The next moment, Yuuta realized his vision was no longer fixed on the cramped walls of a toilet stall.
He was now inside a classroom that looked incredibly futuristic, featuring ergonomic desks and integrated digital screens—sights he had never seen at Seirei Private Academy.
As soon as his consciousness stabilized, Yuuta observed his surroundings.
He was startled to find about 40 students in the room, and several of them were familiar faces.
Miyamae Nonoa, Maruyama Takeshi, Yukinoshita Yukino, Zaimokuza Yoshiteru, Takanashi Rikka, and others.
They all sat in their respective seats with expressions of shock, anxiety, and confusion.
Unlike them, Yuuta felt an explosion of joy in his chest.
If he didn’t restrain himself, he might have burst into an arrogant, Uchiha-style laugh.
(Yahoooo!!!
Goodbye boring life that almost made me suicidal!
Welcome, life of passion!) he thought.
He glanced at his hands, which had shrunk.
Although the physical bodies of everyone appeared to have reverted to children aged about nine or ten, it wasn’t a big deal for Yuuta.
He pinched his thigh hard.
It hurt.
It was all real!
However, not everyone possessed Yuuta’s self-control.
In a room containing 30 Ascendants and 10 natives, two people began to lose their cool in a unique way.
Rikka suddenly stood up from her chair.
She pressed her hand against her right eyepatch, posing dramatically as if restraining a great power.
“Ugh…
the seal…
my Tyrant’s Eye has broken free from the shackles of darkness!
Is this the ‘Ethereal’ world that was prophesied?!” She shouted theatrically, oblivious to the strange looks from other students.
Seeing this, the eccentric Zaimokuza stood up as well, his face flushed with enthusiasm.
“Hahaha!
It turns out I’m not the only ‘Chosen One’ here!
Finally, the world has acknowledged the existence of this Dark General!
This is the beginning of our legend!” Before the two chuunibyou could continue their commotion, a cold, emotionless AI mechanical voice echoed simultaneously in the minds of the thirty Ascendants.
[Welcome to the Infinity Reincarnation stage] [Current Planar World: Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei] [Complete the missions to return to the real world.
The penalty for mission failure is death.] The voice continued its instructions, explaining the mechanics of the Planar World they were in.
[In this world, there are no limits to the power you can acquire.
You are free to learn magic from the natives, explore technology, or hone your own talents.
Every path you take is entirely in your hands.] [This world is a place where magic and science coexist as one.
As ‘Novice Ascendants’, you are granted a privilege: any abilities and magic you master here can be brought back to the real world for free.
However, be warned: in future stages, you must redeem those abilities using reward points earned based on your performance.] The voice then grew heavy, providing a warning that made hair stand on end.
[Remember, death in this world means permanent death in the real world.
Act with utmost caution.] [Strict Warning: It is forbidden to reveal the existence of ‘Infinity Reincarnation’ to anyone other than fellow Ascendants.
Violation of this rule will be punished by instant death, and your soul will be tortured in eternal hell without end.] [Now, Fake Identities are being transmitted…] The mechanical voice vanished, leaving the classroom in a haunting silence.
The next second, Yuuta and the other Ascendants felt a massive wave of information hit their brains.
It was the memory of their identities in this world—identities randomly assigned by the system.
Rikka and Zaimokuza, who had been noisy just moments ago, suddenly slumped into their seats.
Their faces were deathly pale, and their bodies trembled violently.
Faced with a threat of death so real and cold, their chuunibyou delusions shattered, defeated by reality.
They were now silent as terrified quails.
The ten native students only glanced strangely at them for a moment before refocusing on themselves.
Though still children, the look in their eyes showed a maturity forced by a world unstable due to global conflict.
Meanwhile, the Ascendants struggled hard to suppress their fear while digesting the new memories.
(Luckily, the memories provided by Infinity Reincarnation are from a third-party perspective—more like watching a movie—so they don’t affect my personality.) Yuuta breathed a sigh of relief.
He had been worried about personality disorders or an identity crisis from housing two different life memories in one body.
The worst-case scenario he imagined didn’t happen.
Soon after, his eyes began to sparkle as he realized the specific identity given to him.
His heart raced in disbelief.
(Fuck!
Fuck!
Fuck!
This is insane!
Do I have a permanent ‘Born into a Prominent Family’ trait?!) (Transmigrating to a crossover slice-of-life world, I was born into one of the five Japanese conglomerates, the Yamabuki Group.
Now involved in Infinity Reincarnation, my identity is a member of the Yotsuba Clan!) Although Yuuta hadn’t read the Mahouka light novels, he had watched every season of the anime.
He knew exactly the horror behind that name.
What was the Yotsuba Clan?
In short, it was a clan with magic power stronger than the National Defense Force!
It was no exaggeration to claim the Yotsuba Clan was the strongest in Japan.
On a global scale, they were among the top five factions in the world.
And now, Yuuta was part of it?
For a young man hungry for power and challenges, this was a windfall falling straight from the sky!
*CLICK!* Shortly after, the automatic sliding door opened with a soft hiss.
A middle-aged man with a stern and rigid aura stepped inside.
He was the homeroom teacher of Class 4-B, Kudou Akira.
Without a warm formal greeting, Akira stood at the podium.
His sharp eyes scanned the room.
He had no intention of making small talk.
With one touch of his finger on the blackboard—which was a giant electronic screen—projections of brutal warfare images immediately filled the students’ view.
“The world you stand on today was not built on flowers, but on piles of shell casings and the remains of destroyed civilizations.” Akira began, cold and emotionless.
“History is the most important subject for an aspiring Magician, because you must know for whom—and against whom—your magic will be used.” The image on the screen changed to a fragmented world map, filled with red lines indicating combat zones.
“World War III is not just a finished entry in a history book.
It is the reality you breathe every day.
This war still rages, and you are the instruments being forged to end it or die within it.” The statement hit the Ascendants like a sledgehammer.
Most of them, including Yuuta, flinched in silence.
For those from peaceful countries in their original world, “World War III” was just a news narrative or a conspiracy theory.
But here, the aura of death felt tangible.
(What?!
This is the World War III era!
My God, this is way before the main plot begins!
If I remember correctly, the main story happens in April 2095.
What year is it exactly?!) Yuuta’s confusion was quickly answered as Akira continued his explanation while switching the screen projection to horrific war documentation photos.
“Today is December 22, 2058.
It has been thirteen years since World War III first broke out in 2045.
The world is no longer divided into simple blocs, but into fragmented powers preying on each other.” He pointed to the Asian region on the map.
“The Great Asian Alliance.
They have annexed what used to be China, the Korean Peninsula, and most of Southeast Asia.
They are the primary predators on the Eastern front, Japan’s direct enemy every second.
From the North, the New Soviet Union continues to press, eyeing Hokkaido and dominating northern Eurasia.” Akira then turned his attention westward.
“The United States of North America, or USNA.
Technically they are our allies, but do not be fooled.
They are a global hegemonic power that won’t hesitate to clash with local magic clans if their interests are disturbed.
Meanwhile, the European Union (EU) is still busy containing Soviet expansion on the Western front.” The electronic screen then showed a much more horrific graph: plummeting population statistics, images of starving people in the midst of eternal blizzards, and land that could no longer be farmed.
“This war is the deadliest in human history because it occurs amidst an extreme climate crisis.” Akira explained heavily.
“The world is experiencing drastic global cooling.
As a result of World War III, the global population has plummeted from 9 billion to just 3 billion people.” Hearing a death toll equivalent to mass purging, the Ascendants shuddered violently.
Idealistic faces like Yukino’s looked deathly pale, staring at their desks with a hollow gaze filled with horror.
Only the locals appeared calm, having been accustomed to such news reports since birth.
In the midst of the newcomers’ mental chaos, Yuuta showed extraordinary composure.
He looked more like an apathetic local than a terrified Ascendant.
Akira frowned, noticing the excessive fearful reactions from most of the children (Ascendants) in his class.
He felt something was wrong with the mentality of this year’s cohort.
(Why are they trembling like cowards?) In an era where Magicians were considered “living weapons” and national military assets, a weak mentality was not needed.
He decided to report this observation to the school authorities so that counseling or re-indoctrination could be carried out immediately.
To him, they weren’t just students; they were soldiers ready to be sent to the battlefield at any time.