"Haaaaaa..."
Dex walked through the corridor, each step feeling as if he had no energy left.
He just wanted to sleep and rest without any disturbances.
As he reached his dorm room door, Dex quickly grabbed the handle, but just before he could open it, a soft voice called out to him.
"Who are you? That's not your room."
The voice came from right beside his door.
— Haaaa, I just want to rest in peace.
Dex turned his face toward the voice. Rachel stood there with her arms crossed.
"What are you talking about? This is my room. If anything, I should be asking what you're doing here."
Dex was confused. From what he'd heard, Rachel was quite strong—she couldn't possibly be ranked low.
"Nonsense. I know who owns that room. Leave now, or I'll report you to the teachers."
Having regressed 1000 times, Rachel remembered every detail of this academy, including its people. Among all those memories, she had never seen or remembered the guy in front of her.
There was no way she'd forget—the owner of room 699 was a woman quite familiar to her.
"Haaa, say whatever you want. I'm tired."
Dex was too exhausted to argue and opened his door. But before he could step inside, Rachel grabbed his arm and tried to throw him. Dex quickly chanted a weight-increasing spell on himself, making it impossible for Rachel to lift him.
Startled, Rachel took a step back, wary of Dex.
"Who are you?"
Rachel looked confused. She had never encountered Dex during all her regressions.
"Me? I'm Dex. A handsome guy."
Dex replied mockingly and walked into his room, locking the door and setting up a barrier spell.
Leaving an irritated Rachel behind, Dex buried his face in the bed, not wanting to think about anything else.
After being dragged around all day by Van, Dex had completely run out of energy.
***
Rachel looked puzzled. Out of the 1000 repetitions she had experienced, there had never been a change like this.
"I even remember every student who failed the test, and I've never heard that name."
Dex—a name Rachel had never come across.
"Right, I can check his identity in the academy's database."
Rachel entered her room and headed to the computer on her desk.
When she entered Dex's name into the search, his general information appeared.
[ Name: Dex
Age: 18
Gender: Male
Rank: 699
Talent: (E)
Skills: –
Special Skills: – ]
"Strange, his ability information isn't listed. And he wasn't lying about the room being his."
To confirm her suspicion, Rachel searched for information about the girl who should have been in Dex's room.
[ Name: Enna
Age: 18
Gender: Female
Rank: Failed ]
"Has fate changed?"
Enna had failed the test. To Rachel, that was very odd. Even if fate had changed, Enna shouldn't have failed. At worst, she should have only dropped in rank.
Accepting this fact, Rachel walked to her bed and lay down.
"So what? Even if fate has changed, a small change like this won't affect anything, right?"
Even as she said this, a part of her hoped for a miracle.
Lying down, Rachel once again surrendered to fate.
***
＞ [ARENA HAS BEGUN]
＞ Larion vs Ethon
＞ Searching for the strongest in each world...]
The system message appeared in the sky—splitting the clouds, enveloping the skies of the entire world. Whether it was day or night, everyone stared at the screen with eyes wide in shock and primal fear.
＞ "What is that... the Arena!"
＞ "So suddenly..."
In city centers, in villages far from magic, and even among the highest nobles—all witnessed the message.
***
Among the crowd, Rachel gazed at the sky.
Her eyes slowly turned pitch black, like bottomless wells staring back at the sky. Her lips trembled, and a tear fell.
"So it's time, huh..."
***
Atop the crystal tower of the Academy, the Headmaster stood rigid.
Seeing the system message, the Headmaster began preparing herself, convinced she would be chosen.
"It seems I'll be selected... of course. As usual."
She steadied her breathing. The teachers stood behind her, offering prayers, words of courage, and hollow hopes hanging in the air.
The teachers who saw the message rushed straight to the Headmaster's office.
[REPRESENTATIVE HAS BEEN SELECTED]
Hearing the system message, the Headmaster closed her eyes, ready to be transported.
She opened her eyes. No teleportation. No transfer magic. Just... a large screen floating before her, displaying two figures.
"Eh...?" uttered the Headmaster and the teachers in confusion.
***
On one side of the Arena stood a man with giant wings—wings that seemed carved from arrogance itself, each feather gleaming gold. He was Ron, the Sky Sovereign of Ethon.
On the other side—stood a man with hair as white as snow. His eyes were ash-gray, and his face... remained hidden under a hooded robe. As if the world itself hadn't decided to give him an identity.
The Headmaster stared.
"...Who is he?"
"I've never seen him before."
Behind her, the teachers began exchanging glances—their farewell smiles now felt like a failed joke.
***
Meanwhile, in the academy cafeteria, Dex sat with Van. Above them, the Arena screen glowed brightly.
Dex continued chewing his bread as if nothing had happened.
Van, on the other hand, clutched his water glass with trembling hands. His face was pale.
"Dex... we're in danger. Our world is at stake! Don't you understand this?!"
"Hmmm, so this is the Arena."
"Stop being so indifferent! Our lives are on the line!"
Dex shrugged, glancing at the screen. His eyes narrowed as he observed the mysterious man.
"I don't know who he is... but his eyes... it's as if he never considered the possibility of losing."
***
"Welcome to the Arena match you've all been waiting for!"
A cheerful voice echoed from the center of the Arena. A small rabbit—standing on two legs, wearing a black suit and a top hat—appeared with a microphone in hand.
"On one side, the Sovereign of All Skies! Ron from Ethon!!"
Cheers echoed—whether from fake voices or unseen entities.
"And from Larion's side... the mysterious white-haired man known as the 9 Foundations, S#*#*n"
As the man's name was spoken, the rabbit's voice suddenly distorted. As if something... refused to let his name be uttered.
Dex watched intently.
For some reason, when the rabbit mentioned his name, the sound became unintelligible.
Van just swallowed hard.
"I hope we win..."
***
"Are you ready!?"
Ron flapped his wings, laughing loudly.
"Of course! I want to hear the sound of their bones cracking!"
Meanwhile, the man from Larion simply raised one hand and said softly.
"Yes."
"The match beginnnnnns—"
But before the sentence finished, the Larion man raised his right hand.
In front of Ron, a black dot appeared—the size of a corn kernel. Calm. Motionless.
But then...
Ron vanished—or more accurately, he was sucked in.
Nothing remained. No body, no sound. No trace of magic. Not even a drop of blood.
The black dot hovered for one second before... disappearing entirely. As if it had never existed.
The Arena fell silent.
The world fell silent.
After the silence, the only sound was the rabbit's now-stammering voice.
"O—okay... that was... surprising. With this, Larion... wins."
On the screen, the faces of Ethon's citizens were displayed—terrified, desperate, crying.
"Representative... please decide the fate of the world Ethon."
The man stared at the screen. His eyes were empty.
"Annihilate them."
"Choice locked."
Silver collars appeared around the necks of all Ethon's citizens.
"Would you like to carry it out yourself or leave it to the Arena?"
"I'll leave it to you."
He stepped into the portal that appeared without a sound. As his body touched the light—the broadcast cut off.
The third Arena match had ended.
Larion won decisively. Ethon... was extinct.
***
"Cruel."
The Headmaster and the teachers who witnessed it uttered in unison.
Yet they knew that all their power was no match for that man.
***
At the academy, Van paled with relief. The entire cafeteria erupted into cheers of joy.
Dex continued staring at the now-blank screen.
"That black dot... erased his existence."
Dex smiled faintly.
"I guess... we're playing on a much larger board than I thought."