Meditation was, in essence, just meditation—sitting down, calming the mind, and contemplating oneself. Yet, even for someone like me, possessing the absurd ability to rewind time, such a task wasn’t without its challenges. 

Things like Leo and Claire's relentless dedication, while exhausting, weren’t necessarily the things that weighed me down. My stress stemmed instead from two distinct situations: when the story adhered too closely to the original, and when, inexplicably, it diverged. 

When things went “as planned,” Leo was tirelessly completing every side quest and detail as if he were a perfectionist. However, in the original story, characters—heroes included—wouldn’t all survive. Some would inevitably die, including Claire. Now, with me in her place, would I be the one to die? Or would it be both of us? I’d rewound time plenty of times but had never experienced death firsthand. What lay beyond? A new world? Another character?

On the other hand, there were also times when the narrative broke from the “script” in strange ways. The world here had an odd mix of game-like mechanics alongside brutally real consequences. In the game, taking hits didn’t necessarily result in death unless the health points dropped to zero. But here, even a single blow could be fatal.

Over three hundred days, I thought about these inconsistencies during my continuous sessions of meditation. The time-reversal ability allowed me to forego food, sleep, and even hygiene, channeling all my focus into contemplation—a definite advantage.

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A battlefield lay before me, tinged with the faint scent of gunpowder and charred remains. The area between the trenches bore fresh craters filled with snow, remnants of recent artillery strikes. 

The Empire held an overwhelming advantage. They had tanks and aircraft, while the opposing forces, dug into the trenches, had only basic defenses. Jennifer surveyed the concrete bunkers in the distance with binoculars.

“There’s a lot of them,” she muttered. “But not enough to hold the line against us.” 

Jennifer continued, “They’re using a makeshift machine gun setup. Not as fast as the Empire’s, but the initial assault was rough. Many fell because of it.” She turned to me, her gaze steady. “Think you can handle it?”

I stayed silent, and Jennifer watched me intently, as if reading my thoughts. “Or… have you already done it?”

“I’ve succeeded seven times,” I replied.

It had taken countless retries, far more challenging than infiltrating a noble estate. The no-man’s land between the trenches was long and perilous; any misstep would result in a hail of bullets. The only way to survive was to reach the trench unseen.

Taking advantage of the dimming light, I pressed forward. There were sections where enemy guards’ vigilance waned, where fatigue or distraction offered opportunities. Through endless resets, I’d learned to find these gaps. Once inside the trenches, I had the upper hand; each bullet I fired found its mark.

Explosives were critical. In the dark of the trench, I threw grenades into rooms, trying to sow as much chaos as possible. My customized shotgun, modified to emit a flash of flame, left enemies in terror. I didn’t need a massive fuel tank strapped to my back—I was a storm unto myself.

As I pressed deeper into the trench, I stumbled upon an ammo depot. Around that time, the Empire began its assault from the outside. Enemies were trapped, taking fire from both sides. Then, a massive explosion shook the ground. My vision blurred, and I found myself sprawled on the ground. As I struggled up, I saw enemy soldiers staring, dazed, at a column of smoke and flame rising behind me.

The ammo depot had detonated, likely sparked by one of my haphazardly tossed grenades. The echo of gunfire grew closer as the Empire advanced. Shouts of victory resonated across the battlefield as enemy soldiers began surrendering, some dropping to their knees in resignation. They looked at me, visibly shaken.

I climbed up from the trench, looking back toward the bunker. Half of it had caved in from the internal explosion. Anyone inside likely hadn’t survived. If they had, the advancing Empire forces would capture or kill them.

That marked my first successful infiltration.