[If you satisfy the escape conditions by clearing the game, it will end immediately and you will return to reality.]
[Escape Condition 1: The completion rate of all heroines must exceed 95 percent.]
[Escape Condition 2: You must conquer the final boss ‘Draken.’]
[If you clear the game but do not meet the escape conditions, you will return to the starting point.]
A system window that drains my energy appears in front of me.
It’s the same window I saw before.
“Kyaag! Our father’s enemy! Kyaak!”
“Haa…”.
And then a slightly missed voice comes through.
“I’m sorry. This time, I’ll send you off in one clean cut.”
Swish.
With my foot, blood splatters in the air.
As I dodge to the side, the decapitated goblin’s corpse falls at my feet.
Not a single drop of blood is on my body.
[Achievement Unlocked]
[First Monster Hunt Success!]
[You have received ‘Stat Buff Potion x1’ as an achievement reward.]
The achievement window pops up again, something I’ve seen before.
It seems achievements reset.
What about the stats, though?
[Stats]
[Strength: 9(-5) *Guardian Knight Penalty Applied]
[Stamina: 7(-5) *Guardian Knight Penalty Applied]
[Mana: 12(-5) *Guardian Knight Penalty Applied]
[Agility: 18(-5) *Guardian Knight Penalty Applied]
[Luck: 4(-5) *Guardian Knight Penalty Applied]
Of course, the stats reset to the starting state as well.
I’m feeling much more sluggish.
It’s literally a return to the past.
“The initial trait is the same.”
The bothersome penalty from the Guardian Knight is still here.
It seems the initial trait is fixed as a Guardian Knight rather than being assigned randomly every time.
Considering there was no window indicating the initial trait as a Guardian Knight, it’s possible I regressed to a point after the initial traits were determined.
But the situation isn’t entirely hopeless.
My memories and senses are intact.
And most importantly…
[Traits with synchronization rates exceeding 90 percent are automatically restored.]
[Trait: Dakia Style (lv. 9)]
[You learn the forgotten ancient one-handed swordsmanship. Your understanding of one-handed swords increases.]
I successfully salvaged one swordsmanship trait.
Out of the three swordsmanship traits, Dakia is the only one that exceeded level 9.
Since I have retained my memories from the regression, it’s only natural.
The other two swordsmanship traits were not entirely ‘mastered’ but rather I could just whip them out like a flick. So they haven’t been restored.
It’s a bit annoying, but I’ll have to go through the trait acquisition event again.
‘The benefits of regression are quite large. I can clear this.’
I gulp down the stat buff potion to raise my luck stat.
If my swordsmanship trait is level 9 or higher, I can carry it into the next loop.
Since the starting point doesn’t change with each restart, there are no variables.
This is doable.
‘I was too foolish in the first run.’
My play during the first run was riddled with cheap tricks.
The very thought of trying to woo the heroine with just charisma was misguided from the start.
Of course, I could take down several heroines in a short time that way.
Having written the story myself, I knew the heroines’ personalities, preferences, and characteristics inside out.
It’s like solving a test with the answers right in front of me.
But doing it that way would make Jill a spoiled brat, Yulia a stalker emitting villain vibes, and Yerina would just end up with anger management issues.
I need to operate without tricks.
I need to participate in the events naturally led by the game, get to know the heroines through favor-building, and approach them slowly.
Only then can I meet the heroines not as obsessive mental cases but as lovers.
‘I should play the game as it demands.’
In the first run, I was way too suspicious.
I was suspiciously skilled in swordsmanship while my stats were terrible and my fighting ability even worse.
But I had way too much knowledge.
Anyone could have seen me as the final villain or someone equal to that.
The moment achievements stopped appearing may have been because I skipped the entire early section.
This time will be different.
I plan on acting as the protagonist, not the final villain.
Having confirmed that I’m the only one who has reincarnated here, there’s no need to hesitate.
I’ll start from the low-level hunting grounds and gradually build up my experience.
Getting stronger and earning money while gaining reputation.
Hunting in moderation will also benefit the heroine routes.
According to the game mechanics, hunting can conveniently be used as an excuse for affairs, you see.
For instance, if I sneakily take out the Minotaur ahead of time, I’ll save a week later when it actually arrives.
“Let’s go. Ah, I almost forgot Blin’s club.”
[Achievement Unlocked]
[First Loot Acquired!]
[You have received the trait ‘Inquiry’ as an achievement reward.]
I’ve drafted a rough plan.
Now it’s time to set off.
My strategy has changed a lot from the first run, so I don’t honestly feel very confident.
But maybe after about three tries, I could clear it.
“Hey, you punks! Why can’t you understand what I’m saying?”
“Sir, please leave.”
I got stuck right from the low-level hunting grounds.
I had momentarily forgotten that adventurers aren’t usually sane.
I insist I want to hunt Werewolves, but they keep insisting on hunting Slimes.
It looks like the tutorial area still retains the remnants of compulsory initial quests.
It drive me up the wall.
With my level 9 swordsmanship trait, slicing slimes, chopping transformation mushrooms, and hacking giant rats…
At this rate, I figured I’d be stuck forever and quickly fled from the low-level hunting ground.
“Hah…”
In the end, I arrived at the high-level hunting ground, the dungeon.
Dungeons are scattered sparsely across the continent in the setup.
Inside, there are tons of monsters and traps, so nobody wants to dive in.
But in the story, I can’t just leave it be since the final boss draws power from the dungeon.
The basic premise is to explore the dungeon, seize treasures, and destroy the Dungeon Core.
Then, with all dungeons destroyed, I’m to hunt the weakened Final Boss… but…
‘Am I crazy? Who’s voluntarily walking into their doom?’
As long as there’s an escape condition for a harem ending, I won’t be going after the final boss.
However, I need to conquer the dungeons for that harem ending.
This inner section isn’t safe either, so it makes me nervous.
I only worked on the dating sim part, so I have no clue what might come out in the dungeons.
“Huh. If I keep this up, I’ll never get anywhere. Let’s just go.”
“Excuse me. Planning on challenging the dungeon?”
“…. Yes. Who are you?”
“I’m just a passing traveler. Judging by your equipment, it looks decent, but I don’t feel any mana from you.”
“…”.
Just as I was about to muster my courage and step in, I was stopped by an old man.
Mana.
Come to think of it, magic does exist in this world.
I’ve seen the heroines use it several times, but I’ve never actually used any myself.
I hear one needs to meditate to feel magic, but that’s where I always get stuck.
“I think I’m not really suited for magic.”
“Hoh ho ho. If you enter without knowing any magic, you’ll die pretty quickly!”
“…”.
There’s a slight whiff of scam, but I can’t ignore the truth in those words.
In this world, the utility of magic is beyond imagination.
I’ve been disregarding it as a nuisance, but now might be the time to learn properly.
“I’ll teach you a few basic spells to survive in the dungeon.”
“How much will that cost?”
“Already too late for a profit at my age.”
I learned various spells from the old man over three days.
By the way, the first day was spent entirely in meditation while getting hit by a switch.
The spells I learned included the Ignition Spell (for lighting torches), the Unlocking Spell (for opening locked doors and chests), the Foresight Spell (for seeing traps beyond walls), and so on…
Though nothing extraordinary, they were gradually useful spells.
“I think I can start learning advanced spells soon.”
“Boy, throw in the towel. You’ve got no magic talent. If you don’t want to get embarrassed in front of others, learn only stealthy spells like a petty thief.”
“…”.
There he goes again with the nonsense.
I suppose flashy, cool magic will have to be learned without the old man around.
Maybe I’ll learn some ice magic from Yerina.
It seems I’m cut out for being a magician.
I don’t like getting hurt.
“I have nothing else to teach you. Now, scram to the dungeon.”
“Old man, can I ask your name?”
“Just scram.”
“…”.
This old man feels oddly familiar.
He’s radiating an aura akin to a former hero or a great mage but doesn’t want to tell me his identity, so I decided to stop probing.
Who knows, he could just be a homeless man who was once a thief.
I’ll need to keep speculating about this person’s identity through multiple regressions.
Anyway, I left the old man’s side after four days and headed towards the dungeon.
Just as the old man said, the inside of the dungeon was treacherous and unkind.
In a game, a spike trap only takes a little health, but here, it will give you severe hemorrhage and infection with one poke. Opening the wrong door could lead to being surrounded by monsters, forcing you to fight all day, and taking a wrong turn could lead to getting lost in a maze.
Had I not learned magic, I might have died in here.
‘Damn it. I need to memorize everything.’
The time wasted till clearing one dungeon was excessive.
The only silver lining is that our company hasn’t developed the technology to change the structure of dungeons every time someone enters.
This means, even with regression, the dungeons are always in the same spot with the same structure.
Next regression should greatly reduce the time taken.
I think of this run as a throwaway.
“Next person, please come in.”
“Hello, Priestess. I’m Yoo Jin.”
“Alright, you can start.”
“…”.
It was the day of the bodyguard interview.
The moment I faced Jill again.
I cannot forget the look in Jill’s eyes, glancing at me like I was just another commoner.
Jill Diner had forgotten all her memories with me.
As soon as our eyes met, I felt she flinched as if she recognized me, but was it just my imagination?
Jill parts her trembling lips.
“What are you doing?”
“…”.
It looks like it really was just my imagination.
Even after all the insults I hurled at her, it seems some affection still lingered.
Seeing Jill, who should have forgotten everything about me, causes my heart to ache.
I understand why regressors get so crushed.
It’s fine to repeat a tough dungeon multiple times, but this pain of seeing someone I knew come back as a different person keeps piling in my heart.
“… I will now begin.”
I’ve made my resolution.
From now on, I won’t be giving my heart to anyone.
It’s better for my mental health that way.
The main trio of heroines will be played carefully, portraying love, but I must be careful not to develop feelings for them.
That way, I can remain strong in the next run and retry.
The moment my heart crumbles and I can’t lie to the heroine anymore…
That’s when I’ll be trapped in this game.
