No Lies, Just Extra

Entrance Ceremony Day # 1

“Damn it!”

Am I alive?

“Yeah! There’s no way a human just dies…!”

The joy of life!

The moment I open my eyes, I feel an immense happiness!

“Oh! Ooooooooh!”

A shout bursts out along with violent ecstasy!

The overwhelming joy and pleasure of someone who has narrowly escaped death envelops my brain! I’m alive…! I don’t know who, but I’ll gift a homemade ham set to the kind person who called for help and to the paramedics!

Indeed, there’s no way you’re supposed to die just like that. Someone must have heard my screams and called an ambulance.

People say there’s no more compassion in South Korea these days, but that’s all bullshit, dammit. If I meet anyone who spouts that nonsense, I might just kill them myself.

“Phew!”

As I calm down, a sense of relief washes over me. Tears cloud my vision. To suddenly have a seizure like that… People need to experience it to understand. Only then can they understand the pain of others. Maybe I should start a campaign to raise awareness about acute epileptic seizures across the whole country.

But then.

“What the?”

This isn’t a hospital, is it?

It’s not even my house. I’m outside? Moreover, in some unknown alleyway? But first, I need to check my body for any abnormalities.

I felt around, checking for any injuries or issues.

Damn, in my early twenties and suddenly experiencing a seizure and blackout, that’s hard to believe. My parents will be so worried. I’m seriously considering getting a proper health check done soon.

*Click*

Something clasped around my waist.

“What’s this?”

Eh.

“A knife?”

No.

A sword?

“What the hell? Why is this here?”

I’m too shocked to speak.

Looking down at my waist, there’s a sheath strapped to a belt with a sword inserted into it. Shockingly, I was now carrying a sword like a medieval soldier.

Since when did I have this?

I never bought or saw one. The only time I carried a sword at my side was when I was in the military.

Though the sword looks cool, who in the world walks around with such a thing these days?

In this beautiful modern society, only insane, inhumane psychopaths would carry swords.

“No way, what kind of messed-up…”

But I wasn’t the only one.

Up ahead. Outside the alleyway, there were students wearing strange uniforms, each with weapons at their waists, moving in one direction.

Did I have some kind of sleepwalking episode after I passed out, joining this cosplay procession?

It feels like my head isn’t working properly because I’ve just woken up.

Why am I even here in the first place?

“…”

Extreme confusion wraps around my entire body. At a closer look, the clothes I’m wearing are not the ones I had on before, but identical to what those students strolling around are wearing.

“Mom, save me.”

What I feel now is fear.

Here I am, standing in an alleyway, and now I’m suddenly overwhelmed with fear. I immediately wanted to return the immense happiness I felt from having narrowly escaped death.

What the hell happened while I was unconscious for a moment?

Was my blackout really due to a seizure?

*Swoosh*

I hastily put my hand in my pocket.

The phone is there.

But.

“Damn it… It’s not mine.”

It’s not my phone.

It’s a completely unknown model. Where’s my Galaxy? It’s neither an iPhone nor an LG. Which country’s phone is this? It looks sleek, but I have no idea where it’s from.

Nonetheless, when I instinctively put in my usual pattern, it unlocks easily. That doesn’t make sense. Did I set a familiar pattern on a phone I bought unconsciously? Me?

“…”

Anyway, the phone was empty. It only had the basic apps you’d expect on a new phone, and the contact list was clean.

But there was one message.

[Ares Academy Entrance Ceremony Schedule]

“Ares Academy?”

What is this, a game preorder notification? What exactly happened to me? But then again, I see there’s only 1 hour left until the entrance ceremony.

Now is not the time to worry about this.

I hastily tried to download a map app to figure out my current location and find my way home, but none of the apps I knew appeared.

There’s no Chrome, no Naver, not even Daum?

“…”

Am I in a different world?

*Shudder*

For some reason, that thought crossed my mind. But anyway, I somehow managed to search for a map with the basic internet app.

“Oh my god, how did the Korea map become like this? This is seriously fucking wrong.”

Sweat streamed down my face. The urge to sit down and cry stimulated my brain.

Am I… like in some hidden episode of Gulliver’s Travels, landing on an Earth that’s similar to the original but different? A world inhabited by creatures that look like humans but are actually monsters.

“My wallet.”

With that ominous thought, I shoved the phone back into my pocket and pulled out my wallet. This is an unfamiliar wallet too. No idea what brand it is. My wallet is a Louis Quatorze.

“ID card.”

Fortunately, there’s an ID card.

[Kim Geun-chul]

“Yeah, that’s me.”

The name is Kim Geun-chul. My photo is on the ID card. But the date of birth is strange. An ID is supposed to be… slightly yellowish in hue. Not this red.

“What? Awakened?”

Moreover, on the ID card, there is something marked as an “Awakened.” What is this? Does it imply a drug consumer?

I can’t understand. There’s no chance someone created this while I was asleep and slipped it into my pocket. It’s either I’ve lost my memory, or I’ve really gotten entangled with something strange.

One or the other.

“Student ID.”

And there’s a student ID.

[Ares Academy Student ID] [Kim Geun-chul]

Again, Ares Academy.

Did I come to receive pre-order goodies for some game and got hit with the Arirang maneuver all of a sudden?

“Ah?”

Wait a second.

I’ve seen this recently.

Ah, yeah. That game.

The game I downloaded today.

Academy’s War Hero.

That’s the name of the school. And now that I think about it, these uniform-like clothes I’m wearing seem to come straight out of there.

“Mom…”

An astonishing thought.

“No kidding, am I literally inside the game?”

Even as I speak, it seems ridiculous. Such an absurd event cannot exist in reality. But looking around, this certainly seems real.

At that moment.

*Ding*

―――――――――――――――――

「Quest Notification」

「Attend the Ares Academy Entrance Ceremony」

「Reward: 100 Coin」

―――――――――――――――――

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

A bizarre noise ringed out, and a blue holographic window appeared in front of me!

“Freaking hell!”

I was so startled that I yelled out, but in that instant, I realized!

It seems I really have entered the game!

Perhaps at the moment when I lost my consciousness!

* * *

After calming down for a bit, I straightened my clothes and left the alleyway. I saw other students in the same uniforms walking about.

Well, let’s play along with however this “guide” tells me to. I have no idea what’s going on, and some sort of surreal guiding window is insisting I attend the entrance ceremony.

I guess I should do this quest since it’s a quest, right? The reward is listed as 100 coins. I wish it referred to Bitcoin. I am so disconnected from reality that I don’t even know what I’m raving about.

With that thought, I followed the other students.

* * *

As I walked, a sense of unease gripped me.

Did I end up in this situation because I’m really inside a game? The detachment from reality is beyond measure. The situation has gone far beyond ridiculous, and that’s the thought that crossed my mind.

But what I’m most anxious about is that I don’t know much about this game.

I only skimmed the wiki before passing out earlier.

I know it’s about some sort of superpower battles. Does that mean I also have to fight the monsters from the game? And as far as I can remember, the protagonist is an fast-growing OP character with a great personality… and there’s a character with a horrible temper?

That’s really all I know.

As I was thinking this, an unbelievably magnificent building caught my eye – a gigantic structure, the likes of which I’ve never seen before at a university, vast and grandeur. The white fortress stood tall and proud, surrounded by what appeared to be a rounded fortification wall resembling a colossal colosseum.

This must be Ares Academy.

From what I remember of the game’s context, this is an institution for nurturing superhumans. That’s about all I recall. If only I had spent more time reading the wiki!

To think I would regret not knowing the setting of a game!

“Damn.”

While admiring the grandeur of the building and its opulent grounds, I made my way inside. As fancy as the place was, it was hard to focus on the sights, as I was overwhelmed by the pressing situation.

I just found a seat in the auditorium where the entrance ceremony was taking place.

School ceremonies never looked like this when I was in high school.

Anyway.

There were a lot of students inside. It was bustling. The only difference from a real school was that these students were all armed. And their hair was flashy. Plus, everyone looked unusual… But wait, students?

How old am I then?

I’m currently 24, so have I regressed in age?

“Sigh”

While chewing on these indescribable feelings, I just kept repeating my thoughts, when…

“The ceremony is about to begin!”

The entrance ceremony is starting.

“Get on with it already.”

Let’s see what kind of mess they will make. I crossed my arms and watched the stage when suddenly, a black-haired woman in a uniform landed with a jump onto the stage… What? At any rate, the moment I saw her:

“Future heroes!!!! Welcome to Ares Academy!!!!”

*Whoosh!*

“Argh! Shit!”

As the uniformed woman shouted, a gust of wind blew forth! Damn, she just breathed out a storm! What’s going on?

“Argh shit? Who’s the one who said argh shit!!!!”

“Huh…!”

How did she hear me from this distance?!

The place filled with her angry roar! Seriously, this is too much, even for an entrance ceremony. At times like this, I should pretend nothing happened!

“…!”

I immediately clenched my teeth and slightly lowered my head, pretending I didn’t know what’s going on, but then.

“You there, with your head down!!! No use pretending!!! Stand up this instant!!!”

*Whoosh!*

As if targeted, the wind surged, and my bangs fluttered wildly. It seems like I’ve been caught. Simultaneously, all eyes in the auditorium turned my way.

“Uh, it’s you she’s talking about, right?”

“Dude! Apologize quickly…!”

“This guy’s screwed!”

The students around me called out softly, urging me to apologize… Nothing’s going my way!

“I apologize! I yelled out because I was startled!”

First things first, let’s apologize!