Kazuma stood at the gates of the Aurelion Academy, sunlight spilling over the marble towers and beyond.
Everything looked exactly as it did in Eternal Saga, it was just the difference in quality from the game and real life which made it look like a whole another game.
If this was a dream, it would be the most vivid one he had.
"Are you even listening? Classes are about to start!" the gatekeeper shouted again. "You're enrolled, right? Name?"
Kazuma froze.
"Kaz-" He paused. Oh, right—he was Kael Fahmer now.
"Uh... Kael. Kael Fahmer." he replied, his voice a bit shaky.
The gatekeeper gasped in shock as he heard the name Fahmer.
"Sir K-Kael, huh? I apologize for not speaking formally.. Go on in before the bell rings, sir."
Right, he was The Duke's son.
"Kael Fahmer, a third-rate villain from House Fahmer, destined to be expelled halfway through the story for making a contract with a high ranking demon in the main storyline, just to get killed with no effort by the headmaster." Kazuma thought to himself.
"At least it's my favorite character that I reincarnated into.." he mumbled to himself as the gatekeeper stood there in confusion.
Kael swallowed.So it was true.He wasn't just in the game. He was living as one of its villains, his favorite one at that.
To not raise suspicion from the gatekeeper any further, Kael quickly entered the academy's gate.
Kael stood in awe as he stared at the academy buzzing with life.
He could feel the energy of this world, the faint mana in the air, the warmth of the sun, even the weight of the sword at his hip.
It was nothing like a keyboard nor mouse, every sensation was real.
"This is fucking amazing..." he whispered to himself as he scanned the academy. As he was standing in awe, a blue screen suddenly appeared in front of him. He was very familiar with it, it was the stats menu.
[Welcome, Kael Fahmer.]
Strength - 8
Agility - 11
Endurance - 9
Mana - 7
Charisma - 32
Traits:
Villainous/Good Looking/Arrogant/
The stats are above average, and the traits are trash, just as I remember it. Anyways, I probably should go to class fast before those kids think I'm a weirdo.
He walked into the main building, the floor echoing beneath his boots. A magic crest on the wall pulsed as he passed, scanning his mana and confirming his identity.
A holographic map appeared before him. He quickly scanned it and made his way toward Classroom C.
"This is the Year 1's Combat classroom. If I remember correctly, that guy should be here..."
As he entered, dozens of heads turned. Whispers followed immediately.
"Isn't that the Duke Fahmer's son?""He got into another fight last month.""Yeah, they say he almost burned down a training hall."
Kael forced a grin.
How convenient. My reputation's already trash.
He took a seat in the back corner, letting the noise die down.The room smelled faintly of parchment and mana dust. Nostalgic, yet new at the same time.
The door opens, and a woman stepped in. Her blonde hair shined like the sun under the light and her blue eyes glowed brightly. Kael immediately grinned as soon as he saw blonde hair, which means royalty.
Well, well, well. The female protagonist has made an appearance. Flashy like usual, Loren Valtoria.
As Loren entered the room, the room went silent. Students whisper to each other in awe as they see someone from the royal bloodline for the first time in their life.
As everyone settled down, the professor clears his throats and says:
"Good morning, students," he said sharply. "I am Professor Gira, your combat instructor. Today, we'll be testing your mana synchronization."
Mana synchronization. I remember it very well. Kael was supposed to fail miserably at this.
"Step forward when your name is called," Professor Lira continued. "Place your hand on the crystal and channel your mana. It will glow red, blue, or green based off of your affinity and the higher your synchronization is, the brighter it will glow."
Mana synchronization is decided at one's birth, so I will fail. Nothing much I can do about it.
One by one, students went up, the crystal orb glowing different colors based on affinity.
When it was finally Loren's turn, the room fell silent.
"Loren Valtoria." the professor announced, his eyes cold. "I expect a lot from the princess."
She approached the crystal slowly.
In the game, this was where Loren's mana output was unstable, too chaotic to control, earning her the title 'The Defective Heir'. She is going to fail, just like me.
Well, I'm too embarrassed for her to even look. It didn't even glow in the ga-
WOOOOOOOM!
Light erupted, blindingly bright. The crystal vibrated violently, cracks forming along its surface.
Students gasped, shielding their eyes from the light.
W-what the fuck? Why is her mana synchronization that high?
Professor Gira's composure faltered for the first time.
"T-That's… impressive," he muttered. "A resonance output that high..."
Loren stepped back, her heart racing. The crystal dimmed, then shattered into pieces.
Silence filled the room. Then whispers began again.
"What was that?!"
"Did the crystal just break?!"
"As expected of the princess!"
Professor Gira narrowed his eyes.
"Very well. You may sit down, Loren. As for the remaining students, we'll do it later since the crystal isn't functional now."
What the hell just happened? She was supposed to fail... and then become a swordsman because she had no talent in magic. Well, at least it saved me from failure, so I should be grateful for that.
Kael leaned back in his chair, heart pounding. Everything he remembered from the game was starting to crumble.
"She was never supposed to pass that test," he muttered under his breath. "The defective heir… broke the crystal instead?"
It didn't make any sense. In the main storyline, Loren's failure was what started her swordsmanship training.
So why was everything changing now?
Kael's eyes flickered toward her. Loren sat perfectly still, her hands trembling slightly under the desk, as if she too couldn't believe what she'd just done.
The blue screen flickered again before his eyes.
[Warning: Your presence is distorting canonical events.]
Kael froze.
The text pulsed once before vanishing completely, leaving only the faint sound of the professor teaching in the background and his racing heartbeat.
Kael exhaled sharply, a grin creeping across his face despite the unease tightening his chest.
"So that's how it's gonna be, huh? Damn you guys."