Now. Right Now.
Now. Right Now.
A pure white space inside the Tower.
I stood there blankly, devouring the basic magic lecture taught by Archmage.
Because the tutorial wouldn't start unless I stepped out of the safe zone myself.
└Archmage) The basic operation of mana is largely divided into three parts.
└Archmage) Condensation, Fixation, and Release.
└Archmage) The first is drawing mana from the Core located in your heart and condensing it into a specific circuit.
"Condensation, huh."
The breathing technique Martial God taught me didn't make me feel anything, but it's different now.
This unique energy extending from my heart.
So this is what mana is, huh?
Once the Core settled into my body, I could instinctively tell.
"Gathering······mana."
An instinctive sensation, like a baby sea turtle heading for the ocean the moment it hatches.
I scooped up a handful of mana as if drawing water from the giant well that is the Core, carried it to the circuit in my leg, and condensed it.
"Whoa!"
Instantly, I felt strength in my leg.
Just by condensing mana into the circuit, it felt like my physical specs had doubled.
If I ran like this, I'm not joking, I could probably jump over the first floor easily, right?
I've added another card to my hand to counter Orc Chieftain's first pattern.
I can duck, or I can dodge by jumping.
But that sense of omnipotence was short-lived.
Whoosh-
The mana condensing in my leg circuit scattered quickly, and the strength drained from my leg.
"So that's why the fixation process is necessary."
How do you do the fixation?
Drawing mana from the heart and carrying it to the circuit wasn't difficult because it was based on instinctive sensation.
But fixation, unexpectedly, wasn't easy.
I could imagine scooping and carrying water, but I couldn't quite picture the image of fixing the water in place.
└Amor Fati) I succeeded in moving it to my leg, but how do I fix it?
└Archmage) Hahaha!!
└Amor Fati) No, don't laugh, tell me...
└Martial God) Is it because it's a Core opened with an elixir? The progress speed is definitely insane.
└Solo Hero*) Don't obsess over the words, just do it instinctively.
└Vampire Princess) Swing it. It is already within you.
└Martial God) Ah damn, I was going to say that!
No, I'm telling you, 'instinctively' doesn't work! How do you fix flowing water-
"Ah!"
A lightning-bolt realization struck my head.
"Stop-moving?"
Even if a character has a pre-inputted command, one press of the spacebar stops them immediately.
A trick that, if used well, can easily dodge an opponent's non-targeted skill.
As soon as the idea popped up, before the mana condensed in my leg could scatter, I mashed the spacebar in my head.
Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap!
Then, I could feel the mana that was about to scatter definitely stutter and stop.
Of course, it didn't feel like a smooth fixation, but I felt like I had roughly gotten the hang of it.
└Amor Fati) It's not completely fixed, but it does stutter like it hit the brakes.
└Archmage) Hoho, newbie. You keep doing that...
└Amor Fati) ?
└Dungeon Thief) Run away!! You're going to end up a graduate student!
└Martial God) Thought it was just the Core, but his talent is decent too.
Seeing their reactions, I was relieved that my direction wasn't wrong.
Anyway, that comment from Archmage.
For some reason, it gave me the creeps.
It felt like I was almost kidnapped by an irresistible, massive entity.
Anyway, the remaining step is Release.
According to the professor, Release is much easier than the previous Condensation and Fixation.
And indeed, it was just as they said.
"Yah!"
I kicked into the empty air.
Whoosh!
Then, didn't the mana gathered in my leg fly out as a crescent-shaped slash?
Of course, the slash was immediately absorbed and disappeared the moment it hit the white space, but I couldn't help but be astonished.
"Crazy, this is that thing."
The technique that forms the top two with Finger Pistol from a certain pirate manga.
Namely, Rankyaku.
"This is magic?"
How is this any different from martial arts?
└Amor Fati) Hey. I released it and a crescent-shaped sword energy thing flew out, is this really ma12gic?
└Archmage) It is a very excellent basic attack magic!
└Amor Fati) What's the class?
└Archmage) It's Battle Mage.
└Amor Fati) Then that means you're a martial arts faction too...
└Archmage) BEGONE!!!!
└Dungeon Thief) Hahahahahahahahaha
└PoisonCoated) You hit the trigger button properly.
└Puppet Master) Next comment prediction: It is different from martial arts, different!
└Archmage) It is different from martial arts! Different!
└Vampire Princess) The prediction didn't miss by an inch.
└Heresy Purger) Ah, ahhh...
└Archmage) It is merely based on minimal self-defense, and once you advance, Battle Mages handle magic that is on a completely different dimension from those ignorant brutes who use their bodies!
└Martial God) Old man, want me to include you in the martial arts faction?
└Archmage) Shut up!! You ignorant fool!!!!
└Amor Fati) Just kidding, just kidding haha
So the point is this.
The increase in physical specs through Core creation.
And the strength stat boost through condensing mana in circuits is just a kind of character concept.
The main dealing skill is magic anyway, I suppose.
└Amor Fati) Once I get used to these three, I think I can handle Orc Chieftain, what do you guys think?
└Archmage) Ahem. Just go for it. The best training is actual combat.
└Solo Hero*) That's true too. We only talked about 30 years because of the minimum condition of creating an artificial organ to handle mana, but there's no reason to delay actual combat now that the foundation is laid.
└Martial God) Wow, you died that many times and you're already thinking of challenging it again?
└Heresy Purger) I'll cheer for you, brother!
└Vampire Princess) This is the way of the Infinite Regressor!
"Oh!"
Honestly, I thought they would stop me if I said I'd challenge it right away.
But that wasn't the case.
Indeed, since infinite retries are possible, there's no need to rack my brain studying theory, right?
This was the difference in mindset between ordinary people and Infinite Regressors.
Of course, even if they had stopped me, I was planning to go for it anyway!
"You're dead."
I stepped out of the safe zone.
Whoosh!
The scenery all around changed to a vast natural grassland.
I immediately pumped my heart's Core and carried mana throughout my body.
What I need now is quick reaction speed.
"Screeeech-!"
How much did I owe this guy while pulling gacha?
I could now dodge the first pattern with my eyes closed.
The time it takes for Orc Chieftain to recognize me and swing its club is at most around 1 second.
"Kwooooooo-!!"
The giant club swung diagonally.
I immediately ducked as much as I could.
Whoosh-!
Is this how it feels when an 8-ton truck with broken brakes passes right in front of you?
My hair was completely messed up by the wind pressure created by a simple swing.
But I remained calm to the end, squinting my eyes as I watched its arm.
'Dodged it!'
Thump, thump.
It was a strange sensation.
The feeling I had when I created the Core and opened my eyes.
The feeling of alienation where my body reacts before my thoughts.
Like.
'It's like I'm controlling myself!'
Of course, I am the one controlling me.
To add a bit of explanation, it meant it felt like I was operating my body as if I were controlling a game character.
The stray thoughts didn't last long.
'If it spent its turn with a big attack, the turn passes to me.'
Simply put, I stole the turn.
I was in a state of being hunched over.
The posture is awkward for unleashing Rankyaku.
'Direct hits seem completely meaningless.'
Then, the best thing is to apply Condensation, Fixation, and Release to apply a crowd control skill.
In other words, it means destroying its eyes.
The guy's balance was broken because it swung diagonally.
Unfortunately, its head was hidden by its massive shoulder.
I condensed and fixed mana at my fingertips, thinking I would blow its eyes out the moment its face became visible.
This turn ended with preparing a counterattack.
The turn that passed.
Whoosh-!
The green giant became huge in an instant.
It didn't even think about changing its posture and performed a body slam on me.
In professional terms, a shoulder tackle.
"Son of a-"
I immediately jumped back, crossed both arms, and condensed mana.
A temporary measure to reduce the impact.
Bang-!
"Ugh!"
The mana condensed in my arms scattered, and I flew into the air.
No wonder.
It made a bang sound because flesh collided with flesh.
If it were the body of an ordinary person without a Core, it wouldn't have been strange if I had been shattered to pieces.
I gritted my teeth and held onto my fading consciousness.
Fortunately, the mana condensed at my fingertips was still in a fixed state.
'Even 1st-tier FPS pros got wrecked when they met me in ranked games, you bastard!'
In my wildly shaking vision, I aimed precisely at its eyes.
If it were a sensation of moving my body, it would have been difficult, but thinking of it as placing a mouse pointer crosshair, it couldn't have been easier.
Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-
As I took my hand off the keyboard I was pounding in my head to fix the mana.
Click!
Zing!
A blue flash connected Orc Chieftain and me in a straight line.
Splat!
"Kwooooooo!"
Success.
I turned its left eye into complete mush.
The pity is that the firepower was insufficient to reach the brain.
'If I succeed one more time, I can really catch it in one try?'
Destroy both eyes and beat it from a distance?
Although there is a 10-minute time limit, it's not impossible, right?
The situation is very optimistic.
Of course, assuming I performed the breakfall properly.
'Shit!'
I didn't know, but as I flew for a long time, my head was naturally heading toward the ground.
If I fall like this, I'll be at least a vegetable due to a cervical spine fracture.
Of course, it's a body strengthened by a Core, but there's no reason to crash like this.
I twisted my body as much as possible in the air and performed a breakfall.
I've never learned breakfall separately, but if you land without hurting your body, that's a breakfall.
The moment I spread my arms and touched the ground, I pulled them in and rolled as if doing a forward roll.
"Ugh."
Did I roll about a dozen times?
The world is spinning.
'Anyway, landing successful!'
The moment I staggered and stood up.
Orc Chieftain, which had moved quite a distance away, was caught in my vision.
"Huh?"
It was taking a stance while bleeding from one eye.
In other words, anyone could see it was saying with its body that it was going to throw the club.
Whoosh!
A movement that felt as if the intermediate process had been deleted by an editing function.
When I recognized it, the club was already right in front of me.
"!"
From here on, it was the realm of instinct.
A realm of deeper, purer instinct.
Survival instinct.
'I absolutely can't dodge this, can I?'
If it were me before creating the Core, I would have welcomed regression while wondering how to break this pattern, but now it's different.
In other words, it means my Core hasn't yet acquired the mindset of an Infinite Regressor.
Kwooooooo-!
The Core, instinctively sensing the crisis, pumped mana like crazy.
'Uh-oh?'
Why is this happening?
Your master is an Infinite Regressor!
There's a next chance, you know?
But there's no way the Core would answer.
The Core settled in my heart continued to spew out mana to protect me, regardless of my will.
Then the world began to slow down.
The club that was closing the distance in an instant also gradually decelerated.
'Ah, this is that.'
The decelerated world that I've experienced several times, which I enter right before a super play comes out.
The ZONE.
However, I couldn't just be happy about the fact that I had stepped into that world again.
'What is this mana······!'
A massive flow of mana rushing in like a tidal wave.
'Is this a Core made of an S-rank magic stone?'
It's a sensation on a completely different dimension from carrying mana with my own will.
It feels like a faucet has burst and water is gushing out wildly.
No, it can't even be compared to a faucet.
This is the level of a dam bursting.
A torrent of mana was running wild through the circuits all over my body.
'Ughhh!'
A burning sensation as if engulfed in flames.
If I stay like this, it feels like my body will swell up like a balloon and burst.
'Above all, it's so painful!'
I concentrated my mind and started to somehow condense the mana into my arms.
I'll skip the fixation process.
In the first place, with a trick like stop-moving, this level of mana tidal wave can never be fixed.
The moment I condensed the mana into my arms with desperate will.
Boom-!
My arm exploded.
Literally, my arm exploded.
It didn't even end with just exploding.
As soon as a hole for the mana tidal wave to escape was created, it naturally turned in that direction.
Kwooooooo-!!!
"Aaaaaaagh!"
At this moment, I became Mega Man.
An energy wave is coming out from where my hand should be!
Kwoooooong-!
A tremendous impact that dyes the entire world pure white.
As the mana tidal wave swept across the grassland once, the ground in front sank deeply.
If a giant put its hand on the ground and pushed it, it would look exactly like this.
Or a meteorite collision.
Whatever the expression, Orc Chieftain evaporated without leaving a trace.
Eeeeeeee-
A ringing in the ears so loud it makes them go numb.
This is exactly what it's like when a landmine or grenade explodes in movies.
It was accurate historical research after all.
Wheeze-wheeze-
Did my lungs burst, or is there a hole in my throat?
I'm breathing, but it just feels like air leaking.
I can't even tell if there's any part of my body left intact.
Did my muscles and nerves all get cooked?
I can't even feel pain.
I looked at the unrealistic scene created by the Core for a moment, then barely turned my head to look at the place where my right arm should be.
Without an elbow or anything, it had just cleanly disappeared.
I had presented my right arm to a new era.
Red-stained vision.
The endlessly ringing beep sound.
A body that doesn't move like a puppet with cut strings.
Just as I started to wonder, 'Why am I still alive?'
"······?"
A message sent by the Tower popped up right in front of my eyes! Flash!
[You have defeated the enemy within the time limit.]
[Tutorial Clear!]
[Achievements will be saved after settlement.]
[Settling......(5)]
Instantly, my mind cleared.
The dulled pain came back to life.
An immense burning sensation, nerve pain as if my body was being stabbed by knives.
Furthermore, even my red-stained vision became clear in an instant.
"Ugh······."
Even the ringing disappeared, and I began to hear my own groans.
Alarm bells were ringing wildly in my head.
The reason was simple.
It was the second time.
That I was in a situation on the verge of being screwed.
'W-wait a minute!'
My subconscious dragged a comment from the IR Gallery from the back of my memory.
└Puppet Master) When clearing a certain floor, the regression point fixation probability is 78%.
A blown-off arm.
Blood leaking out.
Cooked muscles and nerves.
A broken Core and a body state that can never be returned to normal.
As soon as I grasped the situation, goosebumps rose all over my body.
Thump, thump.
'Not a certain floor.'
└Martial God) I agree with the old man's opinion too. Newbie, don't climb floors recklessly. If the regression point is saved incorrectly, you're seriously screwed.
[Settling......(4)]
'What if it's just a clear?'
[Settling......(3)]
'If my regression point is saved here?'
[Settling......(2)]
There was no time to hesitate.
I had to die by any means necessary.
[Settling......(1)]
Now.
Right now.