A Wild Man Has Entered the Academy

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 1

The wilderness is extremely dangerous because it lacks any safety measures.

Simply calling it dangerous is an understatement; it is brutal and merciless.

Beasts that could appear out of nowhere, insects lurking everywhere, and plants that could threaten your life with just a touch.

For fragile humans to survive in the wilderness, they have no choice but to band together tightly.

By surviving in the wilderness, they acquire knowledge and wisdom, and based on that, they establish a powerful barrier called ‘civilization.’

Within civilization, humans become relatively much safer. From this point on, conflicts arise more often among humans than with the wilderness.

They criticize each other as barbarians due to differences in culture and language, behave rudely, and eventually escalate into fights.

Despite such conflicts, civilization is still civilization. It is an undeniable fact that it is far safer than the wilderness.

But could this have acted as poison? Or is it because they abandoned their wild instincts and chose dialogue instead?

-Ironically, there are far too many people in civilization who are worse than beasts.

This is what I realized after being thrown into the wilderness, struggling to survive, and then returning to civilization.

There are countless people committing such heinous acts that you wonder if humans are even capable of such things.

There are even people who commit atrocities worse than demons, let alone beasts.

What should these people be called?

Human trash? Waste? Or maybe bastards?

No matter what they’re called, I’ll call them this.

“You. You’re worse than a brute.”

To those worse than brutes.

“I hit them.”

The rod is the cure. I know because I’ve experienced it.

Normally, this would lead to social disadvantages, but I don’t care.

Since I have no connections, background, or relationships, I can bear all the responsibility myself.

Because I was a ‘wildling’ who lived in the wilderness before entering the barrier of civilization.

One last thing.

“Do you want this? It’s delicious.”

“Yes.”

“You should say thank you in moments like this.”

“Thank you.”

People who give me delicious things are good people.

******

Whether it’s possession, reincarnation, or a past life, there’s an unwritten rule in novels.

That is, it always begins within civilization. Whether it’s the countryside or the city doesn’t matter.

One way or another, you are born into the arms of people, interact with them, and grow until you become a member of society.

Reincarnation usually follows this route, while possession or past lives may differ. Still, most begin within civilization.

The reason I’m saying this is because of the scenery in front of my eyes right now.

‘What the hell.’

That’s the most fitting phrase to describe how I feel at the moment.

I have no idea what’s going on. It was just an ordinary day.

I worked my part-time job as usual, returned to my studio apartment, contacted my parents as usual, and played games before falling asleep.

But when I opened my eyes, a landscape full of green greeted me warmly.

“What the hell.”

What the hell is this?

I looked around at the scenery, which was close to a dense forest.

Trees here, trees there. Trees with vines over there. Trees covered in moss over there.

No matter how you look at it, this isn’t right. If you’re going to drop me somewhere, why not a city instead of this kind of forest?

I thought it might be a dream, so I pinched my cheek, but all I felt was vivid pain. In other words, this is reality.

“What the hell is this?”

And that’s not all.

While the landscape filled with deep green and dense trees was striking, it wasn’t the only thing I could see.

Like a status window from a game, a semi-transparent hologram floated in front of my eyes.

[???]

•Strength: 10

•Agility: 10

•Stamina: 10

•Mana: 10

•Luck: 10

•Faith: 10

[Traits]

-No traits currently possessed.

[Techniques]

-No techniques currently possessed.

[Abilities]

-No abilities currently possessed.

It’s truly a sparse and simple status window.

I stared blankly at the status window for a while. A hologram that seemed like it belonged in a game.

There’s really nothing there. Anyone could tell that these stats are as weak as they come.

I had no idea what I was supposed to do with this.

“······My clothes?”

While trying to grasp the situation, I hadn’t paid attention to what I was wearing. The problem was, it would’ve been better not to know.

While I wasn’t completely naked, a single rag barely covered the important parts.

What is this, some kind of Tarzan fashion? At the very least, they could’ve given me proper clothes.

It’s a good thing this is a warm forest; otherwise, I would’ve frozen to death in a colder region.

‘But was my skin always this pale?’

As I looked over my body, I could roughly confirm its state. First of all, my skin was as white as a Caucasian’s.

I thought I had a typical skin tone for an Asian, but now it’s as white as if it’s been dusted with powder.

It felt a bit strange, but that wasn’t the important part. I tore my gaze away from my skin and looked back at the rag.

‘······But this looks familiar somehow.’

Before falling asleep, I had been playing a game. A game famous for its high degree of freedom.

Especially in terms of ‘growth,’ the degree of freedom was nearly limitless.

Depending on which stats you raised and which techniques you trained, the growth methods varied.

Additionally, the game had something called ‘origin.’ It was about choosing a specific profession first.

For example, if you chose a knight, you could raise it in the standard way or increase your faith stat to take the paladin route.

There were countless growth methods, and beginners usually chose knights with decent stats.

‘Veteran players, on the other hand, would choose nothing and raise their characters however they wanted…’

I never thought I’d become one of them. I had fun experimenting with different nurturing methods and raised all sorts of characters.

Thinking back, I remember creating a character before falling asleep. Could it be that I became that character?

But there’s an even bigger problem. In the game, you’re not thrown into the middle of the wilderness like this.

Even if you’re dressed like a beggar, you always start by entering the academy.

This is a fixed route, no matter which profession you choose.

Except for me, apparently.

“F*ck.”

The more I think about it, the more ridiculous it seems. I felt the forest’s unique humidity against my bare skin as I started walking.

First, I need to figure out where I am before deciding whether to leave or not.

Screw the academy or whatever; survival comes first. If I encounter a beast, I could be in serious trouble.

“Grrrr······”

“··· ···”

F*ck. It seems like I’m already in trouble.

Before I could even take a few steps, a ferocious sound reached my ears.

I slowly turned my head. My neck creaked as if it hadn’t been oiled.

“Grrrr······”

“······A squirrel?”

Why is there a squirrel here? Despite the ferocious sound, its appearance is unmistakably that of a squirrel.

And, to top it off, it’s kind of cute. Like a kitten hissing.

But that thought didn’t last long. If this really is the game world I know…

And if this is the forest that only high-level players can enter, I would’ve run the moment I saw the squirrel.

“Kyaaaah!”

The squirrel let out a roar that didn’t match its appearance and charged at me.

Bang!

The squirrel’s body slammed into my solar plexus. To be precise, it was more of a shoulder tackle.

The Iron Mountain Strike of a tiny squirrel struck my solar plexus with precision.

“Guhh?!”

With a deafening explosion, my body flew backward as if hit by a truck.

The impact was so strong that I rolled several times before finally coming to a stop.

But this was a forest filled with trees. The secondary impact from hitting one of those trees made it worse.

The pain engulfing my entire body was unbearable, but my vision was also starting to go black.

‘That thing is definitely······’

Just before losing consciousness, I let out a hollow laugh as I watched the squirrel slowly approach me.

Only after taking that unexpected blow did I realize what that squirrel was. At the same time, I figured out where I was.

The kind of place where the entrance is filled with mediocre monsters, but the deeper you go, the difficulty skyrockets exponentially.

‘F*ck······’

This is just too much. Sure, it’s near the Academy, but why does it have to be here of all places?

Whether I grumbled internally or not, my consciousness sank into the void.

I desperately prayed that when I opened my eyes, I’d be back in my apartment.

“Ugh······”

That didn’t happen. Despite taking a direct hit to the solar plexus, I somehow managed to open my eyes.

The moment I opened them, pain spread throughout my entire body. And then, something even more infuriating happened.

“You f*cking······ damn······”

That damned squirrel had pooped on my face and run off. A mark of conquest.

To players like me, it was nothing more than teabagging. That’s also why this squirrel is infamous.

The only silver lining was that the monster that wrecked me was that squirrel. That thing gives you one chance.

But only if you survive. Fortunately, I had only passed out and was still alive.

If it had been a beast like a wolf, I wouldn’t be in this world anymore.

Honestly, that might’ve been better.

[You survived a Critical Blow! Stamina has increased!]

F*ck. How generous of you.

I let out a hollow laugh as I stared at the text in front of me.

“Argh.”

The pain was so unbearable I couldn’t even laugh properly.