Chapter 2 - A skill?!

To be honest, Verity really could not understand what the entity was saying. He knew that the tutorial she was speaking of likely referred to the colosseum-esque place he had been in moments prior, but did not know what she meant by him dying a hundred times.

He furiously tried to make sense of his situation, hoping to reach a conclusion that had a modicum of sense. Unfortunately, despite the gears turning in his head furiously, Verity could not focus. Ringing in his ears, there was an irritating, incessant laughter which prevented him from thinking. It took mere moments for Verity to reach a breaking point, and he could hold himself no longer.

His emotions exploded outward momentarily. “Can you tell me what’s going on, dammit?!!”

Finally, the being before him stopped, or rather she was forced to. For a moment, she even seemed shocked at his outburst. Truth be told, Verity shocked himself. He had never really yelled at anyone before, save for internet trolls. He used to believe that no reasoning was ever good enough to shout at someone in real life, until now at least.

The being stood up straight and she looked toward destiny, the silhouette of her smug smile well outlined.

“You want to know what’s going on? Well, it’s simple, you’re dead, Verity.” She told him, the grin never fading.

Perhaps this should have engendered a greater reaction from him, but Verity had expected that much. He still distinctly remembered his head being severed, and seeing his own body fall to the ground, and so that was not really his question.

“No! I mean, where are we!? Who are you!? And what are you talking about?!”

Another chuckle escaped the being’s mouth and she sat down on a chair that may have always been there, or may have not, Verity was not sure. She then pushed her hair backward and inhaled deeply, putting a definite end to her laughter at last.

“Sure, sure, no need to get angry.”

A chair appeared beneath Verity as well and a warm cup of tea materialized in his hand. He looked at it incredulously.

“What? Not a fan of tea? What would you like then?” The being asked.

Verity scratched the back of his neck, staring at the soft movement of the tea within his cup. “N-no, this is fine.” He said before taking a sip, even more appalled by the fact that he could taste the tea, and the fact that it tasted good.

After taking a sip herself, the being leaned backward, resting her back against her chair. “I’m using quite a bit of power to talk to you so I’ll make it quick.”

Verity's chair was propelled forward, toward the mysterious entity, but even when he was much closer, he could still not make out her features. They appeared to be obscured by some strange force.

“In order. This is a place I created, don’t worry about the details. I am…” It seemed like she was choosing her words. “Well let’s say that I am someone who enjoys watching you and for your last question…”

A multitude of screens appeared to his right, each depicting Verity in similar settings, but none quite identical to the others.

“It’s just that you’ve repeated this tutorial many times, in [-Error-]”

‘What was that??’

The being clicked her tongue. “Seriously? I can’t even say that? Let’s see… how could I put it..”

Verity interrupted her, his hand trembling, threatening to throw the tea out of his cup. “I think I get it… It’s not my first time doing the tutorial… that’s what you mean, right?”

“Exactly!!”

Something was welling up within Verity, excitement. A crooked smile creeped up his lips, which he tried to cover with his hand, but even that could not hold back the maniacal giggle escaping his mouth.

“I-I’m a regressor?! Then I really am the main character?!! This is…awesome!” He mumbled to himself.

Ecstatic, he looked up, meeting the being’s eyes, only having one question. The smile on his face made even her evaluate Verity’s sanity, and she knew crazy. “Why can’t I remember my past lives? After all, that’s all I’m missing to be a true regressor, just like him!” He exclaimed, his fist clenched, tremoring with joy.

The mysterious being looked at him with a raise of her eyebrow, half-expecting the conversation to steer in that direction.“...Are you sure you want that?” She asked him, hoping he'd say no, but knowing he wouldn't.

As she predicted, Verity didn’t even need to think about it. “Yes!! With a power like that, I’ll be-”

Not letting him finish his sentence, the being snapped her fingers, and a torrent of memories entered Verity’s mind. At first, it was bearable. The new information was fascinating, exhilarating. He marveled at things he’d never experienced, never seen, but the flood did not stop when Verity was satisfied. The torrent swelled. Things he did not need, or want to remember began to pour in, piling on top of one another until he could no longer tell which life they belonged to.

Soon, the flow became a deluge, and then a tsunami. Verity felt as though the current of memories completely tore through a dam in his mind. It was swelling, swelling with memories of times bygone, more than he could handle.

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He felt as if this continued, he would burst open. And then, when he was already past his limit, came the deaths. He would die from a gashing sword wound, an angered imp would decapitate him, and sometimes an arrow would pierce his throat. The pain of each death was the most vivid of the memories, and he was experiencing the hundred of them at once. It was overwhelming, unbearable, and endless.

“AAHHHHH!!” Verity yelled, tears dropping from his eyes, and drool from his mouth.

“M-make it stop!! Make it stop!!” He pleaded, barely able to speak coherently.

The being snapped her fingers again, and the memories vanished from his mind. It was a strange sensation. His breath was still quick, and shallow, but he was not in distress anymore. He could remember asking her to show him, and he could remember the snap of her fingers, even how he felt, but could not remember what had made him feel that way.

“Get it?” The being asked.

“Yea…”

Verity’s hopes of being a regressor main character were crushed rather quickly. He wondered how then, the protagonists of his favorite stories managed.

‘Well, they are fictional…’

He let out a long sigh, and leaned back against his chair. “Why did you bring me here then if not because I’m a regressor? It wasn’t just to make fun of me, was it?”

He wouldn’t have put it past her. Verity did believe that she was fully capable of bringing him here simply for her amusement, but sincerely hoped otherwise.

“Of course not! What do you take me for?!” Verity decided not to answer. “I felt bad for you, so I decided that I was going to help you a little.”

Before Verity could even say anything, she stood up, approached him, and placed a hand on his chest.

“You should be grateful. This is quite the effort, even for me.”

The being recited something in a language Verity could not understand. When she finished, the chair under him disappeared, and without even bidding him farewell, she pushed him through the ground, sending him flying through the void.

It was all too bizarre. Verity did not know where he was being sent to, or even what had happened, but a voice resonated in his ears.

[You have gained the Unique skill: Lesson Learned (Passive) Lv.1.]

**

[Congratulations! You have met the requirements to awaken as a challenger. You will now be transported to the tutorial area!

Good luck ;) ]

“What the fu-”

Clearly, everyone around him was just as confused as he was, but before they could compose themselves, a voice rang from the sky.

“Welcome, welcome to all of you! I’m elated to see so many of you here today!”

Above them, a small devil-like creature with two horns and a set of bat-like wings floated. It was strange, sure, but Verity didn’t know if he could describe it as menacing.

The imp took a deep breath and spoke for all to hear. “Rejoice! You’ve been selected as participants for this place’s apocalypse, meaning that you are the chosen ones who will save the world!”

The initial shock now fading, those words made something click within Verity.

‘There’s… no way..!!!’

The imp kept on talking, uncaring for his realization, however. “There is a lot to explain, too much even! For now, I want you to think ‘status’ and wait for something to happen.”

Verity immediately thought, and he thought hard.

‘Status!! Status!! Status!!’

Soon after, a window appeared in front of him.

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Status Window

Name: Verity

Age: 22

Level: 1

Alias: N/A

Class: N/A

Traits : Shut-in, Unemployed, Listless, Favored

Skills: [Lesson Learned]

Sponsor: [-Error-]

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‘This is real!!! It’s really there, the status window!!’

Verity’s eyes widened as much as they physically could. He simply could not believe this was happening. How many times had he read this exact plot in the webtoons he loved so much? How many times had he wished he could be the main character of those stories? The answer was simple, more than he could count!

Sure, at first glance, his skills and traits seemed lackluster. Why was his status window insulting him? Unemployed? Shut-in? In all fairness, it was true, but even then.

He also was perplexed by the ‘Favored’ trait that appeared next to them. All the traits seemed to originate from the way he had lived his life, but he could not recall if anyone had ever favored him in his twenty-two years of life. Had the status window made a mistake?

‘Ah, who cares?!’

Verity quickly pushed those thoughts away. He wasn’t pleased by his traits, but still, he couldn’t let that bother him right now. There was something much more important that deserved his concern. Thinking of it, his emotions were on the verge of exploding outward.

The imp continued. “Now, I’m sure you’ve all opened your status window. If you focus on certain words, such as a specific skill, trait, or, although none of you have one for now, a sponsor, an additional window will appear, giving more information. On that-”

Verity did not bother listening to the rest of the explanation, and immediately focused on the words which had piqued his interest the most. With all his might, he focused on his skill, [Lesson Learned]

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Skill: [Lesson Learned]

Rank : S

Level : 1

Rarity : Unique

Type : Passive

Description : Although sealed for your well-being, your mind holds fragments of times bygone. When the time is right, those fragments will resurface, guiding you onto the right path. The clarity and use of the fragments are dictated by your proficiency with the skill.

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The description was rather vague, but an S-ranked skill?? That had to be good, right?

‘Sure, it’s not something like ‘Heavenly Martial Body’ or ‘Sage’s Wisdom’ but it still looks really cool!!’’

Overwhelmed with joy, Verity reached his breaking point, and could contain himself no longer. The words were there, and he had seen similar things happen to his favorite characters much too many times. He knew exactly what this meant. He felt it, deep within him, and so he-

[The skill : Lesson Learned, is being activated.]

Verity heard the words in his mind, and while he did not know exactly what the skill did, he did not need to. The skill itself did not speak, or give him instructions. There were also no other words resonating in his mind, or an additional window appearing before him, but that did not mean the skill had no effect. Immediately, dread welled up inside of him, sending shivers down his spine. A fear so potent, so raw, permeated his body. Because of it, Verity was not able to move, and he was not able to speak.

He completely froze, and while he was in that state, he heard something coming from the crowd of people, somewhere on the far right.

“HEY!! I don’t know if this is some sort of joke or social experiment, but I need to get to work!!! Let me out of here!”

The man’s voice was loud, very loud. Enough for everyone in the colosseum to hear him, and enough to draw attention away from the imp who was still talking. As such, the imp, flying high above them, stopped speaking, and its gaze pierced through the man who had yelled out in anger.

“I hate being interrupted more than anything.” The imp said, before Verity heard a cacophony of screams coming from that part of the crowd.

He couldn’t see what happened, but he could make out what they were saying.

“HE’S DEAD?!!”

“WHAT JUST HAPPENED??!”

“AHHHH!!!”

[Usage of the skill : Lesson Learned was successful. You have gained a bit of Exp.]

Verity’s eyes widened, and he wondered, frightened.

‘Without this skill, W-would that have been…me?’

Though he asked the question, he felt that he knew the answer.