Magic Academy Climbing Simulator

A carefree, cunning commoner gong who can keep his B-king composure through earthquakes and landslides, and often drives people to lose their cool x A genius, cold-faced Imperial Guard who carries a saber before the throne, but always loses out to the gong (the gong's exclusive) and is basically royalty

Han Xiao is the class monitor of Class E, the perennial bottom of the barrel at the Magic Academy. Of course, it's only a title. People remember him almost exclusively when they need a scapegoat. When a dispute breaks out in class, he tries to break it up, but fails and instead gets hit in the head by a stray energy ball.

The black-haired boy with thick bandages around his head describes his pre-amnesia self like this. The person pinning him down has just finished talking when he smiles and says, with amused interest, "So that's what I was like."

*

Since waking up, Han Xiao's mind has been a complete blank. He can't remember anything, not even his own name, and has to grab a passerby and ask.

But at the same time, something strange has appeared in his head.

[System loading complete. Welcome to the Magic Academy Climb to the Top Simulator.]

[Main Quest: Become the class leader in name and deed, and lead Class E all the way to Class A.]

[Personal Quest: Improve your ranking in personal strength and uncover the past of the character "Han Xiao."]

[Legendary Quest: Make his name a new legend.]

Lines upon lines of text pop up in his mind.

*

Han Xiao faces a renowned genius in the academy's quarterly tournament.

A curious onlooker interviews him. "Getting an opponent like that is pretty unlucky. How do you feel before the match? Are you hoping luck will be on your side this time?"

Han Xiao looks at his opponent... whose head is glowing gold and whose experience points are terrifyingly high. He says to the System in his mind, "Heh. Finally, one of them came right to me."

The young man looks a little awkward. "Haha, bad luck for me. I've always been unlucky."

Everyone understands how he feels. The class loser has drawn an elite opponent. There's no way to turn things around. But Han Xiao's sentence isn't over yet.

"What I mean is..." He draws his thumb across his throat, then gives the genius a thumbs-down, smiling with disarming innocence. "I'm going to beat you completely, without a single bit of luck involved, using nothing but my own strength."

At the final, Han Xiao's every move is thrillingly close. The crowd's jeers give way to silence. Holding a weapon in one hand, he presses its blade to his opponent's throat. With the other, he toys with the crown everyone else has been coveting. He glances back at his stunned fan club and grins arrogantly. "I told you I'd win, didn't I?"

The next moment, cheers sweep through the arena like a hurricane, crowning the new king. In that instant, all the glory is his.

*

Many years later, Cui Yunchen still remembers that night.

It was the same dance, and the same awful spell that had chosen the two of them. Legend said that if the chosen pair danced a full dance together, they would end up as lovers. Han Xiao, as always, looked completely at ease, no matter what he was doing. Cui Yunchen could hear the younger students praising him: Senior Han even looks so graceful and composed dancing the woman's part. Only Cui Yunchen knew how many times Han Xiao, with his terrible dancing, had stepped on his feet.

The scene shifts beneath the mistletoe. Han Xiao raises an eyebrow and smiles at him. "Why has it been you every time today?"

"It's customary to kiss beneath the mistletoe. Surely you wouldn't do something so rude as avoid it?"

He sounds so casual, as if the person he's about to kiss isn't Cui Yunchen.

Cui Yunchen was young then, like so many versions of himself from those days. Whenever Han Xiao was involved, he easily lost his reason and stopped being the calm genius he used to be. Unable to resist the provocation, Cui Yunchen bends down, grips Han Xiao by the neck, and kisses him.

Then he hears Han Xiao say with a smile, "Happy Spirit Festival, my knight."

Theme: If you want to be number one, then go ahead and be number one.