It was midnight.
Freya Sorace craned her neck, observing the modernized gate in front of her. To be more precise, she was looking at a huge school gate in blue, purple and teal, in quite the cyberpunk style.
Large words flashed under neon lights —The School of Villains.
Under the soft light, she lowered her head and glanced at the gilded scroll in her hand. The words "Admission Notice" were written in seal script on the front, and when the scroll was rolled out, calligraphy spelled out ——
Student: Freya Sorace
Our school has decided to admit you to the Department of Modern Studies. Please report to the school with this notice before dawn.
The official seal of the School of Villains was stamped below.
Freya Sorace looked at the completely inconsistent school gate and the admission notice; and for a moment, she felt that she had gone to the wrong place.
The strange sense of wrongness made her stop in front of the empty, quiet entrance.
Everything had happened so suddenly.
She still hadn't fully absorbed what actually occurred.
An hour ago, she had still been wearing a couture dress to attend the Academy Awards, for which her debut film "Poison Ivy" had been nominated.
The director, screenwriters, production group, and actors were all new to the entertainment scene, but their film somehow became this year's dark horse.
When Freya Sorace came to the stage to receive the Best Actress Award, she felt that it was reasonable but unexpected.
She had always been really lucky. When she was shopping for snacks in the supermarket, she caught the eye of the director of "Poison Ivy" and became incredibly famous through the filming.
However, she wasn't always lucky, or else she wouldn't have been electrocuted by a bolt of lightning as thick as a tree trunk during a spontaneous, blustery storm right after the award ceremony.
At the time, there had been so many people there so much taller than she was. But it was as if the lightning were honed to her body, precisely striking her and killing her on the spot.
And then, she didn't even have the time to reminisce on her short life or even to admire her own charred corpse.
Freya felt a burst of blinding light pulling her soul into an unfamiliar, and strange land surrounded by a vast expanse of whiteness and nothingness.
It was then that she found a scroll floating in the air. Curious, as her human nature was, she reached out and touched it.
The scroll landed in her palm, as if she had turned on a switch to another world. The white nothingness was dispersed, as if cut open by a knife, and all the light disappeared.
When she next opened her eyes, a strange world had replaced the light.
She looked up and saw the surreal-looking building, claiming to be some School for villains.
A villain? Her? She? A villain?
Freya did not know where to even start with such absurdity.
And, weren't there only supposed to be two options for the afterlife? Heaven or Hell? Why was she being forced into studying to be something she didn't want even after dying?
Freya was understandably in a dilemma.
… To go in?
… Or to not go in?
Was there a third option to return? There's got to be one, right?
Suddenly, both doors of the school gate slowly opened, and rapid footsteps approached.
A tall, slender girl appeared in front of Freya. She sized her up and said flatly,
"Freya Sorace, right? Hello, I'm May Warren, the class rep of Class 1 of the Modern Era Department. Sorry to keep you waiting. When I received the notice, I thought you would arrive in the morning; I didn't expect you to come in the middle of the night."
The conversation took an unexpected turn as May suddenly asked her, "Have you ever killed someone?"
…What kind of random question was that?
Freya, albeit baffled, slowly shook her head.
"What was your job during your life then?"
"Actress."
"Ah, actors are the most useless here."
Seeming a little disappointed, May muttered: "That's right, what good students can the Modern Era Department get?"
Her enthusiasm dimmed a bit.
…An actress in her previous life. Most actors were good-looking, and the new classmate was no exception. She was slender and tall, yet her facial features were as delicate as a porcelain doll's. A person who was exceptionally good-looking but incompetent would fail tragically in this school.
While May assessed Freya, Freya also assessed May and naturally she caught her murmur. This place made her very uncomfortable. She really wanted to leave, but as soon as the thought materialized into desire for her, she realized that there was a layer of gray all around them — a thin film that covered the entire sky.
May spoke up after noticing Freya's gaze.
"Stop looking at it. You're already dead. If you want to be resurrected, you can only go to the school and graduate. Do you see that layer of enchantment? It's the door to another world, and you can't get out until you get a diploma."
"I have to study? Even after death?" Freya felt absurd from even voicing those thoughts, but somehow such a ridiculous situation was her reality.
"We all do. Look down, when you entered this world, you got a corporeal body and are no longer just a soul."
May responded calmly, as if used to the bewilderment of newbies.
Freya only then noticed what had been obvious from the start. She clenched her fists a few times, and the movement felt the same as it did while she was alive.
Was she really dead? But her fancy violet evening dress had now changed into a simple skirt that resembled a uniform. On the chest pocket clearly emblemed was the school badge.
Was this all an elaborate dream?
But the pain from being struck by lightning was very much real, to the point she could even feel it again if she were to concentrate on her memories.
At this moment, May seemed to think of something. She smiled widely and enthusiastically took Freya's hand, saying,
"Let's go to the school; I'll give you a tour. It's the place where you'll be staying for the next one or two, or maybe even ten years."
Freya remained silent and allowed May to drag her into the school.
A cold gust of wind blew into their faces.
Beneath the two rows of street lamps was an endlessly long bridge with an impossibly deep river flowing underneath.
May took Freya into what seemed to be a sightseeing car, one that resembled a golf cart she had often seen in movies.
The school had various means of transportation, May explainsd. It was to let the students from different eras and universes feel more at home.
Freya didn't understand what exactly the last part meant, but she decided she had learned enough for the night and would figure the details out when her brain wasn't tangled like a mess.
On the ten minute journey, she also learned more about May. The petite girl was the villainous fake daughter who was accidentally swapped with the real daughter right after they were born.
Because she was afraid that the real daughter would take back her life as the billionaire heiress, she set her up to be kidnapped. Unexpectedly, she was discovered by the real daughter's boyfriend, an actual royal prince.
He then caused May to be mistaken for the real daughter and kidnapped, and she died in the process.
"That sounds like the plot of a trashy novel."
Freya commented off handedly. She only realized how rude that sounded when silence fell in place of May's constant chattering.
Not wanting to sound any more of a jerk, Freya cleared her throat and decided to divert the topic.
"So you were a villainess?"
Silence.
Just when the awkwardness of the situation had started to set in, the girl finally responded.
"The only people who can enter our school are villains, big villains and small villains. Anyone who blocks the main character's path is considered a villain."
May said plainly as she drove off the long bridge, pointing to the buildings in the distance, and continued.
"Our school has four departments, the modern era department, the ancient era department, the fantasy department, and the xianxiadepartment.
The classrooms of our modern era department and the ancient era department are in the east, and the xianxia department and the fantasy department are in the west. The dormitory area is a bit further, closer to the xianxia department."
Freya was a little surprised. Not by the names of the departments or what they entailed. She barely processed that information. But rather by what May said before that.
How could she, a young celebrity in her prime, be a villain?
However, her bewilderment did not last long, as she was shocked by the scene in front of her.
The school gate was cyberpunk-y, but the style inside was completely chaotic.
Even in the middle of the night, almost as soon as the bridge ended, one could see four conspicuous buildings with completely different styles. It could even be said that their differences were worlds apart.
The classrooms of the modern era department were several modern skyscrapers, which were no different from those of her life.
The classrooms of the ancient era department were full of palaces and pavilions, with red tiles and green walls, as if they were extracted from the Forbidden Palace itself.
The classroom of the xianxia department floated like a city in the sky, with celestial mansions standing upright in the air.
Wheras, the classroom of the fantasy department resembled a Gothic manor or castle, seemingly identical to buildings in Central Europe.
The incongruous styles of four different architectural styles clashed in this large school.
…What strange place had she come to?
"By the way, what is your specialty?" May suddenly asked, breaking her out of her daze.
Freya contemplated it and replied.
"My luck is quite good."
May wanted to roll her eyes.
… Was she a fool? How was having good luck a specialty? It was probably too embarrassing or trivial to bring up. Freya had nothing but looks. If the students in the modern department wanted to survive in the school, they either had to sleep around or group together.
If students did not have a useful specialty, they would be eliminated in the first test. Freshmen like May would disappear completely from the school in a few days.
May weighed the odds in her mind for a while and smiled calmly.
"It's getting late, let me take you to the dormitory area to rest. We start class at ten in the morning, and if we go now, you can still have eight hours of sleep. All the daily necessities have already been prepared for you, so you can go directly to bed. If you have any questions, there is a freshman handbook, or you can come to 605 to find me."
The sightseeing bus stopped at the dormitory entrance.
May added, "The dormitory is divided into two districts. I live in 605 in the second district. Your room is 303 in the first district, and if you walk straight ahead, there will be signs. Just make sure you get to the modern department campus Classroom 1 at at ten tomorrow. I won't escort you all the way."
Freya nodded politely: "Okay, thank you, class rep."
May waved to her, watching her figure gradually disappear into the night. When she was out of view, she lowered her head and sent a text with her phone—Boss Derek, she left for District 1. If we meet in the next exam, please look out for me.
Derek Lemar leaned lazily against a tree, staring into the distance with narrowed eyes.
The lackeynext to him handed him a cigarette and Derek put it in his mouth.
The younger man lit the cigarette and blabbered.
"Boss won the top ten in the last exam, so May has delivered a congratulatory gift. I just asked May, and this time you will definitely be satisfied with the package; she was an actress in life. Her appearance is more than enough to qualify her as the belle of the modern department. Also, most actresses can actually let go, unlike those sniveling little girls in the ancient era department, she's guaranteed to serve you well!"
Derek sneered and replied, "The female students from your modern era department are only useful for warming my bed."
"That's right. They always rank the lowest in every exam. None of them are like you, assigned to the fantasy department because of your powerful abilities. I watched the whole live broadcast of your last exam, and the last thunderbolt was amazing. You have the style of a strong victor!"
After all of the compliments, Derek felt at ease, and he glanced at the only way to go to the dormitory in District 1.
Five minutes passed, and there wasn't even a shadow of a ghost.
"Boss, don't worry, women walk slowly, and the girl is an ignorant freshman. She might have been attracted by flowers and plants on the side of the road."
After another half an hour, Derek had smoked his fifth cigarette, but he still didn't see the new student.
He instructed impatiently: "Go check why she still isn't here."
The lackey immediately complied.
Not long after, the lackey came back, looking like he had seen a ghost.
"There was no one." He mumbled, his voice shaking in fear.
At this moment, Freya had finally climbed over the fence. She was covered in mud.
Just half an hour ago, she had been observing the novel sights on the road. There was only one street branching towards the dormitory area, with green plants she couldn't name on both sides. The road was blocked up with half-height fences on both sides.
Logically speaking, she couldn't fall in.
But as she walked, she twisted her foot, slipped, and directly fell over.
Originally, she thought the ground was flat, but it turned out there was a steep slope. Lin Xinghe fell to the bottom like a snowball. Was this lucky or not? Even taking into account such a fall, not a single hair on her head was harmed.
Her surroundings were pitch-black.
Freya didn't panic, but it took her a lot of effort to climb up again. Fortunately, the heroine in her debut film was an expert rock climber. She had to learn rock climbing professionally for a month in preparation for the film. Ordinary people might not be able to climb this slope.
When she got to the top, she found that the dormitory area was already in front of her.
"Finally." She muttered, fastening her steps. Perhaps all she had to do was to fall asleep to wake up from this weird illusion of a dream or a nightmare.
Freya was betting on all this being an elaborate and realistic dream that she was having while her body laid in a coma after getting struck by that lightning. If not... she didn't yet want to think about what laid ahead.
There was only one way to find out.