Regressor, Possessor, Reincarnator

The stars poured like rain over the clear night sky—a meteor shower falling across the heavens.

The stars were stars, but one was not.

Descending upon the world with a long tail, the star that was not a star fell onto the head of the chieftain who slept not a wink through the night and delivered unto him a sentence.

[Find the Ness of Stars and save the exiled incarnation.]

At the long-awaited revelation from the stars, the chiefs of the Minima and Arachni tribes summoned their tribal members, despite the late hour.

When the chief said that the stars had given him a revelation, they rejoiced. As soon as the day dawned, they scattered throughout the Great Desert to carry out the instructions imparted to them.

As priests and as children of the stars, they had to fulfill the word of god.

They combed the valley cut and divided by the sandstorm and threw themselves into peril, and in the process, monsters attacked their villages.

However, they had yet to find any of the stars.

It was almost impossible to find a ness surrounded by water in a desert full of sand.

Yet they never gave up.

Like that, the years passed.

They still had yet to find the Ness of Stars, but there had been considerable progress.

They had learned that the Ness of Stars was a ‘place’ in the figurative sense, not a part of actual topography. On top of that, the site was likely to be filled with relics.

Opinions were divided on the issue of the incarnation in question. Some argued it could have been made manifest in human form while others argued for a sacred object that could be thought of as an alter ego.

The tribes eventually changed their plan of action when they failed to find the Ness of Stars after having searched the expanse of the Great Desert. Instead, they began to provide extensive guide work—minimal enough in scale to just barely afford food for themselves—and built relationships with as many people as possible that would excavate ruins for them.

In some cases, there were sacrifices by some tribesmen, but they continued on.

From the olden days when the gods personally delivered their own messages up to now, the tribes had great faith in their communication with the stars.

Thirty years later, when the former chief’s child took the position of tribal chief when he was only a boy, another revelation fell.

Except what fell was not just one revelation, but multiple.

[Go westward to find the chosen one.]

[Give him aid so you may thereupon achieve your wish.]

[Do not find fear in hope. Concern yourself with a lack of fulfillment.]

Multiple revelations were rarely witnessed, a spectacle usually only reserved for their ancient records.

'The last time there was this type of revelation was 137 years ago…’

It was also a sign to help a man.

Unlike prophecies, which usually referred to events taking place in years to decades, the contents of revelations were made apparent within a few days.

'At that time, they looked at the stone tablet and seemed surprised by something.’

The unusual sight of them looking at the stone tablet with surprised faces captured attention, leaving a clear memory in its wake.

They took good care of the man in accordance with the stars’ revelation, and after ninety-nine days, drove him out of the tribe, as was delivered in the revelation.

Thus, it likely wouldn’t be long until this revelation, too, was to be realized.

Without fear of sandstorms, the tribes arrived near the western end of the Great Desert in the city of adventure, Kairan.

There, they met two men.

Allen and Julius.

At first, there was confusion about who would be the chosen one, but they soon stopped worrying.

'It could mean both of them.’

Since they were from the same family, it could be argued that they were referred to as one person.

The chief did not readily make the mistake of using his own terms to define the word of god.

They delivered the brothers through the sandstorm to Elpis, as they wished, and finally succeeded in fulfilling the revelation.

"Isn't it a great relief, Chief?"

"Glory to the guidance of the stars.”

The chief's wrinkled eyes did not waver, even in response to Alexius's genuine words.

"Even so… who knew that finding the chosen one would lead to this?"

As Alexius's eyes turned forward, he gazed upon a pointed spire towering above the sand.

The emergence of the four spires suggested that there was a huge castle buried beneath the wide expanse of sand.

"The size of one spire alone exceeds that of any ordinary ruin… How great must the chambers of the main castle be…”

After it appeared with the huge tremors a few days prior, they realized that it was one of the rare super-large megaruins.

And so, as usual, they aided in guiding others to the ruins to explore.

However, when an investigation team from the Academy came to seize control of the ruins, they changed their stance.

"I'm sure this is the right place, Chief, no— Father.

"Our tribal chief is also convinced that this is the place."

The revelation had come down to them, Allen and Julius were the suspected subjects of the revelation, and there was even a rumor that the Academy was playing their advantage of the ‘first come first serve’ rule to take control of the megaruins.

"I know."

"Then why are you hesitating? If we don’t go now, before the Academy’s team does, it’ll be too late."

Alexius was troubled.

The fact that the Academy would use adverse possession meant that they wouldn’t be able to enter the ruins again for some time. Their only opportunity to get into the ruins would be as members of the pre-exploration advance team, under the promise to share the information they obtained within the ruins.

"Didn't you already send out a letter?"

"I received a reply the other day that there are people coming here for a dungeon practice-raid."

The chief did not blame Alexius and Erini for urging him. Wasn't that just how young blood was? He understood; he had once been like that.

How could you wait, feeling so sure that you’d be successful in achieving the revelation of the prophetic stars you’re destined to serve?

"Well…"

"The guild has already made their move. Even the mercenaries! If we don't move quickly, we won't have another chance!" Alexius spoke in earnest.

Erini nodded beside him, supporting his opinion.

The chief of the Minima tribe, despite the anger of his young successors, was quietly lost in thought.

His inner conflict, however, was not a result of the oncoming danger. Rather, it was the weight of the wishes of the stars and knowing their disregard for the tribes’ sacrifices.

It took only one.

‘…Is the revelation ordering us to help a chosen person just so we may be helped in making our way into the dungeon?’

If that were the only reason, the other Academy students would all be of no concern.

There must have been a reason why the stars had singled them out. 

However, they couldn’t just sit and wait.

"Father!"

Hearing the sound outside, it was clear that Chief Arachni, who had left to calm the other restless young people, was also at his limit.

"…if the chief doesn't fulfill his obligations! If it were me, I’d have gone already…”

"Yes, I will allow it."

“!!”

Alexius hurriedly raised his head.

"Send word to the tribesmen outside. I will give everyone a chance to fulfill the revelation."

"…Finally! On it, sir."

The will of the universe could not be judged from the perspective of a mere mortal.

They had no choice but to do everything they could.

"I'm off to put together the preparations!"

"I will see you thereafter."

The chief quietly swept off the tombstone, watching Alexius and Erini as they shook the tent while leaving.

"…Hurry. Go get ready.”

His wrinkled eyes fell dark.

* * *

* * *

Supplementary, lower, intermediate, upper, and advanced classes.

Students were classified into a total of five classes, but no class was ever referred to by its formal name.

In other words, by alphabetical order, from Class A to Class E.

This was primarily because the label of belonging to a lower class would hurt students’ pride.

By using the alphabet instead of explicit words, they could save a bit of face. 

"My name is Evan Baroque from Class C. I look forward to working with you."

"Oh, Evan. I'm Ariel Hail from Class D. What about you?"

Evan spoke confidently, trying to appear as self-possessed as possible. Ariel, standing in front of him, bowed in a modest gesture and turned her head to the side.

"Well, I'm William from Class B… I don’t have a last name."

Perhaps feeling burdened by their aristocratic gaze, William shuddered and avoided their eyes.

"Huh, Class B, you say… Mr. William, you're outstanding, aren’t you?"

Her eyes had shone from the moment he shared that he was in Class B, and she slowly showered him with compliments.

“‘Mr. William’… Please, feel free to call me in a less formal way, Miss Ariel. I was just lucky to…”

"Call me Ariel."

As Arial approached, William moved back, blushing. And as Ariel showed her interest in William, Evan slipped in between them.

"Ehem, well, you sure must have been very lucky. I’ll also be in Class B next semester, so I hope to see you in class.”

"Oh, I’m sure you’ll see Sir Evan there.”

Nobody could know for sure if their claims were truthful or not.

Ariel smiled and took a step back, and William cautiously began to speak, testing if their noble attention was truly that intimidating.

"Well, I also think that Sir Evan could b-be in Class B, too, of course."

"Is that so?"

Evan laughed loudly at his flattery.

Evan confidently announced his position in Class C. Ariel said Class D. Along with them, William, in Class B, willingly lowered himself so as to not offend them.

Now, they were practicing for their battles set to take place in a week.

Dozens of other students also gathered in front of the artificial ruins in preparation for the upcoming dungeon practice-raid.

The members of each group had been randomly selected with one from each class and, thus, were currently greeting each other awkwardly.

The goal was to pass through the artificial ruins safely.

If they encountered no problems, the group would stay intact for the dungeon practice-raid, so they all knew to carefully assess each other over the next few hours.

"Wow! Mr. William is a rare healer, huh? I was really scared that I might get hurt… What a relief!"

"If you get hurt, I'll treat you."

"Thank you, Mr. William."

"I will stop all the enemies' attacks for you."

"Sir Evan, you’re pretty reliable, too."

Allen watched their interactions quietly.

⟬You’re not gonna cut in?⟭

‘I don't have to approach them first.’

Allen came to the Academy because he had goals. Networking was one of them, but he decided to take a different, less explicit approach.

‘It would be nice if I could approach them myself, but…’

It didn't match his temperament.

"Mr. William, it's good that you're not as incompetent as all the rest of the commoners I know.”

"Sir Evan, isn’t that too belittling toward Mr. William?"

"I don't mind, sir."

“Mr. William, you have a good personality. Is that why you’re in Class B? Oh, wait. So we’ve all said hello to each other, but the last person…”

Ariel’s eyes turned to Allen, who had been quietly listening to their conversation.

Allen smiled mildly and bowed his head as if he hadn’t just been sitting there with no expression.

"I couldn't get a word in because you were having such a fun conversation. Let me say hello. My name is Allen Reinhardt from Class A."

"That’s him, the second in the class…”

"Yes, that’s correct.” Allen nodded modestly.

⟬Well, someone’s got guts…⟭

‘Quiet.’

At first, they were unreceptive to the stranger, but their faces brightened after hearing more. It was just practice, but a dungeon was a dungeon. They couldn't help but feel comforted, thinking would pass safely because of Allen.

"I've heard a lot about the Reinhart family!"

"I’ve heard your name before—the name of Sir Allen spread throughout my home territory. I’m so glad I’ve finally gotten to meet you…”

What the hell did they know about the Reinhart family?

Allen took up his usual guise, always maintaining a good image for the sake of any future plans—never allowing anyone to doubt his behavior—and replied, "I’ve heard about the Baroque family, too. That the lake atop one of the Baroque family territory’s hills is so beautiful.”

"You know of our great lake! If you ever pass by, please make sure to stop in."

"And isn't the Hail family famous for their production of wine?"

"Oh, my. I'd love to invite you to a tasting event someday if you’d be interested."

As Allen worked to gain their favor, he approached William, who had been left alone in the circle.

"Come on over here. I'm interested in healers. I have plenty of questions to ask you.”

"R-really?" he rushed, excited to fulfill Allen’s curiosities in some way.

As they were relaxing, talking amongst each other, the instructor shouted, "Now, quiet! Please enter the simulated remains in the following order! First up: Allen Reinhart, Evan Baroque, Ariel Hail, and William."

Nominated for the first group, they looked back at each other.

Regardless of any nerves that may have plagued them, they took their respective positions and headed toward the gray-colored portal.

⟬Let's finish this and get back quickly! You’re making me feel queasy acting like that.⟭

“……”

Allen glared at Vestla without saying a word.

After a long time, the air trembled gently with the mana left free in the atmosphere.

The cool air of the ruins flowed out from the portal.

"Let’s just do exactly as we’ve been told, and we’ll get out just fine."

"A-alright."

"Let’s do it, team."

"Gotcha."

Using only their senses to illuminate the geography, they moved into the darkness.

They’d begun their excursion into the simulated ruins.

* * *

"Why is he in the supplementary class?"

"Are they together because they were just standing nearby?"

"No, isn't Julius kinda good enough to be in Class A?”

"I mean, maybe…?”

Aveline wrinkled her face, fed up with the murmuring around her.

"We're minding our own business. Why do they care so much?”

"Well, what can we really even do?"

"Julius, don't you care at all about what they say?"

"…Well.”

Julius looked conflicted. After all, he understood why other people reacted that way.

Just as Julius was about to answer, they heard a voice.

"I understand their reactions. We have to form fair groups, but since we can’t form groups with the people we already know within our own classes, we have no choice but to do it this way."

Someone said exactly what he was thinking.

Those from the supplementary class were treated differently, merely because of the name associated with their supposed talents.

He thought of it as a good thing, since he’d be stranded with total nincompoops otherwise, but he knew that it probably seemed unreasonable to others in higher classes. 

"Well, it’s fine enough for us."

When he turned toward the husky voice, he was met with a boy sporting a long mustache—confusing on someone his age—who approached him donned in a full suit.

"Mattias."

"Julius, are you ready? If you know the secret of our family, as per the contract…”

"Yes, yes. Everything is ready. Don't worry about it, and get ready for the ruins."

"Well then."

Mattias shrugged his shoulders.

It was a little ridiculous seeing the child openly forcing himself to imitate an adult.

He smiled in that same manner, then turned around and headed elsewhere.

Julius smiled faintly at the sight of him going away.

'It was easy to rope Mattias in, using his ancestors' wishes as bait.'

He was expecting to get a lot of treasure through him.

Most of the population of the supplementary classes were those who were extremely talented or who hid their power for some reason, such as Julius.

Julius knew that a large number of supporting characters from the were present in the supplementary class when he read the itself.

So he purposely entered into the supplementary class in order to befriend them.

And to guide the plot forward, as well.

He’d already contacted several people aside from Mattias, who he just talked to.

Originally, he planned to take a little more time on this stage, but things didn’t go exactly according to what was written in the . He felt the need to act quickly. 

「Kill the ancient monster sealed in the ruins and prevent disaster yourself! Time limit: 687:52:55.

Reward: Fragment of truth(???)」

After all, large-scale ruins absent from the had appeared. 

'I don't know exactly what the ‘fragment of truth’ is, but I need to have it.’

Maybe then, he’d figure out how he got there. 

"…Next! Would the following students come to the front…”

Julius looked at the highlighted text in bold while still watching Allen, who proudly moved to the portal.

'Heisel is ready, just in case…’

But what about Allen?

In order for the Quest’s conditions to be fulfilled, he needed for his brother to not kill the ancient monster sealed in the ruins by mistake.

‘Should I ask my brother to join my group…? No, I shouldn’t.’

His older brother deeply cherished him, so he was sure that if he asked him to sacrifice his reputation for him, he would. 

A man who turned into a villainous demon contractor for his brother’s sake.

That was the kind of character ‘Allen’ was.

Julius laughed at what seemed to be the obvious outcome, right in front of his eyes.

He couldn't help but wonder what the fragment of truth would reveal.