The dungeon stayed quiet after I dropped my spear tip.
Too quiet.
My master stared at me like I'd just slapped reality across the face with a wet fish.
"…Explain," he said flatly.
So I did.
I told him everything.
About the war.
About vampires and demons.
About hiding in this dungeon like a half-dead rat.
About him.
About my training.
About the Demon King.
About dying.
And finally—
"…I regressed," I finished. "This is my second life."
He didn't interrupt once.
Didn't scoff.
Didn't call me insane.
Didn't stab me for wasting his time.
He just listened.
When I finally shut up, throat dry and chest tight, he let out a long breath.
"…Huh."
That was it.
One extremely unhelpful syllable.
"You're taking this very well," I muttered.
He tapped his sword against the stone.
"This dungeon is already a spatial anomaly that overlaps time and dimensions," he said. "Compared to that, a regressing disciple is… mildly annoying."
"…Mildly?"
He glanced at me.
"You died too easily."
Rude.
Then I straightened.
"Come with me."
"No."
That was instant.
Too instant.
"You didn't even think about it!"
"I did," he said. "In your previous life. The answer was still no."
"…You're not even curious about the outside world?"
He lay back on the stone platform, arms behind his head.
"I like it here."
"You live in a cave."
"It's a cozy cave."
"You fight monsters for food."
"Organic."
"You haven't seen civilization in decades!"
"Overrated."
I stared at him.
Then fell to my knees dramatically.
"Master," I said, pressing my forehead to the ground. "The world is ending in twenty years. Humanity dies. Everyone suffers. Please."
He peeked at me.
"…Do they have tea?"
"Yes!"
"…Good tea?"
"…Yes?"
He turned away.
"No."
I grabbed his sleeve.
"WHY."
He shook me off like an annoyed cat being dragged off a warm pillow.
"Too troublesome. Too noisy. Too many rules. Too many idiots."
"You raised one of those idiots!"
"I trained a weapon," he corrected. "What it turned into afterward isn't my responsibility."
"…You absolute menace."
We argued for another hour.
I begged.
He refused.
I threatened.
He pretended to fall asleep.
In the end, I stood up, defeated.
"…Fine. I'll come visit."
"Good."
"Frequently."
"Acceptable."
"And you'll still train me."
"Obviously."
I sighed.
Then bowed deeply.
"…Thank you. For everything. In both lives."
He waved me off.
"Don't die stupidly this time."
I exited the dungeon from the opposite side.
The forest here felt… different.
Less dense.
More open.
The mana thinner.
I remembered now.
This forest was the natural boundary between two territories.
Mangrave lands on one side.
Morvain lands on the other.
A neutral buffer zone filled with monsters and overgrown wilderness.
Which meant—
I'd technically trespassed into Morvain territory.
"…Oops."
A scream tore through the trees.
High-pitched.
Panicked.
I ran.
Burst through bushes.
And saw it.
A monster boar.
The thing was massive. Shoulders like a cart. Tusks glowing faintly red. Veins pulsing with mana.
And in front of it—
A tiny boy.
Dark blue hair.
Round face.
Wide terrified eyes.
He stood frozen, clutching a wooden toy sword.
My body moved before my brain did.
I jumped.
Drove my spear down.
The blade punched clean through the boar's skull.
Its momentum carried it forward.
I yanked the spear free and spun, ripping its head clean off.
The body collapsed in a heavy, steaming heap.
Silence.
The boy stared at me.
I crouched.
"…Hey," I said gently. "You okay?"
He nodded slowly.
Then burst into tears.
I awkwardly patted his head.
"…There there. The bacon can't hurt you anymore."
A voice shouted from the bushes.
"Joshua?!"
A teenager stumbled out.
Dark blue hair.
Red-blue mismatched eyes.
Sharp but soft-looking face.
Tall. Lean. Messy clothes.
He froze when he saw the dead boar.
Then his eyes locked onto me.
And narrowed.
"…Who are you?"
I raised my hands.
"Friendly neighborhood spear guy."
Joshua sniffled and ran to him.
"Brother…!"
The older boy hugged him tightly.
Then looked at me again.
"…Thank you. For saving him."
I nodded.
"No problem."
We stood there awkwardly.
Then—
"…Do I know you?" he asked.
I blinked.
'Do I?'
"…No," I said slowly. "Pretty sure this is our first meeting."
He studied my face.
Then shook his head.
"…Weird. You look… familiar."
'That's not ominous at all.'
I introduced myself.
"Daniel Mangrave."
His eyes widened slightly.
Then he muttered—
"…So that's Daniel."
I frowned.
"…Sorry?"
He flinched.
"Nothing!"
He smiled.
Too quickly.
Too brightly.
"…I'm Julien. This is my little brother Joshua."
Joshua waved weakly.
I waved back.
And for some reason—
The forest air felt heavier again.