The Academy’s Doomed Young Lord Dies Ten Thousand Times

Chapter 1 - Beyond Ten Thousand Deaths (1)

Gazes filled with contempt and ridicule poked at a boy's back. Along with the occasional sound of sneers.

“Pfft.”

There was no distinction of status in those condescending gazes. From the eldest son of the family, to the head butler, and even the mere servants and maids……. Although, in the case of the servants and maids, they didn't show it openly in front of the family members.

In the world of , this was the plight of an illegitimate son of a noble family—that is, a bastard. Within the family, he was tacitly treated as less than a servant, and he was in a position where he had to endure ridicule every moment he was part of the noble society.

With the logic that the sin of defiling noble blood was heavier than the sin of being born with lowly blood, they had lived persecuted throughout the long history of the empire.

The right of succession was, of course, something they could not even dream of. Unless, perhaps, every relative except for the illegitimate son died.

This rule naturally applied to the Duchy of Enlight, the bastion of aristocracy. And thanks to that, a ridiculous situation was unfolding where the servants, composed of lower nobles or commoners, were secretly mocking the young lord.

The boy was instinctively cowering. His gait, too, showed no sign of energy. The posture the boy had naturally learned seemed to show the days he had lived until now.

It was the day he was leaving home to enter the academy, but not a single person offered a word of encouragement. It was, in fact, only natural. If not for the Mandatory Child-rearing Law and the Compulsory Education Law enacted by the reigning Emperor Abellon, he would have been thrown out of the family long ago, let alone sent to the academy.

Clack, clack. The sound of shoes echoed in the mansion. It was the sound of the eldest son of the Enlight family, Kirios il Enlight, who had been watching from the second-floor stairs, walking down.

“Rain……. Enlight.”

Kirios muttered the cowering boy’s name under his breath. It was a single phrase that felt like it was boiling with sincere contempt from the bottom of his heart.

Instead of answering, the boy silently turned his head and looked at his face. The boy’s eyes, as he looked at him, were filled with deep fatigue and emptiness.

Yes. Rain Enlight. That was the boy's name. It was the name of one who, for being an illegitimate son, did not receive the middle name 'il' bestowed upon the family by the first emperor, and at the same time, the name of the unchosen one.

“To think a filthy mongrel like you would carry the prestige of Enlight on your back, you must be enjoying an undeserved luxury.”

“…….”

“Let me give you a piece of advice. Live like a dead mouse at the academy. It would be best not to even think about tarnishing the Enlight name.”

The boy did not answer. He was just looking at the ground in silence. With eyes that held a deep darkness.

“……How disgusting.”

As if he hadn't expected an answer in the first place, Kirios turned his back and disappeared into the mansion. And the moment Kirios turned his back, the boy also turned his back and walked out of the mansion.

“……Damn it.”

Only after leaving the main gate did the boy's blocked words finally break free. He was able to spit out the curse he had barely held back.

“Did I really enter the game……?”

***

A carriage was busily climbing the ridge of a mountain range. It was a simple carriage, without a single ducal crest engraved on it, to the point that one could not even imagine a young lord of the Enlight family would be riding inside.

I sat in the passenger compartment of that carriage, blankly staring at the face reflected in the window. Dull hair, a pale complexion, hollow eyes, dark circles. The original face was quite handsome, but it didn't mean much when its condition was like this.

This face was not truly mine. It belonged to a character in the game , ‘Rain Enlight’.

Rain Enlight was a character in …… or rather, a background character.

A background character who emphasized the viciousness of the ‘Duchy of Enlight’, which appeared as the game's main antagonistic force.

Of course, he didn't have any particularly large role. He was just the shut-in of the duchy heard about through rumors.

A shut-in who suddenly holed himself up in his house after attending the academy’s middle school. Just that. Was it said he was cooped up for about a year? Then he only attended up to the second year.

Rain is killed before the main story of the game begins. How does he die? It wasn't even described.

It was just mentioned in passing by the head of the family, who appears as a servant of the mastermind. Why would they allocate such screen time to an extra?

Because he died before the main story began, his screen time in the game converged to zero. Something like, ‘I heard the illegitimate son of the duchy died’? He did appear sporadically when talking about the past. Not that I needed to know in the first place.

Anyway……. Right, I am fated to die. Whether they planted a bomb in the carriage or sent an assassin, I would be dead soon.

“This is driving me crazy…….”

I covered my face with a complicated heart, though it felt new. How did it come to this? I even muttered to myself.

“Where is there anyone who has lived as honestly and diligently as I have…….”

Since Rain was dead around the time of the academy entrance ceremony in the game, I was going to die soon. But even after realizing I had become Rain Enlight, I couldn't feel a sense of reality. It was a form of escapism, wondering if it was just a bad dream.

Who could easily accept it as reality? The fact that they had entered a game world.

And, because of the screen floating in front of my eyes, my sense of reality had grown even more distant.

[ Episode 1. Beyond Death ]

Survive.

“What the hell is this nonsense…….”

I thought I should do something, but my body wouldn't move. What was I supposed to do?

Should I jump out of the carriage?

But that thought didn't last long. It was because the carriage had suddenly stopped.

Ah, no way.

“……Young Master, you’ll have to get off for a moment.”

The coachman’s voice came from outside the carriage. The bastard hadn't said a single word to me when I got on the carriage, but for him to suddenly use honorifics was more than a little strange.

I could also hear footsteps that were clearly not from just one or two people.

A cold sweat broke out. My hands trembled. With a pale complexion, I quickly scanned the inside of the carriage. Something to overcome this situation…….

There was nothing.

All I had was an ordinary sword, a bag, and an academy uniform. That was it.

“Damn it…….”

I grabbed the sword with trembling hands. Even holding it with both hands, I could feel its weight.

So a sword was heavier than it looked. A hollow laugh escaped me.

It still didn't feel real. But I had the thought that I had to do something. Yes, if I'm going to die, I should at least swing my sword once before I do.

After gripping the sword, I kicked the door open.

“Uwaaaaaaah!!”

And, just like that, I let out a yell and swung the sword-.

Stab-.

“……Huh?”

I vividly felt the sensation of a cold blade piercing my flesh. Then, as the assailant pulled out the sword he had stabbed me with, blood gushed out from the spot.

And, I screamed.

“Kgh…… Uwaaaaaaah!!!”

At that point, my escapism ended. And only then could I feel it.

I really was possessing a character in the game.

I really had become Rain Enlight.

“Realizing that now……. What’s the use…….”

Thud-.

My vision tilted, and my body fell to the side.

The world before my eyes grew dark.

I could at least tell that I had collapsed.

And, that I would soon die.

It was unfair.

What did I do wrong to deserve death?

So meaninglessly? Why?

In my vision that was gradually turning black, what came into view were the feet of nameless people.

It’s unfair. It’s unfair. It’s unfair.

I couldn't die like this.

Even if I had to die, dying like this was too unfair.

Feeling the sensation of blood flowing from my stomach, I crawled on the ground.

My body must have been a mess of mud and blood. As my body was dragged, dirt got into the wound, and it stung enough to kill me.

Excruciating pain assaulted me every time I crawled a distance of just a hand's span.

But, one span, one span.

In the end, I reached the feet of a nameless person. The reason? I didn't know. I was just resentful.

And-.

My mouth didn't even have the strength to move properly. But gathering that handful of strength……. I bit into the flesh of the ankle in front of me.

“Kgh, Aaaaaah!!”

Someone I bit let out a rather pained scream.

Ah, this is really the limit.

And the moment I had that thought-.

Crack.

A sword strike, which could have been retaliation for my actions or a kill confirmation, flew in.

At that moment when my consciousness was completely dragged into darkness.

[System : Blooming the skill, 『Overcoming Ten Thousand Deaths』.]

[System : You have overcome death.]

《 Skill List 》

『Overcoming Ten Thousand Deaths[Unique]』

: Upon death, you will return to the checkpoint. The number of uses is limited to 10,000.

: You have overcome death.

: Remaining uses :

: Upon regressing, all statuses will be carried over.

: Current Checkpoint : Episode 1

In my blackened vision, a familiar screen appeared. It was the notification window I had seen to the point of being sick of it while playing .

Along with that notification, I opened my eyes again. On the bed in his room, on the morning of the day I, Rain, had died.

“Heuh……. Ugh…… Aaaaaaah!!”

I broke out in a cold sweat and placed a hand on my stomach where I had been stabbed. It was perfectly fine, as if it had never been stabbed.

But the pain still seemed to linger in my stomach. I felt like I was going to be sick.

“……What the…….”

My favorite game of my short life, .

I had been possessed as a character in that game. But there was another problem.

I had become an extra who dies before the main story even begins, and that death was repeating.

***

In the first regression, I just ran away blindly. The result? I was tracked down and killed.

In the second regression, I begged Kirios, crying. The result? He said I was pathetic and separated my head from my torso on the spot.

The third, fourth, fifth, sixth……. There were a considerable number of escapes and failures.

The result? As you'd expect. I died every time.

I kept dying over and over again. In that process, it seemed as if the world wished for my death. Or perhaps it was telling me that I couldn't escape.

The sensation of being stabbed, which I had felt countless times, was so painful no matter how many times I experienced it that I didn't think I could ever get used to it.

[System : You have overcome deaths.]

By the time the number of deaths reached the 20s, I changed my mind.

I have to fight back.

I have to live.

It wasn't that I had never thought about giving up. I wasn't a superman or anything, after all.

However, I was simply afraid.

According to what was left in the status window, I had to face death 9,980 more times to truly die.

In other words, if I gave up on living, it was the same as being punished by repeating a day where death was scheduled 9,980 times.

To give up and die quietly for ten thousand times, meaning I'd be stabbed and cut ten thousand times……. I have to keep feeling that pain?

While repeating the half-day from the moment I woke up until I died?

While receiving the contempt of the servants and that damn Kirios il Enlight as a bonus?

If there was a hell, that would be it. Although, this situation alone was already like being in hell.

I was scared, and also resentful. That's why I asked myself.

Why did I fall into such a hell? Why must I repeat death while receiving these looks of contempt?

How can I escape this hell?

…….

Therefore, to find that answer, I decided to live.

After steeling my resolve, I thought calmly. If I ran away without any power, I would eventually be killed even if I received protection. Running away was the worst choice.

Then there was only one option left.

Overcome it with my own strength.

I had been playing like crazy since high school. If I used my knowledge of the game and its systems, it wouldn't be impossible to escape this death. Thus, I solidified my policy and thoughts.

On the 21st time, I analyzed myself.

[Rain Enlight]

Male, 17 years old

《 Stats 》

[ Strength : F ]

[ Agility : E- ]

[ Stamina : F- ]

[ Intellect : C ]

[ Mana : F+ ]

[ Dexterity : F ]

Skill Details>>

Proficiency Details>>

Trait Details>>

Aptitude Details>>

“This is bleak…….”

Considering that the average stat for an academy freshman was D, and the upper-middle ranks of the academy, the quasi-knight level, was C……. Other than Intellect, it was complete garbage.

Seeing as my intelligence was C even after taking two years off from school, it seemed my head was somewhat usable.

The skills were empty, and the proficiencies were pathetic. The only proficiency I had was Swordsmanship, which was F-rank. Isn't F a bit too harsh even if I was a shut-in for two years?

Come to think of it, when I was raising a mage character and accidentally learned Swordsmanship, it did come out as F. Damn it.

Anyway, it was clear that I couldn't overcome this situation with my basic abilities. In the end, the only thing left was to raise my stats by repeating the regressions.

“Even so…… I can’t just sit here and give up.”

I muttered such words to myself. Words spoken from the bed I always woke up in. The bed was so soft, and the sunlight was pleasantly warm.

But I couldn't stay buried in this bed forever. I couldn't die buried away like the ‘original’ Rain.

The places where I had been stabbed until now ached for no reason. At this rate, I would be stabbed ten thousand times. That was out of the question.

I turned my head to look at the clock. The wake-up time was exactly 6 AM. The carriage to the academy was around 4 PM.

I had about 10 hours of spare time.

I had to repeat these 10 hours countless times, and in that process, somehow become stronger.

And, I had to overcome this ordeal with the minimum number of deaths.

To survive.

To head towards tomorrow.

Somehow, I will survive.

Even if it means overcoming countless deaths.