1.
Silver Wolf had a dream.
In the dream, she was strong.
She kept moving forward, chasing after something as if she hated it with every fiber of her being.
She built an empire in the dark zones, crushed the Corporation underfoot, and united the strange band of Galaxy Rangers with the hackers of Punk Road.
What was she hoping for so desperately?
Why did the version of herself in the dream keep throwing herself into danger, struggling on relentlessly?
Wounded, in pain, betrayed.
So many things happened, but Silver Wolf never stopped.
At the very end of all that long-awaited preparation, she persuaded and recruited a group called the tavern, then orchestrated the final showdown.
The climax of every story.
The ending she had craved.
After sacrificing countless lives and crossing the threshold between life and death, she finally succeeded in reaching one woman.
And then, a battle that shook heaven and earth broke out.
She was slashed.
Her limbs were shattered.
The boundary between god and human grew blurred.
At the end of the fight, Silver Wolf killed ■■ ■■■■ and laughed like a madwoman.
As if she couldn’t contain the joy.
She laughed endlessly, standing over the corpse.
But at the end of that laughter...
There was only emptiness.
No one could fill that void.
She had stood at the peak of ecstasy, yet in the end, she still couldn’t cross the final line.
“...Adrian, would it have been different if you were here?”
After leaving those words behind,
she took her own life.
2.
“Adrian.”
“...Huh? What is it? Something wrong?”
What the hell.
I woke up to the sudden sound of Silver Wolf calling my name.
“Did you have a nightmare? Why are you sweating so much?”
When I opened my eyes, I saw that Silver Wolf was the one drenched in sweat.
Her body trembled uneasily.
Silver Wolf reached out and touched me.
Then her hand kept sliding lower...
Huh? Wait a second.
Hey! Hey!! We’re not in that kind of relationship yet!!!
“You little brat.”
Thwack—I flicked her on the forehead.
Silver Wolf looked at me as if she had suddenly snapped back to reality.
“Eh, wha...?”
“You’re banned from coming near me. So you were actually after my body...”
“No, I wasn’t!!?”
Maybe she’d finally come to her senses, because Silver Wolf flared up and snapped back at me.
Whoa, I almost had my chastity stolen.
I haven’t even scored once in this life yet.
As I scooted away from the bed in a flash, Silver Wolf glared at me with angry eyes.
No, something felt off.
She was angry, annoyed for no reason, and sad all at once—a messy swirl of emotions churning inside her.
“Silver Wolf, are you okay?”
“...I don’t know.”
Huh. Silver Wolf usually didn’t show this vulnerable side of herself.
Something must be bothering her, because her expression looked miserable.
Well, no choice then.
The mood was sinking like a stone, so I’d have to sacrifice my dignity and put on a spectacular show.
“Silver Wolf.”
“Yeah?”
“Actually, this feels like the perfect chance. There’s something I’ve wanted you to wear for a while.”
The indecent outfit I’d somehow managed to get my hands on.
Namely...
A cat bikini cosplay outfit.
The pawnshop owner had once given it to me as a gift, saying I should use it when I finally got a girlfriend.
Honestly, I really did want to see Silver Wolf wearing it.
“This!”
As soon as she saw the outfit, Silver Wolf’s expression shifted.
At first, she looked at it with a confused What on earth is this? But once she figured it out...
Her face turned bright red.
- Smack!!!
In the next instant, a pillow came flying at my head at terrifying speed.
“Y-you, you... you’re insane! Are you a pervert? How could you even own such an indecent outfit...!”
“Why! It’s cute as hell and pretty!”
“Don’t say that so proudly!”
Hmm.
Was that a no?
When she refused to wear it, I deliberately slumped over.
Wouldn’t it be okay to wear it just once...? Honestly, I thought it would look great on her.
“Ughhh...”
Silver Wolf looked at me with an expression that clearly said, You were actually imagining me in that?
But hey. She’d just sexually harassed me too, hadn’t she?
If she kept this up, I’d have no choice but to file a MeToo report.
Poor, precious Adrian’s heart was being wounded.
“Don’t come any closer. From now on, keep at least one meter away from me.”
“Why would I do that?”
“W-wait. I said don’t come closer, didn’t I!?”
After that, I used her as a makeshift plush toy and inhaled her cozy scent to my heart’s content.
3.
All right, I’d taken a proper hot shower and finished getting ready.
“Sta-tus win-dow!”
The moment I called out brightly, a blue window appeared.
Beside me, Silver Wolf looked on as if thinking, There he goes again... Should I go buy some medicine for him?
“Excuse me, status window. Can this be shared?”
No answer.
I asked again.
“I want to show this to my friend over there. Is there any way to do that?”
When I pointed at Silver Wolf, she tilted her head.
Well, of course she did, since I was pointing at empty air while staring into space.
Then a line of text appeared.
- Would you like to share the status window? However, any consequences resulting from this action cannot be undone.
Whoa, that wording felt a little ominous.
Then something else appeared underneath.
[WARNING - If you reveal anything about Game Life, a penalty will be applied.]
Ah.
So if I blabbed that I was a regressor, it was going to kill me.
Yeah, yeah, I expected as much.
Honestly, regression without penalties is a little boring.
From now on, I was destined to remain a lonely regressor.
“Should I show this to her or not?”
“...What on earth are you looking at?”
Silver Wolf hopped right onto my lap.
She looked in the same direction I was staring and waved her hand through the air.
There was nothing there except my finger, yet it seemed Silver Wolf knew I was focusing on something.
“Fine! Whatever, I’ll share it!”
“So, what exactly are you...”
Silver Wolf grabbed my finger tightly, and when a blue window suddenly materialized in front of her, she flinched in surprise.
It seemed she was seeing the same screen. Silver Wolf waved her hands around, trying to touch the status window.
“W-what is this?”
“The revelation from God I was talking about.”
“There really was a revelation from God!?”
Silver Wolf’s eyes quickly scanned the status window.
But then she frowned, looking as if something was wrong.
“...I can’t read the text.”
“What? How is that possible?”
“It’s all garbled, and only bits and pieces are visible...”
Could it be that what she saw was different from what I saw?
Even I had a few broken characters here and there.
“Then how about this? ■■■■■■ ■■■ ■■■■”
“...What?”
“■■■■■■ ■■■ ■■■■”
She didn’t seem to hear it.
Silver Wolf frowned as if she’d just heard static or noise she wasn’t supposed to hear.
“Haa... If that’s the case, there’s no point in sharing it.”
How frustrating.
I’d asked because I thought my gamer girl, Silver Wolf, might be able to help, but if we couldn’t share information, she was basically useless for this.
“...Sorry I couldn’t help.”
“What are you apologizing for? It’s fine.”
It was fine. Silver Wolf was cute, so it was all fine.
Looks like I’d have to figure everything out myself after all.
The only thing I hadn’t checked yesterday was the shop.
The rest of the features were locked, so this was essentially the crown jewel of the status window.
What rare goods would be in there?
Were there really items that could move my heart?
=======
♠ Shop
<Remnants of the Past>
<Nameless Glory Roulette>
<Blessing Warp>
- Purchased items are automatically stored in the inventory.
- In addition, acquired items are inherited across runs.
- No returns after opening. Refunds are unavailable for simple change of heart.
=======
Simple and clear.
Let’s check Remnants of the Past first.
<Remnants of the Past>
- Would you like to check the current display case?
- You can browse the displayed items and buy the ones you like.
- The price is fixed at 10 Pt.
- The display case is refreshed every week.
- Items purchased once can be repurchased by paying a certain number of points.
Oh, this is pretty good.
Things from the era I lived in.
In other words, I could buy things from Earth.
It wasn’t everything—just the ten items displayed in the showcase—but everyday essentials here were sold at ridiculously inflated prices anyway.
Honestly, once I left this place, I probably wouldn’t have much use for them.
Still, better than nothing.
Familiar tastes from home are a luxury, after all.
Next, let’s look at the ones marked Warp and Roulette.
Because my dopamine was just starting to surge.
Warp? Roulette? Nice, so even here I get to experience the gacha.
<Nameless Glory Roulette>
- 1 draw: 300 Pt OR a title ticket
- You can obtain a relic.
- Acquired relics can be equipped, granting permanent abilities.
- Title tickets held: 1
Hmm... 300 Pt per pull, or one title ticket.
That sounds insanely expensive.
This isn’t a scam, right?
Well, I’ve got one ticket, so let’s test it.
You’ve got to sample the goods at least once.
The moment I pressed the status window firmly, a roulette board suddenly dropped down.
Even in this cramped little room, the appearance of the roulette board made it feel even tighter.
“...What is that?”
Even though she couldn’t see the contents, perhaps because we’d shared the status window, Silver Wolf seemed able to see the roulette board.
Silver Wolf, who had been gaming away with a controller, jumped in surprise.
“Silver Wolf, I’m counting on you.”
“For what?”
“I’m going to steal your luck!”
I pretended to bury my face in the top of her head to slurp up her fortune.
Silver Wolf looked at me and seemed to give up on life.
Wasn’t I already getting wrecked by her this morning?
Heh heh... bring it on.
“...Sigh.”
With Silver Wolf’s sigh, the roulette board slowly began to spin and glow.
The familiar gacha sound.
Exciting BGM.
Shimmering effects.
My heart suddenly started fluttering.
I’d forgotten. The invention called gacha was created by elite university graduates specifically to suck our money dry.
- Thunk-thunk! Thunk-thunk! Thunk-thunk!
The sound continued as the roulette accelerated.
Once the wheel had reached peak speed, it gradually slowed down until the arrow pointed to an item.
“It’s here!!!”
With a cheerful tiring sound, the item dropped out.
I believe in this. A status window whose condition for acquisition is dying once—there’s no way it would give me total garbage.
[Temporal Prism]
- Rank: ★★★☆☆
- Effect 1: When equipped, resonance with the Path increases.
- Effect 2: At the cost of lifespan, you can draw power from your future self.
- Source: Herta Space Station artifact storage
- Note: A prism made in the shape of cheese. It is not meant to be eaten, so do not eat it.
“Hmm...”
Interesting.
It was ambiguous. Three stars was better than two, but if they were going to give me something, they should’ve just given me a four-star item.
What was this ominous “at the cost of lifespan, draw power from your future self” thing?
By genre logic,
there was a high chance I’d be burning my lifespan to use this when I was on the verge of death.
In other words, I’d probably end up using it with the mindset of, If I’m going to die anyway, I might as well take you down with me.
I'll equip it for now.
I can’t afford to throw points away.
“Still... one shot left.”
The roulette was over.
But one thing remained.
<Blessing Warp>
- 1 draw: 50 Pt
- Draws an item containing a consumable blessing that can create powerful variables or overturn fate.
- Caution, ■ is the one and only ■■■■ that ■■■■ ■■■■.
Maybe this was the main dish.
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