Roommate

[SAS] stands for Special Admission Student.

It's a program created by Atlas Academy for students who have talent but zero money.

In short?

It's for the broke kids.

As an SAS student, you do get the essentials—like a dorm, a uniform, and maybe a desk that doesn't fall apart if you breathe on it too hard—but everything is downgraded to rock bottom.

No fancy meals. No personal assistants. No spell-tech showers that sing to you while you bathe.

You either want it… or you Want it.

There's no second option.

◇◇◇

Taking out my clothes from the suitcase, I couldn't help but frown at the pathetic collection inside. A couple of graphic T-shirts with weird designs, a hoodie, a cardigan that looked like it belonged to someone's grandpa, and a pair of pants that had clearly been stitched up more times than Frankenstein's face.

"Seriously, is this guy that broke?" I muttered under my breath.

After unpacking everything into the available wardrobe, I stashed the rest of my stuff under the bed—just like I used to do back in high school. Some habits die hard.

With that done, only one last thing remained.

I turned around and faced my new roommate.

"Hello. You probably already know, but the name's Kylen Noor. I'm just a normal, ridiculously handsome guy—so don't fall in love with me, okay?"

Seo Ji-Hyun gave me a look so disgusted I thought I'd just asked him to eat a raw frog.

"I'm not stupid enough to fall in love with a guy like you," he said flatly.

I rubbed the back of my neck and laughed. "LOL, very true. But still—" I held out my hand for a handshake. "Why don't we try being friends?"

He let out a sigh like the world had already disappointed him enough for one lifetime, but he grabbed my hand anyway and gave it a weak shake.

"Seo Ji-Hyun," he said. "I know I'm a bit... delicate, but please don't bully me because of that."

"I'm not the type of guy who bullies people," I said, puffing out my chest trying to hold back my laugh. "But with your face..."

He made a face like the devil himself just told him to smile.

Speaking of faces—wait, what did mine even look like?

"I know how my face looks, okay? No need to rub it in. For your information, I'm usually the one getting bullied. So yeah, I'm hoping we can keep the peace."

"Hahahaha... You know what? You're right. Just look at your face. Pfft—hahahaha..."

Maybe my garbage-tier humor really was the universal cure for awkward roommate tension.

A panel popped up in front of my face:

___

Friendship has leveled up! ↑

---

Seo Ji-Hyun

Relationship: Stranger Lv. 0 → Friend Lv. 1

___

Oh yeah, I totally forgot about this feature.

We ended up chatting about all sorts of random stuff until an instructor slammed our door open like a SWAT team breaching a drug den, and we dove into bed without another word.

◇◇◇

I opened my eye and looked toward the drawer beside my bed. On top of it, an old-fashioned digital clock blinked back at me:

[00:13]

Past midnight.

I sat up slowly, dragging a hand down my face. My head was still buzzing with leftover haze. My eyes drifted to the window beside Ji-Hyun's bed.

Through the glass, I saw it—the glittering skyline of Seoul, Korea.

But not the one I knew.

Towers of reinforced glass pulsed faintly with arcane light. Strange runes etched into the sides of buildings shimmered in sync with traffic lights. Drones buzzed overhead. Every corner of the city looked like someone took Earth and layered it with magic, monsters, and way too much neon.

Now that I actually had time to breathe and look around…

This world was unbelievable.

Seriously, who would've thought I'd end up in an alternate Earth where tech and spellcraft coexist, monsters roam city limits, and students train to become licensed heroes like it's a government job?

If I told my mom about this, she'd probably assume I got concussed live on stream or drank ten cans of cold brew and passed out mid-rant.

"She's a demon… Really."

...But that demon is still my mom.

And right now?

I really miss her.

A tear slipped down my cheek. I wiped it away fast, like it didn't happen.

I've been trying to ignore it. Stay distracted. Joke about it like it's content.

But deep down, I already know the truth.

I'm really inside the game.

And I still don't know how to get out.

A FEW MINUTES LATER...

I took a deep breath and sat up straighter, then looked down at my hand.

"Whew… I feel better now. At least I know I'm inside Atlas Online for real."

There was something I needed to confirm.

"System."

A sharp chime echoed in my head.

A white holographic panel blinked into existence in front of my face—sleek, translucent, sterile.

Floating lazily along the top edge of the screen was a small white cloud, drifting from one corner to the next like it had no job and zero urgency.

There it was. The Cloud System.

Not a typical game menu. This was different. Clean UI. No XP bars. No popups. Just pure interface—and a weird floating cloud that seemed mildly bored to be here.

[Cloud System Prototype – Linked to Cadet: Kylen Noor]

"...Open Status Window."

The screen shimmered and shifted into a table of stats. Familiar. Functional. And definitely not mine.

___

System Notes:

Memory Sync: 13%

Stat growth locked until milestone achieved

Passive trait detected: [System anomaly – syncing error]

Interface Type: [Player Access — On]

Welcome back Kylen.

---

[Status Window – Cadet: Kylen Noor]

Name: Kylen Noor

Age: 17

Affiliation: Atlas Academy – SAS Division

Class: Commander.

Rank: 101

Talent: [Absolute Liar] — expand to see more.

Stats:

Strength: 7

Dexterity: 5.2

Endurance: 5.3

Vitality: 6.1

Intelligence: 15.6

Willpower: 10.2

Perception: 10.6

Luck: 57 (Karma – Immutable)

[Total Base Stat Allocation: 60]

___

I stared at the panel in silence.

"…So this is who he was."

Not me.

Him.

The other Kylen. The one from this world. Born here. Trained here. Accepted into Atlas Academy through his own effort, ranked 101 in the entrance exam. Smart. Disciplined. Solid stats, but nothing flashy.

Except for one thing.

Luck: 57.

That wasn't some hidden gacha bonus or a dev cheat code.

That was karma—literally.

It still worked like a stat. A real one. Influencing outcomes, drop rates, probabilities, synchronicity—hell, even survival odds.

The only difference?

You couldn't grind it. Couldn't buy it. Couldn't boost it with gear.

Luck could only be raised by doing something good.

Not just nice. Not convenient.

Genuinely good. Life-altering, selfless, world-bending kind of good.

Something that left an imprint on fate itself.

And this guy—the Kylen from this world?

He have hit 57.

The system didn't just hand that number out. It reflected something deeper.

Something earned.

He wasn't a prodigy.

Wasn't a chosen one.

He was just… a genuinely good person.

Not powerful. Not famous.

Just good.

And now I have to go around pretending like I'm the one who knows everything.

I closed the panel with a slow swipe. The interface folded back into a floating cloud and then disappear into existence with a *Ding.

"...Guess I've got some big shoes to fill."

I leaned back, eyes drifting to the window again.

It really didn't look like the promotional images. Those made Atlas City look like a utopia. Hopeful. Shiny. Clean.

But from here?

It looked tired.

Alive, but struggling. A world still healing from something it didn't talk about out loud.

And me?

I was stuck in a borrowed body, wrapped in someone else's legacy, inside a story I thought I already knew.

But I was wrong.

This wasn't just a game anymore.

It never was.

I shut my eyes.

Letting the glow of the city fade behind my eyelids,

the soft hum of the Cloud drifting somewhere nearby.

And for the second time since waking up in this world...

I let myself be embraced by whatever sweet dreams this place would allow.

To Be Continued...