Surviving the Magic Academy With Just Intelligence Stats

Sunlight filtered through dusty blinds into a cramped one-bedroom apartment, illuminating a chaotic landscape of scattered manga volumes, empty energy drink cans, and discarded takeout containers. The small desk squeezed against the wall groaned under the weight of reference materials and a struggling laptop, its cooling fan whirring in protest against the constant use.

In the midst of this creative chaos sat a girl wearing nothing but an oversized t-shirt and shorts, a half-eaten piece of bread dangling precariously from her mouth as her fingers flew across the keyboard with practiced precision. The blue light from her screen cast an ethereal glow across her features, reflecting off her glasses as she hunched closer to scrutinize the novel cover displayed before her.

The artwork commanded attention - a striking composition featuring five distinct figures. In the foreground, a beautiful girl with blood-spattered cheeks smiled sweetly while clutching a crimson-stained knife, her expression a jarring contrast of innocence and menace. Beside her stood another young woman in religious garb, her eyes concealed behind a cross-marked blindfold, hands clasped in perpetual prayer.

The middle ground was dominated by two male figures - a radiant youth whose hand rested on a sword that pierced the ground, golden light emanating from the blade in waves that seemed to pulse with life. Next to him, turned slightly away, stood a handsome man in dark mage's robes, a mysterious grimoire clutched in his hands. Looming behind them all was a shadowy figure, their dark-robed back turned to the viewer in a pose that suggested both mystery and threat.

Her fingers never stopped moving as she typed furiously in the review section below: "...generic work i've ever seen. Also, why is there a BL tag? This is clear..." The harsh critique flowed uninterrupted until a voice called from downstairs, cutting through her concentration.

"Hua Hua! Could you come down here for a bit?"

She glanced toward the door with a resigned sigh, quickly hitting enter to post her review before pushing back from the desk. But as she turned to stand, something impossible happened - the screen's usual blue glow intensified to blinding levels, reaching out with tendrils of light that wrapped around her form. Before she could even process what was happening, the light yanked her forward, drawing her into the screen itself.

In the suddenly empty room, the computer's display returned to normal, showing no sign of the extraordinary event that had just occurred. The voice from downstairs continued calling, oblivious to the fact that "Hua Hua" was no longer in this world at all.

…

Liu Meihua stood amidst the bustling crowd of cadets rushing toward the entrance exam area. Unlike the others, she moved with deliberate slowness, her eyes carefully scanning her surroundings. It had been a week since she'd found herself reincarnated into the book she'd been reading, inhabiting the body of what should have been a mere background character. At least, she mused, this particular mob character had managed to secure a chance at the Crono Magic Academy entrance exam.

Her gaze swept across the grounds as she contemplated her situation. The first exam would test for talent - though its results weren't truly critical. It merely distinguished between those who had already awakened their abilities and those who hadn't. Even without an awakened talent, candidates could still gain admission through exceptional performance in the written and practical exams. They simply needed to awaken their talent within their first year to avoid expulsion.

Meihua felt confident about the written portion - her knowledge of the book's content would serve her well there. As for the practical exam, she planned to rely on more capable individuals for support. This strategic thinking had her actively searching the crowd for potential allies.

Her attention was caught by a figure moving against the flow of nervous cadets - a young man walking with measured confidence, a sword secured at his waist. The moment she spotted him, her eyes lit up with recognition. A mischievous smile played across her lips as she murmured, "Well, well, well, isn't that our lovely regressor."

She quickened her pace to intercept him, but movement in her peripheral vision stopped her short. Another group walked leisurely through the crowd, and the sight of them froze her in place. There, in the flesh, stood Ambrose Rothschild - heir to a family whose power rivaled or perhaps even exceeded the royal family's. But his presence made no sense - according to the story she knew, he shouldn't have awakened yet.

Beside him stood Adelaide, a character who had rated barely a mention in the original narrative, and who should have been dead by now. The discrepancies made Meihua's head spin. If such significant changes were already in play, how many other alterations might exist? Her carefully laid plans, based on her knowledge of the story, suddenly seemed far less reliable.

Her eyes darted between Marcus, the regressor, and Ambrose as she weighed her options. Marcus, despite his future knowledge, currently lacked real power. Ambrose, while physically weak, commanded wealth and connections that could prove invaluable. "Better to sail the already moving slow boat than to wait for the fast boat that was yet to be made," she reasoned to herself.

But as she prepared to approach Ambrose's group, she noticed someone that nearly brought her to her knees. Hualing chatted animatedly with Adelaide, the sight sending chills down Meihua's spine. Of course - at this point in the timeline, Hualing served as Ambrose's maid. Meihua quickly averted her gaze, terrified she'd already looked too long. Without daring another glance in their direction, she altered course toward Marcus instead.

Meanwhile, Hualing's eyes followed Meihua's retreating form, a knowing smile playing across her features. Her gaze shifted to Marcus, her smile widening ominously as she whispered, "We meet again..."

"Hualing?" Adelaide's voice broke through her reverie. "Is everything okay?"

"Oh! It's nothing," Hualing replied with a bright smile, "just overwhelmed is all." But as she pressed a hand to her chest, her thoughts turned inward. "It's happening again," she mused, though whether with anticipation or dread, even she couldn't say.