Reoloy stood atop a seaside cliff overlooking the vast stretch of ocean they would soon have to cross.
After a great deal of persuasion, he had managed to convince Laurencia to take them to the southern coast. The moment she realised where they were headed, however, the negotiations had nearly fallen apart.
It wasn't surprising.
That route was infamous.
Only someone suicidal would attempt it.
…Or someone with knowledge from the game.
Turning away from the sea, Reoloy looked toward the makeshift grave marker he had planted in the ground. It was nothing more than a rough plank of wood—taken from the crate that had held his new relic.
For something classified as a Regalia, it didn't seem particularly impressive.
But he understood why.
The relic had an affinity for the power he would begin cultivating after his little venture in the south. Without access to that energy yet, he couldn't bring out its true potential.
For now, however…
He raised his right hand.
A black glove wrapped tightly around it, accented with thin grey lines. The only distinctive feature was a ring-like structure on the middle finger, set with a faded amethyst stone.
Just as he had done with Gaiskas's Mirror, he focused on it.
The ring suddenly shifted.
Segments separated and slid outward, reassembling into a sharp, claw-like armour that wrapped around his finger.
Reoloy studied it quietly.
"It's basically nothing…" he muttered. "But I'll figure something out."
He lowered his hand.
"Now…"
Crouching before the grave marker, he used the claw to carve into the wood.
The scratching sound echoed softly against the wind.
When he finished, the words read:
"Here lies: Owen Kang + the real Reoloy"
He stared at the crude inscription for a moment.
There was something oddly sentimental about seeing the name he was about to discard—perhaps forever.
Then his gaze shifted to the second name.
Slowly, he bowed his head.
"I'll live vigorously and glamorously enough for both of us," he said quietly, offering a one-handed prayer. "Enough to spill over into several lifetimes."
Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a lighter relic he had "borrowed" earlier.
With a hum, a small flame appeared.
He touched it to the wooden marker.
The fire caught quickly, devouring the dry wood until nothing remained but blackened ash. Before the flames could spread to the surrounding grass, he stamped them out.
A gust of sea wind then carried the ashes toward the ocean, and Reoloy watched them scatter.
"From here," he said softly, "I'll live as Reoloy... the fugitive?"
The last part came out uncertain. He felt it was awkward to say just the one name, and it didn't seem that he had a last name, so he figured a title would work.
"I need a better moniker..."
He turned and began walking away.
After a few steps, he paused and glanced back one last time as the final traces of ash disappeared into the wind.
"It was a shit run," he said slowly. "But goodbye, Owen Kang."
---
Reoloy walked down the street, a contemplative air hanging heavily over him. He had decided to take a detour to settle his thoughts.
He was in a new world.
Being given the chance to live a more engaging life than the one he'd lived before. A dream come true. But for a moment, when faced with these new characters—these new people, he had faltered.
That was where the burial ritual came in. It was his way of resolving himself.
And now that he was fully committed to this new reality, there were multiple points he had to address.
First, the origins and story of the person—Reoloy—that he had taken over.
Second, the black cloaks and Cube.
And third, the rest of the fugitives.
'Should I get a notebook for this...?'
As a start, who was Reoloy? Why did he end up in or with Cube? Why did he run from them? And most importantly—to him, at least—why did he have so much mana?
Unlike ki and casis, there was no shortage of ways to increase mana, but for a kid in his early teens to have this much narrowed it down to two possibilities: the boy was descended from a bloodline of powerful mana users, or he'd had mana enhancement potions pumped into him since birth.
Then there was the lack of reaction from others despite his vessel's overflowing power.
In the game, once your mana or ki stat crossed a certain threshold, it would be acknowledged even by random civilian NPCs. The mechanic came into play a lot in negotiation interactions.
His current mana was well over the level where heads should be turning. The reaction he got from Gaiskas's Mirror alone was enough to confirm that for him.
Yet, there was nothing.
Not knowing was acceptable to him, but not having a clear path to discovery was incredibly frustrating.
Putting that aside, there was the matter of the fugitives. How was he supposed to approach them? Unless some miracle happened, he wouldn't be able to fake being the actual Reoloy forever. He would have to pivot at some point. But how?
As Reoloy rounded into a corner, he caught sight of a flash of deep black and ducked back for cover.
"Just my luck..."
The most immediate danger from his list of primary concerns sat at a cafe just a good couple of inches away. Fortunately, there was a large crowd, so they likely hadn't seen him.
'There were three before... The other one might be here somewhere,' he thought, deciding to leave before he got caught.
"Specimen 103 is dead?" one of the shadowy men questioned, bringing Reoloy to a halt. "Is that confirmed?"
"No," the other answered. "But he expended a large amount of mana during his and his rat friends' escape."
The way the two Hunting Dogs idly made conversation, you would think they were completely normal people. The odd attire, covered eyes, and murderous air ruined the illusion, however.
Keeping a reasonable distance, Reoloy lingered on the bend, trying to listen in.
"They lost prime research materials, and now we have to do clean up," one complained, his voice hoarse. "Let's just kill them all and report that they didn't survive the wilderness."
The other shook his head, taking a sip from a cup.
"Don't half-ass anything. We must retrieve 103, 998, and 1213," he said sternly. "If any are dead, gather their remains for confirmation. The others, however, can be disposed of."
He paused, staring suspiciously close to where the boy hid.
"Especially 103 and 1213," he continued, his tone becoming heavy. "You know what will happen to us if those two don't return."
Spooked by the close call, Reoloy carefully began backing away, making sure not to draw attention to himself. He had heard more than enough to grasp the general picture. The last thing he needed was for one of them to notice him eavesdropping. His mana was currently untraceable for whatever reason, but that blessing wasn't enough to take extreme risks.
Once he had put enough distance between himself and the café, Reoloy broke into a run. He didn't stop. Not until his legs finally gave out right at the door of the lodging he shared with the others. He collapsed against the wall, taking a moment to catch his breath and organise the fragments of information he had gathered.
'They said specimen, which means...'
Cube was either a single facility or a network of facilities that dealt in human experimentation.
And maybe more.
The original Reoloy and his companions had likely been test subjects—lab rats essentially.
Somehow, they had managed to escape. And now Cube wanted them back.
Reoloy frowned.
If they had been experimented on…
What exactly had Cube done to them?
And more importantly—
What were the consequences?
An uneasy feeling settled in his chest, but he pushed it aside. He would find a way to confirm things later when everything settled down.
Reoloy put on a straight face before pushing the door open. Immediately, every head in the room turned toward him. For a brief moment, the group tensed—alert for a potential threat—before their shoulders eased upon realising it was him.
"Let's go," he said flatly. "We don't have any time to waste."
He remained by the door, anxiously looking out for any hint of black.
The others glanced at him, exchanging silent looks before quickly going about their own preparations.
Meanwhile, Reoloy's mind drifted to the future.
Laurencia had mentioned that it was currently the fifth month of the year 377. Just as he expected, it was only a short while before the protagonist was supposed to appear in Academy City for the entrance examination. That intake took place in the eighth month.
Which meant he still had time.
After that, though, things would move quickly. Once enrollment began, the events would cascade one after another—keeping him occupied until at least the thirteenth month.
Fortunately, thanks to the countless hours he had spent playing RON, mentally adapting to this world's fourteen-month calendar was surprisingly easy.
If he was lucky, he could take advantage of whatever strength his current group possessed to quickly conquer and claim the southern relic. Afterwards, he could take his time checking off some side quests that were on the way to Academy City.
A few well-timed moves now could set the foundation for everything that came later.
"We're ready to go."
Reoloy turned to them and scanned the meager pieces of baggage—if they could even be called that—that each of them carried.
The one who had spoken was the pink-haired girl.
He made a mental note to learn her name sooner rather than later. Ideally, without making it obvious that he didn't already know it. And if possible, he needed to figure out what each of them was truly capable of.
That part, at least, wouldn't take long.
"Alright," he said, taking one last sweeping glance of the street. "Stick to the backstreets..."
They stepped outside together, careful to leave no sign that anyone had ever stayed there.
None of them noticed the figure that came to a stop on the rooftops. Their deep black cloak fluttering in the wind as the person's gaze followed their departure in silence.
---
"You're early," Laurencia said lightly, eyeing the rest of the kids with mild suspicion. "You being chased or something?"
Reoloy looked at her in somewhat mock surprise.
"Yes, actually," he said with exaggerated seriousness. "Exactly that. How'd you know?"
The veiled woman paused in the middle of packing up the contents of the warehouse.
"Wait for real?" Her eyes immediately flicked to the group, then toward the entrances. "Who's after you?"
The blue-black-haired boy simply shrugged.
"Not sure," he replied. "I'd like to find out myself at some point."
For Reoloy, it had been nothing more than a passing remark.
But Selene—the pinkette—had been close enough to hear everything.
His answer made her raise an eyebrow, suspicion creeping into her thoughts.
From the way he said it, it sounded like he intended to return to Cube at some point.
The primary question bouncing around her mind was whether he intended to drag them along with him in that endeavour.
Realistically, she knew Reoloy couldn't have decided to help them out of the kindness of his heart. He needed them for something.
'He's not going to...?' she thought, brushing the question aside for the time being.
Her gaze drifted to the others.
For now, she decided to keep her thoughts to herself. Putting on a smile as she went to make conversation with the only other girl in the group.
As the minutes ticked by, everyone found small ways to occupy themselves while waiting.
At last, Laurencia gathered the final of her belongings. A brown, leathery mass expanded outward, swallowing the scattered items before sealing shut and shrinking into a small box that dropped neatly into her palm.
The others watched with varying degrees of awe.
Reoloy simply raised an eyebrow.
"Where exactly do you get all these relics?" he asked.
Laurencia grinned and wagged a finger at him.
"I wouldn't be much of a merchant if I handed out trade secrets on a silver platter," she said, hopping onto her modestly sized ship. "Alright, everyone on board. Trip's starting."
The group shuffled onto the vessel one by one, each finding a small space to settle into.
Reoloy did a quick headcount before mentally running through everything they would need to survive the journey ahead.
"You ready?" Laurencia called. "You're the navigator, after all."
He sighed and slapped his face lightly to wake himself up.
"Yeah, I'm good to g—"
Cisco suddenly burst onto the deck.
The green-haired boy rushed toward the front of the ship, his expression eerily similar to the one he'd worn earlier when he'd first warned them that their hunters were in town.
Except this time, he was hyperventilating.
"Hey!" Reoloy ran to him, catching him before he collapsed. "What's going on?!"
"…Go…"
The word slipped out between strained breaths.
"What's wrong with him?" Laurencia asked.
Reoloy scanned the surroundings. Nothing looked unusual, but every instinct he had screamed at him to listen.
"Laurencia—go!"
"Huh?"
"Move the boat, damn it!"
Seeing the urgency on his face, the older woman didn't argue. She kicked the motor to life, pushing the vessel forward.
The ship had barely cleared the warehouse when—
A massive explosion of dark violet light tore through the building behind them.
The structure disintegrated instantly, the blast obliterating the entire section of the dock in a violent surge of energy.
"Magic…" Reoloy muttered under his breath.
Then his expression twisted.
"Shit… shit!"
He turned to Laurencia.
"Can't this thing go any faster?!"
"I already strained it pushing it that hard out of nowhere!" Laurencia snapped. "There's not much else I can do without outright killing it!"
That meant they would have to fend off the attackers until they reached the first checkpoint on the route.
Reoloy winced as a smaller blast narrowly missed the ship, striking the water beside them and sending a violent spray across the deck.
"They're catching up!" Graham's voice came from the rear of the vessel.
Reoloy rushed to the back, quietly assessing the situation.
The moment the pursuers came into view, his stomach dropped. Six cloaked figures skated across the surface of the water, gliding toward them at terrifying speed. At the pace they were moving, it was only a matter of time before they reached the ship.
"There were more of them," Reoloy muttered.
The first encounter flashed through his mind—the time he'd barely crossed paths with them without even realising who they were. There had been three then.
And at the café, there had been two.
'Why didn't I consider that there might be more?' he cursed internally. 'Not only that… I completely underestimated their abilities.'
If every one of them could cast a spell like the one that had just destroyed the warehouse—
They were finished.
Reoloy's heart pounded violently against his ribs. It finally hit him. This wasn't a strategy guide or walkthrough. This wasn't a game. This was the first real situation he had faced where he could actually die.
He glanced around at the others. Their faces were pale, frozen with terror. In their current states, they wouldn't be any help.
Reoloy forced himself to slow his breathing.
In. Out. Again.
He dragged his mind back under control.
"I'm not dying here," he said through clenched teeth.
Turning sharply, he sprinted back toward the front deck.
"Laurencia!" he shouted. "Do you have any long-range attack relics in that space pouch of yours?!"
She shot him a quick glance before swerving the ship to evade another blast.
"There's only one that's actually worth anything!" she shouted over the roar of the waves, the engine, and the explosions. "And even that won't work against mages of that calibre!"
He grabbed the small box and thrust it toward her.
"Get it out," he said firmly. "I'll fire three shots. On the third, head for the cliffs and stay as close to them as you can."
"That's suicide!"
Another explosion tore through the air.
"It's better than this!" he yelled. "I'll figure the rest out once we shake them. Just do it!"
Laurencia hesitated for less than a second before hovering her hand over the relic.
The box opened slightly, spitting out a metal pole with a hole on only one end.
She pulled off her veil and the cloth she wore on her head, letting her golden brown hair whip wildly in the wind as her vision cleared.
"This better work!"
Reoloy nodded and sprinted toward the rear of the ship.
"Hope and pray!" he replied as he disappeared around the corner.
Skidding to a halt at the edge of the back deck, he pointed the pole carefully at two of the assailants.
"Reoloy! They've been missing on purpose!" Lohan shouted. "They're just toying with us for some reason!"
'Toying with us?' Reoloy thought, observing the masked men. 'That's not it.'
Fragments of their earlier conversation surfaced in his mind.
"Must retrieve."
"You know what will happen to us if those two don't return."
There were some among the fugitives that the Hunters couldn't afford to kill.
Out here, in the middle of the sea at night, reckless attacks were dangerous.
They were holding back.
They probably didn't have any spells suitable for securing a target safely in these conditions.
A nervous smile formed on Reoloy's face. He intended to exploit every last bit of that hesitation.
"This should work just like the others…" he murmured, focusing on the tubular relic.
"Fire."
A beam of white-hot light erupted from the pole, striking the water with nearly as much force as the cloaked men's spells.
As they scattered, Reoloy repositioned himself instantly.
"I'm not done yet!"
The second shot slammed into a transparent crystalline barrier, scattering and detonating into a series of smaller explosions.
The blast fragments disoriented the other five, causing them to falter in their movement.
Reoloy raised the relic for the final shot.
He waited.
One of them began forming an explosive spell in their palm.
The instant it stabilised—
He fired.
The beam struck the spell directly, destabilising it and causing it to explode prematurely in the caster's hand.
Right on cue, Laurencia veered sharply left, steering the ship toward the cliff walls and hugging them tightly.
As they pushed forward, the sea grew violent. A deep, ominous howl emanated from the water. Then a massive wave surged upward—towering over the ship.
"Hold on to something!" Reoloy shouted, grabbing the railing.
Behind them, the Hunting Dogs halted in their pursuit, though it didn't seem to be because of the monstrous wave.
Reoloy burst into manic laughter.
"Today... It's my win," he declared, a vicious grin spreading across his face.
And then the ship vanished into the monstrous wall of water.