"What the hell?!"
Kiel's brain short-circuited.
First, he realized that he had just woken up in another world.
Then, he found out he'd somehow been accepted into Ashfield Academy, the very same academy from Sayuki's novel.
And one of the most prestigious schools in the world at that.
Now? Now, he was living in what could only be described as an isekai fever dream gone wrong.
But this name "Kiel Selfort".
He has never heard of this character being mentioned in the story before at all.
He had been an avid reader of Primus Novus for the longest time, and he reread it more than 4 times, but for some reason his memory is hazy on the plot.
He could still remember most of the characters and "Kiel Selfort" definitely wasn't one of them.
"So a side character huh" he sighed "Even if this is a dream couldn't I at least be part of the main cast?"
Grabbing his phone, he checked the date.
September 4th, 2034AE.
He stared at the screen. Blinked. Checked it again.
"One day after the entrance ceremony?!" he yelped. "How am I already behind in a world I just woke up in?"
The phone mocked him further by flashing the time: 7:50 AM.
Classes started at 8 in Ashfield.
"Great. Not only am I living in a fictional world, I'm also about to speed-run 'worst first impression of all time.' " He groaned
Kiel chucked his phone into his pocket and scrambled to get ready.
He ran back to the room he had woken up in, slamming the door behind him.
His eyes darted around until they landed on the drawers. He yanked them open and let out a relieved sigh. Inside was the neatly folded Ashfield School uniform
Beside it was the student tech bracelet— a sleek dark band that had a glowing blue rectangular crystal at its center.
It wasn't just an ID card—it could send messages, track locations, and likely much more.
"Alright, step one: don't embarrass myself when I get there. Step two… actually, there is no step two," he muttered, grabbing the uniform and bracelet and putting them both on in a rush.
As he wrestled with the uniform and stumbled into his shoes, he kept grumbling to himself.
"Wish I could have woken up as a prince or something but nope. I'm the guy who's gonna be late on his first day. Just great."
Grabbing his bag, he bolted for the door, bracing himself for whatever disaster awaited outside.
The moment he stepped out onto the balcony, the wind slapped his face, followed by the smell of wet ground, bringing with it the lively hum of the city.
The city of Orbis.
Towering skyscrapers glistened under the morning sun, and the faint sound of chatter and vehicles buzzed from below.
Between the buildings, massive blimps were floating lazily, glowing neon like advertisements could be seen on their sides.
One blimp displayed a sparkling soda commercial, while another showcased a countdown for some kind of upcoming event, the digits ticking down in the holographic display.
He was on the third floor of an apartment complex, and for a moment, he froze, taking it all in.
"Okay," he whispered, blinking. "yup this is definitely a different world."
Shaking off his amazement, Kiel then made a beeline for the stairs.
As he reached the second floor, he rounded a corner too fast and nearly collided with someone. A bag of groceries wobbled in her arms.
"Whoa! Sorry about that!" he blurted, stepping back.
The woman steadied herself, giving him a warm smile. "Off to school, Kiel?"
"Uh, yeah. Running late already," he said, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.
"Don't push yourself too hard, okay?" she said, her voice gentle.
"Yes, ma'am!" Kiel replied instinctively before dashing down the stairs.
The woman tilted her head, watching him go. "Ma'am, huh? That's new… something feels different about that boy today…"
Kiel didn't hear her, his focus locked on not tripping as he descended the final flight of stairs.
Reaching the street, he took a deep breath, adjusted his bag, and muttered to himself.
"Alright, new world. Let's see what you've got."
◇◇◇
"What do you mean you don't have any money?!" the cab driver barked, his face red with frustration.
Kiel froze. He had completely forgotten to grab the allowance his sister had left him. Now he was stuck in the cab, with no way to pay. Fantastic.
"Just... kill me now," he thought, mentally preparing for the worst.
"Really sorry, sir, could you maybe... put it on my tab?" Kiel asked sheepishly.
The driver rolled his eyes and sighed. "Sure, kid. What's your name?"
"Uh... Selfort. Kiel Selfort."
He tapped his tech bracelet on the scanner the man provided for hum.
"Alright, word of advice, kid—don't go anywhere without cash next time. Not every driver's gonna be as nice as me," the man grumbled, clearly unimpressed.
"I'll keep that in mind," Kiel muttered, already regretting this entire situation.
The driver waved him off. "Hmph, get going."
Kiel scrambled out of the cab, already picturing himself being banned from the local transportation system for life.
He hurried toward the school's front gate, his mind racing.
Showing his student ID got him in without any issues.
Now, the fun part.
He pulled out his bracelet and used it to pull up the map of the school. His class was... Class 1-C.
Kiel stared at the screen in disbelief. "1-C? Seriously? I at least thought I'd be in the same class as the main characters." He sighed, feeling a mix of disappointment and sadness well up within him.
The class did seem familiar to him for some reason but he decided not to dwell in it.
The time on the hologram coming from the bracelet flickered—8:25 AM.
He was already running late, the cab drive to the school took a little over 20 minutes.
He knew he was about to make an unforgettable first impression but not the good kind.
He finally arrived at Class 1-C
Surprisingly enough, the teacher was running late today and Kiel was grateful for that small mercy.
The classroom was already buzzing with noise when Kiel finally stumbled in, his bag slung awkwardly over one shoulder.
His rushed steps caught the edge of someone's stray backpack, and before he could steady himself, gravity took over.
THUD
His loud fall silenced the noise. Then a wave of laughter rippled through the room.
"Nice entrance!" someone said from the back seats.
Kiel groaned, cheeks burning red as he pressed himself up on his elbows.
Before he could fully recover, a hand shot into view—a pale, slender hand with chipped nail polish in mismatched colors.
"You're supposed to land on your feet, y'know," a bright, cheery voice teased.
Kiel glanced up to see the wide grin of a girl with pink and purple streaks in her blonde hair.
She had beautiful pink eyes and she wore mismatched earrings—a crescent moon on one side and a dangling star on the other which jiggled as she tilted her head at him.
She wore the school uniform, but her ribbon was undone, and she was wearing a hoodie underneath her blazer.
"Harlett Nikks," she announced dramatically as she grabbed his arm and hoisted him up. "But you can call me best friend!"
"Uh… thanks?" Kiel spoke beneath his breath, brushing off his blazer.
She leaned in conspiratorially, her grin widening. "Rule one of survival at Ashfield Academy: don't give the hyenas any more ammo than they already have. You trip, you laugh it off, like—ha! Classic me, right?"
Kiel blinked. "Hyenas?"
She gestured vaguely to the class, where the laughter had already faded as the noise resumed almost casually. "They'll eat you alive if you let them. But don't worry, newbie. Stick with me, and you'll be fine."
"Aren't you a newbie too?" Kiel thought,
But before he could protest, Harlett looped an arm around his shoulders and started steering him toward an empty desk.
"So, what's your deal? Mysterious transfer student? Secret prodigy? Oh, wait, don't tell me—you're a runaway prince in disguise."
The transfer student bit probably had something to do with the fact that most of the students at Ashfield were either transfer students.
Took the notoriously difficult entrance exam (with an acceptance rate of just 1% for people outside the academy).
Or had made it in through the school's middle school division, where they'd spent years prepping for the high school entrance exam.
It wasn't exactly the most typical path for a student to just show up without any of those labels.
"None of the above," Kiel said, shrugging her arm off.
Harlett gasped, clutching her chest in mock horror. "Boring? Say it ain't so!"
The corner of Kiel's mouth twitched despite himself.
"Oh!" Harlett exclaimed, digging into her bag. She pulled out a small, colorful box and shoved it into Kiel's hands. "Here. Welcome gift. Take one."
"Candy?" he asked, eyeing the box of mackerel flavored candy suspiciously.
"Not just candy. The best mackerel candy you'll ever have in your life," she said, popping one into her mouth and talking around it. "Trust me, newbie. Life's better with sugar. Also, I'm bribing you to sit with me."
Kiel raised an eyebrow, too tired to argue, and finally caved in. "Fine, fine," he muttered, taking the candy and reluctantly popping into his mouth, fully expecting something mildly unpleasant.
What he got instead was an immediate clash of flavors—fishy, sweet, and... unholy.
His body rejected it, but his mouth refused to spit it out, as if it were an unwelcome guest refusing to leave.
"What is this?!" he whispered, eyes wide as he fought the urge to throw up. "How can something taste so much like betrayal and bad decisions?"
He glanced at Harlett, who was looking at him with a wide grin. "You know, this could be the kind of candy that, after you eat it, you start questioning every choice you've made in your life. Like—who am I? Why did I do this? Why do I exist?"
Harlett just shrugged. "I told you. Life's better with sugar."
"Ugh" Kiel groaned
Harlett grinned, clearly amused by his reaction. She stood and motioned him to follow. "Come on, newbie. We're sitting together."
Kiel didn't have the energy to refuse. He followed her as she led him to the back seats, sliding into the last seat of the middle row.
He sat down at the left-most seat, the one right next to the window.
As Kiel sank deeper into his seat, still coming to terms with the mackerel aftertaste, the door to the classroom swung open.
Kiel's heart sank as the door to the classroom opened.
In walked the most stunning woman he'd ever seen—and that was an understatement.
Her long black hair seemed to flow with every step, her brown eyes glinted behind a pair of glasses, and a small mole on her right cheek only added to the allure.
She had an air of nobility about her, the kind that made everyone around her hold their breath.
The class? Dead silent. Captivated by her beauty as she approached the front of the class.
"No way. This can't be her." Kiel thought
"My name is Reina Felt," she said, her voice crisp and clear. "And I'll be your homeroom teacher starting today. I will not tolerate any stupid behavior in my class."
His stomach dropped as she introduced herself.
That name. Reina Felt. It sounded all too familiar.
"She's..." he muttered under his breath.
Reina Felt. The demon teacher of Ashfield Academy. The rival to Miss Trina Nel, the teacher of class 1-D.
The one who made Miss Trina seem like a cuddly kitten by comparison.
He remembered that the rivalry between 1-C and 1-D had been legendary.
And out of the two teachers, Reina was the one students feared most.
The whispers among the students of class 1-C had been endless in the novel with them saying things like—she's wicked, unforgiving, ruthless.
They said even the slightest mistake could land you in her crosshairs.
But that was around the beginning of the novel's story if he remembers correctly, along the course of the story she started to soften up.
But that didn't change the fact that Kiel was still terrified.
Miss Reina cleared her throat loudly before starting,
"As you all know, the school likes to hold tests for new students starting the high school curriculum, regardless of whether or not you graduated from the middle school division." Reina's voice cut through his state of shock.
She tapped on her bracelet, and the holographic whiteboard flickered to life, displaying the words "Physical Assessment" in bold letters.
"You will be undertaking two tests," she continued, her tone as cool as ever, "the physical assessment test and the written test." She turned to the class, her glasses gleaming in the light as she adjusted them with a slow, deliberate motion.
"As you can see, today you'll be taking the physical test, and tomorrow you'll take the written test." She paused, letting the words hang in the air like a threat. The room was eerily silent.
Reina finally broke the silence. "Are there any questions?"
The silence in the room stretched for a few seconds before she continued.
"Good, you all have 30 minutes to prepare. After that, please move to the gym's simulation room. That'll be all." Reina's voice was firm, and with that, she turned and walked out of the classroom without another word.
The door swung shut behind her, and the classroom erupted into noise once again.
Kiel blinked, the sudden declaration of a physical test weighing heavily on his mind.
He wasn't much of an athlete in his past life, and the thought of a physical challenge already had him second guessing his ability to survive. But then something clicked in his head.
Magic.
This world had magic, and he remembered that the physical test at Ashfield Academy wasn't just about running laps or lifting weights.
No, it was much more... complicated.
From what he recalled, the physical assessment always involved using magic or physical ability or both in one way or another.
Kiel's pulse quickened as he considered this new piece of the puzzle. If he was accepted into this school, then that must mean he had an aptitude for magic, right?
But how much of an aptitude? Was he some hidden genius, or was he just barely able to flick his wrist and make something happen?
The idea of relying on magic was both a relief and a curse. On one hand, it gave him a fighting chance. On the other... he didn't even know where to start.
He glanced around the room, noticing the confident smirks on the faces of some of the other students. Yeah, they probably all have magic under control.
He could almost hear their inner monologues: "I've got this," "I've been training for this kind of thing for years."
Kiel, however, was feeling more like the guy who had just realized he forgot to study for the test the night before.
He bit his lip, anxiety creeping up his spine. "Alright, magic. You better not betray me now…"
"Hey, newbie! You ready for this?" Harlet's voice cut through his thoughts, and he looked up to see her leaning over, grinning widely.
She looked unbothered, like she'd already made peace with the challenge.
"I... I guess," Kiel muttered, though the uncertainty in his voice was obvious.
"Ha! That's the spirit! You'll do fine," she said with exaggerated confidence, slapping him on the back. "But just so you know, I'll be rooting for you. We've got this!"
He wasn't so sure about that. But as Harlet returned to her friends, laughing and joking as if this was just another day, Kiel couldn't help but feel a little... envious.
Maybe he should adopt her "just roll with it" attitude.
At least, until he figured out how the hell he was supposed to pass these tests.