The First Timeline
A bloodcurdling scream ripped through the empty void.
In a battlefield, one would expect the clash of steel and the thunder of exploding magic. But here? Not a single sound disturbed the silence.
Because this was already...
A one-sided massacre.
KRRRRK!!
“GYAHH!! It hurts!! It hurts......!!”
A man who gripped an arm twisted beyond any human joint’s limit screamed through tears and snot.
Watching him with cold indifference, the man in black robes smiled faintly and slowly raised his hand.
The Salvation Sect.
A cult that dared to desecrate the forbidden across this continent in pursuit of a hollow dream to save the world.
And right now, they were turning that hollow dream into reality.
“......”
How much longer?
Watching another life fade, I exhaled slowly and gauged what remained of my lifespan.
The Curse of Equivalent Exchange.
The optimal curse I had chosen after dozens of character-creation trials in this game.
‘Curse’ expanded the cost of blessings. So the higher the cost, the better the blessing.
The Curse of Equivalent Exchange slashed my lifespan to amplify my power for a short time.
If even 0.1 percent of my lifespan remained at the end of this world, I would win.
But what was the point of clearing the world if I died?
After clearing, I would return to the original timeline anyway. What did remaining lifespan matter here?
Yet....
‘10 percent.’
That was all that remained if I assumed natural death.
The Demon God’s true form still hadn’t descended, and I hadn’t even entered the final phase.
‘......Lost.’
I clicked my tongue inwardly and scanned the surroundings. Even with perfect calculation, 10 percent lifespan was insufficient.
No waste anywhere, yet this was all that was left. My calculations had been flawless.
How could that be?
Of course.
I had closed my eyes for only a moment, exhaled, and surveyed the situation.
This game was utterly doomed.
I had tried it dozens of times. This was never a solo-clear game.
Players, heroines, and supporting characters all had to be brought to a high level and combined to stand a chance.
Because....
“Ugh......u......”
This mess was impossible to clear.
They were too weak for anyone with just blessings, no curse.
The Demon God hadn’t appeared, only the Salvation Sect. Yet they were all in despair.
That alone showed how desperate they were.
Whoosh!!
I stepped forward indifferently and drew my sword.
One Salvation Sect member who had been glaring narrowed his eyes as I walked like a stroll.
“Wh... who...?”
A man who had been saved by me stared in bewilderment.
I ignored that gaze and exhaled slowly.
Of course. They didn’t know my existence.
I hadn’t enrolled at the Academy, that wasn’t it. There was simply no connection.
How could I have been reincarnated without any connection to the heroines? I was supposed to get close to them while helping them!
‘......Damn, how does that even work?’
Could a gamer-only guy in the corner even talk to a girl that way?
In-game choices always worked. In reality, they didn’t.
Because of that, some heroines had been equipped with weapons ill-suited to their talent, and others hadn’t fully realized theirs.
......This one actually suited me.
Doing this in reality would turn me into a stalker, criminal, or madman. So I stayed quiet and this happened.
‘Maybe my karma was just that heavy.’
Well, what was the point of dwelling on it now?
I calmly ignored the gazes and turned my eyes to the sky.
RUMBLE......!!
The sky screamed. Through thick clouds and darkness, something was beginning to emerge.
[KRRRRR......!!!]
“KYAAAAHH!!”
The sound alone made my skin crawl. I ignored it and slowly raised my sword.
‘Use Curse of Equivalent Exchange.’
Swish.
The strange coldness starting at my fingertips never got used to.
It rushed from my toes and palms, slowly gathering in one spot. Precisely the heart.
DUMPS!!
My heart pounded like it was screaming. I bit my lower lip hard.
“Huu......”
I breathed in deeply, exhaled, and tossed off the pain. I gripped the sword tightly.
The hilt trembled.
That was death.
Unavoidable.
The moment it appeared, this world would shatter.
Knowing that, I stared into the Demon God’s blazing red eyes emerging from the darkness and swung.
“Disappear.”
Not yet.
KRRRRRAAAAA―!!
A life-draining sword qi shot skyward.
I knew.
This alone couldn’t defeat the Demon God. If a quest had appeared right now...
[Emergency Quest: Stop the Demon God’s Descent!]
Clear rate was about 90 percent.
Still far from the final phase, I couldn’t face the real Demon God.
Even if I could, 10 percent lifespan offered zero chance. Maybe it was fortunate.
Because......
‘I can hit him once.’
The thought made me furious.
Why was this game so hard? I sacrificed my life and still couldn’t clear it?
That thought flashed, but it meant nothing now.
‘......Dizzy.’
My legs suddenly gave out. I barely drove the sword tip into the ground and held myself upright. I exhaled and stared at the sky with hazy eyes.
Fortunately, my wish to land one hit on the Demon God had been fulfilled.
Through blurry vision, the gathering clouds slowly retreated.
It was over.
Lifespan, life force, all at the limit.
‘Fine.’
Death was my first time, yet I managed a smile.
I had filled the curse cost with the Curse of Equivalent Exchange and applied the blessing too.
‘Regression.’
A blessing I had chosen before reincarnation, knowing one cycle was never enough to clear.
So when I died, I would go to the next cycle.
“Huu......”
I exhaled and lowered my head.
Barely 0.1 percent left.
Even that was slowly slipping away. I could die any second. I felt my grip on the sword weakening.
“Damn you, you rat!!”
A furious shout echoed in my already fragile eardrums. His bloodshot eyes glared at me with murderous intent.
I knew who he was.
‘Ah...... the cult leader.’
The leader of a group with no sane mind, one that aimed to summon the Demon God.
He had raged for a while, then glared at me. I read the madness in his eyes and couldn’t help frowning.
“You dare interfere again!! A rat that keeps ruining our grand plan!!”
‘......Wait.’
He knew?
This game, in one word, was overbalanced.
The Salvation Sect’s power was too overwhelming, so even the main characters couldn’t clear without everything else being wiped out.
Even I hadn’t cleared once.
So I had lightly interfered with their plans. I thought killing the witnesses made it a perfect assassination...
‘I see, you were watching from somewhere dark.’
A mocking laugh escaped me. The leader’s face hardened instantly.
He slowly reached toward my heart.
“Just die quietly, you rat.”
‘Ah...... just let me die peacefully.’
I knew I would die anyway. Why force me to suffer?!!
Feeling the leader’s fingers pierce my heart, I closed my eyes.
[Player death confirmed.]
[Regression activates.]
[Resetting this cycle begins.]
[.......]
[Clear rate 90%, heroine intimacy 4%, ability utilization 99%... total clear probability 0.5%.]
[Calculating next cycle clear probability.]
[.......]
[Expected probability 0.7%.]
[Clear impossible. Adjusting difficulty.]
[Adjustment complete... ? Regression evolves...? ]
[!@#!@$!%!%!@#!@#]
[□□□ will confirmed. Adjustment begins. Massive time required.]
[Player’s fortune is invoked.]
□□□ □□ □□ □ □□□......