Artens.
A month and a few days, that's how long I'd been out cold.
Wait.
Didn't that mean there were only about four months and a couple of weeks left until the entrance examination?
[...Yes. Why?]
Did the system not get it?
Actually, wait. Now that I thought about it, did the system even know the future?
[USER, I KNOW EVERYTHING THAT YOU KNOW, SO YES, I KNOW THE SO-CALLED FUTURE.]
I sighed.
If I was remembering correctly, a background arc happened around this time, a prelude to a future event that tied into the fifth act, which was the very arc where Amael met his end.
[You mean the Arten's Raid?]
"Yes, the Arten's Raid, that's it."
But wasn't this a little too convenient? I was literally in the right place at the right time. The first Arten's Raid happened a few months before the entrance examination, and it was during that arc that two major characters got their hands on incredibly powerful relics.
[Sigh. YOU DO KNOW HOW WEAK YOU CURRENTLY ARE, RIGHT?]
"...Yes."
[And you still plan to join the raid?]
"What's wrong with that?"
My chances of surviving in this world were already questionable, and the whole LP situation felt like a chain keeping me tied directly to the plot whether I liked it or not. What was wrong with trying to do something about it?
"I just plan to sneak into the raid, get to the dungeon, and find those two relics."
Oh.
I see.
[You're currently the weakest person that can exist in this world. You can't survive a minute in that dungeon, trust me.]
"...Sigh."
So what was I supposed to do, just accept my death?
Anyone who had awakened was on a completely different level, and it didn't matter if they were strong or weak by awakened standards, because they'd still crush me without breaking a sweat. That was just how this world worked.
"There has to be a way."
There had to be.
If the protagonist ended up following that dreaded route, I was finished, and sure, there were other relics meant for him that I could potentially go after later, but what if I didn't even get the chance? What if he killed me before I could do anything at all? This was my one real shot at getting something that could actually keep me alive, and if I missed it, that was it.
[You're not wrong. But trying to get it will only hasten your death.]
"SO WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO?!" I snapped, my frustration finally boiling over.
Maybe I shouldn't have escaped the mansion that day. At least then I wouldn't be stuck in this situation of being completely powerless, and even if I'd ended up corrupted beyond saving, at least I wouldn't die like an idiot in a forest with no one around to care.
"Can't you just unseal me now and take the cost from whatever LP I earn later?"
[No. That would violate my programming.]
Absolute bastard.
[Insulting me won't change anything.]
Fine. If I died, I died. I'd stick to my original plan.
[...Suit yourself.]
"You can at least tell me where Arten is, right?" I asked, already bracing myself.
[...I can, but—]
"Do it."
A translucent blue screen appeared in front of me with a detailed map on it, zoomed out far enough that I was just a small blinking dot somewhere in the middle.
Actually, that was pretty useful. Maybe this system wasn't completely useless after all.
[Ding.]
[-1 LP]
"Huh?"
No.
No way.
"YOU DIDN'T JUST DO THAT!"
[I never said it was free, though. (¬‿¬)]