[The Star Academy]
It was not exactly a mainstream hit. While it maintained a modest, dedicated player base, it never reached the heights of global fame or even country fame.
I had stumbled across it purely by chance while scrolling through the endless, cluttered lists of romance visual novels on a random website.
I had always enjoyed playing those kinds of games during my freetime at school. The stories were engaging enough to act as a much-needed distraction from the repetitive, suffocating boredom of my ordinary life.
The gameplay loop wasn’t particularly punishing or overly complex, which was exactly why I liked it. I could sink into the world casually, letting the hours slip by without the stress that came with competitive gaming.
Anyway, I downloaded [The Star Academy] and found myself completely hooked. Even though it was marketed as a dating sim, the game] had a surprising amount of depth—it incorporated legitimate RPG elements that made every choice feel significant.
The setting was a modern version of Earth, one where terrifying monsters and mysterious gates leading to alternate dimensions were common knowledge. It was the same kind of trope-heavy world you would find in popular webtoons, mangas, or fantasy novels.
Aside from focusing on building relationships with the various heroines—which was the primary draw for most—you were tasked with leveling up your own character, managing your stats, and diving into those dangerous gates to battle monsters. You also had to balance your academic life at the academy, skipping classes or failing exams has consequences.
You could track down rare artifacts, pick up part-time jobs to earn money, shop for gear, and dive into a dozen other sub-systems.
It was an incredibly well-constructed experience with a level of polish that felt professional.
I had been genuinely shocked by the quality, especially considering that the developer was just some anonymous, solo creator I had never heard of before.
Moving on... back to the main point—
There was a specific character in [The Star Academy] named Vael Frostguard.
He was the best friend of the protagonist. More importantly, he was one of the very first allies you could recruit to join your party early on in the story.
And that Vael Frostguard—
"Hmm, this is really interesting."
I had somehow ended up possessing his body.
"So I got isekai’d, huh."
I muttered the words, still lingering in a state of semi-disbelief as I stared at my own face in the mirror.
No matter how many times I analyzed my reflection, I couldn’t deny it. The features, the hair, the eyes—it really was Vael. I looked exactly like the illustrations from the game’s art gallery.
Even the woman who had walked in earlier had called me Vael. By now, the reality of the situation had been firmly established: I had truly taken over his body.
"So you really do get isekai’d when you get hit by a truck... or maybe it was just a strange coincidence."
I talked to myself, pacing back and forth in the room.
Then I remembered something.
I had been downloading an update for [The Star Academy] while I was still at school. Then, while I was walking home, I had decided to open the game on my phone. A system notification had popped up, telling me that I was the very first person to install the update and that I would receive a special, exclusive reward.
I remembered feeling a surge of genuine excitement when I read that notification, but then, the moment I tapped to claim my gift—
"I got hit by that truck and woke up here."
The memory hit me with chilling clarity as I traced back the events leading up to this moment.
’Is the reward me being sent to this world?’
I asked the question internally, staring at the ceiling.
A flood of new, even more terrifying questions surged into my brain.
Was the game developer actually some sort of god or higher being, capable of plucking me from one reality and dumping me into another?
If so, why me?
Was it just a random roll of the dice, or was there some hidden meaning or grander scheme behind my arrival here?
"..."
I stood in silence for a long time.
I knew, deep down, that these were the kinds of questions that didn’t have answers. Not yet, anyway.
"Haaaa..."
I let out a long, weary sigh, flopped down onto the bed, and tried to push the existential dread to the back of my mind.
"..."
To be honest... once the shock wore off, I realized something rather unsettling: I was actually happy when I learned that I got isekai’d in [The Star Academy].
The thought of trying to return to my old, miserable life in my original world didn’t even cross my mind.
After all, I didn’t leave anyone behind. I had no one else back there.
My parents had passed away years ago, and being an only child meant I was truly on my own. I had been living in a relative’s house, but we all knew the arrangement was purely for the sake of the government assistance they received.
They hadn’t been cruel to me, but they weren’t affectionate, either. It had felt like living with complete strangers who simply shared a roof.
I was a massive introvert, too. I barely had any friends to speak of, and I wasn’t even close to the ones I did have. If I were standing in a room full of them, I knew for a fact they wouldn’t choose me.
I really had no real attachment to the life I left behind.
"Whatever."
Because of that, I found it surprisingly easy to accept my new fate. I was going to live as Vael Frostguard from now on, whether I liked it or not.
And if that was the plan, then I needed to start gathering information. I had to learn everything I could about this body and the character I had inherited.
But before I could even start--
GRRR~
My stomach let out a loud, insistent growl, snapping me out of my internal monologue.
It was still early in the morning, and I was famished.
"The lady said that there’s breakfast downstairs... I should probably eat first. All this thinking is making me extra hungry, and my head is starting to throb."
I said as I pushed myself up from the mattress.
I quickly smoothed out the bedsheets and brushed off my clothes, doing my best to look presentable. Once I felt like I wouldn’t look like a total disaster, I headed toward the door.
I went downstairs to eat breakfast.