GVRS 1

Chapter : 01

“Get up, Russell Blair!”

The thunderous shout jolted me awake.

What the—? Before I could even process the situation, a middle-aged man I didn’t recognize shoved his face close to mine.

“Where are you spacing out to? Are you even listening to me?”

I stared at him blankly, and he clicked his tongue in annoyance. It felt unfair to be scolded for no reason, but I didn’t even have time to argue.

“I’ve told you many times that status is meaningless here, yet you clearly refuse to understand. I suppose I’ll have to make you realize it yourself.”

He folded his arms and declared as if announcing something grand.

“From today on, your mentor is Flamel!”

I didn’t even understand what that meant, so I just kept staring at him. Apparently, that looked like defiance, because his expression darkened again.

“Fine, that’s not enough? Then you’ll personally collect the moonflowers this month!”

“D-Duke Professor. Isn’t that going too far?”

An elderly man standing nearby hurriedly tried to stop him, startled. The man called Duke ignored him and shook his head.

“This is the perfect chance to correct his behavior.”

“But moonflower collection is…”

“Since Mentor Flamel will accompany him, it’ll be fine! This is the perfect opportunity for him to painfully realize the gap in ability.”

Duke snorted and glared at me again.

“Now hurry back to your room! You need to prepare for tonight’s trip to Moonlight Forest.”

“Pardon?”

“Immediately!”

He shouted, so I awkwardly stood up and opened the door behind me.

Click.

Once the door closed, exhaustion washed over me from all the chaos.

What is this?

I looked down at my hands. The clothes I was wearing were strange. I’d never seen them before.

Medieval? Or maybe early modern?

Either way, they looked like something straight out of a world history textbook. I had no idea which country’s attire this was.

The floor… No, the walls. Is that a chandelier?

Everything around me was unfamiliar.

Had someone secretly put me on a plane and sent me to Europe while I was asleep? It almost looked like the Palace of Versailles I’d seen online.

No, that’s impossible.

Something that convenient couldn’t happen. If it were real, I wouldn’t be standing here—I’d be lying on a cold operating table. There was no reason for anything like that unless it involved organ trafficking.

Then there’s only one possibility left…

I wasn’t dense.

A name I’d never heard before. People who acted like they knew me, though I didn’t know them. Clothes and architecture I’d never seen.

This was possession.

Was reading so many novels a blessing?

Wait—does that mean I’m missing in my original world? That’s bad. Today is my little brother’s birthday.

I was on my way home with a cake.

Damn it. Don’t turn my brother’s birthday into my disappearance day!

I had to get back quickly. What’s the time difference like here? Even now, my brother must be waiting for me…

While I stood in the lavish hallway, confused, someone tapped my shoulder.

“Russell Blair.”

“…Me?”

I turned around to see a man with a cold expression staring at me. When I reflexively replied, his face grew even colder.

Between his black hair, faint purple eyes shimmered with an unreal color.

It was the first time I’d ever seen such eyes.

“Then who else here would be Russell Blair besides you?”

Come to think of it, Duke had called me that.

Russell Blair.

As expected, this world seemed to have a Western setting.

“How strange.”

Since I didn’t respond, the unnamed man slightly frowned.

“You’ve heard about tonight’s trip to Moonlight Forest, haven’t you?”

“Ah—yeah.”

“Starting preparations now won’t make you late. I bear some responsibility for this matter, so I’ll cooperate—but don’t expect it again.”

“…Really?”

I didn’t know how to respond. As I hesitated, he visibly narrowed his brow.

“Why?”

“What?”

“I expected you to say something like, ‘Don’t speak casually to me, a commoner,’ or ‘I can handle it without your help.’”

Ah. So the original Russell Blair must have had a terrible temper.

I awkwardly scratched my cheek.

“Did he?”

“…I don’t want to be your mentor either. But with Duke’s personality, he won’t back down even if I ask, so if that’s your plan, give it up.”

So this guy must be Flamel, the mentor Duke mentioned. It seemed I had bullied him using status as an excuse, yet despite that, his attitude was surprisingly confident.

That rude tone… I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere.

A strange sense of déjà vu lingered. I felt like I almost remembered.

“Tonight, 8 PM. In front of the dorm. Don’t be late.”

He delivered his message and turned away.

Ah!

Purple eyes. That tone. Being harassed for being a commoner. Moonlight Forest. And the magic tower!

Putting the clues together, only one thing came to mind.

《The Land Without an Alchemist》.

It was a fantasy novel my little brother had kept recommending.

Because of him, I tried reading it several times, but I never got past the beginning. The setting was too complex and vast.

Three pages of pure world-building explanations? That was excessive.

The kind of novel that made you want to shout, “What is this, you nerd?” And this was the world I ended up in?

Wait. Isn’t this event in the novel?!

Even in the magic tower that pursued equal education regardless of status, there were idiots.

Namely, me—Russell Blair—essentially the leader of aristocratic elitism.

Jealous of Flamel’s superior grades despite being a commoner, he harassed him repeatedly and was eventually punished with moonflower collection…

As that memory surfaced, cold sweat ran down my spine.

Because this Russell Blair dies in Moonlight Forest.

No way. I just possessed him—and I’m about to die?!

When I asked the dorm supervisor where my room was, he looked at me like I was up to something suspicious.

It took considerable effort to convince him I wasn’t trying to harass him for leverage. Even afterward, he kept giving me doubtful looks while handing over a spare key.

Damn Russell Blair.

What had he done to make even the supervisor react like that?

Students whispered whenever I passed. Too many to count.

Whenever our eyes met, they avoided me as if it meant death.

They even parted like the Red Sea whenever I took a step!

So that’s the kind of person Russell Blair was…

Sighing, I entered my room.

Click.

Standing inside, I clenched my fist.

Three hours until 8 PM. In that time, I must find a way to survive!

That was the priority.

If I wanted to see my brother again, first I had to stay alive.

I searched the bookshelf. Textbooks sat neatly, looking almost unused.

Seeing them made me guess Russell Blair’s grades.

Tears almost came to my eyes.

“Introduction to Alchemy,” “Basics of Potion Crafting,” “Magical Material Collection,” “Understanding Astrology”…

Past them, I found what I was looking for.

“Theoretical Foundations of Magical Beast Behavior.”

Blowing dust off it, I picked it up.

Thud.

Something fell from the book and rolled to my feet.

A faded letter.

“Do not ever think of returning.”

“Hm…”

It had been written harshly. No sender’s name.

Probably connected to the original Russell Blair, but I had no clues yet.

This feels unsettling.

I set it aside and opened the book.

“Late.”

Flamel looked down at me as if he hadn’t expected me to come. It was about 8:05.

“Sorry. I had some urgent preparations.”

He glanced at my bulky bag.

“You know how moonflower collection works, right?”

“…No?”

Sigh.

Unfortunately, I hadn’t had time to learn.

Flamel clearly didn’t hide his irritation.

“Just stay quiet. And don’t cause trouble.”

It felt unfair, but explaining “I’m not the Russell Blair you know!” wouldn’t help. I quietly accepted it.

“Let’s go.”

Following a path behind the dorm, we entered a gloomy forest marked by a worn sign reading ‘Moonlight Forest.’

It looked haunted. Sending two students here…

Even the magic tower had lost its mind.

Flamel walked ahead silently.

I pushed aside branches and followed.

“There it is.”

“Huh? What?”

Climbing uphill left me breathless. Russell Blair’s body was terribly unfit.

“Already tired?”

Flamel looked at me like I was pathetic.

“That’s the moonflower.”

He stepped aside. In the distance, a flowerbed glowed faintly.

As if filled with moonlight itself.

“Harvesting it on a full moon makes it a superior ingredient.”

“Is that so…”

But my attention was elsewhere.

I scanned the surroundings. Darkness covered everything.

“If we only take the buds…”

“Hey. Are you listening?”

Sorry—not really.

“You—”

“Wait.”

I cut him off.

“Shh. Be quiet. Don’t you hear anything?”

“…?”

He closed his mouth.

Only crickets echoed.

Rustle.

“!”

“You heard it.”

Yes. The reason Russell Blair died.

“It’s not only moonflowers that awaken under the full moon.”

“You…”

He looked like he wanted to ask how I knew.

“Stay still. And don’t cause trouble.”

Returning his own words made his expression priceless.

But that was enough joking.

—Grrrrr…

From the darkness, something massive emerged.

Red eyes glowed, filled with madness.

A werewolf.

It was waiting!

I gripped my bag strap tightly.