"Besides, System... if you told me about a 'previous mistake', that means you've got information, right? Like... a file, a report, an old post-it?"
My brain goes into orbit at the speed of light.
If someone else was detected as 'strange' before me, then... surely it goes back to the time of the class.
But was it just one student? The whole room? A neighbouring class? The whole school?
No. Too wide. Too visible.
Otherwise there would have been other signals. Other anomalies. The system would've fried them all a long time ago, wouldn't it?
Unless I'm underestimating the bloody omniscient thing.
"And... do you know when exactly this 'error' was spotted?"
[No data on this detail is available.]
It has to be.
Too simple otherwise.
So, two possibilities:
1. They were reincarnated before me, which would explain why I arrived in a body that was already "old".
2. We were all sent at the same time, but our locations and forms varied according to a cosmic throw of the dice.
And now I ask the real question. The one that makes me grit my teeth.
"Is it possible... that others have also reincarnated, but that you haven't detected them? Like... if they got here before the System took over the whole planet?"
[ Almost non-existent probability. The System has been in this world since it was created. The possibility of a being escaping its surveillance is extremely low. ]
[Moreover, the probability that reincarnated entities were introduced before the expansion of the System is also negligible. ]
I frown.
"So you're saying that there are virtually no bugs in your matrix?
[Affirmation: the System is designed to minimise irregularities. Exceptions... are rare. Very rare. ]
I bite my lip.
Rare.
But not impossible.
And I'm living proof of that.
As I lay there for a moment, staring at the glowing ceiling, trying to take in all the information from the system, an idea comes to me
"Now that you've become my Co-Mind skill, does that mean you can give me information you couldn't before?
[ Right the Co-Mind skill is normally a duplication of the person's mind but in your case the system must have replaced it ]
"Ducoup System if you have access to all the information in the world can you tell me what's going on outside?"
[ Temporal reliability not guaranteed. Analysis based on latest available transmissions.
available. ]
"Spit it out. I want to know if it's shitty out there too."
[Partial summary: Several human kingdoms are in open conflict or advanced instability. A religious war has broken out in a region called Sariella.]
"Sariella? Is that a country or an app name?"
[Population: now mostly human. Recent rise in fanaticism following unidentified incidents. Data incomplete].
"Become mostly human? Does that mean that, like, it used to be a mixed club?"
[The country had a significant proportion of half-humans. Many were eliminated during a purification campaign carried out to strengthen "divine unity"].
I freeze. Even my thoughts freeze.
"Wait, you mean the System allowed ethnic cleansing to take place to see who survived better?"
[The System applies an evolutionary selection filter based on survival. This implies no direct interference].
"Oh yeah, so "natural selection", magic Hitler version. Lovely."
I take a deep breath. Bad idea. The air in the labyrinth is still crap.
"Ok... What about the other races? Is it just the humans that are causing trouble?"
[The demons are mobilising. Their territory has unified under a single entity].
"A single entity?
[Status: power equivalent to the former administrators.]
I swallow.
"Great. A demon goddess or something. Does she want to kill everyone too, or just dance in a volcano?"
No answer.
Always reassuring.
[The elves, led by Potimas, are currently in a phase of military expansion].
"...Excuse me? The ELFES are at war?"
What kind of name is that? And then the elves in the Isekai aren't like super kawaii and nice creatures?
[Potimas, chief scientist of the elves, has launched a series of armed campaigns to establish laboratories in various foreign territories].
"Wait, wait. You mean this guy has turned half the world into test tubes?"
[His stated aim: to turn the entire planet into an open-air experimental space.]
I stand there in awe.
"Do you know if that's what they thought before the system took over, or have they adapted to the change?
[ Incomplete and out-of-date data ]
"So, to sum up: humans eat each other, demons have an overworked boss, elves turn people into guinea pigs, and I hump giant raptors to survive.
I sigh.
"For fuck's sake... I'm not in an isekai. I'm in a nightmare update of Risk mixed with Resident Evil."
[Note: The data has been incomplete for a while. The real situation could be worse].
"Ah well, while we're at it! Might as well burn the world right now, eh?"
I want to get out of here. I want to see this mess for myself.
I'm still here, not exhausted. Not eaten. Not lobotomised by a psychopathic elf scientist. A victory? Maybe it is.
But I'm not stupid. If I go out like this, even an armed pigeon will beat the shit out of me.
"System. I'm not ready. I want to be ready. What do we do?"
[Proposal: accelerated survival training. Harnessing your current skills and targeted development of your combat power. ]
"Training? Like... You're going to make me run around the maze screaming "faster maggot!"?"
[ Mental projected reality possible. Reflex adjustment, tactical simulations, partial movement management via [Co-Mind] skill. ]
"Oh fuck... I signed up for a tutorial, now I'm in a hardcore Dark Souls."
I'm not going to survive with a lousy fuse and a stolen axe.
"OK. Start training.
[Phase 1: Perfecting mana manipulation. Objective: fluidity. Control. Absorption under stress. ]
I close my eyes.
And the world turns upside down.
And suddenly I wake up in... Wait, what the hell?
[ Active mental simulation. You are currently in an isolated training interface. ]
I look around.
White. Empty. Infinitely boring. It's like a cosmic IKEA waiting room, without the ugly furniture or the Swedish dumplings.
"Seriously? This is supposed to help me become a fighting goddess? I've seen more immersive YouTube tutorials."
And then - bam - everything changes.
The room warps, the walls melt, and suddenly I'm in...
"Wait a minute... This area... Isn't this where I fought the Baladorado?!"
I freeze. My heart lurches.
Oh fuck.
[Objective: feel, channel, stabilise. Mana is an extension of your being. Not a tool. ]
"Are you serious? You're going to give me the HD version of the trauma again?! And do I feel pain here or not?! VITAL question!"
And of course, because karma hates me, the Baladorado materialises in front of me.
Majestic. Gigantic. Scary as hell.
I can feel my legs turning to jelly.
[Your skills won't evolve here, only mastery.]
"Great. No XP. No loot. Just fear and stress. Poor man's Dark Souls."
I rub my face, which probably doesn't even exist here.
"What about my body, eh? I'm not going to get eaten IRL while I'm doing spiritual yoga with a snake, am I?"
[The physical body is in temporary stasis. Automatic surveillance active. No predators in immediate vicinity. ]
"Well, that's good. If I get bitten during a tutorial, it'd be a real shame."
I take a deep mental breath.
Training mode activated.
"Let the fiesta begin.
The simulated Baladorado charged forward without missing a beat.
Faster than I remember. Bloody hell.
But this time I won't be fooled.
His tail flies through the air, trying to pierce my right eye - clearly, he wants to throw me off balance from the start.
I dodge at the last moment with [Perception of danger], as if my legs had been replaced by optimised lines of code.
Its tail smashes into the spot where I was half a second earlier.
I counterattack directly. I grab my weapon - the one made from his bones - and stick it where he's just struck.
His skin tears under the impact and the Baladorado screams in pain. But he resists. Worse, he swings his raging tail, propelling me with it.
I smash into the wall. Hard. But after all I've been through? It's almost like a caress.
The mana pulses through my veins. Without twisting. At last.
A flame is born in my palm. Lively. Concentrated. Not a random flame. A real spell.
Is it? Good thing the System handles the calculations for me.
"Taste this, pustule bag!"
I swing the fireball straight at his eye.
The impact dazzles him, makes him scream, but he's still standing.
I charge forward.
My axe splits the air.
I aim for his tail again. Clearly the most dangerous part. The metal scrapes the bone. Not enough to cut it, but enough to knock it off balance.
He turns his head. And then - surprise party - he spits out a spray of acid.
"Can he fucking do that?!"
I hold out my left arm, a desperate reflex, like an improvised shield. And I'm in pain.
The pain is like a living fire eating away at my flesh. But I resist.
I even smile.
A twisted grin. Proud. Determined.
"Is it just me, or am I finally badass?"
I throw my axe in his direction. It flies towards his head - which he dodges. But she's not the real threat.
In the rush, I concentrate a sphere of fire in my right hand.
And I propel it, straight at the already slashed area of his tail.
The flesh burns. The smell is foul.
The scream? Even better.
"You can smell it, can't you? That's what you did to me, you bastard!"
The Baladorado struggles, furious. His burnt tail whips through the air with a sick whistle.
And here I am.
One arm half-burnt, the other outstretched towards him, mouth twisted into a smile that smells of the end.
"There's no doubt about it, we're fighting on equal terms!
He runs towards me.
I'm running too. Straight for the axe, thrown to the ground. Clearly at the end of its life, but it doesn't matter.
Just as he's about to bite my head off, I swivel round, axe in hand, and point it straight at his neck.
A dull thump. A crack of bone.
The Baladorado collapses in a final spasm, a geyser of simulated magical blood spurting from his throat.
I fall to my knees, panting, my arms on fire, my heart on the verge of implosion.
[Simulation over. Training completed. Return to real consciousness. ]
I open my eyes again.
The clammy heat of the labyrinth comes back to me like a slap.
My body is intact. Numb. Sweat-soaked like a cursed jogger, but alive.
I sit up slowly, still groggy.
And then I see them in the distance
Dozens of them. No... hundreds.
Mini-spiders.
I freeze. A shiver runs down my spine.
"...Wasn't this supposed to be a day of fucking rest?"