I sat there in the middle row, running a hand through my blonde hair as the teacher clapped once, sharp and final.
"Class is over," she said.
Then, without another word, she turned, walked to the open window, and jumped out like it was the most normal thing in the world.
A second later one of the other students followed her. Just leaped right after.
I watched their heads bump together in mid-air outside, like two clumsy birds that forgot how to fly.
They dropped straight down and hit the grass in a heap, both knocked out cold.
I let out a low breath.
"Such a crazy class," I muttered to myself.
Back on Earth I would've been considered pretty damn good-looking, sharp jaw, fit build, probably a solid 98 out of 100 on one of those dumb hotness scales people obsessed over.
Here? I was average at best. Nobody gave a damn about faces.
Power and money ruled everything, and strength was the only thing that really mattered.
Biggest fist = most righteous. Simple as that.
And strength? Yeah… that was the one thing I didn't have.
I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck.
I still remembered my old life too clearly. Top-earning author on Webnovel.
My novel had been doing numbers, some ridiculous isekai thing with a title so long it looked like a whole paragraph.
"That Time I Transmigrated as the...Blah Blah Blah " Something like that.
No normal person would read the full title. I barely wanted to type it.
Then one day my heart just… stopped. Heart attack. Lights out. Simple.
Next thing I knew I opened my eyes in this body.
And cursed every god listening.
Because this handsome face? This NPC body? It belonged to the guy who was supposed to die early in my own story.
The childhood friend Nami was originally in love with, before the ugly bastard protagonist from Earth showed up.
He got gifted a lust-corruption system by some goddess, and turned the whole plot into his personal harem speedrun.
His First target was Nami.
Second step: accidentally-on-purpose kill this NPC body I'm in now.
Third step: comfort Nami while she cried over my corpse, then swoop in like the "hero" he pretended to be.
Disgusting.
I wasn't about to let some forty-year-old neckbeard ruin my second chance at life and steal the girl who'd been my friend since we were kids here. HELL no.
I shook my head, stood up, and left the empty classroom.
The corridor was already loud with students spilling out.
I made my way to the cafeteria just to pass through. Tables full of people laughing, eating, acting like none of this was insane.
Then I saw the old woman behind the counter, the one who clearly never heard of gloves, hairnets, or basic cleaning.
Her apron looked like it had survived three wars.
A single tear actually slipped down my cheek.
"Yeah… never eating anything you touch," I whispered under my breath.
I kept walking, left the academy grounds, ignored a group of girls who winked and giggled as I passed. I shook my head at them.
No time. I'm way too deep in my own mess for flirting right now.
A little further down the street I found an open coffee shop.
Slipped inside, ordered the cheapest black coffee they had, and sat in the corner.
I sipped slowly, just enough to quiet the monster growling in my stomach before the next class.
I was halfway through the cup, finally starting to relax, when the door opened again.
A group of noble kids strutted in, expensive uniforms, arrogant postures, the usual.
Act invisible, I told myself. Blend into the wall. Become furniture.
Didn't work.
The leader, the tallest one with the slicked-back hair and the permanent smirk, locked eyes on me immediately.
His smile widened like he'd just found the person he was looking for.
He walked straight over.
Reached my table.
Slammed his palm down hard enough to make the cup jump.
"We need to talk."