The academy had prepared dormitories for the new students, allowing them to stay a few days before the exam.
As a result, most of the people taking the entrance exam were already living in the dormitory.
Now, why am I suddenly saying this…?
‘Where is my room?’
Now that I think about it, I… I mean, I had no idea where Rudion, the original owner of this body, had stayed.
There must be assigned buildings and rooms, but since I possessed this body during the entrance exam, I had no way of knowing where he had been up until then.
Fortunately, I found something like a key in my pocket, so I made it to the 1st Year Male Dormitory building, but I had no idea which room to enter.
Let’s think this through. There are currently about 100 first-year students. Among them, the male-to-female ratio averages 6:4, meaning there were about 60 male freshmen this time, just like usual.
There are 6 buildings, each containing 12 single rooms. Trying to guess is not worth the effort.
Of course, if I entered each one and tried the key in the rooms without people, I might eventually find it.
But that would take a lot of time, and more importantly, I’d probably end up being seen as a weird creep if I got it wrong.
Let’s use my brain. While I might not use it well, my knowledge of games is extensive. That has to count for something.
I’ll start by eliminating characters who have not been shown from the protagonist’s perspective. I’ll recall episodes centered around the dormitory and eliminate one by one.
Naturally, I exclude the building the protagonist uses. And even though I can’t be 100% sure about the two buildings I might accidentally explore, I’ll exclude them based on probability.
After that, I got rid of the dormitory students I was supposed to face in the dormitory competition. I don’t think any of them look like Rudion.
After excluding another building… only two buildings remain.
Building 4 and Building 6.
And I sincerely hope it’s not Building 6.
That’s the building that’s going to collapse by the end of the first semester. It’s not due to a terrorist attack or anything; it’s just that there’s a crazy guy in there who I think caused an explosion during an experiment.
Building 6 is relatively far away, so it didn’t affect any other buildings, and since the explosion happened during class time, there were no casualties. In the game, it turned into a side quest about helping to clean up the rubble, but if this turns into a documentary, it’s a different story.
I hope my building doesn’t collapse. No matter how well they deal with the aftermath, I just want a place to relax in peace.
Still, well… if I’ve come this far, the outcome must be set.
CLACK!
I walked into the soon-to-collapsing Building 6, inserting the key into a door where I sensed no presence.
By the time I reached the corner of the second floor, I felt a bit of hope. I thought, “Could this really be the right place?”
CLACK-
“Oh, I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up.”
So this is it.
Just when I thought I could harbor some hope, it was dashed, leaving me feeling quite unpleasant.
But well… even though I hoped it wouldn’t be, I kind of figured this would happen once Building 6 was on the list of candidates, so I wasn’t that disappointed.
BUBBLE BUBBLE…
I suppose it can’t be helped. Honestly, as long as I don’t leave any important items in my room, it shouldn’t matter too much.
CLICK!
SHHHH…
I opened the door and stepped inside…
PUSH…
What on earth is that strange sound I keep hearing?
I was about to step into my room when I turned to look in the direction of the noise.
A cloud of unknown smoke was seeping out from the gap in the door of the right next room.
“…I’m going insane.”
It seems the culprit of the explosion incident is right next door.
I anticipated that I’d be living in this building, but I never thought it would come to this.
‘Is this actually a good thing?’
If I’m lucky, I might be able to prevent the dorm from collapsing.
Of course, I won’t know anything until I actually meet the person inside.
For now, I ignored it and entered my room.
The original Rudion, who likely came in before the entrance exam, didn’t seem to be the organized type, as everything from luggage to bedding was scattered all over the place.
I rummaged through to see if I could find out what he was up to, but there wasn’t much to gain.
The only thing I found out was that his original weapon was a small sword that didn’t quite match his size.
I pulled out a well-maintained small sword from his bag, which looked like it had a luxurious scabbard, suggesting it was at least a rare-grade item.
A small sword, huh… That’s perfect for some outlandish adventures. It’s also convenient to have a shield in the other hand.
And if it’s indeed a rare grade, it’s not a bad initial weapon, so I decided to use it for a while.
“Sigh. I should just lie down for now.”
I had spent quite a while rummaging through things and organizing my stuff right after entering.
I casually tossed the small sword next to my bag and flopped down onto the bed.
“Ahh, this is nice.”
With surprisingly pleasant texture and softness, I couldn’t help but let out a contented sigh like an old man, but there was no one around to hear it…
SHHH…
BUBBLE BUBBLE…
Oh great, the soundproofing here is terrible. I’d better lower my voice.
Now that I finally get a moment to rest, I can’t just lie here doing nothing.
There was a mountain of things I needed to investigate.
Honestly, I had quite a few things on my mind, and just applying a few of them would yield huge benefits.
I recalled the most systemic and useful function.
‘Inventory.’
[This function is currently locked.]
[Unlock condition: Contribute to 5 rifts with a score of 40% or more (0/5).]
Wow, this is insane. I’m so glad I got into the Student Council.
The easiest and fastest way to access rifts at the academy was to join the Student Council, and isn’t that pretty much what I am now?
I’m relieved I didn’t hide my strength or anything.
Of course, it’s not easy to reach that 40% contribution among the elite in the Student Council, and it would draw attention, but it’s not enough of a concern for me to give up on my inventory.
I guess I’ll prioritize Student Council activities for a while. Since there’s no growth in stats for this body, training would just be a waste of time, so it worked out for me.
Beyond that, I tested various things, but I didn’t really uncover anything major.
It seemed there were no user social systems like friends, parties, or guilds; no navigation feature or warp options either.
The only system that responded was the affinity system, but…
[You cannot confirm this.]
It responded, but nothing came out, so it was pointless. Well then, who the heck confirms it besides me?
I don’t know. Since it’s not particularly important, I decided not to stress about it.
‘Have I checked all these things?’
Any other systems should be tested under appropriate circumstances, like healing when injured or bugs that were present in the game.
I didn’t exactly want to physically injure myself, and the bugs I could try right now didn’t seem worth the effort.
So now, the only thing I could confirm was the inventory.
Even that is currently locked, but… that’s enough for me.
Quick-swapping using the inventory is my specialty. Just getting it back is like reclaiming half of my power.
Moreover, there’s a huge advantage in not having to lug around a heavy bag or having annoying pockets dangling during combat.
Of course, I might be disappointed when I finally unlock it if it doesn’t perform as expected, but it’s hard to imagine that the inventory would come with practical limitations at a time when dodging and parrying work.
Slowly, fatigue settled in, and I wiped all the system windows floating in front of me before burying my face in my pillow.
“Time to rest.”
There’s no internet or even a phone here, so resting means just taking a nap.
There’s a messenger service I can use within the academy, but I don’t have any friends to waste time chatting with on that right now.
My body was fine, but maybe I was a bit mentally drained because I fell asleep the moment I closed my eyes.
A little while later, I was awakened by the sound of something boiling and burning from the next room.
I looked at the clock; it was 5 a.m., and I didn’t sense any presence, which seemed to mean that whoever was in there wasn’t pulling an all-nighter. They probably just threw something on a fire and went to sleep. Talk about a severe lack of safety awareness.
With them living like this, it’s a wonder the building hadn’t collapsed by the end of the first semester!
While lost in thought, I stretched my body. Surely this fantasy body means I don’t feel that typical morning grogginess at all. It was still early, and I didn’t even feel the urge to snooze a little longer.
So I decided to get up early and prepare to head out. I lightly washed my face, stood in front of the mirror, and faced my own reflection.
It’s really tough to adapt, but I guess this is me now.
I’ve accepted it already, so time will make me get used to it.
By the way, it’s strange that Rudion didn’t make it into the original story given how great the character design is.
If Seria had radiant white blonde hair, this guy has a luxurious golden blonde hair that seems to carry a bit of dark energy.
His half-dead black eyes blended well with his handsome features, giving off a significant sense of decadent beauty. I mean, it felt like he could be wearing luxury brands and smoking a cigarette. Of course, I don’t have any money and I don’t smoke.
Still, just based on that, he’s not out of place as a main character, and he’s not stopping there; he’s tall and sturdy… he’s got it all.
While I was thinking that, I realized I had finished getting ready to go.
Finally, I took the small sword I’d pulled out yesterday and strapped it to my waist.
Unlike the entrance exam, where personal items aren’t allowed, today marks my official entry as a student of the academy, so everyone would be carrying their own weapons.
Because of that, you sometimes get guys who flaunt their expensive weapons like those who come to school wearing pricey parkas, but here, where equipment is seen as strength, it’s more of a hush-hush atmosphere.
It was nearly 6 o’clock. If I go out now, I’m sure I’ll run into someone, but I didn’t want to sit around in my room bored for an hour.
It felt strange to avoid someone after getting mixed up with them yesterday.
With those thoughts, I stepped outside and headed toward the auditorium, where the entrance ceremony was taking place.
When I arrived, several instructors were bustling around, finishing preparations for the entrance ceremony. Among all the busy people, there was only one person calmly standing aside, observing the scene.
“Rudion! You’re here early!”
It really seems like the princess is different. Normally, a new student would feel awkward about such a spectacle and either avoid it or offer to help, but she stood there like someone randomly inspecting the area.
And I couldn’t help but feel a bit sorry for the instructors who couldn’t say a word to her.
Of course, I had no intention of helping either, so I stood next to Seria and watched.
It was quite annoying, but since I was next to Seria, nobody came up directly to say anything. Thank goodness for that Seria guard effect!
Before long, the auditorium filled with new students, and the entrance ceremony prepared with the instructors’ sweat began.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.