episode_0011

“…Huh?”

It was inevitable that I let out a surprised gasp.

Having spent thousands of hours immersed in the original [Arcana Academy], I knew all too well how Regina Strellachia appeared within it.

In her second life, she vowed not to live a regretful life like in her past, a lively and cheerful girl.

Despite being a young lady, she had a petite figure and wielded a longsword that seemed mismatched with her stature as a magic swordsman. Perhaps it was due to this stark contrast that Regina was quite a popular heroine.

She always competed with Yerena Frost in the “Untouchable Heroine Ranking.” Yerena, a cool beauty with long hair, was Regina’s complete opposite—a cute girl with short hair.

The reason such an attractive girl was deemed untouchable was simple: no matter what, Regina would die in the latter half of the academy’s first-year story.

…Surely, that was the case.

I gazed at the girl before me, muttering internally.

With dark circles under her eyes and unkempt hair, she looked disheveled and uneasy, her cheeks trembling. She appeared to be a damaged girl who didn’t seem normal by any means.

Yet, despite her appearance, there was a strange beauty about her, perhaps because the foundation was already so beautiful. Beautiful people have a certain charm even in their worn-out state.

Lost in Regina’s appearance, I momentarily forgot that this dungeon was collapsing around us.

“Regina Strellachia, are you a student here?”

“Uh, I…that wasn’t what I intended…”

“…?”

I couldn’t comprehend the situation, so I asked, only to receive a flustered response from the confused girl. Sensing my mind growing more complicated, I adjusted my grip on the sword.

Something was amiss. The original Regina Strellachia wasn’t like this character. Why would she point a sword at me upon our first meeting?

How did she manage to bring a real sword into the exam? Although various practice swords were provided, bringing a real one was impossible.

With mixed feelings, I carefully observed Regina.

Unlike moments ago when she aimed the sword at my neck, now I didn’t sense hostility from her. Her last dangerous attack wasn’t meant to kill me but to disarm me.

I asked with a skeptical expression, “You don’t seem intent on fighting. Do you have anything else in mind?”

“Oh…no. I’m really, really sorry…!”

“Then why did you aim the sword at me?”

Thunk! Thud, thud, thud…

Before I could finish speaking, a heavy sound interrupted between Regina and me. It was the realization that this dungeon was on the verge of collapse.

Confusion filled Regina’s and my eyes. Damn it, I’ve used up all my teleportations, and the dungeon is already starting to crumble?

“Oh no…!”

Of course, the [Tomb of the Ancient Lich] wasn’t without an exit even if the entrance was blocked.

Since it was a two-tier dungeon, some players deliberately collapsed the tomb to claim rewards from the second tier.

The issue lay in the difficulty of the second tier. Below this, the ancient lich itself appeared.

With a contemplative expression, I shouted, “Let’s talk outside first…Oh no?!”

Thud!

Simultaneously, the ground beneath me exploded.

As the earth split apart, the bricks making up the floor shattered. Beneath the gaping hole, there was only endless darkness. Cracks covered the corridor with ominous crackling sounds.

At that moment, one thought prevailed upon witnessing this scene: We were trapped in this damn dungeon with no way out.

After the dungeon core was removed, the entrance to the second tier would open five minutes later. However, since the exit had firmly sealed shut, the countdown for the opening of the second tier began from that point onwards.

Running away is futile; the exit is already sealed. Therefore, being caught in a collapsing corridor will result in at least minor injuries.

And in dungeons like this, injuries mostly mean death. If luck runs out, one might be caught by the monsters’ hunting instincts.

“What is this… There has never been an incident like this before…?”

“Don’t just stand there!”

I embraced Regina from behind with a grim expression. Our first meeting hadn’t been very pleasant. But there were still things I needed to ask Regina. The body of the girl, who was at least 10 centimeters shorter than me, surprisingly felt light.

The girl in my arms turned pale.

“Eek?! Cyan?!”

“Follow me! You’ll die if you stay here!”

“W-what…!?”

“For now, listen to me! We have to head towards the altar!”

Ignoring all of Regina’s words, I dragged the girl along. As we moved, the ground where we had just stood collapsed.

Creak…

A delayed sound of a massive machinery awakening from a long slumber. Moss-covered tiles forming the corridor began to fall one by one.

“Ugh…!”

With a thud, a huge boulder fell right beside us. The speed at which the corridor collapsed accelerated due to the impact.

Damn it. If we continue like this, we’ll be too late. Maybe if I had teleportation magic, but my magical energy is completely depleted right now.

While fighting Regina, I had been pushed too far from the altar. Continuing like this would put both of us in danger—

“Ah?!”

My thoughts were cut off there. As the ground crumbled beneath my feet, a strange sensation of floating enveloped me. With a dizzy feeling, my body momentarily floated in mid-air.

The thought of falling filled my mind. My vision gradually darkened. Unconsciously, I tightly shut my eyes.

It was around that time when Regina’s voice reached my ears.

“Uh… I’m awake now. I’m awake. Can you let go for a moment…?”

Regina, who had been dragged towards me, tightly held my hand. Along with her calmer tone compared to earlier, a red magical aura enveloped the girl’s body.

With a determined look, the girl drew her sword and thrust it into the wall. The magically coated sword sliced through the crumbling stone wall like butter, gradually calming my panicked mind on the brink of despair.

As I slowly opened my eyes, a message popped up in front of me.

[You have entered the ‘Ancient Lich’s Tomb (Level 55)’]

[This dungeon is of a higher level than the player. We recommend increasing your level and attempting it again.]

“…If that’s possible, then I’d like to do that.”

In a voice that Regina couldn’t hear, I replied to the status window, cautiously looking down. Hanging loosely in the air below us was an endless darkness.

“…Should we go down?”

In response to Regina’s question, I wordlessly took out a match from my waist. Instead of various chemicals, it was an adventurer’s essential item with a fire attribute magic stone attached.

Thinking it was a good idea to bring it, I infused a bit of magic into the stone, causing it to glow brightly. Carefully peering down, I dropped the match into the darkness.

With a soft thud, it took a few seconds for the cave floor to be revealed.

I roughly estimated the distance to the floor and our position. It seemed to be about 40 meters. While not something an ordinary person could handle, it was a height easily manageable for someone with combat experience.

“Oh, Cyan…?”

Eyes accustomed to the darkness scanned the opposite wall. Perhaps it was because the dungeon was built based on a naturally formed cave. The walls were not smooth, with protruding rocks here and there.

Without hesitation, I let go of Regina’s hand and slammed into the wall. Grabbing onto the protrusions, I landed lightly, followed by Regina landing behind me swiftly.

*Click.* Regina put her longsword back with a sound. Taking out another match from her pocket, I glanced around, exhaling lightly.

“Sigh…”

“I’m really sorry…! It wasn’t my intention to make it this way, but, ugh…”

What did she think of my sigh? Regina rambled on, offering another apology, making my head even more tangled.

This is the entrance to the Level 2 dungeon. No monsters come out unless we enter.

As the immediate threat disappeared, a second thought naturally came to mind. Anxiety that something had gone wrong with the original work.

Regina wasn’t originally that kind of character. Moreover, the current Regina seemed oddly stronger than the original.

Furthermore, her mental state seemed quite precarious.

Feeling a throbbing in my head, I spoke to Regina.

“…I understand that you didn’t intend for this. If you were swinging your sword at me with the intent to kill, there would be no reason for you to spare me.”

“…”

“However, if that was your intention, why did you swing the sword in the first place? If you had something to ask, you could have just used words.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Sigh…”

However, Regina remained silent, only pursing her lips in response to my words. Waiting for her for a moment, I sighed, touching my forehead.

…Since it’s already happened, now the priority is not to interrogate Regina but to figure out how to escape from here.

After checking the condition of my dagger, I turned around and walked towards the safe zone outside. Then, Regina’s voice came from behind.

“Just a moment! Miss Cyan…!”

“…?”

“W-Well, the thing is… I didn’t know how to start the conversation…”

“You aimed your sword at me because you didn’t know how to start a conversation?”

“Well, everyone should act the same way… So, I could answer as usual… But this time, meeting Cyan for the first time, I wanted to ask something. It’s been so long since I had a proper conversation, I forgot how to talk, I don’t know what kind of person you are, how to approach you, but I felt like I shouldn’t miss this chance, a variable I don’t know, it’s scary yet hopeful, experiencing these emotions after so long…”

A torrent of disorganized words poured out.

However, I couldn’t just dismiss those words as nonsense.

While others might have, I knew Regina Strellachia’s scar.

“…Yes?”

“Just a moment. Just a moment…!”

“Regina, what are you doing…?!”

Thinking about my response, Regina unbuttoned her school uniform top without hesitation. Before I could stop her, as if she had made up her mind, the girl exposed her shoulder.

On the pale white shoulder of the girl, as if never touched by sunlight, a dark clock-shaped scar was engraved. And below it, a number was carved. 999.

Regina forced her trembling lips open.

“I, I… Actually, this life isn’t my first…!”

The moment I saw the number 999 beneath the clock, an uneasy feeling crept in. With a voice filled with complex emotions, I asked.

“Then which number…”

“Nine hundred and ninety-nine. This is my 99th life.”

999.

That was a number I could never forget.

Adding up all the scars of Resemara, resets for breaking hidden achievements, speedrun records, boss no-hit clears, I started Arkana Academy a total of 998 times as a male character.

The 999th round was the round where I played as a female character for the first time in Arkana Academy.

It was the round I fell into this world.