The Protagonist Already Knows

Tears leaked down her face, wetting the floor below her.

"Ah..."

It was all my fault again.

As my finger brushed against the spine of that novel, the cloud around my past memories dispersed, every emotion and thought from those last few weeks rushing into my head.

It was...just an ordeal.

Just like last time, I instinctively understood what I had to do.

But...at the same time, another thought appeared in my head.

What if I didn’t do it?

Would I be able to live in this world, stay with my parents, and head to school as usual?

Even if only for a single day, shouldn’t I do it?

Stay in this world?

The repercussions of failing were minuscule, only taking me back to the bottom of F-, but, alternatively, the upside of being able to spend time with my parents again, see my friends, and enjoy a normal life again was so...dazzling.

Suddenly, a trembling and sorrowful voice broke me out of my thoughts.

"A-ace, h-honey, p-please. L-let’s just go."

A small smile, one that I had missed so much, appeared on her ashen face as she looked up at me, cupping her hands together tightly.

I remembered this exact face...it was the one my mom had looked at me with after I had been expelled for the first time from lower school.

"It’s going to be alright, honey. I’ll always be with you."

"..."

I paused for a moment, gazing at the figure staring at me, full of love and happiness.

Drenched in concern for their child.

Then, my eyes stinging, I placed my mark on the person standing in front of me.

I felt nothing...nothing but an overwhelming sense of malice and panic.

After all...this w-wasn’t my mom, just a figure conjured by the ordeal I was in.

How despicable.

They were pulling...from my own memory.

Taking a deep, shaky breath, I gripped the book and slowly opened it, to the dismay of the screaming figure beside me.

"ACE, PUT THAT DO-"

Before any more destruction to my mother’s image could be done, my vision suddenly went black.

And, in the next moment, when I opened my eyes, I was back in my dorm room, gazing at the ceiling, with my status menu still lying right above me.

===Status Menu===

[User: Ash Fell]

--> Rank: E-

--> Strength: F

--> Stamina: F

--> Intelligence: F

--> Speed: E-

--> Mana Pool: F-

--> Luck: G

[Gift: Death’s Ledger] / [Rank: EX] / [Element: Death]

--> [Your eyes may...]

---> [Souls Reaped: 1]

--> [Gifted Ability: Anubis’s Ferry]: [Turn Intangible for a short period of time.]

[Skills]

--> [N/A]

[Technique Manuals]

-> {S} [Dance of Ten Thousand Streams]

---> Rooted in ancient Taoist philosophy, this art transforms combat...

The morning sun shone above me, the clock reading [6:00 AM], as the sound of alarm clocks blaring from the rooms beside and above me rang out.

*Ring~ring*

*Ring~ring*

I could already tell...today was going to be a horrible day.

Sighing, I just closed my eyes and continued lying down for a while.

...

...

...

*Ring~ring*

Making it into class right as the bell rang, I wiped my eyes and slid behind Lily’s chair, taking a seat beside her per usual as Professor Sooyung entered the room.

"T-that’s him!"

"How has the school not done anything yet!?"

"Does the school not care!? I know over 15 people, at least, have reported him!"

Hushing all the whispers in the room, Sooyung entered with a large white scroll in her hands and plastered the paper on the chalkboard.

[Mana Theory Exam]

[1: Evangel]

[2: Lily]

[3: Ash]

[4: Haerin]

[19: Leon]

[27: Ren]

...

Since our mana theory exams were graded on a curve, every student in the classroom rapidly scanned the scroll for their name, as Professor Sooyung announced.

"Among all the first-years in the academy, the top 4 scorers were all in this advisory, so you four, please applaud yourselves."

Perhaps forgetting about their own rank, every student shifted their attention to the top of the scroll.

An eruption of complaints immediately sounded; students were not even trying to hide their voices with whispers anymore.

"Him!? Rank #3!?"

"He didn’t even take the exam on time; how the hell did he get 3rd!?"

"He has to have cheated!"

"We can’t even do anything...the academy didn’t even listen when we reported him last time!"

*CLAP*

Tuning all the voices out, as Professor Sooyung clapped her hands loud enough to silence the classroom in an instant, I closed my eyes.

"I thought you’d be first."

Ignoring the cold voice sounding from beside me, I rested my head on my palm and looked down.

Clicking her tongue, Lily blatantly turned her head to the left and glared at me, not even pretending to listen as Professor Sooyung spoke.

"Class is beginning."

Picking up a piece of chalk and drawing a human with two horns atop its head, Professor Sooyung continued.

"Today, we’ll be learning about the appearance of drins."

"Drins are humans who contract with Dreg Demons, giving up their access to the ocean-blue human mana we use and obtaining demonic mana."

"In this contract, drins become subject to the will of the Dreg Demon who created them."

"However, in exchange, drins receive a part of the power of the Dreg Demon controlling them, allowing usually low-rank heroes to immediately rise to a rank near that of the Dreg Demon."

"This also means when a drin is killed, the Dreg Demon controlling it is damaged as well."

Turning around to face us, she continued.

"Drins have recently popped up in the last century, so not much about them is known. However, The Grove has determined two things."

"There is no physical way to tell the difference between a human and a drin normally, as drins may hide their horns and disguise their mana."

"However, there is one thing they cannot hide."

After pausing for a moment, she suddenly added.

"Their desires."

Suddenly, snapping me out of my thoughts, a sudden whisper echoed from beside me, catching me off guard.

"Hey, are you a drin?"