As Xian felt his body, or perhaps his very soul, being pulled back, he clenched his teeth. Just as he was about to fight the Minotaur mimic and finally earn some worthwhile experience, the regression struck again.
His strength had been surging every time his hammer struck a blow. For the first time since arriving in this world, he had felt a true rush. Unlike the tightrope spar with Serika, where his attacks struggled to land, the mimic battle had promised pure, satisfying violence. He had never felt this strong in his past life.
The strength he possessed was effective and destructive against the monsters in his way. He had no doubt it would be the same for the mimic.
'How did she die this time?' If this kept happening, Xian was seriously considering never leaving Carmillia's side. At least then he could witness whatever damned event kept ending her life. He could take measures and ensure she survived without regressing.
This was already the third time someone or something had succeeded in killing her.
He searched his memory for any instance of her death during the entrance examination. But there had never been such a case. In fact, the protagonist had barely even seen her.
'Is this the effect of being a hidden route?' That was the most plausible explanation Xian could think of. Otherwise, how could there be so many assailants trying to take her life from all sides? Or was Carmillia somehow both a magnet for trouble and an easy to kill idiot?
She might be the former, but she did not seem like an idiot based on the scenes where she manipulated the protagonist and turned him into her plaything.
'Carmillia, oh Carmillia… you can't even let me rest.'
Once again, her death was an unexpected event. But it must have happened in the Grid Maze. That was the only part of the exam where the instructors' response was delayed due to its unique nature.
Now that he thought about it, wouldn't providing entrants with a supply of barrier scrolls suffice? He did not know why the academy did not do just that and include them in the starting supplies..
When he was a player, all he needed was a weapon and he was good to go. But the entrants are different, they don't have load and save options
Xian began considering the possible culprits in his mind. There was one individual he suspected the most.
'Castreyja…' She needed to be monitored at all times, given her obvious grudge toward Carmillia.
That regressor was dangerous. The animosity she directed at Carmillia made her a prime threat, and the fact that she regressed from far into the story meant she brought back every broken trick from her past life.
Even with her untrained body at present, the accumulation of skills was no joke. Her body might not yet be accustomed to performing her past techniques, but it was only a matter of time before she produced results.
Due to the sheer power and battle sense she displayed, the headmaster even took her in as a disciple and heir. It was one of the most well-known events tied to her route.
After her regression, she became the most powerful among all entrants on the player's second playthrough, surpassing even talents like Fahna and Gumin until the mid game.
As his thoughts wandered, Xian felt that he was about to be released. By this point, he had grown used to the sensation of regression, surrounded by darkness and streaks of silver light.
'I wonder if the regression point changed?'
Xian's question was answered as he found himself standing before a door. He looked around and realized it was the same scene before entering the doors to the grid maze.
His eyes scanned the surroundings, and he quickly walked toward Carmillia, who seemed to be hesitating before entering her door.
While distracted, Xian grabbed her wrist and pulled her close, their heads nearly overlapping.
"!"
"Xian!"
The two swordmaidens and Miri were startled at the sight. Carmillia, who had been about to open the door, turned back in shock at his sudden behavior. His relaxed gaze and red pupils reflected in her dark green eyes.
Xian made sure to stay close enough to whisper into her ear.
[BLACK HEART: 70]
Her affection level flashed before his eyes for a brief moment, but maintaining it was not important right now.
"I'll see you soon milady. Until then, please be careful." After a brief moment, Xian released her wrist as those words left his mouth, making sure his faint smile appeared sincere.
Carmillia frowned deeply as she pulled her arm back and covered her wrist with her other gloved hand. She looked at the spot he had touched with a complicated expression before glaring at Xian.
"Know your place," she muttered coldly. "This may be the academy, but you are still a servant." Had this happened at any other time, away from the academy's instructors, she would have ensured Xian received a fitting punishment.
However, Carmillia did not feel that it was the right time to act on that impulse.
Aleandro witnessed the exchange with slightly raised brows and looked at Xian as if he found him peculiar. Then he snapped his fingers. The two doors opened and began pulling their respective entrants inside.
Xian let the force from the door take him, his eyes fixed on Aleandro. In return, the instructor met his gaze without hesitation.
'What a strange kid.' He did not know what meaning lay behind that gaze, but he was not concerned. What could a fledgling do to him, an acclaimed mage instructor of the academy?
Then his attention shifted to the others left behind by their master and companion. An unassuming maid, and his two objectives.
"Under the headmaster's order and the Duke of Montagne's request, you are to come with me into the academy." His tone was calm, yet carried a commanding authority.
…
Xian was still incensed. Whoever had disrupted his enjoyment would pay, and he was not going to be lenient about it. Furthermore, he was growing impatient with his progress toward the academy, which kept getting interrupted by Carmillia's repeated deaths.
He willed his inventory to appear and saw three items resting inside. In order to avoid wasting time on multiple regressions, he decided to use the rewards he had received.
He took out the [Prying Lens]. Through it, he could see the perspective of a character of his choosing. The only condition to implant it was physical contact with the target. That was why he had touched Carmillia.
Initially, he had planned to use it on Aleandro. Xian knew he was the one overseeing surveillance on the group Carmillia belonged to.
One lens hovered over his eye as he saw through Carmillia's perspective. She was making steady progress based on his instructions.
Then next, he used the [Threadwatch Ticket] to glimpse the future that would unfold due to his intervention.
He felt his consciousness sink in, as if he was recalling a memory.
At first, he saw only darkness, but when he focused on the vision he wanted to see, it unfolded in his mind all at once
In the current state of things, with his goal of protecting Carmillia, what happened was…
In the vision, he saw himself entering the door to the grid maze.
The first thing he did was take a hammer, a sword, and a couple of daggers, then follow the same route again.
As a player, he had only ever taken one route in the grid maze whenever it appeared. He made no effort to find any other characters, and it always led to the player room where Ruminaria meets the player.
She was bound to encounter the protagonist while killing monsters, and if his assumption was correct, that was the very room he previously left her in. It was swarming with small flying bats and square slimes, along with other annoying types of monsters
So his future self decided to wait there with Ruminaria. Eventually, Carmillia arrived, but with additional company.
The protagonist himself, Adrian Wylert. Still a weak entrant and a greenhorn at level 1, having only just chosen his skills.
Ruminaria seemed to grow angry as Carmillia introduced herself. The Future Xian knew she had a grudge against Carmillia's family and readily intercepted her.
This was where the problem arose. They fought, and Xian and Adrian came out on top against Ruminaria. There was no assailant who attempted to kill Carmillia, and a professor in charge arrived to stop their battle.
Ruminaria then went alone into the labyrinth, leaving him, Adrian, and Carmillia behind.
Carmillia did not die and was able to proceed to the next examination grounds, the labyrinth, without any problems. That meant her death had been thwarted. But that wasn't enough to satisfy Xian.
The scene ended with the three of them entering the labyrinth, and the [Threadwatch Ticket] turned to dust. The killer did not appear because of Xian, who had become aware of the threat and somewhere, the culprit still lingered.
'I'm sure it's that bitch.' Xian cursed Castreyja inwardly. He had no attachments to her, as he had never played her route, and he might as well get rid of one threat to Carmillia's life.
Furthermore, she was a regressor who could take advantage of events that had already occurred in her previous timeline. If he could get rid of her, then his run would become smoother, and future scenarios would be easier to manipulate.
If anyone possessed a set of skills that could avoid the professors' surveillance and kill anyone, it would be her. Xian clicked his tongue in annoyance, knowing that she would be a formidable opponent.
His attention turned to Carmillia's view, who diligently followed the pattern to exit the grid maze. The way he understood the grid maze was that a certain pattern would lead the player to the exit.
But there was not just one pattern. There were several that would work, and unfortunately, he had not bothered to learn any of them. It was not as if the grid maze was a recurring entrance exam in the game for him to memorize every viable pattern.
The least he could do was share the pattern he knew and cross paths with Carmillia, hopefully before the killing transpired. This was also the reason he used the [Prying Lens], just in case the killer appeared in advance.
With the two of them following the same pattern, both would encounter Ruminaria.
He did not think it was wasteful to use these items early. Xian knew himself well enough and understood how many regressions he could endure before going mad and mixing up his memories. Although it was an almighty power, he felt the need to treat it with caution.
He remembered another player's description regarding Castreyja, the regressor. She fell in love again with the same man, namely the protagonist, and grew close to the same companions with ease. But that also meant she killed her enemies just as readily, without much thought.
To avoid becoming like that, he needed a more robust mind and greater clarity in his thoughts. And within the game, there were items that matched those criteria and could help him.
For now, there were no clear signs, but he had already regressed six times. Who knew how many more this would continue before he reached the end, as dictated by the entities who sent him here.
He decided that it was time to use his trump cards in order to progress toward the academy, the main grounds where he could play all the cards he knew.
One thing was certain, he was not going to tire of this world for a very long time. To achieve that, a certain degree of mental strength will be needed, lest he gets lost in his own sea of memories.
'Practice starts with little events like these.'
Xian was nowhere near those geniuses who possessed sharp minds and natural manipulative talent. All he knew was how to make use of the means he had and the information gathered through regression.
But that was enough. In fact, it could become a very lethal weapon against most characters.
Xian wasted no time and walked briskly, following the same pattern as before. As much as he was annoyed, it led him to encounter Ruminaria once again. Only now did he realize that unlike Carmillia and Gumin, this girl's eyes lit up upon seeing him despite his arguably provoking appearance.
He didn't know what's up with her route, but wished that naivety was shared toward those girls, even if only a little.
"Aha! Is that another valiant challenger amidst these tricky obstacles? Praise the stars, for I feared I had wandered these cursed halls alone!"
Xian made an effort to smile and let her dialogue fade into the background, obscured by the thoughts running through his mind.
Finally, they reached the sixth variation of the grid maze's rooms and encountered the swarm. Ruminaria charged headfirst without regard. As for Xian, his next move was simple. He left Ruminaria behind and proceeded to the next room.