{Read from Hong Bi-Yeon's PoV}
Tweets. In the cold winter, the chirping of birds from an early morning filled Arcanium.
The Stella Academy's grounds were vast in the Arkanium, and with all of the necessary elements, students didn't have to leave the premises for the entire school year.
The school also housed many private spaces for nobles.
A lonely, dark room.
Hong Bi-yeon was sitting on her knees. Hong Yi-el, a natural flame-element professor known as 'Silver Thorn,' stood before her, staring at her.
"Three incorrect questions?"
"....."
After receiving that cold expression, Hong Bi-yeon bowed her head and hung her shiny silver hair, which all female students envied.
There was no excuse. My mother always used to say,'If the problem is wrong, it's my fault for not reading it properly.'
jjakk!
Slap.
jjakk! jjakk!
Three slaps in a row.
"Lift your head."
Mother flapped the test paper on Hong Bi-yeon's face! Some scattered while some flew hard enough to hit her in the face, but neither seemed to care.
"Do it again, until you understand it properly. From beginning to end."
It was a disgrace.
This placement test was strangely difficult.
Even for the three questions that I was wrong, the correct answer rate was less than 10%, so there was no shame in saying that I was wrong about these difficult questions.
However, it was shameful.
Even the other S class students, who can be said to be my rivals, answered one or two of these questions correctly, but the three students who answered all three questions were very ordinary students who did not have prior study or preparation at a magic academy.
"Even Princess Eisel of the fallen Duchy of Morph got two questions right. If you didn't get the question right which even those bugs did, it means you're no better than those bugs. Do you understand? Think of yourself as a bug, and try to solve the problem again."
"Yes, mother."
I looked back at the examination paper with blank eyes.
This exam, which tested creativity, reasoning, and thinking ability, was full of questions that my head could not comprehend.
'Problems made up of unlearned recipes, unlearned spells, and unlearned formulas.'
How the hell am I supposed to solve these?? I just lived according to what I was taught, and I just interpreted what I had learned.
"Is it harsh? It's all for your good. You, you shouldn't be like me. If you get kicked out of the kingdom and grow up to the shame of the kingdom like me, who holds a professorship like this, you should never be like this!"
Not everyone could be a professor at Stella Academy despite the shame of the kingdom. It was a school of the best wizards.
However, my mother wanted a higher place than to be Stella's professor.
Like having the Adolebit kingdom.
It was impossible for Hong Bi-yeon's mother, Hong Yi-el. Because she lacked talent.
So, she took care of her daughter.
Because her daughter had a beautiful talent that she did not have, shining like a gemstone.
"I am doing this for you. You… you have to become better than your 'sister'. huh? Do you know how your mother feels?"
I do not know.
"Okay, Mother."
Nevertheless, I replied that I understood.
Even after my mother left, I still couldn't understand the problems.
So, the question arose.
What was the identity of the students who solve the problem? How can she invite the best wizards in the kingdom to solve a problem she couldn't solve, who had been studying magic since she was three years old?
So, why am I tormenting myself?
Burying a bitter grudge deep in her heart, Hong Bi-yeon grabbed the test paper with her slender hands.
'If I don't solve this problem today, I won't be able to get out of this dark, private room with only dim lighting.'
* * *
[Back to Baek Yu-seol's PoV]
I'm not proud of it, but in my previous life, I've been pretty good at hanging out with people.
So, when I entered the Stella Academy, I tried to build a good relationship with my classmates. Anyway, it was a new life, and I might not be able to go back, so I should try to live to the fullest possible, but I was in class S.
Class S was full of quirky guys without any sociability.
It was ruined from the start.
"Phewww…"
A sigh came out.
Unlike Class F~A, where there are several classes in one grade, Class S only has one class. Out of 1,141 students, only 41 of them were in the S class, so I thought it might be possible.
When I opened the S class classroom and entered, more than half of the students were self-studying. I felt as if I was going crazy from the different atmosphere.
I am telling you all not to study so hard, those who aren't studying must be playing right now. For example, someone like me…
I quietly went to the back seat, sat down, and looked around slowly.
There were many faces I knew. Characters that were only seen as animation productions on 2D or 3D screens became real people and were like this.
Moreover, since most of them were named, each of them was going to become a famous celebrity in 5 to 10 years.
The Crown Prince of the Skalben Empire and the heir to the Full Moon Tower, etc.
Of course, not all were 'big' in a positive sense.
There was a possibility that the five or so wizards sitting here, including Mayoseong, would betray the magic world and turn against them in the future.
'I think it would be better if the female lead stopped that…'
What will happen?
I glanced at the black-haired girl sitting in the back-right corner self-studying. I have to forget the Fuleim I know. That Fuleim over there was the original Fuleim that no other player has ever experienced.
I don't even know what future she will make. All I know is information about fragmentary events in the future.
'It's not good to stand out to Fuleim, who still thinks this world is just a normal original romance fantasy novel.'
If I start taking a step different from the original novel, she would become aware of my existence.
'By the way, you look really good.'
Some students in S class also glanced at me as I observed them.
Why did an inferior student named Baek Yu-seol admit to S-Class? They must have raised questions about me. They were here trying their best, but it can be annoying because of people like me mixed in.
By the way.
"...Is that him?"
"That's why he looks a little nerdy…"
"No, my father contacted the faculty and asked them himself. It must be her and that girl in the corner."
"Hmm… are they a little bit good?"
I'm annoyed by the look on their faces, like, what should I say?
'It's like being restrained...?'
I can't. Is it a problem that I'm in class S?
I was bound to be a little more nervous about the peaceful S class students than I thought.
It is said that the number of students in Class A who went to the school office to ask questions has already exceeded ten. Even if they themselves couldn't get into S class, there were many people who had a hard time convincing themselves that a failing student like me was in S class.
But the surprising thing is that they all got the same answer.
'Baek Yu-seol deserves to go to S-Class.
That's right.
So I have decided to take it easy. To be honest, Class F was full of idiots. As long as I am living again, I want to sit in the S class.
Of course, I wonder if it's going to be as easy as it gets…
Every class changes depending on the grade of each test. There were times when F succeeded in driving back up to A, and on the contrary, there were times when A fell.
There is no exception in class S. However, once you come up to class S, it is very rare to go down again.
Oh, and come to think of it, there was one male student who stayed in Class A all the time in the game and barely made it to Class S later. I don't remember his name, but I do remember he wasn't a particularly impressive guy.
Anyway, in the midst of silence as we observed each other, I took out a small box from my pocket and opened it.
[Stella's Pocket Watch]
A watch that proved you are a student of Stella, the most prestigious magic school, it was a very special item that was treated much higher than any other magic warrior license.
Did I say that if I had this, I would receive great treatment? It wasn't something I personally tested, but I still felt proud.
After such a short time passed, forty students gathered in the classroom. There were only 40 people in the auditorium, which can easily accommodate two hundred people, so it was somewhat empty.
At exactly eight o'clock, the front door of the classroom opened and someone entered.
It was Lee Hanwol, the professor in charge of S class. With just his appearance, the air calmed down. In the overwhelming atmosphere, some students swallowed their saliva.
With dark skin, countless scars all over his face, and his massive body full of muscles, he looked like he could kill a person, so it was difficult to make eye contact properly.
"Nice to meet. I am Lee Hanwol."
No explanation was needed.
A 7th-class magic warrior, Lee Hanwol.
His reputation was famous. He led numerous battles to victory through numerous battlefields and dungeons, and rumors spread that the number of black demons he successfully hunted reached four digits.
When it comes to the 'fighting wizards', they were treated like savages until 500 years ago. Magic was academic, and it was the image of a scholar who sat at a desk and studied elegantly.
But it was different in modern times. It was an era where battle wizards despised scholarly wizards.
In this world, even now, the black demons were constantly opening the gates by drilling holes in reality, and the wizards were blocking them.
Therefore, it was natural that the professor in charge of S-Class was Lee Hanwol.
It was as if the wizards who gathered here at Stella Academy had gathered to learn how to fight.
The students looked around slowly, and finally, Lee Hanwol's eyes met with me.
"…a lot of outstanding students gathered here. And, a very unusual student."
The former referred to students other than me, and the latter referred to me. Unless you're an idiot, you knew.
Either way, I accepted Lee Han-wol's gaze with ease. Think about it.
"As you all know, this is an academy that trains battle wizards. As so-called 'magic warriors', you will go through advanced courses for the next three years."
As Lee Hanwol began to speak, all the students focused. His voice had a spirit that enveloped the entire classroom.
"Innumerable seniors gave up. Because the enemies we have to deal with are powerful, and the academy's classes are harsh. I do not expect y'all to come along. However, I want you to show your will to the best of your ability."
"In this world, everything reverts to magic. The technology included in all objects used in daily life, as well as dungeons and gates, are all made of magic, and even monsters are magical creatures."
"The source of life is also magic, and even the reason why clouds float and even gravity that we can keep our feet on is interpreted as magic."
"It is the duty of our magic warriors to stop the black demons, a group of sorcerers who try to color our world as 'the other side'."
'It's not my duty.'
I'm just sitting in this school to survive, and honestly, I don't even know if I can endure the training.
"Some students have been admitted to this academy because of their obligation to eradicate the black demons, and there are other students who have entered because of money. Whatever the reason, it doesn't matter. As long as you have the courage to fight against them with a firm will…"
Just when Lee Hanwol was about to deliver a wonderful speech.
Druck!
The back door opened, and a student came in.
"... "
The students' attention was focused. From the back door, a woman with long silver hair, no, a girl, walked in with an imposing gait.
It was Hong Bi-yeon.
'Late...?'
She was late, someone who values principles more than anyone else. Now that I see, her cheeks were red.
'What happened already?
I had a rough idea of her family's circumstances. I didn't know the details, so I tried to check her details with the copper glasses in my mind, just in case.
[Hong Biyeon Adolevit]
Villainess
Eats illegal red ginseng candies
Prefers being alone sometimes
Drink only espresso dripped in the 'Akkalia style'.
Mother's a bad bitch
Unconditional death
After confirming that, I took a deep breath. Because I couldn't find out much by looking at this. In the beginning, Hong Bi-yeon was a famous character, and most of the information written here was already known information.
"Why wasn't I a little more diligent in the past?'
It would have been a great help if I had recorded it in more detail.
'Well, I'm not a complete stranger to the characters.'
Most of us knew why that 'death' was recorded. In a way, it was worse compared to Eisel's.
The reason Eisel died was solely because of Fuleim, but Hong Bi-yeon's death was caused by both Fuleim and Eisel.
Should I say that because it is the fate of a villain, there is nothing we can do about it?
I know my fate is to die anyway, and I want to live if I can. It's safe to say I'm the weakest in this school, so who's going to help whom?
After Eisel, she was a woman of misfortune who wore an aura of misfortune all over her body. I'm sorry, but I have no choice but to keep my distance from that woman as much as possible.
"Go to your seat and sit down."
Hong Bi-yeon, who nodded at Lee Han-wol's words, glanced at the seat in the right corner, and then looked at me.
She strode over to where I was and sat right behind me.
A cold sweat ran down my back.
…what?'
There are 160 empty seats in a lecture hall that can seat 200 people, so why do you have to sit behind me?
…is it a coincidence?
Paranoia is a man's sin. Don't think useless thoughts.
No matter how hard I tried to pretend I was calm, it was impossible to ignore the stinging gaze from behind.
For some reason, it felt like my school life was tightly twisted from the start.