Final Evaluation
He had returned to the past. His body was pristine, free of any injuries. But an inexplicable pain lingered.
It was a horrific memory. That freezing sensation—he never wanted to feel it again.
"Ah..."
His mind felt like it was fraying at the edges. They'd called it phantom pain back then—the agony that struck the site of extreme torment or amputation. Thanks to his pain tolerance, he'd managed to stay conscious, but this was the first wound to leave such lingering aftereffects.
Convincing himself it was normal dulled the ache somewhat.
"Just... need a bit of rest... fuck."
He rummaged through the medicine box in the corner. Spotting the painkillers he'd bought for headaches, he swallowed six at once with some water.
"Is it because she's an S-rank heroine or something?"
He'd decided to call women like Kang Minji or Yoon Seoa—those with top-tier fate grades and stunning looks—"heroines."
With that, he lay down and did nothing.
To win the one-on-one duel, he replayed that fight in his mind. He now remembered the timing and direction of the initial ice spears perfectly. To lure her into complacency, he hadn't used any mana. He'd dodged by memorizing her attack patterns.
Not bad up to this point.
In previous loops, he'd tried charging straight from the start. But he'd been crushed without landing a hit. The gap in raw power between him and Yoon Seoa was overwhelming. The moment she got serious, any opening vanished.
But if I make her too complacent...
Her final attack flashed in his mind again.
"It's fine... I'm fine..."
He reined himself in. He was perfectly healthy now. Untouched.
"Hoo..."
Save Load: LV2
Designate and load Save Points to return to that moment. On death, loads the most recent save.
• Available Save Points: 0/2
• Points refresh one week after designation. Load resets cooldowns.
• Time until refresh: 167:50:30
He'd already spent fate points to upgrade Save Load to level 2. In these endless looping days, he'd often wanted to quit. But persistent challenges had pushed Yoon Seoa back a step each time. Going all-out from the start only made her hyper-vigilant, sealing off every gap.
"Can't beat her with standard tactics."
His current physical stats offered no answer. Realizing in the first duel that minor boosts wouldn't cut it, he'd dumped everything into gacha pulls. Planning to stop if a good skill dropped, he'd gotten junk until finally snagging something useful—at the cost of all his points.
"Gotta solve this now."
No more variables to play with. Maybe clear an achievement? He'd tried every crazy stunt, but nothing.
"Hoo..."
Exams started tomorrow. How many loops had it been?
Maquina, how many loops am I on?
You have loaded 23 times on Save File 2.
That's a lot. Can't you help a bit?
Sorry. That's beyond my authority.
Didn't expect much anyway.
Still, it answered what it could, which helped. During written exams, he'd asked about unknowns and solved them. Not all, so memorization was key—but irrelevant now.
First day: written exams. Endless loops meant he'd memorized every answer.
"No need to study."
Written part was easy. Just write what he knew.
The issue was practicals—especially the final one-on-one duel.
"How do I beat Yoon Seoa?"
There was progress, but victory was what mattered. Without the wrist contract, pushing her back might've sufficed.
Load before Professor Kang Mina's office? Not yet. With resets available, give it his all. But how?
The frustration wouldn't lift.
"Maybe take a walk?"
He needed a change of scenery. Stuck like this, no clear thoughts.
He headed outside.
"Feels refreshing."
The cool, crisp late-night air cleared his head as he breathed deep. Dressed casually, slippers dragging, he strolled the riverside path.
Late as it was, joggers dotted the way, and others gazed blankly at the flowing water.
His unique skill from dumping fate points into gacha.
Unique Ability: Anti-Magic
It could shred Yoon Seoa's ice walls like paper.
"If only my mana was higher for more tries."
Great acquisition—equivalent to a second awakening. But activation guzzled mana. His current pool allowed one attack max. Useless against her.
How to win? How to get stronger fast? Items.
Not his crappy sword and smoke bombs—better gear might do it.
"Problem is, no money..."
Only way to power up quick was cash. But broke as he was, could he afford duel-worthy gear? No chance.
"Money again, huh."
He'd thought academy entry meant smooth sailing. Reality was harsher.
Clutching his complicated head, he spotted a man slumped on a bench. Dirt-smeared face, downing cheap soju straight—no snacks. The pile of green bottles suggested he might keel over.
"My... life's over."
Phone in hand showed a plummeting chart. Stock crash? Gambled and lost it all?
"Wait... this could work."
Practicals started after two days. Buy stocks sure to spike before duels?
"Copy money...?"
An old bitcoin account surfaced in memory.
"Bitcoin!"
Multiply via bitcoin, buy gear, store in inventory, surprise Yoon Seoa.
"All-in."
From then, he hunkered in a PC bang, charting bitcoin prices.
Exam day today, but he skipped.
"Resetting anyway."
Perfect plan for next loop's test.
Two machines open, bitcoin exchange loaded. Logged surges every five minutes.
"Exam around here... buy this coin 20 minutes early, sell post-exam."
1.45 million won available—peanuts for gear. Needed at least hundreds of millions.
1,000% on 1.45 mil wasn't enough.
Minimum 10,000% profit.
100x turns it into 145 million.
"Realistic?"
Impossible.
"Skip stocks."
Records could trace back, cause issues.
"Overseas exchange harder to track... Undercity takes coin direct—no withdrawal needed."
Bitcoin for infinite money printing.
"Even knowing next-day doubles is useless... Need 100x in days."
No time for swings. Scalping: ultra-short trades, buy-sell in seconds for profit.
"Minute-by-minute scalping, no misses."
Scalping: day-trading without overnight holds. Profits in 1-3 minutes.
From reset dawn to now, he logged charts. Picked coins with sustained uptrends, compared returns.
"This one's 0.3% wiggle... this 3%? Nice—buy Toji Coin, sell at +3%..."
Analyzing, he planned buys/sells.
Bitcoin trading unfamiliar; sub-minute impossible.
"Stick to 5-minute holds."
Mid-planning, phone rang.
"Minji? Worried I skipped exam?"
Break time—he answered.
"You know today's the exam, right?"
"Oh... was it today?"
"Skip and you're done—expelled or what?"
Angry tone, but worry underneath.
"No way, no matter what."
"Ugh, you real idiot! Hurry—still time."
"Yeah."
He'd copy money. No power? Pay-to-win.
"Wait for me, Yoon Seoa."