Kael Vi-rel’s POV
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I’m not exactly proud of it, but in my previous life, I was pretty good at socializing even as a full-ti gar.
Sure, I spent more hours in front of a monitor than under the sun, but that didn’t an I was a shut-in. I knew how to hold a conversation, laugh at the right monts, and fake confidence like a pro.
So when I enrolled in Nexus Academy, I figured I’d make so effort.
This was a new life, after all.
A second chance. A reset button most people could only dream of.
There was no guarantee I’d ever return to my original world, so I might as well live to the fullest, right?
Yeah, that was the plan.
But there was one problem
I got placed in Class S.
And Class S was... different.
No, calling it "different" was too generous. Class S was a nest of monsters, oddballs, geniuses, and reclusive eccentrics. They didn’t just lack social skills; they seed allergic to them.
Any attempts I made to spark conversation or camaraderie were dead on arrival.
I gave up after the third day.
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"Pheww..."
I let out a long sigh as I approached the classroom door.
Class S was unique in the academy. Unlike the F-A classes that had multiple groups per grade, S-Class had only one. Out of over four thousand first-year students, barely a few dozen made it in.
Logically, it made sense. It was a class reserved for prodigies, for those whose talents shattered the norm.
But emotionally?
It was hell.
The mont I pushed open the door, that familiar, soul-crushing silence welcod .
Over half the students were already inside quiet, focused, completely imrsed in their own training or reading.
No idle chatter. No laughter. No noise.
Just the dull scratching of pens and the occasional sound of soone flipping a page.
A normal student might’ve felt awe.
?
I felt like I’d walked into a crypt.
’Don’t study so hard. Live a little. Try being like diocre but happy.’
I walked quietly to the back of the room and slumped into my seat, careful not to draw attention. Then, as casually as I could, I scanned the room.
And sure enough I recognized most of the faces.
These weren’t just classmates. They were characters. People I had known through glowing screens, fully-voiced cutscenes, and cinematic story arcs. Characters who’d gone on to shake the world in World End.
And now, they were real.
Breathing. Moving. Alive.
There was Elric Vales, the ice-cold genius with unmatched magical talent.
Damon Reid, the golden boy swordsman with top-tier stats and a bright future.
Lucian Crowe, quiet and dangerous, practically a ticking ti bomb of power.
And of course... Selene Whitmore, seated in the far-right corner, silent as a shadow.
All of them were destined to beco legends in 5 to 10 years heroes, rulers, or perhaps... villains.
Because not everyone here would stay on the side of the light.
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’Lucian Crowe, huh...’
That one was dangerous.
In the original ga, five major betrayals shook the world storyline and Lucian’s was the first. If left alone, he’d eventually turn against the Hero League and beco a villain powerful enough to rival nations.
Was it preventable?
Probably.
Should I try?
...Maybe later. When I’m not squishy like a baby duck.
---
My gaze drifted again toward Selene Whitmore.
Black-haired, expressionless, focused. Her pale fingers turned the pages of a thick to, her eyes never once lifting. She looked like the perfect student.
But I knew better.
Selene Whitmore wasn’t soone you ssed with.
Not in the ga. And especially not here.
She ca from the infamous Whitmore family a clan of assassins so feared that even high-ranking guilds avoided provoking them. Her specialty? Clean, silent kills. No emotion. No trace.
In the original tiline, very few players ever got to interact with her. She rarely showed up in events unless triggered by specific conditions. And even then... most didn’t live long enough to talk about it.
And yet, there she was, just a few ters away from . Real. Alive. Breathing the sa air.
’Forget what you knew. That’s not an NPC. That’s the original Selene Whitmore.’
I shivered as a faint mory resurfaced our encounter at the casino.
Just a single glance from her had felt like staring into a black hole. A bottomless chill that made my instincts scream run.
That wasn’t just a ga chanic. That was her presence.
If I started making choices that strayed too far from the original tiline, she’d notice.
She might have already.
---
Still, I couldn’t help but think:
’You look really good now... much better than your character model, honestly.’
---
So students began whispering. I could feel their stares even as I tried to look disinterested.
Right... here it cos.
They were wondering why I, of all people, was in Class S.
Kael Vi-rel. A student with no flashy family background. No prestigious bloodline. No overwhelming talent.
Just an ordinary guy who got lucky at the entrance exam.
---
"...Is that him?"
"He looks kinda plain."
"Nah, my father asked the faculty directly. It’s not just him. It’s that girl who was with him too."
"He’s the one who placed first at the practical exam, right? And solved Professor Dusk’s question?"
"Huh. Maybe he’s not that dumb."
---
Their tone wasn’t malicious, exactly.
But it wasn’t friendly either.
Like I was a puzzle piece forced into the wrong set.
Their eyes said it all.
Why is he here? Who let this random guy into our class?
He must have cheated. Or bribed soone. Or gotten lucky.
---
I tried to ignore them, but the tension in the room was thick. Their eyes were like needles, pricking at my skin, trying to peel open and expose whatever secrets they thought I had.
A familiar thought bubbled to the surface.
"It’s like being suppressed..."
"Is it really such a cri that I ended up in Class S?"
I never asked for this.
All I did was use my knowledge and the [Max Luck] stat I was gifted with.
It just so happened to work.
---
I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes for a mont.
Fine. Let them talk.
I wasn’t here to win popularity contests.
This world... this academy... it wasn’t a ga anymore.
But I still had the walkthrough in my head.
And whether they liked it or not I was going to clear it.
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End of Chapter 19
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