"Also, get your ass up. We have Criminal Procedure exam today. It's bad enough you didn't read for it, but sleeping through your alarm? Really?"
The man was taken aback at being reprimanded, but when he caught sight of his smooth skin, he remembered… his name was now Chad Duncan.
Chad Duncan… why did it sound so familiar?
Right!
It was the novel he'd been reading in the car before he died.
Walking to the mirror beside his bed, he slowly touched his smooth face.
Indeed, this was not the face of Kyle Mercer.
Just like the book described him, Chad Duncan was a pale young man with blue eyes.
He had slanted eyes with thick brows and stood at 6'5", which was confirmed by the bunk bed beside him which stood at the same height too.
So he had woken up in that novel instead of dying?
Come to think of it, the last thing that crossed his mind before he thought he'd die was Chad's name.
Could that be why he was here, in the novel, instead of being dead?
But if he was here… what happened to the real Chad?
He was distracted by the sound of something falling and turned to see his two roommates reading by the door, the third roommate, who woke him up, nowhere in sight.
"Are you getting ready or not?"
Flinching hard, he turned toward the voice and immediately frowned when he saw his third roommate.
"Damn you, you bastard! Who are you to tell me what to do?!" was what he wanted to yell.
But what actually came out of his throat was an almost unheard stutter, "S-sure."
Wait… what is this?
Where did his confidence go?
Damn it!
The book had described Chad as a timid, self-aware person who didn't like being yelled at.
Because of that, he did things before he was asked to and always stayed out of everyone's way.
But now he was the one occupying this body. So why were his actions and words still that of the original owner's?
Sighing angrily, he moved to the bathroom to wash up.
Under the impatient, watchful eyes of his roommates, he threw on the first clothes he saw and left the room with them.
The University of New Belmont Law School was prestigious, so prestigious that people came from every corner of the country to study here.
Chad hadn't read far enough into the novel to know why the original host chose this school, especially since he had to juggle multiple jobs just to keep up even when he was failing classes, but as he stood before the towering building, he instantly understood.
Prestige.
A name like this opened doors. Firms always bent over backward to hire graduates from schools like this.
And he knew this better than anyone as in his past life, he'd attended a modest state university and spent years trying to land a job.
When he started outperform colleagues from prestigious schools, their resentment toward him grew.
He could still picture their sneers, most didn't bother to hide their envy.
And Carl Lawson…
Chad clenched his jaw at the memory.
Carl had hated him most of all.
But he never thought the man would cross such a line.
The memory of his cruel death still churned in his chest like bile.
So this time, he was determined not to let his underestimation of people get him killed.
"The examination will begin in ten minutes. Enter the examination hall late and have ten marks deducted from your script." The speakers around the school building suddenly blared.
Immediately, his roommates who had been strolling hastened their steps.
Chad did the same, though unlike them, he wasn't worried about the exam.
The original Chad knew nothing… but not him. He graduated at the top of his year and was the best lawyer in New Hampshire.
Surely, a few second-year questions wouldn't be that difficult.
Ten minutes later, he sat at his desk, his eyes narrowing slightly at the fact pattern and questions staring back at him.
Oh, easy easy.
Picking up his pen, he lowered it to the answer paper to write…
…and froze.
"I-I don't know the answer to this? Why don't I know the answer?!"
The frightened shriek tore out of him before he could stop it.
Everyone looked up. Even the invigilator paused and glanced his way.
"Is anything the matter over there?"
That was when a bright DING! rang inside his head.
[System Online.]
Welcome, Dumbass.
Chad blinked. …What?
[You don't know the answer because you haven't completed the required tasks to unlock 'Legal Knowledge (Basic).']
Tip: Try not to look like a complete idiot in front of the entire class.
Chad's eyes twitched as he looked around the hall in genuine confusion.
Dumbass? Him? What even was this loud voice?
[I'm your system, you idiot. Because you died such a cruel death, I had to spend hours resting and couldn't present myself on time.]
System?
He'd never read anything about systems in this novel. So why did he suddenly have one?
[Complete a task to acquire your examination's knowlege.]
Hearing the system's voice again, his grip tightened around the pen until his knuckles whitened.
"Fine. I'll play along. How do I unlock the knowledge to pass my paper today?"
[Task Generated.]
Option A: Stand up and declare loudly: "I like men!"
Option B: Lean over to the girl beside you and whisper, "If you were my exam, I'd fail on purpose just to retake you."
Chad grimaced.
[Reminder: Pick A or B. Timer: 60 seconds.]
His pulse roared in his ears. Declaring himself gay in a room full of law students?
Never!
Without hesitation, he leaned toward the girl beside him and whispered, "If you were my exam, I'd fail on purpose just to retake you."
The hall was silent, so everyone naturally heard his creepy words and the girl shifted uncomfortably.
But he was more interested in the screen that appeared before his eyes and paid no heed to the class' reaction.
[System Notification: Task Completed.]
Knowledge Unlocked: Criminal Procedure – Chapter 5: Defendant's Rights.
Exam Performance +10%.
And just like that, the blockage in his brain lifted and the answer he knew too well came to him clearly.
He had so much knowledge now that he was one of the last to finish the paper.
An hour and thirty minutes later, he left the hall satisfied.
But the satisfaction didn't last.
As soon as he stepped outside, a pair of hands grabbed and slammed him to the ground.
Groaning, he raised his eyes to see three men standing over him with one pointing at him confidently.
"That's him. That's the idiot who thought he was being sly hitting on your girl inside the hall."
Chad swallowed at the sight of the broad, hunky guy built like a quarterback who was being fed this knowledge.
"System? I'm about to get beaten up because of what you made me do, do something!" He screamed inwardly, but was met with silence.
Gritting his teeth, he got on his feet.
Of course it disappeared now that he was in trouble. That stupid thing.
Still, it was fine. He'd learned a few moves before. Even if this guy obviously benched three times his weight, he could at least hold his ground long enough to run.
Thinking like this, he struck a fighting stance.
But he was so skinny his opponent was amused and casually reached out to grab him by the collar.
Chad saw him coming on time and moved out of the way, but his eyes trembled the next second at the sudden tightness around his throat.
Wh-what?
He clearly dodged that. How did he…
[Knowledge unlocked: Criminal Procedure.
Skills unlocked: none.
Combat strength: laughable.
Charm: only works if you're shameless enough.
Luck: don't count on it.
Obsession Index: 12%. Someone's watching you.]
Ignoring the last line, his stomach dropped at his combat strength.
At the same time, the man curled his hand into a tight fist and raised it above his head.
Chad clenched his jaw, bracing for impact…
…but the blow never landed.
Instead, a cane struck the ground with a sharp crack, the sound slicing through the air.
"Touch him, and I'll make sure you can't use your hands ever again."
Before Chad could glance toward the direction of the voice, the system chimed again, almost gleeful.
[Obsession Index +5%. Target has entered the scene.]