquor with regret, but this was a priority, so I quickly left the room and took my assigned seat.
Fortunately, since it was already assigned, there wasn’t a repeat performance of the parting of the Red Sea like before.
[Now, we will begin the entrance ceremony.]
Wowww!!!
Cheers erupted from everywhere.
And then, a figure appeared at the top.
It was a woman exuding maturity with black hair.
With overwhelming allure and beauty, she captured the students’ attention in an instant.
“Welcome to the Central Academy. I am the headmaster, Verquis Ismael.”
Each word, though seemingly ordinary sentences, carried immense power.
It felt like my body shrunk and was overwhelmed. It was as if the entire presence was on a different level.
‘Well, considering there was a side story about her winning against all the other professors at once, it’s not unreasonable.’
As I listened, the people who ranked among those who passed the exam began to introduce themselves one by one, allowing me to see many famous individuals.
A student with the highest probability of becoming the next Grand Tower Master of the Mage Association.
Wearing her hat askew, she gushed about herself with confidence and ended up getting pushed back by those behind her due to her unending chatter.
Then I spotted an enormous muscle-bound man, nearly 3 meters tall.
Could he even be called a human?
He spoke slowly, fitting his character, but his short sentences caused him to retreat quickly, repeatedly followed by the next person.
Finally, the last person came forward to state their name.
“Hello, I’m Yoon Si-woo.”
In a space filled with foreign names like Latias Evergreen and Hamatsuro Denshi, his Korean name stood out prominently.
“Mm…”
None other than the top scorer of this exam, the protagonist.
The problem was…
“Who is that?”
I had never seen that person while playing the game.
‘Yoon Si-woo? Who is that?’
Though the number of passers differed with each exam, the main characters always pass at the entrance ceremony.
But I had never seen a man named Yoon Si-woo, as far as my memory served me.
I felt hazy, but…!
“Ugh…”
I didn’t know.
In the first place, I had no intention of befriending the main characters, so I thought it didn’t matter.
Usually, in stories or things like that, it’s appropriate to get closer somehow, but there was no way I could do that in this drunken state.
I would eventually have to find a way, but it wasn’t a problem I could solve right now.
Thus, until the boy finished his speech, I couldn’t recall anything and simply gulped down the fruit liquor I had poured earlier and began to wander around the entrance hall again.
[From now on, please feel free to use the entrance hall. The exit time is until 12 PM.]
Let’s see, it’s 10 AM now…
The fact that I still had two whole hours to drink made me smile, and I began to walk lightly toward the drinking area.
However.
The hallway leading there.
And the man walking from the opposite direction.
Though I was drunk and dazed, it seemed he was deliberately approaching me.
Thinking back, this was something I had never experienced even in school, a “shoulder bump.”
It made sense since the hallway was too wide to be a coincidence.
However, I never imagined such nonsense would happen in my lifetime, so I just kept walking down the corridor, yet the man bumped his shoulder against mine.
“Power Release.”
Bang!!
“Gah!!”
And unconsciously recognizing it as an attack, I immediately used my counterattack skill.
“Wow.”
After getting hit in the stomach, he flew back and crashed into the wall, causing people nearby to start gathering around.
“What’s going on?”
“That person suddenly crashed into the wall!!”
“Is there a fight?”
With a shower of falling debris, the man clasped his stomach and stared at me.
“Ugh… what the hell is this!!!”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“Y-you…!”
The man looked at me with eyes bulging with anger, and it was quite frightening.
It genuinely felt like he was seriously mad.
However, if he had no intent to attack at all, my counterattack skill wouldn’t have activated.
After all, this was a ‘counter’ responding to ‘attacks.’
A mere bump disguised as a coincidence would never trigger it.
“You… you piece of trash…!”
Even if I didn’t have money, that was a bit much to say.
Just because I’m broke doesn’t mean I lack pride.
Thus, I retorted to the man.
“Hehe, what’s this?”
Upon hearing my words, the man’s face turned red, almost as if it could burst.
“I-I-I! You, come to the Duel Arena.”
“Why should I?”
“Of course, if you started it, it means you’re confident in your skills!!”
“I didn’t start anything.”
“Then what was that just now!!”
“I don’t know.”
I responded with a short answer filled with anger.
If I matched my excitement with his, the situation would only become tedious.
After playing many games that involved asking about parents’ well-being, I had already figured that out.
I had realized that there are no endings to emotional fights.
“…Huh, fine. You seem to like drinking, huh?”
“Right? But how did you know~?”
Sensing that I had no intention of responding properly, he started to negotiate with me in another way.
“Did you think you could grab attention in the exam room and no one would notice?”
“Oh, was it that obvious?”
I thought I had tried my best.
In the first place, I wasn’t the type to care much about the attention of others, so I might not have noticed.
“Then if you win, I’ll buy you all the liquor you want within 1 million.”
“Uh… is it worth that much?”
In this world, a bottle of liquor worth 1 million? Does he think he’s the youngest son of a conglomerate?
Moreover, with people gathered around, he probably couldn’t retract his statement. Did it really need to be that extravagant?
But…
“Okay.”
I try to avoid fights, but I wouldn’t refuse an approaching one.
Especially if there was a quality reward attached to it.
So, I agreed to the duel with a smile, slinging the liquor bottle over my shoulder.
“Hmm… what should I drink?”
I slowly pondered the brands of the bottles I would purchase next.
