Last night, I didn’t get to see my roommate at all.

Judging by the fact that he didn’t come in until the early morning hours, he probably spent the whole night drinking.

When it comes to living quietly, a roommate is important. Very much so… If he’s someone who drinks too much, it’ll be a problem.

‘Please, just don’t let him be some weirdo.’

Today is the first day of the semester. Classes always start precisely at 9 a.m.

This body naturally woke up at 7 a.m. on its own. Must be the effect of my [Noble-like] personality.

If you’re late, you get marked by the instructors here at the academy. Then they give you warnings, and you start attracting attention. Ugh, I hate that.

In that sense, waking up early is actually a really nice trait.

The shower felt great.

It seemed like this body had quite the clean personality, considering the wide variety of shower items, all of which were high-end products. The taste was consistent too. A refreshing mint scent. A cool smell radiated from my whole body.

Of course, there was perfume too. But I wasn’t planning to use it. I hated drawing attention or glances from anyone because of perfume.

‘For some reason, I really don’t want to get involved with people.’

I was already like that, but after possessing the body of Aren Blackfire, I felt it even more. I prefer being alone.

Must be the influence of my [Gloomy] personality. He’s someone who’s naturally meant to live quietly.

Chop chop!

I applied the skincare products cleanly and finished grooming my hair neatly. Judging by the fact that I used some very expensive wax, it seemed like he used to style his hair in a pomade style often.

Pale skin, black hair. Sunken eyes with dark circles, tall but thin body—everything was visible at a glance.

‘He’s good-looking… but so gloomy, the other students must’ve avoided him.’

Even if a girl showed interest in me, this was the kind of face that would make her uncomfortable and back away. For sure, this Aren guy has something about him that subtly repels people.

I started packing my bag.

It was made of finely tanned animal leather, and the texture was incredibly soft.

For writing utensils, I had a fountain pen made by the famous Antien artisan and a set of high-end notebooks. All brand new. It’d definitely make note-taking feel worthwhile.

Lastly, I hung the student ID around my neck. It was made with magical engineering and was very convenient in various ways while attending the academy.

With that, I was fully prepared.

I had become a quiet but neatly styled, unique outsider.

Like someone with a sentimental vibe who walks around carrying an apology item. I was rather satisfied with it.

“Since it’s the first class, there probably won’t be any textbooks to bring, right?”

Just in case I missed anything, I checked my desk and bag. What came out were writing tools, six candles, magical chalk. And—

A letter sealed with a black dragon insignia.

“Must be the symbol of the Blackfire family.”

I tore the seal with a practiced motion and opened the letter.

Stylishly scribbled cursive writing caught my eyes.

“To my proud son, Aren.

You’ve already reached the age to enter Warriors Academy. This father cannot express how proud I am of you.

.

.

.

.

.

Therefore, strive diligently to restore the honor of our family.

I await good news.

Your father, Sieg Blackfire.

P.S. I’ve enclosed a summoning card for the family’s secret dark magic book. Our family must not neglect our dark magic research. But be careful—if you’re caught, you’ll be expelled. So be very, very cautious.”

In short, “Our family’s ruined, so you go fix it”… that kind of message.

But since not even his name was mentioned until the game ended, this father’s dream probably went down the drain.

This time too, your dream won’t come true, Father. I’m going to live quietly.

Besides, even after I’ve come to the academy, you’re still telling me to research dark magic, so you clearly haven’t come to your senses.

I put the letter and the dark magic summoning card into the desk drawer and left the dorm.

---

The place where new students were to gather today was the first-year lecture hall located in the northwest section of the academy.

Lecture buildings were divided by year, and each was quite large. Truly fitting for a royal academy.

Just finding the first-year lecture hall was a struggle.

It was so spacious. Still, after wandering around here and there, I finally found the hall.

It was crowded with people. With about 300 freshmen alone, it was bound to be packed.

Too many people made things uncomfortable. As expected, the corner was the best. I leaned against the wall of the lecture hall and checked my status window again.

Name: Aren Blackfire
Gender: Male
Age: 20
Personality: [Gloomy] [Noble-like]
Specialties: [Dark Magic] [Blackfire: Family Secret Technique]
Stats: [Strength: 3] [Agility: 3] [Stamina: 2] [Luck: 1]
Mana: [20/20]

“Strength, agility, stamina… all garbage. What’s this ‘luck 1’ supposed to be? Is this seriously what they gave me for stats?”

No matter how many times I look, it’s a garbage stat sheet worthy of a nobody extra.

But it’s too early to despair. Let’s try to think positively.

The one redeeming thing was the mana.

“For a first-year, the mana is on the high side.”

Even rotting, it’s still a croaker fish, huh. A mana level befitting a family famous for dark magic.

The reason I was rechecking my stats was because of the class assignment ceremony.

The first episode following the welcome ceremony is the class assignment.

Since you stay in your assigned class until graduation, it’s a very important episode.

Warriors Academy divides students into four total classes.

Combat, Magic, Cleric, and Practical.

The Combat class is, literally, the physical fighters.

They select students with talent for using physical strength—swords, spears, bows, etc., to subdue enemies. It’s also the largest group, full of unique weirdos.

‘Looking at my pitiful stats, Combat is definitely out.’

Besides, I absolutely hate using my body. I’d rather die than be in the Combat class.

The Magic class is easy to explain too.

Put simply, it selects students with talent in magic. It’s said the average talent level is the highest in this class.

To use magic, you need to understand those difficult spells, reconstruct them, and then draw magic circles… or so I’ve heard. I have no way of knowing how that actually feels.

Anyway, judging by my specialties and relatively high mana, I had the highest chance of ending up in the Magic class.

With the specialty [Dark Magic] and 20 points in mana… it’s obvious to anyone.

The Cleric class has the fewest students among the four classes.

Naturally so, since the essential requirement here is faith.

The source of power for the Cleric class is faith. Without faith, it’s absolutely impossible to keep up with the curriculum in this class. Only those who truly believe in a god can enter.

Students with strong faith but leaning toward the Combat class get placed into the Cleric class as Holy Warriors. These guys shout “Everything is the will of the gods!” while swinging maces and swords—truly terrifying.

Still, the students in this class are the kindest and most devout ones here.

‘…Also the ones who clash the most with someone as dark-dark as me.’

The last is the Practical class.

Don’t look down on it just because it’s called “practical.”

There are plenty of elites with exceptional craftsmanship or intelligence hiding in this class.

To put it simply, the Practical class specializes in combat support.

Weapons and siege equipment used to win wars, magic tools—these are made by artisans from this class. Even brilliant tacticians and generals who devise strange but effective strategies often come from here.

Let me say this again: never underestimate it. There are lots of crazies in this class…

“I’m probably going to the Magic class, right?”

No matter how much I rack my brain, if I want to make the most of my specialties, the Magic class seems best.

If I quietly graduate from the Magic class without standing out too much or being too bad, that’d make for a great student life. After that, I can return to my family and live quietly.

Then maybe I’ll find a way to return to reality too.

And with no worries about retirement funds, my later years are basically secure.

Just as the murmuring in the auditorium peaked, someone stepped up to the podium.

Checking the clock—it was exactly 9 a.m. It’s finally starting.

A girl walked to the front of the podium. She had silver hair and a neat bob cut.

I immediately recognized who she was.

‘Siana.’

A once-in-a-century genius magician who got recommendation letters from all the elders of the Magic Society. And… a lunatic. Whatever else, I must absolutely avoid getting involved with her.

She gave the entrance oath as the freshman representative.

The entrance oath ended without issue.

“All right, everyone pay attention—”

A voice imbued with mana spread throughout the auditorium. Thanks to a microphone with a magic amplifier, the sound boomed loudly.

The once noisy auditorium quickly quieted down. All eyes turned to the instructor.

A big man, looking like a bear, stood there. players used to nickname this instructor “Bearstructor.”

Even though he looked scary, he was a relatively kind instructor, so he was well-liked.

“Nice to meet you all. I’m Gilliot, the head instructor of the Combat class!”

—Waaah!

As expected of freshmen, full of youthful energy. Cheers and applause poured out. Instructor Gilliot seemed a bit flustered by the more enthusiastic response than expected.

‘Cute.’

I found the situation funny and laughed inwardly.

The short welcome greeting ended, and they got straight to the main topic.

“In front of you now, there are ‘Class Cards’ prepared. Anyone who doesn’t know what a Class Card is?”

About half the freshmen raised their hands.

“Seems like many of you don’t. Good. To put it simply, these cards determine your aptitude. Depending on the class assigned by the card, the courses you take will differ.”

The students murmured again. Talking about which class they wanted to be in, promising to be in the same one…

“Quiet, quiet! Talking won’t change anything—the card decides your class. To use it, hold it in both hands and wait for 10 seconds. Anyone not understand?”

If someone raised their hand now, they’d be a total attention-seeker.

Thankfully, no one did.

“Good. Then proceed in order to pick up your Class Card. Once you confirm your class, go to the instructor holding the sign for your class and form two lines. Now, move!”

The atmosphere was as excited as if we were on a field trip.

A typical mood for the first day of school and getting assigned to classes.

I quietly walked to the front of the auditorium. Unlike the students grouped in twos and threes, I was alone.

No one would want to hang out with a gloomy kid from the Blackfire family.

“Student ID?”

I held out the ID hanging from my neck.

The instructor, a woman with long blond hair tied back, stood up from her seat, perhaps due to poor eyesight. She took my ID and read it.

“Aren Blackfai… ahem.”

She stopped reading my name halfway. Her expression was awkward. Her eyes twitched. What am I, Voldemort!?

The instructor scribbled my name on a sheet, then handed me one of the stacked Class Cards.

“Aren, here’s your Class Card. You know how to use it, right? Just hold it in your hands and wait 10 seconds?”

“…Yes.”

I took the blank card and quietly returned to the wall of the auditorium.

Looking at the others, they were already checking their classes.

Holding the cards between both palms, it looked like they were praying for the result they wanted.

Each class had a unique emblem engraved on the card.

Combat had crossed swords, spears, and bows.

Magic had a magic circle and the Philosopher’s Stone at the center.

Cleric had a cross and a holy grail.

Practical had a hammer and a flag.

“Should I try praying too?”

People had started lining up, so I should hurry.

I placed the Class Card between my palms. Ten seconds like this…

My palms felt slightly warm. Something seemed to be changing.

I secretly hoped for the magic circle and Philosopher’s Stone to appear.

“Uh…?”

But what showed up on my Class Card was a symbol of a sword, spear, and bow. The Combat class.

“Uhh?”

Flap flap. I shook the card. Something must’ve gone wrong!?

No change.

There was no change!

What the hell…

On the back of the card, the reason for the class assignment was written.

I opened my eyes wide and read the damn reason.

“Aren Blackfire. Male. Age 20.

Born with sword talent. Strongly inherited the blood of the Blackfire family’s founding patriarch. Assigned to the Combat class.”

“…What?”

This garbage body with Strength, Agility, and Stamina not even adding up to 10 is supposed to have sword talent!?

This is absolute nonsense.

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