#1. Rain Ortiz?

A life without incident.

A life without getting caught up in major events, without constantly flirting with the threshold of death.

A hero was chosen when I was born.

One of the Demon Lord’s Four Heavenly Kings died when I went through puberty.

The Demon Lord died when I came of age.

I contributed nothing to the Demon Lord’s subjugation.

Huzzah!

I was on edge, worried about getting involved, but thankfully, I succeeded in becoming an extra.

Are you watching? All you protagonist-wannabe extras.

*This* is how you become an extra.

Anyway, I enrolled in the academy, taking the “standard young noble’s son course.”

“Father.”

“Yes, my son.”

“I shall be off now.”

I bowed my head in greeting. He’s a father I’m grateful to for raising me normally.

“I believe you’ll do well.”

Even words of encouragement filled with genuine sincerity…

I will be sure to repay your kindness. Just wait a little longer.

I left the mansion, receiving greetings from countless maids.

“Young master, we shall depart now.”

“See to it.”

As the carriage pulled away from the manor, a peculiar sentiment washed over me.

I was born with the name ‘Rein,’ to a provincial noble family called ‘Ortiz.’

The Rein Ortiz household was harmonious, and affluent.

An environment conducive to study, free of stress. The best.

“Reincarnating was a stroke of luck.”

I believe this peaceful life will continue as is.

*

The empire boasts quite a number of academies.

Of those, ‘Lunia Academy’ is not the absolute best in the Empire, but somewhere close.

The entry age is twenty. No restrictions for nobles or commoners. A four-year program.

If it brings a university to mind, you’re on the right track. Though called an academy, there isn’t much difference from a university.

Ah, but on second thought, perhaps that’s not entirely true.

The academy is comprised of various faculties, including a ‘Faculty of Magic’ and a ‘Faculty of Knightly Arts.’ Korean universities don’t have those.

Of course, my future does not lie with being a mage or a knight. From the start, I have no intention of pursuing a major, as I am to inherit the family business. I came here solely to obtain a degree.

Frankly, I’d rather not have enrolled in the academy at all and instead just do some farming, but what can I do? I am the only son. There’s no one else to take over.

Anyway. My major is ‘Magical Engineering.’

“…But where exactly am I?”

I am ordinary. No other modifiers are necessary. Just ordinary.

Appearance ordinary, knowledge ordinary, even my height is perfectly average. If there’s one chronic problem I have, it’s my awful sense of direction.

The entrance ceremony will be starting soon, but I can’t find the plaza.

There are what look like targets nearby… A training ground, perhaps?

Honestly, I’m not even sure how I ended up here.

Damn it. Should I use ‘this’ after all?

“Guide me to the entrance ceremony location…”

“Hey!”

Just then, someone spoke to me. It was a young woman with red hair.

So startled, I couldn’t even cry out and only backed away…

“Why are you so surprised?”

The cause of my surprise seems oblivious.

What’s this? Suddenly addressing me.

“This area is off-limits to anyone but the Knightly Arts Faculty.”

“Ah.”

That explains it.

“Yes, well, I got a little lost.”

“Is that so? Hmmm…”

The woman glanced at me briefly.

“Rather plain,”

she concluded.

Even if I strive for the ordinary, isn’t this a bit much for a first encounter?

I must remonstrate.

“I am Cecil, a professor in the Department of Knighthood.”

“Ah, yes. My apologies. I shall be on my way.”

A professor, that changes things.

I must grovel.

“No, that’s not it.”

“Yes?”

“Perfect timing, actually. Come here. Give me a hand.”

“Uh, well…”

I explained the situation.

You see…

I’m actually a freshman.

I got lost on the way to the plaza and ended up here…

The entrance ceremony starts soon, so I need to run from here on out.

I am so sorry I cannot help you…

I finished my abject explanation.

“Ah~ so that’s what it was?”

The professor then hoisted me up and carried me.

“Huh?”

“Hold on tight!”

Though a professor, she was smaller than me. That’s why I had initially thought of arguing back. I thought she was a student.

But not only was I lifted with ease…

“Uwaaa!!”

She’s running at this speed.

What kind of speed, you ask?

…

Have you ever ridden a roller coaster? If so, you’ve probably felt that tingling sensation in your lower abdomen. I felt that sensation from Cecil’s shoulders.

Ah.

Right.

I had briefly forgotten.

This was a fantasy world.

*Thoom!*

Professor Cecil landed with a booming sound right next to the platform.

I was still being carried.

“Alright, go find your seat.”

She released me, and I fell to the ground.

I feel like I’m going to be sick.

“What’s wrong, what’s happening?”

“Th-thank, you…s-so much…”

Biting down hard, I straightened, Professor Cecil departing with what looked like blatant smugness.

Thank you so much, Professor. If there’s ever an opportunity to brew you some coffee, I’ll be sure to—…

“Ah.”

One more fact I’d blanked on, lost in the fog.

I was right next to the platform. And in the plaza.

“…Ah.”

The gazes of every single freshman attending the entrance ceremony had become riveted on me.

“Sweet mother—…”

*

The entrance ceremony was over, and already two weeks of the semester had slipped by.

Desiring to avoid attention, I’d kept my head down for a while, and now I had no friends. In other words, I was a loner.

I’d wanted to avoid attention, sure, but this wasn’t what I had in mind.

The grim reality coaxed a sigh from my depths.

It was all that professor’s fault.

I could’ve reached the destination in time if I just ran on my own—.

“…Haaah.”

Let’s not think about it anymore. It’s already happened.

I’m the only one suffering.

“That will be all for today’s lecture. Oh, and there is an assignment.”

Someone was speaking from the front. A beauty with snow-white hair.

Come to think of it, this *was* my major’s class.

I swiftly opened my notebook.

There was no website for submitting assignments here. Consequently, one had to rely on notebooks, and in this analog method, speed was of the essence.

“Compose a paper on technology that could replace current magic circuits. And, yes, ‘nothing’ is not an acceptable answer.”

Pardon?

Professor?

That’s the assignment?

…Pardon?

“If you attend class diligently and listen well, you will be able to complete it. The due date is by our next session.”

I will be honest.

I haven’t been paying that much attention in class.

I’ll admit I’ve been a little lax lately, preoccupied with various thoughts.

Still, this isn’t fair, Professor.

I’ve been attending every class, dammit—.

“That concludes the lecture. Everyone, enjoy your lunch.”

With those words, the professor left the lecture hall.

My mind was blank.

Magic circuits are the most fundamental concept in magical engineering. If you can’t design circuits, you shouldn’t even consider magical engineering. Moreover, I’d learned that current magic circuits employ the most efficient technology discovered so far.

Replace *that*?

“What kind of assignment is this…?”

I slumped face-first onto my desk.

I should be heading to the next lecture, but the will simply wasn’t there.

“…I guess I have to go, though.”

What choice did I have?

If they say jump, you jump.

.

.

.

The day was done. Lectures attended, a mountain of assignments tackled…

A brutally busy day, it was.

“Do professors think we only take their class?”

Humanly speaking, the workload is just too much.

“And there’s this little puzzle…”

I stared at the assignment I still hadn’t managed to crack. I needed *something* written before the next class, but the future looked bleak.

“Ah, screw it.”

I decided to deploy my ultimate weapon.

When I reincarnated into this other world, I received a perk, a boon:

‘The authority to bring one thing with you.’

And from there, I chose ChatGPT.

What is ChatGPT? Only the artificial intelligence that sparked a revolution in the AI industry back in 21st-century Korea, wasn’t it?

I couldn’t imagine anything being more useful than this.

In truth, this ChatGPT proved to be remarkably handy. For churning out assignments, for taking exams.

Ah, the exam help was due to the fact that it came in the form of a system. After all, directly bringing the ‘technology’ itself would be difficult.

Anyways.

[ Please Wait. Processing. ]

My personal artificial intelligence began formulating a solution.

[ In order to replace the existing magical circuit, the introduction of new technologies is required; here, the concepts of ‘Direct Current Circuits’ and ‘Alternating Current Circuits’… ]

“Print it out, just as it is.”

That bought me some breathing room.

*

Professor Rachel sets bizarre assignments.

This is something she’s aware of herself, and there’s a clear reason for it.

“What good is acing the assignments if you don’t attend the lectures?”

It’s a way of weeding out the students who skip class but are good at doing assignments.

That’s why she always gives assignments like this. No matter how impossible the task may seem, the final product will differ depending on whether or not you went to the class.

She might get a lot of flak for it, but that was her method.

“Let’s see…”

Professor Rachel began grading the assignments.

This particular assignment was unusual, but the answer itself was clearly defined.

The current circuit functions with such efficiency, the academic consensus holds that a superior technology is simply impossible. (A fact that filled Professor Rachel with no small amount of pride, given she’d invented it.)

Of course, outright rejecting the question was forbidden, so they *had* to write something. But what to write?

The answer: ‘technologies of the past.’ The key was ‘replacement,’ not ‘improvement.’ If they’d listened to the lecture, they’d submit correctly.

“Hmm?”

Yet, it seemed the majority had submitted truly dreadful assignments…

Why was that?

Pushing aside her bewilderment, Professor Rachel reviewed the next student’s work. He was the only one to have presented a ‘new technology.’

Rachel scoffed.

“This student clearly didn’t listen to the lecture.”

*New* technology, indeed.

She’d stated so clearly that the current circuit was irreplaceable.

This was a guaranteed D, without even looking…

…Still, she ought to read it.

Professor Rachel began to read the assignment.

“This is…”

And then she fell silent. She repeated “impossible” to herself as she scanned the submitted work, then shifted her gaze to confirm the name.

The name was…

“Rain Ortiz?”

Professor Rachel shot up from her seat. Her characteristic white hair swirled around her head.

“I must find him immediately.”