Chapter 1
“We will now begin the 326th Mel Academy entrance ceremony!!”
A loud voice rang through the quiet auditorium.
My dazed mind instantly snapped awake.
“The assignment for this academy entrance ceremony is... ”
Huh? What's this?
I looked around blankly, unable to get my bearings.
I had definitely.. just launched the game.
To record a video for YouTube.
But the world had changed.
As if to prove it.
People who were familiar to me, but shouldn't have been here, were present.
“What's your name?”
A voice called out.
It seemed to be the voice of someone walking toward me.
“.. Huh?”
“I asked what your name is.”
There was a hint of exasperation in her voice.
Without thinking, I turned to look at the owner of the voice.
- Pink hair.
- A slightly delinquent-looking face.
- A short skirt.
- Catlike eyes.
‘One of Mel Academy's heroines... Ena?’
A game character was standing before my eyes.
What was going on?
‘If Ena is at the Mel Academy entrance ceremony... does that mean I'm inside the game?’
As I swept my eyes around, I saw other characters.
Characters with flashy, game-like hair were everywhere.
‘Freon, Bread, Jang Gayeon... They're NPCs from the game [Mel Academy], aren't they?’
Apparently, I'd really entered the game.
Why?
But I couldn't come up with an answer to that question.
Because a shrill voice rang out right beside me.
“Ah! This is so frustrating! I asked what your name is!”
Ena spoke to me in a slightly high-pitched voice.
She's your typical delinquent-type character.
Look at that.
She was getting angry just because I'd ignored her twice?
‘Ah.. I ignored her because I had no idea what was going on... I must've lost a ton of affinity.’
‘It'd be bad if her affinity dropped. She's an important character.’
‘Hmm.. What should I do..’
Various thoughts flitted through my mind.
Various pieces of information about the character named Ena.
‘For now.. I need to make it look like I ignored her just now on purpose.’
I looked at Ena with an utterly serious expression.
As if I were about to say something important.
Then Ena blinked.
“… Wh-what? Why are you looking at me like that?”
‘And then.. go for her weakness.’
I pulled the corners of my mouth into a sly grin.
Like a mischievous little kid.
“Secret.”
“…?”
Ena looked at me with an incredulous expression.
How ridiculous must I have seemed?
There was a [name tag] attached to my uniform.
Naturally, Ena merely glanced at my name tag.
“Bin.”
Then she looked me up and down.
Like she was thinking, ‘What the hell is this guy up to?’
But that was exactly what I intended.
“.. Ah!”
I hurriedly covered my name tag, pretending to be surprised.
But what good was hiding a name she'd already seen?
It was, of course, a very klutzy move.
Ena hurriedly brought a hand to her mouth.
- Snicker.
Ena let out an incredulous chuckle.
Even as she fanned herself and regained her composure.
After a little while, amusement once again took over her lips.
‘Success.’
Ena hates things that frustrate her.
But she likes [klutzes].
‘.. Just like I saw on YouTube, her affinity seems to be going up.’
The world had turned into an academy.
I didn't think it would be all that difficult.
I mean.. hadn't I originally been planning to clear this game?
‘I can just freeload through it the way I planned, right?’
For some reason, I chuckled.
And Ena was sneaking glances at me as I did.
“Why are you smiling like that?”
I must have been smiling too much.
It was noticeable enough for her to see from beside me.
Well, I wasn't worried.
All I had to do was not cower and stammer, or act frustratingly clueless.
“Just because it's fun?”
“.. The entrance assignment is about to start. You think that's fun?”
Ena tilted her head at me.
In reality, the atmosphere at the entrance ceremony was extremely solemn.
It was probably because of the entrance assignment.
But I wasn't particularly worried.
“Well, can't I just fail?”
Ena looked at me as if I were ridiculous.
“You know that failing the entrance assignment here means expulsion, right?”
Of course I knew that.
Hadn't I gathered a ton of information to clear this game?
Of course, that “research” consisted of lying around watching YouTube and taking it easy.
Even so, I knew all the major events.
“Ahaha! I mean, even if I do it halfheartedly, I won't fail, right?”
I knew every kind of entrance assignment that could appear at the ceremony.
I was confident no matter what they made us do.
“You sure are confident. I guess you have some great ability?”
“Hmm? I don't have anything like that.”
“What? Then.. are you powerless?”
“Yeah. I don't have any abilities at all.”
To be honest, it was a little disappointing.
If I'd known this would become reality, I would've picked a ridiculously overpowered ability.
But Ena stared at me, dazed by my answer.
“…So you're just acting like that even though you don't have any abilities?”
“That's right?”
Of course, it wasn't true that I had absolutely no abilities.
All the information on every character currently here.
What would happen in the future.
I knew every exploitable point in every event.
I was confident that this alone was enough.
And actually..
‘Would it really matter if I just failed?’
The character named [Bin] came from a fairly good family.
Even if I failed the academy.
Couldn't I just live comfortably, freeloading off that?
Well, regardless, I planned to do what I could.
‘For now, I need to stay within the academy to have access to more information.. so I should avoid failing.’
‘Come to think of it.. it should be about time for the assignment to appear.’
I looked toward the front of the entrance ceremony.
The staff were spinning something like a prize wheel.
Soon, it seemed, the entrance assignment would be decided.
“All right.. this entrance assignment is... treasure hunting has been selected!!”
“Ah.. damn it.”
Ena looked at the wheel in annoyance.
Naturally.
The [Treasure Hunt] assignment was commonly called a luck-based assignment.
Unless a student had extraordinary magical senses.
Or unbelievably good eyesight.
It was, for all intents and purposes, a game of luck.
But.
I was different.
‘Isn't this way too easy to freeload through?’
The spots that commonly appeared in the [Treasure Hunt] assignment were predetermined.
All I had to do was leisurely look around those places.
‘Besides... I have a method I was planning to use if this assignment came up.’
A snicker escaped me.
As expected, the world was far too easy.
“.. What a lunatic.”
I heard Ena's voice beside me, but I didn't pay much attention.
She was about to learn the source of my confidence.
“All right.. now! The entrance assignment for the 326th Mel Academy.. begins!!!”
- 3..
- 2..
- 1..
The auditorium fell silent.
Everyone held their breath and waited, ready to move quickly.
Everyone here was an enemy.
No one could afford to let their guard down.
But.
This was the perfect opportunity to make an impression on every student.
A golden opportunity.
- St..
- “Found it!!!!!”
I shouted before the starting signal had even sounded.
Then I swiftly lifted the plastic chair I'd been sitting on.
The sight was like a champion lifting a trophy.
Holding it up, I peeled a large sheet of paper off the bottom of the chair.
- Crack..!
- Bweeeeeep!!!!
- The chair!!! It's under the chair!!!
- What the hell!! Is that even possible?!!!!
Countless people were thrown into an uproar at the sight of me.
Naturally. Finding the treasure before it even started?
Did that even make sense?
‘This way, you'll all look under your chairs too, right?’
To think you could pass the entrance exam just by looking under your chair once.
Wasn't this ridiculous?
‘But.. there isn't actually any treasure under the chair~’
Of course.
The entrance exam wasn't all about luck.
Quick reflexes and agility.
Insight.
Awareness.
And, in addition, enough physical force not to be bullied by someone else's threats.
Having all these factors raised one's chances of passing the [Treasure Hunt] entrance exam.
‘If treasure really came out from under the chair, it'd truly be a luck-based game.’
‘But.. the students who saw me find treasure under the chair.. would mistake it for pure luck.’
I laughed at how amusingly things were unfolding.
And.
Ena was one of the people who fell for it, too.
“Cr.. Crazy. It's under the chair?”
Ena, who had been right beside me, also looked under her chair after seeing me.
This was a little unexpected.
‘Wait, she fell for it too?’
Among the characters in [Mel Academy], Ena was one of the more skeptical.
On a 100-point stat scale.. around 80 out of 100.
At that level, doesn't practically everyone get fooled?
I should tell her the truth and build some affinity.
“Hey, there's nothing under the chair.”
“..?”
“I was lying.”
After hearing me, Ena stared blankly at me.
Then she got up and started looking around.
Every other incoming student was rummaging under their chair.
“.. Crazy?”
Ena realized.
Whether or not there was treasure under the chairs wasn't important.
The moment I shouted that there was treasure under the chair.
Everyone's attention here had shifted to the [chair].
“Nice!! This is a piece of cake~?”
I quickly picked up the paper and dashed to the front.
This, too, was merely bait.
The process of making countless people believe I had really found the treasure.
And..
The most important part starts now.
“… Student, did you really find the treasure?”
The professor's eyes widened as he looked at me.
He definitely hadn't hidden anything under the chair.
So it must have seemed strange that I'd found the treasure.
“No? This is just a blank sheet of paper.”
“..?”
The professor examined the paper I held out, then looked at me again.
A blank white sheet with nothing on it.
That wasn't the treasure.
“But now it is?”
I quietly lifted the bottom of the submission box.
A small piece of paper was stuck underneath.
[Treasure]
‘Of course, I knew it would be here.’
There are a lot of people who like the saying that it's darkest beneath the lamp.
Perhaps that's why, even in games, the treasure was located near the submission area 99% of the time.
Usually, the player had no way to take advantage of that.
Because the student at the very front would usually get there first and check it.
But this time, it was still there because of the stunt I'd pulled.
‘As expected.. life is all about freeloading.’
The professor watched me calmly place it inside the container.
Then he looked around as if he couldn't believe what I had done.
The professor seemed to have realized what kind of stunt I'd pulled, too.
“Ha… there really are all kinds of weirdos, huh?”
“Anyway, I pass, right?”
“.. Yeah. You pass.”
The professor sighed and looked out over the auditorium.
From students lifting their chairs to students smashing them to pieces.
The auditorium had turned into complete chaos.
Of course, by now some students had caught on and were leaving for other places.
Even so, it was certain that something absurd had happened.
“.. What's your name, student?”
“It's a secret!”
The professor looked at my face as if he couldn't believe me.
Then he looked at my name tag.
“Bin.. you pass.”
“Ah! Oh no!!”
I hurriedly covered my name tag,
and, as expected, the professor merely looked at me as if he couldn't believe it.
A prank I'd pulled out of boredom.
Yet I couldn't laugh, even though I was the one who'd pulled it.
Because of the hologram that appeared in front of me.
[Entrance exam passed!]
[Congratulations. You have survived.]
‘You have survived..?’
Did that mean I would have died if I hadn't passed?