Status... Window.

No matter how many times I checked, it was the same. My level, stats, and skills, every single one of them was gone. I didn’t even have to confirm it; my physique told me everything.

The stats I had trusted in. The skills I had relied on. All of them scattered like dust, and the sensations drained from me. If they could disappear at any moment, what meaning did those numbers on my status window ever have? Fear crept into my mind.

Who were they? Were they the ones who took away my power? They had interfered with my status window and issued commands as if they were theirs. They devoured the flowing Lurium and easily erased Isaac, the unparalleled sorcerer who had grown stronger through it. Even Naneow Tropin, the leader of T&T who worked from the shadows of the world, froze and vanished without a scream. Their appearances, expressions, and even their gestures were all devoid of individuality.

Isaac had seemed to recognize something, but in the end, he was swallowed into the black orb without a word.

Isaac.

I had to find him. If I was reduced into such a state, what about Isaac and Naneow? Isaac could be in an even worse state than when he was trapped inside the sarcophagus. An uneasy feeling crept up my spine.

Crack! Crack!

I couldn’t stay lost in thought forever. I loosened my joints, the sounds echoing as I moved. If this were my new situation, I would have to adapt quickly. There was much to do.

I began to jog lightly in place, moving from fingers to arms, then to shoulders, checking myself piece by piece.

Wham!

My hand disappeared mid-motion. No, my entire arm bone twisted and spun through the air. I lost balance instantly, crashing hard into the ground. Whether it was because my arm had flown off or from the impact itself, I couldn’t move at all. Fragments of white bone rolled across my vision.

What the...?

My sight blurred. I couldn’t tell how much I had shattered. I could feel a presence nearby. I tried to turn my head, but no response. Perhaps the neck bone was broken, too.

Clatter...

My jaw trembled faintly under the strain, then fell slack again.

"What’s this? Lucky I was patrolling this far out."

A stranger’s voice echoed through my crushed skull. Then, my consciousness faded.

***

Clatter! Clatter!

I jerked up reflexively. Both my arms and legs were still there. The fear I’d felt before was replaced by faint relief as I flexed my fingers and toes.

Above me, the night sky glittered with starlight. Completely different from a moment ago, when my head had been buried in dirt, unable to move.

Did I... die?

Ding!

[Succesion Complete.]

[Skeleton Soldier Lv. 1 (1)

Health: 1

Strength: 1

Agility: 1

Wisdom: 1]

[Ultimate Class: Death Knight is unlocked.]

[Number of Ruin is in effect.]

[Current Purchase Power: 96.7%.]

The status window appeared once more, identical down to the last digit. No rain, no storm, only a clear night sky. Both arms and legs were still intact. Unlike before, I felt a faint sense of reassurance as I slowly curled my toe bones. The regression ability. I had lost everything else, but not that.

This time was different from before, when I’d revived without understanding anything. Now, it felt familiar. Was this where it began again?

Crack.

The sound of my neck turning startled me into stillness. I had to be careful.

"What’s this? Lucky I was patrolling this far out."

That unfamiliar voice still echoed faintly in my head.

A patrol, he’d said. The place where I had died was just a short distance from here.

Click.

I quietly pressed against the coffin and rose. Pushing through the dirt, I carefully scanned the surroundings. I wasn’t sure at first, but after another careful look, there was no doubt.

Erast Hills. The grave where Rubia used to visit me. The same grave where I’d been killed over and over by Necron’s minions.

Then... when is this?

Since the grave had been dug up, at least some time had passed since the storm. It was after January 20th, the day I first met Rubia. That was all I could tell.

Had the war begun? Had the Demon Kings descended? Why did the regression point change? Rubia, Rena, Naneow, Isaac, what had become of them? Everything ahead was a fog.

Still, as long as I retained the ability to regress, I could rebuild. I’d walked this path before, and it would be much faster this time. My combat experience was immeasurable, and the sixfold experience bonus still applied. Once I found my rhythm, the growth would be unstoppable.

What happened to the Lurium...?

Lying back inside the coffin, I tried to sense the Lurium circuits etched into my bones. They were still there. I could clearly feel the silver mana fluid flowing through me.

How curious.

By now, the volume flowing through my bones had long surpassed any reasonable limit. Was it self-compressing somehow? The first premise of magic dictated that without an Arcane Heart, one could never reach the true mysteries. Yet, the Lurium had overruled it. Perhaps, it could even trample over spatial laws with ease.

Of course, no matter how much mana fluid flowed through me, I still couldn’t use a single spell right now.

How unfortunate.

If I could just learn a spell, then I could...

Tap.

My thoughts froze at the sound of approaching footsteps. Someone was coming closer. My skull hadn’t been crushed because of an accident or a stray rock. If it were a patrol, it could be a hunter, a bandit, or one of the local lord’s soldiers.

I pressed my back against a large boulder and waited. They were close now. Just as I thought about needing a weapon, the concept naturally occurred to me.

Inventory.

[Skill: Inventory Lv. ? activated.]

A space that could be used for anything. When I reached inside, a rough, papery texture brushed against my hand.

Is it...?

Srrrk.

There, inside the void, I felt something solid and began to pull on it.

Hope of Salvation — Kevin Ashton.

A book slowly slid out into my grasp.

Whoooosh!

Flutterrrr!

The book flapped violently in the wind, pages rustling with a sharp sound.

The words burst out before I realized it. "This is...!"

It was the book I had taken from the imperial archives. And it wasn’t the only one. I could feel the presence of many more books packed tightly inside.

My mind raced. If Ashton’s book remained even after regression, the implication was astonishing. Lurium wasn’t the only thing carried over through regression. Everything inside my inventory had been inherited as well. That realization lasted only an instant.

Boom!

A dark silhouette approached, weapon in hand. Under the moonlight, I could see it clearly. It was a plain iron sword. Neither a mace nor a flail, just an ordinary blade without aura or enhancement. Even the way it was held and swung was sloppy.

Did that crude sword shatter my skull earlier? Yet, even though the attack path was predictable, I couldn’t avoid it.

Whack!

The sword struck the book in my hand, sending it flying. Torn pages scattered across the air like snow. If not for the book deflecting the blow, that strike would have ended me instantly.

Srrk!

The dark figure lunged again, thrusting the sword clumsily. The tip scraped across my arm bone as I fell backward.

Thud.

I barely dodged the second strike. It was a miracle, more than anything. I scanned my attacker quickly. No familiar features. Just a standard imperial soldier’s armor.

Was he a soldier?

His swordsmanship was amateurish, so much that he couldn’t even slice cleanly through paper.

Boom!

"An undead...?"

Just moments ago, I’d been crossing swords with swordmasters, and now I was desperately rolling in the dirt to avoid a clumsy swing.

He’s not strong... I’m just too weak.

The shadow advanced at an unhurried pace, almost bored. "Hm."

He wasn’t a swordmaster, let alone one of the imperial ghosts. Every movement was riddled with openings.

Do I really have to die to someone like this? Me?

Still, my limbs refused to obey. Not even a finger or toe would move as I willed.

"Wait! Wait, just, wait a second!"

I had no chance of winning. The only part I could move was my mouth. Talking was all I had left.

"Oh? It talks?"

The man stepped forward and kicked me hard in the side.

Thud!

The blow froze me in place. The sheer stupidity of it, an unguarded kick, sent me rolling through the dirt until my face sank into the ground.

[Warning! Health has fallen below 75%!]

Thud!

As if enjoying himself, he kicked again and again. I flew and smashed against a large rock. I tried to stand, but my bones cracked audibly in protest.

[Warning! Health has fallen below 50%!]

While I struggled to rise, a voice came from above. "Maybe there’s a dark sorcerer nearby? There’s no way something like this talks on its own."

Another shadow appeared behind the first. "Let’s just get rid of it first..."

The newcomer raised his sword high from behind. Panic set in. At this rate, my skull would be crushed again.

Crack!

I flung open my inventory and threw everything I could grab. "I said wait!"

The One Eye. Names and Minor Rites. Physiognomic Analysis. A Critique of Referential Semantics. Ethical Permissibility.

All books by Kevin Ashton, each one that raised Wisdom just by reading. Even Isaac had been fascinated by that author’s brilliance. Still, reading them could wait until I escaped this mess.

The man froze mid-swing, startled by the sight of books flying out of thin air. "What... what the hell?!"

Now was the time. After throwing all five volumes, I reached into the Inventory once more and pulled out a weapon. The thinnest, lightest sword I could handle in my current state.

[Blood Whip, Lightning of the Apocalypse.]

The start of my counterattack. It was the masterpiece Isaac had chosen for me from the imperial archive. Even its name radiated power. I wasn’t used to a rapier, but the years I’d spent cutting down enemies hadn’t vanished.

There is no way I’m losing to some random soldier.

I gripped the hilt tight and thrust forward. Maybe I could even put that sixfold EXP bonus to use right now...

Clang!

Before I could even see the strike land, Lightning of the Apocalypse flew out of my hand, hurled into the darkness. It vanished so fast I couldn’t tell which direction it went.

Crack!

No time to react. No second chance. A blow from behind split my skull from the crown down. The sensation of cold steel driving into my broken cranium sent a chill through me.

"Did a sword just come out of nowhere?"

"And look at this! The lightning engraving on the hilt. Beautiful, isn’t it?"

It was a new voice.

Three of them?

What were imperial soldiers doing at the Erast graveyard? That was my last thought before my white bones shattered, and my consciousness scattered into darkness.