Lucy had become much more observant.
Then again, she had a reason.
After all, she had already convinced herself that Eden possessed some kind of future-sight ability.
She still remembered how he’d known about the Dungeon Break.
How he knew where to go.
How he’d recognized certain situations before they happened.
How he always seemed to know exactly what to do.
Lucy had eventually reached her own conclusion.
’He must have a skill that lets him see the future.’
She had never actually asked him directly.
Partly because she was afraid he would say no.
But it made sense.
At least, to her.
"Eden."
"Hm?"
"Are you using that skill again?"
He paused.
"What skill?"
"Your future-sight skill."
Eden nearly tripped.
"...My what?"
Lucy blushed.
"You know!"
"I genuinely don’t."
"The skill that lets you know things before they happen."
Eden stared at her.
Then looked away.
"...Right."
He had absolutely no idea how to respond to that.
Lucy seemed satisfied with his silence.
"I knew it."
Eden mentally sighed.
’Sure. Why not?’
’It’s certainly a whole lot better than explaining regression.’
By the end of the second week, the pair had cleared numerous Gates together.
Eden reached Level 40.
Lucy progressed rapidly as well.
And then, inevitably...
Crack.
Eden looked down.
One of his twin daggers had snapped.
He stared at the broken blade.
"...Huh."
Lucy looked over.
"Your daggers broke."
"Thanks for pointing it out, Captain Obvious."
"You should buy another."
Eden tossed the broken weapons aside.
"Nah."
Lucy blinked.
"No?"
"I’ll just use my fists."
"Your fists?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because they’re free."
Lucy stared at him.
"...That’s the cheapest reason I’ve ever heard."
Eden smiled.
"You could say I’m on a budget."
And so he stopped using weapons.
It turned out he didn’t need them anyway.
His fists had become more than enough for the low-ranked Gates he was clearing.
Another thing had changed during those two weeks.
Eden had become a regular customer of the Alchemists Guild.
Health potions.
Essence recovery potions.
Temporary attribute boosters.
Stamina potions.
Various dungeon supplies.
He bought them.
Used them.
Bought more.
Then sold monster materials.
Bought more.
Sold more.
Repeated the cycle.
Eventually, the guild employees stopped looking at him suspiciously.
Instead, they started greeting him.
"Welcome back, sir."
"Good afternoon, Eden."
"Your order is ready."
"We’ve reserved the higher-quality Essence recovery potions for you."
Eden stared at the clerk.
"...Reserved?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
The clerk smiled.
"You’re one of our VIP customers now."
Eden paused.
"VIP?"
"Your spending history."
She gestured toward the storage room.
"It’s... impressive."
Eden glanced inside.
Stacks of potions.
Alchemy materials.
Rare ingredients.
He shrugged.
"I guess I buy a lot."
The clerk laughed nervously.
"That would be one way to put it."
Eden had no idea how much money he was burning through.
He didn’t particularly care.
Money had never been his goal.
Eventually the two weeks came to a close.
College reopened.
And Eden returned.
He walked through the front gates without anyone recognizing him.
Not one person.
That fact amused him more than it should have.
His appearance had changed dramatically.
The tired, frail young man from two weeks ago was gone.
His black hair was cleaner and better maintained.
His silver eyes were sharper.
His body had become lean and muscular from constant training and dungeon combat.
He even managed to grow significantly taller somehow.
He carried himself differently.
His shoulders were relaxed.
His steps were confident.
Even his expression had changed.
Eden entered the classroom.
The conversations around him continued.
Nobody paid attention.
’Good.’
He preferred it that way.
Until he reached his desk.
Then he stopped.
Someone was sitting in his seat.
A young man with dark red hair leaned back comfortably, his legs resting on top of the desk.
He wore expensive-looking clothes without bothering to hide it.
His posture was relaxed.
Almost arrogant.
And when Eden approached, the young man slowly lowered his legs.
He looked up.
A friendly smile spread across his face.
Hands slipped casually into his pockets.
"Well..."
His eyes traveled over Eden.
For a moment, genuine surprise flashed across his face.
Then the smile returned.
"It’s been a while."
Eden said nothing.
He recognized him immediately.
’Luvian.’
Isaac’s superior.
The son of an S-Rank Awakened.
And, in this timeline, already at the very peak of D-Rank.
Someone who had once been nothing more than an irritating name in Eden’s memories.
Someone who had connections.
Power.
Money.
And a very long history of getting whatever he wanted.
Eden had spent the last two weeks becoming stronger.
He had reached Level 40.
He had obtained new skills.
He had learned how to manipulate his growing power.
And yet, looking at Luvian now...
For the first time since his regression, Eden felt something other than excitement at meeting someone from his past.
He felt anticipation.
Because unlike Isaac...
Luvian might actually be worth fighting.
Luvian tilted his head.
"Old friend."
Eden’s silver eyes narrowed slightly.
’Friend?’
"Old friend?"
Eden stared at Luvian for several seconds.
Then he sighed.
"Cut the crap and fuck off."
The classroom went quiet.
Luvian’s smile twitched.
One of the students standing beside him immediately stepped forward.
"Hey! Watch your mouth! Do you even know who you’re—"
Smack.
The sound of the impact echoed through the classroom.
Luvian hadn’t even looked at him.
His hand had simply moved.
The lackey’s head snapped sideways, his body stumbling several steps before crashing into a desk. Blood immediately poured from his nose and split lip, staining the front of his shirt.
The entire room froze.
Luvian slowly looked at him.
"Can’t you see we’re having a conversation?"
The lackey stared at him in disbelief.
"B-But..."
"Go."
The boy swallowed and hurried away.
Luvian didn’t spare him another glance.
Instead, he stood from Eden’s seat.
He was taller than Eden remembered.
Or perhaps Eden simply remembered everyone differently from his first life.
Luvian ran a hand through his dark red hair, smoothing it back before casually slipping both hands into his pockets.
"You’ve changed."
Eden raised an eyebrow.
"People tend to do that."
"I heard you beat Isaac."
Luvian’s tone was almost cheerful.
"And his little friends."
Eden said nothing.
"Congratulations."
Luvian smiled.
"Really. I’m glad you finally learned to stand up for yourself."
There was something deeply irritating about the way he said it.
As though Eden were a child who had finally accomplished something impressive.
Luvian took a step closer.
"But don’t get too excited."
A thin thread of red Essence began leaking from his body.
The temperature in the classroom rose almost instantly.
Eden’s eyes narrowed.
"Beating a lousy lackey like Isaac doesn’t mean you’re strong."
The red Essence became denser.
Heat rolled through the room.
Some students instinctively backed away.
Luvian’s smile remained perfectly friendly.
"You should be more careful about who you decide to mess with."
Eden took a cautious step backward.
Not because he was afraid.
Because he understood exactly what he was looking at.
Luvian.
Peak D-Rank.
One full rank above Eden.
And, unlike Isaac, Luvian wasn’t merely borrowing strength from a attribute boosting skill.
He possessed an S-Rank fire-based skill.
Eden didn’t know its exact mechanics.
He didn’t need to.
The pressure alone told him enough.
’Interesting.’
Despite the difference in rank, Eden wasn’t convinced that Luvian could beat him.
His own attributes were absurd for an E-Rank.
Devour remained an enormous trump card.
Phase Shift gave him additional physical power.
And he had thirteen years of combat experience that Luvian couldn’t possibly possess.
If they fought...
Eden believed he could win.
But there was a problem.
If Luvian actually started a fight here, neither of them would walk away cleanly.
The classroom would be destroyed.
Then the hallway.
Then probably half the building.
And considering how much Essence Luvian was already leaking...
Most of the campus, probably.
Eden clicked his tongue.
’Annoying.’
He couldn’t afford unnecessary attention yet.
Before either of them could make another move—
"That’s enough."
A clear female voice cut through the tension.
The red Essence around Luvian immediately began to cool.
Eden looked toward the entrance.
A blonde-haired girl was walking toward them.
Average height.
Average build.
Sharp amber eyes.
There was nothing particularly intimidating about her appearance.
Until Eden felt her Essence.
’So that’s her.’
’Sonne.’
Currently a C-Rank.
Future S-Rank.
And the younger sister of Luna, the Guildmaster of Gatewalkers.
Eden had known about her from his previous life.
But seeing her this early was still strange.
Sonne stopped between Eden and Luvian.
Her eyes settled on Luvian.
"Stop."
Luvian smiled innocently.
"Stop what?"
"Whatever you’re doing."
"I was just talking."
Sonne glanced at the red Essence still lingering around him.
"You’re threatening him."
"I’m really not."
"You literally just told him to be careful who he messes with."
Luvian tilted his head.
"That sounds like friendly advice, don’t you think?."
The two looked at each other.
Eden quietly stepped farther away.
’This is getting out of hand.’
Sonne folded her arms.
"You need to leave."
Luvian’s smile became slightly strained.
"You don’t get to order me around."
"I do when you’re about to start a fight in the middle of a classroom."
"I’m not starting anything."
"You already did."
"I was having a conversation."
"Then finish your conversation somewhere else."
Luvian sighed.
"You really are troublesome."
Sonne’s amber eyes narrowed.
"And you’re really annoying."
For a moment, neither moved.
Then Luvian’s Essence flared again.
Sonne’s immediately answered.
A wave of cool Essence spread through the room, suppressing the heat around Luvian.
Eden’s expression became serious.
’They’re actually going to fight?!’
His eyes moved between them.
’If Luvian released his fire skill...’
’And Sonne answered with everything she had...’
’The resulting explosion would probably tear apart the building.’
Eden subtly shifted his stance.
’Paralysis.’
It wasn’t powerful enough to stop someone like Luvian for long.
But if he planted enough Essence into Luvian’s body...
He might be able to slow him down.
Just enough.
...Hopefully.
"Last warning," Sonne said.
"Or what?"
"I’ll make you leave."
Luvian chuckled.
"You?"
Sonne’s expression hardened.
"Yes."
Eden exhaled slowly.
’Fantastic.
’I survive an SSS-Rank monster, Regress with a mysterious power, and now I’m probably going to die because two teenagers are arguing in a classroom.’
Before anything could happen—
"Attention, students!"
A voice suddenly blasted through the campus speakers.
Everyone froze.
The voice belonged to the broadcasting club.
"An important announcement from the college administration!"
The tension immediately began to dissipate.
"There will be a special lecture held today in the main hall!"
"The lecture has been organized in cooperation with the Awakened Association!"
"Assistant Manager Choi will personally be attending!"
"We strongly encourage all students, especially Awakened students, to make their way to the main hall immediately!"
"Again, all students are asked to gather in the main hall!"
Luvian clicked his tongue.
"Looks like you’re lucky."
Sonne raised an eyebrow.
"Lucky?"
Luvian walked past her.
"You."
He glanced over his shoulder.
"You got off lucky."