The classroom buzzed with quiet focus, chalk scratching on the board as the teacher lectured.
Pages turned, pens scribbled, and the air carried the faint scent of ink and eraser dust.
But from time to time, eyes would drift toward the back corner.
There, sprawled across his desk, a boy slept soundly, his head resting against his folded arms, as if the world around him didn't exist.
The teacher pretended not to notice, and the students quickly turned back whenever he shifted.
Then, with a slow motion, the boy stirred.
He straightened, hazy eyes opening halfway.
His ash-blond hair caught the light, slightly messy but striking.
Hazel eyes scanned the room with lazy indifference, and yet, the air seemed to tighten.
His blazer hung open, revealing the crisp white shirt beneath, untucked, careless.
One look at him was enough to tell anyone he wasn't just another student.
He is Kageyama Seijirou.
The undisputed number one delinquent of Shunji High School. A name that carried both fear and awe.
He was infamous for ruling the halls with his fists and attitude, making both students and teachers alike tread carefully.
Stories about him spread like wildfire — fights that ended with entire gangs laid out, pranks that humiliated teachers without repercussion, chaos that never led to his expulsion.
Because no matter how much trouble he caused, Kageyama Seijirou was untouchable.
His grades were flawless, and his parents were influential politicians who held sway over the school itself.
A delinquent, a genius, a tyrant in uniform.
And as his sharp hazel eyes glanced across the classroom, the students quickly looked away, pretending to focus on the lesson.
But...
Contrary to the wary glances cast his way, the boy sitting at the back of the class was no longer Kageyama Seijirou.
The soul inside that body now belonged to someone else, the gamer who had endured weeks of torment to complete the impossible game.
He remembered the darkness, the way the world had spun, and the sudden collapse in his room.
When he opened his eyes, he was here, sitting in a classroom that looked eerily familiar.
Then he saw his reflection in the window. The ash-blond hair. The half-open blazer. The sharp, troublemaker's gaze.
Kageyama Seijirou.
His blood ran cold.
Seijirou wasn't just any character. He was a boss-level villain.
The nightmare rival he had fought tooth and nail to defeat. The one who would swoop in at the worst possible time, seduce and corrupt the heroines, and crush every hope of a happy ending.
Seijirou was no paper villain.
With parents who were powerful politicians and grades that never dipped below perfect, Seijirou was untouchable.
Expulsion was impossible. Punishment meaningless.
And beyond his status, Seijirou was a monster in combat.
Kendo champion. Archery prodigy. Kyokushin Karate tournament winner. Escrima practitioner with lightning reflexes. Aikido expert who could throw full-grown men like ragdolls.
The game had painted him as an apex predator, a living wall designed to break the player.
And he was also the threshold.
Defeating him was what unlocked the rest of the game's world, rival schools, city-wide gangs, underground fight rings, and conspiracies that turned the love sim into a sprawling action epic.
But now, the gamer was in his body.
He looked down at his hands, flexing them, feeling the unfamiliar weight and strength within.
This time, he was no gamer cooped up in his room to play games and earn money through live streams.
Now, he was the villain from the game who had once torment him until he can no longer sleep.
Seijirou leaned back in his seat, his hazel eyes sweeping over the room with calm precision.
If his memory was right, there were two heroines here.
First was Tachibana Rei.
She sat near the window, sunlight catching on her short pink hair, her golden eyes focused on the board.
She smiled when she spoke to her friends, bright and warm, a presence that naturally drew attention.
She was the protagonist's childhood friend, the so-called "main heroine," the one every route seemed to circle back to.
Her body was just as he remembered — unreal, almost too perfect, the kind of curves that would make any player pause during CG scenes.
Then his gaze slid to the other girl.
Himejima Haruka.
She sat near the front, posture straight, uniform neat, her long white hair flowing down her back like silk. Her crimson eyes were sharp, almost intimidating, but her face betrayed no emotion.
If Rei was the light, Haruka was the moon. Cold, elegant, and untouchable.
Academically brilliant. Physically capable. She can easily ace the exams, and still walk away looking effortlessly graceful. Not to mention, with her kendo skills, she was also able to aid the protagonist to conquer the rival schools in the game.
In many route, she was able to beat Seijirou's henchmen, forcing Seijirou to personally deal with her.
Both girls were here. Both girls whose routes he had suffered through, whose heartbreaks he had witnessed again and again.
Seijirou's gaze shifted from Haruka to the boy sitting just behind Rei.
Tadano Taro.
The so-called protagonist.
In the game, Taro was the player's avatar, the one who had to endure losing everything to Seijirou's relentless advance, forced to watch as his childhood friend and every other heroine was taken from him one by one.
With his grinding, Seijirou was able to turn him into absolute pinnacle of a human being.
But looking at him now, Seijirou almost felt disappointed.
Black hair, bowl cut. Slender build. Neither tall nor short. His uniform was worn properly, but without care.
His grades were average. His athletic ability was average. Even his face was the kind that would disappear in a crowd.
The only thing that stood out about him was his kindness, that frustrating, infuriating kindness that made every heroine care for him despite his mediocrity.
In the game, this boy was the center of everything. The point from which all routes branched out.
The "chosen one" who had to rise from nothing, endure pain, and eventually save the heroines, if the player was skilled enough.
But right now, sitting there in the back of the class, he was nothing more than an ordinary high school boy.
Seijirou immediately lost interest in him. He leaned back on his seat and began to think about his future.
With his parents authority and influence, Seijirou can live a very comfortable life living off the taxes of the people.
He doesn't know why he became Seijirou of the game. He wasn't like other Otaku. He has no regrets. He was living quite well as a live streamer. He has friends and have been on dates.
His life was pretty satisfying. He doesn't need to get isekai to make up for his regrets on his previous life or to be a better person like many other isekai protagonist.
He sighed. 'Well, whatever. Let's take one step at a time.'
Just then, bell rang, sharp and clear, cutting through the quiet tension of the classroom.
"... That's it for today. Please review your notes," the teacher said as he gathered his books. *We'll have a quiz tomorrow."
Groans echoed across the room, but no one dared complain too loudly.
As soon as the teacher stepped out, chairs scraped as students prepared for lunch break.
Then Seijirou stood.
The sound of his chair against the floor was enough to silence the entire class.
Conversations died.
Movements froze.
All eyes turned to him, waiting, tense.
He didn't so much as glance at them.
Hands in his pockets, he walked to the door and stepped out without a word.
The hallway was noisy, students streaming out of classrooms, until they saw him.
One by one, they moved aside. Conversations stopped mid-sentence. The space around him cleared like water parting for a stone.
Seijirou hummed softly as he walked, a casual tune that echoed in the quiet corridor.
And he realized something.
So this is what power feels like.
This effortless control over a room, over the atmosphere itself.
He understood now why Kageyama Seijirou, the original, reveled in this life.
It wasn't just authority. It was freedom.
No one could touch him.
And as the students kept their heads low and eyes averted, he felt a small, dangerous smile pull at his lips.
It was honestly exhilarating.