I looked around in a daze, taking in my surroundings. I was in a place that was mysterious and new to me, and this body belonged to someone named Jangre.
'is he alive or dead', I asked myself.
The professor Ken, was lecturing about mana, and I began to grasp the basics of this world—a place filled with magic and fantasy, like something out of a novel. He mentioned increasing lifetime previously while scolding me when taking attendance, which sparked my interest. 'Increasing lifetime like an immortal?, Still i don't got a damn clue about this unknown world except magic and stuff'.
I realized I was a first-year student at an academy called 'Eden'. 'Eden, like in the Bible?'
After the lecture, Professor Ken left the classroom, glancing at me with a glare that made me feel like a lowlife. Before I could ponder why, a student approached me.
"Hey, Jangre," he greeted casually.
'Is he someone this body knows? No way—this is my first day at the academy,' I thought, confused about my sudden transmigration. "Hello?" I replied cautiously. "Who are you?"
"Hello, I'm Vale Williamson," he said with a smile.
"Oh, I see," I replied awkwardly. "How do you know my name?"
"Professor yelled your name a bunch of times while you were in a daze during the lecture," he explained.
"oh....yeah".
Vale was exceptionally beautiful—blue hair, hazel eyes, sharp jawline, clear skin. He'd turn heads anywhere, yet no one seemed to notice him.
"What?" I asked, curious.
"Do you know why nobody's paying attention to us?" he asked.
":)"
"It's because of our ranking," he replied with a slight smile.
I glanced at my wrist, where a device like a band displayed:
[Jangre Nolan] [Rank: 2491]
Vale placed a hand on my shoulder, showing me his own rank:
[Vale Williamson] [Rank: 2492]
"Do you know why nobody's approaching us? In their eyes, we're insects—they worship themselves like gods." He made a disgusted face.
I carefully listened to every words which are kept coming from his lips while displaying an disgusting face, I didn't interrupted him while still glancing at my band where my ranking is displayed.
"Maybe there are students lower-ranked than us, right?" I muttered.
"What are you talking about?", vale asked in a confused tone.
"I mean there should be some students who were lower than us?
"I'm last-ranked. You're second-last," Vale said, his hazel eyes studying me.
'There's something about his eyes,' I thought.
Vale told me about the academy and this world's culture. It had elves, dwarfs, monsters—all the fantasy tropes. Mana was the core energy, and there were mages and swordsman. But I sensed he wasn't telling me everything.
While Vale is somewhat suspicious of my lack of knowledge but brushed off because of my lack of speaking, and i got the general structure of this world. There is no noble or royal families in this world, While other races got that medieval hierarchy but humans don't have that kind of medieval hierarchy.
We got an group of powerful leaders who leads the human race named Elder Primordium, He explained the power structure: Rungs (Minor, Middle, Divine). Minor Rung had 14 echelons—lower echelon = more power. Each jump added 50 years to your lifetime. The Elder Primordium leads humans, consisting of 11 Level 1 Minor Rung echelons.
"People think they're the center of the universe, while I believe there are more truths than what we are told...", Vale said, patting my shoulder. "This world can't contain Middle Rung power. People who hit Level 0 ascend… where they surpass Minor Rung, and while every people thinks that there is no Rung after the middle rung , However there is only one person in this realm who believes in the Divine realm and that's 'Me'." , While Vale casually info dumbed about this world onto me , His words made me wonder: was there a Divine Rung? Gods? Was one of them behind my transmigration?
'But why vale believed there will be divine rung and Why does Vale seem… familiar?'
', I pondered about that and brushed it off as normal.
'I need to get stronger to learn about this world's gods,' I thought. The world felt suffocating, nauseating.
Vale tapped my shoulder. "Shall we go to our next lecture?"
"The lecture's in this room, right?" I asked.
"It's practical, Mr. Slow," he said with a grin.
"Practical?"
"Professors need to assess our power and understanding. I'm a mage; you're a swordsman."
As we talked, students filed out, some anxious, others calm.
'I'm a swordsman. Am I going to be a talentless dullard here too?'
Outside, Vale hummed, smiling at me.
'Is he a nutcase?', I thought.
'Anyways, let's see how life unfolds here,' I asked myself.
Vale's hazel eyes sparkled. "Let our journey unfold, my companion."