Chapter 1: Full of pretty girls

Three months ago.
I died.

On the first day I started hiking to build stamina.
I saw a child slip and tumble down.
In that moment, my body reacted instinctively.
To save the child.

In the process, I hit my head hard on a rock.
And that led to my death.

I have no regrets.
It wasn’t such a bad way to go.
Even though I died.
I saved a young life.

And because of that.
I escaped my shitty original world and was reborn in a new one.

No, to be precise.
I was given a mature body by a being called the Transcendent.

A gift, they said, for someone not fated to die.
For someone who willingly sacrificed their life for another.

My name is Kang Hawi.
Age twenty.
A bit short in height.
But my face is unmatched, peerless in beauty.

The body I’d always dreamed of.
A body far too good for someone like me.
With it, I crossed into a new world.

I had no family or friends here.
But thanks to the Transcendent’s kindness, my identity posed no issues.

When I checked the wallet in my pocket.
It held a legitimate ID and two million won in cash.

I was overwhelmed.
They even gave me money.

Right then and there.
I bowed in gratitude to the Transcendent.
In all four directions: east, west, south, north.

Thank you.

This world was vastly different from the one I’d lived in.

First off.
There was mana, the source of magic.

Only women could wield mana.
And there wasn’t a single woman who couldn’t.

Perhaps because they were attuned to mana.
All women aged slowly and had stunning appearances.
In other words, every woman was a beauty.

And as you might guess from that.
Men could never wield mana.
Perhaps because they weren’t attuned to it.
Most men had drastically reduced libido.

At first glance.
It felt like one of those gender-reversed worlds you’d read about in novels.

But it was only similar in vibe.
Not an extreme reversal.

The gender ratio was about four men to six women.
Not a huge gap.
Women here weren’t that different from those in my old world.

To put it simply.
Most men had lower libido and no aggressive tendencies.
Women, on the other hand, were more assertive and proactive in relationships.
That’s the gist of it.

Women’s libido seemed unchanged.
But unlike my old world.
They didn’t hide their true desires behind social pretenses or feigned disinterest.

Even so.
This world felt like a dream.
Overflowing with beautiful women.
And women who were more forward than men.

But I couldn’t fully enjoy this fantastical world.

‘I can’t enjoy it. Even with a new face, my loser personality hasn’t changed.’

I’m a total loser.
I can’t hold a proper conversation with women.
Especially not with pretty ones.

It’s like I have a phobia of beautiful women.

And in this world.
Every woman is a beauty.
There wasn’t a single woman I could talk to comfortably.

The reason for this personality is simple.
Trauma from my school days.

All those gorgeous delinquent girls.
The memories of their relentless bullying are still vivid.

‘Can I even adapt to the Academy like this?’

I was worried.
Tomorrow, I’d enroll in the Hunter Academy.
Could I really fit in there?

For context.
The Academy only accepts those twenty or older.
It’s an institution that trains Hunters to slay monsters spawned in dungeons.

Any woman who wants to can enroll.
Men can enroll if they possess a “Mystery.”

A Mystery is.
A rare ability only a few men have.
A kind of superpower that lets you manifest magic-like effects without mana.

I, too, had a Mystery.
That’s why I could enroll in the Academy.

My reason for enrolling wasn’t anything grand.

Hunters make good money.
For someone like me with no special talents, there wasn’t a more appealing job.

It’s a dangerous profession, sure.
But I couldn’t let my Mystery go to waste.

And there was another reason.

With my new, stunning appearance.
I wanted to experience a proper school life.

Make friends I click with.
Eat and laugh together.
Hang out in the city on weekends.
Travel to the beach or a valley.

I wanted to make up for the regrets of my past life.
It wouldn’t be easy with my personality.
But with effort, maybe I could manage.

Academy enrollment day.
Early morning.

“…”

I silently handed an envelope to a woman.
It contained this month’s rent.

“What’s this? I thought it’d take longer since you asked for a bit of time, but it only took a day?”

The woman, dressed sharply in a black suit, said as she took the envelope.

Her name was Cha Seolyu.
The landlord of the studio apartment I moved into three months ago and the building’s owner.
I heard she’s twenty-nine.

“Where’d you get the money?”
“…From work.”

I forced the words out.
My eyes, naturally, couldn’t meet hers.

“Work? What kind? Nothing shady, right?”

It wasn’t illegal.
But it wasn’t exactly something to be proud of.

The money from the Transcendent was long gone.
With enrollment fees, living expenses, rent, and more.
I’d been making money through gaming.
I didn’t have the courage for a part-time job yet.

Even a simple part-time job.
Takes a lot of guts for a loser like me.

Anyway.
This money came from converting in-game currency to cash last night.

“Why aren’t you saying anything? Did you really make money doing something weird?”
“No, from gaming.”

Talking to her was torture.
As expected in this beauty-filled world.
Cha Seolyu’s looks were blindingly gorgeous.
If she were an average-looking middle-aged woman, it might’ve been easier.

“Gaming? You mean, like, esports?”

Nod, nod.
I just bobbed my head silently.
Cha Seolyu let out a relieved sigh.

“…Good to know it’s not something shady.”

Her reaction surprised me.
I expected her to lecture me.
Something about not doing productive work and wasting time on games.

She was more open-minded than I thought.

“By the way, today’s your Academy enrollment day, right?”

Cha Seolyu scanned my outfit up and down.
I was wearing the Academy’s uniform.

She already knew I was enrolling.

When I moved in three months ago.
The lease had a section for occupation.
I wrote that I was set to enroll in the Academy.
I’d already decided my path back then.

As a side note.
Apparently, so many tenants skipped out on rent that they added the occupation section to judge creditworthiness.
Regular leases don’t usually have that.

“Hmm. I’m a bit worried…”

Cha Seolyu stared at my face, letting out a small groan.

I glanced at her for half a second with a questioning look.
Then dropped my gaze.

“Sigh. With your lack of social skills, can you even handle the Academy?”

She was worried about me.
Despite her cold demeanor, she was kind-hearted.

“Hawi, you know men with Mysteries tend to have rough personalities, right?”

I nodded at her question.

“Acting like this, you’re setting yourself up to be ignored at the Academy. So be confident, okay? Confident.”

Cha Seolyu put a cigarette in her mouth.
I took a step back.
I hate cigarette smoke.

“Oh, sorry. I forgot you don’t like smoke, Hawi.”

She quickly removed the cigarette.
Tucked it into her pocket and continued.

“Anyway, if anyone at the Academy messes with you, tell this big sis. I’ll go beat them half to death.”

She smirked.
Turned around to leave, casually waving her hand.

“Have a good day. Don’t get hurt.”

She really seemed like a good person.

Even so.
Her gorgeous, delinquent-like vibe made me instinctively wary.

*

Winter is when dungeons appear most frequently.
During that season, Academy professors and instructors are dispatched in droves.

Because of that.
Hunter Academies across the country typically hold their entrance ceremonies in May.

The Academy I enrolled in held its ceremony in late May.

‘So many people. It’s making me nauseous.’

After arriving at the Academy.
I entered the auditorium where the entrance ceremony would take place.

There were tons of people outside.
But inside, it was even more packed, a sea of faces.
The women, of course, were all stunning beauties.
The men were mostly average.

I slowly looked around.
Trying my best not to make eye contact with anyone.

‘Huh?’

I noticed a spot where men were particularly gathered.
Probably just gravitating toward their own gender.

‘I should stand over there.’

Honestly.
I desperately wanted to stand among the women.

But I couldn’t.
Surrounded by countless beauties, my heart would race so fast I might pass out.

‘…’

I felt strange gazes.
Not just one or two, but multiple eyes locked on my face.

Was I imagining things?

I stole a quick glance in the direction of the stares.

“Oh…”
“Wow…”

It wasn’t my imagination.
A good number of nearby women were openly staring at me.

The moment I realized countless beauties were focused on me.

‘…Should I just drop out?’

My lips went dry, and my breath caught in my throat.