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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Shio
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On the day of the entrance ceremony:
“Is that guy really 6th place?”
“Huh, what did he do to be 6th? He doesn’t look any different from us.”
“Yeah, he looks ordinary. What exactly is he hiding?”
As soon as I arrived at the auditorium for the entrance ceremony, whispers reached my ears as if on cue.
Such gossip wasn’t surprising. I probably looked rather shabby compared to the students who placed 1st to 5th.
You could say there was nothing remarkable about me, the only distinguishing feature being the bandages tightly wrapped around my hands.
Even those bandages didn’t give off any particular aura, so people were in ‘evaluation mode,’ wondering, “What’s so special about him?”
‘I don’t understand either.’
Mirinae Academy was renowned for its extremely strict and objective evaluations.
There was even a famous anecdote from the distant past when the Skerian Empire tried to pressure them into admitting the crown prince through donations, nearly leading to war.
That’s how serious they were about rankings, which were considered absolute indicators.
While the evaluators claimed the results were a comprehensive assessment of various factors, not just combat ability, people tended to focus only on combat prowess.
In other words, I had essentially been officially announced as 6th in combat power among the first-years.
‘Why me, when I can’t even use my main skill and only have one sub-skill?’
Usually, first-year upper ranks were dominated by upper-class students like noble children who had developed their potential early.
It was rare for commoners to be in the upper ranks, with cases like Yu So-hyun being extremely rare exceptions.
In short, one had to be exceptionally outstanding, but why was I, who hadn’t really shown anything, in 6th place?
As I pondered this, a deep voice resonated throughout the auditorium.
“Ahem, we will begin the academy entrance ceremony shortly. Please hurry and take your seats.”
The speaker didn’t introduce himself or make a grand entrance. His calm, unassuming voice quickly restored order in the auditorium, which had briefly become noisy due to my appearance.
The seating arrangement was by academic performance, reflecting Mirinae Academy’s meritocratic system.
‘So this is how they view these kids…’
The lineup of FD’s brilliant main characters unfolded: Woo Do-hyun, Meiryka, Bellos Belon, Mijuran, and Yu So-hyun.
I had seen Yu So-hyun before, but seeing the others was truly a unique experience.
Especially Woo Do-hyun, who seemed to be the true protagonist FD was pushing, making me feel a bit more connected to him.
‘If only I had Woo Do-hyun’s body instead of Lee Seok-Hyun’s…’
I would have long completed the prologue and moved according to a perfect development plan before entering the main story.
Even if I had been in Bellos’s body, desperate to flaunt his noble air, I wouldn’t have had to perform the embarrassing feat of defeating a troll barehanded.
Since the situation was already decided and I couldn’t turn back time, all I could do was accept reality with a bitter expression.
“H-hello.”
“Hi.”
While I was lost in thought, Yu So-hyun suddenly spoke to me.
It was natural to be glad to see a familiar face in an unfamiliar setting.
‘Her shy setting is still the same.’
She used polite speech even though we were the same age, sitting next to each other.
Yu So-hyun was a character with a curious mix of traits: extremely shy and timid, yet determined.
Especially her shyness about speaking boldly but the determination to speak at all was exactly as described.
“Did you do well on the exam?”
“Not as well as you, I’m sure.”
“Oh, no, I didn’t mean it like that at all…I’m sorry.”
“It’s a joke, just a joke.”
Through Yu So-hyun, I saw that the personalities of the FD main characters closely matched their in-game portrayals.
It was quite fortunate, as differing personalities would have introduced completely unexpected variables.
After chatting with Yu So-hyun about trivial things while waiting for the ceremony to begin, we finally heard:
“We will now begin the entrance ceremony.”
With those words, he appeared.
Dressed in clothes of an antique style, contrary to his appearance in his mid-thirties.
Shoes and a coat estimated to be from designs several hundred years old, and even a cane with a dragon embossed on it.
He looked exactly as I had seen on the computer screen.
‘He looks even better in person than in the graphics.’
Perto Lafer, the founder of Mirinae Academy and still its chairman.
Rumors ranged from him being a dragon to a descendant of ancient giants or even a hybrid of celestial beings and humans.
No one knew his exact identity, but one thing was certain: he stood with humanity.
‘I don’t know either.’
Though I had played FD for a long time, I had only done so as Lee Seok-Hyun, who didn’t often enter the academy.
Hence, I didn’t know much about Perto.
Seeing him occasionally in major main stories, providing significant help before leaving, I didn’t worry about being backstabbed.
“Ah… First of all, I sincerely congratulate you all on your admission. However, we cannot linger on this joy. Our ultimate goal is the annihilation of the Main. The moment we truly drive them out of this land and eliminate them all, we will continue to bear joy. Until then, instead of joy, you must attend Mirinae Academy with a sense of mission and a desire for improvement.”
The tone was solemn and respectful, unlike what one would expect from an entrance ceremony.
Even the professors behind Perto looked at us with serious faces, devoid of smiles.
‘Because it’s that important.’
The Main.
The main enemies of Final Destiny, beings that must be eradicated from this world.
Those who are human yet not human, intoxicated with violence and greed.
Even the final boss, [Despair of Destiny], that I had fought to see the true ending was a result of the Main’s summoning.
Their goal was world domination, an objective that third-rate villains might set, but…
‘Their execution is extremely excessive.’
They could be considered truly insane, stopping at nothing to achieve their goals.
Kidnapping and killing bystanders was just the basics when eliminating those who stood in their way.
They were trash who viewed life more lightly than pebbles, using infants as weapons by planting bombs in their bodies to kill their targets.
“You will face many difficulties while learning various things at the academy. At such times, you may feel tempted to take the easy way out. You might want to climb up even if it means stepping on others. However, I hope you will become students who overcome such feelings and stand proudly in your place.”
Perto’s words highlighted the simplicity of becoming Main.
The Main were everywhere, continuously expanding their influence.
They approached those in difficult situations, offering immediate power to resolve their problems.
This might sound trivial when put into words, but in reality, it was far from it.
“Once you become a Main… outwardly, you look exactly the same as humans, so you can’t tell until they use their power.”
Except for their eyes turning completely black when using their power, Main appeared no different from humans.
In simple terms, they resembled a powerful armed group combined with a pseudo-religion.
‘Their eyes turn black because they corrupt their main skill with power…but that hasn’t been revealed yet at this point.’
I compared the information I knew with the facts currently revealed.
If I accidentally mentioned details that would only be known towards the end, it could lead to misunderstandings.
As I carefully organized my thoughts, the long opening address finally drew to a close.
In the game, such boring parts were skipped, so I hadn’t known what was said.
It turned out to be a time for explaining FD’s main enemies.
“Lastly, I add this: I believe that from now on, you will become upright students who fully display your talents in the right direction.”
With those final words, Perto swung his cane.
Suddenly, numerous badges appeared behind him and gently floated into the hands of all the new students.
These badges were proof of being part of Mirinae Academy and a clear sign of social advancement.
The small badge contained a powerful force that would allow one to stand against discrimination and oppression, regardless of social status.
‘The design is nice, too.’
A pattern of a sword and question mark forming a cross within a pentagram.
It symbolized the coexistence of magic, martial arts, and other studies, as well as Mirinae Academy’s belief that when these three unite, they can form the universe.
After admiring the badge, I refocused on the entrance ceremony.
The real meat of the ceremony was about to begin.
“Ahem, I am Gainad, in charge of conducting the entrance ceremony. We will now begin the main events of the ceremony. First, we will have the first-year student representative speech.”
While the chairman’s opening address might have been insignificant in the game, the upcoming events couldn’t be dismissed with a quick press of the enter key.
Especially the first-year student representative speech, which could grant various buffs depending on what the speaker said.
‘Since it’s the representative of the first years speaking…it’s said to set the direction for the entire year.’
Because of this, I remembered struggling to become that representative speaker when playing characters other than Lee Seok-Hyun.
I needed to gain buffs that would be advantageous to the character I was raising.
But now, I felt no such pressure. Why? Because any buff Lee Seok-Hyun received would be useless.
Just as multiplying 0 by any number still results in 0, the representative speech buff had no meaning for early-stage Lee Seok-Hyun.
‘Still, I can definitely decide who to befriend.’
Being the representative speaker meant that person would likely lead the entire first year.
If I could overcome the early stages by associating with such a person, I could smoothly progress through the story later.
I looked at the faces of the main characters sitting next to me, anticipating whose name Gainad would call as the representative speaker. And then…
“Representative speaker, Lee Seok-Hyun, come forward.”
?
A bizarre situation unfolded where the main characters were staring at me in disbelief.
No, not just the main characters, but all the new students were looking at me.
‘Why me?’
I stared at Gainad with an incredulous expression.
My eyes conveyed, “Didn’t you call the wrong name?” and my mouth hung open in disbelief.
As if understanding my meaning, he nodded and spoke again.
“Representative speaker, Lee Seok-Hyun, come forward.”
It was a perfect disaster.
So why on earth was I…?
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[Shio here~!
LMFAO YOU’RE THE PROTAG BUDDY, OF COURSE YOU’D BE THE REPRESENTATIVE SPEAKER!]
