Proofreader: Future Me

“Ha- ha- ha…!” I felt myself sprawled across the floor in cold sweat.

The feeling of cold stone beneath my feet was unlike the cold grass from moments before. Death had surely embraced me, but I was somehow alive.

“You are blocking the way,” A monotone voice echoed from above me.

I dusted myself and quickly arrived on both feet. I was befuddled, with adrenaline pumping through my veins. In this delusion I had recognised the familiarity of such a person before.

“Hello?” Suspicion was pointed toward me as we made eye contact.

“Yes! I’m sorry! I’ll- be on my way!” I felt a rush of red flood my face as I dashed past them.

That person, she was no doubt a character from the game, Serina Rosemary. All the illustrations, it had come to life. Her luscious violet hair and perfect appearance, along with a soft yet firm aura, solidified it for me.

So...

This was Reincarnation.

Still, the memories of my family came back to me. Anxiety had ended the roller coaster of emotions from crashing horribly. The only saving grace was that I knew they were safe with the police.

Fuck.

What do I do then?

I sat down on a nearby bench in spite of all the passing students. I rubbed my temples to think, and strangely enough-

“My head?” A murky fog that had amassed in my mind disappeared. It was just like when I fought before I died. It was a trait I never knew I had.

I glanced around my surroundings, finally able to form straight thoughts. There was no choice but to accept that I was in the “Enigmatic Academy.” And since Serina the mage class protagonist was here, it meant that only a fifth of the endings were possible. Conveniently, I played through her route. Only once however, which was one out of roughly two hundred endings, including the numerous bad offshoots.

This revelation only proved to further sour my mood.

Fortunately it was relatively hard to end the run on purpose, but… now that we’re in real life, I wasn’t sure how simple it would be. I don’t even know if this is a romance only mode, hardcore mode, or whatever play through.

I could only wish for one thing, that this wasn’t ‘Hell’s Paradise.’

My other help is that because I’m not a protagonist, I had no deals in romance. Which also meant, I could reach my goal of creating that Dual Wielding class in reality as well. In any case, I had to lead Serina down the route I completed to ensure my survival.

Thus, escaping my contemplation, the entrance of the infamous academy entered my vision.

The ‘Garden of Heroes,’ I’d be here for the next five years if I wanted to reach the end. And in the process, figured out a way to communicate with my family.

But…

I died, is it even possible?

There were many miracles performed throughout the course of the game, but the act of travelling across time and space on a worldly scale was outside the realm of possibility.

"Unless!" A light bulb lit in my head.

‘If you clear year one perfectly and meet with the world tree, it grants a wish for the character! I’d recommend the option to receive a new skill, it can boost progression speed many times over if you make the right choice.’ - I remembered the words of my favourite EA-tuber.

If this world was now real, then this was my only option. That was my way to tell them I was still alive, I couldn’t let them grieve forever.

Collecting myself, I mumbled the words:

“Fuck it. We ball.”

-x-

Status Boards in this game followed a unique system, with each stat being defined by a tier. For example,Tier 0 for strength is like being the bottom of the barrel, something like a teenager with no strength training. However, around 50% through, you’d become a decent body builder.

The crazy part comes when you advance a tier, there is a massive difference between. From Tier 0 to Tier 1 is comparing an ant to an elephant. These gaps in level exponentially increase as you advance as well. In comparison, my stats are most likely Tier 0 with no proficiency, whereas the kids in these academies all have Tier 0 20% levels of ability.

Since the game had status boards normally, and was part of the lore, I should have access to it as well.

Somewhat excited I mumbled, “Status.”

…

Nothing had showed up.

“Ah… that’s right…”

In this world, to view stats of yourself or others, an appraisal stone was needed.

‘It would be great to have one suddenly spawn in my hand right now.’

Poof!

In my hand was a yellow looking stone, exactly what I was hoping for. Immediately, I tried to summon excalibur and the like, to no success.

“Ahem, Status.”

[Luke]

[Age: 15] [Race: Human]

[Attributes]

Vitality: Tier 0 (16%)

Agility: Tier 0 (7%)

Strength: Tier 0 (9%)

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Mana: Tier 0 (5%)

[Skills]

Outer Eye (Z) (0% Proficiency)

* Can see the truths of the world.

* Can view information on targeted items without an appraisal stone.

* To view information on yourself and others, an appraisal stone is required.

* One appraisal stone is to be provided to the owner of this skill, once per day.

* These appraisal stones will grow in quality as the owner of this skill improves.

Enhancement (F) - [Growth Type]

* Enhances a target of any choice by a small amount.

* Unique to ‘Luke.’

Basic Swordsmanship (E) (0% Proficiency - Evolution Possible)

* Technique of a novice knight.

Basic Magic Control (D) (0% Proficiency - Evolution Possible)

* Technique of a novice mage.

Skills were organised by both proficiency and ranks from (F) to (Z), ranks indicated a scale of rarity and power, while the proficiency shows how good a person is at utilising it. In my case, another student would wipe the floor with me only having a Basic Swordsmanship Skill with 50% proficiency.

To balance this, most skills have a rank ceiling, requiring certain methods to evolve it if you want to achieve a higher level.

“Although, what are these?”

Two skills I had not heard of were present. The Outer Eye skill and Enhancement, of which the latter is supposedly a growth type.

Growth skills while owning no proficiency meter, would evolve based on seemingly random conditions. Although, it usually follows the trend of ‘breaking past one’s limits’. I had no concrete answer, as growth skills in themselves were tightly gate-keeped in the community.

Overall, it was a blessing. These would prevent many hardships on the way forward.

My current issue is that my skills and stats were below the average for the students here. The only notable difference was in vitality, which was just as high as most.

"While the protagonists start with Tier 1 for their main stats," I clicked my tongue, "Tch."

If I could recall correctly- scratch that. I know what happens next, I’ve played through the intro many more times than I remember. The written exams were nothing more than a warm-up, with nothing to do with history and all to do with game knowledge.

The number of students began declining, meaning it was almost time to move. Following the crowd and my vivid memories, I had lined up in a row inside the gathering hall. Initially, I was in shock, so I didn’t have the chance to appreciate the fantasy and scale of which this setting had presented. I began childishly observing the surroundings, as we waited for the headmaster’s appearance.

“Can you stop squirming around like that? It’s annoying,” A high-pitched voice rang from my left ear.

“Sorry- you okay?” I asked politely.

“Just keep your mouth shut filthy commoner," She held a look of disgust. "You’re not only disturbing me but the others around you.”

The girl was close to barely reaching my shoulders. Furthermore, she had curled brown hair, braided into pigtails accentuating a feeling of cuteness, with clear blue eyes. I feel like I should remember her, but maybe she was irrelevant to my completed route.

“Alright, I’ll keep still," I avoided trouble, "Sorry again.”

From my apology, she appeared startled, “Uh- y-yeah keep yourself composed, you are a student of this great academy.”

It seemed my calm response startled her, slightly puzzling me. Were commoners madmen, weak, or am I weird?

“Ahem. My name is Julia de Gracia, daughter of a Marquis from the South Empire.”

She switched up quickly…

“Right, my name is Re- LUKE!“

“…?” She tilted her head in confusion.

I almost blew my cover.

“The Hero will soon make his appearance! Cease this noise at once!”

Fortunately, the fuss among the students distracted her, a hero was a must-see. Even I, now in person, am equally excited to see such a character.

“I’m excited to see him in person for the first time, you too right?”

“Hmph-“ She simply looked away and snorted.

“Good morning candidates! As you may already know, I am Abel Cresent the one who shoved this bad boy right here, down that mad demon’s throat!” He exclaimed, tapping his sheathed sword which garnered stifled chuckles from the crowd.

“Now keep it together children! Today is composed of your enrolment exams. Good luck, and may you become the new generation of heroes who protect this world!

Because I am certainly not doing it again!” His speech ended with laughter.

As expected, his character was the same. He still roughly looked like a teenager, and yet he exuded an aura of a veteran and child at the same time.

“Everybody! Listen up, we will begin ordering you into two groups: those for written exams and physical exams. We will save time and space, now listen to the staff present next to your rows!” The person who began speaking now had been the vice-head master, Runalia, a dragon from ancient times.

Her fierce crimson hair left a big impression on me when I began playing for the first time. She truly had a striking appearance.

“Commoner, stop staring and move. We’re in the written exam group,” Despite Julia’s harsh words, she at least had the kindness to not leave me standing.

“Alright, alright, let's.”

I followed the crowd, admiring the furniture and surreal experience. We had been led to a hall containing many rooms on either side, I had no worries about this part.

This game was cruel in that it forced the player to study. It particularly focused on arithmetic as a system for magic creation, in addition to the history, enemies, etc. This had originally deterred players, but after getting through the gruelling parts, the rest of the game was beautifully crafted.

If there were a breeze, I’d be sipping on cola in front of a beach.

“How are you so calm about an exam that determines your future?” It seemed Julia had stuck around for some reason.

“Well, I’m pretty smart so it's fine.”

“Hah. Don’t come grovelling at my feet if you fail.”

“No worries, as that future doesn’t exist.”

“You really are a weird one, firstly treating me as an equal, and secondly you are simply, extremely strange. Are you actually unaware?” She murmured some incomprehensible words at the end.

“Hmm. Status doesn’t matter, does it? Also, I’ve heard that about me before, but what about being unaware did I miss?” I answer her confusion with concise answers.

“Ss- such a trivial matter would be a waste of air,” Julia stumbled over her words.

I ignored it and reminded her, “Well, like I said, I will pass."

“So you believe you’ll make it among the small percentage who pass. It’s quite an impressive amount of confidence, especially for a commoner.”

She wore a grin as she spoke.

“Even if you drop out later, as long as you show results, you might make a good subordinate.”

“Thanks for the flattery, but my path is set in stone already.”

In reality, I genuinely was surprised. Her personality wasn't as rotten as it appeared to be.

“You may regret not accepting my kindness.”

I smiled in response.

“Hmph. As you wish ‘Luke’, but do not overestimate yourself.”

Finally, I looked away from her and observed the crowd. I noticed a distinct purple hair, along with four other unique figures here.

"Ha. Ha. Ha." A broken recorder-like laugh escaped my mouth.

This had to be a joke, I swear to...

“Students begin walking to your allocated rooms.”

As the crowd thinned, I saw it. If what I saw right now was true-

There was no hope of survival by the end.

The famed playable characters of ‘Enigmatic Academy’,

The Warrior Fen Castelle,

The Priest Uriel,

The Paladin Rodney,

The Archer Ash Walker,

And who I met earlier, The Mage Serina Rosemary.

Instantly, the feeling of doom encroached upon me. Five? All five of them, in one place?

“Why are the five separate protagonists here all at the same time!”

I cursed at the world as all my plans crumbled apart.