Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Esterro Academy Gates
-----------------------------------------------------------------
2
A paw wrapped in a tuft of fur swung cleanly, tilting my head slightly to the side.
Honestly, it didn't hurt.
This must be what they call hitting with a cotton bat.
Still, the feeling was odd.
Odd to the point of absurdity—it was ridiculous.
Pat, pat.
The tanuki smacked my head two more times.
A tanuki out of nowhere... no, looking closely, it was a raccoon.
Tanuki or raccoon, why was this thing suddenly on my stomach?
My mind was a jumble.
Just as I tried to sit up, a pitch-black shadow darted past the window.
Crash! The glass shattered all at once.
"What... what was that...?"
Why did the glass suddenly shatter?
The raccoon, spooked, hid behind me.
I cautiously got out of bed.
For some reason, I was wearing shoes, so I carefully approached the window.
No matter how I looked, the scenery outside wasn't my studio apartment.
Well-maintained walkways and street trees, the sunlight not yet fully bright but enough to make out the beautiful, Western-style designs of the distant buildings.
"Where... is this...?"
No way it could be Korea.
But it felt strangely familiar.
Just as I tried to pinpoint the source of that déja vu.
My eyes met a massive, pitch-black one.
The eye was stuck to the wall, appearing as if it had been there all along.
Slowly, its full body came into view.
A gigantic chameleon, at least five meters long.
Oddly, its skin was purple, and it opened its enormous maw wide.
A tongue shot out from within, flying straight at me.
Oh, this is bad.
My brain registered it a beat too late, but my body couldn't react in time.
Was I going to die like this?
After struggling in reality, in some unknown place, eaten by a monster chameleon that popped out of nowhere?
Unfair.
But that changed nothing.
In the face of oncoming death, I couldn't even twitch a finger.
Thwack!
Something struck the monster chameleon in the side.
Next to the falling chameleon was a man in a robe, about 180 cm tall, gripping a sword.
Wavy dark cocoa-brown hair and vivid red eyes.
For a split second, the strong-featured face visible through the robe gap—it was a face I knew well.
"Leon Hilfenberg?"
That was the name I'd spent the last seven years with.
The protagonist of Broken World, a playable character.
Why was the game protagonist standing in front of me?
No, even that monster chameleon rang a bell.
"Camellaron..."
Chameleon and Leon Hilfenberg.
The standoff between the two, who shouldn't exist in reality.
With all the pieces in place, the answer was simple.
One of Broken World's early events: the Alchemy Department's Camellaron rampage.
The Camellaron, abnormally enlarged by reagents, escapes the department and attacks the dorms.
Leon Hilfenberg stops it—this event.
And it was unfolding right before my eyes.
I couldn't comprehend it, but...
That wasn't the point.
"That guy Leon's losing."
Leon, facing the Camellaron alone, couldn't seize the advantage.
He couldn't find an opening to attack amid the Camellaron's erratic stealth maneuvers, and he was too busy dodging the whipping tongue.
Even when he barely got a chance to strike, his blows didn't land effectively.
Part of it was the Camellaron's tough hide, but the alchemy reagents had strengthened it too.
Without targeting its weakness, it was impossible for him alone.
"...Aim for the tail!"
I shouted at the window without thinking.
I'd exploited the Camellaron's weaknesses to death in the game.
Whether he heard me or not, Leon lowered his stance and charged into the Camellaron's guard.
Kicking off the ground with all his might, then pushing off its torso, he spun in midair.
Riding the momentum of the spin, Leon severed the Camellaron's tail.
The tailless Camellaron twisted urgently but lost its balance and toppled.
After that, it was straightforward.
Leon easily finished off the Camellaron and vanished swiftly.
Only then did I slump weakly onto the bed.
"What the hell is going on...?"
3
Chomp, chomp, chomp. The raccoon was shoving its head into the bowl, focused on eating.
When I gave it food, I noticed a tag on its neck: Choco.
Probably its name.
Watching Choco eat, I slowly looked around the room.
At a glance, it was several times larger than my six-pyeong studio.
The cream-colored ceiling was finished impeccably, the wooden walls beautifully carved with regular patterns, and the chair and desk had an antique design straight out of a movie.
While cleaning the broken window, I confirmed it: this was the dorm at Esterro Academy from Broken World.
After serious thought, I had to conclude I'd possessed someone.
It wasn't something a sane person would say, but...
The mirror in the room left no room for denial.
The face in the mirror wasn't mine.
Straight black hair falling calmly, matching black eyes—maybe because of that, he looked young, but with his mouth shut, his impression was quite cold and sharp.
Height around 177 cm?
Even in a casual shirt, his sturdy build was obvious at a glance.
"...Theo Agrit."
The playable character added in the DLC.
In the original Broken World, he didn't even appear—just a failing student who gets expelled.
Was that DLC purchase bonus I saw before blacking out this?
Chomp, chomp. The raccoon finished its food and lifted its head.
It trotted over and tugged at my pant leg.
Then pointed at the wall clock.
It was just past 8 o'clock.
Esterro Academy's first class started at 9.
Was it telling me to go to first period?
Pretty smart for a raccoon...
"...Sigh."
Dropped into a game out of nowhere, nearly killed by a chameleon monster, and now academy life?
At least I had time to sort my thoughts calmly.
Broken World was a legendary flop.
So much so that nearly dying to a random chameleon monster was par for the course.
This was a world where such incidents happened every other day.
Yeah, I almost died just now.
Recalling the Camellaron up close made my hands tremble faintly.
The terror of imminent death sent cold sweat trickling down my back.
Esterro Academy alone would be a hotbed of all sorts of incidents ahead.
Constant raids, a place where disasters struck—a hotspot of sorts.
But Esterro Academy was relatively safe.
During Leon's enrollment—the protagonist—all major events got handled.
Incidents outside Esterro Academy? They'd pass with a line or two: massacred, ruined, annihilated.
Even more went unmentioned.
So, keeping a proper distance from Leon at Esterro Academy was my safest bet.
Paradoxically, the detective's side, where murders pop up everywhere, is the safest spot.
Anyway, plenty of unresolved questions lingered, but what I had to do was clear.
"First period, let's go."
4
Esterro Academy.
Named after the academy's founder, Esterro von Tekat—the first king to establish the Tekat Kingdom—it was unparalleled in every way.
Of course. Built on prime land in the capital, the campus was staggeringly vast.
Walking the whole thing took half a day, and touring all the buildings required a full day.
But it wasn't just size.
Every facility was state-of-the-art, students were all top talents, professors were tower lords or ex-knight commanders—people you wouldn't meet easily anywhere.
So when asked about Tekat Kingdom's future, they'd say look up at Esterro Academy.
In short, it was like a university in Gwanak-gu.
But that setting didn't matter much to me.
The storied aura of Esterro Academy boiled down to a simpler, more direct scene.
I stepped out of the dorm and stood before Esterro Academy's main gate.
It was 8:30 a.m.
As the towering clock tower beyond the firmly shut gate struck the hour precisely, the gate began opening with a rumble.
The stone-and-metal gate was imposing enough to crane your neck for.
The meticulously calculated, aesthetically crafted gate opening was beautiful, like gears in a fine machine meshing perfectly.
The view beyond the slowly parting doors drew involuntary awe.
The brick path from the gate led to the main building, with its striking blue roof.
Regularly spaced front windows, walls adorned with countless sculptures, statues atop the blue roof... everything sparkled in the morning sun, exuding a geometric elegance rare in reality.
"...Just like the cutscene."
In Broken World, reaching Esterro Academy's gate for the first time triggered a cutscene.
The rumbling gate opening, the stunning academy vista beyond, accompanied by a mystical, upbeat OST.
My impression of Esterro Academy was set the moment I first saw that cutscene.
That's why, if I'd really possessed into Broken World, I wanted to witness the gate opening live.
The result? Satisfying.
Worth waking up early.
No OST played in reality, but closing my eyes—no, even without—I could almost hear that familiar melody in my ears.
Humming the tune, I stepped through the gate.
Walking the neatly paved road, I glanced left and right.
Centered on the main building—housing the president's office, dean's office, faculty rooms, and all academic admin—stood various structures.
Facing the main building, to the right beyond a gentle pond were four buildings: the lecture halls, or academic halls.
From the right: Pheleo Hall, Sothris Hall, Abel Hall, Oculus Hall... Different buildings per grade, so four lecture halls total.
Behind them, glimpses of the student cafeteria and auditorium.
The clock tower visible from the gate was nearby too.
"The five-story stone building on the left is the library."
Behind that, the dorms.
These were the main sights for now, but deeper in lay more: student union, club buildings, labs galore... Layers upon layers like an onion.
"That's why exploration's fun."
Hunting hidden paths or facilities tapped into primal curiosity and joy.
Most of my hundreds of hours in Broken World were spent exploring.
Finding scenic spots, pausing to heal amid beautiful views.
Now, not just through a monitor—I could feel it with my own skin.
Gazing at the pristine roads, flawless buildings, a strange urge to explore welled up.
Of course. To me, Esterro Academy was a theme park brimming with heart-pounding elements.
Humans climb a mountain if it's there.
With dozens of "mountains" in Esterro Academy alone, how could I resist?
"If I weren't a failing student."
Theo Agrit was a failing student.
One who gets expelled right at the start of second semester, first year, in the main story.
A device to show even a count's son gets no mercy at Esterro Academy.
That was his only role in the main story, so adding him as playable in DLC piqued interest, but it was still a shame.
For now, live quietly.
As a failing student, drawing attention could spell trouble.
To survive in this world post-possession, Esterro Academy was the best nest.
Graduation alone opened tons of paths, and it'd help in seeking out scenic spots everywhere.
Sure, as the main episode hub, big and small incidents hammered nonstop... but that's for the protagonist.
I'd enjoy a comfy, peaceful school life.
With that resolve, as I headed to the classroom.
-Hey, Theo Agrit!
For the first time in this world, someone called my name.
I slowly turned toward that someone.