Regressor, Possessor, Reincarnator

Rachael teleported rapidly across the battlefield several times with a short sigh. Judging by her movements, it wasn’t hard to guess that she had found Allen by haphazardly shifting around.

The place where she—along with the others she’d helped along the way—finally arrived was the Minima tribe’s camp.

Numerous students groaned as they received treatment.

'…Hmm, I couldn't see it, but he was helping from the rear.’

There may be fewer casualties than she had thought.

Serious injuries were common at the Academy. However, it was rare for a student to die, as the Academy's treatment facilities were top-notch. What’s more, the students were also some of the top talents in the world. They each possessed more than enough skill to protect their own lives.

This situation just so happened to be an exception to that norm.

"Follow me."

"Allen, see you in a little bit."

Rachael teleported away. She had more work to do.

Alexius, who had come along with her, arrived at a tent larger than all those surrounding it at the center of the camp.

"Chief! I brought Sir Allen."

"Please come over this way."

He entered the tent with the permission of the chief.

Taking a step into the tent, Allen had no choice but to hesitate at the sight within.

"What is…?"

There in the center of the tent, metal rings were spinning in place midair, drawing what seemed like starlight from the sky via an opening in the top of the tent. 

Perhaps because of that, the tent’s interior was bright despite the lack of torches.

“It’s an astronomical apparatus, created a few generations ago by the collective effort of humans and dwarves,” the tribal chief said from behind the instrument.

"I see."

Hearing his tranquil voice, Allen strode fully into the tent with Alexius following after him.

"Welcome."

"Does that astronomical apparatus have anything to do with the power that Julius presumably just obtained? If so, is the reason why you called me here also…?”

The tribal chief expressed no sign of denial and bowed his head before answering the question. "First of all, I think we should ask you, Sir Allen, for forgiveness." Allen said nothing in reply, as the chief hadn't finished. “I’m afraid granting you the same power that was gifted to Sir Julius has become quite the difficult matter."

"For what reason?"

Allen did not push back, stating that such a claim was ridiculous or that he’d broken any kind of earlier promise. Instead, he simply asked ‘why’.

"Because it is too late."

As they talked, Alexius began to prepare his miscellaneous affairs.

"The wandering stars reveal themselves to us in the sky by night and by day. But we, who are dull in comparison, can only see their faint glow come nightfall. On the day of prophecy, when stars pour down from the heavens like this, we reach the point when we are closest to those celestial bodies. Thus, we are given the great opportunity to engrave upon ourselves the stigma of the very stars that—”

Allen cut him off decisively, as he realized that the chief was beginning to ramble. “In short, you're saying that the star’s power dwindles when morning breaks, so you can’t dole out the same strength as was given to Julius?”

Outside, the battle was still raging. Going around in circles over useless details was just a waste of time.

"…That's right."

The chief looked disappointed that he couldn't finish his speech. Soon after Alexius, now prepared, approached them.

"What we can give you is this."

Alexius gestured over to the metal rings he had introduced as an astronomical instrument.

"It won't be long now."

Before he knew it, the metal rings had stopped spinning. However, even though the apparatus had stopped, the light gathered in its center did not disperse.

"It is not quite as strong as the stigma obtained by Sir Julius, who suddenly flew past at the perfect timing for the ritual…”

As Allen sat under the astronomical instrument, the collection light slowly descended upon him.

"But with this, you should be given what you need most. To help a sorcerer like you, Sir Allen."

His consciousness slowly began to fade into darkness.

"Then it shall begin."

At the break of dawn, the baptism of the stars began.

* * *

⟬Allen, wake up! Allen! I told you to get up!⟭

Someone was being excessively noisy.

⟬Oh, wake up already! This is no time to sleep!⟭

It was a familiar voice. Loud and unhappy with everything. Almost like… Vestla’s voice…

Ah.

⟬Are you awake yet? You’re finally up? I swear, you better not—⟭

"Stop."

Allen clutched the rattling handle at his waist with a tight grip. He felt a brief spell of dizziness, though, it disappeared in an instant. In fact, his mind seemed to have become even clearer than before.

⟬Wow! You’re awake! I was surprised that you couldn't get your act together after the ceremony. Those people really didn’t give you the full story, did they…⟭ Vestla murmured loudly in a relieved voice.

She was lively as always.

Allen left the tent without listening to her spiel. "Fortunately, it hasn't been long."

There were still many students nearby moaning about their injuries, and the sky was still dark.

⟬That's why I kept talking to you! To make sure you woke up…⟭

"I got it. I got it. I got it… Please explain to me what happened,” Allen requested of Vestla, running toward the place where he’d last seen Vedrfolnir. His time since the ceremony was an empty void in his memory.

⟬Allen, you lost consciousness after receiving what those bad guys called the ‘baptism of the stars’.⟭

"And then?"

⟬Then? That's it.⟭

"What?"

⟬I was just worried because you didn't wake up! Should I have just done nothing and waited to see if you were unharmed after you woke up?⟭

"Ha…"

Allen hastened his steps, thinking to himself that he had never asked her to do anything of the sort. With all of his newfound vitality, he dug each step violently into the ground, accelerating his body.

⟬But I protected you, so you’re safe!⟭

Allen didn't answer, spreading out his senses.

Ten meters, twenty meters, thirty meters…

Allen suddenly had a strange feeling, as information from the wide battlefield flooded into his mind.

‘No headache?’

—But with this, you should be given what you need most. To help a sorcerer like you, Sir Allen.

As soon as the tribal chief’s words came to mind, he immediately widened his sensory radius even further.

He didn't feel any semblance of a headache even after exceeding one kilometer—and then two, and then three, close to his limit. Under normal circumstances, he would have already developed a headache, or even a nosebleed.

It wasn't until he’d reached a sensing range of ten kilometers that he felt the same headache as before.

'My limits have widened.’

He went all the way to the battlefield to experiment. Despite the extremely detailed information flooding into his mind, there were no traces of a headache so long as he kept within a radius of 300 meters. It was even possible to extend the range to one kilometer with that level of information influx, though that was starting to push it.

He thought that, just maybe, without even testing it, his mental resistance had also significantly increased.

It was certainly just as the tribal chief said.

The ‘baptism of the stars’ may not have bestowed upon him quite as special of powers as it did upon Julius; however, it had permanently elevated a sorcerer’s most important power.

‘Few wizards can spread their senses as widely as this.’

Even as they rose through the ranks and expanded their sensing ranges accordingly, there were few sorcerers who could truly utilize their senses to such an extent.

It was difficult to take in the amount of information detected within a range of any size. This issue was, needless to say, exacerbated for those at a younger age, who were not yet quite as mentally strong. In that sense, the blessing of the stars would surely prove enormously beneficial for Allen in the future.

After all, his sensing range also corresponded to the radius around himself where he could most precisely perform his magic. 

'Truthfully, this is better than what Julius got, despite having a stigma.’

In the first place, Allen had been anxious about having a stigma implanted in his body, as it would create a connection with some transcendental being called a ‘god’. He already had a sufficient connection to the ‘transcendental’ via the white and black books; he didn’t particularly need any more.

Not to mention, uncontrollable variables—such as the aid of another spiritual creature—could put him in danger. It was no wonder why books had been his only source of help thus far.

Allen picked up his pace.

At the halfway point between the frontlines and the camp, he could not yet hear the sounds of battle.

* * *

* * *

Boom!

By the time the monster came into view, Allen could hear Julius's voice cutting through the roaring thunder.

"He’s so full of himself, thinking he’s so special now with his star stigma, hm?”

Allen raised his gaze to examine the monster's condition, then his face slackened in surprise.

"If it weren't for that surprise attack earlier, I’m sure—”

Vedrfolnir looked as if he had been seriously injured, unlike before when he’d appeared overwhelmingly tough and ferocious. His wings had been torn to shreds. Black blood pulsed steadily from the wounds littering the glossy, black feathers, which were falling out in clumps. One eye was in shambles, unable to regenerate due to a sword of light stuck inside.

"…Didn't you say I wasn’t out for long?"

⟬Yes, maybe ten minutes? It really hasn’t been that long…⟭

‘Ten minutes… Just ten minutes…'

‘Ten minutes’ was ‘not that long’ to her?

Despite having spent months together with Allen, she still clearly had a different perception of the world. Unless she chose to die of her own volition, she would be an immortal—a giant, living forever.

'That's why the tribal chief and Alexius weren’t in the tent.’

At this point, Vedrfolnir was barely floating in the wind, having taken quite a few hits.

"———You ignorant livestock. No, now that you’ve once again achieved civilization, this is better. You ignorant humans. Do you know what you've done?"

A myriad of things shone through the monster's eyes, then disappeared and were absorbed.

That was how he knew—how he found out. What did its presence mean? What did it mean when it said that Julius had been blessed by the God of Thunder?

"———Do you know what your very existence itself disproves? The time is coming. The prophecy is upon us. And that means…”

The black and the white. The eyes of the Incarnation of Wisdom gazed upon those two colors.

As the monster spoke with its eyes blazing, from right behind Allen, the white book flipped open its pages without a sound.

「He felt disquieted by the death of fellow students. Upon the conclusion of the baptism of the stars, a short bout of dizziness overcame him and went, as his mental facilities were bolstered. After a few moments, Vestla…」

「He felt dis◯◯◯ by the dea◯ of ◯◯ ◯◯◯◯. Up◯ ◯ concl◯◯ ◯ ◯ ◯◯◯ ◯ ◯ stars, a ◯◯ ◯◯ of diz◯◯ ◯◯◯◯ ◯◯ ◯d ◯◯, as his me◯ ◯◯◯◯ ◯◯ ◯stered. ◯◯ ◯ ◯ ◯◯ents, ◯tla…」

「◯ ◯◯ dis◯◯◯ ◯ ◯ dea◯ of ◯◯ ◯◯◯◯. Up◯ ◯ concl◯◯ ◯ ◯ ◯◯◯ ◯ ◯ ◯◯, ◯ ◯◯ ◯◯ ◯ diz◯◯ ◯◯◯◯ ◯◯ ◯ ◯◯, as ◯ ◯◯ ◯◯◯◯ ◯◯ ◯◯◯◯ ◯◯ ◯ ◯ ◯◯ents, ◯◯…」

At that same moment, the monster raised his head, seeking out the source of a sudden rippling sound.

Crash!

A small meteorite pierced through the monster's body. Astonishment seeped into the monster's eyes. Vedrfolnir’s body convulsed, and Maria, who had not missed the moment, began to make her move.

Stab.

As soon as the white sword penetrated the body, Julius shouted with a nervous look.

"Get out of my way!"

Boom!

Lightning struck. Julius unleashed upon his opponent dozens of bolts of lightning without thinking about anything else. The monster's eyes set on Allen for the last time.

With that, the monster crashed to the ground, as if it could not hold out any longer.

Allen looked back, but could not tell what it was that the monster had last seen. He looked back at the white book, just in case.

「He felt a little bit disappointed that the monster had been killed by a meteorite that had fallen by chance. But he was relieved, too, that there were no more casualties…」

Maria flew away to dispose of the remaining monsters as soon as their large foe had died.

Julius paused, his head up in the air with his eyes tightly closed. For a moment, he looked exhausted, before he immediately screamed.

"I did it!"

He ran about giddily and gleefully for a while. Allen sheathed his sword, drowning in a feeling of despondency at the sight.

"…Is the dungeon practice really over now?"

Allen had learned a lot from this practice, and reaped lovely rewards from the experience, too.

Now he would be able to utilize his vastly improved mental capabilities after pinpointing his limits, and he’d also have to rethink his hypotheses about the white book, and he’d also have to do something about Rachael, too, but…

"First, let's find the team."

Allen first returned to the Minima tribe's basecamp and found Alexius.

If his team members were injured, they would be receiving treatment there, and since they had spent so much time together, he was sure he could find them if they were there.

However, from what Allen heard after meeting with Alexius, his teammates weren’t there at the camp.

"…You haven’t seen them?"

"Yes, but if the others had arrived here, I don't think they would have necessarily come to find me. Miss Milred is in the rear. I'll give you her coordinates at least."

Allen noted her approximate position and moved. Milred was lying in the tent where the other patients were located.

Milred took one look at Allen's face, and greeted him with a flabbergasted smile.

"Allen!"

She told him that she was injured when a monster attacked her while moving with a group of students. She smiled brightly when Allen told her that the monster had been defeated, took out a bushel of apples from her subspace, and shouted, "Well done, my junior! You’ve done a great job! Now! Take an apple as a reward!"

"By the way…" Allen asked, receiving his congratulatory apple. "Do you know where the other members of the team are?"

"Huh? The others? I thought they were with you?”

“…Haven't you ever been in combat before?"

She must have noticed that the mood was starting to turn sour, so she responded in an urgent tone.

"Uh… I'll ask my friend on the student council to look around! Everyone will be fine!"

"…Take it easy."

Allen hurried to Rachael.

'Rachael should know. Didn't she say that they were the ones who told her where I was?’

He searched for her, as his imagination ran amuck.

And—

"…What? Allen, your teammates? Milred and Alexius are in the camp…”

"Not them…" He cut her off with a subdued voice.

"You didn’t talk to any other of my teammates besides them…?”

"Allen, wait a minute. Now…"

She approached him as if she knew that he was out of sorts, but Allen shook his head and withdrew.

"I'll see you in a little while. I won't be long."

"Allen!"

The last place Allen's feet touched the ground was within one of the spires.

One of the four spires toppled over like a toy castle. There, Allen withdrew a bead from his pocket.

One of the five Wonders of the First Warrior.

[Heaven’s Eye]

Holding onto a feeble hope, Allen used the bead. It instantly absorbed his mind. When he opened his eyes, he saw his own body beneath him.

'Evan Baroque, a son of the Baroque family.' No information found.

'Ariel Hail, a daughter of the Hail family.'

No information found.

'William, a student at the Galshdin Academy.'

No information found.

The white part of the bead began to turn gray. Allen stood there, dumbfounded, then returned to his senses. 

No, there was still hope.

It was one of the five Wonders of the First Warrior, made by collecting and combining all the treasures of the world to defeat the Demon King. Granting the ability to find the whereabouts of any person who existed in the world was quite valuable in itself. However, granting that ability alone wasn’t quite enough to constitute such a grand title.

Therefore, Heaven’s Eye had one more function.

'Seeing the past.'

To be exact, it allowed the user to watch parts of the past they desired to see. 

Though it could allow the user to look into the past, it could not show anything from beyond three days prior. There were other restrictions as well—like being geographically close to the location of the event—but all he needed was for it to find the location of his other teammates.

"A few hours ago, my team, here at the ruins."

The white bead began to turn gray at a rapid pace.

Time began to flow in reverse.

The black monster sucked back into the ground beneath the ruins. The spires that had come crashing down and crumbling away found their place atop the structure once more, and the guardians of the ruins that had flooded from out the ruins returned inside.

Allen descended into the ruins without a moment to spare.

'Just as I thought, they were in the ruins.’

Since he was in the ruins, he was worried his newfound powers may not work. Heaven’s Eye could search throughout a relatively wide range, but in extending the range, anything that wanted to be hidden could do so.

After passing the first floor, the second, third, and fourth floors…

His body rapidly dug further and further underground.

When he crossed the fifth floor and reached the sixth, his body stopped.

‘This is where…’

Allen turned around, trying to remember the significance of the location, and stumbled into a fork in the road right before him.

"Oh."

There were two bodies.

—————

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