The Novel
I awoke in a lavishly adorned bedroom, adorned with intricate paintings. However, this was not my world, and I found myself in a body foreign to my own.
I examined my reflection in the mirror—a striking teenager with fiery red hair and piercing dark eyes. My face exuded youthful charm, with a subtle undertone of determination. My meticulously tailored attire accentuated my captivating presence, a seamless fusion of sophistication and allure.
"At least I can take solace in being good looking," I mused, finding humor in the midst of the chaos.
My instinct drove me to reach for the lifeline to my known world—the internet. Fingers danced across the keys, gathering digital breadcrumbs of information, and the pieces of a perplexing puzzle began to fall into place.
"How does any of this make sense? Where on earth have I landed?" I wondered, my mind awash with perplexity.
A revelation struck me. I wasn't just lost in an unknown realm; I was ensnared within a novel I had read, gifted by the man who would kill me. The realization connected the dots between fiction and the stark reality of my untimely demise.
"The circumstances are impossible... could this have been the motive for my death?" I pondered.
This world seemed like a typical novel where the protagonist, aided by a system, overcame hardships, except in this one, the protagonist was imprisoned at the end. The author dropped his novel, and that was the true conclusion. I harbored no fondness for such an ending but realized the futility of my thoughts. I was just a reader at the time, but that no longer seemed to be the case.
As I delved deeper, I uncovered a startling truth. I was the central antagonist of the first two arcs—the Academy Arc and the Tournament Arc. My role was vital; without me, the protagonist's growth would be stunted. I had been the catalyst pushing him to his limits at the academy.
Strangely, the character I now inhabited shared my name. I had always found this peculiar and speculated it was the reason for my friend gifting me the book. But I couldn't ignore the unsettling connection between my present situation and that fateful night, and so I vowed to uncover the truth.
Before diving into the mysteries ahead, I needed to enter the academy. My transmigration brought me to the first day of the Transcending Academy's opening ceremony.
The academy, situated at the crossroads of four nations, held a unique position. Each of its four buildings had a specific purpose. The Transcending Academy aimed to unite the three major nations, America, England, and South Korea, albeit in a different world with an altered history.
I lived alone, a common experience for students in this world. The distance between the academy and most of their homes was vast, necessitating students to live independently.
As I made my way to the entrance ceremony, I joined a gathering of over ten thousand students. The academy was enormous, with four buildings, each housing a minimum of ten thousand students.
The headmaster addressed us, "Out of the multitude of students who embarked on this journey, you are the select few who achieved the highest scores in the entrance examination," the voice intoned, its words carrying the weight of promise. "I trust in your abilities. Amongst this assembly, the top one hundred individuals who accumulate the most points shall be granted the privilege of joining a distinct class, one specially tailored to maximize your potential."
Around me, I started to hear shouts of excitement. Amid the buzz of anticipation, I scanned the sea of faces, searching for potential allies. My attention was drawn to a particular group, a collection of characters pivotal to the story's progression. Angeline Surati and Victoria Langley had already formed a strong alliance. Beatrice stood by the main character, Alaric Starcaster, while Isabella, like me, initially stood alone. However, she soon approached Alaric.
In that moment, I contemplated the idea of joining their group but held back.