Chapter 11: 999th Attempt

“…Huh?”

It was inevitable that I would let out a stunned noise.

I knew very well what Regina Strelachia looked like in [Arcana Academy] because I had spent thousands of hours on the original game.

A lively and cheerful girl who vowed not to live a life of regret like in her previous life.

A magic swordswoman who was small even for a girl, and who wielded a longsword that was unfitting for her size. Because of that gap, Regina was also one of the quite popular heroines.

She was always competing with Yelena Frost in the popularity polls for unromanceable heroines. A cute short-haired girl, the polar opposite of the cool, beautiful, long-haired Yelena.

The reason such a charming girl was an unromanceable heroine was simple. No matter what you did, Regina would die in the latter half of the first-year story of the academy.

…At least, that was supposed to be the case.

I muttered to myself and looked at the girl in front of me.

Dark circles under her eyes and messy hair. Red eyes that seemed to tremble, as if very bewildered. She was a broken girl who didn’t look normal no matter how you looked at her.

Even so, the reason why I thought she was pretty was probably because her original appearance was so beautiful. Even a haggard appearance was attractive on a beautiful person.

Because of Regina’s appearance, I looked at her for a moment, forgetting even the fact that this place was a collapsing dungeon.

“Are you, by any chance, student Regina Strelachia?”

“Uh, um…I didn’t mean for it to be like this…”

“…?”

I asked a question because I couldn’t understand the situation, but all that came back was the girl’s incoherent voice.

Feeling my mind getting more and more complicated, I readjusted my grip on my sword.

Something was wrong. The original Regina Strelachia wasn’t like this. Why would she point a sword at me on our first meeting?

And how did she bring a real sword into the exam? There were various types of practice swords provided, but there was no way to bring in a real sword.

With a complicated heart, I slowly scanned Regina’s appearance.

Unlike a moment ago when she had pointed a sword at my neck, I couldn’t feel any killing intent from her. In fact, even the last attack that seemed dangerous was not meant to kill me, but to disarm me.

I asked with a suspicious expression.

“You don’t seem to want to fight.

Are you going to continue?”

“Ah…no.

I’m really, really sorry…!”

“Then why did you point your sword at me…”

Boom!

Boom…

Before I could finish my words, a heavy shock interrupted between Regina and me.

A beat later, I realized that this was a dungeon on the verge of collapse.

Bewilderment filled Regina’s and my eyes.

Damn it, I used up all my Blinks, and the dungeon is already starting to collapse?

“This…!”

Of course, even if the entrance to the [Tomb of the Ancient Lich] was blocked, it wasn’t like there was no way out.

This [Tomb of the Ancient Lich] was a double dungeon.

There was a way to intentionally collapse the tomb and get the rewards of the second dungeon.

The problem was the difficulty of the second dungeon.

In the second dungeon below, the ancient lich, as the name of the dungeon suggested, appeared in person.

I shouted with a pale expression.

“Let’s talk after we get out of here…

Argh?!”

Boom!

At the same time, the ground beneath my feet exploded.

The bricks that made up the floor broke apart.

Beneath the gaping hole in the ground, there was only endless darkness.

An ominous sound of cracking filled the corridor.

There was only one thought that came to mind first.

I was screwed and wouldn’t be able to get out of this damn dungeon.

The opening of the second dungeon, which began five minutes after the dungeon core was removed, started after the exit was firmly closed.

Even if I ran, the exit was already closed.

At this rate, I would be caught in the collapsing corridor and suffer at least serious injuries.

And in a dungeon like this, serious injuries usually meant death.

If I was unlucky, I would be captured by the monsters.

“What’s happening…

This has never happened in any of the playthroughs…?”

“Don’t space out!”

I gritted my teeth and embraced Regina’s body from behind.

Although our first meeting was not very good, I still had things to ask Regina.

The body of the girl, who was 10 centimeters shorter than me, was surprisingly light.

The girl’s face, held in my arms, turned red.

“Kya!?

Sian?!”

“Follow me!

If we stay here, we’ll die!”

“What, what do you…?”

“Just listen to me for now!

We need to go to the altar!”

I ignored all of Regina’s words and pulled her body.

At the same time, the place where we had just been standing collapsed.

Boom…

A beat later, the sound of a huge machine waking up from a long sleep could be heard.

The moss-covered tiles that made up the corridor began to fall one by one.

“Ugh…!”

A large stone fell right next to us with a thud.

The shock accelerated the collapse of the corridor.

Damn it.

At this rate, we won’t make it.

I wish I had Blink, but I was out of mana.

I was pushed too far from the altar while fighting Regina.

At this rate, we’ll both be in danger-

“Argh?!”

My thoughts were cut off there.

As the ground beneath my feet collapsed, a strange floating sensation enveloped my body.

A dizzying feeling, and for a moment, my body floated in the air.

The thought that I was falling filled my mind, and my vision gradually darkened.

I unconsciously closed my eyes tightly.

It was around then that I heard Regina’s voice in my ear.

“Um…

now, I’ve regained my composure now.

So, could you please let go of me for a moment…?”

Regina, who had been dragged along by me, grabbed my hand.

With a calmer tone than before, a red mana enveloped the girl’s body.

The girl gritted her teeth, drew her longsword, and stabbed it into the wall.

Scrape-

The mana-coated longsword sliced through the soft stone wall like tofu.

The speed of the fall gradually slowed, and my mind, which was on the verge of panic, slowly regained its reason.

Slowly opening my eyes, a message appeared before me.

[You have entered the second dungeon ‘Ancient Lich’s Mausoleum’ (Lv. 55)]

[This dungeon is higher level than the player.

It is recommended to raise your level and try again.]

“…If I could, I would.”

Answering the status window in a voice that Regina couldn’t hear, I carefully looked down.

Below us, dangling in the air, was an endless darkness.

“…Shall we, go down?”

At Regina’s question, I answered by taking out a match from my waist.

A must-have item for adventurers, with a fire-attribute magic stone instead of various chemicals.

Thinking that I was glad I brought it, I put a little mana into it, and the magic stone lit up.

I carefully looked down and dropped the match into the darkness.

It took a few seconds for the thud to reveal the bottom of the cave.

I roughly estimated the distance between us and the bottom.

About 40 meters by eye.

It was a height that was impossible for ordinary people, but for Stigmata users, it was a height that could be jumped from.

“Ah, Sian…?”

My eyes, accustomed to the darkness, scanned the opposite wall.

Perhaps because the dungeon was based on a naturally formed cave, the wall was not very smooth.

There were protrusions here and there.

Without hesitation, I let go of Regina’s hand and kicked off the wall.

With quick movements, I landed lightly, using the protrusions, and Regina landed behind me.

Click.

Regina sheathed her longsword with a click.

Taking out another match from my pocket, I let out a light sigh and looked around.

“Sigh….”

“I’m really sorry…!

I didn’t mean to make it like this, ugh…”

I don’t know what Regina thought of my sigh, but she started rambling and apologizing again.

My head was getting more complicated because of it.

This was the entrance to the second dungeon.

Unless we went in, the monsters wouldn’t come out.

With the immediate threat gone, the second thought naturally came to mind.

The anxiety that the original story had been broken somewhere.

Regina wasn’t originally like this.

Moreover, the current Regina seemed strangely stronger than the original.

And her mental state seemed very unstable.

Feeling a headache coming on, I spoke to Regina.

“…I understand that you didn’t intend for this to happen.

If you had swung your sword with the intention of killing me, there would have been no reason for you to save me.”

“But, if that’s the case, why did you swing your sword in the first place?

If you had something to ask, you could have just talked to me.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“Sigh…”

However, Regina couldn’t answer my question and just kept moving her lips without saying anything.

I waited for her for a moment, then sighed, putting my hand on my forehead.

Anyway, since it had already happened, it would be better to think about how to get out of here rather than questioning Regina.

I checked the condition of my practice sword and turned around, moving away from the safe zone.

Then, Regina’s voice could be heard from behind.

“W-wait a minute!

Sian…!”

“…?”

“Th-that’s…

I didn’t know how to start a conversation…”

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

“I-I mean, everyone was supposed to act the same…

so I could answer according to the usual pattern…

but in this playthrough, it’s the first time I’ve seen you.

It’s the first time I’ve seen you, so I wanted to ask you something.

It’s been so long since I’ve had a proper conversation that I’ve forgotten how to talk, I don’t know what kind of person you are, I don’t know how to approach you,

but I felt like I shouldn’t miss this chance, a variable I don’t know, it’s scary, but also, it gives me hope, it’s been so long since I’ve felt this kind of emotion…”

A torrent of incoherent words poured out like a waterfall.

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

Others might, but I knew about Regina Strelachia’s Stigmata.

“…What?”

“Wait.

Just a moment…!”

“Regina, what are you…?!”

I don’t know what Regina thought of my answer, but she gritted her teeth and unbuttoned her uniform top.

Before I could even stop her, the girl, as if she had made up her mind about something, revealed her shoulder.

On the girl’s fair shoulder, which looked like it had never seen the sun, a dark Stigmata in the shape of a clock was engraved.

And underneath it, the number 999 was engraved.

Regina opened her trembling lips with difficulty.

“I, I…

actually, this isn’t my first life…!”

The moment I saw the number 999 engraved under the clock, I felt a sense of unease.

I asked in a voice filled with complicated emotions.

“Then how many times…”

“This is my nine hundred and, ninety-ninth life.”

999.

That was a number I could never forget.

Up until now, combining all the Stigmata rerolls, resets to clear hidden achievements, resets for speedrun records, and resets for no-hit boss clears, I had started [Arcana Academy] as a male character a total of 998 times.

The 999th playthrough was the first time I played a female character in [Arcana Academy], and the playthrough where I fell into this world.