As a result of this incident, Edna was certain of one thing.
"Baek Yu-Seol definitely underwent regression for Eisel’s sake."
In the original novel, Eisel and Mayuseong shared their feelings, leading to the destruction of the world and a sad ending.
However, what if there was an unknown extra story?
Maybe, it would be something like this.
Baek Yu-Seol, an unnamed character, loved Eisel all his life, but never received affection in return until the moment when the world was about to end.
Then, he chose to regress to change everything...
"Is it too far-fetched?"
Having watched too many romance stories, strange thoughts kept coming to her mind.
However, in this incident, Baek Yu-Seol created a stage solely for Eisel, something that no one else could do.
How much time had Baek Yu-Seol spent preparing for this day?
In truth, Edna would be horrified to learn that the content might have been made up on the spot through Sentient Spec, but since there was no way for her to know this, her strange misunderstanding only grew deeper.
"It's unrequited love."
Regression for the sake of fulfilling love, and for creating a world where the loved one could live happily ever after.
At the end of the regression, even if one's existence was completely forgotten by the loved one.
‘He won't have any regrets in his final moments, will he?’
‘Ahh, that's too much…’
For some reason, she felt a foreign emotion and tightness in her chest. She couldn't believe that she was witnessing a story with a sad ending in real life, rather than in a drama or novel.
Baek Yu-Seol said he wanted to live, which probably meant he didn't want to be forgotten.
So, she made a decision.
She would find a way to prevent Baek Yu-Seol from disappearing from everyone's memories in his final moments.
‘I'm the only one who can do it. Only I, who knows his secret, can help him.’
‘I must find a way.’
Then, all of a sudden, something came to her mind.
He would do anything to fulfill his heartfelt love, even if it meant giving up his existence as the price and turning back time.
‘What would it feel like to be loved so deeply?’ she wondered.
‘… No, why am I thinking like this again?’
She shook her head, trying to clear her mind. The Simulation Battle against the demon was a success. She hadn't expected it, but not only Eisel, even she had been given a high score.
Of course, she messed up her grades in other classes so much that it was unlikely she would even receive a scholarship, but if she could improve her grades even a little bit, she might be able to avoid getting a warning from the academy.
She was feeling a bit anxious because her grades were so bad right now.
————
[Episode 5 ‘Demon Simulation Battle’ has been completed.]
[You have gained a massive amount of EXP!]
[You have successfully led the story in a great direction, and as a reward, you will receive an additional bonus from the Constellation Project.]
"Great."
As Baek Yu-Seol changed the story in a unique direction, those shady gentlemen would get satisfied and give him rewards.
"What will I receive this time?"
He had actually thought about it beforehand, but he still hadn't decided. Although he was tempted to ask for an enhancement of his teleportation ability or strengthening Mana Accumulation Retardation Skill, he thought that would be a bit of a waste.
Besides, he wanted to get something that would be useful for the upcoming episode, "Familiar Contract Ceremony."
Obtaining a magical item that could help with this would be ideal.
Acquiring a familiar was an incredibly rare opportunity in the magical world. The Stella Academy provided a chance for magic apprentices to contract with a familiar only once, and only a mere 5% to 10% of students were successful.
There was no guarantee that he would successfully contract with a familiar. However, the item that boosted familiarity was useless after a single use…
It must be a perfect reward that could enhance his
Mana Accumulation Retardation and also help in the next episode.
It should be a two-birds-with-one-stone kind of reward.
Then, all of a sudden, he thought of a great item.
"I'll take it as an item reward."
[What item would you like?]
After a moment of thought, he reached for one of the items he had owned in the past without any hesitation.
It was the "Divine Spirit Gate Key."
This item might not have been an ancient artifact like the equipment of his original character, but it was one of the rarest items that only high-level players could obtain.
The key could open the portal to the realm of "Divine Spirits," but its sole function was limited to unlocking a specific dungeon.
‘Will its function be downgraded?’
He waited in anticipation.
[System review complete.]
[Reward issued.]
"Great!" He exclaimed with delight.
The item was granted in its entirety, with no signs of being downgraded or altered. While someone attempting to exploit a System loophole might have been disappointed, the item was rare to come by regardless.
Reflecting on his purchase, he realized that the Divine Spirit Gate Key was better known among players as a secondary character training item.
It was a ticket to a dungeon that only became available after reaching the highest level, and its usefulness declined as players progressed.
However, it was also a dungeon that provided an abundance of EXP without much difficulty, earning it the nickname ‘Bounty hunting ground’ for lower-level characters.
Baek Yu-Seol had obtained this item for his secondary character training, but had never used it before.
Little did he knew that one day, he would have the opportunity to use it in real life.
But first, he had to find a way to get there...
"How am I going to go out?"
He pondered, but soon realized that the incident had led to stricter conditions for leaving the academy, making it harder to go out whenever he wanted.
"Sigh..."
Baek Yu-Seol ran his hand through the hair, feeling helpless.
Suddenly, he remembered how he used to go out in the video game where there were similar constraints.
"What did I do then?"
The answer was simple, and didn't require much thought.
"Club."
Yes, he had joined a club that allowed him to teleport in front of the magic academy.
He smiled as the memory came flooding back.