Chapter 3 Memories

"..Ugh.. My head hurt.."

In the first place, why do I keep thinking about the smell of blood? And why do I feel like I've forgotten about something important?.

As I tried to recall what it was, a sharp pain suddenly assaulted my head.

BANG!

A loud noise echoed throughout the room as I crashed onto the wooden floor.

"...Where am I...?"

Groaning in pain, I slowly pushed myself up from the cold floor.

My head was still spinning.

As i regain my bearings, I began looking around the room.

Small room.

The furniture look old and worn, as if it had been used for decades.

A simple wooden bed in the corner.

Several books were stacked on the shelf.

A few old cloth hung beside the wall.

Everything look outdated than my room back on earth.

While I was examining my surroundings, a worried voice suddenly rang out from outside the room.

It belong to an elderly woman.

Perhaps she had heard the loud noise from earlier.

"..Baek Woojin! What happen? Are you okay?.."

The voice sound strangely familiar and I was certain that I have heard it before.

Yet no matter how hard i tried, I couldn't remember where.

Since I didn't answer immediately, the voice called out again.

"Woojin?

For some reason, I instinctively replied.

"..I'm okay.. A book slipped from my hand..."

After hearing my response, the woman let out a sigh of relief.

"..Alright then... Don't be late for breakfast..."

She paused before continuing.

"..And don't forget, Today the entrance ceremony will be held.."

"....Okay..."

Her footsteps gradually faded away.

Silence return to the room.

However, a question reminded in my mind.

Entrance ceremony? 

What does she mean by entrance ceremony?

Before I could think further, another wave of pain struck my head.

"Ugh.."

I grabbed my head in pain.

The headache was even worse than before.

Then.

Countless memories flooded into my mind, memory that weren't mine yet somehow felt so familiar to me as if I had lived them myself.

Image flashed before my eyes.

A child crying.

Burning house.

Corpses of a person that I called family.

And black-robed mage covered in dark mana. 

The fold of memories continued until the pain finally subsided.

Laying down on the bed silently, trying to organize everything. 

Still feeling the lingering numbness in my head, I was now certain of several things.

First.

I had somehow been transported into the game I used to play, Hero Academy. 

It seemed that accepting the mysterious travel ticket after clearing every playable character route had sent me in this world.

Second.

My name in this world was also Baek Woojin.

Third, I wasn't possessing someone else body. This body was mine.

Or at least, it look exactly like mine.

Unable to contain my curiosity, I walked over to the cracked mirror hanging on the wall. The reflection staring back at me made me certain.

Black hair.

Dark eyes.

A familiar face.

My face.

Or rather, the version of me when i was eighteen years old on earth.

Slowly I move my hand to touch my face.

The reflection copied my movement perfectly.

"..This is really me.."

According to the memories I had just received, I was eighteen years old this year and today I will be entering Helios Magic Academy.

One of the most prestigious academies in the continent.

The memory continue to surface, I was now living in an orphanage located within the Kingdom of Arathia.

When I was five years old, my entire family had been slaughtered by a dark mage during an attack.

I was the only survivor.

After the tragedy, an elderly woman from the orphanage named Young-Hee took me in and raised me as if I were his own grandson. The woman who had called me a moments ago was none other than her.

Suddenly a blue status window appeared in front of me without a warn. Dumbfounded, I stared at the translucent window floated in midair.

"What?.."

For a moment, I wondered if I was hallucinating.

Suppressing my confusion, I began reading the notification.

[New Quest]

Enroll to the Helios Magic Academy.

Rewards: Random Trait

Failure: ???

"..A quest..?"

My eyes narrowed.

"And what's with the failure condition?"

The three question mark bothered me. From my experience of playing Hero Academy, hidden penalties were rarely a good thing.

In the original game, every playable character's story began during the entrance ceremony.

Anything that happen before the enrollment ceremony was never shown. In another words, I had no idea what would happen if I failed to enroll.

Somehow, that uncertainty made me even more nervous.

Still, what choice do I have? And I was already planning to enroll anyway.

And the rewards was also tempting. Trait were extremely important in Hero Academy.

A powerful trait can influence a person's growth even if it's just an F rank trait.

My gaze shifted towards the floating screen.

If this really the system from the game, then it should have another function.

I focused on the interface.

A few option appeared.

Profile.

Mail.

And point shop.

"...Only these?"

I couldn't help feeling disappointed.

What kind of system had limited function.

With low expectations, I touched the profile option. The screen immediately changed.

[PROFILE]

Name: Baek Woojin

Age: 18

Stats:

Strength: 7 → Rank F

Agility: 6 → Rank F

Mana: 8 → Rank F

Endurance: 7 → Rank F

Luck: 19 → Rank F

Trait: None

"..What the?.."

I starred at the screen with disbelief.

"..All F rank?.."

The corners of my mouth twitched.

In Hero Academy, most students accepted into Helios Academy started around D Rank.

Meanwhile.

Playable character started at C and D Rank.

And...

I was sitting here with a collection of F Ranks.

Even my mana was F rank.

Mana was the most important stats in Hero Academy.

I suddenly felt like my future was becoming darker.

The only decent thing was luck which is nineteen points, but still F rank. Unfortunately, luck wasn't exactly something I could rely on during combat.

As for trait section, there is nothing. 

Not even F rank trait.

"This is terrible..."

"..."

I felt a headache coming back.

At this point, I wasn't sure whether I had been transported into a fantasy world or thrown into a survival challenge.

After calming myself down, I decided to stop worrying for now.

There was no point stressing over things I couldn't change.

Young-Hee had called me for breakfast earlier.

I should eat first.

Closing the system window, I left my room.

The wooden hallway creaked beneath my feet.

The orphanage wasn't large.

In fact, it was smaller than I remembered from the inherited memories.

Sunlight entered through the old windows.

The atmosphere was peaceful.

Eventually, I reached the dining room.

Five children were already seated around the table.

They happily ate their food while chatting with one another.

Nobody paid much attention to me.

Apparently, this was normal.

Following my memories, I sat in the seat that Baek Woojin usually used.

The breakfast wasn't luxurious.

Just bread.

Soup.

And a few vegetables.

Simple.

Very simple.

A few moments later, Young-Hee entered the room carrying another plate.

Her wrinkled face carried a gentle smile.

The children immediately greeted her.

"Grandma!"

"Good morning!"

Young-Hee chuckled.

Looking at the interaction, I felt a strange warmth in my chest.

Young-Hee eventually stopped beside me.

Her eyes softened.

"Eat well."

"You'll be staying at the academy dormitory starting today."

"You won't be able to come back whenever you want."

I nodded.

"I know."

Looking at my plate, I quietly began eating.

The food wasn't anything special.

Yet each bite felt comforting.

A strange sense of nostalgia surfaced.

Back on Earth, I was also an orphan.

Although I had distant relatives, they were all busy with their own lives.

Once I turned eighteen, I chose to live alone.

Most of my days were spent gaming.

Reading novels.

Avoiding social interaction.

A stereotypical introvert.

Thinking about it now, I couldn't help smiling bitterly.

"If only I had gone outside more..."

Maybe then I wouldn't have accepted a suspicious travel ticket.

Breakfast ended peacefully.

After washing dishes, I return to my room and wore the academy uniform.

A white shirt.

Black coat.

And academy emblem.

It look exactly like it in the game.

After changing cloth, I packed a few belonging that I think I need in the academy later.

The room became noticeably emptier.

Then I left after closing the door. 

The younger children were waiting outside.

The moment they saw my luggage, their expressions changed.

"Woojin hyung..."

"You're leaving already?"

I smiled.

"Yeah."

One of the younger boys lowered his head.

"When are you coming back?"

The question caught me off guard.

I opened my mouth.

Then closed it.

Honestly...

I didn't know.

The future from the game was full of disaster.

Would I even survive long enough to meet them again?

In the end, I simply patted his head.

"If I have time.."

The kids look disappointed but they still nodded.

Watching them, an uncomfortable feeling formed inside my chest.

I had only arrived in this world a few hours ago.

Yet somehow...

It felt like I was truly saying goodbye.

After spending several minutes with them, I finally walked toward the entrance.

Young-Hee was already waiting.

The old woman looked at me quietly.

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

Then I smiled.

"Grandma."

"I'll be going now."

"I'll come visit whenever I have time."

Young-Hee nodded.

Before I could react, she gently pulled me into a hug.

"Take care of yourself."

"Don't push yourself too hard."

"If things become difficult, you can always come home."

Home.

Such a simple word.

Yet hearing it made my chest ache.

I slowly nodded.

"Okay."

After saying my final goodbye, I opened the orphanage door.

The morning sunlight greeted me.

I took a step forward.

Then.

A blue screen suddenly appeared before my eyes.

[NEW NOTIFICATION]

As you leave the orphanage grounds, all memories related to you will be erased.

"...What?"

My body froze.

The words didn't make sense.

I read them again.

Then again.

Yet the message remained unchanged.

Memories related to me...

Will be erased?

My heart skipped a beat.

Slowly, I turned around.

Behind me stood the orphanage.

The children.

Young-Hee.

The only people who cared about Baek Woojin.

The only family I had left.

And now...

The system was telling me they would forget I ever existed.

My hands clenched into fists.

"...You've got to be kidding me."

A bitter laugh escaped my lips.

Back on Earth, I had no family.

And now... even in this world...

I wasn't allowed to keep one.

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