Chapter 2: Arcanum Vanguard Academy
[Welcome to Arcanum Vanguard Academy!]
The words echoed directly inside my head.
No emotion.
Just certainty.
The darkness cracked.
I felt myself falling somewhere else.
Another sound followed immediately, colder and more mechanical.
[Arcanum Vanguard Academy System scanning…]
My thoughts were sluggish, like they were sinking through thick liquid.
[Shion Kitayama.]
[Age: 24.]
[Past Life: Male Prostitute.]
[Cause of Death: Stab wound inflicted by obsessive client.]
[Confirmation required.]
Correct...
I didn't know why I answered. I didn't move my lips. I didn't even think the word properly. It just… went through.
[Confirmation accepted.]
There was no sympathy in that voice. No judgment either. Just acknowledgment.
[System analysis complete...]
[Enrollment confirmed.]
[Role: Contract Specialist.]
"Huh...?"
Contract specialist?
What the hell did that even mean?
Before I could ask, gravity returned with a vengeance.
"Wait—!"
The sensation of falling slammed into me again, stronger than before. My stomach lurched, my vision spun, and my thoughts scattered like loose papers in the wind.
Then...
Thud!
I groaned softly as awareness seeped back into my body.
"That fall felt awfully long," I muttered. "And scary."
I lay there for a moment, staring at the ceiling, waiting for pain.
None came.
Slowly, carefully, I pushed myself up into a sitting position.
I glanced around.
The room was small. Maybe three by three meters. Minimalist. Clean.
One bed.
A small table and chair.
A wall-mounted TV.
Also a small bathroom.
Like a modest hotel room.
"Am I at one?" I whispered.
Panic flared instantly. Did I oversleep? Was there a client waiting?
My heart jumped as I stood up too fast, scanning the room. "Wait…" That's when I noticed it.
A mirror.
Slowly, I walked toward it.
"What?"
I was wearing a uniform.
Not my usual clothes. Not a suit. Not anything I owned.
The blazer was dark, the shirt beneath crisp and unfamiliar, paired with a neat tie—everything fit perfectly, too perfectly.
I grabbed my hair.
Still the same.
Face? Same.
I leaned closer to the mirror, inspecting myself like I expected something to be wrong.
"Am I dreaming?"
My chest tightened suddenly.
I pressed my palm against it.
No pain. No wound. No blood.
Nothing.
This had to be a dream. Some strange hallucination my brain cooked up in my final moments. That made sense. People always talked about seeing things before they died.
"Yeah," I sighed, rubbing my face. "This is definitely a dream."
I turned toward the bed. "Guess I'll just sleep again."
The moment I lay down,
A clear chime echoed inside my head and a window popped up in front of my vision.
[Class will start in 10 minutes.]
[Student Shion Kitayama, please proceed to Class 1-B.]
"Huh?"
I sat up immediately.
"What class?"
Before I could question it further, I heard something else.
Footsteps...
Lots of them.
I frowned and walked toward the door. My hand hesitated on the handle for a second—then I pulled it open and gasped.
The hallway outside was packed with people.
Boys and girls in similar uniforms rushed past me, some chatting loudly, others half-running with panic on their faces. A few pairs walked suspiciously close together, hands brushing, shoulders touching—some not even bothering to hide it.
"What is this place," I muttered.
I stepped out into the hallway, letting the door close behind me.
As I moved, I realized just how massive the building was. Long corridors branching endlessly, staircases leading upward and downward, glowing signs floating neatly at intersections.
A dorm... A huge one.
I followed the flow of students until the hallway opened into a massive lobby and there it was, a towering sign, engraved in elegant letters:
Arcanum Vanguard Academy
"Academy," I whispered.
The word clicked painfully into place.
That voice.
The system.
Enrollment.
This wasn't a dream.
This was an isekai.
"You've got to be kidding me..."
I glanced around.
The lobby was suddenly empty.
"Wait...!"
I checked the floating clock at the corner of my vision without even thinking.
[Class will start in 2 minutes.]
[Student Shion Kitayama, please proceed to Class 1-B.]
"Shoot!" I bolted.
---
Finding Class 1-B was hell.
The academy was enormous. Way bigger than it looked from the lobby. Buildings connected by bridges, halls looping back into themselves, signs that somehow made sense after you already passed the right turn.
I ran down one corridor, skidded around a corner, nearly slammed into a pillar, then doubled back.
"Why are there three wings named A?" I groaned.
I spotted a staff member and rushed toward them.
"Excuse me! Class 1—!"
Too late. They vanished behind a door.
I cursed under my breath and sprinted again.
By the time I finally slid the classroom door open, gasping for air, I already knew.
I was late.
---
"Shion Kitayama..."
The teacher's voice was calm.
I stood frozen at the front of the classroom, every pair of eyes locked onto me.
"Yes…?" I answered weakly.
"You are fifteen minutes late," the teacher said flatly. "On your first day."
Somewhere in the room, someone snickered. "How brave."
"I-I'm really sorry!" I bowed sharply, a full ninety degrees. "I got lost, the academy is huge!"
Whispers spread. A few students giggled openly.
The teacher's eyes narrowed.
"Silence."
The room went dead quiet instantly.
"Shion Kitayama," the teacher continued, folding his arms. "You will receive a debuff."
"…Huh?"
Before I could finish the word, a window popped up in front of my eyes.
[-30% Focus for 30 Minutes]
"…I'm sorry," I said slowly. "But what is this?"
The teacher smirked.
"Exactly what it says. Your concentration will be reduced by thirty percent for the next thirty minutes."
"That's..."
"Enough," the teacher interrupted. "You've distracted the class long enough. Take a seat. You'll learn how this academy works soon enough."
I nodded quickly and hurried toward the empty seat near the middle of the room.
The moment I turned... My foot caught on absolutely nothing.
"Wha—!"
I tripped forward and went down hard, face-first.
The impact echoed through the room. A few students gasped.
"Are you okay?" someone asked.
Others laughed openly.
The teacher sighed. "That," they said dryly, "is what minus thirty percent focus looks like."
My face burned as I slowly pushed myself up.
"Great..." I muttered.
First day.
New world.
And I'd already faceplanted in front of my entire class.
Somehow… I had a feeling this academy was going to be dangerous. Not only because of monsters, but because of people and maybe… feelings.