Everything Has Its Reason

I slowly read through the messages appearing before my eyes. I roused my stiff, frozen brain and hammered the contents into my head.

"...Hmm."

Lost past life senses. Possession. A derailed situation. Whatever this thing calling itself the system was, it had firmly imprinted on me that none of this was mere coincidence.

Me ending up in this world wasn't just good luck. There had to be some clear reason for it—my scattered soul had reformed here because of that. It meant a transcendent being existed that had breathed new life into my dying self.

That being probably called me to this world and granted me this status window and system.

...What a weird feeling.

I couldn't objectively grasp my current situation. Was I someone's hope, someone taking steps toward some grand undertaking? Or was I just a toy, a plaything for someone's boredom? Or maybe neither.

Suddenly, a line from a novel came to mind, spoken by the protagonist.

Back then, it had just seemed like a cool, throwaway line. But recalling it now, it hit hard.

"Still, whoever it is, I should be grateful."

I didn't know what they expected from me, but they were my savior all the same. They didn't seem to harbor any ill will—tossing in quests and achievements whenever they got bored.

Survive until the designated date... No failure penalty.

I glanced over the quest details again and let out a small chuckle. Of course there was no failure penalty. If you die, you fail. I had no idea what that "designated date" was, but it wouldn't mess up my original plans. Just keep living indefinitely, and it'd clear itself eventually.

The reward was a clue to the truth. It'd surely be the key to understanding why I'd set foot in this world anew. I'd find out eventually anyway, so no point racking my brain alone with zero info right now.

With my thoughts sorted, my mind and body settled a bit. The anxiety clouding my head ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠cleared.

But before I could savor the clarity, a new wave of information crashed over me.

"Whoa."

I hadn't expected to be able to use my past life's self as a consciousness—and a whopping 4-star one at that. I'd idly speculated before bed sometimes, wondering what star rating my past self would get if it became a consciousness. No need anymore; the system had nailed it at 4-star.

In terms of rank alone, it was on par with a magical girl consciousness.

That said, the name tacked on after...

Erosion Slayer... Ugh, cringey as hell.

Seeing the epithet attached to me made my body twist uncomfortably. Erosion Slayer. Totally the kind of name middle-school dropout me would've secretly loved.

It wasn't that weird, though. The consciousnesses I casually called artist, fisherman, and actor actually had grandiose epithets like "Artist Who Turned His Back on the World," "Fisherman Who Hooks the Ages," and "Actor of Demonic Charm."

Still, seeing my own name like that... It stirred an indescribable shame.

Ugh, ignore it.

I shook my head and checked the quest conditions. Basically, defeat a set number of erosion entities from 9th to 5th grade.

Why's my footprint like this?

The ridiculously consistent conditions drew a hollow laugh from me. Well, I'd sliced through erosion entities like crazy back then. Even after work hours, I'd charge at any I spotted. That's why they called me a madman sometimes—erosion-crazed psycho.

They said facing me against erosion entities felt like staring down a monster worse than the entities themselves.

No clue when Limit Break unlocks, but chipping away at erosion entities in the meantime will help later.

The highest I could handle now was 7th-grade, but it beat twiddling my thumbs until Limit Break came.

Then, a brilliant idea struck.

"Do the ones I beat here count?"

If erosion entities defeated in this virtual reality counted, I could clear most of the quest without real risk. Worth a test.

I summoned a pustule-type 9th-grade erosion entity ahead. Pustule-types were fixed to the ground, eroding their surroundings to grow. Rare easy prey at low grades, but trickier the bigger they got. The classic late-bloomer type.

As far as I remembered, there was one in Africa ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the size of a mountain.

-!!

The motorcycle-sized thing whipped tentacles at me. But it was just a 9th-grade erosion entity. I could handle it without any consciousness sync.

I dodged clumsily and swung my sword with amateurish skill. After about three minutes, I jammed it into the core with all my might.

The erosion entity lost form and vanished.

"Figured."

Quest window showed no change from zero. So, I had to hunt real, living ones personally. Makes sense—a 4-star reward wouldn't fall for cheap tricks. That'd be weirder if it did.

"Hmm..."

Ways for me to encounter erosion entities now: three main ones.

First, stumble into an erosion phenomenon in Providence. But they weren't frequent enough for quest-clearing.

Second, head to erosion sites outside Providence. Already deepened erosion phenomena, so easier than the first. But students need outing permits to leave the academy city. Applying openly like "Gonna hunt erosion entities!" gets ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠denied flat. Faking it? Secrets always leak eventually.

So, really just one option left: Backworld raids.

First-years are banned from Backworld raids, but it's not impossible.

Backworlds were worlds long destroyed by erosion phenomena—far deadlier than this world's ongoing erosion sites. Providence bans first-year voluntary raids for safety.

But one exception lets first-years raid Backworlds: the Providence Student Council.

An elite group only for those with exceptional power and talent, regardless of background. Prove your worth to the president and VP, and anyone can join.

Council first-years can join periodic council-led Backworld raids. Perfect for efficiently clearing the consciousness recovery quest.

"Join the Student Council..."

Partial Backworld access for first-years, plus career boost for future purifier work—recruitment's always swamped.

"Not a bad idea."

For me, not fully awakened yet, it might be tough. Maybe impossible.

But.

Was anything ever easy? Always felt like a beggar.

No giving up. Everything I'd done so far was near-impossible anyway. Too old to fear failure.

"Screw it, let's do it."

Goal set. I'm joining the Student Council.