Chapter 1
The Continent of Glorosia.
On this vast land, Florida stood as one of the largest, most magnificent empire in the world. It was home to the prestigious Florida Eastern Academy—an institution that proudly proclaimed to the public that nobles, commoners, and everyone alike could study equally, entirely free of discrimination.
But that was nothing more than a beautiful lie.
In reality, the academy was a playground for the elite. The nobles looked down on the commoners, tormenting and bullying them for their own twisted satisfaction.
And tonight, that cruelty reached its peak.
Inside the grand, glittering Banquet Hall of Florida Eastern Academy, a sea of aristocrats watched with cold, mocking sneers. Standing trapped in the very center of the hall was a single girl, surrounded by accusations.
"How dare a filthy commoner insult the royalty?!" a noble yelled, his voice echoing off the high ceilings. "Execute her immediately!"
"Let me go!" Saphire Aster Welhera cried out, struggling against the heavy iron grip of the imperial guards. "I didn't do anything wrong! You have no right to punish me!"
Whispers rippled through the crowd like venom.
Look at her nerve. She is nothing but a mere commoner, yet she dares to talk back? She deserves to die.
A knight violently grabbed her arm, twisting it back.
"I said let go of me!" Saphire gasped, a sharp wince cutting through her voice. "Ouch... that hurts!"
"Look at her, she has no shame at all," a noblewoman scoffed behind her silk fan. "Little bitch, do you really think you can get away with going against royalty? Kill her on the spot!"
With a metallic shhhrt, a royal knight drew his blade. The cold steel caught the light of the chandeliers as he swung the sword directly toward Saphire's neck.
Saphire tightly closed her eyes.
Is it really over for me? her soul cried out. I tried so hard... I just wanted to live a happy life this time. No, I don't want to die again. Not like that...
In the face of death, the suffocating trauma of her past life rushed back into her mind, freezing her blood.
In her first life, she had been a lonely orphan. She had studied herself to the bone, working hard enough to easily score full marks in every single subject. After graduation, she truly believed a comfortable, peaceful life was finally within her reach. But her happiness was stolen away in an instant.
Because she was at the top of her class, a wealthy, privileged girl had demanded to exchange exam sheets for money. Saphire rejected the offer. Infuriated by the rejection, the rich girl hired people to secretly swap the copies anyway. Saphire ended up failing.
When Saphire tried to expose the truth, the girl used her immense power to humiliate her in front of the entire college. Not a single person believed an orphan. She was even framed for stealing the question papers. All of her grueling hard work evaporated into nothing.
Somehow, she had kept moving forward, scraping by on exhausting part-time jobs. Until one rainy evening, while walking home from work, a rogue car shattered her fragile new life into pieces.
The terror...
The absolute, paralyzing terror of being publicly humiliated in front of the whole college—a horror she couldn't forget even after dying once—was swallowing her whole. Her limbs felt like lead. She couldn't even force her body to move.
Am I really going to die like this again? Even though I did absolutely nothing wrong?
Desperation tore through her chest as she screamed out in her mind.
Someone... help me!!! Please!!!
Just as the razor-sharp edge of the sword was about to pierce her skin—
BHOOOMMM!!!
The entire world shook. A deafening explosion ripped through the banquet hall as a massive stone wall was violently blasted into a cloud of rubble and dust.
"Wh-What on earth is that?!" a noble screamed, stumbling backward.
As the thick smoke cleared, a towering, terrifying shadow loomed over the debris. The air pressure in the room plummeted, heavy enough to crush their lungs.
"Run!! It's a monster!!"
"A monster...!!!!"