Surviving Every Worldview

Chapter 42: The Academy’s Most Wanted (1)

When Sister Seorin’s duel was over, we slipped out of the training grounds.

Professor Witch had told us that if the duel was over, we could just go home.

That’s how we parted ways with Jang Ji-sang.

There were more people milling around in the lobby on the first floor.

However, the natural atmosphere of students in the cafeteria was nowhere to be seen.

The people I saw now were all human beings from the ‘real world’.

“It’s been an hour, so many people have gathered.”

“If there are more people, it will be too crowded…….”

“It doesn’t matter because this won’t be the only building, you saw it earlier, the dormitory is really complicated.”

In Korea alone, hundreds of thousands of people must have awakened, and if this building were all there was, it would be a huge crowd.

There are probably a lot of people I haven’t met yet because they’re in different buildings.

For a moment, I wondered if these people thought they were dangerous and would attack the students……..

Luckily, they didn’t show any signs of that.

They’re all in school uniforms, so I don’t think they can tell who’s a student and who’s not.

“Seon-woo.”

“What?”

“That bulletin board. Was it there before?”

Seorin put her hand on my shoulder and pointed to the bulletin board on the wall.

Other people were walking by, reading the notice.

“I haven’t seen it before. Maybe I just missed it. Shall we check it out?”

“Let’s just check that out and go home. I’m tired.”

For some reason, I don’t think I can stay for much longer, as Seorin is not feeling well.

I take one last quick look around and head back.

I pushed through the crowd and approached the place where I could see the words on the bulletin board.

What they were looking at was the Academy Rules Guide for New Students.

“Welcome to the Academy. To ensure the smooth operation of the Academy, we would like to inform you of the rules that are commonly violated by new students, so please refer to this notice and set a good example…….”

The notice looked hastily prepared.

It’s a little crumpled, and the tone of the writing is off-putting.

Still, it was probably the only thing that kept others from attacking the students.

I joined the crowd and read the notice.

—

Do not get into fights with other students on campus.

The passageways on the 4th and 5th basement floors are strictly off-limits to non-faculty members.

Other public areas of the academy are open to all students free of charge.

Only enter and exit through normal routes, such as the front and back doors.

Violation of the above may result in sanctions, including expulsion from the Academy.

—

There’s nothing particularly suspicious about these rules.

There are no strange contradictions or instructions like in the once popular rulebook legends, everything seems quite plausible and fits my guesses.

But still.

Is it really just a plain rule with no secrets?

There’s that rule of thumb that says if you show a gun, you have to shoot it next.

I don’t think there’s a secret to this abrupt announcement.

…But now I don’t know.

I snapped a picture of the rules on my phone and made my way through the crowd.

There were so many people in the lobby that it was difficult to get out.

After we’d had enough, we headed back to the dorms to rest.

* * *

We went back to Seorin’s room, B102.

I didn’t want to go into the girls’ dormitory, but there was no other place where we could talk without being disturbed.

If I went to my room, I might run into Jang Ji-sang.

We summarized the information we had learned so far.

Sister stretched out on her bed, since it was her dorm room.

“So it seemed like a normal academy, right?”

“Yep. I think I can sleep through the night as it is…….”

“……We’ll have to save that for another time, since my cell phone has no reception.”

For the record, it wasn’t just “out of service” that popped up on our phones.

We could use the internet and make calls, but once we entered the academy, we could only call people in the same world.

I can call sister Seorin now, but I can’t call my Lee Min-seo back home.

Not knowing what was going on outside the academy was a big problem.

No matter how much research I did, I needed to return to the real world regularly.

“By the way, do we have to worry about them getting hurt?”

“No. It’s as safe as it’s ever been out there.”

“Is it that safe?”

“That’s about it. All the people who would cause accidents are in the Academy.”

“……Oh, you mean that?”

Seriously, there are more human-caused events in a month than undead that don’t infect.

I’m done talking about the airport vanishing at the point where it was obvious it was human-caused.

The students aren’t in reality right now, and the Awakened ones have come to the academy world.

They’re enjoying their vacation from reality.

“But I don’t like it here. It feels so weird-”

“It’s understandable to feel weird. You’re suddenly dressed differently.”

“No, no, no, not that.”

Sister Seorin shook her head.

“…Seon-woo, didn’t you feel it?”

“Feel what?”

“Something, you know, it’s hard to put into words, but it’s like a feeling of discomfort, isn’t there something like that?”

“I don’t know. You didn’t just say that the place was unpleasant?”

Each questioned the other’s words.

Something was off.

I didn’t know what it was, but there seemed to be something she sensed and I didn’t.

“Can you tell me more?”

“……I think I might be mistaken because I’m drunk.”

“You shouldn’t ignore such sensations. Feel free to tell me.”

“Then…….”

Sister Seorin pointed to her eyes with both hands.

“My vision is usually fine, but sometimes I see strange things overlapping.”

“I don’t.”

“I thought everyone saw things like that. Was it just me, or was it weird?”

“And you’re fine now?”

“Only when I’m at the Academy. I was fine when I was outside earlier.”

“Hmm…….”

If it’s only happening inside the Academy, it’s probably not sister’s problem.

A plausible hypothesis is that maybe…….

“Maybe there’s something in the Academy that causes dizziness. But it only affects some people.”

“What do you mean?”

“People who don’t like perfume get dizzy when they smell it, so maybe you’re not compatible with something in the Academy.”

“Oh. I see.”

This is a common story in shonen manga.

A character with a good sense of intuition passes by a place feeling strange, and the twist is revealed later.

Considering such an unwritten rule, I couldn’t take Seorin intuition lightly.

Digging into this question might lead to a clue.

“Well, let’s investigate the symptoms for a while, and you can tell me if there are any places where it gets worse.”

“……I’d be a little embarrassed if I was just drunk and mistaken.”

“It’s okay, you’ll still get something out of it.”

I may be beating a dead horse, but it’s fun to bump into things like this.

Also, it’s not a bad thing if I find out about it while doing research.

The academy is still a mystery.

“Then tomorrow, we’ll come out first thing in the morning and investigate. Let’s stay all day.”

“Can’t we start investigating today?”

“I don’t see why not, but there’s a lot to prepare for, and I need to call Do-yeon.”

“Mm-hmm, okay.”

Seorin nodded, sounding a little reluctant.

With that, the meeting ended and we headed back to the back door, ending our first day at the academy.

There were still thirteen days to go until the big event called ‘Practical Training’.

* * *

I contacted Seol Do-yeon as soon as I returned to reality.

If Do-yeon’s day and night were reversed, I would have received a call at dawn, but fortunately, I received a reply right away.

-Seol Do-yeon: I, Seol Do-yeon, the one who entered the academy alone and left after five minutes because I was scared.

-Seol Do-yeon: So, let’s have Yoo Seon-woo explain what it’s like there!

She proudly says she was scared…and in a creepy way.

It’s better than not being able to contact her at all.

I call her instead of texting and explain what has happened so far.

Even that “The Academy” is an episode I don’t recognize.

“It’s a development that didn’t happen before you regressed…….”

“It’s not like that.”

“That’s exactly what you were talking about, really.”

“I thought that earlier, too, but it’s not…….”

I was frustrated.

I didn’t think I’d learn anything I didn’t already know.

I guess I’m not the kind of protagonist who knows everything.

“Anyway, the academy is a safe place? I’m surprised.”

“So you have permission to be away from home for so long?”

“Uh, I talked to my parents, but…adults do what adults do. I got in trouble for asking for permission.”

…She’s more open than I thought.

She says it’s near the main house, but Seol Do-yeon lives alone, so it’s understandable.

“Isn’t that too much! I told you first because I thought you might be worried!”

“That’s good. You’re the kind of kid your family can trust, right?”

“Anyway… it went well, and I’ll be fine staying with you for a few months.”

This was important news.

I’d have to get her to move in with me as often as possible.

If she’s with me for the first episode, she’ll be with me until the end.

“So what am I supposed to do now? You’re going to pick me up like last time?”

“No?”

“What, you’ll drive the car like last time and you’ll wait for me, thank you.”

“I don’t have to come all the way there this time.”

“Eh? Why?”

Seol Do-yeon stopped whining and asking me to come pick her up, and listened to my story.

“You can meet me at the academy. If you just enter a nearby school, we’ll teleport and be in the same room.”

“Oh. Is that how it works?”

“So, tomorrow morning, be at the Academy by seven. I know you’ll be awake then anyway.”

“What? You’re talking to me! You’d think I was a day and night person!”

“You’re always changing, aren’t you?

“Well, no?”

“……There are times when my days and nights are 360 degrees and I have a normal life pattern in reverse.”

“What’s it like these days?”

“It’s 7 in the morning… isn’t that the time to be wide awake?”

* * *

…After that conversation, Day 2 of the Academy.

It’s 6:50 a.m. on a winter’s day.

I entered the academy again, through the main gate of the school near my home.

Thrrr…….

A wall appears beneath the dark dawn sky, blocking the view of the outside landscape.

The breath of the cold day was cloudy, and the temperature was neither hot nor cold.

It was the special world created by the episode, The Academy.

No matter what season, no matter what time of day, it was as bright as morning outside the window and the temperature was just right.

I didn’t bother to look out the window or change my clothes.

“No people at this hour…….”

My voice echoed through the deserted lobby.

After confirming that no one was really there, I pulled out my cell phone.

Seol Do-yeon was the only one in my saved contacts that I could call right now.

The call rings Tut-tut-tut.

Just when I was getting tired of hearing it, Do-yeon picked up the phone.

“Uh, I’m home…Is there a time difference here? Why is it so bright?”

“It’s just bright 24 hours a day. Where are you?”

“I just got in, so I’m still in the lobby. Where are you?”

I must have been standing still at the front door, but I couldn’t see Seol Do-yeon at all.

We must have started from different places.

“We must be in different buildings. Do you happen to have a card key in your pocket?”

“What? What do you mean…Wow, I have it! How did he know?”

“What does it say on it?”

“It says room F107.”

“……You’re bothering me.”

If we were in the same dorm, we could have used the screen door warp system to meet up.

If it was a different building or dorm, I would have to walk.

I called her early because I knew this would happen.

“Wait for me, I’ll find the building and walk there myself…….”

I opened the front door and started to walk out of the building, but stopped short.

Walking out the front door brings you back to reality.

To get to the other building, I had to go through a different doorway.

……Wait.

Isn’t the back door also a way back to reality?

You can never go “out of the building” if you go through a normal doorway, right?

But there’s no way out other than the front door and the back door.

Underground? There are no passageways leading to other buildings.

Rooftop? Probably locked, let alone not an entrance.

So how do I get out of this building?

And why was it designed in such a way that you couldn’t simply leave the building?

Simple error or coincidence? Or…….

As the questions swirled and grew, I noticed the bulletin board in the lobby.

The bulletin board still outlined the Academy’s rules.

Enter and exit only through normal routes, such as the main gate and back gate.