"What the hell?"

Those were the only words I could manage.

My attention was locked on the reflection in the mirror.

Blonde hair, golden eyes, and an attractive face with sharp features stared back at me.

I ran my hands over the unfamiliar face, touching every part of it.

I pinched both cheeks, grabbed a handful of hair, and tugged to see if it was fake.

Slap!

I even went so far as to slap myself.

A stinging sensation spread across my left cheek.

This wasn't a dream.

It was real.

I let out a defeated sigh and sat on the edge of the bed.

Taking a moment to calm myself, I finally glanced around the room.

It was spacious, filled with high-quality furniture, and had a medieval feel to it.

But more than anything, it was familiar.

I'd seen this place countless times before—it was the dormitory of Erlan Academy.

A prestigious school known for training the most talented individuals.

An academy straight out of a famous game I used to play.

A game named «Regress and Kill The Demon King»

So, what was the last thing I did before coming here?

The last thing I remember before all of this was sitting in front of my computer, waiting for a game to finish loading.

It was my little treat after a long and stressful day.

Then everything went dark.

When I opened my eyes again, I was in this room.

"Seriously... that doesn't make any sense," I muttered, scratching my head.

Does any of this even make sense?

Even scientists would be baffled, and if anyone should be confused, it's definitely me.

Knock! Knock!

The sound of the door being knocked on pulled me out of my stupor, followed by a voice.

"Young master, may I come in?"

The voice was that of a woman, monotone and emotionless, like a machine.

It felt eerie.

"Young master, are you there?"

She spoke again.

Realizing I hadn't answered, I quickly replied.

"Come in."

The door creaked open, and a beautiful girl in a maid outfit stepped in.

With her black hair and black eyes, she met my gaze and said, "Young master, you're late for your class."

Suddenly, my mouth moved on its own, as if it were accustomed to this.

"Then go prepare a bath for me, you useless woman."

The words came out with a tone of arrogance that hung in the air.

I didn't have any particular feelings towards the maid, but this body seemed to be different.

That response was purely instinctive.

Speaking that way felt strange, uncomfortable even—but the discomfort faded just as quickly as it had come.

The maid bowed deeply and apologized.

"I'm truly sorry for my incompetence, young master. I'll prepare a warm, nice bath for you at once."

She quickly turned and left, closing the door softly behind her.

I was alone in the room after that.

I felt like screaming, but my body wouldn't let me.

How did I keep a straight face while saying that?

It makes sense, given this damn body.

I'm in the body of Ian Dismdom.

He's a third-rate villain with only a brief appearance in the game—more of a minor character than a real villain.

Why did I become him?

With a deep sigh, I collapsed onto the soft bed.

That maid I had just insulted—calling her useless—isn't just anyone.

She's Sophia Asvlan, a character in the game.

An assassin, actually.

In the game, players can interact with her to take on a quest, and the reward is well worth the trouble.

As I stared mindlessly at the ceiling, a quick knock echoed through the room, followed by the quiet creak of the door.

Sophia stepped in again, bowing deeply.

"The bath is ready, young master."

I got off the bed without hesitation and approached her, speaking as naturally as the words came.

"Lead the way."

That was fast.

...

What is the origin of Erlan Academy?

In the game, «Regress and Kill The Demon King», where it is explained that the Academy was founded to nurture talented individuals.

It was established by the Great Hero, Erlan Ironheart, in collaboration with four continents.

After defeating the Demon King and restoring peace to the world, Erlan and the leaders of the continents created this institution to ensure the continued growth of future generations.

Situated on an island in the middle of the sea, the Academy boasts state-of-the-art facilities designed to support the development of gifted individuals.

Here, talent is the sole priority—fame, wealth, and social class hold no importance.

Every individual aged 15 has the opportunity to be admitted to Erlan Academy

With the sunlight streaming through the window and hitting the stone floor, I walked steadily down the spacious hall, my footsteps echoing.

A door soon came into view with a sign above it.

[1-A]

The number "1" indicated a class for the first-year student, and the letter "A" showed the class ranking.

There are eight classes per year, each with a maximum of 50 students.

Back to the current situation, I grabbed the door handle, twisted it, and pushed the door open with a click.

Instantly, everyone's attention shifted to me, including the instructor, who paused his teaching to look my way.

He crossed his arms, his sharp gaze piercing through me.

I met his stare without flinching.

Since taking over this body, my mind has been as calm as a still lake.

I still feel emotions, but I've become good at hiding them behind an expressionless face.

From the instructor's face alone, I could tell that he's really mad at me for being late.

Given Ian's reputation from the game, this wasn't likely the first time he'd been late.

But what irked me the most is that Ian has the nerve to be late for this particular class.

Phage Brooke, a descendant of the Hero's right-hand man.

Is the teacher for the history subject of this class.

Out of anyone to be chosen to teach history, it would undoubtedly be someone from the Brooke Family.

"What's your excuse this time, Mr.Dismdom?"

His deep, raspy voice broke the silence.

With my hands in my pockets and my bag of books hanging from my back, I opened my mouth.

"It's simple. I don't see the point in arriving early for this class."

"Oh? What makes you say that?"

Deep inside, I was racking my brain trying to find an answer for his question.

Because of this damn body I need to give an answer that matches Ian Dismdom's personality while also avoiding an answer that could cause my expulsion.

An idea popped into my head, and after taking a moment, I spoke again, slower this time.

"History. You were chosen to teach this subject because the first head of the Brooke family was the Hero's right-hand, and you are his direct descendant."

I paused for a moment.

Seeing Phage still listening, I continued.

"The Hero's right-hand was closer to him than any of his other companions. Everyone knows that, obviously."

"Just get to the point, Mr. Dismdom. Using history as an excuse for being late to me, the head of the subject—are you calling me dumb?"

Phage cut me off, giving me a look of disbelief.

"Ahem!"

I cleared my throat.

"Alright, I'll get to the point..."

I let a smirk form on my lips, leaning into Ian's arrogant personality.

I also made sure the whole class could see it.

"...the Dismdom family. My family's name should be reasonable enough why history is a useless subject for me to learn."

"–!?"

Like the Brooke family, the first head of the Dismdom family also had a connection to the Hero.

We may not know everything about the Hero or the world, but we know the important things.

Unless you're aiming to become a scholar at Erlan Academy, they won't go into too much detail about the Hero or world history.

Now, why is the Hero such a central figure in history?

It's simple—almost every major event in the world has the Hero's involvement.

And who stayed by the Hero's side from the beginning until the end?

That's right, his right-hand man.

To be honest, knowing Ian, I doubt he even cares about the vast knowledge his family holds.

But the reason I proudly declared history as useless for me, and where that confidence comes from, isn't from Ian.

It's from the game.

Back when I was an active player of «Regress and Kill The Demon King», I was a pretty hardcore player.

And strangely enough, I can still recall everything about it, vividly.

The room was silent.

The only sound was the quiet breathing of the students.

Instructor Phage Brooke stood there, speechless at my arrogant statement.

His eyes widened, and he opened his mouth, but no words came out.

I stayed calm, keeping steady eye contact with him.

To be honest, I was terrified.

I wanted nothing more than to run back to the dorm and cry my eyes out.

There was a real chance I'd lose my head here.

Phage Brooke might not be a combat instructor, but that doesn't mean he's weak.

In fact, if he wanted to, he could kill me with his bare hands.

What I just did was basically playing with fire.

I couldn't think of any other way to respond, and apologizing was out of the question since Ian's personality has a hold on me to some extent.

But I felt confident I'd keep my head today.

Phage is usually calm.

It takes a lot to push him to the edge, and as long as I don't mess with his family or the Brooke Family, I should be fine.

I raised a hand to my neck, checking if it was still attached.

All I felt was a wet sensation.

Sweat.

Lots of it.

...

Exhausted.

That's how I felt after the commotion I caused.

After my careless stunt, Phage simply told me to sit down and continued his lesson.

I expected him to ask me questions about history—questions I could've answered correctly, even the obscure ones no one else would know.

But that didn't happen.

Instead, I got something more: a warning from the Academy.

There are two types of warnings at Erlan Academy.

One is from the teacher, and the other is from the Academy itself.

A teacher can give a student up to three warnings.

Once you hit three, it's reported to the director, and that's when you get an official Academy warning.

Like the teacher's warnings, Academy warnings also stack up to three.

And when you hit that number, you're expelled on the spot.

The staff will personally escort you off the island, whether you like it or not and they won't hesitate to use force if necessary.

I'm not sure if there's a world record for receiving an Academy warning this quickly, but if there is, I'd probably be the record holder.

Is it a skill, or am I just unlucky to get a warning in only three weeks of enrollment?

Either way, at least the cafeteria food is great.

The smell alone was enough to make me drool, and after one bite, all my exhaustion melted away.

But thanks to Ian, I had to maintain a composed image as a member of the Dismdom family, hiding any unsightly behavior.

What a hypocrite Ian is.

Does any of that even matter now?

In just three weeks, Ian's reputation at the Academy has sunk to rock bottom.

Even if I kept proper behavior while eating, would it really do my reputation any good?

No, it won't.

If that's the case, I might as well do whatever I want, as long as I don't cross the Academy's boundaries.

Anyway, I've still got 33 minutes of lunch left before class starts again.

Should I take a look around the Academy, or just head straight to my class?

What if, while exploring, I accidentally ran into one of the important characters from the game?

Yeah, let's scrap that idea.

I'll explore later, after all the classes are over.

For now, I just want to stay out of trouble.

~

(End of Chapter)