Chapter 2: Welcome Back to Hell, Student 298

…At the end of the 19th century, when all sorts of mythical creatures and eccentrics from East and West emerged.

The Martial Immortal, who killed the Heavenly Demon of the Central Plains in a single strike, declared himself not just the greatest of the present but the greatest of all time.

And then, he created a landmass twice the size of Seoul and raised it into the sky.

Permanently, no less.

The world was astonished by this miraculous feat.

They feared he might drop it on their lands.

They were bewildered by this incomprehensible being whose limits could not be fathomed.

But that was short-lived.

Soon after, the Immortal named the sky island Seondo and opened a school of the same name.

Wizards, warriors, and monsters alike—all were puzzled.

What was he thinking?

Regardless of the world’s gaze, the school of Seondo concentrated all the island’s resources.

This historic and perfect institution finally began recruiting new students.

…And time passed, until a hundred years had gone by since Seondo’s founding.

Generations of every group had shifted.
Be it magic or martial arts, the entire industry was filled with Seondo’s graduates.

Due to its excellence, royal families and noble houses worldwide scrambled to send their people there.

Even the new religion, burning with vengeance for ages, sent its direct descendants to study, making Seondo an undisputed prestigious academy.

The purpose of this world-renowned institution was always one thing.

The strongest.

“—It’s all about fighting!!”

The ancient dragon, Vice-Principal Andrey Dragunov, roared, stamping his foot.

BOOM!

Every student in the auditorium felt their insides quake from the shockwave.

This happened during the entrance ceremony presentation.

“Win fights, and all problems are solved! If they’re not solved, it’s only because you lack strength! You’re weak! But fear not! For the next three years, we’ll hammer that ultimate solution into you!”

The dragon vice-principal continued without pause, his intense shockwaves sweeping through the gymnasium.

His speech never faltered.

“You, the 101st class! They say you’re promising enough to be called the golden generation! But don’t get cocky! Aim to surpass me by graduation! Train! Train harder! We’ve prepared an education system for that! We have enough medical staff to keep you alive no matter how much you want to die, so fight to kill and be killed! That’s all!”

As his speech ended, the cadets, barely recovering, clapped sporadically.

Even their applause carried such force that thunderous sounds echoed throughout the auditorium.

Clap clap clap clap—!

“…Blech!”

And I, the proud weakling of South Korea, coughed up blood while thinking.

‘…F*ck, I’m gonna die! I’m really gonna die! Ughhh!’

I was back in this insane school.

After that, there were speeches from the freshman representative, introductions of dignitaries from various countries, and announcements about tomorrow’s school start.

But with my insides in disarray and my ears ringing, I half-listened.

What was happening? I genuinely felt like I was going to die, so I couldn’t focus.

“…How did I survive this before?”

Did I collapse right after the dragon vice-principal’s foot stomp?

Honestly, I nearly fainted today too.

I barely held on, but frankly, I just wanted to pass out.

The only reason I didn’t was because I didn’t want to hear, like in my past life, ‘Oh, that weakling collapsed during the speech? What a shame.’

With decades of experience under my belt, my pride wouldn’t allow it.

“Man, I feel like death.”

Still, my battered body couldn’t be helped, so I dragged my simple luggage-filled carrier with effort.

The campus, which I hadn’t seen in ages, was ridiculously vast.

Retracing faint memories, I wandered for a full thirty minutes before reaching the dormitory.

[—Beep, Combat Department Rank 298, Choi Kang-jun]

“Wow.”

Opening the door, a luxurious 47-pyeong penthouse welcomed me.

A private dorm prepared just for me.

Even though I knew it was coming, it was astonishing.

This school poured an absurd amount of resources into its students.

If my entrance scores had been higher, I might’ve gotten an even fancier penthouse or more amenities.

Not that the current place was lacking.

For one person, having three rooms was excessive.

“Maybe two can be guest rooms?”

But would I ever have anyone to invite? I didn’t before.

I had no friends.

“Man, I lived like an idiot.”

Recalling my past life, I gave a bitter smile and, like before, entered the largest room to unpack.

With the bed, desk, and wardrobe already provided, I only needed to put away casual clothes, and that was it.

Well, that was simple.

Feeling an odd sense of freedom in the neatly arranged room, I threw myself onto the bed.

Boing— The dorm bed, after so long, had a heavenly cushion.

On battlefields, such luxury was rare, and I hardly had time to rest.

“…Now I can finally live.”

Sinking into the ultra-soft bed, I began organizing my thoughts.

Why was I alive? Or rather, how did I travel back decades?

Regression.

I didn’t just come back from death, I returned decades into the past.

I thought I’d experienced plenty of strange things, but this was on another level.

No matter how many strong people existed, I couldn’t even guess who could pull off such a miracle.

Sure, rolling in a dung field was better than death, but it was confusing.

Still, it was good.

“…Does it really matter?”

If this wasn’t an illusion, did the reason matter?

Whoever brought me back, for whatever price, it was better than being dead.

The vivid sensation of nearly falling into madness from the dragon vice-principal’s aura didn’t feel like a dream.

My gut told me.

This was reality.

With that certainty, my chaotic mind cleared up.

Maybe I’d never find a clue to this mystery.

And I preferred investing squarely in progress over wasting time.

“Yeah, I can think about this later.”

So, instead of how I came back, I decided to focus on how to live going forward.

‘…One thing’s clear: I’m back at the academy.’

Seondo, the damn prestigious academy that admitted me promising to teach me well, only to expel me in half a year.

The school, founded by the greatest Immortal of all time, was considered the best in the 21st century.

Even ten years later, during the Third Demon War, it remained so.

If I could graduate, I’d not only live in a luxury penthouse but be treated well anywhere in the world.

With my past life’s experience, I was confident I could live better than before even without graduating, but why not take the elite path without the struggle?

There was no reason to refuse.

Seondo had many skilled professors and students, and top students received elixirs as scholarships, making it the perfect place to build strength before the great war.

…The problem was that graduating from this damn school was insanely hard.

The so-called world’s most prestigious academy, Seondo.

Its Combat Department gathered the world’s talents.

Three hundred kids, at seventeen, already at or near their peak, formed an elite group.

For the next three years, I’d have to live fighting to the death with these world-class monsters.

And this crazy school, with its shiny ‘world’s best’ sign, made us fight from day one.

They said the Combat Department learned through real battles.

A perfectly valid point, but it was a real problem for me right now.

“I’m ridiculously weak.”

No matter how much experience I had as a seasoned rookie, could I compete?

I couldn’t help but think weakly, given my pathetic state.

And it made sense—I didn’t know how to train properly back then, and I had no experience.

An ignorant fool who trained vaguely without a proper mentor or guidebook.

My level was just barely enough to meet the entrance criteria.

With this body, facing kids raised on elixirs since childhood, the outcome was obvious.

“…Well, no helping it.”

The mess my past self made had to be cleaned up by the current me.

If I lost tomorrow,

Or got expelled in the first semester, it’d obviously feel awful.

Expulsion was bad enough, but two expulsions, including my past life? My pride wouldn’t allow it.

‘Expulsion? F*ck, no way.’

So, I got up from the bed immediately.

It was a pity to leave the bed, but wasting a day was too costly.

“Was the training hall this way?”

To survive, there was only training.