The Gacha Addict of the Academy

The novel, 《Too Strong for an Academy Student》, begins with the protagonist being overwhelmingly powerful right from the start. That’s why I wasn’t exaggerating earlier when I said the protagonist would take care of demons, demon kings, and everything else on their own.

The heroines, for the most part, develop relationships with the protagonist by being rescued from various crises. It’s your typical overpowered protagonist story.

Maybe that’s why…

The early chapters lack subtlety, prioritizing impact over coherence. It skips over logic entirely and opens with a massive monster—or what they call a “beast”—suddenly appearing in the training grounds.

The scene follows the classic trope: a monstrous beast attacking the helpless academy students, only to be obliterated in a single blow by the protagonist, who then takes the spotlight.

And of course, the heroine, who’s in danger during this crisis, is saved dramatically by the protagonist, forging their bond.

Other than the fact that the protagonist is ridiculously powerful from the start, it’s a complete cliché.

These days, even “protagonist-is-strong-from-the-beginning” has become a cliché in itself.

Beep—

My vision blurred.

Through the hazy view, I saw the hulking, green figure of a beast. Its blood-red eyes glowed ominously as it roared, gripping a massive club as if ready to swing it at any moment.

I was on the ground, groaning after being thrown back from the impact. Luckily, I’d only been flung a short distance, and nothing seemed broken, but my head was spinning.

“Ugh… Agh…”

Of all places, why here…?

It wasn’t until after the attack that I remembered.

On the first day, during an outdoor training session, the academy is attacked—betrayed from within.

And, of course, it’s the first-years who are targeted.

The sudden assault sent the students sitting on benches into a panicked frenzy. Most ran away screaming, while a few brave souls attempted to fight back. But we were only first-years—complete novices who hadn’t even properly learned magic or how to use our abilities yet.

Some students tried casting beginner-level spells, but none of them worked. They were shocked, but seriously… how could they not expect that? Basic magic doesn’t work on monsters like these.

Naturally, the beast didn’t care whether the spells hit or not. It just continued rampaging.

Then again, these monsters were deliberately designed to be far too strong for the current students to defeat.

“Ugh… seriously…”

On the first day of class, during our training, what greeted us wasn’t the warm encouragement of our instructor.

It was monsters breaking through a dimensional rift.

And of course, this all happened while our professor, who’d said he had “somewhere to be,” conveniently vanished.

In the novel, the professor used his elemental manipulation ability to dissipate the monsters and then claimed, “It was just an illusion spell to keep you all on your toes.” Somehow, this explanation calmed everyone down.

Never mind that it made no sense whatsoever.

No one questioned it—probably because no one got seriously hurt, and most students didn’t experience the attack firsthand. The novel hinted that those directly involved were likely silenced later.

I get it, but still, it’s infuriating.

Whatever. The protagonist will handle everything. All I need to do is sit back and—

“…?!”

Through my blurry vision, I noticed a female student trembling in fear.

From her appearance, it was clear she wasn’t a heroine. Her plain design made it obvious she was just a minor character.

But still, she was about to get hurt.

It was strange to call someone a “minor character” now that this was reality, but seeing her like this triggered alarm bells in my head.

Should I use it?

My ability—a power that could summon something incredible, provided I got lucky. Theoretically, it could make me incredibly strong, especially if I rolled a 10-pull and used all the abilities I received.

But there was a catch: I could only use it by completing the missions that occasionally popped up.

So, what’s the plan?

Am I really going to use it?

As if responding to my hesitation, the gacha machine appeared before me, urging me to spin it. Time around me seemed to slow, as if the world itself was waiting for my decision.

But I didn’t have time to deliberate.

Should I use it or not?

There’s no time to think.

Even if I don’t want to get involved, I’m not so cowardly as to run away while leaving my ability unused.

I looked up at the machine.

“… Single pull. Let’s go!”

Please, give me something useful!

As if answering my desperate plea, the machine began to spin with a satisfying gacha-gacha sound.

As soon as I saw the capsule emerge with a brilliant flash of light, I smashed it open with my hand and dashed forward.

My short stride, a result of my height, felt agonizingly limiting—my running pace was painfully slow.

I’d always been frustrated by how slow I was when walking anywhere, but in this kind of situation, my short stride wasn’t just a disadvantage—it was a weakness.

Thankfully, the distance wasn’t too far, and I managed to reach my destination just in time. The girl in front of me looked shocked, as if she hadn’t expected anyone to step in.

Whatever ability I got from the single pull didn’t matter. As long as it activated, it would handle itself!

I didn’t have time to check what it was, but it seemed like the very act of wanting to use the gacha ability had triggered it.

A strange sensation swept through me, like something was draining out of my body, and then—

Boom!

A bright light exploded outward.

The monstrous club, which had been poised to crush everything in its path, was deflected and flew into the air. The monster, now visibly startled, turned its glowing red eyes toward me.

I, too, widened my eyes as I saw what had appeared before me.

“Wait… is this…?”

I couldn’t be entirely sure what ability had activated, but the massive shield standing before me suggested it wasn’t useless.

It seemed defensive in nature. If I had summoned the gacha machine again, I might’ve gotten a full description, but there was no time for that now.

The monster roared in frustration, clearly enraged that its weapon had been thrown away. It began hammering at the shield with its huge fists.

Each hit caused cracks to form in the barrier, but they quickly repaired themselves before shattering completely.

“This is…”

The girl behind me looked amazed, staring at the shield that had appeared out of nowhere.

But before either of us could react further, a figure suddenly appeared.

The man—Kang Juhyuk—effortlessly obliterated the monster with a single, calculated strike.

His overwhelming firepower was impressive, but even more striking was his precision—he had ensured none of the attack reached me or the girl.

It was him.

The protagonist.

The real deal.

I deactivated my ability as Kang Juhyuk approached us.

“Are you okay?” he asked with a concerned expression.

I gave him a small nod.

“Good. You don’t look great, but at least you can still walk. What about you?” he asked, turning to the girl who had collapsed on the ground, her legs unable to support her. He offered her a hand and helped her to her feet.

“What about the other areas…?” I muttered.

“The professor handled it.”

Of course.

“You two seem to be the only ones directly affected. Luckily, no one was seriously hurt,” Kang Juhyuk said, sounding genuinely relieved.

But I couldn’t share his optimism.

My attempt at a peaceful life had lasted exactly one day before I got caught up in this chaos.

And unlike most students, who were untouched by the incident, I’d suffered direct consequences.

While Kang Juhyuk smiled, seemingly grateful that no one had been gravely injured, his words only made me feel more disheartened.

There was no guarantee this wouldn’t happen again.

If another attack came, who knows what might happen?

I didn’t want to die.

“…You three.”

I turned to see the professor approaching, his expression shifting from surprise to a frown as he walked over to me.

“What’s the…?”

“Hold still,” he interrupted, placing a hand on my head.

Before I could say anything else, a warm sensation spread through me, and the dizziness I’d been feeling vanished.

“I’ve healed your injuries and cleaned off the dust and blood from your body. You don’t need to worry anymore.”

“…”

Wait. Blood?

I hadn’t even realized I was hurt.

Sure, I’d been thrown back, but aside from some dizziness, I thought I was fine. I mean, if I’d been injured badly enough to bleed, wouldn’t I have been too weak to stand?

Was I wrong?

Looking down at myself, I realized that my clothes and skin were pristine—completely devoid of any sign I’d rolled across the dirt.

This… this was magic?

That’s amazing…

“As your professor, I’m sorry you got hurt. I’ll speak with you separately later. For now, return to your dorm.”

Wait, what? I didn’t even know I was hurt!

Was I really that injured?

“Both of you as well,” the professor said, turning to Kang Juhyuk and the girl. “I’ll call for you later. Go back and rest for now.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Understood…”

Wait a minute. Don’t just drag me along—hey!

Despite my internal protests, I was too timid to resist. Kang Juhyuk and the girl led me away, leaving me no choice but to follow.