And now I also know why my clap was, let's just say, awkward. Before I tell you that, though, I need to provide a little more context. I'm not exactly at the first chapter of the novel. The story starts with the first two or three chapters from the POV of the main cast as they enter the academy, or rather, the entrance ceremony. These chapters introduce the academy, their personalities, routines, and goals—whether short-term or long-term. At the end, their impressions of the MC are given, but they're only passing remarks about someone briefly passing by. As for the MC, his childhood friend also arrives with him, but since they already know each other, the author chose to explore her POV separately, so she's not featured in the beginning.
Around chapters four and five, the novel shifts to the MC's POV, where we get his impression of the academy and his interactions with the students. The first arc revolves around the main characters, who, by sheer luck, end up in the same class—not because of talent, but because no one is ranked yet. As for why they're not ranked, that's for later.
Their first month passes, and then comes the rank evaluation test, which was supposed to take place, but due to unforeseen circumstances, it gets postponed. Why, you ask? Because a terrorist group launches a full-force attack to find an item within the academy. The entire academy fights on its own level, and of course, the MC and main cast are involved. However, the MC isn't the primary fighter in the battle against the terrorists—he's just one of many who don't want the terrorists to succeed. This arc serves as a bit of an introduction to the cruel world they live in and the unexpected nature of human life in this world. The main cast doesn't become friends immediately, but a small foundation is built for future relationships.
The attack happened because the principal was busy outside, so the terrorists tried to act while he was away. However, the resistance they encountered was unexpected, and the time they thought they'd have to complete their mission stretched out longer than they expected. In the end, the principal returned, and the terrorists were defeated, but not without a cost. Thirteen students and two teachers lost their lives, and several academy facilities were destroyed.
Originally, second and third-year students had vacations, and since the first years had only been at the academy for a month, they weren't supposed to get a vacation. But given the situation, the first-years were granted one as well.
The principal then announced an assembly to acknowledge the sacrifices of those who had died, saying that we should silently reflect on their memories to strengthen our resolve for future battles. And that's where my awkward clap comes in. My clap was a sharp contrast to what was happening around me. It was like a slap to anyone who was trying to reflect on the departed souls. I think those students who looked confused were probably the ones who hadn't paid much attention to the principal and were confused by my clap and the reactions around us. As for the angry, sad, and scared reactions, I think you can guess why those were there.
It was already night, so I decided to quickly eat and head back to my dorm. I couldn't handle the situation of being in a new world with an empty stomach. I rushed to the cafeteria, and by the time I got there, the crowd had already thinned out. There were only a few students scattered around. I ate just enough to give my body energy but not too much to risk upsetting my stomach. Afterward, I hurried to my dorm. Yeah, I ran. I didn't want to interact with anyone at the moment.
Using the memories of the layout as my GPS and my legs as means of transportation, I arrived at my room—not too quickly, though. This place is huge, and this body is weak. Even by the standards of my previous world, this body is weak. That only adds to my worries, because people here are much stronger, what with all that mana and magic.
In the early days, the strength of both humans in this world and humans from Earth is the same. But around the age of 10, children start to get a bit stronger, not drastically. However, after age of 15 , strength increases exponentially—so let's just say an average first-year student could easily defeat the world champion, even if by just a margin.
But that doesn't factor in the fact that people here train since birth. Their techniques are much more refined.
Now, let's think about my situation. I don't want to leave the academy because I can be identified by people who know the person I'm inhabiting. But the academy will accommodate me after five days. I could stay at a hotel—at least from a financial standpoint—but that's not going to work.
Now, let me finally introduce myself in detail so you understand.
I am from the Kingdom of Stars. No, stars don't look good from my kingdom, so why name it like that? Well, the founder's wife was named Etoile, which means "star," and when he was thinking of a name, a shooting star passed by. He took it as a sign and named it the Kingdom of Stars. In short, Star Kingdom.
Now, my kingdom is a medium-sized kingdom in this world, and among the medium-sized ones, it's on the larger side. Let's just say it's above average. My family is a merchant family, and not just any merchant family—we're one of the five largest merchant families in the kingdom. My family is involved in nearly every kind of business, except war. My grandmother hated war. She believed war only creates enemies, and you never win a war, you just have fewer losses than the enemy.
No matter how big or small, we're involved in some form of trade. Not all trades are profitable—some give only small profits or even losses—but they facilitate our bigger businesses, so we continue with them. Depending on the season or political situation, we might even profit the most in the whole kingdom. So, yeah, I was filthy rich. Not than any duke or royal family. But if we ignore them even nobels were financially weaker.
Our business stretches outside the kingdom too, including a hotel here in the academy city, so I can stay here. But now that I've explained my financial situation, we get to the main problem. I am quite loved and adored in my family. So, if I don't inform them, they'll suspect something's wrong. Of course, they won't think someone took over their son's body, but they'll know something's off. And they'll come looking for me, which defeats the purpose, because at that point, I'll face them, and doubt will be in their hearts. The chances of getting caught will increase.
For now, let me take a bath—it'll help me ease my mind a little.
As I entered the bath for the first time, I took a moment to observe my surroundings. It's funny—I noticed where I'll bathe but missed where I'll sleep, even though I had just been there. Well, I'll figure out the room later, so let me enjoy the bath for now. This place has enough space to bathe and dance if I wanted to. I don't know why I thought that, considering I can't even dance well. The bath is clean and spotless, and the design is so nice that I could happily sleep here. Let's just enjoy the water. I prefer cold showers over hot water in bathtubs, so I started enjoying the coolness of the water, which helped ease my worries a bit. Nothing calms you like cold water... except maybe a beauty. Wait, no—a beauty would just make me nervous, so scratch that.
After bathing for a few minutes, I decided to return to my room. And as soon as I entered, I was shocked. I'm rich, so why is my dorm room worse than the bathroom? Well, it's not like the room is bad—it's just bland in comparison. Maybe the academy has a purpose behind it.
My room has a bed, a table with a few books on it, a chair, a wardrobe, a shelf built into the wall, and a sofa—maybe for guests. Nothing too fancy, but it's still pleasing to the eye. Maybe that's the purpose behind this design.
Upon closer inspection, I noticed there's also a full-body mirror on the side. I missed it at first due to its small thickness and where I stand.
From my memory, I can easily recall the appearance of this new body, but until now, I've suppressed it. But now, I think it's time to finally see myself with my own eyes. Avoiding it won't do anything.
STEP
STEP
STEP
My footsteps were as loud as drums—at least to my ears. Maybe that's why eyes are so important to humans. Even after all this experience, I still wasn't ready to accept the situation, but I knew that seeing my appearance would be a huge shift in my mentality. Whether the result will be good or bad, I subconsciously wanted to avoid that change.
Finally, I stand in front of the mirror.