Chapter 1
Chapter 1
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Prologue
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"You're here? It's been a while."
A lump of light in human form waved its hand. Sigh. To think I'd have to see this guy again.
I sighed and played along.
"Yeah. Long time no see. I was hoping we wouldn't meet again."
"Same here, right? By the way, Claude—or should I call you by your real name?"
"Just call me Claude. I can barely remember my original name."
"Wasn't it Seongjin? Man, you're down to skin and bones. You gonna die before I even send you back? You okay?"
"Does it look like I'm okay? I'm starving to death here."
I clutched my growling stomach and slumped to the ground.
"How many days has it been since I last ate? How is there not a single bug to eat in this godforsaken cave?"
"What can I do? All divine sanctuaries are like this. Anyway, shall we start the evaluation as planned?"
"Forget it. You know the drill. I'm in a bad mood, so let's just get this over with."
Just a few days ago, all the people I cared about died. No need to relive that failure.
This place was a divine sanctuary deep underground.
And the flashing guy in front of me was its owner, the 'God of Time and Fate.'
His name was Roa.
This bastard had suddenly summoned me—a guy rotting away as a university TA after discharge—into his world and forcibly shoved me into the body of a prince named Claude.
He'd begged me to adapt to this new body and save his world from destruction by another otherworld invasion.
So, how did that turn out?
Do I really need to say it?
...
Of course, it failed.
The Claude I'd become was the youngest prince of the Payud Empire, the strongest nation in this world.
The problem was that he was a super ultra hopeless wreck of a human, beyond any hope of recovery.
Adapting at first was pure hell.
For starters, his body was a mess.
He was too small in stature, frail as hell, and his mind was perpetually foggy, like he'd been huffing drugs nonstop.
On top of that, his reputation was so trashy that everyone around him shot him dirty looks constantly.
He had a foul temper, hurling curses at everyone, causing trouble without a care for consequences, and committing near-criminal acts without batting an eye.
If not for his prince status, he'd have been dragged to some dingy back alley and ended long ago.
And he was only 16.
Damn...
My first regression—Round 1—flashed before my eyes like a life review.
Back then, as a prince with nothing but infamy, even leveraging my status was tricky.
Roa had given me one special ability upon summoning, but it was so unique that it was hard to use effectively.
Then, around age 22.
Suddenly, every faction around the Payud Empire banded together and declared war on it.
The so-called Anti-Empire War.
At first, I thought this was the world-ending threat Roa had mentioned.
It was that brutal and massive. True to its status as the world's strongest nation, the Payud Empire clashed fiercely for years and ultimately crushed the Anti-Empire Alliance's armies.
But turns out, that wasn't the end?
One year after the war ended.
When I turned 26, a 'Gate' opened in the heart of the empire's capital.
Just as Roa had prophesied, unidentified otherworlders poured out like mad.
They had two defining traits.
Strength. And numbers.
The empire, already drained from the Anti-Empire War, couldn't handle them.
As expected, it collapsed in an instant.
What followed was hell. The otherworld army systematically destroyed and exterminated every force and lifeform on the surface.
"Hey, why the blank stare all of a sudden? Hello? Snap out of it!"
Roa snapped his fingers in front of my face. The guy didn't even have real fingers, but he loved mimicking pointless stuff.
"...It's nothing. Just reminiscing."
"Reminiscing? About your hometown? Earth?"
"No. Round 1."
"Your first regression, huh. That one was a total disaster. But this time was good, right?"
Roa spread his arms wide, showering me with praise.
"Dragging out the otherworlders' army all the way to Wave 5? The previous record was Wave 3—you jumped two stages at once! Impressive. I knew I picked the right guy."
"But I still failed and ended up fleeing here again."
"That's progress, isn't it? Past summoners couldn't even break Wave 2. You're special."
"Coming from someone who summoned a random nobody like me... Whatever. Since it's come up, let's check."
I stared straight at his glowing face and asked.
"This was Round 9, so next is the last one, right?"
"Yeah. The final round. I can only regress a summoner back ten times total."
Right. That's what he said.
To save this world from the otherworld invasion, I'd regressed a total of nine times so far.
Each time, I returned to being 16-year-old Prince Claude. At 26, the invasion inevitably began, and I always failed to stop it, fleeing to this sanctuary to regress back to 16.
-The otherworld invasion doesn't end after one go. Block the first wave, and soon after, a second invasion of the same scale hits.
Roa had warned me from the start, but I couldn't even stop the first wave until Round 2.
Through trial and error, I gained experience and skills. In Round 3, I finally triggered the second wave for the first time.
From there, I challenged with various abilities... and this time, I achieved the new milestone of reaching the fifth wave.
"But is Wave 5 really the last? Suddenly these insanely strong guys popped out."
"No idea. But I hope so."
"You really don't know? You're a god."
"Nope. Even gods aren't all-knowing."
"Tch. What if there's a Wave 6? This is the last round—no time to prepare countermeasures."
"You confident about clearing Wave 5 first?"
"Yeah. I am."
Not bragging, but while fleeing here, I revised a ton of plans.
If things go as scheduled, I can definitely crush Wave 5 next time.
But after that?
"We'll worry about it when we get there?"
"Worry? There's no next time."
"Do your best to prepare. Anyway, you did great this round. No past summoner stuck it out as doggedly as you over ten years. You know how many just partied hard and looped regressions?"
"No clue. Anyway, let's start. I'll starve to death before regressing at this rate."
"Alright. Here we go."
Roa conjured lumps of light around himself, as if he'd been waiting.
Wooong!
At the same time, strands of light extended from my body, absorbed into the lumps.
This was the process of Roa absorbing and storing the maxed-out abilities I'd cultivated. He nodded repeatedly as he examined the now-larger lumps.
"Ooh. Impressive. They're brighter. You even grew your abilities more amid all that?"
"Gotta do what I can, whether it helps or not."
"You're something else. Okay, let's begin."
Now came selection time.
Before regressing to 16-year-old me, I could choose two abilities accumulated over nine regressions.
Of course, it sucked not taking everything.
But not having to rebuild from scratch was a huge advantage.
"Number 1 is always the same: 'Stealth Imprint.'"
Roa floated forward the smallest lump among them.
"That's a basic ability provided to all summoners—no need to pick it. It's auto-equipped. Want the description?"
"Nah. I probably know it better than you by now."
Stealth Imprint. As the name said, it hid my body from sight.
Without it, I would've been slaughtered before even surviving the first regression. Even the otherworld army's mighty forces couldn't detect me once I stealthed.
The downside: In stealth, I couldn't do anything but move—no actions allowed.
Especially couldn't attack from stealth. That would've made things way easier.
"Right. Next..."
Roa extended a new lump shrouded in red aura.
"Number 2: 'Power Imprint.' Lets you use all physical abilities you've built up from the start."
"Even so, nothing past Round 5, right?"
"Yep. You still can't wear mid-grade magic armor."
This world had special armor infused with power called 'magic armor.'
Wearing it granted superhuman strength and speed. But ordinary humans got crushed immobile by its power.
So, wearing magic armor required training the body accordingly. I'd gone all-in on physicals once in Round 5...
"My natural body is such a wreck—there's a hard limit. Pass this time too."
"Got it. Moving on."
Roa dissolved the red lump and presented a black one next.
"Number 3: 'Necromancy Imprint.' You're unrivaled in this, as you know."
Necromancy was an ability I'd mastered perfectly after just a few years in Round 3.
But it was a trap card in hindsight. Pass.
"Too hard maintaining reputation while using necromancy. Turning priests into open enemies is a headache. Pass."
"Alright. Next."
Roa dissolved the black lump and held out a green one.
"Number 4: 'Elixir Imprint.' You've reached the pinnacle here too."
Elixirs were special drugs granting various effects to the imbiber's body.
Even with identical ingredients, effects varied wildly based on the maker's innate aptitude and vast experience.
Seemed useless at a glance?
But it was elixirs that let me break the first wave in Round 2.
In the end, though...
"Pass. Relying on elixirs has clear limits."
"Your call. Next..."
Roa presented a purple lump next.
"Number 5: 'Spirit Imprint.' Pick this, and you start with all six spirits summonable right away. You know which ones, right?"
Of course. I'd busted my ass for each of those five.
This was so-called 'spirit magic.'
Unlike other magic, it didn't consume my mana—the spirits fought for me. Incredibly useful.
At spirit king level, the power was insane.
But this time, different route. Regretfully, pass.
"Nope. Next."
"Eh? For real?"
Even Roa sounded shocked this time.
"You're passing on Spirit Imprint? You've picked it every round from 7 through 9."
"Yeah. Pass."
"You reached Wave 5 thanks to spirit magic—planting the Fire Queen right at the gate..."
"I know. But I can get spirits again. It'll suck, but doable."
"That takes time? Why not contract new spirits instead?"
"I'll handle it."
"Stubborn as ever."
Roa clicked his tongue and dissolved the purple lump. He held out a blue one.
"Number 6: 'Magic Imprint.' Only two left, so you'll pick this, right?"
"Yeah. I'll take Magic Imprint."
In Round 4, I'd already earned the 'Arch Wizard' title—peak mastery.
Pure destructive power lagged behind spirit magic. But for my final plan, it was essential from the start. No choice.
This guy, though... He looked totally unconvinced.
"Hey, Claude. I really don't get it."
"What?"
"All have pros and cons, sure, but spirit magic outguns elemental magic in firepower? No mana cost means multitasking?"
"Don't worry. I have a plan."
"You're gonna fail to break Wave 3 like before, let alone 5. Whatever—your choice."
Roa finally presented the transparent lump.
"Last one, Number 7: 'Holy Imprint.' Only one left, so obvious pick?"
"Yeah. Taking this too."
This was the ability I'd invested in longest recently: holy magic.
I'd hit top-tier 'Arch Priest' long ago, but there were other crucial reasons.
"Alright. Choices complete."
Roa nodded, floating the transparent, blue, and tiny lumps up to the sanctuary ceiling.
"Selected: 'Magic Imprint' and 'Holy Imprint.' 'Stealth Imprint' is standard."
"Yeah. This'll do."
"Not what I expected. I know you're special, but... You sure about this? Holy magic sucks against otherworlders, especially."
"Not always. Essential for the Infection Lord. Plus, tons of other uses. Key for snowballing from the start this time."
"Snowballing?"
"Need it to roll the snowball right away. Just watch. And you..."
"Me?"
"In the end, it doesn't matter for you, right?"
I asked Roa flatly as he performed the final ritual.
"If I fail, you'll just grab a new summoner from Earth, yeah? You said there were four before me?"
"Nope. This is the last one."
"...What?"
What the hell?
I was stunned speechless. Roa said calmly, like it was no big deal.
"This really is the finale."
"For real?"
"Yeah. I've used up all the power accumulated from five summoners."
My heart sank. Roa smiled as he slowly lowered the three elevated lumps toward me.
"So this is it. I've scraped the absolute bottom of my reserves—everything's spent."
"Hey, why tell me now...?"
Whiiiiiing!
Suddenly, the light lumps swirled rapidly around my body. Cold sweat trickled down my back as I yelled.
"Wait! You're lying to give me dramatic resolve for the final tenth regression—motivate me to succeed!"
"I'd like that too."
A faint smile played on Roa's lips.
"But sadly, we gods can't lie."
"Funny. You tricked me just now."
"Not tricked—omitted."
"What?"
"If you'd asked, I'd have answered anytime. But did you ever ask about 'next summoner'?"
"Not exactly, but I assumed..."
I naturally assumed there'd be more after me!
But that was it.
I couldn't even scream my final protest before the lights I'd chosen engulfed me, swiftly stealing my consciousness.
Goddamn bastard of a god!
Even so, dumping this critical info at the absolute last second?