Let's Begin
Settling achievements from the previous regression.
All stats have been reset.
You have shouldered the Demon King's achievement. You maintain the dignity and power befitting it.
Charisma +5, All Stats +5
You have committed ruthless slaughter. You possess an achievement worthy of the blood shed, but also the corresponding power.
All Stats +2, Karma Value -10
You have defeated all the strong ones of the continent. Although your name cannot be widely known, everyone instinctively recognizes you as a strong person.
Charisma +3
“……Not bad.”
I opened my eyes to the familiar ceiling, pushed away the message window floating before me, and sat up. The sensation of a cold blade still seemed to linger on my neck, so I rubbed it and looked around.
“This place is already the ninth time.”
It was a familiar room. Shabby, but decent enough for this world. The starting room in the academy for the player of the game Road to Academia.
Sitting on the bed as usual, I blinked slowly. One hour until the entrance exam began. Since the first regression, getting into Class A had never been difficult. Naturally, thanks to the stat points settled from achievements. This time I received a few more points, but the difference wasn’t that drastic. It might help a little in the early stages.
Anyway, there were two reasons I went on that slaughter spree in the last regression. One was to restore the mental state that had been ground down over eight loops. An ordinary human brain couldn’t endure repeating this world eight times. The despair that no matter how much I struggled the future never changed, the sense of loss that every bond I formed existed only in my memories, the pain of watching those bonds die and of dying myself. I needed to normalize my crumbling mind. At the same time, I had to figure out why I kept failing so spectacularly and why clearing remained impossible no matter what I tried.
The second reason was the Demon King’s achievement. I hadn’t shouldered it just for the settlement bonus. Even if it was only for the one-in-a-million chance, there was no harm in preparing. Since I would have to obtain it at least once while regressing, it was something I had to do eventually. The drop in Karma stung a little, but that too would recover as I progressed toward clearing.
…Though raising Karma really was the hardest part.
“Well, the most important thing is that I feel better.”
When I failed on the seventh loop my mind had truly collapsed. Just recovering from that was already a relief. I tapped my head a couple times and slowly stood up.
“Time to go.”
The entrance exam was about to start. Missing the tutorial would mean I couldn’t even begin, let alone clear, so I needed to move. Alright. Energetically.
Ninth time.
Let’s begin.
He had been a good comrade. The kind you couldn’t replace with anyone else—kind, reliable. Sometimes a shadow would cross his face when he was alone, but he always smiled and looked after everyone. Yet…
“……Why did it come to this?”
Sylvia sank to the floor with a soft thud, murmuring quietly. The hero who defeated the Demon King. The fallen hero who destroyed the world. At the same time, her precious comrade had already become a cold corpse, eyes closed atop a mountain of bodies.
Staring blankly at that sight, Sylvia clutched her head.
“Why……?!”
Had he approached her from the very beginning with this in mind? Had he deceived her and the others, earned their trust, only to use it to bring about the world’s end?
“No.”
That couldn’t be right. No matter how trusting Sylvia was, this wasn’t baseless certainty. If he had truly intended that, he wouldn’t have been so devoted to them. And if he really had, he wouldn’t have said what he did.
Countless questions rose and vanished. But there was no one left to answer them. The comrades she could have discussed them with were all gone. The only living being left on this continent was her.
“……”
Even she could feel herself slowly dying. After the long battle with him, everyone else had perished, and her own body was far from normal. It was hard to believe an entire continent had fallen because of one man.
“Cough……!”
Sylvia coughed up a handful of blood and looked up at the sky with dimming eyes. The dark, cracked heavens mirrored the ruined continent.
‘Where did it all go wrong?’
She already knew the answer, even without anyone to tell her. More precisely, she had already heard it.
[All this time, you people did nothing. The Empire, the Holy Kingdom, the other races… you could have fixed them, couldn’t you?]
The continent had underestimated the Demon King’s power. His dark influence had slowly seeped into every corner, but everyone had been too distracted to notice. As her head, once consumed by rage and despair, gradually cleared, she realized it had all been because of that. But all regrets came too late.
Slowly, warmth began to leave Sylvia’s hands. The last living being on the continent quietly closed her eyes.
She had been blessed with talent for the sword far beyond what she deserved, allowing her to enter the academy. Blessed to meet good comrades and enjoy a fulfilling academy life. Blessed to become the hero. Everyone looked up to her, placed great expectations on her. She had done her best to live up to those expectations.
But she had been wrong. He had been looking farther ahead. He had been preparing for far more. Even though he wasn’t the hero, he had struggled to save the world. Looking back, perhaps the reason she possessed such outstanding skill, the reason she hadn’t broken when she became the hero, the reason she could shine brilliantly amid the crushing pressure and expectations—all of it was because he had been by her side. Because they had always looked toward the same place, always moved toward the same destination.
Yet at some point, she had forgotten that.
‘Just once.’
If she were given just one more chance, she could do better this time. She wouldn’t forget again.
Releasing a fleeting hope into the sky, Sylvia slowly closed her eyes. Her breath was fading. She had never experienced death before, but she instinctively knew it was approaching. Even at the very end, with her eyes closed and head bowed quietly, she called out his name.
‘……Ian.’
Player achievement excess confirmed.
Karma value achievement is high.
Calculating clear probability.
Clear probability confirmed to be insufficient.
Beyond the faint memories, a mechanical voice reached her. Just as Sylvia began to feel puzzled—
“……?”
Sylvia opened her eyes again and looked around, wide-eyed. It was familiar. Somewhere, a familiar landscape. Before she could collect her thoughts amid the inexplicable déjà vu, a familiar voice came from somewhere.
Where was I, and what was I doing…?
“Hello? Are you here for the entrance exam too?”
Right. The entrance exam. The academy entrance exam……?
“Ah……?”
“Are you feeling unwell?”
She met the gaze of the boy looking at her with concern. Black hair, black eyes. Fair skin and a rather sharp, handsome face.
“N-no… I’m fine. I just got a little dizzy.”
“Nervous? That’s understandable.”
At the sight of the boy smiling faintly, Sylvia nodded. Ian. It was Ian. The Ian from her academy days that she knew. Realizing that, Sylvia took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
“……I guess so.”
Was this a dream? Or a memory? It didn’t matter, she decided, and gave a small smile.
“……Why?”
“Oh, you just didn’t seem very nervous.”
Ian was always like that. No matter the moment or situation, he never got nervous. As if he had experienced it all before, he calmly understood and accepted whatever came.
“Well, I have confidence in my skills.”
Watching him curl his lips into a slight smirk, Sylvia nodded quietly.
“I see.”
This wasn’t a dream or a memory. It certainly wasn’t hypnosis either. So then…
“Let’s do our best.”
This time, so that nothing like that ever happens again.
“……? Yeah…?”
Sylvia smiled at Ian’s bewildered reply and began to walk. Her turn was coming up.
“Next! Number 277!”