A Few Minutes Ago…
"Hope I'm not late!"
I ran like my life depended on it, full sprint, lungs burning, legs pounding the stone path toward the opposite end of the academy district.
Which was, objectively, the wrong direction.
A few other students were trickling in late too, rushing toward the main gates with their blazers still half on and hair messy from sleep. When they spotted me bolting away from the entrance ceremony, they gave me confused looks, like I'd lost my mind.
I probably looked insane.
[You are late.]
[
"I'm so lucky," I muttered under my breath, "to have you two useless bastards cheering me on every step of the way."
Their silence was answer enough.
I yanked off my blazer mid-run and stuffed it under one arm. Then I popped a couple buttons on my shirt because the morning sun was already baking me alive. Summer in the capital was no joke.
As I rounded a corner, I nearly crashed into a street vendor's stand—racks of hats, scarves, and cheap accessories wobbling dangerously as I skidded to a halt.
[
'Just in case.'
"Old man, gimme the black hat," I said, snatching it off the rack.
"Yes, young man. Twenty-six Eden, pleas—"
"Thanks, man!"
I was already gone, hat in hand, sprinting down the road before he could finish his sentence.
"H-Hey! You brat—!"
I heard the old guy struggle to his feet with his cane, but I was way too fast. By the time he blinked, I'd already disappeared around the next corner.
[...]
[<...>]
"I didn't have money anyway," I muttered defensively.
No response.
Just judgment radiating from both of them.
"There!" I panted, pulling the black hat down low over my grey hair.
I veered left and plunged into the forest.
It was faster this way, I knew because Jayden had used this exact shortcut in the game. A hidden route that shaved off precious minutes if you were willing to deal with uneven ground and low-hanging branches.
My boots crunched over fallen leaves and loose dirt. Twigs snapped. My shirt caught on a bush and I ripped it free without slowing.
Five minutes later, I heard it.
Screams.
Faint at first, then louder as I closed the distance.
I slowed my pace and crept forward, ducking behind a wide tree trunk near the forest's edge.
There.
I could see them now.
Jayden Rayena, the [Protagonist] of the First Game of Princess And Dragon.
Holy shit, it was really him.
He looked obviously more real than in the Game but one look and I could tell it was him.
And Milleia Sophren, the [Main Lead Heroine] of the same game was also there.
Both of them were locked in combat, each fighting two bandits. Jayden's fists crackled faintly with blue lightning. Milleia's dull sword deflected strikes with grit and precision, her face tight with focus.
It was the exact scene I'd watched on my TV back on Earth with Ephera sitting beside me, controller in hand, trying to make the right choices.
Damn.
It really felt surreal seeing it play out in real time. Real voices. Real sweat. Real fear.
Seconds ticked by.
And then that moment arrived.
The bandit leader pulled his arm back and hurled a fireball at the carriage. His accomplice ran to the door and blocked it with a mound of packed earth and debris.
The flames caught fast.
Smoke billowed.
Screams erupted from inside.
"..."
[
Cleenah's voice was quiet. Almost disappointed.
Did she think I'd jump in to save them?
I couldn't.
Not yet.
"No," I said. "The start needs to happen like this."
[
"In the game, Jayden rescues them at the last second. No one dies here, but everyone inside gets badly burned."
[
"Yeah…"
My throat felt tight. I forced myself to keep watching.
"They'll be taken to the hospital. Jayden and Milleia will arrive late to the entrance ceremony."
[
"Not really."
I bit my lip, the memory of the next scene flashing through my head.
"The next day, Milleia gets news of their deaths. Some of the adults survive. But the children don't."
In this world, mana was present in every living being. It reinforced the body, gave people natural resistance to injury and heat. But children? Their mana reserves were weak. Their bodies fragile. They couldn't withstand the burns long enough to recover.
[]
"Do you want me to save them?" I asked.
[
Yeah.
I had a reason.
Their deaths, painful as it was, were necessary to harden Milleia and Jayden. To strip away Milleia's naivety. To give Jayden the motivation to push himself harder, faster, because he wasn't the strongest among the [Main Characters]. Not even close.
This trauma would shape them into the heroes they needed to become.
That was the logic.
That was the game's logic.
"M-Mommy!!!"
A little girl's voice cracked through the air, high and desperate, muffled by smoke and flame.
"..."
She was going to die tomorrow.
What the hell am I doing?
I was acting exactly like Edward in the second game, watching people burn and doing nothing.
The plot would change if I intervened. But if I didn't… what difference would there be between me and that version of Edward? The one who let innocents die because he didn't care?
I wasn't like that.
…Was I?
Deep down, I knew the truth.
I didn't want to save them. Not willingly. Not out of kindness or righteousness.
I'd never cared about strangers, not on Earth, not here. Why should I exhaust myself for people I didn't know?
But now… now I felt compelled.
Not because of pity.
Not because I was a good person.
Because I was afraid.
Afraid of becoming that Edward Falkrona.
The one who lost everything human about himself.
Saving them wasn't about them.
It was about me.
About proving I wasn't going to walk that path.
If the past Edward would've refused because he didn't care, and Nyrel would've refused because he had no reason to… then I, who was both of them—had no excuse left.
I was really a selfish bastard.
What had Ephera or Miranda ever seen in a guy like me?
I laughed weakly, bitterly.
I knew.
I'd known for a long time.
Ever since my family on Earth died, and my mother died in this world, I'd been broken. Ephera had been my only light back home. She kept me on the right path. But here, that hallucination after my mother's funeral had twisted me into something darker.
And now, with Nyrel's memories flooding back, the nightmares were fading. I was thinking more clearly.
But that didn't make me good.
It just made me aware.
-DING!
[An Item is available in the SHOP!]
I blinked.
"What? Jarvis, I thought there was no shop?"
[I thought so as well.]
That bastard…
"Whatever. Show me. Quick."
[Mask of the Marauder ~ 500 AP ~]
[Description: Upon wearing it, one can hide their face and alter their features. Consumes mana.]
Are you kidding me?
"This timing is way too convenient, Jarvis. Your master wants me to intervene, doesn't he?"
[...]
Yeah. Don't talk when I hit the mark.
Whatever.
I couldn't just stand here and watch those kids burn. I couldn't believe I'd even considered it.
"But I can't afford the mask, Jarvis."
[You can take a loan. You must repay it within one week.]
"Then do it. Since your master set this whole thing up anyway."
I snorted.
As for how I'd gather 490 AP in a week? I had no damn clue.
[Challenge!] [Talk to Milleia and Jayden!]
[Reward: 50 AP]
Fine.
I hadn't planned to talk to them, but I needed every point I could scrape together now.
"What's the penalty if I don't repay in a week?"
[Something that will not please you.]
"Thanks for the useless answer."
[You are welcome.]
A vein popped on my forehead.
I clicked the inventory slot. The mask materialized in my hand.
And I stared at it.
'Jarvis! What the hell is this mask? Give me another one!'
It was one of those ornate, theatrical masks you'd see at a fancy masquerade ball. Gold trim. Black accents. Elegant and completely ridiculous for a roadside bandit fight in broad daylight.
I just went 500 AP into debt for this?!
[
She didn't even try to convince me.
"Shut up!"
[You cannot return it once purchased.]
"You're the one who bought it!"
[The carriage is burning.]
I know!
Fuck this!
I slapped the mask on.
A weird tingling sensation spread across my face as the spell took hold, shifting my features slightly.
"Mary," I called. "Let me use your power."
"Yes."
Mary appeared in front of me in her black dress, expression blank as always.
"Get them out of the carriage. Then place a mirror a hundred meters from the academy gates. Leave my blazer there too."
Mary nodded and vanished into a mirror she'd conjured mid-air.
Her bloodline ability, Mirror Manipulation was absurdly overpowered. She could create mirrors, teleport through them, use them as shields, and even attack with shards. The only downside was the insane mana consumption.
"Thanks," I said.
Then I stepped through the mirror.
***
"Masked prince!"
"Beat them, masked prince!"
"..."
I clenched my teeth, willing myself not to collapse from sheer embarrassment.
The children were still calling me that.
I could understand the masked part but why add the 'Prince' part?! It made only things worse!
Anyway.
I opened my palm. My short sword materialized from the void.
No more wasting time.
I stomped the ground and shot forward, straight toward the bandit leader.
Kill the leader first. The rest will crumble.
"A mere brat dares to underestima—"
-CRACK!
I snapped my fingers. A mirror materialized directly in front of his face, blocking his line of sight.
-BAM!
He punched through it with a flaming fist, shattering glass into a thousand glittering pieces.
But I'd already moved.
I raised my free hand. The shards hovered in midair, then shot forward like a storm of knives.
"W-What?!"
He threw both arms up to shield his face.
I spun on my heel and slammed a roundhouse kick into his forehead.
"Kah!"
He flew backward, rolled across the dirt, and skidded to a stop.
His glare was murderous.
But I was already on him, sword raised.
"Tch!"
He threw another fireball.
I snapped my fingers again. Another mirror appeared.
-CRASH!
When the glass exploded, I wasn't in front of him anymore.
"...!"
I'd teleported behind him using a single shard.
-SPURT!
Warm blood sprayed. I summoned a third mirror to shield my clothes, couldn't leave any evidence.
"Rahhh!!"
The leader roared, blood dripping from his forehead and back.
Humiliated, probably. I was at least ten years younger than him I mean.
"Kill him!" He shouted.
I sensed the bandit sneaking up behind me.
I was about to summon another mirror when...
-CRACKLE!
A bolt of blue lightning sent the guy flying.
I glanced back.
Jayden stood there, grinning.
"We should help each other out," he said. "Fellow students and all."
"Are you okay?" Milleia added, jogging up beside him.
I ignored them both and turned back to the remaining bandits.
Four left, including the leader.
Easy.
With Jayden and Milleia backing me up, victory was guaranteed.
"I'll take the leader," I said. "You handle the rest."
I didn't wait for a reply.
"W-Wait!" Milleia called.
"He must be in a hurry," Jayden said. "We're all late, after all."
They followed.