How to Survive at the Academy
How to Survive at the Academy - Chapter 1: Prologue

Chapter 1: Prologue

It’s about time I accepted it. I'm screwed.

“You will no longer be recognized as a member of the Rothstaylor family due to your crimes. For inappropriately swearing in front of the honorable Princes Penia, for illegally intervening with the Holy Silvenia Academy’s entrance exam due to being blinded by your jealousy, and lastly, for neglecting your classes—these crimes have tarnished the family’s name and cannot be taken lightly.”

There was no reason to read the rest.

The letter was from the head of the house, Krepin Rothstaylor. It’s filled with needless formalities but in the end, the summary was as follows:

“You will be disowned by the family.”

The life of living like a king with the support of a powerful family was over.

It felt like the God of Fate was mocking me.

Was he having fun laughing at my misfortunes? When my life had just become a living hell?

The letter’s words lingered, stuck in my head.

I wanted to respond to the unfair mocking words.

Why?

Because the Ed Rothstaylor that used the family name as a shield to live an arrogant life… was not me.

“I gathered all your belongings here. Thank you for your hard work.”

The maid who worked at Ophelis Hall, the finest dormitory at Silvenia Academy, politely gave her greetings.

With a blank face, I received two large wooden suitcases from her.

Even though my room was so luxurious, all my belongings surprisingly fit within these two bags.

After the support from my family was cut off, this was all I had.

In other words, the luxuries within that room were never mine to begin with.

“I hope you live the rest of your life well.”

Even though my life was essentially now in the gutter, I still received honorable treatment as a former noble. But although I was treated with respect, it ultimately felt like adding salt to injury.

Slam!

The Ophelis Hall’s large door swung shut, leaving me all alone in its beautiful garden.

Ahh… I thought it was about time I came to terms with it.

“I… actually entered the game. I can’t believe it…”

At the worst possible time, I became the worst possible person in my favorite game. A game of which I was the only fan.

‘Silvenia’s Failed Swordmaster’

I lowered my bags and swiped both hands over my face.

I’m fucked.

I didn’t know what to do.

* * *

‘Ed Rothstaylor’ was a name I was not too comfortable having.

‘Silvenia's Failed Swordmaster’ had a total of 43 episodes. I played the game over five times, but it was still a name I barely remembered. The reason was obvious.

It’s because Ed Rothstaylor was a third-class villain that left the moment he showed up.

- ‘Hey, look over there. Isn’t that Ed Rothstaylor?’

- ‘Shit! Don’t look! He’ll notice!’

- ‘Do we even have to worry anymore? Wasn’t he already expelled?’

- ‘I heard from a friend at Ophelis Hall yesterday that they even kicked him out of his room. I guess we won’t be seeing him next semester then.’

- ‘It’s funny, isn’t it? Just like how we don’t know how high the sky is, there really is no way to know what could happen to someone’s life.’

- ‘Why did he even use such a trick at the entrance exam?!’

- ‘I knew he was like this from the beginning! Even without skills, he always kept showing off!’

As soon as lunchtime came around, the students began to gather at the student center. After putting down my large wooden bags beside me and covering my face, my ears itched at the whispers.

A person’s rise and fall was perfect fodder for gossip. But even though I understood that fact, I can’t help but feel it was unfair.

Before I became this character, I was someone who lived frugally and honestly, working hard without ambition.

So wasn't it a bit too much to treat someone like me like a criminal?

“Sigh…”

I wanted to smoke.

I took a deep breath and looked at the crowd of people gossiping, and they slowly dispersed and eventually disappeared.

Two hours had passed since I got kicked out of the dormitories.

It felt like my brain had stopped working because of the unbelievable situation I was in, leaving me feeling dizzy. Good thing I had finally calmed down somehow.

While I knew this was a completely unrealistic scenario, I was still able to accept these drastic changes to some extent. Being able to quickly calm down must be something Ed Rothstaylor was capable of.

But enough about that. Right now, I needed to figure out what I had to do. I needed to establish my course of action.

I opened my wooden bag and took out an ornate mirror from my belongings. I looked at my reflection, my previous appearance now gone. Instead, there was a handsome-looking blonde boy staring right back at me.

This was now my new appearance.

[Name: Ed Rothstaylor]

Gender: Male

Age: 17

School Year: 2nd

Species: Human

Achievements: None

Vitality: 3

Intelligence: 4

Dexterity: 7

Willpower: 7

Luck: 6

Combat Skills Details ≫

Magic Skills Details ≫

Life Skills Details ≫

Alchemy Skills Details ≫

Having played ‘Silvenia’s Failed Swordmaster’ five times now, it was already a familiar information window to me.

This was the same method used to open one’s information in the game. By using any object that shows your reflection like a mirror, a creek, a pond, or even a glass cup, you just have to imbue it with your magic power to see your skills window.

The similarities going this far made this feel even more like a dream.

And looking at my skills only made me wish this really was a dream.

These pathetic skills were not befitting of a student attending the Silvenia Academy’s Magic Department. His embarrassingly low Vitality must be because of his upbringing as an aristocrat.

In the game, a regular farmer’s Vitality averaged between a five to a six. The main character, who was focused on combat and fighting skills, had a Vitality of above 20. So considering these numbers, Ed’s Vitality stat was truly pathetic.

Although looking at the numbers, my Dexterity and Willpower seem to be decent, but still nothing extraordinary. Comparing my skills to that of the main character, the differences were quite obvious.

Ed Rothstaylor was just a third-rate villain who appeared at the beginning of the game to add some conflict.

He was nothing more or less than that. I don’t even remember what happened to him afterward.

No, wait—I do remember.

At the end of the game, he briefly showed up in the credits, begging on the streets of the city while sitting on a straw mat.

Ahh… I shouldn’t have remembered that.

“Sigh…”

I couldn’t help but let out a sigh as I laid back.

Ed was a noble who grew up sheltered, ignorant to the ways of the world, only to be one day thrown out onto the streets with nothing. It was an expected ending for him.

For now, I had to avoid starving on the side of the street as he did.

And how was I supposed to do that?

I didn’t have the answer to that question.

But after thinking it over for a while, I could only say this:

By whatever means, I would survive.