His vision went dark, and he returned to the familiar regression room.
From Johan's perspective, it was absurd.
'Why cut it off at the important part?'
If it was going to show him the future, then it should show him properly.
Instead, the moment something was about to be revealed, it used the ultimate cliffhanger technique.
'I seriously want to slap it.'
He wanted to personify the System, stand it in front of him, and hit it as hard as he could.
But the thing had no physical form, so his only option for revenge was to keep using the Trial Version.
[Purchase the Full Version…….]
'How about you shut your mouth?'
That was Johan expressing "shut up" in the gentlest possible way.
He praised himself for his restraint.
'Consider yourself lucky you can't be hit.'
[…….]
The message fell silent.
Once Johan regained his composure, he organized the information he had learned from the future.
'First, I should assume monsters invaded the kingdom. The scale was far too large to be the Monster Waves mentioned in ancient history. The King died, and everything was destroyed…… Hmm.'
Back when Johan lived on Earth, he had enjoyed plenty of popular culture.
He knew fantasy clichés well.
The history lessons he had received from his private tutor Hans were useful too.
'It has been a hundred years since the rise of the Empire ended the major wars on the Arcana Continent. It is exactly the kind of era when kingdoms suppressed by the Empire—or some mastermind behind the scenes—would start causing trouble.'
The mosaic-covered figures he had seen were probably demons, monsters, or something similar summoned by that hidden enemy.
'Yoser's Magic Tower fell, the King died, and the kingdom definitely collapsed.'
Even if the kingdom had fallen, Johan did not know whether the disaster had been limited to that kingdom or affected the entire continent.
There was only one fact he knew for certain.
Someday, his homeland would be destroyed.
Johan remembered Yodu's final words.
'Would things have been different if I were there?'
Probably not.
The second child had become a commander-in-chief.
The third had become a Sword Master.
The fourth had become a royally certified archaeologist.
The fifth had become Vice Tower Master of a Magic Tower.
Even those siblings, all far more talented than Johan, had failed to stop the destruction.
Compared to them, Johan had barely managed to kill a single wolf by relying on a Speed Adjustment.
Someone as insignificant as him would probably have been swept away by the war and disappeared.
'How can I survive?'
If he wanted to survive, he would have to defeat whatever entity the System had censored.
And to kill an enemy powerful enough to destroy a kingdom, he needed strength.
'So Achievements really are the answer.'
He would repeat regression over and over and attempt all sorts of bizarre acts.
Using the Achievements he earned, he would gradually build up his abilities until he could seize a peaceful life for himself.
For now, he could not even make full use of the Achievements he possessed, so his first objective was increasing the number of slots he could equip.
'No idea how, though.'
He could make a more detailed plan later.
If he invested too much effort in the opening, he might lose momentum halfway through and end up with a strong beginning but a weak ending.
'I should check the Achievements I earned this time.'
He opened the backlog of messages.
[Achievement Acquired!]
[You Were Born to Be Respected]
[Defeated a Wolf Pack at Age Eight]
[Quintuplets]
The suffering had been worth it.
He had earned three Achievements at once.
[You Were Born to Be Respected]
[Achievement Perk: While possessed, if someone respects the user, physical stats receive an adjustment.]
'Someone respected……'
The standard was somewhat vague, but even during Johan's trash-tier days, people had occasionally respected him.
He had no idea how large the adjustment would be, but since the perk activated merely by possessing the Achievement, it was better than nothing.
Johan quickly checked the next one.
[Defeated a Wolf Pack at Age Eight]
[Achievement Perk: While equipped, Growth Adjustment: Very Low]
There was something extremely appealing about the words "Growth Adjustment."
The problem was that it was the lowest tier even among Low-grade adjustments.
'Next is…… Ugh, why is this one so long?'
[Quintuplets]
[Achievement Perk: While possessed, Challenges are generated.]
[Challenges Unlocked]
[You unlocked the Challenge function through your own efforts.]
[After regression, active time may be divided into two separate periods.]
[New Challenge!]
[Gather the Twins (0/4)]
[The siblings who grew up relying on one another have been born as different people in different places. Find them all to receive a special reward.]
'Complicated. Still, this is…… incredible.'
Earning several Achievements at once made things a little confusing, but there was absolutely nothing bad about any of it.
'The Challenge unlock reward is especially good. I can split fourteen days into two periods.'
His two-week active period had always held him back.
He had already thought it was too short, and after receiving memories from auto-progression several times, the limitation felt even more painful.
But if he could divide those two weeks and use them separately, he could reduce how much time went to waste.
'Can I choose how much time to skip?'
If it was not random, this reward would be absurdly powerful.
He could skip to just before a major incident and resolve it.
Or he could gamble everything and jump decades ahead to collect new memories.
Of course, that assumed he did not repeat a disaster like the one that had earned him the Legendary Womanizer Achievement.
The System was unfriendly in many ways, but Johan was using the Trial Version anyway.
Time was the one thing he had in abundance.
In other words, he could simply test things himself until he figured them out.
'All right. Regress.'
[You are not…… purchasing the Full Version, are you?]
'Now we're finally understanding each other. Hah. Do you know how hard I worked to turn you into something reasonable? You did well.'
[Correction. This System is not human.]
'Install a joke function before the next regression.'
[Regression point will be determined randomly.]
[Returning to 7 years ago.]
***
When Johan came to his senses, he was lying in the cradle he had grown thoroughly sick of.
"The young master suddenly stopped crying. Perhaps he recognizes his mother."
"Really? Johan. I'm your mother."
The young Baroness of Raks suddenly leaned over him.
Johan reflexively giggled.
"Oh my, look at him. He really does recognize me. Could he be a genius?"
"Absolutely! What a genius young master!"
His mother and wet nurse had already evolved into hopelessly doting adults.
Knowing perfectly well that he was no genius, Johan stopped paying attention to them.
'Should I skip time immediately?'
No. In the previous run, laying a foundation early had let him accumulate at least a tiny amount of Mana by the future.
The Johan from his second life had failed to build even that much Mana by the age of twenty.
It seemed better to spend at least one day establishing the foundation before skipping ahead.
'Haaaa……'
He forced the body of a newborn, which kept trying to fall asleep at every opportunity, to remain awake while he laid the basics of the Raks Mana Cultivation Method.
After a day had passed, Johan used the newly unlocked function.
'I want to divide my active period. Is that how I phrase it?'
[TIP. Even if you phrase it badly, the System understands exactly what you mean.]
[TIP. Adjustments are weaker during auto-progression.]
Johan stopped reading the tips and began to worry.
'But if I divide the time, won't the Status Window notice?'
[TIP. [Otherworlder's Soul] provides a weak adjustment, but improvisation on the regressor's part is also necessary. Appropriate acting lowers the chance of detection.]
If a little caution could save his precious active time, it was an excellent bargain.
Fine.
For now, proceed.
[Remaining active time: 13 days, 1 hour. Selecting the next point at random.]
'Ah. So it is random.'
.
.
.
Johan waited excitedly to see what point in time he would awaken at.
But when he opened his eyes, his body had not grown at all.
He was still lying in the cradle.
The memories arrived, and Johan was horrified.
'Only a few days passed?'
He felt cheated.
Then he noticed something was wrong with his body.
Heat spread throughout him.
Breathing was difficult.
Pain surged from the area around his heart, where a Mana Heart should eventually form.
"Waaaaah!!"
His fragile body burst into tears.
No. He had actually been crying since the moment he regained consciousness.
"Priest! Why is Johan like this? He is going to be all right, isn't he?"
"Haa……."
His mother was crying.
His father was crying.
His older brother was crying.
Even the maids were crying.
Only the priest summoned to treat Johan wore a troubled expression.
"It is Mana Rampage……."
"What? What do you mean?! Mana Rampage in an infant?!"
"I find it difficult to believe as well, but that is the reality. It is unprecedented, but…… for some reason, the baby absorbed Mana without possessing a cultivation method capable of controlling it, and that seems to have caused the problem."
"Then what can we do?"
"If he were only a little older, we could summon a knight or a mage…… I am sorry."
The voices around him grew distant.
Now that Johan knew the cause, he tried to control the Mana, but too much time had passed since the rampage began.
He could not stabilize it.
BURST!
In the end, his heart gave out, and he died.
[Achievement Acquired!]
[Mana Rampage]
[You died from Mana Rampage.]
[Achievement Perk: While equipped, Mana Utilization Adjustment: Very Low]
[Congratulations. You obtained a Very Low adjustment. Now you may be able to endure Mana Rampage a little longer. Ah, but you are a Trial Version user, so your Achievements reset, do they not? Haha.]
'Shut up.'
[Very Low]
He had asked it to install a joke function, and it had installed a mockery function instead.
There was truly nothing likable about this thing.
[Trial Version again this time?]
'Yes.'
[I sincerely hope you do not die immediately.]
Johan scoffed at the message.
'You make it sound like I'm some kind of sunfish.'
[Returning to 1 minute ago.]
'Oh, fuck.'
BURST!
Exactly one minute and thirty seconds later, Johan died again.
[Very Low]
'Shut it.'
[Returning to 2 hours ago. A little disappointing…….]
This time, Johan removed the Speed Adjustment and equipped the Mana Utilization Adjustment instead.
And because he had not returned to the instant just before his heart burst, he managed to survive an additional day.
[Returning to 3 hours ago.]
Having learned the trick, he endured another two days before dying.
[Achievement Acquired!]
[Mana-Sensitive Body]
[Your senses have become sharper through repeated suffering from Mana Rampage.]
[Achievement Perk: While equipped, Mana Utilization Adjustment: Low-Medium]
'Status Window. Are you manipulating the probability?'
Common sense said there was no way he should regress by only a few hours this many times in a row.
If the odds were not being manipulated, repeated hour-scale regressions made no sense.
[Of course not. The probabilities are simply a little strange because you are using the Trial Version.]
'Fine. Just regress me again.'
[Why not purchase the Full Version? I will even provide an Achievement needed to treat Mana Rampage as a special benefit.]
Johan clenched his teeth.
At first, he had chosen the Trial Version because he was shocked by the demand for his soul.
But after suffering through the Status Window's malice, sheer spite took over.
No matter what happened, he would reach the end using only the Trial Version.
If he had truly been empty-handed, his will might eventually have broken.
But Johan possessed [Otherworlder's Soul].
'Keep going with the Trial Version.'
[I would like to send you back 5 minutes…… but it seems 12 hours was selected…….]
That gave Johan useful information.
Apparently, even the malicious manipulation behind the Status Window messages had limits.
Judging by the unnecessary extra commentary, the message itself could probably restrict the regression point only down to about twelve hours.
Thanks to the Mana-Sensitive Body Achievement Perk, Johan did not die even after two days passed.
The Mana Utilization Adjustment was still only Low-grade, but its effect was remarkable.
If his rampage had been equivalent to terminal-stage cancer, he had managed to suppress it down to something closer to the middle stage.
Once the pain eased, he had enough room to think.
Then Johan realized something new.
'Wait. Isn't repeating regression actually beneficial?'
Assuming he did not die, he had used a little over six days' worth of active time to build up Mana.
But each time he regressed by several hours, the timer reset.
That meant he could use the full fourteen days far more efficiently.
On top of that, repeatedly dying had taught him practical techniques for controlling Mana.
That was different from the upgraded adjustment.
It was experience Johan himself had built.
[Why not give up soon and purchase the Full Version? At this rate, you are going to lose your mind.]
'Thanks for the warning.'
[What? Are you finally going to purchase the Full Version? At last, you recognize all my hard work!]
'No. Keep going with the Trial Version.'
[……Returning to 2 hours ago.]
After repeating the process several more times,
Johan finally solved the Mana Rampage in less than two hours instead of needing an entire day.
[Achievement Acquired!]
[Overcame Mana Rampage]
[Through sheer effort, you overcame an illness for which no proper treatment exists.]
[Achievement Perk: While equipped, Mana Utilization Adjustment: Medium-Low]
'Good. I shouldn't die from Mana Rampage anymore.'
It was a Medium-grade adjustment.
Satisfied, Johan used the time-skip function.
[Determining skipped period at random.]
[Skipping 18 years.]
***
There was a somewhat unusual young master in House Raks.
As a baby, he had overcome Mana Rampage.
During childhood, he had shown results far beyond his peers.
Yet as he grew older, that brilliance had faded somewhat.
That young master was Johan.
He was no longer as extraordinary as he had seemed during his prodigy years, but he was at least considered an ordinary talent.
Baron Raks considered his second son's future and eventually decided to leave the choice to Johan himself.
"You have several paths before you. You may take Hans's recommendation letter and attend the academy to pursue your studies. You may instead build connections. Or you may travel the world, gain experience, and return afterward. You could also remain here and begin learning the affairs of the territory. What do you want?"
It was at that exact moment that Johan regained control.
There was no need to review the intervening memories.
He still remembered the purpose he had held before suffering Mana Rampage.
Accumulate Achievements.
And discover the identity of the mastermind who would destroy the kingdom.
Because of that, he immediately discarded the option of remaining in the Barony of Raks.
"I will attend the academy."
"Why?"
"The Empire is currently the strongest and most prosperous nation in the world. People who have experienced Imperial civilization say it is on a completely different level. That is why talented people from every nation gather at the Empire's academies, and excellent teachers capable of educating them are everywhere. If I wish to broaden my horizons, an academy is the ideal place."
There was another reason he did not say aloud.
'Many major figures in the Empire and the various kingdoms graduated from academies. If I build relationships with them in advance, I may be able to earn Achievements. And academies in twenty-first-century games are basically giant piles of Achievements.'
Above all, the risk was low.
"Traveling the world" sounded romantic, but in reality it was dangerous enough that dying far from home at any moment would not be strange.
An academy, on the other hand, had its safety guaranteed by the Empire.
There were guards, and the faculty themselves were highly capable.
Very few people could break through that level of protection.
Womanizer Johan had died there after getting involved with the wrong women, but that could reasonably be called the consequence of his own actions.
'If I'm careful, I won't die. I'll build Achievements at the academy and learn broad knowledge.'
Using that foundation, Johan wanted to survive long enough to witness with his own eyes the future his siblings had experienced.
"If that is your wish, then go to the academy."
"Thank you!"
Johan's older brother had also enrolled in the Empire's Relic Academy, so the people of House Raks were already thoroughly familiar with the admission process.
Everything moved quickly, and before long, it was time for Johan to depart for the entrance examination.
"Young Master Johan……. Please return safely……."
"Why are you crying? I'm not going there to die. And the academy allows each student to bring one servant, doesn't it? My brother hired someone locally, but I don't need to do that."
"Then………?"
Johan had thought of a way to suppress auto-progression Johan's tendency to womanize.
He would bring Karane, his childhood friend and former lover from his previous run, to the academy once again.
This time around, Johan hoped to live a life faithful to his wife.
"If I pass, I'll call for you."
"Yes! You have to! You absolutely have to call me!"
After comforting Karane as she dabbed at her tears with a handkerchief, Johan climbed into the carriage.
The coachman, who had been watching the two of them with a pleased expression, asked,
"Shall we get going?"
"Yeah! Let's go!"
Toward the land where connections and Achievements were waiting for him!