How To Survive Clichés

Chapter 1

In childhood, people might have thought at least once.
“I want to be born in another world and live peacefully.”
“I want to possess the body of a conglomerate’s son and live without worries!”
“I want to enroll in a magic school and live as a genius magician.”
Perhaps even now, as adults.

What if you found yourself in the body of the eldest son of a count in a novel set in a magical school? You might look forward to boarding the train to the magic school with an admission letter like this:

[Dear,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to the Calathio School of Magic. Enclosed is a list of all necessary books and supplies. The term begins on September 1st. Farewell.]

However, life doesn’t always go as planned. What I held in my hand was something entirely different.

[Notice of Expulsion]
[To Damian Draco,
We inform you that due to your actions at the Calathio School of Magic, you have been transferred to the Aethis School of Magic located in the eastern part of the continent. … (abridged) … The term begins on September 1st, and a list of all necessary books and supplies is enclosed. Farewell.]

So, why is this a problem?
The name on the letter is Damian Draco, the eldest son of the Draco Count family, one of the four great magical houses on the continent. Damian was born a hopeful of his family but suffered from ‘mana deficiency,’ living a ‘terminal’ life. Despite being born into a magical family, he lacked any magical talent, becoming an ‘incompetent’ in magic. Ultimately, Damian couldn’t overcome his ‘inferiority complex’ and ‘sense of inadequacy,’ leading him to act like a ‘scoundrel’ towards those around him. Because of this, he was expelled from his school and transferred to the protagonist’s school.

Of course, even after transferring, he continued his scoundrel behavior until the protagonist beat him to near death. After that…
It’s obvious.
Damian was disowned for his past misdeeds and the shame he brought to his family, expelled from the Aethis School of Magic, and with the next family head already decided as his genius younger brother, he had nowhere to go and wandered the continent until his terminal life ended. He was a ‘third-rate villain’ created solely to serve as a stepping stone for the protagonist’s success.

And that was now me.
… How did this happen?

* * *

I woke up to find myself in a train I’d never seen before. An elegant and luxurious compartment so opulent it felt almost overly splendid. Instead of a hard subway seat, I was sitting in a plush and cozy seat. Underneath the seat were three luxurious wooden trunks. Clutched tightly in my right hand was not the novel I had been reading but the notice of expulsion.

‘… Is this a dream?’

I looked around and naturally thought it was a dream. It was reasonable since I had been reading a novel on the subway just moments ago. Considering how tired I had been lately, I assumed I had fallen asleep while reading. But as time passed, the notice of expulsion remained unchanged no matter how many times I read it. It only became more and more clear.

“… It’s not a dream.”

How many times had I read it? I finally realized the texture of the paper in my hand had changed and sighed.

“… Hah.”

It wasn’t because the content was different from what I expected, but because I couldn’t believe the situation itself.

So, what exactly is this situation?

With a dazed expression, I repeatedly grasped and released the ill-fated notice. After managing to regain my senses, I tried to grasp the situation.

“Is this really inside a novel?”

Because Damian Draco was a character in the novel *Surviving in Another Dimension*.

It was a novel about the journey and growth of the protagonist, Yoo Suho, who repeatedly traveled between dimensions.

At first glance, it seemed like a typical growth story, but it was actually an apocalyptic world disguised as a growth story.

The fact that the protagonist moved between dimensions meant that a dimension had perished.

The first dimension was Earth, where awakened individuals existed.

Yoo Suho awakened at the age of seventeen and was an S-class hunter known as the Sword Saint.

But in less than a year, all the gates worldwide increased exponentially and opened simultaneously. People couldn’t handle the overflowing monsters. Eventually, all of Yoo Suho’s comrades and the people, except for him, perished.

He watched his world collapse and moved to the second dimension.

In the second dimension, Yoo Suho woke up inside a tower. Overcome with grief for losing his comrades, he questioned why he was the only one left alive but continued to climb the tower with new comrades.

However, due to the increasing difficulty, he failed to clear the tower within the time limit, and the second dimension also perished.

Again, all the characters died except Yoo Suho.

Starting from the third dimension, Yoo Suho’s mind began to break down. Despairing over the unchanging results, he gave up without trying in the third and fourth dimensions.

And then he moved to this dimension.

The fifth dimension.

The story in this dimension is set in the Aethis School of Magic, where quests progress. In the early stages, Yoo Suho clears quests more easily compared to the third and fourth dimensions…

But the problem is that from the mid-point onwards, the story follows the destruction cliché.

And the biggest problem is that the story in this dimension only progresses until the mid-to-late stages, so I don’t know what happens afterward.

In other words, I’ve possessed a third-rate villain in a dimension destined for destruction.

“… This is the worst.”

My previous life wasn’t great either, but…

If I were to possess a character in a novel, shouldn’t it be in a better world with a bright future?

Living on Earth with nothing would be a much better level.

“… Sigh.”

As I thought about it, my head started to ache as if it were splitting open.

It felt like another confirmation of my terminal illness.

The pain was on a completely different level from a hangover experienced the day after drinking excessively to escape from a grim reality.

“… Damn it.”

A curse slipped out of my mouth due to the throbbing pain in my head.

Just as I tried to open the window with trembling hands, hoping the cool breeze would help, the train entered a tunnel.

… My fingertips trembled.

“Isn’t anything going right?”

With no choice but to calm down and catch my breath, I saw “Damian” reflected in the window.

A gaunt, emaciated body, pale skin, and dark gray eyes.

And the silver hair symbolizing the Draco family.

He had a handsome appearance, but anyone could tell he looked like a patient.

“… It’s because of mana deficiency.”

Mana Deficiency.

A disease like a ticking time bomb for those who have awakened mana, where just breathing causes mana to leak out of the body.

Not only that, the moment one uses magic, mana drains even more exponentially. Overexertion can cause them to cough up blood or faint, and their body deteriorates rapidly.

Once the body starts to break down, it can’t recover, and eventually, the organs rot one by one from the inside, leading to a painful death.

It’s a disease that hastens one’s demise the more magic is used.

For a magician, it was the worst.

It would have been better for him to recuperate quietly in a place with fresh air.

However, Damian insisted on attending a magic school because becoming the heir of his family required it. Graduating from a magic school was the minimum condition passed down through the generations in his family.

But using magic consumes mana, which is like a magician’s lifeforce, and Damian, born with mana deficiency, couldn’t properly use magic at the school.

Instead of graduating, he would act like a scoundrel, get beaten up by the protagonist, be disowned by his family, and live a terminally ill life until his death.

Holding my head, I tried to think about what to do next. But my mind wasn’t working well, likely due to the sudden situation.

How do I survive in this world? Is there a way back to my original life?

Following my instincts, I began to organize my complicated thoughts simply.

I don’t want to die.
I don’t want to get beaten.
I don’t want to suffer from mana deficiency.

That means I should avoid the magic school at all costs, whether through a transfer or any other means.

Next, I needed to act.

‘What should I do?’

First, I decided to get off the train as soon as it stopped. Then, I would get as far away from anything related to magic and devise my next steps.

Returning to Damian’s family was not a good option. If I remember correctly, Damian was hated by the head of the family, Cedric Draco.

A father who never acknowledged him no matter how hard he tried.
A younger brother with natural magical talent.
A stepmother who constantly belittled him by comparing him to his brother.

Damian’s inferiority complex and sense of inadequacy stemmed from there.

In a way, Damian had a truly unfortunate life, but…

That didn’t erase all the wrongs he had done. The contents of the expulsion notice alone spanned more than three pages.

‘Entering the forbidden underground library,’ ‘attending lectures while drunk and damaging the classroom,’ ‘falsifying exam results,’ ‘bullying a marquis’s student,’ ‘bullying a count’s student,’ ‘bullying the princess.’

At this point, it was a miracle he wasn’t expelled earlier.

With such a record, rumors about him must have already spread to the Aethis School of Magic. Even if he belonged to the renowned Draco family, there wouldn’t be much he could do at Aethis with his ruined reputation.

No, he didn’t need to go there.

He was also physically ill.

The only saving grace was that Damian had some valuable items among his possessions. Even the magic-related books were worth a lot.

He also had a fair amount of money in his pocket.

With this, he could somehow secure a place to stay.

‘Let’s start there.’

I was already used to being thrown into a life with nothing. This time, I had money to find a place to stay and enough to get by, which was a good start.

Even though the end seemed terminal, I wasn’t planning on dying easily.

The impending doom…

I could help as far as I knew, anonymously, of course.

I had a lot to do. I sighed and thought.

‘First, let’s find a way to cure the mana deficiency.’

Just as I concluded this, the train began to exit the tunnel. My head still throbbed, so I waited for the train to completely leave the tunnel before opening the window.

Moments later, the train fully exited the tunnel, and the surroundings brightened instantly. I blinked, trying to adjust to the light.

Once I adjusted, I realized the reason for the brightness was something entirely different.

[Final Goal: Survive the Cliché.]

Destroy all the clichés you possess within the time limit.

If not, you will die.

Time limit: D-365
– Check your clichés.