Hearing the bell, Lee Kiwook suddenly remembered, he was no longer the legendary player that was admired across fifty full servers.
He was now nothing more than a pitiful, once-in-a-decade, repeat student of the Magic Academy.
And this year's entrance ceremony… still had his name on the list.
Well then. Great. Just great.
Lee Kiwook closed the game panel and took one last look at his black hair and dark eyes reflected in the blurry mercury mirror on the wall before pushing open the door and stepping out of the dormitory building.
It was around nine in the morning.
The Academy's grand and majestic Gothic architecture bathed in warm sunlight, its towering spires reaching into the clouds, as if gilded in a thin layer of gold, solemnly declaring the Academy's proud status on the world of Aetherra.
In the distance stood an even more ornate and intricate building, it was the entrance ceremony hall, where all the new students were supposed to gather.
Lee Kiwook had left much later than most.
The majority of the new students had already arrived at the ceremony hall by this point.
The paved stone road was nearly empty, with only a lone figure ahead desperately trying to run forward.
But that "desperate" running posture was honestly… pitiable.
A speed of 1 meter per second, was that what he called running for his life?
Even Lee Kiwook before transmigrating wouldn't have been so pathetic as to take a full minute to run 50 meters.
That said, the little mage really was giving it his all.
His weak and frail figure swayed with each step and his already pale face had now turned completely ashen.
Lee Kiwook had no doubt that if the kid took two more steps, he'd collapse halfway there.
Lee Kiwook sighed, then pushed off lightly with his right foot. His body shot forward, and in the blink of an eye, he was right behind the little mage.
"Are you heading to the ceremony too? Want me to take you there?" Lee Kiwook tilted his head and looked at the little mage, who was drenched in cold sweat, with a touch of empathetic sympathy in his tone.
The little mage trudged forward with great effort and raised his head to glance at him with difficulty. "You… huff... got a teleport scroll? I'll… huff wheeze... buy it with gold coins… haaah…"
Although the little mage wore the Academy's standard-issue robe, the faint pattern on the collar of his inner shirt exposed his wealthy or noble background, being able to wear blue-tier gear at this age was not something money alone could buy.
Lee Kiwook gave him a quick glance before looking away, unfazed.
To save inventory space, he had already sold off all his orange-tier and below equipment for gold.
The last time he wore a blue-tier robe was probably a year or two ago.
If it weren't for how familiar he was with this game, he would've long forgotten the difference between white, green, and blue equipment.