Chapter 8

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 8

Chapter Title: Irregular (3)

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The interior of the grand, expansive dormitory building that hardly seemed like a school dorm.

A clean and sophisticated interior that drew gasps of admiration.

It was the exclusive dormitory for the academy's top entrant, courtesy of the chairman's consideration.

As soon as he stepped inside, a translucent window popped up before his eyes, feeling like reuniting with an old friend.

The barrage of noisy alert windows felt strangely welcoming, like catching up with a buddy after ages.

With the alerts finished, a sleek, razor-sharp sword and a crisp uniform set materialized in the air.

"Whoa...!"

A gasp of admiration slipped out at the unexpectedly generous rewards.

The equipment item Moonlight was one that appeared in the game too—a weapon obtainable while learning late-game Moonlight Swordsmanship.

It was hailed as endgame-tier in the game, and with its outrageous acquisition requirements, getting it now was a massive stroke of fortune.

After checking the rewards, he lay back on the dormitory bed, lost in thought.

'Now that I have some breathing room...'

Right after possessing the game character, things had been a whirlwind, but now with some leisure, he calmly sorted his thoughts.

First off, the game he'd possessed—Frontier Chronicles—boasted tremendous freedom, popularity from its achievements and diverse companion characters.

'The five leads seem intact...'

The five lead characters visible quickly upon choosing academy enrollment.

Characters whose genders weren't fixed in-game, opposite to the player's customized one.

True to their lead status, each boasted historic growth potential.

From the crisis response evaluation, the game world didn't seem drastically altered.

Magic Tower Lord's heir - Isabel Helm.

Sword Saint's disciple - Libia Clawit.

Princess of the Elf Forest - Arbel Reina.

Imperial Princess - Aren Reinhardt.

Saintess of the Holy Kingdom - Cecilia.

In-game, they were characters deemed essential for clearing hidden bosses.

'Even I recruited them almost every run, except the final one...'

Now that the game was reality, recruiting all five was non-negotiable.

'And the savable characters within the academy...'

Excluding the five leads who survived even academy collapse without enrollment,

there were characters who required academy entry and completing rescue quests to recruit.

Prime examples: swordsmanship professor Lena Kyle, magic professor Raon, practical combat professor Elina Levan.

'Gotta save 'em...'

Frontier Chronicles wasn't pitch-black dark,

but far from purely happy vibes either.

In this reality, more allies the better.

Frontier Academy—if branch points weren't blocked,

saving it from collapse meant rescuing as many as possible beforehand.

'Branch points...'

The regional collapse branch points in Frontier Chronicles,

inevitable events during progression, unavoidable disasters.

Mishandle them, and the region collapses instantly.

Even handled well, neglect collapse management and it crumbles—core to the game's brutal difficulty.

Imperial Household branch point - Comatose Emperor.

Holy Kingdom branch point - Corruption's Dawn.

Magic Tower branch point - Magic Tower Lord's death.

Arkan Kingdom branch point - Frontline collapse.

Elf Forest branch point - Queen's assassination.

Dwarf Village branch point - Core destruction.

And finally, Frontier Academy's branch point...

'Chairman Eris's death...'

An unavoidable in-game calamity.

'Wonder if I can block the branch point...'

But if this was reality, maybe block branch points altogether.

Blocking blockable ones slashed regional collapse difficulty.

Some were story-locked unblockable,

'but plenty have solid blocking potential.'

Block what can be blocked.

And...

'Can I save her...?'

Chairman Eris's death.

The inevitable branch point in-game,

why Eris was unsavable.

{Revived Nightmare - Bahamut Subjugation}

Mandatory event if enrolled in academy mid-game,

absolutely unbeatable, no-clear boss.

Ultimately triggers chairman's sacrifice, academy branch point onset.

The boss that stole his favorite character, Chairman Eris, in Frontier Chronicles.

The one he'd desperately wanted to defeat.

What if subjugating before sacrifice? Maybe savable.

That faint hope.

Gathering max companions,

max specs,

prime achievement perks,

challenging dozens of times.

— "Watching the students grow, feeling their youth... it made me happy too—"

Knowing it impossible,

yet the regenerating cutscene of Eris's sacrifice whenever quitting,

"Just one more time..."

Repeating futile, foolish tries.

That boss.

'I'll save her...'

Game turned reality, one shot only,

but two unique traits.

Endgame weapon acquired.

'I can save her.'

Grow at otherworldly speed,

this time, he would.

"Haa..."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

A heavy sigh escaped with his resolve.

Not imminent, yet heart heavy.

Nothing to do now anyway.

For now, grow max, prepare,

'Status window.'

To clearly assess his current state, he called up the status window for a check.

Skills or passive skills were tough to acquire right now.

Stats mattered most.

They were merely average for a freshman,

and essential for extending {Life and Death Resolve}'s duration.

'Gotta prioritize raising stats.'

Stats rose via steady training,

dungeon rewards, or post-possession achievement bonuses.

And the skill {Moonlight} from equipment Moonlight.

The overpowered skill elevating equipment Moonlight to endgame weapon.

Using purified mana with Moonlight amps magic-based attack damage by 1.5x—insane performance.

Essentially 1.5x multiplier on all attacks.

Plus, the moonlight-embraced strike doubled any attack's power instantly, even magic.

"This is stronger than I thought..."

Way stronger state than expected.

Sufficient for mid-game hidden dungeons or fortunes.

"Gotta move fast from the start..."

No time to dawdle.

Aiming to block branch points meant powering up ASAP.

"For now, rest today."

After all that, fatigue weighed heavy.

Sky outside darkened; nothing left for today,

he rose from bed, heading to the bathroom to wash up.

"Ow, jeez! Nearly jumped outta my skin."

Bathroom mirror—startled by the hollow-eyed boy staring back,

realizing it was himself didn't take long.

White hair to just above shoulders,

lifeless golden eyes devoid of spark,

androgynous yet beautiful features.

Exact match to his customized Aden from clearing {Hero of the Destroyed World} hidden achievement.

'Feels surreal seeing it in reality...'

His creation now his real face—fascinating.

'Shoulda customized the eyes differently...'

Mesmerized by the achievement name, went with empty, hollow eyes—but creepy in hindsight.

Amid stray thoughts, he finished washing and lay back in bed.

As sleep crashed in upon lying down, he closed his eyes without resistance.

Tomorrow onward, busy again,

tonight, he wanted deep rest.

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