Haa... 50 Years of Drift
“Haa...”
It was the kind of situation that naturally drew out a sigh. Two days had passed since my return to the Adenia world. Now, I had no choice but to truly accept the facts. My five days of sweet vacation bliss on Earth really did mean fifty years had gone by in Adenia.
“If it was gonna be like this, I shouldn't have bothered going back to Earth. Fucking Status Window.”
After all my efforts to avert the dark fantasy ending, they hand me this pathetic final reward? Were the devs out of their goddamn minds?
And aside from the fifty-year time skip, there was another massive problem.
“...Status Window.”
- Unavailable trait
- Unavailable trait
All stats capped at 20.
Special stats unusable.
A-rank or higher traits unusable.
Inventory restricted.
Unique-grade or higher items restricted.
Legendary-grade items unusable.
Remaining time: ???
“Why the hell is this Drift status ailment showing up now? Driving me fucking insane.”
All the stats and traits I'd painstakingly built up to avert that bad ending were locked away. And it was all because of this Drift bullshit.
Originally, in the Adenia Star game, Drift was a debuff the devs intentionally slapped on to prevent exploits when you were in some other dimension. But why the fuck did they shove it into the prequel game too?
“You crazy bastards, after I saved the damn world, shouldn't you at least remove this crap debuff?”
I was so pissed I flipped off the Status Window with both middle fingers. It didn't react at all, just sitting there smugly displaying all those red "Restricted" labels.
“Hoo... Fine, whatever. The minor stuff's settled.”
Drift wasn't permanent anyway, so I'd endure it. I'd already experienced Drift back when I played the game, Adenia Star. As I recalled, it lasted for half the time you'd spent in the outside world. Probably the same here—about twenty-five years, and it'd vanish. You could really see the devs' malice in that design.
And there was another vicious part to Drift's restrictions. It wasn't treated as a disease, so holy or life-based spells wouldn't touch it. Nor was it a curse, so black mages or curse specialists were useless. Unless it was some special case, the intent was to tough it out purely with time.
“At least there are ways around it, so that's something...”
I knew methods to either shorten the duration of Drift itself or straight-up ignore the debuff. The problem? I couldn't use either one right now.
Using an Elixir or Sage's Stone would cut the Drift timer. I'd managed to snag both while grinding for the happy ending. But thanks to inventory restrictions, I couldn't pull them out.
“...”
And hunting down new ones? Impossible. Only grandmaster alchemists on the level of a great witch could brew those. In this empty slate fifty years later, how the hell was I supposed to find one?
“The last option... Guess I gotta track down the crew and get my items back.”
If I could reclaim the gear I'd loaned to my companions before heading to Earth for vacation, all these Drift restrictions would mean jack shit.
“I know how to solve it, but... Tsk. No way to contact them either.”
I had ways to reach my companions, of course. Problem was, they were tied to traits, which I couldn't access.
To fix the Status Window, I needed to meet my companions. But to contact them, I needed the Status Window's traits.
“... Fucking hell.”
I rubbed my throbbing temples in frustration. I just wanted some rumors about them, but all I could see was endless forest. Two days back in Adenia, and not a single sign of human life.
I needed to hit up an inn in a city or an adventurer guild to ask around. Nothing was going right.
Why the fuck was all this happening?
“I just want to meet some people...”
Grrrruuuuaaaak—!
“...!”
A familiar, grating noise tickled my ears.
“Oh.”
People. Finally, a way out of this shithole forest.
I tensed my slackened body, flexing my muscles. Sharpened my senses to the max. Even with the Status Window restricted, the experience of thwarting apocalypse was etched into my flesh. My body seamlessly shifted into combat mode, picking up the foul aura.
My honed senses locked onto the faint metallic tang of blood. I bolted toward it.
The closer I got, the clearer the sounds became. Not human dissonance—gurgling saliva and stomach acid, crude metal clashing against cold weapons.
Monster. Fifty years after crushing the Abyss forces, Adenia still had plenty of problem children.
Almost there. The monster's repulsive mana prickled my skin, and blurry silhouettes appeared ahead.
“Kyaaaak! Get awayyy!!!”
“Kuhuhuhuhu...”
I channeled mana into my eyes with a minor trick. The blurs magnified and sharpened like a telescope.
A blue-haired girl collapsed on the ground, facing off against a single orc. Residual mana traces around her—mage, huh? But a mage who can't handle one orc? Doesn't add up. Unless it was an elite, but the drooling orc in front of her was your standard Adenia trash mob.
Actually, its condition was rough. Starved for ages—muscles withered, that signature orc gut gone. Yellow eyes gleaming with gluttonous hunger, drool pouring out. The crude iron axe in its hand was comically oversized for the runt. Probably snatched from some passing goblin.
Even a rookie guard could take it down, but the mage was in full panic mode.
Overdid the mana expenditure...? Still weird.
Even mana-drained mages were off. Basic survival in Adenia meant mages could handle simple staff seals or wield a dagger from their belt.
“Huuuuw... Nooo... Professor... What do I dooo... Kyaaaak!! Stay back, you monster!!!”
But the girl on the ground was just sobbing, aiming her staff at the approaching orc.
Is this even Adenia?
A dark thought flickered, but my body moved on instinct. I closed in until the orc's stench hit me. It was too fixated on devouring the girl to notice me behind it.
Then die.
Even capped at 20, squashing a starved orc was a breeze.
“Kyaaaak!! Nooooo!!!!”
“Kuhuhuhu...”
I smashed the grinning orc's hand. Snatched the falling crude axe mid-drop.
“Kheung?”
The bewildered orc whipped around.
“Too late, asshole.”
No hesitation—I buried the axe in its forehead. It didn't even counter, eyes rolling back as it crumpled.
Thud—!
“Kyaaa!! Uh...?”
The girl, who'd squeezed her eyes shut while huddled, cracked them open and stared at me. Blinking in disbelief. I held back a sigh at how slow she was on the uptake.
“Hey, little miss. Aren't you a mage?”
“Hic-! Y-Yes... Yes I am!! That's righttt...”
The mage girl nodded frantically, unable to stop her hiccups.
“Then why couldn't you take down one orc?”
“... W-Well... I used up all my manaaa...”
She averted her eyes, trailing off without confidence.
“Then use your sword. Or swing the staff.”
“... Y-Yes... Huh?”
She stammered, clearly not getting it. Her teary eyes flicked between her staff and me.
“Wh-What do you... m-mean—!”
The mage girl bit her tongue, making a weird noise.
“Kid, this is Adenia, right?”
“Y-Yes..! It is..!”
“Unbelievable.”
Honestly, I was stunned. After fifty years since toppling the Abyss, Adenia had turned into a world where mages this fragile could survive?
“A mage who's such a crybaby...?”
“Sob... I'm sorry.”
The thought slipped out loud. Hurt by my words, she started bawling again.
“I'm sorry... I'm a useless mage, sob... A failing student, I'm sorry... Hic-! B-But... I'm Blue hic-!”
“Hey, no need to cry that hard.”
She looked the part, but anyway, that wasn't the point.
“Waaah, I knew it... I should've never come here... Hic-! Professor... I'm sorry... Sob.”
Comforting the kid wasn't a bad idea, but I had my own issues.
“Calm down, little mage. Can you tell me where we are?”
“Y-Yes... I'm sorry... Hic-!”
The little mage just kept apologizing through her sobs. Why was a mage so low on self-esteem? Just casting spells should earn special treatment in Adenia.
Or maybe after fifty years, magic had become commonplace?
“Waaah, I wanna go home... Sob... No... Then the tuition... Sob—!”
She was arguing with herself and crying over it.
“Hmm...”
Watching her stirred something inside me. Like wanting to tease a small pet? I couldn't quite place it.
“Hey, little miss. Why are you so relaxed?”
“Hic-! Y-Yes...?”
“I killed the orc, sure, but what if I was the bad guy?”
“...?”
She looked up at me with her tear-streaked face. Perfect for bullying. For fun, I hefted the iron axe and took a step toward her.
“Hieeek—!! Noooo!!! Hic-! Guh-gurgle—!”
The mage girl foamed at the mouth and passed out.
“Whoa. Fainted from that?”
I'd only released a light bit of killing intent, and she drops? Adenia after fifty years had gotten this soft.