The Academy’s Ankle Reaper – Chaper 0

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Vine
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What does it feel like… to be short?

Ever since I reached the age of reason, I’d never been the short one among my peers. From elementary school where we lined up by height, through middle and high school when everyone shot up during puberty, even in the military, I was never short.

Currently, at 185cm, taller than the barely-making-it 180cm mark and shorter than 190cm where life’s inconveniences truly begin, I possessed the coveted height men dream of. The elevated perspective granted by my superior stature fueled my already healthy self-esteem. Having always looked down, quite literally, on my peers, I naturally never understood the thoughts of someone short.

So… it was only natural that I couldn’t empathize with a scene in a web novel I was casually reading where the villain, fueled by a height complex, made a pact with a devil and killed someone because they were mocked for their short stature.

No matter how much of a complex it was, to kill someone just because they teased you about your height… Even if it was a lifelong complex, to kill someone over that? I couldn’t understand it.

Unable to tolerate the absurd plot point, I left a short comment on that chapter:

-Isn’t killing someone over height teasing a bit much, author?

A reply was immediately posted by a username that seemed to be the author.

-Are you tall?

The sharp reply sent a chill down my spine.

How did they know I was tall?

-Not that tall… average?

I hedged, unsure what might happen if I admitted to being truly tall.

Another reply came swiftly.

-You’ll understand once you experience it.

“Experience it? What do they mean?”

That was the end of my memories as Seo Ji-hoon.

Back then, I didn’t know.

That I, who had lived my life above 180cm, would soon experience life below 150cm.

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