No way...
Seriously?
I looked into the mirror I borrowed from another student, and the face staring back at me definitely wasn't mine.
Black hair with a few white strands on top, sea-blue eyes, and a winter outfit in gray and black.
Yeah, I'm definitely in another world...
But how??
"Hey man, you've had my mirror for a while now. Mind giving it back?" A blond kid reached out his hand, asking for the mirror.
"Huh? Oh, right... Thanks."
I returned the mirror and slumped down, trying to sort out the chaos in my mind.
My name is Snowy—well, the body I've taken over is named Snowy.
As far as I remember, before I came to this world, I was at the supermarket and randomly came across a rack of game discs.
Beast Summoners.
Honestly, just from the cover I could already tell what kind of game it was.
A mix between Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh.
What's bad about that?
It looked like a cheap knockoff of both. I actually felt bad for the artist who worked on it.
And yeah, I bought it and tried playing.
And yeaa... it was like a Pokémon battle with a bunch of extra stuff thrown in.
Luckily, it didn't rip off any actual Pokémon or Yu-Gi-Oh characters... Maybe?
The graphics were pixelated—looked like something from Black and White—so it seemed like the studio actually put effort into it.
But judging by how many copies were left on the shelf, clearly no one was buying it...
So what was the story like? Must've been either really good or really bad, right?
Well... I skipped it all since I wasn't interested.
And now karma's come fast—I skipped everything so I don't even know what the game is about.
But hey, at least I remember what the characters looked like, even if I don't know their roles beyond them challenging or helping me in the game.
Basically, a very Pokémon–Yu-Gi-Oh vibe.
And now... I'm here...
On the very first day of enrollment at this academy.
The world's setting isn't exactly modern—more like a noble era—but there's steampunk tech around.
And of course, magic.
Too bad magic's just secondary, because what really matters in this world are monster summoning cards—they're everyone's main combat power.
Anyway, right now I'm standing outside the academy gate.
And the person I've possessed is Snowy, a character who once challenged me in the game and was kind of a minor villain.
When my soul entered his body, it triggered his brain and I ended up reliving all his memories.
He was born in the eastern part of the kingdom, a place where it's always harsh winter, so he's dressed really warmly.
His magic is influenced by the environment, so his element is ice, just like everyone else from his hometown.
His family... well, he's an orphan raised by an old lady.
The only reason he came to study here was to earn money for her.
Alright, even though I don't know much about him, now I understand why he stop me in the game.
And now... he is me...
Damn, I never thought I'd actually get isekai'd into a video game. Not sure if I should call this good luck or a total disaster...
And looking at how short I am, I'm pretty sure this is the very beginning of the game—when all the main characters are just 11 years old.
"Oh crap, what time is it?!"
I looked around and spotted a tower with a huge clock on it.
Looked exactly like that iconic one in London.
"Oh no... I need to get to the academy now!!"
I rushed in, blending in with the crowd of students.
When I got there, a massive, majestic hall opened up before me—grand and imposing.
I glanced around and noticed that the students were seated according to signs symbolizing the groups they belonged to.
I randomly picked a spot and sat down.
"Hey! You're in the wrong seat! That's for Noble House!"
An older man called out, startling me into standing up.
I had no idea what status I had in this world, so I just sat wherever...
"You are... hmm... ah, found it. Kid. Please go sit at The Fool."
Why did that sound like some kind of social ranking system?
I moved over and sat at the designated place, looking around.
In Year One, there were four separate houses, from what I could tell:
The Guardian Knights, The Greedy Mages, The Proud Nobles, and finally, The Fool.
Or you can call them Knight House, Mage House, Noble House and Fool House
Just a glance around and I already saw a bunch of familiar characters.
But the most important thing I needed to confirm—
Was the main character here?
As far as I remember, the main character could be either male or female.
And being a true man of culture, I picked the female protagonist.
So I remember what she looked like—but if it's the male version... well, I wouldn't know.
Actually, I might be able to figure out who it is from what people say. I do remember a bit about their backstory.
Something about being the child of a fallen hero? I think.
Before I could think further, the entire hall suddenly went dark.
Excited gasps and murmurs from the kids echoed briefly—then went silent as a spotlight lit up a figure floating above.
"Welcome, new students. So, you've all gathered at last."
He floated down to the stage, eyes scanning the crowd.
"To welcome you all to Saint Jeanne Academy, I'll give a brief introduction and show you the essentials you'll need here!"
He then took out a summoning card—inside it, some kind of creature—and called out its name:
"Flame Eagle!"
From the card, a bird burst forth, wings spread wide, soaring above the crowd.
Everyone stared in awe—except for the older folks who had clearly seen this before.
Then the eagle flew back to him and perched on his arm.
"These are Summon Beasts—a crucial part of our daily lives."
"Thanks to their existence, we've been able to stand against the forces of darkness and survive to this day. And it's all thanks to those before us, who kept learning and developing new ways to fight."
"Magic was once our strongest weapon," the man continued, "but unfortunately, it wasn't powerful enough to stand against our greatest enemy—the Demon King. That's why, ever since the creation of summoning cards, magic has become a supportive tool in battle."
"Still, that doesn't mean magic has become useless."
With a snap of his fingers, the entire hall transformed—plates of food floated through the air and neatly landed on wooden tables that had just grown out of the floor, all conjured by magic.
'Holy hell... Harry Potter meets Pokémon, and now what—are they gonna throw in Digimon too?' I was stunned, then found myself seated next to other students with plates of food in front of us.
"I won't say much more," the man said. "From here on out, you'll have to learn for yourselves—learn to understand, and learn to create!"
With a clap of his hands, he vanished.
Nice slogan.
Right after that, everyone eagerly dug into their meals.
"Uhhh... okay?"
I looked around, mainly trying to spot characters I remembered from the game.
"Hey? You're not eating?"
A voice beside me snapped me out of my thoughts. I turned to see a girl even shorter than me (and we're both 11, mind you), her cheeks puffed out like a hamster.
"That turkey right there," she pointed at the big roasted bird in front of me.
"Huh?... Oh, uh, you can have it."
"Really? Yayy!!"
She grabbed the turkey and immediately started chomping it down, which left me a bit... stunned.
Right, I forgot—this isn't the real world.
I reached for a peanut and popped it in my mouth—
"?!"
I immediately spat it out and looked at it.
It had frozen into a solid chunk.
"What the...?"
The girl beside me noticed.
"Did you just use magic?"
"...No."
Then I noticed the students around me were shivering and hugging themselves for warmth.
"I think you should really learn to control your magic!" the girl next to me said while shivering.
But I don't even know how to use magic?!
Suddenly, a teacher appeared behind me and used some kind of spell that instantly removed the cold aura I'd been emitting.
"You... you're suffering from mana leakage. Didn't you use anything to suppress it?"
"Erm... I didn't know that."
He looked closely at me and then reached behind my neck, pulling out a small stone—cracked and frozen solid.
"You still had this on you?"
Hearing that, I rummaged through my pockets and found a pouch full of stones identical to that one.
"Good. Place one of them on your forehead—it'll absorb your excess mana."
I did as instructed, and the cold aura around me finally faded away.
The teacher walked off, and the girl beside me scooted a little closer.
"Wow, I didn't expect to meet someone with mana leakage this early."
"What's mana leakage?" I asked, confused. Snowy's memories never mentioned anything about this.
"You don't know? Mana leakage is when your body constantly releases mana into the surroundings. And with your element being ice, that's why you were giving off that freezing aura."
So... could it be that living in such harsh cold back in his hometown made everyone—including Snowy himself—completely unaware of it?
But then, who gave him those stones? Snowy's memories don't say a thing about that either.
"Oh right… are you gonna eat that? The beef?"
"Huh? Oh… you can have it."
"Thanks!!"
She grabbed the entire plate of beef and stuffed it all into her mouth.
She's got one hell of an appetite.
After a while, once everyone had finished eating, the empty plates vanished without a trace.
The students were then introduced to the teachers in advance.
The teacher who helped me earlier was named Rook—quiet and serious.
His name reminded me of the partner of that New York guy with the transformation watch...
Next were four more teachers: Meil, Rif, Yondo, and Abigail.
The one that caught my eye the most was Meil—she had goat horns and looked youthful and cute.
After the introductions, Teacher Rook stepped up to the stage to address us first-year students.
"When you return to your dorms, don't forget to review the academy's regulations.
Lastly, I hope all new students will discover their own value during your six years at Jeanne Academy!"
Upon hearing that, everyone erupted into cheers.
They were genuinely looking forward to their six years here.
After all, this place was known for producing the heroes who protect the world.
I looked through the academy rules and read each one carefully.
Jeanne Academy is like a boarding school, but stricter.
There are no holidays—unless there's a special event or festival.
Otherwise, no visits home or leaving the academy grounds without teacher permission.
Yep—that means bribes, family connections, and social status are all useless here.
Even though nobles are placed in the Noble House, and it sounds like favoritism, that's not the case.
These brats are just overly pampered! Most of the troublemakers come from that group!
So being in the Noble House just means you're watched more closely than the other three houses—
—and your supervisor is Teacher Abigail.
Look at her muscles and sun-kissed skin… I kinda want to be crushed between her thighs—ahem, calm down.
Eventually, I reached the final and most important rule:
Take care of yourself.
'Makes sense. I'll probably be dealing with a lot of crazy stuff in the future.'
I've got to get serious, even though I still have no idea what I'm supposed to do now that I've suddenly reincarnated into this game...
Our senior students led us to our dormitory.
Since there are four houses, there are four towers, each with nine floors.
Floors 2 to 7 are the dormitories for first-year to final-year students.
The 8th floor is a training area, and the 9th floor is an observatory.
All four towers are connected through a common room.
This common room is pretty impressive, with a dining area, a place to rest, and space for fun activities, like a way to relieve stress from studying too much.
Oh, that gluttonous girl is from the Knight's House.
I went to pick up my classification card, followed the senior's instructions, and channeled mana into it.
A number appeared on the card:
17.
I went up to the second floor, looked around, and finally found my room.
Sighing, I swiped the card on the door.
Ding!
I entered the room, closed the door, and took a deep breath.
"SO TIRED!!!"
Letting out all my emotions, I jumped onto the bed and hugged the pillow.
The room was more well-equipped than I'd imagined, even though I'd only seen it in a pixel-art game.
My mind was still a bit chaotic, not fully organized yet.
Well, all I need is a good night's sleep!I happily took off my winter coat.
Immediately, I felt a terrifying chill cling to me.
"AHHH!!!"
I quickly put the winter coat back on, its soft fabric and white fur around the collar making me feel warmer than ever.
"…Is there something wrong with his body?"
Ugh, the biting cold had passed, but it still lingered… I wondered how I'd manage to shower. Turn the water to maximum heat?
I unpacked some books to prepare for tomorrow, since I'd already received my timetable.
Then I looked at the bag holding the stones that suppress the cold radiating from me, starting to wonder to myself.
'These will run out eventually, and even if they don't, it's still not ideal because they only keep others from being affected when they're near me. But for me, it's not enough. I need to do something…'
I climbed into bed, pulled up the blanket, and stared at the ceiling.
…So comfortable.