Learned Helplessness

I didn't want to say anything that harsh to Adella.

Right now, it was time to focus on clearing. We'd already spent too long in the supply depot. There was no spare moment to even glance at the silent barrage of donation ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠notifications pouring in as I dealt with the endless guards without rest.

We pressed on with a desperate fight in the last remaining spot: the Admissions Office. It held the deepest meaning for Adella too. But she always just got in the way.

The Admissions Office wasn't a single mid-boss system—it was an event where you had to take down multiple elite NPCs. They seemed to be the instructors involved in selecting new students at the academy. Calling them professor-level would be an insult, though.

...It was all for Adella's sake. Bringing her this far was a miracle in itself. From the observatory to the supply depot, we'd escaped death's door who-knows-how-many times. You said you had to repay the branch chief's favor too.

The guards started milling about in confusion. Proof that the diversion on the east side was working perfectly.

"Let's slip into the northern forest now and head back in once things calm down."

Escape wasn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠easy. We hadn't even reached the academy headquarters yet, but we managed to slip out through the city's countless alleys without encountering a single enemy.

Adella panted heavily, chasing after my heels.

Shouldn't a cat at least be nimble?

"Let's wait here."

Spotting a convenient staircase, I sat to conserve stamina. Adella trudged over and plopped down beside me.

"You can find Alperion, Sisiela, and the laurel, right...?"

"Thirty went just to the east gate. If we know the spot, they'll handle it."

"Yeah. They're all stronger than me anyway."

How long did we have to wait? The quest window gave no hints.

"Forest Keeper, you fight so well. At the observatory, the supply depot, the Admissions Office..."

Adella trailed off, uncharacteristically gloomy. Maybe the moonlight was stirring her emotions.

"Compared to that... I wasn't any help at all. If that's the case, you could've gone alone, NoName."

"If you hadn't smashed the ceiling in the supply depot, we might not have beaten the depot keeper."

"No. You definitely could've won solo."

Adella's ears drooped. Her once-wagging tail hung limp.

"Those people you fought at the Admissions Office? They were the instructors who oversaw my entrance exam two years ago. All insanely strong."

"They were strong."

"Maybe I just wasn't academy material. Just a stinky alley thief... Guess we're all back to our proper places. That's my lot in life."

"My skills were never up to it from the start."

Adella flicked a dagger into the air. She tried to hook its handle ring onto the tip of another spinning one—her signature trick—but it pitifully glanced off the blade and failed.

"Heh heh, can't even do this... Pathetic..."

"Let's go, Adella."

"..."

Once the quest triggered, her reactions vanished as always. She shook herself off like nothing happened and followed behind me.

There are "inevitabilities" in the world. Events that happen no matter what. So clear in cause and effect that it would be weirder if they didn't occur.

For example, ice left at room temperature melts on its own. For example, a nation steeped in aggressive wars and tax plundering crumbles from within.

The theory doesn't stop at phenomena—it applies to macro scales too. So in a group where trust had bottomed out enough for the branch chief to predict and warn of betrayal, traitors emerging was inevitable.

"Sisiela! Why are you alone—where's Alperion!"

Adella rushed out and supported the badly wounded Sisiela.

"Tch... That old man's words were spot on. Half right, unfortunately..."

Sisiela yanked the arrow from her thigh, blood spurting wildly.

"Now I get why they sent just you two on such a dangerous mission."

"What're you—"

"All our mercenaries betrayed us. Everyone from Abyss District 15 sided with the academy!"

She testified that when they tried to steal the laurel, their comrades suddenly turned and attacked Alperion and Sisiela without hesitation. What happened? I was sure something had gone terribly wrong while they infiltrated, but the comrades clammed up.

But pros were pros.

"The laurel's here. I gotta go help Alperion. Forest Keeper, don't abandon Adella. Promise me."

"Sisiela!"

"Run with it! Hurry!"

"I can't...!"

"Forest Keeper, take her and go already!"

Suddenly, the world turned black and white. The bear beastkin yelling to run with Adella, the stubborn Adella refusing—they all froze. Even the fluttering leaves, ash, and embers hung suspended in space.

In this halted world, only I could ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠move freely. Two choices floated before me.

All previous choices hadn't stopped game time like this. Delay too long, and NPCs would hurry or pressure you. But this question kindly paused playtime, as if inviting deep thought. Instinct told me this was the game's most critical branch point.

After a brief ponder, I manipulated the air interface.

It wasn't pride. I was the one short on info. I decided to seek the viewers' help.

"Tell me. Spoilers are fine."

Rash choices without info lead straight to death. Plus, I couldn't guess which way the devs had rigged it. What if accepting a confession from a junior led to a truck slamming from behind, like some visual novel twist?

Hangul and Arabic numerals surged like waves.

For a precise call, I asked again.

"Can we save Alperion if we go now?"

"Good luck. We must meet again alive."

My heart wasn't at ease. Sending comrades to certain death felt awful. If WareSoft's strategy was to sour moods, it worked perfectly. World of Arceria's story mode didn't suit me. Next stream, I'd watch full speedrun guides and clear in record time.

I forcibly grabbed Adella's arm, pulling her from Sisiela. Choice made, our own time attack had begun.

"Adella, we weren't super close in Abyss, but survive no matter what. When you return, I'll party with you as much as you want."

"No! NoName, let go! How can you send sis off to fight in that state!"

"We have to go. Enemies are swarming again."

"Sniff... Hic...!"

I dragged the dazed Adella through the foes. My chain flail—barely fit to call a weapon—was dulling fast. Subdue ten, twenty more pour in; kill twenty, thirty charge.

One-vs-many isn't a fight—it's a hunt. The prey has one thought: full speed escape.

The academy north gate was just ahead. I checked we still had the laurel.

Each laurel had a name? I checked the one Repi gave me.

Reincarnation? So the game's reset on death ties to this for logic? Impressive attention to detail from the devs.

Over the academy wall, and the city's maze would hide us easily.

"...!"

A massive ice spike plunged from the sky. Melting it was futile—water resistance was sky-high against my current fire magic.

I manipulated air currents to barely graze past. In that sense, Turbulence was the widest-reaching spell for minimal mana.

"Can't even catch these rat pups properly. Guard-level scum."

A middle-aged man in a suit descended flawlessly composed. His monocle gleamed in the moonlight, pocket watch ticking indifferently.

"Father...?"

Adella's gasped word left me doubting my ears.