[Rin's POV]
When I opened my eyes, everything was white.
A strong, sterile scent filled my nose.
Sniff—Sniff—
The sharp smell of medicine.
Wait… medicine?
Why the hell would there be medicine in the afterlife?
Panic surged through me as I jolted upright. My breath hitched, my body tensed—only for a sharp pain to shoot through me, forcing me back down onto the bed.
I blinked, my vision adjusting. White walls. A clean, crisp sheet covering me. The steady beep of a monitoring device somewhere nearby.
I wasn't dead.
I was in the infirmary.
What the hell happened…?
And in the next moment, something unimaginable happened.
"Ahhh—shit…! This hurts like hell!"
Pain exploded through my body, raw and unforgiving.
It was unbearable. Every nerve in my body screamed, as if I had been thrown into a furnace and left to burn. My legs trembled, and I had no choice but to collapse onto the soft comfort of the bed beneath me.
I wanted to roll around, to find some way—any way—to lessen the agony, but I knew that would only make it worse. So, I clenched my teeth and endured.
Honestly, I thought depleting my Primal Qi would kill me.
After all, I knew that in the novel, Rin Evans' body was too weak to withstand the backlash of his talent. The moment he overused it, his body would shut down completely.
And yet…
I was still alive.
Somehow, this body managed to endure the penalty this time.
But I wasn't stupid. I knew for a fact that if I tried to use that talent again—
I wouldn't survive next time.
Not unless I found a way to fix this body first.
Still…
I didn't die. That was something, at least.
But this pain—this was something else entirely.
I could guarantee that even stubbing my pinky toe on a doorframe and then stepping on a Lego brick wouldn't hurt this much.
If it was just the pain, I might've been able to handle it.
But the dizziness, the nausea, the overwhelming exhaustion—those made it a hundred times worse.
I lay there for what felt like an eternity, body shaking, breath ragged. The pain eventually dulled to a more tolerable level, but just as I started to relax—
A voice echoed in my mind.
A voice I had heard before.
—The Creator is displeased with you.—
My eyes widened.
—You have twisted the fate of this world.—
My heart pounded.
—The Creator has acknowledged the changes you have made in this world.—
A cold sweat ran down my spine.
—You must lead the world to a more complete ending.—
…What?
What the hell did that mean?
So, the creator of this world—the author of this novel—my friend, of all people, wants me to lead this story.
But how exactly?
Seriously, this whole situation was turning into one big, convoluted mess.
Still, if I wanted to survive in this world, there was only one thing to do.
Get stronger.
That meant I needed a goal. Something clear, something concrete.
And what better goal than this?
"Hey… can I go back after seeing this through to the end?"
I spoke into the empty air, half-hoping for an answer. But, of course, nothing came back.
Figures.
That bastard wouldn't make things that easy.
Just as I was running out of things to think about, the door creaked open.
Someone stepped inside.
"Oh, you're awake?"
The voice was soft but carried a note of relief.
The face wasn't familiar—but it wasn't unfamiliar either.
She was definitely the girl who had been standing next to me in the auditorium before the attack.
She wore glasses, and her long, voluminous hair was tied neatly into two braids. Her quiet demeanor, paired with that studious appearance, gave off an air of someone who preferred to stay unnoticed.
An awkward silence filled the room.
I couldn't help but wonder—why exactly was she here?
To see me? That much was obvious.
But the real question was why?
I cleared my throat, deciding to break the silence first.
"Hey, you're that girl who was next to me in the auditorium earlier, right?"
The girl straightened slightly, as if she had been waiting for me to speak.
"Ah, yes. My name is Aria Collins. It's nice to meet you."
She gave a polite smile, introducing herself with the kind of grace you'd expect from a professional.
Oh man, if some otaku saw this, they'd probably make her their goddess on the spot.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Rin Evans."
Since she introduced herself, I didn't really have much choice but to do the same.
Aria nodded. "I see. Then pardon me for asking, Mr. Rin Evans, but… do you remember what happened? You suddenly collapsed, and Ryen brought you to the infirmary."
Ryen, huh?
As expected of the protagonist—always the good guy.
Bringing an unconscious person to the infirmary was the normal thing to do, sure, but it was still kind of amusing how textbook hero he was about it.
Then again, I didn't have any visible external injuries, and Velcrest Academy's infirmary was said to be better than most hospitals, so it was a reasonable call.
"He wanted to wait until you woke up," Aria continued, "but he was called for an interview with a broadcasting station."
A broadcasting station interview?
I guess that made sense.
It was a pretty cool scene.
I hadn't seen much of it since, well, I was unconscious. But even in those last moments, the sight of a golden flash cleaving through the black flames, spreading light in every direction…
Yeah. It must have looked damn heroic.
"Mr. Leo and Mr. Ryen—both of them earned incredibly high achievement points even before the academy started. I have to say, they really are the best of their generation."
"Yeah, that's true. They're both pretty amazing."
"And they're also—"
God, she talks too much.
I wasn't in the mood for this. I tried giving her half-hearted replies, hoping she'd take the hint and leave me alone. But no, she just kept going, like she wouldn't stop until she got whatever it was she wanted from me.
With a sigh, I finally turned to face her.
"Aria Collins, right?" I said, cutting her off. "Can you just tell me why you came to see me? Because, honestly, I'm not in the right mood for a chat."