Academy’s Drunk Fighter

"Wow~ So many people~"
The entrance ceremony of Dreaming World's Central Academy.
To be able to witness it with my own eyes—yeah, I could confidently call this a pretty rare experience.

Above, enormous lights I’d never seen before illuminated the entire sky, and beneath them stood a sea of students.
It was far beyond any typical school entrance ceremony I had ever imagined—grand, extravagant, borderline theatrical.
Even the clothes people wore were unlike anything you'd see in daily life—neat, polished, and impossibly well-dressed.

Among the professors seated up above, I recognized more than a few familiar faces.
And then, one professor spotted me and waved.
"...Oh no."

The moment I saw her, my body instinctively froze with terror.
Muscles packed across her entire frame—this crazy b*t—no, tanned lady.
She seriously showed up to the entrance ceremony in what looked like gymwear you'd see at a fitness center?!

At this point, the only people in the entire hall wearing truly standout outfits were her... and me.
One was in a discount t-shirt from the supermarket, the other in dolphin shorts and a crop top so tight it could be mistaken for paint.
I hoped it wasn’t me she was targeting, but thanks to the smell of alcohol radiating from my body, not a single person dared come within five meters of me.

Which meant—yeah, the prey she was locking onto was definitely me!
"Hiiik—"
PTSD from my gym days resurfaced, and I tried to hide among the crowd, but it was like the Red Sea parting—wherever I went, people just cleared out.

"......"
Speechless, I had no choice but to take another swig of alcohol, doing my best to avert my eyes and scan the area.
Alcohol was, after all, an excellent tool for distorting unfortunate reality.
Wandering around the massive venue, I eventually found the food area.

Naturally, there were also alcohol stations set up, meant for adults with verified identities.
"Heh~ Jackpot."
Technically, as a student, I wasn’t supposed to be here, but with no one around, I figured no one would notice if I had a little sip.

I mean, who drinks at an entrance ceremony, right? They probably just set it up as decoration.
"...But then again, that idiot would be me."
Still, since they went through the trouble of preparing it, I grabbed a clean glass from the stack and poured a bit from one of the bottles into mine.

I’d been drinking nothing but diluted swill lately—getting a taste of real alcohol felt like a luxury.
"Mmm, fruit wine?"
And just as its reputation suggested, the taste was leagues beyond the convenience-store crap I’d been nursing until now.

"Ugh... no, stop."
This wasn’t something to chug like water.
Fruit wine had that sweet, mellow taste that hid its alcohol strength, making it dangerously easy to drink—but it packed a punch.

In other words, I could get smashed really fast.
Also, if I got too used to this high-grade stuff, I'd never be able to go back to watered-down booze.
That classic scenario: “I’ve become someone who can’t go back to cheap liquor...!”

"Until I have money... yeah, I’ll hold back."
Still, since it had been a while, I let myself enjoy the flavor and sat down in the lounge to sip slowly.
Just then, a voice came through the connected speakers.

[We will now begin the entrance ceremony. Students, please take your assigned seats.]
"Already...?"
Regretfully eyeing the still-full fruit wine, I left the lounge and quickly made my way to my designated seat.

Thankfully, since the seat was assigned, I didn’t experience the parting-of-the-crowd miracle again.
[Now then, let the entrance ceremony begin.]
WAAAAAAAH!!!

Cheers erupted from all around.
And then, one person appeared above the stage.
A woman with jet-black hair and an aura of mature elegance.

With overwhelming presence and beauty, she captured the attention of every student in an instant.
"Welcome to Central Academy. I am this institution's headmaster—Berkis Ismael."
Her words were nothing more than standard opening remarks, but they carried undeniable weight.

My body tensed involuntarily. It felt like I was in the presence of something... other. Like she was from a different species entirely.
‘Well, there was that side story about her defeating every other professor in a group battle... so, not that surprising.’
As I listened, top-ranking students from the entrance exam began introducing themselves on stage, one after another. Many of them were famous figures.

A girl in a tilted hat, apparently the top contender to become the next Grand Archmage of the Tower Association, stood confidently and showered herself in praise—until she wouldn’t stop talking and had to be forcibly pulled away.
Then came a massive muscle-head guy who had to be close to three meters tall.
At that point, I honestly questioned whether he was even human.

Fittingly, his speech was slow and deliberate, but he didn’t have much to say and left the stage quickly. The process repeated as new faces took the stage.
And then, the final person stepped up and spoke his name.
"Hello. I’m Yoon Siwoo."

In a sea of names like Latias Evergreen and Hamatsuro Denshi, that classic Korean name stuck out more than anyone else.
"Hm..."
That was him—the top scorer in the entrance exam. The protagonist.

The problem?
"...Who the hell is that?"
I’d never seen this guy before in all my time playing the game.

‘Yoon Siwoo? Who even—’
While the number of passing applicants varied by exam, the major named characters always made it through the entrance ceremony.
But this guy... Yoon Siwoo... unless my memory was totally shot, I’d never heard of him.

I mean, it did feel familiar, but...
"Ugh..."
Nope. No idea.

Not that I was particularly interested in getting close to the main characters, anyway.
In stories, you always end up befriending them somehow, but with me constantly half-drunk, there was no way that was gonna happen.
Sure, I’d need to figure something out eventually, but that wasn’t a problem I could fix right now.

I couldn't recall a thing about the boy’s introduction. Instead, I just took another sip from the fruit wine I’d poured earlier and wandered the ceremony hall once again.
[From this point forward, you are free to explore the ceremony venue. The exit will remain open until 12:00 PM.]
Let’s see, it’s currently 10:00 AM, so...

I smiled as I realized I still had a full two hours left to drink.
With light steps, I made my way back toward the lounge bar.
However—

The hallway I was walking down—
And the guy walking from the opposite direction.
I was tipsy and not fully aware, but even then, it was obvious he was deliberately approaching me.

Yeah, thinking about it, this was something I’d never even experienced back in school: the classic shoulder check.
Which made even less sense because the hallway was way too wide for that to happen by accident.
Still, because I’d never imagined anyone would actually pull this kind of crap, I just kept walking... until the guy inevitably slammed his shoulder into mine.

"Fajing."
BOOOOM!!
"Guhhkk!!"

Reacting to it instinctively as an attack, I immediately triggered my counter.
"Whoa."
The guy flew backward, slammed into a wall, and chaos erupted around us as people rushed over.

"What the hell? What happened?!" "He just got slammed into the wall!" "Is it a fight?!"
Chunks of stone crumbled and scattered as the guy clutched his stomach, glaring at me.
"Ugh... What the hell was that?!" "Ah, sorry." "You b—!"

His glare sharpened, veins bulging in his eyes—he looked furious.
Like, genuinely pissed.
Still, if he hadn’t intended to attack, my counter never would’ve activated.

After all, it only responds to actual aggression.
It doesn't go off from "oopsies" or staged accidents.
"You—you little bastard!!"

I mean, yeah, I’m broke, but that’s harsh.
Sure, I’m broke—but I’ve still got pride, damn it.
So I tossed a line back at him.

"Hehe, you mad?"
His face turned red—like, cartoon-level red. I didn’t think people could get that flushed in real life.
"Y-You! You, come to the sparring arena. Now!" "And why would I do that?" "You picked a fight, didn’t you?! That means you’re confident in your skills!" "I didn’t pick anything." "Then what was that just now?!" "Beats me."

I answered each furious line with a flat, disinterested response.
No point in matching his ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ energy. That only makes things more exhausting.
I’ve played enough insult-filled PvP games to know: emotional fights go nowhere.

I’ve already unlocked the truth—there’s no end to emotional brawls.
"...Tch. Fine. You look like you love alcohol, huh?" "Bingo. How’d you guess~?"
Apparently realizing I wasn’t taking this seriously, he changed tactics and tried luring me in.

"You think no one noticed your little show at the exam? That nobody was paying attention?" "Oh, was it that bad?"
Honestly, I was just doing my best back then.
And it’s not like I ever cared about what others thought in the first place.

"So here’s the deal—if you win, I’ll buy you any alcohol you want, up to one million won." "...Wait, seriously?"
One million won worth of booze?
What is this guy, some rich boy from a conglomerate family?

And with a crowd gathered, it’s not like he can just take the offer back. Seems a bit extreme.
But still...
"Deal."

I don’t go out of my way to fight—but if someone brings it to me, I won’t run either.
Especially if it comes with top-shelf rewards.
Smiling, I slung my bottle over my shoulder and accepted his challenge.

‘Hmm... what should I drink first?’
And with that, I started mentally scrolling through the lineup of premium brands I’d soon be picking.