Chapter 3: Entrance Ceremony

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A middle-aged woman with sharp features stepped out before the gathered student body. Antique-styled spectacles perched on the end of her nose and she had her hair tied up in a tight bun. The woman gave off the impression of a strict and dignified matron with little tolerance for nonsense. I could easily imagine her smacking the knuckles of a lazy student with a ruler for falling asleep in class.

She simply stood at the top of the steps gazing down at us. The upperclassmen fell silent immediately, however a few murmurs continued to travel around our group. Soon even the most braindead among us felt the stifling air and ceased their chattering. Only then did she speak.

“Welcome new students. I am Headmistress Patricia Elowitz. You may call me Miss Elowitz or simply headmistress if you prefer. Here at Rosemont, my role is to ensure that order is maintained at all times.” 

She raised her chin slightly causing a gleam on her glasses to flash across her eyes. I thought I saw the corner of her lips curl up in the barest hint of a smirk.

“There will be zero tolerance for disruptions to the learning environment under my watch. But there’s no need for you to fear, I only ask that you treat this place with the respect it deserves. So long as you can do that, we shall have no reason not to get along. However… if you cannot abide by this simple mantrum, you will find me a very unpleasant person.”

The headmistress paused to scan the students for any signs of dissent after delivering those lines like she was reading our eulogy. Apparently satisfied, she continued on.

“Upperclassmen may proceed to their assigned dorms. Set your affairs in order and prepare for class tomorrow. The freshmen are to follow me to the assembly hall.”

With that, part of the crowd dispersed while the headmistress turned back through the entrance. I and the rest of the new entrants hurried to catch up. 

Through the doors was a large foyer with a vaulted ceiling. Glass cases filled with various curiosities decorated the space. It seemed more like the entrance of a museum than a highschool. We proceeded briskly without being given a chance to examine the displays in detail. 

Even at the back of the pack where the headmistress couldn’t be easily seen, one need only listen to the rhythmic clacking of high heels on tile echoing through the corridor. We passed by numerous doors and rows of lockers. 

As we continued along, I found the academy’s layout rather confusing. Instead of a couple long hallways filled with rows of classrooms arranged side by side, Rosemont had countless twists and turns. It certainly wasn’t originally intended to be a school, though I suppose that much was obvious just from the exterior. 

There were classrooms of course, but there were also many extra spaces like lounges, ateliers, practice halls, and so on. The student body wasn’t especially big, but the academy had a staggering variety of clubs and extracurriculars. 

Eventually, we reached another set of double doors that opened into a large space similar to a university lecture hall. At the front was a simple dais with a lectern. There were also a couple dozen people waiting for us who I assumed were the teachers.

What proceeded was a surprisingly normal entrance ceremony. It was almost disappointingly ordinary, especially after the headmistress’s earlier words. Each teacher introduced themselves along with their subject, then gave a short speech about their expectations for us. Half way through, I was already starting to doze off. 

After that, we were called up one at a time to prove our attendance. It wasn’t until I heard my own name that I snapped out of my bored stupor. I was given a student ID with my picture and an RFID chip embedded. This needed to be scanned to enter most doors and also served like a debit card for the cafeteria. 

I then had to make a vow before the ‘alma mater’. It was a large bronze statue that depicted a kind and motherly figure. Maybe she was supposed to be the school’s founder or something. The vow had me promise to maintain academic integrity and abide by the code of conduct. 

Rosemont had a weird mix of customs; Some eastern, some western, and some just bizarre. The visual novel came from a Japanese developer, so it would have made sense for the academy to follow Japan’s school system, but that wasn’t quite the case. Everyone spoke English for one and there were some western things added that would be out of place in a typical Japanese highschool. I had just chalked this up to me playing a translated version, but I wasn’t so sure anymore. Now that I thought about it, I didn’t even know what country the academy was supposed to be in.

When I returned to my seat, I received another ping from a system notification.

[Completed quest “Entrance”.]
[Reward: Unlock the attribute system. 1 free attribute point.]

Here it was. Now I could see whether my speculations from earlier were true and if the stats of my new system were the same. There were no further messages until I tried thinking ‘attributes’ and something like a dialog popped into my vision.  

Attributes
▶ Physique: 4
▶ Perception: 5
▶ Intelligence: 5
▶ Charisma: 3
▶ Willpower: 4
▶ Insight: 0

Everything was as expected. I had either a 4 or 5 in almost every attribute, which made me average by a new game’s standards or even a little on the low side. We won’t mention that Charisma stat. I think the system made a small error in the evaluation. 

Except, there was another stat listed. Insight? That one wasn’t in the VN. I shouldn’t expect all my game knowledge to be perfectly applicable now that this was a real world, but an extra attribute was a total surprise. Perhaps it was a newgame+ feature? But I never finished the game?

Guessing just off the name, maybe it judged how good I was at telling when people were lying. If that was the case, then why did I have a score of zero? Was the system calling me gullible? That didn’t seem right. I wouldn’t call myself exceptionally good at reading people, but I didn’t think I was totally hopeless either.

I had a free attribute point as a reward for the tutorial quest. I could level it up and see what happened… 

Was that really the best use for it? I knew for sure that the other stats would be helpful in life. Who wouldn’t benefit from being smarter? So without knowing exactly what Insight referred to, it was risky to waste my only free point on it. Who knew when I would get another one if ever?

On the other hand, the other five stats all had ways to increase them in the game. That might not be the case for Insight. If I didn’t spec a point in it now, I might never get another chance. 

I hesitated for another few seconds before ultimately deciding to risk it. If it turned out to be a waste, at least I wouldn’t have to live with the fear of missing out.

[Assign attribute point to Insight?]
[>Yes.]

Attributes
▶ Physique: 4
▶ Perception: 5
▶ Intelligence: 5
▶ Charisma: 3
▶ Willpower: 4
▶ Insight: 1

I waited to see what would happen now that I gained a level in a stat… It was extremely subtle. If I wasn’t actively watching for a change, I wouldn’t have noticed at all. But it was definitely there. 

Something was different about me. What exactly though, I couldn’t articulate. It was just an intuitive sense of secureness. I felt more sure that what I was seeing was real. 

My eyes drifted around the assembly hall to search for any external changes, but I didn’t notice anything obvious. Students were still being called forward to take a vow before the statue. The bronze woman gazed back at them motionlessly with a soft smile. Or was it a smirk like the one the headmistress had? Like a benevolent goddess, she wouldn’t seem out of place even among the Greek pantheon.

Well, what’s one more thing to throw to the back of my mind? I would probably understand what it did eventually, but there wasn’t anything else I could do for now. Why didn’t this stupid system come with a user manual? Proper documentation was essential for any API, that’s simple industry standard. 

Once the last of us had completed the vow, the entrance ceremony was finally over. We were assigned dorms and given the rest of the day to move in as well as familiarize ourselves with the campus. The school year wouldn’t officially begin until tomorrow.

After we left the assembly hall, the students split off into different circles. Some started to chat about what electives they were planning to take, the clubs they would join, which sports teams they wanted to try out for, and so on. Meanwhile, others were more concerned with their newfound freedom from living on their own. I heard some guy bragging that he’d bring a girl back to his dorm by the end of the week. 

It seemed that everyone was excited for the start of their highschool career. I couldn’t blame them. I had already been through this once, but I still found myself swept up in fantasizing about the future. Only… 

Why does it seem like everyone already started to make friends? When did that happen? Did something change when I wasn’t looking? Rosemont was similar to a university in that you had people coming from all different towns and the majority of new students didn’t know anyone else. So how was it that the class cliques had already begun to form?

Shit, I’d been so preoccupied this whole time with quests and stats that I almost forgot my main goal for my second youth. If I wanted a rich social life, I was already beginning to fall behind on that front.

I searched around for anyone who seemed like they hadn’t joined a group yet. There had to be at least one fellow loner who didn’t get the memo like me. Soon enough, I spotted my prey.

There was a girl standing in the shadows away from the crowd. She had waist-length black hair and a gloomy aura. I could tell right away from how she clutched a book to her chest and gazed enviously at the happy people around her. She was a kindred introvert. An easy mark for a fledgling socialite.

This would be good practice for interacting with the popular crowd later on. All I needed to do was walk right up and introduce myself. Easy. She seemed lonely, so she’d probably be grateful that I struck up a conversation.

I practiced my amicable smile for a moment, then walked over to her while making a conscious effort to appear as natural as possible. Just a normal guy making casual conversation on a whim. Nothing weird about it.

“Hey, what’s up?”

The girl didn’t react in the slightest. She only continued to stare off into space with her bangs hiding her eyes.

…She probably just didn’t hear me. Let’s try again.

“Hello?”

There was a slight twitch of her nose. She slowly raised her chin until a pair of ghastly crimson irises fixed up on me questioningly. I did my best to stop myself from flinching. She didn’t seem angry per se, just thoroughly confused as to why I was trying to talk to her.

Alright, there was a small hiccup at the start, but now I had her attention. I cleared my throat and continued by delivering my prepared conversation-starter.

“I see you like reading. Thinking about joining the literature club?”

“...”

More silence. This time I couldn’t keep a straight face no matter how much I tried. What the hell was with this girl? She acted like it was completely unfathomable for me to talk with her. 

Alright, maybe I was willing to accept the system’s evaluation that my social skills were somewhat lacking. It was a muscle I never flexed, what do you expect? But this was just ridiculous. I wasn’t that weird, okay? This girl is the weird one. No really, I swear! 

Things have clearly deviated from the plan. Quickly, abort! Time to make a smooth exit before things get awkward.

“I uhh– Nevermind, I remembered I had something to do. Sorry for bothering you. Have a nice day…”

Even as I scurried off down the corridor, the girl never stopped staring at me. I didn’t turn around to check, but I could feel her gaze piercing into my back. 

On second thought, I changed my mind. There were more important things to do right now besides making friends. I still needed to set my new dorm in order and choose my electives. If I put that off for too long, it could be big trouble. What if all the good classes filled up?

There was no rush or need to force things. I’d take care of my responsibilities first and start socializing tomorrow.