Arin's Point of View
"Boy! Get down immediately, or security will come and arrest you!"
The sharp voice pierced my sleep like an arrow. I opened my eyes to find the blue morning sky between the branches… and realized I was still sleeping on top of the tree.
Yes, after long hours of wandering last night and a complete failure to find a place to sleep… I ended up on a high branch.
I looked down. A simple man stood with his hands on his hips, his face grim as if he himself were the law.
I muttered, my mind still half-asleep:
"Security?"
The man said:
"Sleeping in the streets is forbidden. If security catches you before the test, you'll be expelled immediately. I only told you because you are... human."
Ah… lovely. Racism first thing in the morning… but at least he bothered to warn me.
I sighed and climbed down from the tree. I had no desire for trouble. In the novel, the protagonist had money, a hotel, food, and even his own luxurious room. As for me… a broke protagonist.
And for a moment, I thought:
"Maybe I should cooperate with the original protagonist?"
Then I scoffed at myself. Great, I'll go to him and say:
"Hi, I know you're the protagonist of the novel and that you have a secret spirit… Should we cooperate?"
I'd lose my head before I finished a letter.
Alright… my priorities are clear now:
Food → Shower → Clothes → Test.
Three Hours Later…
The plaza was so full of people that the air itself seemed to vibrate.
An announcer shouted in a booming voice:
"Ladies and gentlemen! Today begins the first admission test for the World Academy!"
The applause rose like an earthquake. All eyes turned to the high platform… where the woman everyone feared stood.
The Witch of the End.
Media.
A white-haired woman, but nothing about her appearance suggested purity… rather, cold power. A single glance from her made the entire, noisy plaza fall silent.
She said, in a tone laced with threat:
"We do not accept the weak. Struggle… fight… and if you are not worthy, leave. Simple as that."
I felt a shiver. Her voice wasn't loud, but it pierced straight through the soul.
The announcer resumed his role with feigned enthusiasm to cover the terror her words had instilled:
"And the big surprise this year! The Headmistress will grant one request—within reasonable limits—to the top three applicants!"
The expressions of some applicants changed instantly.
Desire, greed, fear, killing intent… all mixed in the air.
Three requests from the most powerful magician on the continent?
This isn't a prize. This is a war.
The announcer continued:
"As for the first test, it is simple—"
I stopped in my head at the word "simple."
Yeah… I'll see about that.
"—A Battle Royale. Seven thousand applicants. The requirement: Survive for two hours. If you suffer a fatal injury, the formations will transport you out. Or… they might not. Who knows?"
One of the applicants raised his hand to ask, but the announcer ignored him with a wide smile.
He's enjoying their fear.
Minutes Earlier – Aarin's Point of View
My morning was… humiliating.
I helped a merchant carry goods in exchange for a plate of food, a shower, and old clothes belonging to his son.
But at least I made it to the academy gates.
The crowds, the noise, the magic gates… everything seemed huge and intimidating.
I handed over my admission paper, passed through the procedures, and then moved to a rest area that contained cold storage tools… magic refrigerators. I took some water and a few cakes and sat down to watch.
Many faces… most of them unfamiliar.
I tried hard to distinguish the important characters from the novel. But no pictures, no manga… just vague descriptions from Min-soo's memories.
Impossible.
Until I heard the whispers:
"Look… the First Princess of the Light Empire."
"Her golden hair… it's definitely her."
I looked at her. Beautiful in a way that warns you to stay away, not to approach.
But the one who truly caught my eye… was the young man next to her.
Black hair. One red eye.
… Asher.
The son of the Magic Tower's Head. A prodigy, sick, a genius, and unhinged… all at the same time.
The last person I should ever approach.
Inside the Arena
We passed through several gates, each one expanding the space in an impossible way.
The arena was supposed to be small… but now we are standing in a space that holds seven thousand people.
Spatial magic… truly something to be jealous of.
I raised my gaze to the platform.
Selena was there, standing simply, but her heavy presence made my chest tighten.
In the novel, she only appeared briefly… but something inside me screamed that she was the reason I disappeared from the protagonist's story.
She is the end of my original story… and I am now standing before her.
I pushed the thought from my head.
No time for fear.
The applicants ran in every direction when the signal was given.
But I didn't move aimlessly… I knew what I wanted.
There is one goal… my chance for survival.
And I was about to set off when a powerful magical voice boomed from high above the arena:
"Everyone, stop!"
The voice wasn't just a shout… it carried a magical pressure that made the ground tremble beneath me.
And everyone froze in their places.