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On the way back from the library to the dormitory.

She stood at a reasonable height of about 168cm, with long hair that was a sky blue transitioning to black at the ends.

She was Riche Winchester, the First Best student of the Jeminal Academy’s first year.

While stopping by the library to gather necessary information, she noticed a crowd of students gathered ahead.

Normally, she wouldn’t pay attention to anything beyond what was necessary, but the scene of students clustering together was unusual enough to catch her eye.

Curious about what was happening, she squeezed herself into the throng.

Under usual circumstances, male students would often glance her way or murmur amongst themselves, but not this time; she drew no attention at all.

On one hand, that was quite pleasant for her.

As she made her way through the students, she could see two boys standing amidst the surrounding crowd.

‘…A fight?’

She didn’t know who was getting hit, but the one throwing punches was a well-known figure even Riche recognized, despite her usual disinterest.

Though she couldn’t remember his name, she knew he was the last in the overall ranking.

Moreover, he lacked magical power too.

The fact that he was fighting someone was surprising enough, but to top it off, he was actually winning.

No, it wasn’t just winning; it was a one-sided beatdown.

‘How…?’

Of course, lacking magical power didn’t mean he couldn’t defeat someone who had it, but the Academy’s rankings were comparative.

The reason why he was last was that, compared to all first-year students at the Academy, he was the weakest among them.

Witnessing such a person actually winning a fight was shocking, but what stood out the most was—

‘…Is he smiling?’

With black hair and blood-red eyes, he was grinning as he mercilessly pounded the guy lying underneath him.

*

“Phew.”

Seeing the bruised face of the hefty guy, I figured I’d help with some physical therapy.

Thanks to that, his face, already swollen, looked even more amusing.

Right after finishing the plastic surgery, I stood up from my seat.

The guys who were supposed to watch over the successful operation dashed over to check on the hefty guy’s condition.

And then, out of nowhere, one of them shouted at me.

“You… You think you’ll get away with this?!”

“If we tell the professor, you’ll be expelled! What a pathetic commoner brat!”

They picked a fight first, and now they’re threatening me with expulsion because they got slapped?

But I already quit, so what do I care?

“What a fridge.”

– Thwack!

“Ugh!”

I kicked the guy on my right, sending him tumbling backward.

The other guy on my left looked terrified as he witnessed my unwavering stance.

“Um, I—I won’t say a thing…”

He seemed to be attempting some sort of negotiation.

But—

‘Who do you think you’re messing with, loser?’

If you wanted to negotiate, you should’ve done it before getting whipped.

“What a stove.”

– Thwack!

“Graah!”

I kicked again, producing a sound unexpected for a weakling as he fell over.

But then something caught my eye.

The sword strapped to the waist of the recently fallen left weakling.

It looked rather nice, with an engraved pommel.

I approached the guy sprawled on the ground and took the sword from his waist.

“This is mine now.”

“Wait, what?”

“What did you say?”

The guy seemed to still be processing the situation, blinking his eyes.

Just as I was about to leave the Academy—

‘Oh right.’

I had something left to do, so I decided to finish it.

“Victory twerking.”

I could hear the sounds of disdain and jeering from around me, but—

‘You can’t resist tea bagging.’

*

Stepping out of the Academy made me feel like I was really in another world.

The Academy itself had a fantasy-style architecture different from Korea, but outside of the Academy, the buildings of the Empire were entirely made up of styles unseen in Korea.

A grand castle in the distance that certainly looked like it housed a king, surrounded by buildings made chiefly of brick and wood.

Huff—ah…

The air in this other world was the best.

As I surveyed the scenery, I headed towards the Adventurer’s Guild.

Of course, I almost made a full circle around the Empire because I didn’t know the way.

‘In the novels, they just moved with a few letters.’

I finally arrived at the Adventurer’s Guild.

No teleportation needed, unlike in novels where I just appeared without any fuss.

It was only natural for me to stumble around in this newfound reality.

Anyway, I managed to reach the Adventurer’s Guild before my legs gave out.

It wasn’t as big as the Academy, but compared to the surrounding buildings, the Adventurer’s Guild was on the larger side.

As I stepped through the open door, suddenly, all the gazes were focused on me.

Muscle-bound individuals with bulging biceps holding double-headed axes.

A skinny guy with a bow strapped to his back.

Someone brandishing daggers at their waist.

Everyone was staring exclusively at me.

‘What’s going on? Is this the first time they’ve seen a person?’

Since I possessed no mirror after being isekai’d, could it be that Luke, the character I inhabited, was actually a major beauty?

It made sense now why I kept attracting attention since the Academy days.

‘Thought I was just an average guy, but turns out I’m a handsome dude?’

Even though it’s not my body, I couldn’t help but feel my shoulders lift with pride.

Suddenly brimming with confidence, I squared my shoulders and marched toward the reception desk.

At the reception stood a beautiful receptionist.

I had long suspected it was a rule to choose receptionists based on looks.

There’s no law saying a mere extra can’t outshine the heroine, right?

The receptionist before me was no different.

“What brings a student from the Academy here?” she asked.

“How did you know I was an Academy student?”

“Because you’re wearing the Academy uniform.”

Oh.

So that’s why everyone was staring?

From the adventurer’s perspective, Academy students probably weren’t viewed favorably.

That seemed to be the setting.

What was it the author said? Something like Academy students are nobles, and adventurers are commoners, right?

It wasn’t just a metaphor; most Academy students were nobles.

In fact, just moments ago, I had been called a commoner multiple times.

From their perspective, they must’ve thought an elite had come to mock them, which made it utterly aggravating for them.

“I came here to join the Adventurer’s Guild.”

“…Huh?”

“I said I came here to join the Adventurer’s Guild.”

“Oh, no, it’s not that I didn’t hear you….”

– Bang!

At that moment, a man crashed onto the table behind me and approached me.

“Hey, kid. Don’t push your luck.”

“What a loser.”

“What… what? Loser?!”

“Waltzing in and picking fights makes you the loser, no question about it. Got nothing better to do? Then go do some filial piety for your parents, you pathetic loser.”

Laughter erupted from the other adventurers at my retort.

The guy who had been brandishing the double-headed axe looked shiny-headed but was blushing furiously from humiliation.

‘With no hair, his face turning colors makes him look like a disco ball.’

“…Seems like our elite needs some etiquette lessons.”

Do these clowns even know what etiquette is?

They started the fight and now wanted to preach to me about manners?

The guy made it clear he had intentions to fight, placing his hand on the handle of his axe behind him.

And just when it seemed a showdown was imminent—

“Enough.”

At that moment, both he and I turned our gazes towards the sound of the voice rising from above.

A slow descent down the stairs revealed a man with a straight scar over his right eye and an appearance suggesting he was in his 50s. Despite his age, he was clean-shaven, and his muscles exuded an aura fitting of a refined middle-aged man.

“Oh. Guild Master!”

The receptionist’s words implied this man must be the Guild Master.

“Baldwin, if you’re itching for a fight, I can accommodate you.”

“L-Look here, Argo! That guy started it!”

I wasn’t privy to the Guild Master’s strength, but the guy holding the double-headed axe… Baldwin, was it? He went from asserting etiquette to blaming me.

“Is that so? Well then, let’s ask for a witness. Adela?”

“Baldwin started first.”

“Wait! Give me a chance to explain—”

“Shut up, Baldwin. Who gave you permission to speak?”

“Ugh…!”

Baldwin hesitated and knelt as if something had pressed down on him.

“Oh.”

Perhaps he was subdued by magical energy or killer intent reflecting the world’s rules?

I wondered if I too could project something like that if I tried.

I glared at Baldwin and concentrated some energy.

“Ugh—!”

– Pfft.

In the quiet guild, my fart echoed loudly.

“…?”

“…Pfft.”

“Yikes.”

Oops. I guess I still couldn’t.

*

Baldwin fled as if my fart were a signal.

And I, the center of the incident, was now face to face with the Guild Master as a result of his summon in the Guild Master’s Room.

“Allow me to introduce myself. I am Argo, the Guild Master of the Empire branch of the Adventurer’s Guild. Hm… So you’re…”

“Luke.”

“Right, Luke. Our adventurer caused an incident. Apologize in his stead.”

Well, it was quite the incident.

“Anyway, Luke. What brings you to the Adventurer’s Guild?”

“I’m here to join.”

“Given your attire, you appear to be an Academy student. Planning to juggle both? That’s quite ambitious.”

“I just quit.”

“Hmm… Seems like something went down.”

Nothing much happened, really.

I had just casually self-withdrawn from expulsion while giving one student a facelift.

“Well, that’s a personal matter; it’s not something I should pry into. You said you came here to join the Adventurer’s Guild? That means you’ll have to pass a test.”

“A test? For what?”

“Normally, you’d start at F rank, but given that you’re an Academy student, I’ll bump you up to E rank right away. The E rank test involves hunting and bringing back the ears of three goblins as proof.”

Goblins! Finally, I could see real monsters!

“Your eyes look rather odd, but detailed explanations can be obtained down below from Adela.”

Could she be the receptionist from earlier?

“Understood.”

So I wrapped up my meeting with the Guild Master and exited the Guild Master’s Room.

“Hehe… Goblins, here I come.”

You’re all done for.

 

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