The first thing Seo Jin noticed about the academy wasn't the grandiose architecture or the towering spires that looked like they belonged in a fantasy epic. It wasn't even the sprawling gardens filled with glowing flowers that hummed faintly with mana.
It was the people.
They were everywhere, and they were terrifying.
Seo Jin leaned against a stone pillar in the main courtyard, his arms crossed as he observed the chaos around him. The academy grounds were alive with activity: students sparring in the open fields, bursts of magic lighting up the sky, and the occasional roar of a summoned beast shaking the ground.
A group of elite students caught his eye, their uniforms pristine and adorned with golden trim, a mark of their status. They moved with effortless confidence, their laughter loud, and their conversations peppered with words like "mana surge" and "S-tier Rift."
One of them, a broad-shouldered boy with crimson hair, slammed his fist into the ground. The air rippled, and a jagged wall of flames erupted from the earth. His opponent was a wiry girl wielding a glowing staff who dodged gracefully, retaliating with a blast of ice that froze the flames mid-air.
Seo Jin swallowed hard. These were first-years, just like him.
He turned his attention to another group, clustered near the edge of the courtyard. Unlike the flashy elites, these students radiated an air of cold calculation. They whispered among themselves, their eyes scanning the crowd like predators sizing up prey.
And then there was her.
Lee Yuna stood apart from everyone else, a cold and unapproachable presence. Her dark chestnut hair was tied back in a sleek ponytail, and her sharp eyes gleamed like polished steel. She didn't need to flaunt her power; it was in the way she stood, the way others gave her a wide berth without even realizing it.
Seo Jin watched as she raised her hand, summoning a glowing blade of pure mana. With a flick of her wrist, the blade slashed through the air, leaving an arc of light in its wake.
The crowd murmured in awe. Seo Jin could only stare.
"Hey, weakling."
Seo Jin flinched as a hand clamped down on his shoulder. He turned to see a tall, broad-shouldered boy grinning down at him. His uniform was rumpled, but the insignia on his chest marked him as an upperclassman.
"Lost, are we?" the boy sneered, his grip tightening.
Seo Jin forced a smile, though his heart pounded in his chest. "Just… observing the academy's finest."
The boy barked a laugh, his friends joining in as they circled around Seo Jin like vultures. "You think you're going to fit in here? Look at you. You can barely stand up straight."
Seo Jin shrugged off the boy's hand and took a step back. "Yeah, well, looks can be deceiving."
The boy's grin widened. "Oh, really? Let's see what you've got, then." He raised a hand, a small flame flickering to life in his palm.
Seo Jin's mind raced. His body was too weak to fight, and he didn't have any weapons or abilities he could rely on. But his Luck stat… maybe it was time to test it.
He stepped forward, forcing himself to meet the boy's gaze. "If I fought you now, I'd wipe the floor with you."
The boy blinked, his flame sputtering. "What did you just say?"
"You heard me," Seo Jin said, his voice steady despite the knot in his stomach. "But if you want to waste your energy on someone as 'pathetic' as me, go ahead. You'll only embarrass yourself when the instructors find out you're picking on a first-year."
The boy hesitated, his grin faltering. His friends exchanged uneasy glances, muttering among themselves.
Seo Jin pressed on, keeping his expression neutral. "Or, you can let me go, and I'll pretend this didn't happen. Your choice."
For a moment, it seemed like the boy was going to swing anyway. But then he lowered his hand, the flame snuffing out. "You're lucky I'm in a good mood," he muttered, shoving past Seo Jin. "Next time, you won't be so lucky."
Seo Jin exhaled slowly, his legs trembling beneath him. He waited until the bullies were out of sight before sinking onto a nearby bench.
"Luck stat: 10," he muttered, a wry smile tugging at his lips. "Guess it's good for something after all."
As the adrenaline faded, Seo Jin's thoughts turned inward.
He'd read Battleborn Academy twice, and the plot was seared into his memory. The academy was the heart of the story, a training ground for the elite Hunters tasked with defending humanity from the Rift, a dimensional anomaly that spat out monsters and corrupted the land.
The protagonist, a scrappy underdog with a hidden talent, had risen through the ranks, navigating deadly trials and uncovering secrets about the academy's dark past. Along the way, he'd faced betrayal, loss, and a rising demonic tide that threatened to consume the world.
But Seo Jin wasn't the protagonist. He wasn't even a side character. He was just a name in the background, a nobody in a world where only the strong survived.
He stared at his hands, thin and pale, the veins visible beneath his skin. He felt like a paper doll, fragile and easy to tear. The thought of stepping into a Rift and facing monsters with claws and fangs and magic made his stomach churn.
I'm not ready for this.
The thought was bitter, but it was true. His body was weak, his stats were laughable, and his only weapon was the knowledge he'd brought with him from his old life.
But knowledge could be a weapon, if used correctly.
Seo Jin clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms. He wasn't Kang Jin-ho anymore, the pathetic office worker who let people walk all over him. This was his second chance, and he wasn't going to waste it.
The courtyard buzzed with activity as Seo Jin stood, brushing the dust off his uniform. He turned his gaze back to the elite students, watching as they flaunted their strength, their power, and their confidence.
One day, he thought, I'll stand where you are. Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not even this year. But I will.
"I'm not going to be the weak, pathetic asshole I used to be."