Okay, let’s sort this out first.
First, the recap!
The reason that psycho sword saint got summoned.
The three Rank 7s have been dealt with.
I used that crazy woman’s Ring Blessed by the Luck of the Whole World and the Temporal Prism, the two things that had been the ultimate bullshit in my life, and managed to kill her in the previous loop—just once.
The price was absurdly high, though.
“Hoo… calm down. Calm down.”
The Temporal Prism could borrow the power my future self possessed.
It had a ridiculous trade-off, costing lifespan, but it was still a useful trump card.
“Calm… my ass! Aha, you bastard!!!”
My one trump card.
Ah, so that’s what this is about?
Kit!!!
Sa!!!
Ma!!!
The Temporal Prism had been ground into fine rainbow-colored dust by Aha’s whim.
And somehow, it had vanished completely from the item window, with no way to restore it.
I did have one more title ticket thanks to the title change, but there was no guarantee I’d pull a three-star from that gacha either.
“I really want to transfer accounts…”
If I’d chosen the Path of Destiny or Preservation back then instead.
Maybe none of this insane bullshit would have happened.
I’d endure countless unfair bullshit and get back up.
That was Adrian Servet’s life.
After a while, I steadied my breathing with a clear mind, pulled out a cigarette, and smoked it half-heartedly.
Two things were certain.
The psycho sword saint appears the moment I become connected to a cartridge.
And save points update at the moment a quest appears and the moment it’s cleared.
In front of the fast-food shop, when I cleared the quest and received the cartridge.
The regressions I experienced were two.
It was a flimsy guess, but.
With an infinite regression trait that carried a death penalty, I had to make do with limited information.
“……No matter what happens now, I can’t get involved with a cartridge.”
A monster whose name I didn’t even know.
The god of scalpels, charging at me with a scalpel in hand, ready to carve me up.
Even if I burned through all my lifespan, the best I could do was barely match her.
Because of the difference in experience and the way we handled power, if it hadn’t been for the Ring Blessed by the Luck of the Whole World, I would have lost for sure.
“This is such bullshit…”
I knew Silver Wolf’s talent had become absurdly strong thanks to the cartridge I gave her.
But bullshit was bullshit.
Why the hell can’t I use the cartridge I was given to use?!
And then, one final question remained.
The most important one.
Do the Aeons recognize regression?
The Temporal Prism was smashed by Aha.
The Temporal Prism was an item the system gave me.
When Aha’s gaze landed on me.
When the message the system gave me was forcibly changed.
When the Temporal Prism shattered into dust.
One more assumption formed.
I think the Aeons recognize “regression.”
They know it exists, but maybe they can’t interfere?
That’s a convenient thought for me, at least.
“I miss Silver Wolf’s warm, fluffy scent.”
That’s how Adrian lives.
Silver Wolf.
Seriously, what the hell am I supposed to get in the next life that I’m being put through this much hell?
I’ve gotten stronger.
But there are still too many enemies I have to overcome.
“For now… I’ll do what I can.”
Idling around isn’t my style.
Since I’ve already been swept up in the flow and upheaval of the world.
I’m going to struggle with everything I’ve got and survive.
2.
What day is it today?
That’s right… the day Aha’s gaze fell.
The day the outskirts of Neon City were turned into a total mess!
“Silver Wolf… I’m so tired.”
“……Are you okay?”
She could tell I was in bad shape, so I got a knee pillow and Silver Wolf’s gentle patting.
Aside from cutting down the three Rank 7s, everything else went the same as in the previous loop.
The difference was.
I only took jobs that actually paid, not those stupid little errands.
Silver Wolf was skilled, and I was strong too.
I didn’t need any more annoying side jobs running around doing other people’s chores.
This is strength!
Always fresh, always thrilling!
“Did any other quests show up?”
“Not really. Nothing else has appeared since I cleared that one.”
Quests related to levels.
Silver Wolf gets special quests of her own, like in a novel or a game.
I only found that out this loop. She hadn’t even mentioned it at all in the last one. Probably because she was being considerate.
When you clear a quest, you level up or get a reward.
If the last Pac-Man was made purely with Silver Wolf’s ability, then now there was something else too.
“Pretty lacking… kind of like someone’s chest.”
“…….”
“Silver Wolf, ngh, kehk, don’t choke me…!”
The one sword granted above Silver Wolf’s hand.
It was small.
Small, but still much better than the dagger she originally had.
It looked like the sword from Minecraft, something everyone knew.
A wooden sword, but its performance was nothing compared to the iron swords sold in Neon City!
It was the weapon I got after clearing the quest that was given to me.
Since it was a weapon that grew together with Silver Wolf, a melee warrior skill tree had opened up this time too.
“Should we move our place?”
“……Why?”
“The hot water barely works, and it’s cramped.”
The one-room apartment that had only held my traces had started to fill with Silver Wolf’s traces too.
I’m not attached to it.
Houses only become attached to you when they’re big, spacious, and comfortable.
A house too small for two people to sleep in?
Nope, no attachment.
“Do whatever you want. I don’t care.”
“……You’ve been way too agreeable lately. Suspicious.”
“If I don’t agree, you complain that I’m not listening. If I do agree, you complain that I am.”
Smack!
She slapped my forehead while I was lying there with my head in her lap.
I looked up at Silver Wolf and touched her cheek.
“Squishy~ hehhe~”
“Your brain’s melted.”
Let’s take it easy this loop.
I’ve been working way too hard all this time.
I feel like I just said I’d struggle as much as possible not long ago, but if you want to struggle properly, you have to rest when it’s time to rest.
It’s not like a bomb just dropped in front of me right now.
That crazy woman won’t come if I don’t touch the cartridge, right?
“Still… will Aha really come?”
“Aha? That clown you told me about?”
“Yeah. A clown with a terrible personality and even worse character, who can only do one thing: cackle like an idiot.”
Give me back my Temporal Prism!!!
You bastard!!!
Adrian Servet, entering protest mode.
From now on, if you don’t pull anything good from the gacha, I won’t forgive you, Aha.
I can use a title ticket to roll the gacha.
But my luck lately has been seriously off.
Not in a good way. In a bad way.
It wasn’t this bad before, so I have no idea how it ended up like this.
“My Ring Blessed by the Luck of the Whole World… my Temporal Prism…”
“Why did you lose the ring?”
“I didn’t lose it because I wanted to lose it…!”
The ring had disappeared into the past.
Thinking about what the ring did, it really must have been something incredible.
But with only a faint sensation left now, I couldn’t really tell what role it had played back then.
It felt like the memories of my future self and my present self had mixed together, turning everything into a mess.
So maybe it had forcibly shut me down and wiped out my senses and thoughts entirely.
The sensation of using the Path of Pleasure was much more finely tuned.
No matter how I thought about it, I still couldn’t remember what exactly the Ring Blessed by the Luck of the Whole World had blocked.
“Aha, you bastard……”
The moment I said that.
Goosebumps ran all over my body.
“Shit, he showed up the second I cursed him!?”
“Adrian, what is th—!”
Was he seriously listening from the sky the whole time?
Did he pop out the second I started cursing him, just waiting for that exact moment?
I rushed out onto the balcony.
When I looked up, there was once again a god above that sky, veiling the world in shadow and looking down on humanity while brandishing masks and playing cards.
“Hey, you bastard!!! Give me back my Temporal Prism!!!”
The difference from our first meeting was.
Even though I couldn’t see his expression, it felt like he was looking at me with a cold, dead expression.
Was it because this was our second meeting?
It felt like I was looking at some neighborhood older brother.
The pressure crushing down on my entire body was the same, though.
Then I heard laughter.
The fanfare announcing the start of the stage…
Let’s skip that part since I heard it already.
I stared straight at Aha.
Aha seemed to be staring back at me too.
“Explain yourself.”
Silence.
The longer I looked, the more it felt like my mind was getting contaminated.
Silver Wolf also came out, trembling all over.
She didn’t want to come out because she was scared, but she came out because of me.
“Adrian, let’s go back inside first…”
“No. I’m not going back until I get my Temporal Prism back from that bastard.”
The Temporal Prism’s ability was to borrow power from my future self.
It wasn’t a one-time ability.
But that bastard had turned the Temporal Prism to dust just because I borrowed power from the Path of Pleasure.
How could I not be pissed?
Now that I knew how rare three-star items and blessings were, there was no helping it.
I had to make some kind of protest.
Silver Wolf, who had been clutching my sleeve, looked up at the sky just like I did.
Floating in the sky was a god.
Since I’d already been judged as having received his gaze, no notification window appeared.
“No way…?”
It wasn’t Silver Wolf.
Silver Wolf had never received his gaze, and she had never walked the Path of Pleasure either.
“Adrian… something feels wrong.”
Blood began to flow from Silver Wolf’s eyes.
Blood also poured from her ears, and a nosebleed streamed down.
Everyone around us had fainted.
The only ones still standing with their minds intact were Silver Wolf and me.
“Silver Wolf!”
I caught Silver Wolf’s body as she collapsed.
Unlike before, Silver Wolf kept her consciousness and continued staring at Aha.
Silence.
After a burst of laughter that sounded like it was mocking me echoed once through the air.
Aha disappeared.
But I could sense only one thing.
This time, the one who received his gaze wasn’t me, but Silver Wolf.
She had also begun walking the Path of Pleasure.
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