How much time had passed? By the time Fafnir, who already had little time left, had exhausted much of his lifespan…


    Atst, he found a way.


    A singr path created through countless miracles and coincidences. Now, all that remained was the existence of an heir to walk that path in his ce.


    Having gained certainty, Fafnir decided to make his final gamble.


    What was needed was a soul not bound by the fate of this world and the body of a special human.


    With his objective clearly defined, he immediately took action.


    First, he cultivated a part of his own body to create a chimera that was identical to a human.


    Although he experienced a few trial-and-error moments, for Fafnir, who had already created dragons, creating a human wasn’t particrly difficult.


    It was simply a matter of transforming it here and there to take human form, but since the base was still a dragon, it naturally possessed a high level of talent.


    The problem, however, was how to imbue that body with something special…


    Surprisingly, Fafnir chose to dissolve his own bodypletely and absorb it into the chimera, thus granting it something no one else had—a unique gift.


    That gift was the system.


    Of course, this was a n that presupposed Fafnir’s death, but with little time left anyway, he had no hesitation.


    After cing his body into a massive extraction device, Fafnir moved on to the next part of his n—tearing his own soul into multiple fragments.


    He forsook the heaven promised by the gods, the final journey of the soul that no one knows, and chose his own demise.


    Because of this, Fafnir was able to scatter his fragments across various worlds he had already marked.


    The problem was that, unlike the sessful body, this part had a much lower sess rate.


    Some of the soul fragments got lost and became eternal wanderers, others were devoured by monstrous creatures swimming in the gaps of space-time like the Evil Gods, and some arrived safely but were destroyed by the protectors of those worlds.


    Except for one.


    A world thatcked extraordinary powers, where even ominous monsters ignored it, and where the very existence of a guardian god or the gods’ reality was unclear.


    Only the fragment sent to Earth arrived safely.


    However, as just a small fragment of a soul, there wasn’t much it could do. At best, it could whisper fleeting inspirations into the minds of capable individuals.


    …And yet, that alone was enough to lead to the creation of a game called Hero and Academy.


    Countless people yed H&A, unknowingly learning about the future and the information of the Eurelia Continent.


    The soul fragment, having sessfully spread its knowledge, then moved on to its next task—finding a suitable candidate among the H&A yers to send to the Eurelia Continent.


    Years passed, and numerous hardcore yers came and went… until it finally stopped in front of one man.


    A man who was all too familiar. Of course, he was familiar because it was me, from my life on Earth.


    I still don’t know what the selection criteria were, but Fafnir’s soul fragment chose me as the suitable candidate.


    Just as it had whispered to the creators of H&A, it began whispering into my unconscious mind.


    That’s how, out of nowhere, I suddenly felt like ying as an archmage again, even though I had done it many times before, and created a new character… and from there, as you know, things progressed to the present.


    When I came to my senses, I was standing in Fafnir’sir.


    A ruinedir with no ovepping images of the past. Yet, for some reason, everything in my view was stained in shades of gray, as if time had stopped.


    I looked up at the only being that still had color.


    A massive dragon with ck scales like my hair, and violet pupils like my own eyes.


    Fafnir was looking down at me.


    [So you’ve finally arrived. My heir.]


    Most of Fafnir’s body had been processed and absorbed into mine, and his soul had been torn apart and scattered to other worlds.


    Then, the dragon speaking to me now…


    [You don’t seem to believe it. Even with that poor saintess by your side.]


    “ra? So… you’re saying you’re a remnant thought?”


    [That’s right. A single strand of regret intentionally left behind by Fafnir at the end. The fragmented trace of thest, Mad Dragon. That is who I am before you.]


    “Left intentionally? Why?”


    [You must have many questions. Since I dragged someone living peacefully into this mess, I figured I should at least take responsibility.]


    “…It’s not because you were afraid I might go off in a direction that messes with your n?”


    At that, Fafnir’s vicious face twisted even more menacingly.


    [I won’t deny that.]


    …Was that augh?


    To be honest, there had been many things that bothered me along the way.


    Why the lies I made up on the spot always fit perfectly, who sent me here, and what exactly H&A was.


    Sri had bestowed her blessing upon me, even possessed me directly for a confrontation, and recently even touched the boundary between my body and soul for healing.


    Yet, despite all that, she had never realized I wasn’t originally from this world or that I had transmigrated into a custom-made game character’s body.


    When I slyly asked about itter, she said I just had a somewhat unusual feeling.


    She may act yfully around me, flipping over and showing her belly like a kitten, but Sri is, without a doubt, a genuine goddess.


    So I assumed that some transcendent being had transmigrated me, one capable of deceiving even the Righteous Radiance.


    There were moments when it all felt like part of some grand arrangement or maniption.


    From my perspective, having witnessed Fafnir’s final moments, most of my questions were answered… Yet, there was still one thing I didn’t understand.


    “…Why was it me?”


    What was the criterion for being a suitable candidate? Why did it have to be me? Even now, I have no clue.


    There were people who had yed longer than I had, people who yed better than I did, and people who liked H&A more than I did.


    I may have been an experienced yer, but if you asked whether I knew and mastered everything in H&A… the answer would be no.


    So why was I chosen over others and brought to the Eurelia Continent?


    I had always been curious about that.


    […You’re not going to ask how to return?]


    “I think I have a rough idea.”


    There are two ways for a fish to escape a. One is to be small enough not to get caught in the first ce, and the other is to break through with sheer force.


    But the first option is virtually impossible. Even a crawling caterpir can’t wander into another world by ident.


    In other words, no matter how insignificant you are, you’re still big enough that you can’t just slip through the cracks of dimensions.


    If you try to forcibly pass through, an unexpected disaster, like the descent of an outer Evil God, could ur.


    The next option is to tear the apart… but even the Evil Gods couldn’t do that.


    No Evil God had invaded the Eurelia Continent until dimensional cracks appeared, and that wasn’t by coincidence.


    Unless I somehow be far stronger than an Evil God, brute force wouldn’t solve the problem.


    Even so, if I really wanted to return… there was a way.


    It’s the same as when I came here—detach my soul and send it back to Earth.


    But, just like with Fafnir’s soul fragments, it could get dangerous along the way, and even if my soul arrived safely, there’s no guarantee I’d be able to re-enter my original body. There’s no assurance I’d survive intact, either.


    Without the Evil Gods and cultists, this world is pretty livable, so there’s no need to take such a risk.


    More importantly, I’ve already made too many precious connections here. I don’t want to abandon everything and run away now.


    Fafnir nodded in response to my indifferent expression and answered my question.


    [It’s because you were the only one who yed normally.]


    “…What?”


    [Everyone else was using bugs, hacks, or mods.]


    To be honest, no matter how great a game is, people eventually get bored of it.


    At that point, they try to enjoy it in different ways, often resorting to elements that they wouldn’t normally touch.


    Like intentionally causing glitches to teleport across the map to break a speedrun record.


    Or manipting AI patterns to turn enemies into dumb punching bags.


    Or installing nude mods, because reasons.


    Since H&A wasn’t an onlinepetitive game but a single-yer experience, people enjoyed it in all sorts of ways.


    I could guarantee that there wasn’t a single yer who yed H&A for over a year without using bugs or mods at least once.


    Except for me.


    Not for any special reason. I just believed that ying normally was the most fun way to enjoy the game.


    Though I didn’t expect that would lead to me being transmigrated!


    “Really, not even one other person…?”


    [That’s correct, heir. Among those who yed for a certain amount of time, you were the only one who navigated the simtion without any tricks.]


    This is ridiculous….


    But at least I can understand why Fafnir set that criterion.


    He didn’t have a second chance, so he wanted to minimize as many variables as possible.


    If someone used hacks or bugs, their actual skill couldn’t be properly assessed.


    [I’m d I answered your question. Now, it’s time for the remnants of the past to disappear.]


    Fafnir’s enormous body began to dissolve into tiny particles, as if he couldn’t hold on any longer.


    I hurriedly called out to him.


    “W-Wait a second! Why are you telling me the truth behind everything? Even if you didn’t, I would’ve fought to survive anyway!”


    Fafnir, who had quietly closed his eyes, reopened them and stared at me with those violet pupils.


    Then, he curled his lips into an irritating smirk.


    [Because that’s how youplete the final piece.]


    With those words, Fafnir fully dissolved into light and vanished.


    For a brief moment, I watched as the scattered light dispersed in all directions. But then, for some reason, the particles that were supposed to disappear suddenly swirled together and rushed toward me.


    “What the…?”


    It didn’t hurt. It didn’t feel harmful, either.


    If anything, it was simr to the feeling I got when absorbing mana from the transfer gate.


    A strange sense of nostalgia… like I had returned home.


    After fully absorbing Fafnir’sst remnants into my body…


    The color returned to the gray-tinted world, and time began to flow again.


    Right before the ovepping image of the past appeared, the notification sound finally rang out, revealing its message.


    <em>Ding!</em>


    [Trait Acquired: Return to Origin (S)!]


    It was Fafnir’s final arrangement.