The Mystic vanished suddenly, and the shadows around John began shifting back and forth. His eyes darted around, looking for something, anything out of the ordinary—a shadow that seemed out of place, the flickering of a light. It was near impossible, though. The candlelight was just too dim.

Suddenly, the hairs on his neck raised as he felt a tremendous amount of energy behind him. He wasted no time in pulling out two blades just in time to clash with Lupin's thin rapier, the steel of his weapons shattering once again under the professor's thin sword. The shards splintered all around John, but that didn't stop him from leaping away, pulling out another sword and a shield to defend himself from yet another attack.

He wasn't skilled. He wasn't a fighting genius in any way. He had no mastery of the sword, nor of any of the dozen other weapons he wielded, for that matter. For a [Character] in a [Story], he was, at best, slightly above average. He was obviously miles better at combat than any ordinary human, but relative to other [Protagonists], he was just… well, slightly above average. He would never know what it meant to be a master, what it would mean to stand at the top of your craft.

There would always be someone better than him.

But that didn't matter. Skill was not what interested him. That wasn't how he won his battles. He would never be at the peak, sure, but the enemy could only be a master of a few things at most. There would always be something John could do better. Something he could utilize to his advantage, and that wasn't even counting the ridiculous power known as [Deus Ex Machina].

John wasn't someone who usually tried his best, but losing was, quite literally, not an option for him. He was forced to try, not because he wanted to, but because he had to.

Lupin charged again, his rapier before him like a spear flying through the air. Sparks flew as John barely pivoted out of the way, metal clashing with metal as the weapon clashed against his shield. He tried to strike back, but it was like trying to catch a butterfly in your hands. The Mystic was just too fast.

"I should've known messing with a grandpa was a bad idea," John muttered as he dodged yet another attack.

Lupin suddenly stopped, twirling his sword in his hands. John waited anxiously, watching for the next move. His head slowly turned as the Mystic walked around in a wide circle, like a wolf hunting its prey. John was eyeing the glimmer of the light against steel, not the person wielding it. The man was too quick to do something like that.

"You're experienced," Lupin said in a low growl. "You've fought before."

"I'd be dead if I couldn't do that much," John shrugged, still tense. "Makes sense, no?"

"Hm… have I been taking it a little too easy on you? I thought I would've beat some of the insubordination out of you at this point."

"No," John said, violently shaking his head. "I think you've been taking it hard. Like, way too hard. Let's tone it down. Thoughts?"

Lupin ignored John, changing the topic. "What do you hope to achieve? Power? Wealth? Fame?"

"...huh?"

He was reluctant to lower his guard, but it didn't seem like the professor had any intention of pulling a sneak attack. He lowered his sword, relaxing just a little.

"You wish to enter Scholaris, do you not? For what purpose do you seek this goal? For what purpose do you enter these trials?"

"Ah. Good question."

This was an issue. John couldn't say, "I want to support my sister, who's also trying to get in." He also couldn't say he was here to bond with Destiny, someone who would help him defeat the Demon King. Regardless of the answer, he wasn't here to improve or anything. That wouldn't change.

But this was a test. A test of John's character, something he'd never particularly cared about. And so he needed to give an answer that would pass this test since his skills clearly wouldn't. But for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to lie, at least not entirely. The Mystic would probably see through it anyway. The best he could do was a half-truth.

"Mm… I'm just looking to try something new."

"Something new. Is that what you see this school as?"

"Is it not? Look at how talented everyone here is. Where else do you see such a group of people?"

"And you think yourself strong enough to stand alongside them. You wish to train with them, learn with them, purely for entertainment?"

"Sure, why not? Entertainment's all we've got in this world, right?"

Those words seemed familiar. He couldn't quite remember where he'd heard or said them, but it was something he truly believed. This world existed to entertain others. He had once been a part of those "others." So if he was going to be cursed to an existance puppeted by others, why not get as much out of it as he could? His life wouldn't be getting any better.

"What a materialistic mindset."

"Is there anything wrong with that?"

"...I will be continuing now."

Lupin pounced, his blade utterly different than how it'd been before. While he was like a bee before, stinging with occasional strikes, his slashes were more feral now, attacking with a ferocity John hadn't felt before. His shield shattered under the weight of a single punch, forcing him to defend without blocking. Sword after sword shattered under the weight of Lupin's onslaught, with John struggling to pull out weapon after weapon, all to survive just a second longer.

At some point, he messed up, withdrawing his weapon just a bit too late. Lupin's sword slashed at his chest, drawing a thick cut before slashing again. John managed to roll out of the way in time, leaping back as he caught his breath, pulling out another sword. After a moment's thought, he pulled out a piece of armour.

"Armour? Do you think something like that will protect you?"

"What, is it against the rules?" John frowned.

The Mystic nodded, curious to see what would happen next. "Very well. You are indeed free to do what you want."

Lupin dashed in again, but John was ready. Instead of putting the plate armour on, he threw it at his opponent, momentarily distracting him. Lupin simply cut through it as if it were made of butter, but it was enough to block his vision for a split second, enough for John to reposition and pull out another piece of armour.

"Enough games! Face me!" Lupin roared, his blade beginning to glow.

John looked back and nearly shit his pants. "Oh, shit, what the fuck?!"

Lupin hadn't even been using mana. All of this had been pure physical strength, and even then, he'd been holding back. John should've known better. These beings were regarded as gods for a reason. He'd been arrogant. Far too arrogant. Victories had been handed to him for far too long, and he'd gotten lax in his judgment of others.

"Hey, whoah, let's calm down! Are you trying to kill me?" John yelled.

"Fight! Do you plan on running with your tail tucked between your legs?"

"What? How the fuck am I supposed to fight that?"

"Do you plan on attacking?" Lupin said quietly, suddenly stopping his attack.

"...no?"

"Why not?"

"What kind dumbass-" John said, incredulous. "I'd lose! It's obvious! You'd just skewer me like a piece of meat, or slice through me like butter. Either way, I'm cooked! Done for! Like, chat, is this guy for real? What do you want me to do?"

A small, hidden smile appeared on the wolf's face.

"Do you think you can get into this school with a mindset like that?"

"Do you only take in suicidal students?" John countered. "What are you looking for? Me to land a single hit? If that's what you want, then just say that! I didn't get here by killing myself- scratch that. The point is, just tell me if you have a test in mind! Do you want me to just be an idiot?"

He glared at the Mystic, waiting for the next attack, but it never came. Lupin put his sword away, all the bloodlust and murderous intent gone, vanished as if it'd never been there. He leaned on his cane for support, once again appearing to be nothing more than a feeble old man.

Lupin nodded. "Good answer. You pass."

"Yeah, I- wait, I pass?" John said, surprised.

"Yes. You pass."

"I thought-"

"You are arrogant. You are brash. You fight like an amateur, and yet you fight like a man who has fought in many a war. You take fights you know you will win and avoid fights you will lose. How interesting."

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Really? You think I'm interesting?"

Lupin ignored John's question. "There are many who will surpass you. Quite easily, in fact. But still. Please do your best to succeed."

The room began to swim out of vision as the Mystic vanished.

~~~

John let out a huge sigh of relief as he sat up on the field, watching as the students around him began to leave. Destiny was still asleep, likely one of the last contestants of the exam. He'd make it easily. There was no way he wouldn't.

"Seriously… I shouldn't be the one that's taken out like that," John muttered, looking at his giant bag of weapons.

He wanted to throw them back into the pocket dimension, but something like that just wouldn't work. He'd have to carry the thing home before he could dispose of it. The fact that he'd dragged it here in the first place was a miracle.

Prota ran up to him, barrelling down the audience stairs before throwing herself off the edge, catching herself with a gust of wind before sprinting straight at John.

"What happened?" she said, ploughing into him.

"...ah."

In hindsight, it was suspicious that John had been pulled out of the exam at some random moment, not to be seen again, especially after having died only once. He could only assume that his special test with Lupin had not been broadcast.

"Come on, Prota. Let's go pick Destiny up. I'll explain later."

The hero was coming out of the exam, rubbing his head as he slowly sat up. He looked around before apparently spotting someone he recognized. John had no idea who the other person was, but they shook hands with wide smiles before going in their own directions.

"Who was that?"

"Whoah, where did you come from?" Destiny flinched, spinning around to face John.

"Came to pick you up. Who was that?"

"Ah, that was just the second-place examinee. He was pretty strong," Destiny admitted. "Wait, you weren't watching?"

"Watching what?" John frowned.

"Well, I assume you got eliminated quickly. You know, since I stopped hearing gunshots." Destiny's tone became judgmental in the last sentence.

John rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Ah. Hey, come on, it wasn't that bad, right?"

Destiny continued to glare. "Well, let's think about it. You sat on a mountain, and you took out a… what, anti-material rifle? Then you shot people, not even giving them a chance to retaliate."

"It worked."

"It wor- well, obviously!" Destiny exclaimed, poking John in the chest. "What is anyone supposed to do about your so-called strategy?"

"...magic?"

"You know what? I'm not even going to bother," Destiny sighed. "So what happened to you? Did you just get killed immediately or something?"

Prota looked up. She wanted to know the answer, too.

"Ah. Well, the teachers weren't exactly all that happy with what I was doing," John explained.

Destiny nodded with a satisfied "I told you so" look.

"So the old furry dude pulled me out, and we had a little fight."

"The old- Lupin? The Combat class head?

"Yeah. Him."

"And you passed?!" Destiny exclaimed.

"Why do you sound so surprised? Anyway, it was fine. I passed. Let's go."

John sighed, shaking his head. Just because the others were taking it seriously didn't mean he had to, right?

Still, something Lupin had said bothered him.

"Maybe she was right about you."

Who was the "she" in question? John couldn't think of anyone at the moment. The issue was that it was possibly someone he'd never met. Maybe it was someone vital that he wasn't aware of.

But why an interest in him? Was there anyone who even thought highly of him? Diaboli, maybe, but if Lupin were serving under her, he would've killed John on the spot, forcing him to [Reset]. Unless, for some reason, she hadn't informed her underlings of his ability to turn back time?

"Ah, it's probably nothing," John muttered as he made his way back to his room.

~~~

"So, what did you think of the contestants?"

Lupin and Leora were in the teacher's lounge, facing each other. A cup of tea sat untouched in front of the wolf Mystic while the other sipped casually, trying to judge her partner's state of mood.

"Well, you would know had you not gone and made a fuss over that one boy," Leora said. She put her cup down and leaned forward. "Lupin. That wasn't like you. Why go so far?"

"The boy is different, Leora. He is not strong. He is not talented."

"And yet you chose to admit him."

"...he is different."

No one else was in the room. The sun was setting, casting shadows in the unlit lounge, and the darkness over the professors' faces made their expressions unreadable.

"It is even possible he lacks mana. I do not know how that is possible, but he was weak. His skills were above average, but the mana used in that fight was minimal. I do not know if he was underestimating me or if he was simply that weak."

"But he defended."

"That is correct," Lupin nodded. "He pulled out weapon after weapon, sacrificing tool after tool in a struggle to stay alive. Sword after sword shattered, spear after spear thrown, of which none even came close to touching me. And yet he continued."

"A will to succeed?" Leora suggested.

Lupin shook his head. "I do not know what drove him. While his actions seemed desperate, his expression… did not. It seemed as if he cared not for victory. It was as if the fight was simply a chore to him. I do not know what to make of the boy."

There was a moment of silence, broken as Leora picked up a kettle and poured some hot water, a quiet trinkle ringing out as a steady stream of liquid slowly refilled the teapot. She waited for a moment, letting the flavour of the tea spread before pouring some more into her cup.

"Some of the contestants were quite impressive. Destiny Windwalker, for example. His skill with the sword was subpar, perhaps, but his mind and sense were beyond what I've seen. I suspect he hides something as well," Lupin sighed.

"But he hides a skill. A strength."

"Yes. This John boy hid no such thing. He hides… something else."

"Then, do you believe our colleague to be correct?"

Lupin stood up with a grunt, hobbling along with his cane. He put a wrinkled hand on the door, pausing before turning the handle.

"That remains to be seen, Leora. And that is why I let him into our academy. Nothing more, nothing less."

~~~

Despite the professor's words and the strange events that had happened to John, no further events of interest occurred. The portals were closed until all exams were over, so they decided to explore the school grounds.

The island was divided into multiple sections. There was an entire section dedicated to housing and another section dedicated to lecture halls. There were training grounds and equipment for students to use. A cafeteria sat nearby to feed the students. Apparently, there were farms and gardens, although those were somewhere more inaccessible.

Alchemists, blacksmiths, magic circle drawers and magical engineers had their own buildings, as they were known to cause incidents. There were also outdoor training grounds and practice dummies for anyone to use.

Moving further away, there was a little town center of sorts, with small shops, cafes and restaurants. This was confusing, since one wasn't supposed to bring money to this place, but there was likely a reason for it. Students were milling around, carrying various bags or treats. Prota eyed them enviously, but there was nothing anyone could do about it. After all, no one had any means to buy any of the food.

Further off was a forest, which was out of bounds for most people. The group saw a few people go in and out, but guards stood at the entrance, ensuring no one could get in without permission. Apparently, the place was filled with ingredients for potions, but also with beasts, both mana and regular. Thankfully, the place was fenced off with magic, ensuring nothing could get out or in without permission.

There was also a beach near the dock for the boats, where a few students were playing in the ocean or lying on the sand. A few boats were out in the water, with students practicing sailing or wind magic, as well as other forms of water magic.

"It's a nice place," Destiny observed as they headed back to their dorms. The tour of the place had taken nearly all day. "It's almost an entirely self-sustained ecosystem. Stores. Buildings. Recreation. You could live here for years, training yourself, and you'd have more than enough resources to do so."

"...years, yeah," John muttered, sipping on a bottle of water.

Prota was sitting on his shoulders, tired from walking around all day.

"I see why this place is so highly sought after," Destiny continued, ignoring John. "The applicants are all insanely talented, too."

"So, are you ready for your exam, Danjo?" Celeste said, interrupting the conversation.

"Wh- oh, ah, yes, y-your majesty-" Danjo stammered.

"I told you to stop calling me that!" Celeste pouted. "Just call me Celeste. Cel. Este. Got it?"

"Yes, your- Celeste."

"Good."

Destiny snorted in amusement. "You can't keep doing that, Cel. Come on, you've got to accept that you're still a princess."

"Well, I don't want to be one! It's so tiring. Your majesty this, your majesty that, make sure you're presentable, make sure you're proper, it's so stuffy! Just let me be for a bit, you know?"

Seagulls flew overhead, their shrieks ringing through the air as the group walked down the cobblestone paths. A vendor gave out free ice pops to examinees, and Prota tugged on John's hair as if trying to steer him like a horse.

"She's right, though," John said as Prota happily enjoyed her new treat. "You never answered the question. I'm pretty sure you'll get in, but are you ready?"

"I hope so," Danjo said nervously. "I've brought a bunch of stuff to help me practice, but I've never really trained in a school or anything. All I've ever worked with were scraps and things I could find. The ores you found for me were the best stuff I've ever worked with."

"Wh- you made all that with scraps?" Destiny said, shocked.

John, on the other hand, was unsurprised. It made sense. Danjo was supposed to be Destiny's companion. Of course he was a genius. It wouldn't make sense if he were anything less.

Danjo, on the other hand, didn't seem to think so.

"Do you really think I'll pass?"

He was really nervous. It made sense. This was an important exam. Everyone here really wanted to get in, and the competition was fierce. Prota herself had been nervous, although her expression made it hard to tell. Destiny, too, had the case of nerves, although his training helped to compensate for that.

In fact, the only oddball was John, who could not have cared less about getting in. Besides, it was he who knew they'd all get in, anyway. If they didn't get in, how could the [Story] progress?

"Don't worry about it, Danjo," John said, yawning. "Just do your best. That's all you can do, right?"

"Y-yeah, I guess… thanks, John."

"No problemo. Just go make something super cool."

Destiny stared at John as if he'd never seen the boy before.

"What? Did juice drip onto my head or something?" John frowned, reaching up.

"Where's John? What did you do with him?" Destiny insisted.

"What? What are you talking about?"

"You're not usually this nice. Is something going on?"

"No!" John looked around, trying to find an ally, but even Prota was shaking her head. "Seriously, does everyone think of me like that?"

There were no objections.

"Hey, look, I can be nice, alright? It's just, you know, kinda boring. Fooling around is way more fun, no?"

"Boring?" Prota said, looking down at her brother.

"They say kindness is free, but hating on others is just as equally cost-efficient, right?"

"...you're an asshole, you know that?" Destiny frowned.

"Yeah, that's the point."

John and Destiny continued to bicker, with Celeste occasionally interrupting, but something about the way John had said that made Prota pause.

"It's just a lot more fun."

The more she learned about John, the more she pitied him. After experiencing [Resets], going through his pain, and understanding what it meant to try and save everyone, she sort of understood the eternal dullness he had to experience. Unable to die. Unable to lose, in one way, but unable to win in another. Sometimes, the outcome you wanted wasn't possible in the first place.

On top of that, she understood the feeling of things becoming boring. She'd fought. She'd fought with her life on the line, and she'd lost it and gotten it back. After that, what was left? After a while, things just got dull. To risk one's life is the ultimate rush, and once that's gone, is there a thrill in anything else?

That in itself was awful, but then to be told that all of it was predetermined, all of it was controlled by someone else… didn't that take the point in life away? Not just the joy, but the pain, the suffering, the sadness. Ultimately, nothing mattered. That was the "truth" John had been told.

John was doing his best to stay sane. He was trying to keep up appearances, to stay as "normal" as possible. This was just him coping with life.

But as she watched him argue with Destiny, something seemed a little different about him. He seemed a bit more honest. A bit more expressive. The encouragement he'd given to Danjo was proof of it. He'd offered advice in the past, but it'd always felt sarcastic, fake, even if he really did mean it. But the words he'd just spoken seemed warm. Genuine. Even though he was still casual, still nonchalant, it didn't feel nearly as plastic.

"Hey, what're you- you're not that light, Prota," John groaned as she leaned on his head. "What are you doing?"

"Nn."

"That's- that's not an excuse. Hey, seriously, I can't see. Your hair is in the way. Prota. Prota?"

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