Chapter 15
Chapter 15
Ch. 15 .｡.:✧ Retry (1) ✧:.｡.
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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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[If you clear the game and satisfy the escape conditions, the game immediately ends and you return to reality.]
[Escape Condition 1: The affection rate of all heroines must exceed 95%.]
[Escape Condition 2: The final boss ‘Draken’ must be defeated.]
[If you clear the game without satisfying the escape conditions, you return to the starting point.]
The system window that just looking at it made me lose strength appeared before my eyes.
It was the exact same window I had seen before.
“Kieek! The enemy of my father! Kek!”
“Haa…”
And a voice I had somewhat missed was heard.
“Sorry. This time I’ll send you off in one stroke.”
Crack.
As I stepped to the side, blood splattered in the air.
The body of the goblin, its head sliced off, fell in front of my feet.
Not a single drop of blood got on my body.
[Achievement Unlocked]
[First monster hunt success!]
[As a reward for the achievement, you are given ‘Stat Boost Potion of Choice’ x1.]
The achievement window I had seen once popped up again.
It seemed achievements were reset.
Then what about stats?
[Stats]
[Strength: 9(-5) *Guardian Knight penalty applied]
[Stamina: 7(-5) *Guardian Knight penalty applied]
[Mana: 12(-5) *Guardian Knight penalty applied]
[Agility: 18(-5) *Guardian Knight penalty applied]
[Luck: 4(-5) *Guardian Knight penalty applied]
Of course, stats were also reset to the initial state.
My physical condition was much more powerless too.
I had literally returned to the past.
“The initial trait is the same.”
The annoying penalty-imposing Guardian Knight remained.
It seemed the initial trait wasn’t assigned randomly each time, but had become fixed as Guardian Knight.
Seeing as the window saying Guardian Knight was given as the initial trait didn’t appear, I might have returned to a point after the initial trait was already determined.
But the situation wasn’t entirely hopeless.
Because my memories and senses remained intact.
And above all…
[Traits with a synchronization rate exceeding 90% are automatically restored.]
[Trait: Thakia-style (lv.9)]
[You learn the forgotten ancient one-handed swordsmanship. Your understanding of one-handed swords increases.]
I had succeeded in salvaging one swordsmanship trait.
Among the three swordsmanship traits, only Thakia-style had surpassed level 9.
It was a natural phenomenon since I had regressed with my memories intact.
The other two swordsmanship styles weren’t fully ‘mastered’ by me, just at the level of clicking and firing techniques, so they didn’t seem to be restored.
It was a bit troublesome, but I had to go through the trait acquisition event again.
‘The advantages of regression are quite significant. With this, I can clear it.’
I chugged the stat boost potion to raise my luck stat.
If the level of a swordsmanship trait was above 9, I could carry it over to the next playthrough.
There were no variables since the starting point didn’t change every restart either.
This seemed doable.
‘I was too foolish in the 1st playthrough.’
My play in the 1st playthrough was full of manipulation.
The very idea of seducing heroines with just conversation skills was wrong from the start.
Of course, if I did that, I could conquer multiple heroines in a short time.
Since I, who directly wrote the story, knew all the heroines’ personalities, tastes, characteristics, etc.
It was like taking a test while looking at the answer sheet.
But if I did that, Jill would become a pushover, Yulia a stalker reeking of hidden mastermind, and Yerina would have anger management issues.
I needed proper operation without tricks.
I needed to naturally participate in the events the game led to, make contact with the heroines, and slowly get closer while getting to know the heroines through affection building.
Only then could I meet the heroines as lovers, not as psychos who only relied on or were obsessed with me.
‘I should do the proper play the game demands.’
In the 1st playthrough, I was way too suspicious.
I had mastered swordsmanship suspiciously well, but my stats were miserable, and my combat skills were even worse.
But I knew way too much information.
Wouldn’t I have looked like the final hidden boss or someone on par with that to anyone?
Perhaps the reason the achievement window stopped appearing at some point was because I skipped and jumped over the entire early game.
It was different this time.
I was going to act as the protagonist, not the final hidden boss.
I had confirmed there were no other possessors in this world besides me, so there was no need to hesitate.
I would start properly from the low-level hunting ground and gradually accumulate experience points.
Getting stronger and earning money while making a name for myself.
In the first place, it was advantageous for heroine conquest to hunt moderately.
Because in the game system, hunting could be used as an excuse for cheating.
For example, if I sliced off the head of a minotaur that was supposed to take a week to hunt in advance, I could buy a week later.
“Let’s go. Ah, I almost forgot about Blin’s club.”
[Achievement Unlocked]
[First loot obtained!]
[As a reward for the achievement, the trait ‘Inspect’ is given.]
I had roughly made a plan.
Now let’s depart.
Since the strategy was very different from the 1st playthrough, honestly, I wasn’t very confident.
But if I tried about 3 times, I could probably clear it.
“You bastards! Why can’t you understand what I’m saying!”
“Customer. Please leave.”
I was blocked from the low-level hunting ground.
I had forgotten for a moment, but these adventurer bastards were no ordinary crazies.
I said I would go hunt werewolves, but they kept insisting I start with slimes.
It seemed to be remnants of the mandatory prerequisites in the game, as it was a tutorial area.
It was maddening for me.
Slashing slimes, mutated mushrooms, and giant rats with a level 9 swordsmanship trait…
Feeling like there would be no end if I went on like this, I quickly escaped the low-level hunting ground.
“Phew…”
In the end, I had come to the high-level hunting ground, the dungeon.
Dungeons were sparsely distributed throughout the continent according to the setting.
Inside, there were plenty of monsters and traps, so no one wanted to enter.
But in the story, it couldn’t be left alone because the setting was that the source of the final boss’s power was the dungeon.
While exploring the dungeon and seizing treasures, the core of the dungeon is destroyed.
And once all the dungeons are destroyed, you go to defeat the weakened final boss, which is the basic outline, but…
‘Am I crazy? To go die on my own.’
As long as the escape condition of the harem ending exists, I would never go to defeat the final boss.
But I had to clear the dungeon even for the harem ending.
Since even the inside wasn’t safe, I was nervous.
I had only worked on the dating sim part, so I had no idea what would come out inside the dungeon.
“Phew. At this rate, there will be no end. Let’s just go.”
“Hey there. Are you trying to challenge the dungeon?”
“…Yes. Who are you?”
“I’m a passing traveler. Judging by your equipment, it looks decent, but I don’t feel any mana from your body at all.”
“…”
Just as I was about to muster up courage and enter, I was caught by an old man.
Mana.
Come to think of it, magic existed in this world.
I had seen the heroines use it several times, but I had never used it myself.
To feel mana, I had to meditate, but I was stuck from the start.
“I don’t think magic and I get along well.”
“Hehehe. If you go in without even knowing how to use magic, you’ll die quickly.”
“…”
Although it smelled a bit like a scam, it was something I couldn’t ignore.
The usefulness of magic in this world was beyond imagination.
I had ignored it so far because it was bothersome, but maybe it was time to diligently learn it.
“I’ll teach you a few basic magic spells to survive in the dungeon.”
“How much will it cost?”
“Don’t worry. This old man isn’t going to receive money to enjoy wealth and glory at this age.”
I learned various magic from the old man for three days.
By the way, I had to spend the first day meditating all day while being whipped.
The magic I learned like that was ignition magic (for lighting torches), unlocking magic (for opening locked doors and boxes), clairvoyance magic (for seeing traps beyond walls or floors), etc.
Nothing grand, just miscellaneous things, but they were magic that would be of minor help.
“I think I can move on to some great magic now.”
“You fool. Give up. You’re a lost cause for magic. If you don’t want to be embarrassed in front of others, learn only the inconspicuous magic like a petty thief.”
“…”
He’s talking nonsense again.
I should learn flashy and cool magic later, somewhere without the old man.
Maybe I should learn some ice magic from Yerina.
In my view, I had the perfect constitution for a mage.
I hated pain.
“There’s nothing more to teach. Get lost in the dungeon.”
“Old man. May I ask your name?”
“I said get lost.”
“…”
This old man, I felt like I had seen him a lot somewhere.
He clearly exuded the aura of a former hero or great mage, but since he didn’t want to tell me himself, I decided to stop asking.
Well, maybe he would turn out to be a homeless person with a background as a petty thief later.
I would have to deduce this person’s identity as I went through regressions.
Anyway, after four days, I left the old man’s side and headed to the dungeon.
As the old man said, the inside of the dungeon was rough and unfriendly.
If it were a game, spike traps that would only slightly reduce health were killing machines that would cause massive bleeding + infection if you got pricked even once, if you opened the wrong door, you would be surrounded by monsters and have to fight all day, and if you took the wrong path, you would be trapped in a maze.
If I hadn’t learned magic, I probably would have died in here.
‘Damn it. I’ll have to memorize everything.’
It took too much time to clear a single dungeon.
Fortunately, our company didn’t have the technology to change the structure of the dungeon every time you entered.
Even if I regressed, the dungeon would always have the same structure in the same location.
I would be able to dramatically reduce the time in the next regression.
I would have to think of this playthrough as a throwaway.
“Next person, please come in.”
“Greetings, Saintess. My name is Yoo-jin.”
“Yeah, well. Go ahead and start.”
“…”
“I said go ahead and start?”
On the day of the bodyguard knight interview.
The moment I faced Jill again.
I couldn’t forget that gaze of Jill looking at me casually like any other commoner.
Jill Diner, whose memories of me had all disappeared.
The moment our eyes met just now.
It seemed like Jill flinched slightly as if she recognized me, but was it just my imagination?
Jill opened her trembling lips.
“What are you doing?”
“…”
I guess it was just my imagination.
Even though I had cursed Jill so much, it seemed I had developed feelings for her.
I had secretly hoped she would remember me.
Seeing Jill, who had completely forgotten about me, made my heart ache.
I could understand why regressors had their hearts broken.
No matter how many times I repeated a difficult dungeon, it was okay, but this pain of someone I knew becoming a different person kept accumulating in my heart.
“…I will begin.”
I made up my mind.
From now on, I wouldn’t give my heart to anyone.
Because that would be better for my mental health.
I would also be careful not to develop feelings for the three main heroines, only acting as if I loved them.
Only then could I retry without my heart breaking down in the next playthrough.
The moment my heart crumbled and I couldn’t lie to the heroines anymore.
That moment, I would be trapped in this game.
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