Chapter 209: Focus

  Prota looked up at the guard with the best displeased expression she could muster. Unfortunately, that wasn’t much, and the guard didn’t even notice that she was annoyed.

  “I know they said you were young… but seriously, this is too much.” The man sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Fine. Go in.”

  “...nn.”

  Without giving the man a second look, Prota went into the Cave. She’d been here twice in her past life.

  Once, by mistake.

  The second, to follow John.

  Now, standing here for the third time…

  She was here to challenge herself, with the intent to grow.

  “Can an assassin beat a knight? Usually, no. Does that make an assassin weaker than a knight? Or how about a spy, whose role is to collect information? The best spy is more valuable than a knight in the Royal Guard, but the Royal Guard will always beat the spy, right? Power is subjective.”

  Even in a second life, she still remembered what John had said. Power was subjective. That was, in a sense, true. The utility one provided was determined based on what one needed from them.

  However, Prota had recently learned that all of that was useless before real power.

  For the longest time, John had tried to teach her that victory was based on what one needed it to be, that success was determined on one’s goals. However, even if Prota’s definition of victory was to land a single strike on John, would that matter if the world was gone? Even if she improved or grown since the last battle, that wouldn’t matter if she was dead.

  No matter what one’s definition of victory was, there were some things that simply couldn’t be ignored.

  That was why, this time, she couldn’t afford to be bailed out by Anta. She couldn’t have someone stepping in for her at the last minute to save her from death.

  In her old life, she’d determined victory by small successes. Minor wins. Holding on until someone stronger came to save her.

  This time, such a thing wouldn’t be allowed. The only victory she was willing to accept was complete and total domination. To defeat her opponents in such a way that no one would doubt her strength.

  If it wasn’t that much, then everything, all of her efforts, all of her pains, would be for nothing.

  Even with those thoughts, she could only stare with a thumping heart at the portal that had been one of the turning points of her past life.

  “Scared?” Anta said. “I don’t blame you.”

  “...really?”

  “This place gives you a trial that you can barely handle. In your past life, that John was something you could handle with my help. In this life, though… you’re a lot stronger, aren’t you? You get what I’m getting at, right?”

  Prota nodded.

  Something incredibly strong would be waiting on the other side.

  But that was fine.

  After all, that was her reason for coming here.

  She stepped through the portal, refusing to wait even another second. Upon passing through, she immediately prepared a spell, only to find…

  Nothing.

  There was no enemy. No John, which was expected, although she’d been secretly hoping that would be the case. It seemed there was no trial to be had.

  “Prota,” Anta said. “Keep your guard up.”

  Her warning was well warranted. Had she not said anything, Prota might not have dodged the icicle that nearly took her head off. From the shadows came a voice, a voice eerily similar… but to what? Where had she heard this voice before?

  “You again.”

  Prota looked up. Standing before her…

  Was herself.

  “Even in a second life, you’re still pretending to be a goodie two-shoes, aren’t you?”

  “...you were an illusion,” Prota pointed out.

  The other Prota laughed. “And isn’t that what this cave is? Please. Don’t get all smart with me. You wanted a challenge. So I’m what you’re going to get. Got it?”

  “How do you-”

  “How do I know what this is? That doesn’t matter. What matters is that I finally get to settle my score with you.”

  Prota clenched her teeth as she grabbed her staff.

  This fight wouldn’t be easy. To begin with, the other Prota had the body she’d had in her third year of Scholaris, meaning it would be stronger, more durable, and would overall be better. Additionally, Prota’s core wasn’t all that close to the one she’d had in Scholaris, either. Of course, that wasn’t too much of a problem, given her new knowledge of magic, but still, this was a problem.

  In her past life, she hadn’t been able to win. It was Anta who’d taken over and used a strange skill to claim victory. If Anta couldn’t interfere this time…

  How was she supposed to make it out alive?

  “Prota,” she heard Anta say. “Remember. The Cave doesn’t give you a trial you can’t beat.”

  “But-”

  “That’s an illusion of sorts. It’s what the mana determined would be the most fitting match for you. That’s not actually a second version of you. It’s just mana. Don’t you remember?”

  Prota’s eyes widened. That was right. How could she forget?

  Even in her past life, she’d defeated the fake John by absorbing his entire being. It wasn’t a man made of flesh and blood. It’d been a creation of mana with no soul, something she could easily draw at.

  “Come on. Fight me. I won’t let you leave alive this time.”

  Prota stared her mirror self down. Her clone still had a look of malice on her face, pain and anger in her eyes. That was right.

  This was what she could’ve become. What she could still become. There was nothing stopping her from turning into this. No mentor figure to guide her. No powerful being to stop her. Kit and the other Mystics likely wouldn’t risk their lives, since they didn’t know she didn’t count as a mortal.

  Come to think of it… what was stopping her?

  Had the world ever come to her rescue? Had anyone ever stopped to try and help her?

  Was there a reason for her to live? After all…

  Wasn’t she just a [Character], in the end?

  “Prota! Snap out of it!” Anta yelled. “Get up and fight! How are you falling for the same trick twice, you idiot?!”

  Feeling as though a bucket of cold water had been dumped onto her, she shot up, eyes snapping wide open. That was right.

  All of that didn’t matter. She’d already decided what she wanted to do. Her goal was hers alone. Not because of others, not for some glorious or righteous reason, but simply because it was she wanted to do.

  [Character] or not, she was herself.

  “Tch. Thought that would work,” the other Prota muttered. “Fine. We’ll do this the hard way.”

  She raised her hands, a blazing fireball burning bright like the sun forming, lighting up the otherwise dim cave. Prota similarly raised her hand, immediately firing three icicles, hoping to interrupt the spell.

  The clone, however, managed to dodge out of the way in time, still maintaining the formation of her spell.

  Right, Prota would have to go all out. She felt her core drain as she cast Snowstorm, quickly replenishing her mana by draining her staff.

  “What? What are you doing? Aren’t you going to use it on-” Anta said, but suddenly stopped. “Oh. Oh, that’s… well, I hope it works.”

  Prota, surprisingly, offered a faint smile of confidence.

  “It’s ok. John’s gambles always work. Then… mine, too. It will work.”

  “I hope you’re right. Then again… you probably are. Go for it.”

  Prota immediately dashed forward, weaving through an onslaught of attacks. Just like the last time, the other Prota’s spells were clunky and large, but carried a lot of power behind them nonetheless. However, that just made dodging easier. All Prota had to do was make sure she didn’t get hit.

  Still, the battle seemed to be nothing but one of attrition. The clone couldn’t hit Prota, even with spells that shook the cavern walls. No matter how many times Prota threw her own spells, they’d either miss or fail to do enough substantial damage. That was right.

  In the past fight, this clone had had strange regenerative abilities. It seemed things were the same in this fight, because no matter how many times she was hit, she would just clean her body back up.

  “Come on!” the clone taunted. “Just give up! You’re weaker than you were before. If you needed that stupid soul’s help last time, what makes you think you’re going to win this time?”

  “Shut up,” Prota muttered, casting another Blossom.

  She was saying that, but in truth, she was beginning to feel a little nervous. This whole time she’d had a plan, but she was now realizing that if her plan happened to fail, things would go terribly wrong, terribly fast.

  “It’s not like he ever considered that, right?” Anta laughed. “Just do it.”

  “...John had [Reset].”

  “Ah. That’s true, isn’t it?” Anta remained silent for a moment. “Just go for it anyway.”

  Prota nodded, mana gathering around her as she prepared to cast Dragon of Ice. This would be the last one. Although she was barely hanging on by using magic far beyond her years, as well as draining her core for every spell, she wouldn’t last for much longer.

  This was the last attack.

  “Are you stupid?” the clone laughed. “Come on, then! Hit me with everything you’ve got! You don’t stand a chance!”

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  Prota clenched her teeth, using every last bit of her strength to send the spell flying, the dragon’s jaw open and roaring as it threatened to devour its target. The clone smirked, opening her arms to take it on.

  “Good,” Prota exhaled.

  This was it. All or nothing.

  The dragon made contact, tearing through the clone’s flesh, but still failed to obliterate the enemy. That was fine.

  Prota had been expecting that.

  The first time she’d fought this clone, it had displayed a similar level of resistance. Prota had known this from the start, and yet had used small spells like icicle and fireball anyway. The point hadn’t been to win with pure destruction.

  Once again, she was forced to resort to an underhanded trick. To a victory she could barely scrape by with.

  But that was fine.

  She was used to this.

  After all, there would only be a few more times where she’d have to put up with this. Although it had been somewhat excusable in her past, there was no reason for it now. No more pitying herself. No more bombarding herself with negative thoughts, with giving up.

  There was nothing wrong with being selfish this time around.

  “Now.”

  The clone was healing, but Prota had been peppering it with attacks for a reason. Every time it healed, its flow of mana was irregular. Of course, the thing was made entirely of mana in the first place, but exactly how it healed was important. If it was something like liquid simply reshaping itself, Prota would never win.

  But that wasn’t the case. This creature wasn’t just reforming itself. It was drawing in ambient mana from the surroundings to repair its injuries.

  Of course, that meant that, in theory, Prota could have continued to attack until it ran out of mana. However, there was far too much of it in this cave for her to employ such a strategy.

  But she hadn’t planned on using such a strategy in the first place.

  Reaching out, she immediately activated Soul Steal, pulling at the clone’s mana with all her might. However, it wasn’t just a matter of taking it for herself. She was pinpointing the location of the skill’s usage, drawing mana from the injured areas, denying the clone the ability to heal.

  “Wh- what the-”

  The creature began to flail about violently, bleeding profusely from its injuries. That was right. Although it was made of mana, it was still an illusion meant to make Prota believe she was fighting another living being.

  It was a risky thing to gamble on. But then again, Prota had been raised taking incredibly risky gambits, even without knowing the logic behind them. While she had been denied the chance to learn how to calculate such risks, she’d developed an instinct for them nonetheless.

  An instinct that would surely serve her will this time around.

  “You- you- how did you- you bastard!” the clone yelled, violent even while bleeding out. “How could you do this?”

  In the past, Prota had hesitated. She’d been scared of the unknown, of this clone that wore an ugly expression on her own face. More than that, though, she’d been scared of what she could become. Of what sins she might commit.

  But now, she couldn’t care less. This clone was nothing more than a trial, and failure was not an option.

  “You’re not me,” Prota said coldly. “So you lost.”

  For a moment, there was silence. A few flames crackled, slowly dying out on the floor, but otherwise, all noise was cut off in the cave. The clone lay there, slowly bleeding out, no longer struggling.

  “...I see.”

  Prota’s eyes widened. The clone’s tone was no longer angry. No longer violent.

  “So you finally made your choice, huh?”

  Prota cast her eyes downward to see her clone with a wide grin on her face. Once again, it was unnerving to see such an expression she normally never wore, but this time, it wasn’t so bad.

  In that moment, Prota realized that it might not be so bad to wear that expression herself.

  “I… good work. Don’t become me.”

  “But-” Prota started.

  “No. I was a possibility. A potential future outcome of what you might have grown into. But I’m not possible anymore. You… you will never become me. You will never reach this future. I’m glad.”

  “You?” Prota questioned. “You’re… glad?”

  “Don’t be silly. We both know I’m just a trial. But… even knowing that, it’s best if this version of you carries on,” the clone said, her voice growing weaker. “Maybe you’re not the best version of you. But you’re definitely confident in yourself. Not just your power, but… you. You are a person.”

  “...what?”

  To be honest, Prota didn’t get it at all. It wasn’t that she was stupid, but philosophical things like existence and identity weren’t things she enjoyed thinking about. As long as she knew who she was, that was enough. What was the point in thinking about things like the ideal version of herself, or who she was as a person?

  “I can’t believe I lost to you… Well, I suppose that’s part of who you are as well.”

  “Then last time…”

  “You were too scared!” the clone raged. “You were such a weakling little coward! I can’t stand a version of me going out like that and staining our name! But you… I don’t have any regrets now.”

  “You?”

  “I’m a part of you, you know. Your psyche. Part of your subconsciousness. You already know I was a potential future, so part of that is still inside you. But you’re strong enough now that I won’t ever come out. I’m proud that you’re the one representing us. Go on.”

  With that, the clone vanished, slowly fading away. Instead of just dissipating, though, the mana gathered, slowly floating toward Prota.

  “...thank you.”

  With open arms, Prota accepted the sudden surge of power flowing into her. Inside, her core was filled to its limits, bursting with mana, threatening to explode…

  But it didn’t. It expanded, making room for even more mana, moving on to the next stage rather forcibly.

  “Good work, Prota,” she heard Anta say. “You got what you wanted, right? Just like that, let’s keep moving.”

  “...nn.”

  She took one more look around. Even with the now empty cave, she could still see the images of her previous life.

  A fake John.

  A phantom of John’s past.

  But those were just memories. Echoes of a world long gone. It was time for her to wake up and accept it.

  That world was gone. No matter how much she wished or hoped, it wouldn’t be coming back. Entering this Cave was proof of that. No one could take the trial twice.

  This was a new world. And she’d have to make do with it as best she could.

  “Ok,” she said quietly. “Let’s go.”

  ~~~

  “...you’ve done something ridiculous again, huh?”

  Somehow, Prota had found herself in the exact same clearing she’d been in during her previous life. It seemed that this would be where they would continue to meet for the time being. Some things in this world were indeed different. Others, however… seemed they would remain the same.

  “Seriously, what kind of- are you sure you’re not a Mystic or a dragon?” Kit exclaimed. “It just doesn’t make sense! Who grows their core a whole stage overnight?”

  “...I went to the Cave of Trials,” Prota said quietly.

  “That doesn’t grow your core one whole rank! It just- no, no matter how anyone looks at it, that’s not normal, you know?” Kit sighed, shaking her head. “Even if you’re a regressor, this is too much. Too much! Do you hear me?”

  Then, to everyone’s surprise, it was Destiny who laughed.

  “Kit. I think it’s about time we abandoned the idea of common sense. To begin with… was anything surrounding my circumstances normal? Maybe it’s about time we took things as they come.”

  “Ha… seriously, telling me to just abandon common sense like that… it’s a little too much, don’t you think?”

  “What else are we supposed to do?” Destiny laughed once more. “You know, Kit? In my old world, some people called magic a science we couldn’t understand. Others claimed it to be a power beyond comprehension. If the latter definition is correct… then doesn’t that mean anything is possible?”

  “I… well, I guess you’re right. After all, I was the one who told you that imagination was key, wasn’t I?” Kit smiled, shaking her head in defeat. “You’re right. Then I suppose this girl before us… Prota. You’re quite the inspiration to be around.”

  Prota nodded, a smile in her eyes. These old friends of hers couldn’t see it yet, but she was sure that, in time, they’d once again recognize her expression. And she, too, had gotten better at communicating.

  The old world would always stay in her memories, but this new one… perhaps it wasn’t all that terrible, either.

  “Destiny,” Prota said quietly. “Or, um… Fate.”

  “Ah, yeah. Best to call me Fate here,” the boy nodded. “Anyway, what’s up?”

  Prota clenched her fists, steeling herself. She’d come to a conclusion.

  If the [Story] needed to be followed, then all she needed to do was rush things the way she wanted. Truth be told, she didn’t really understand how writing or reading or any of that worked. She just listened to the stories John read her, read the books she was given. What defined a “good” or “bad” story was something she was unaware of.

  So, she didn’t particularly care about what came next. All she knew was that she wanted to take things into her own hands.

  This world might be a [Story], but she was a [Character]. She wasn’t John. This was her world. Then, her decisions were hers to make.

  She couldn’t just let Danjo suffer forever. She might have to follow a [Plot], but she’d do it in the way she wanted. If the requirements to rescuing their friend was the same as in her previous life, then all she had to do was force the [Author’s] hand. She didn’t have a relationship with that being the way John did, but she knew they existed, and that was enough.

  “Let’s do a quest.”

  “A quest?” Destiny said, scratching his head. “I mean, sure, but that’s what you wanted to tell me?”

  “Nn… Anta said, no helping. But I want to help. So I’m not going to listen to her.”

  “You- huh? But I thought-”

  “She’s right. I can’t help too much,” Prota said simply. “Would be bad. But not helping is worse. So we’ll do it this way. I can only ask Destiny to follow me. What you choose… up to you.”

  With that, she turned to leave. Truth be told, she had no clue what Destiny was going to do. If it were truly the Destiny she knew, he would come to help, but she had to admit that this was effectively a different person. Still, whether or not he helped was up to him. Help or not, she planned on taking this mission on.

  The argument with Anta last night had been worth it. She was beginning to see why John argued with Zero all the time. The souls always wanted the best for their physical selves. They were always there to offer advice.

  But the will and focus of the spirit were not so easily shaken.

  In the end, Anta had been forced to give in.

  “Seriously, I can’t believe you gave me such a hard time,” Anta sighed as Prota continued to walk toward the guild. “But still… it’s good to see you’re so determined. To be honest, I wasn’t all that serious.”

  “...then why fight so much?”

  “It’s my job to stop you from doing something you can’t take back. Just like Zero. You know, just because we’re a lot more rational than John doesn’t mean you’re normal, right? The two of you really are a pair. No common sense at all,” Anta laughed.

  “Nn. You too. No common sense. Zero too.”

  “Wha- hey!”

  “Hm.”

  “Wha- you can’t say that!” Anta sighed. “Seriously, you… well, it’s fine. I just wanted to make sure this is something you really wanted to do. But, like I said, I’m here to help you, Prota. So go all out.”

  Prota was about to nod when she heard a set of footsteps behind her.

  “Prota.”

  She turned around to see Destiny.

  “You’re going to help with this town’s problems, right? Then I’ll help. I… I’ll trust you. So keep doing what you’re doing.”

  ~~~

  The next day, the group found themselves in front of a giant, run down manor.

  “Eh… I know I said, I’d help, but… are you sure you know how to deal with these things?” Destiny said hesitantly.

  “Nn. Good training for Destiny,” Prota said simply. “Let’s go.”