Chapter 7
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: 1 / 400
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[ 1 / 400 ]
Now I understood.
It wasn't that there was a limit to my number of regressions.
The total number of cadets and teachers in the academy added up to exactly 400.
I have to witness all of their deaths.
Memento Mori
Remember death.
The status window had been kind enough to explain my ability fully from the very beginning.
I closed my eyes for a moment and focused.
Then I opened them again.
I slipped on the uniform blouse and looked at the skirt.
I pulled it up to my waist and hips, then zipped it closed.
The size was a perfect fit.
As I stuffed the stockings in like socks, they snagged on my toenail, creating a long run.
The silver lining was that they hadn't torn completely. As long as no one looked too closely, it wouldn't stand out.
I threw on the uniform jacket haphazardly, then tucked my student ID into the skirt pocket and my phone into the jacket's inner pocket.
I immediately opened the door and stepped outside.
As soon as I stepped out, a familiar sight greeted me.
A landscape I'd seen countless times in the game.
The academy.
And the dorms.
I walked straight to the entrance ceremony.
On the way, I didn't run into any major characters whose faces I recognized.
[ 1 / 400 ]
The mind of an ordinary human had more resistance to death than one might think.
Since they didn't truly die, since it wasn't really the end, it was easier to accept than expected.
I hated the pain, though.
My goal of clearing the game with as few deaths as possible remained the same.
I had no intention of dying easily.
I sat down in an auditorium chair and looked around.
About 15 minutes until the ceremony started.
More leeway than before.
Should I try finding the protagonist and talking to him in that time?
'No.'
I needed to confirm if random elements were at play.
Entrance rankings and class assignments were all luck-based, random.
I'd move once I confirmed the premises and conditions hadn't changed.
Without this ability, I'd be an utterly ordinary person.
I'd felt that down to my bones in the previous death.
Stats, relics, elixirs, books...
I needed to acquire them.
The principal began his speech.
"Congratulations on your admission to Heart Soul Academy. Even if I gave a long, boring, pretentious speech, it probably wouldn't resonate with you. So I'll keep it to one sentence and wrap up."
I'd heard it so many times.
"Above all else, please give it your all. Next up, class assignments will be announced."
...Above all else, please give it your all.
Ha.
A massive white screen descended behind the principal.
A beam projector lit up the screen.
Class A.
[ Ivy Lane ]...
My rank: 9th place.
The random elements hadn't changed.
The information I'd gained from regressions remained unchanged.
Which meant my pitifully low starting stats hadn't changed either.
Similarly, Han Ye-seo, Ja-an, and Irene Rock were all assigned to Class A.
The protagonist's name was, naturally, at the very top in 1st place.
.
.
.
Teachers in black suits began guiding us.
I took my assigned seat.
After a short wait, the Class A homeroom teacher made her appearance.
A woman stepped up to the lectern.
Black bobbed hair, red eyes. A petite frame and slender build that could pass for a middle schooler.
Stockings reaching her knees, an incredibly short skirt, a loosely tied red necktie over a white blouse, and a long trench coat.
A lit cigarette dangled from her lips.
I casually raised my hand.
"The mic's unplugged."
"...Huh? Oh. Thanks."
She tapped the lectern mic a few times with her hand, then frowned.
Cigarette smoke wafted through the classroom.
"It's really busted."
She flashed a grin.
"Anyway, I'm Irene Rock, the teacher in charge of you from here on out. Better get used to me early. On the front lines, guys who don't smoke are rare."
She winked.
A few male students blushed.
"My ability is Chekhov's Gun. What about you all?"
No one answered.
Then the protagonist, Ja-an, raised his hand.
"You, disqualified."
"...Pardon?"
Ja-an voiced his doubt in an exceedingly handsome tone.
He sounded good even on a second listen.
Irene Rock began explaining toward Ja-an.
"I haven't said a word about what my ability—"
I frowned. Repeating the same lines verbatim was getting a bit boring.
I cut her off immediately.
"You haven't said a word. You only mentioned the name of the ability. And it hasn't even been confirmed that you're our homeroom teacher. In other words, right now you're just a suspicious stranger of unknown identity."
Chekhov's Gun
Inference ability that skips the process and reaches conclusions once sufficient clues accumulate.
Irene Rock's ability, Chekhov's Gun, was an inference power that skipped the process and arrived at results once enough clues gathered.
If I dropped hints about my regressions bit by bit, she'd naturally deduce that I was regressing.
I'd wanted to keep the regressions secret if possible, but now that I knew there was no limit to the number, there was no reason to hold back.
It was better to recruit people I could as quickly as possible.
Recruiting the protagonist Ja-an was my top priority, followed by the main characters.
'I have zero intention of dying.'
That said, I wouldn't be stupid enough to broadcast it openly where others could see.
I'd wait for them to approach first.
That was probably best.
Irene Rock stared at me, finally speaking after a long pause.
"Forced logic."
"What's your basis?"
"You, what's your name?"
"Ivy Lane."
"If I weren't the homeroom teacher, could I have reached Class A without anyone noticing?"
I pretended to think for a moment, then repeated Ja-an's exact words from the previous loop.
"If you'd made it here without being caught, that would mean your ability isn't combat-oriented. Infiltration or stealth, maybe?"
She listened to my explanation with a blank expression.
Logical and coherent.
The power of A- Intelligence stat. My memory was sharp.
Irene Rock spoke again.
"You pass."
"Thank you."
I sat back down.
She stepped back to the lectern and continued.
"My ability, Chekhov's Gun, derives conclusions once a certain number of clues are gathered. Inference without the process."
Fragmentary future precognition or prediction, conditional on clues.
"For example, that light green-haired girl who just sassed me..."
"Ivy Lane."
"Right. Shall I explain Ivy Lane?"
I frowned slightly.
Irene Rock stepped down from the lectern and walked right up to me.
Her red eyes met mine.
A sticky gaze from head to toe.
"Hair: faint light green, unkempt bangs obscuring your vision. A normal girl would trim them or pin them back. But you left them be. Right?"
Her gaze pinned me persistently.
"Either you don't care about your looks, or you don't want to show yourself to others. Feeling like hiding? Why would someone so passive step forward so boldly? Curious."
Her eyes drifted downward.
"Uniform's perfect. Details are a mess."
Her finger pointed near my right ankle.
"Stockings: long run on the back of your ankle. Not snagged somewhere—it got torn on your toenail when you put them on. Proof you threw on your clothes in a huge rush this morning and bolted out."
Spot on.
Impressive ability.
Not suited for combat, but for intel-gathering, nothing topped it short of true precognition.
"Hands..."
Irene Rock grabbed my wrist.
Unlike with Ja-an, she was touching me more since I was a girl.
"No calluses. Not trained hands, but small cuts, bruises, old scars. Not some delicate greenhouse flower."
She released my hand and smirked with interest.
"Couldn't figure it out. Not enough evidence. Want me to tell you later?"
"I'll pass."
She leaned in close.
Cigarette stench hit me.
"One thing's for sure: you're no hero material. Unless you're the type to survive till the end."
"...That's enough."
Then Irene Rock's gaze shifted to Ja-an.
"You there, pretty boy."
"Pardon?"
"Yeah, you."
Now it was Ja-an's turn.
The same explanation from the previous loop played out.
I rested my chin on my hand and watched.
The ability measurement results were exactly the same.
I wasn't disappointed.
Random elements not changing had already been confirmed by my entrance ranking.
Irene Rock eyed my expression and voiced her doubt.
"...Huh?"
"Something wrong?"
"No, just a weird look on your face."
"Not expecting anything, not disappointed either."
"Hm, fair enough. You're young, so that mindset works."
I bowed my head in greeting and schooled my expression.
Then I left the measurement room.
Outside, the main characters who'd finished their tests early were gathered in small groups.
I gave an awkward wave and smile.
Han Ye-seo approached me.
"You sat behind me earlier, right?!"
"Probably."
"Name? I already know!"
"Ivy Lane... You?"
"I'm Han Ye-seo. Nice to meet you!"
Allegory of the Cave
Ability: Allegory of the Cave.
Transform part of the body into ink-like substance, use on walls or floors... Eh, whatever. I already knew it; no need to recall again.
Good versatility, solid combat power.
A great character to recruit.
"...Yeah. Nice to meet you."
"Kinda shy?"
"Nah, just slow to warm up. Once we're close, I talk normally."
"Really? Feels pretty normal now."
"Working on it."
Working hard to avoid the events to come.