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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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The academy grounds felt unfamiliar after just a week and five days away.
Perhaps it was because my status had changed.
Count Fix. I was now officially part of the nobility.
“Ed! I heard the news! Congratulations!”
“Knew you’d do it someday! As expected!”
“Ed! Remember me? We talked briefly during class a couple of weeks ago.”
“Hey, Count Fix! Have you decided on your territory? Feel free to ask if you need any advice!”
Heads turned, attention focused on me as I walked across the grounds. The attention had definitely intensified since becoming a Count.
Before, only those who knew me would greet me. Now, even complete strangers were approaching me.
“Would you care for some tea?”
Even the female students, who had previously ignored me due to my commoner status, were now striking up conversations.
Their approaches followed predictable patterns:
“Count Fix, thanks to your ‘Graham’s North Wind,’ I’ve been enjoying a comfortable summer. I’d like to show my gratitude. Would you have some time?”
Three female students expressed their thanks for the air conditioner, offering some form of reciprocation.
“I’ll be blunt. I’m interested in you. Just three times. Let’s meet just three times.”
One female student confessed her interest directly, proposing a date.
“U-Um… E-Ed!”
“Yes?”
“H-Here! And this!”
“Is this… a letter?”
“Have a nice day!”
Two female students shyly handed me letters and chocolates before scurrying away.
“Would you like to join a club?”
“…?”
“Now that you’re a noble, it’s good to have a hobby. How about joining our masquerade club? Hehehe…”
One female student held a half-mask to my face, inviting me to join her club. I declined all of them. I didn’t have time for such distractions.
‘I have research to do!’
My priority was my research.
I had numerous projects: Crucible research, computer development, automatic suit deployment, new weapons development, suit upgrades, and more.
I wanted nothing more than to lock myself in the lab.
“Finally!”
Wednesday arrived.
Four days of freedom: Thursday to Sunday.
“Hey! Ed!”
“E-Ed… D-Did you write a reply?”
“Hehehe… Welcome to our masquerade club…”
But even my free time was invaded. They were waiting for me outside the lab.
‘Seriously?’
I was baffled. While I could tolerate the brief interactions in the cafeteria, hallways, or during breaks, this was too much.
“Haha. I’m busy today. Maybe next time…”
I tried to politely dismiss them when a chilling voice spoke from behind me.
“You’re crossing the line.”
It was Isabella. She stood beside me, her presence radiating a threatening aura towards the students.
“I can’t tolerate this. Even I rarely come here. Out of consideration for the commoner.”
She released a black miasma, her eyes turning completely black. The students, intimidated, began to retreat.
Once they were gone, Isabella sighed.
“Parasites. Commoner, you need to learn how to brush people off. The more famous you become, the more flies you attract.”
She turned to me, her eyes returning to their normal color, the black miasma dissipating. She smiled, reminding me of her from a previous playthrough. The Isabella who had loved me.
“I’ll bother you for a moment. I have something for you.”
She handed me a piece of paper. My eyes widened. It was an invitation to the Kreival United Merchants Auction, an underground black market.
“What is this?”
I feigned ignorance. Knowing about this would be suspicious.
“…It’s a long story, but to put it simply, it’s an invitation to a black market.”
“······”
“Yes, it’s dangerous. Kreival is the largest organization in the underworld, and they’re anti-Empire, anti-Kingdom.”
Kreival was a terrorist group aiming to overthrow the Empire and the Kingdom.
Their leader believed that all humans were equal and deserved happiness, questioning why only the Emperor and nobles held such privilege.
He advocated for seizing their resources and distributing them equally.
An isekai version of communist revolutionaries.
“…Why are you giving me such a dangerous invitation?”
How did Isabella obtain this invitation, and why was she giving it to me?
“Because you might need it.”
“·····”
“…Of course, you might not. But I think you’re similar to me. I think you’re capable of anything to achieve your goals.”
…She was right. I would do anything to prevent the world’s destruction, even if it meant crossing moral boundaries.
“That’s why I’m giving it to you. You can find things in the black market that you can’t obtain through normal means.”
“…Do you think I’d take such a risk?”
“What? Hahaha!”
Isabella burst out laughing at my question.
“Your clumsy probing is cute. You don’t have to pretend in front of me. I can see your desperation.”
…As expected of Isabella. She was adept at reading people’s desires. Perhaps her cynicism stemmed from her ability to easily discern the desires of those who flocked to her.
“Tell me when you need that invitation. It’s dangerous to go alone.”
She took my hand. It was a simple gesture, but it felt like she was saying, “I’ll go with you when the time comes.”
“Then, commo— No, you’re a Count now…”
She corrected herself before leaving. She called me “Count,” her fingers tracing the back of my hand, a seductive smile on her lips.
“See you on Monday, Count Fix.”
The sound of her footsteps faded away. I looked at the black market ticket in my hand. As she said, I would need this ticket someday.
“But not yet.”
Now was the time to upgrade the computer and formulate a plan for the Crucible. I entered the lab and retrieved Fix from my inventory.
Fix, excited to be back, zipped around the lab, whirring happily.
“Fix! Let’s get back to work!”
“Weeeeeeeeooooooooong!!!”
We resumed our research. We analyzed the emerald mana stones from the Dwarven Allied Kingdom, upgraded the computer’s semiconductors, and brainstormed ideas for the Crucible.
“Hmm… this isn’t easy.”
Creating the Crucible was proving difficult. The concept was too vague.
“It’s a ridiculous idea to begin with… using emotions from a game as a power source…”
The Crucible’s blueprint was based on using the “emotions” from my previous 87 playthroughs as a power source, similar to how the Black Obsidian drew power from Reina’s memories and emotions.
“······”
The problem was that my emotions and memories were shallow compared to Reina’s.
Her resentment and hatred stemmed from her lived experiences, while mine were merely indirect, filtered through a computer screen.
“But why…”
Why did my despair and rage feel as potent as Reina’s? Why were these memories, mere gameplay experiences, so vivid, as if they were my own past lives?
“It is what it is.”
I decided not to dwell on it.
Being reincarnated into this world was already illogical. I would simply accept the unexplainable.
If I could accept being reincarnated as a game extra, then feeling my past playthroughs as my own past lives wasn’t so strange.
The point was that I could potentially create the Crucible using these memories and emotions.
“To do that…”
I had to extract the memories and emotions from all 87 playthroughs, the pure essence of my despair and hatred, and condense them into a single inscription.
That would create a weapon equivalent to 87 Black Obsidians combined, a blade capable of tearing through demons.
A tool for one-shotting most demons.
An excellent conversation starter.
“I have a lot to prepare.”
I needed to create a controlled environment to relive those past lives, perhaps through illusions or hypnosis, with safety measures to prevent being consumed by the memories.
I also needed special mana stones to store the intense emotions and, most importantly, a highly complex inscription to gather all 87 lifetimes worth of emotions.
“Not easy.”
And I hadn’t even considered the engineering challenges of implementing this technically.
While my “Engineering Mind” skill made the technical aspects less daunting, it was still a monumental task.
Combining 87 lifetimes might be more complex than building a computer.
“One step at a time.”
The mountain of challenges was overwhelming, but I would tackle them one by one. I wouldn’t need the Crucible until the demons appeared in full force.
So, I would start with the past life experience problem.
Reliving those lives was the most effective way to extract their pure emotions.
“Elves.”
I thought of the elves, a mystical race who communicated with the spirits of their ancestors through the World Tree.
“Clarice.”
I thought of Clarice, the half-elf I had recently met. She was hidden royalty of Eldar, the elven kingdom.
Through her, I could gain access to the secluded elven world.
“I have to prevent Eldar’s destruction anyway…”
In a year, Eldar would be destroyed by an ancient calamity.
That calamity, after consuming the World Tree, would merge with a demon, becoming an unstoppable monstrosity.
I had to prevent that in this playthrough.
“My course is set.”
The ancient calamity and the past life experiences. I would catch both rabbits. I had less than a year. I had to become strong enough to defeat the ancient calamity.
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The following Wednesday, the entire academy stood before a high-risk dungeon.
It was the first class of “Crisis Response through Practical Training,” a mandatory course for all students.
The academy’s purpose was to prepare them for the “Continent Conquest.”
They needed practical combat experience.
‘Perfect timing.’
I could test the upgrades I had made to my suit over the weekend.
“S-12 group! Enter the dungeon with your instructor.”
Finally, the order for our group was given.
I retrieved my upgraded suit from my inventory.
A crack appeared in the air.
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