Chapter 1

Good morning─ beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep.

7 AM.

The damn alarm sound is grating on my ears. I frown and open my eyes to see an unfamiliar ceiling.

“A ceiling I don’t know… I thought there wouldn’t be a ceiling here…” (he refers to the ceiling in the game, where there are no guarantee summon in the gacha)

This stupid muttering to myself has already been going on for three days. That means today is the third day since I got trapped in this game.

By now, I’ve had enough time to roughly grasp the situation.

“Tsk, it’s not a dream, I really got transmigrated.”

Yeah, after two days of denying reality, it’s time to accept it.

The fact that I’ve fallen into the world of “Velvet School Life!”—commonly known as Velvets.

“Ha, but still, it pisses me off. How did I end up getting transmigrated like this?”

Thinking about it again makes me let out a ridiculous laugh.

To explain how I ended up in this world,

we have to go back to the day before I got transmigrated.

.

.

.

The day before I got isekai-ed.

The Velvet Life community was on fire.

It was because the limited-time new character, hinted at by the Velvet Life developers for three months, was finally going to be released the next day!

The anticipation alone was enough to fuel the fire, but the developers went a step further and released the illustration and combat motion of the new character [Sword Blossom Alice].

On screen, Alice was a beautiful girl with silver hair and blue eyes, wielding a sword with a cold expression.

[Wow, damn, she’s insanely gorgeous. This is incredible.]

[Is she good? (Genuinely don’t know)]

[Alice is coming? Alice is coming? Alice is coming? Alice is coming? Alice is coming? Alice is coming? Alice is coming? Alice is coming? Alice is coming? Alice is coming?]

[Come on! I’m loaded! Let’s go!]

[But seriously, can we get a pity system, Velvet Life, you jerks? ㅠ]

[Heaven! Heaven! Heaven! Heaven! Heaven! Heaven! Heaven! Heaven!] [Hmm, is she that great?]

Most people were expressing excitement about the revealed character. A few expressed disappointment because she wasn’t their type.

I was on the side of the excited.

‘Wow, the developers really went all out this time.’

The illustration seemed like the artist had poured their soul into it, with delicate brushstrokes on every strand of hair. The combat motion had her skirt fluttering as she moved dynamically across the screen. Her character even had a cold face that would blush shyly, perfectly hitting my preferences.

Before I knew it, I was opening my wallet.

Why would I open my wallet before she’s even released? Well, I had to prepare in advance, right? I had to make sure my new character wouldn’t be overshadowed by the seniors.

I scoured websites and posted questions in the community,

gathering all the items, equipment, weapons, stats, skills, and resources Alice would need.

And then the release day came.

The new character gacha started, and as usual, I paid my respects to the gacha by starting with a single pull instead of a ten-pull. I offered the first single pull as a sacrifice.

Praying that Alice would come to me while leaving my dinner money intact.

But maybe my earnestness was too effective.

“Oh oh─!?”

I stared wide-eyed at my phone screen.

From the single pull I offered, a brilliant rainbow light burst out!

[Sword Blossom… Don’t call me that. I’m just doing what I need to do.]

A cold voice followed from the phone’s speaker.

I rubbed my eyes repeatedly and checked the phone.

[Sword Blossom Alice ☆☆☆☆☆]

The screen was filled with a silver-haired, blue-eyed beauty with a cold expression.

“She’s… here.”

That’s right.

In a gacha without a pity system, with just a single pull,

I had successfully drawn the ‘natural 5-star’, ‘limited’, ‘new character’, Sword Blossom Alice.

“She’s here!!! Damn, what is this…! Getting a 3-star on the first pull would have been a blessing, but a 5-star? A limited new character?”

At that point, it didn’t even feel real.

My feelings were quite impressive at that moment.

Like melting away all the long days of scorn and ridicule, like being rewarded all at once after being oppressed by the unprincipled toxic community members.

“Hmm. Isn’t this good?”

Yeah, I should have ended with that comment.

But at that moment,

I got caught up in the excitement and said something I shouldn’t have.

“Ha. Velvet Life is a god-tier game. Take my soul. Damn. Take it. Take it all!”

.

.

.

And just like that, I got transmigrated.

“Damn.”

Even thinking about it now, it’s ridiculous.

Usually, don’t you have to curse in a game review, spend ten years becoming an absolute master, or at least get your name in the rankings to qualify for getting transmigrated? Or at least duel to the death with the developers to prove how trashy the game is?

I was just a small spender, enjoying the game casually, and got lucky with a pull and praised the game for it.

“Getting transmigrated for that is just too much…”

I buried my face in my hands.

.

.

.

“Ha, fine. The milk is already spilled. Let’s just… right, let’s summarize what I’ve figured out in the past two days.”

I got up from the bed and headed to the desk in the corner of the room. There were items like a laptop, paper, and pens that weren’t mine.

I opened a notebook and started scribbling with a pen.

“Actually, Velvet’s world isn’t all that grim…”

Though an apocalypse is scheduled, the main content of watching cute and charming girls makes the overall atmosphere pretty bright.

And the game itself isn’t that hard. Even light spenders like me, and even non-spenders who don’t even pay for monthly subscriptions, can save up attendance rewards and reach the final chapter.

However,

there are three reasons why I can’t be optimistic about my current situation.

Scratch scratch─

【 Three Reasons Why This World is Grim 】

Jin Yuha

Gender Reversal (a bit ambiguous)

No Gacha

First reason. The guy I’m possessing.

I looked at the hand mirror on the desk.

An unfamiliar man’s face reflected back.

Pale white skin. Black hair and black eyes. A tear mole under his eye added a decadent touch. Honestly, he’s ridiculously handsome.

“Jin Yuha, of all people…”

I stared straight at the man in the mirror.

Jin Yuha.

This guy was an unparalleled trash character among the 1-star garbage characters.

When I first started playing, I was advised to wipe my account if I had even one Jin Yuha in my first draw.

I can see where the notoriety comes from.

‘…… status window.’

I spit out the words and a translucent blue window pops up in front of my eyes.

.

.

.

Name ─ Jin Yuha

Gender ─ Male (20)

Stats

Strength ─ 3

Spirit ─ 3

Magic ─ 6

Endurance ─ 6

Speed ─ 9

Charm ─ 19

Speciality ─ Swordsmanship [ Rank: E ].

Title ─ Flower on the Cliffs [ Aehwa (崖花) ]

Skills ─ [ None]

Attribute ─ [ None ].

Exclusive Weapon ─ Worn Straight Sword

.

.

.

A flower on a cliff.

The average ability of students entering the Velvet Academy is around 30. On the other hand, Qin Yuha’s average ability is 7.

‘3, 6, 9, 3, 6……. Some kind of three-six game. Shit. Meanwhile, the charm is 19.’

Even the kids who take swordsmanship classes as a hobby have a C in swordsmanship.

The one who specialises in swordsmanship has a swordsmanship rank of E.

He doesn’t even have a single attribute, let alone a skill.

Looking at him, I wonder how the hell he got into the Hunter Academy.

For a while there, I thought he was just a trap character created by the administration to extract money from players in Gacha.

Yesterday, however, I went through my phone and found out why.

[ Congratulations, you’ve been selected as a cadet for the Velvet Hunter Academy’s ‘male quota’ ].

‘…….’

Shit.

The reasons why this asshole was able to become a cadet at the academy were truly stupid.

.

.

.

Reason number two why I can’t be optimistic about this world.

The ambiguous gender reversal.

‘It’s weird that Jin Yuha got in because I hadn’t heard of the male quota system, so I looked it up. If I hadn’t known, I would have freaked out.’

Still, this is at least understandable.

I’ve always been a little curious.

In Velvets, beautiful girls protect the world, but why are all the boys so weak?

Why is it that when there’s a special event and there’s a war, the girls are called out while the boys stay put?

But what if the roles are reversed?

In the original world, it’s a national rule that men go to war, so it’s not hard to understand if you think the genders are reversed here.

The reason I say it’s a bit ambiguous is because not all the beautiful girls in the game have masculine personalities.

‘They might blush when they’re embarrassed, or they might have a cute way of talking.’

So while playing the game, it didn’t really occur to me that Velvets was a gender-reversed world.

Honestly, I don’t think a game that appeals to pretty girls would sell if all the girls in it acted like boys and screamed sex.

Of course, it’s not like there aren’t walking perverts like that…….

Women have strong body, and men have strong vitality.

Women go to the army, men don’t go to the army.

Women confess first, men receive confessions.

Women work outside, men help inside.

Women are stronger and men are weaker.

What’s the common sense, conventional wisdom?

The way she talks, the way she behaves, she’s just like any other woman.

It’s a very convenient world where only those things are reversed.

‘Yeah, you just have to get it in your head that gender roles are reversed. It’s not like it didn’t exist originally, it’s just a hidden backstory to make it more likely that pretty girls will save the day, and as a guy, it’s not so bad.’

The last reason not to be optimistic about the world, though.

Reason number three.

This last one is really serious.

‘Gacha.’

The flagship of bonsai games.

Of course, it’s the gacha system, which allows users to purchase various characters, items, and goods by raiding their wallets.

‘Originally, Velvets was a game with no mother, no ceiling, and no……. ‘If they were going to do this, they should just get rid of gacha……….’

But there isn’t.

There really isn’t.

As the game became more realistic, the character selection, item selection, and weapon selection were all gone.

‘Why is there a status bar and no draw? You have magic, you have monsters, you can pull items out of thin air……!’

The reason why I said Velvetsra is an easy game is that

because it’s easy to upgrade your character’s stats through draws.

But a bonsai game without a gacha system?

That means you’ll have to learn how to farm items, get supplies, and even learn combat techniques by hand.

‘Ha, this sucks…….’

I looked down at my notes and sighed.

[Why I can’t be optimistic about this reality].

Jin Yuha

Gender reversal (a bit ambiguous)

Gacha

‘I wonder if I can…….’

My eyes get blurry.

In a world where one obstacle is enough, there are three.

“To be honest, while possessing a handsome man in the reverse world, I want to get rid of

everything and make a lot of money by taking pictures of cats at home.”

The Academy.

I still have to go.

I’ve already been accepted to Hunter Academy.

So I will be treated like a soldier, so unless I’m expelled after a proper course of action, I’m a goner.

I can’t go to jail for not wanting to go to school.

Well, that’s only half a joke.

There are real reasons to go to Velvet Academy.

The atmosphere of the game is bright and and romantic world full of jokes and laughter from pretty girls.

but it’s also a world destined for destruction.

In Velvet School Life, the IF version also showed a bleak future if you didn’t care for your students.

The children you love and nurture.

All of them are doomed.

Friends die, seniors die, juniors die, teachers die, and the world is destroyed.

It’s a short film full of regret, exhaustion, and obsession.

There were a lot of kids who were traumatised and suffered from PTSD because of this.

Did they really have to go to this length to show users, ‘We’re screwed without you.’

In such a world, you can’t just sit back and watch the world go to shit.

I steeled myself.

However, compared to the momentum, the method… it’s really not worth it.

‘Firstly, Jin Yuha, I have to do something about this guy. I’m going to have to fight monsters and demons in the future, and right now, I’m just a meat shield.’

This body is a piece of shit.

I need to go to the gym and get stronger.

‘Whoa……. Man, if only I could draw gacha…….’

That’s when I let out a big sigh.

Thump, Thump, Thump

There was a knock on the door from outside.

‘It’s Jin Yuha’s parcel, I’ll leave it at the door!’

A woman’s voice followed.

‘A courier?

Squeak.

I open the door and see a moving box as big as my body slamming into the door.

‘What is this……?’

Jin Yuha, this guy is an orphan character, so he doesn’t have a mum or dad, so who sent this?

The courier just called my name, so it’s not the wrong one.

Let’s bring it in and see.

‘So heavy!’

The box was filthy big and heavy.

I dragged it into the house with a grunt.

‘Heh, heh, heh. Who sent this?’

Sure enough, the sender’s name was.

[Velvet School Life! GM].

‘…… this motherfucker?’

GM

Abbreviation for Game Master.

That is, the operator.

It was the one who had transmigrated me.

I switched on the light in my eyes and scanned for any other clues.

But there was only the sender’s name, no address, no phone number, not even a message.

That meant I’d have to open the box and see what was inside.

‘This looks very suspicious…….’

Still, I couldn’t resist, so I opened it.

I grabbed an old straightedge from under the bed and cut the tape off the wrapped box.

‘Huh……?’

And what I saw was

Dozens of books.

A sword.

Blue stones.

Various miscellaneous items.

It was all very familiar to me.

Enclosed was an inventory of the items.

I picked it up with trembling hands and began to read.

.

.

.

Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, and Superior Sword Scrolls x9

Weapon Enhancement Scrolls x 9

Talent Recommendations x 3

Skill Recommendation x 3

Auto Increase All Stats Coupon x 50

Moonlight (One-handed Straight Sword)

Verdant Guardian Armour (Light Armour)

Moonlight Earrings (Accessory)

Gemstone x 99

Forgotten Essence x8

Broken Lechnich’s Spear Fragment x12

.

.@@novelbin@@

.

‘……, aren’t these the items I was farming for Alice, and all the stuff I couldn’t use and put away?’

Maybe, Velvets’s school life.

Maybe it’s more worthwhile than I thought……?