Different Than Before

I don't understand.

It was only a few minutes later that I was able to get away from Lorelai. She seemed to have broken down even quicker, thanks to me.

That definitely wasn't my intention. Now I'll be remembered as that person who made fun of her injured brother.

From the looks of it, one scenario was different from the original novel.

Instead of Mordecai successfully completing the dungeon like he should have, something else happened. He was found half-dead just outside the boss room.

His girlfriend was nowhere to be found, either. It was assumed that she had been eaten by one of the monsters.

Mordecai was left in a comatose state thanks to his injuries. There is no sign yet as to when he'll wake up.

By the way, Lorelai had won the match. Kai Muller had decided to surrender the moment I left the arena.

Argh, maybe I should've spent some time researching about this world instead of believing I was some sort of omniscient god who knew everything.

Even if I was the author now, there was no more guarantee that everything would stay the same as how The Academy's Regressor originally went.

I had already seen it in action the first time. The exit in the first exam, demons appearing, and finally, this one.

But now that I'm here, I can only do one thing: to guide John and his party members to the best ending possible.

"Something tells me that wasn't what you had in mind."

Wang Jin spoke up from beside me. After seeing the spectacle I had caused, he led me to an empty waiting room, where we sat down.

"That definitely wasn't it."

"I can tell, haha. Hey… if it's all good to ask, what's your relationship to Lorelai?"

My relationship to Lorelai? It definitely wasn't something close, like friends. Perhaps… a master and his servant? No, that's stupid.

"An author and a character." I responded.

"An author? Huh? What's that got to do with the situation?"

"That's the answer."

I wasn't planning on revealing that I created a world that was similar to this. An answer isn't an answer if the person who asked it doesn't consider it one, of course.

"I see. Well, what's your plan now?"

"Plan? What plan? I made a fool of myself outside. There's no guarantee the crowd won't stone me to death, hah."

"You can't exactly miss out on your battle, bro."

"I know."

Losing my battle wasn't a problem. If it looked like I was losing, I could always put on a good show of being a person with strong willpower. The Academy likes those types of people.

They're easier to mold into their personal soldiers. People who are weak, but would do anything to get stronger were the easiest to manipulate.

It's like dangling a piece of meat in front of your dog's eyes. If you got them to do what you wanted, then a treat would be rewarded.

That's manipulation in a way. You'd argue that the intent behind it is good, but it's all the same, honestly.

Anyway… my plan, huh?

"I guess I'll hide for a bit until it's my turn. Maybe just call me when it's finally my turn to battle."

"Alright, buddy. I'll see you later."

With that, Wang Jin left the room. I was left inside by myself, contemplating on whether I should head out now.

In fact, now that I remember, there's a shop nearby that sells some pretty good Skill Cards. I should be able to afford the one that I need.

Seeing as how I still have a few hours before my battle begins, then I could just hang out there and wait.

Yeah, I'll do that.

***

It was pretty hard to sneak around without getting noticed. The hallways were pretty empty at this point, but there were always the few people who'd walk around instead of watching the battles.

For this reason, the time it took to get out was way longer than I had expected.

But now, I was out of the Colosseum. I headed directly for the Skill Card store, making sure to not get spotted by other cadets and pedestrians.

The sound of bells ringing filled the room as I pushed open the door.

The Skill Card store wasn't located that far away from the Colosseum. It was only a minute or so of walking. It was also built into an alley, so there was plenty of privacy.

"It's been months since I've seen a new customer. Tell me, kid. What do you want?"

The inside of the store wasn't too clean. It was oddly designed like the taverns you'd read about in medieval fantasies.

There was only one person manning the shop. He was a man with a bald head and an eyepatch on his right eye. His face was riddled with scars, and a few of his teeth were knocked out.

He might look intimidating, but this person is a really kind individual at heart. His name is Bigsby, by the way.

"Hey, Bigsby. I'm here to look at your "secret" stock."

I strongly emphasized the word secret, making sure he thought I was one of his under-the-radar customers.

This was the beauty of Bigsby's store. He sold Skill Cards to just about anyone, if they had the money. And if they didn't, he'd even lower the price as a sign of pity.

I was pretty sure I had enough on me, though. At least to afford a skill.

"Heh. It's been ages. The last time I heard that name was, what, years ago? Well, you're in luck. My stock happens to be somewhat full. Here."

Reaching from under the counter, Bigsby took out multiple boxes. All of them were either made of pure gold, or simply adorned with jewels.

These boxes contained his "secret stash", a collection of the Skill Cards he had accumulated over the many years he had lived.

I didn't say this before, but Bigsby is a retired Hero. He lived his life raiding dungeons for Skill Cards, until he finally managed to amass an amount many times more than the ones in the Hero's Association Treasury.

The ones he showed me were just the tip of the iceberg. Yet, they were powerful all the same.

Sadly for me, I wasn't here to pick up a combat skill. Now that my identity has been… compromised, then I'll have to look like a different person, unless I'm attending important events.

The school had no regulations against changing one's appearance, so students were free to change the way they look as much as they pleased.

"Do you have a skill card that allows someone to change their appearance? Preferably something of the C grade?"

Just like attributes, skills had ranks. And just like a person's rank, they too could level up.

Meaning a person with a Fireball skill at rank D could turn from a small sphere to the size of a car when at A rank.

A C grade skill was the most I could afford. If it was any higher, then I'd probably go bankrupt.

Which was fine, because a C rank skill was enough for me to change my hair and some parts of my facial features.

"I've got just the thing. Here."

Bigsby tossed me a Skill Card, and I read through its description on my holographic screen.

|Identity Warp| | C- |

Allows the user to modify some parts of their physical appearance. When used, the changes will apply permanently, but can be removed whenever the user wishes too.

"Good enough. I'll take it."

***

Digni (Dignitas) told me to head back and watch the games, and to inform him when his turn was coming up next.

I took my seat beside Rokas, and continued watching the boring fight in the arena continue on.

It was a match between two magicians, and so I could guess just how the fight was going to go. Spell versus spell, the stronger one wins.

My style of fighting was more on the rowdy side. It was important to have fun while beating up your enemies.

"Where did Leader go, Wang Jin?" Rokas asked me.

"He told me he'd lay low for a bit. Don't worry, he'll come back when it's his turn."

"I see."

"Hmph. That idiot caused a ruckus." Alter chimed.

The situation from earlier thankfully didn't escalate any farther than it should have. Digni was able to strike away the arrows that Lorelai girl shot at him.

Though, I wonder what those two's relation to each other is. Digni told me it was that of an author and a character, but I don't know what that means.

What, was he a writer who wrote about Lorelai?

Nah…

I continued on watching the boring fight between the two magicians until Rokas' phone started buzzing.

It was his turn, and he was up against another tank, whose name was Modriot Prea.