Regressor, Possessor, Reincarnator

Morning dawned on the second day of the two-week dungeon practice-raid.

Hundreds of students, guides, and merchants looking for good deals congregated by the four spires leading to the entrance of the ruins.

Allen's group gathered early in the morning, just as the other students’ had.

A creeping exhaustion was plastered on the faces of those gathering.

Understandably, they couldn't be rid of their fatigue in just one night. They weren’t used to sleeping in the terrain; the inability to freshen themselves up proved inconvenient; even the meals were disappointing.

Taken together, it was all too much, and they were unable to fully recover from the fatigue they’d built up the day prior.

Yet this, still, was also a problem they would have to overcome.

What would they do if the Demon King were to suddenly reappear? Or from an even more practical standpoint, undertaking the ruins before them wasn’t nearly as much of a hassle as it could have been.

Dungeon practice was undoubtedly essential for what lay ahead in the future.

Otherwise, the Academy would be no better than a glorified social club.

…Though, there was an argument to be made there.

"Alright, let’s go."

When it was their turn to enter once again, the team went through the entrance in the middle of the pointed spire.

Upon entering through the hole—which had actually been made by breaking through the spire itself—they found a staircase spiraling up and down. There, they saw the students who had entered before them heading downward, and in between, a ball of light.

There wouldn't be any danger until they’d descended.

Allen used that brief span of time to gather the attention of his party and go over their plan.

"Would you mind giving me your attention for a moment?"

As their eyes focused on Allen, he addressed Alexius, who was leading the way.

"Alexius, could you tell me the information you learned from joining the advance team?"

"Yes, I had no intention of hiding it, anyway."

Alexius willingly complied, having intended on helping Allen from the beginning. He began with anticipation hidden deep in his eyes.

"First of all, the megaruins consist of seven stories."

“Seven floors?"

"…It's deeper than I thought."

Evan's voice dropped, as if he could’ve never imagined it.

Ariel seemed worried about the unexpected scale of their expedition.

"…Th-there has to be a mistake. This can’t be right…”

When William stammered, Alexius shook his head.

"No, it is correct. There are indeed seven stories. I didn't confirm it myself, but the Academy's advance team did."

His assured answer silenced the party. He couldn't be lying if the Academy itself had confirmed the information.

They only had two weeks for their dungeon training. It would be almost impossible to clear such a large-scale megasite.

"I think that this is why they didn't tell you the information…”

Ariel grabbed her throbbing forehead, as if she had a headache.

“Haha… I thought telling us was just to psyche us out… but I guess they just thought it’d be useless for us to know.”

"…That's why you were so keen to overwork yourselves yesterday. Considering the scale of your mission, it was a matter of urgency."

Evan burst into laughter at the absurdity of it all, and William murmured quietly, seeming to realize why there had been so many dropouts yesterday. Perhaps, even, why the rate of participation among upperclassmen was so low.

The upperclassmen had already experienced this— and they knew that freshmen would attempt to clear impossibly difficult ruins during the dungeon practice-raid.

"…Then what should we do?” William asked in a feeble voice.

Milred, who was watching the situation from behind, intervened.

"Come on! What are you all talking about! Are you going to give up like this? If you give up now, your grades will sink into the abyss."

"But…"

"‘But’ nothing! Did the professors tell you to be so on us like this?”

"I…" Ariel blurted out.

When she trailed off, Milred responded, "No, I just want to see you do your best! I'm here to help you do that, or…”

Milred hit the nail on the head with a smile.

"Did you really think you could deal with everything on your own?"

They all flinched.

Evan shivered as if he’d been thinking just that.

"In that case, if you don’t need the upperclassmen, then why do you need the Academy at all? The Academy exists to nurture and train you by giving you the wisdom and experience to overcome the many risks you’ll face.”

Her theoretical spiel forced the party to nod silently.

"So then…"

She smiled at Allen, who had taken a step back and was watching, like always.

"Now! Shall we hear what our leader has decided?”

Milred looked at Allen as if he knew everything, and the other members of the team followed suit.

"Didn’t you hold back because you were coming up with a plan?"

"…Well, yes."

Allen replied with a bitter smile, as if it couldn’t be helped.

"You’re right."

Allen's gaze ran across the steps of the spire, down toward its basement.

"There's a way for us to get enough points.”

* * *

Selecting the ruins for the Academy's first dungeon practice-raid of the year was a simple process.

It must be too difficult for freshmen to handle, and it must be a place where they could gain meaningful experiences for their future endeavors.

If a site under consideration met those two prerequisite factors, the Academy would send a team to investigate the creatures living in the depths of the ruins, what risks lay within, and how many floors there were. After that, if there were no jarring abnormalities, an advance team of mercenaries and experienced adventurers was tasked in creating a rudimentary map of the interior.

Since they occupied the space first and could use their right of adverse possession, the Academy didn’t find it difficult to collect information on the ruins without outside interference.

"Usually, mercenaries who accompany the advance team get to take the relics they find during their run-through and leave… while the guides remain."

They stayed so that the students could get a little information on the layout of the ruins and avoid its traps with their aid.

With that, Alexius paused and stabbed several spots in the wall with his scorpion tail.

A faint chill hovered above the ​​gray-white floor of the hallway, too narrow for three people to walk side-by-side. The walls were dreary and durable, but there was no trap lying within.

However, as soon as Alexius stabbed the wall next to him, a net of light appeared without a sound, wrapping around the space to his front.

Fwish.

He wasn’t even near enough to touch it, yet Evan felt a cold sweat trickle down the back of his neck, a stark contrast against the heat he felt before him.

"And I am a guide who knows the way down to the fifth floor."

"Then does that mean…?" William answered with a question, his expression surprised like he’d come to a sudden realization.

In response, Allen nonchalantly replied, "Yes, we plan to make the fastest run through the ruins, quicker than any other group. Down to the lowest level we can.”

"Surely that would score us enough points.”

“If we can’t beat it entirely, then we just give up and try to get to the furthest point possible… That's a good idea."

They seemed especially in awe of him, as if they hadn't even considered it.

"Except you would have to give up hope of extracting any relics altogether."

Milred conveyed the final shortcoming of said operation, but the party willingly gave up their shot at obtaining relics.

Relics could be obtained later, but the same couldn’t be said for their grades.

What was surprising was that William also approved.

"I… think that this is more important than money, too. Our score is of the utmost importance, so I think this is the right choice."

The reasoning behind his opinion seemed overly complicated, but he soon returned to his usual self.

Milred called for their attention, saying that it was not quite over yet.

"But Allen, you won't have been the only one who came up with this plan. If you think about all those who were eliminated yesterday, wouldn't other people have chosen a similar method in response, too?"

"In that case…"

"I'm saying we have to hurry up."

The members of the party all looked back at each other, then hurriedly checked the map.

One-third of the first underground floor had been illuminated on the map.

If they continued moving at the same speed for the entirety of the allotted two weeks, they would reach the middle of the fifth floor.

But considering that the further they went down, the stronger the guardians and traps they would encounter, they might hit the time limit while still on the fourth floor.

“If we’re conservative with our choices, our current speed might be enough to make it that far. However, in order to reap huge rewards, I think our best bet is to take the risk…”

Ariel's eyes were resolute.

"What do you want to do?"

They had to go for it.

There would be emergency escape methods sprinkled throughout the ruins, so it wasn’t like they’d really be risking their lives.

All they would lose was just the score they got in one class. It was a big percentage of their final grade, but they wouldn’t get anywhere without a little bit of risk.

Therefore, their choice was made.

"Let’s give it a try."

"Cough… I’ll do my best.”

"Same here."

As everyone agreed, Alexius looked at the map, recalling his experience in the advance team, and responded, "Well, I'll pick up the pace."

The shortest breakthrough in the history of Allen’s team had been made.

* * *

* * *

The party moved at a brisk pace.

Until now, the map had been revealed as they’d made incremental progress in the safest way they could, but since the goal was now to head to the lower floors quickly, keeping that pace would no longer be possible.

"Allen, there's a room up ahead!"

"Ignore it, like we planned!"

They’d have to prove they could demonstrate the required knowledge before entering a room. The Academy had also trained them to deal with such situations, but implementing that practice would take a long time and didn’t align with the current goal of the party as they tried to hastily make their way downstairs.

William looked as though he were a little disappointed, but he passed by the room without hesitation.

"Two sandmen in front! One ghoul!"

"I deal with the ghoul." 

"Then I'll deal with the sandmen.”

Evan's body, engulfed in blue magic, was several times faster than before. He swung his sword, and in that state, the body of the living dead was crushed without an opportunity to resist.

Ariel fired a single shining green arrow.

Shwoom.

In an instant, the arrow was sent flying, hitting both sandmen and rendering them to puffs of dust.

"Keep it up! Let’s keep going!"

"Should we ignore what they're dropping?”

Alexius had been moving to retrieve the items they’d dropped, but paused at Allen's words.

"It’s more important to keep going and move fast than to gain by retrieving the little things."

Milred smiled coolly at Allen's firm reply. "Wow, Allen. You sure know what to do!”

"Understood." Alexius nodded in reply.

Thus, the party didn’t explore their surroundings at all, rather, proceeding toward the stairs going down to the second floor as quickly as possible.

"There's a trap ahead!"

"What kind?"

"Short-range attack, I think."

Alexius detected the trap with only a glance and shouted out, while Allen, who’d also detected the trap with his senses, sent scattered shockwaves across the wall.

Crackle, pop! Crash!

A burst of air shot forward and smashed down the wall, causing both sides to then topple in on each other.

The party passed through the dusty stone debris that now filled the air as the wall returned to its original shape.

"Take a right here!"

"Argh! That scared me.”

"Wh-what?"

"Who are…?"

In the space in between, they found a group who had started before them. However, nobody from the group approached them, only looking in their direction with surprise.

They just stood and stared.

Along the way, Evan started wandering off alone after getting caught in a trap, and Ariel had to be treated after being wounded by guardians that had been incited to battle by their loud approach.

Yet still, Alexius’s strength was nearly shocking.

As William limped along with a somber, deadpan expression on his face, Alexius's footsteps came to a halt in the dark passageway.

"Cough, cough… Are we there yet?”

"Hold on. Let me check."

Alexius opened the map at William’s exhausted-sounding question. The map—a third of which had been illuminated—started shining brightly, drawing a crooked line through the page.

"Yes, this is the passage I went through."

"Finally…"

Alexius's affirmation brightened the expressions of the party.

Allen examined their situation.

"How are you feeling, Evan?"

"I'd say I’m alright, but… Honestly, I’m not doing too hot.”

"Ariel?"

"It's the same for me."

The group wasn’t in good condition, having used their mana without much discretion and forcibly restoring it with potions when it ran low.

"William… goes without saying.”

Allen smiled wryly. William, who had needed to do extensive self-treatment due to his lack of physical strength, looked as though he were already half-dead.

Alexius seemed to be absolutely fine, as though this were quite literally a walk in the park, and Milred, as a junior, seemed to have no problem with this kind of activity. 

But…

“Let’s stop for today at the entrance of the second floor.”

Allen checked the condition of the party and announced this, causing Ariel to voice her concern.

"Allen, but if we stop here, then we won’t be able to make it—”

"Well, f-forget about me! Cough! Keep going, cough!"

William's legs were trembling like a newborn lamb’s, yet he forced himself to keep moving, not wanting to be a burden.

Allen shook his head in spite of their resilience.

"We will be the first group to arrive on the second floor, anyway. Because of that, it’s better for us to go back, recuperate, and start again fresh tomorrow. We've gone through it once, so we’ll be able to go all the way down to the third floor next time."

"But…"

Nevertheless, Allen shook his head despite the party's hesitant attitude, and asked again, "Then should we go down to the second floor right away? Since everyone seems to agree."

Ariel hesitated as Allen pretended to move forward, then replied with a sigh. "…You’re right. We should call it a day, shouldn’t we?"

"Hmm, ahem, being too greedy isn’t quite ideal, is it?"

"I will follow your orders, Allen…”

Allen turned around, knowing that that was the conclusion that was going to come about.

"Then, shall we go back after entering the second… hm?”

Allen made a questioning sound as his head turned toward the party. On the wall there was a sentence written in ancient script.

“Sir Allen, what are you… Ah.” Looking toward the wall where Allen's gaze was directed, Alexius seemed to understand and thus met the party’s puzzled eyes to explain. “This is one of the inscriptions written on each doorway leading downstairs.”

"Then…"

"Yes, it's a dead language that isn’t in use anymore. Its meaning is hard to interpret…”

"Let me explain!"

Milred stepped forward with a stately step, as if it were her turn to shine. She’d had no opportunity to step up before then because of how well the members of the team had been doing on their own.

"Do you know how to interpret it?"

"Yes, yes. Starting in your sophomore year, you can choose ancient languages as a liberal arts class.

"Then, may we ask you to interpret?”

"Sure!"

She read out the sentence, face full of confidence.

?λο? ο κ?σμο? ε?ναι βαμμ?νο? ασπρ?μαυρο? και γκρι.

"The entire world is painted black, white, and gray."

Allen was staring at the phrase, but not because he didn't know what it meant.

After all, he’d done a lot of research before his regression. How could he possibly not pick up an ancient word or two?

There was, however, one reason why Allen kept quiet.

Τ?τε το φεγγ?ρι ?γινε κ?κκινο και πολλ? αστ?ρια ?πεσαν.

"And so, the moon turned red, as countless stars descended.”

His eyes did not descend beyond the first sentence.

Ακ?μα και ο υψηλ?τερο? αστ?ρι απ? αυτο?? δεν ?ντεχε.

"Among them…"

"Not even the brightest star could endure."

Milred looked at Allen with surprise as he finished her sentence. "You can read the ancient languages, too!?"

"Yes, I study from magic books as much as possible, so I learned in case there were any translations that differed in meaning from the source text.”

"…Well, I see."

Milred looked disappointed, realizing that Allen was equally knowledgeable in every field in which she proudly thought she could offer assistance.

Seeming to notice how she felt, Allen asked, "Could you still please continue interpreting?"

“But can’t you do it?”

"I don't know it too well, so it took a long time to interpret. It'd be more efficient for someone who actually knows the language better to take over."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes."

She answered with an unintentional smile. "Well, if we come across any more ancient words or murals, I'll get it interpreted for y’all!”

"Please do."

Allen turned his head again, as if nothing had happened, and headed for the second floor.

However, that one sentence stuck in his head like a thorn.

‘Painted black, white, and gray…’

Three books floated before his eyes, as if synchronized with his thoughts.

While searching for clues about the white book, he’d stumbled upon an unexpected clue.

'That sentence may not actually have anything to do with the three books, but…’

Didn’t it only make sense that this clue, found in the ruins which he’d already suspected to be related to the white book, was hinting at the reason behind the three deliberate colors of the books?

His eyes sank deep into thought.

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