Only I Know That This World Will Eventually Perish

Status and Return from Hell.

“Chief Nanase, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be leaving first! “

　Shouting, Akira ran away and left the office.

　As soon as he left the building, Akira thought of an unpopular place and quickly turned his feet toward it.

“Haa, haa, haa………… I think I’ll be fine here.”

　It was a small park near the company. During the day, the place was crowded with salarymen eating during their lunch break and with parents and children, but at this time of the day, when the last train was about to leave, the place was as empty as it could get.

　With the slides and swings standing still like ghosts under the streetlights, Akira headed for a bench set up in the park and sat down with a thud.

“Seems like, at some point, the screen disappeared.”

　Akira blurted out about the screen, which had disappeared as soon as he started running.

　Then, he thought about calling the screen up again.

(Uhmm, I’m sure at that time…… It suddenly appeared out of the blue, right?　All I thought was there should be some status.)

　At the moment Akira thought of this, that status screen appeared in front of his eyes again, with a light sound.

　――――――――――――――――――

　Ichijou　Akira　25 years old　Male　Lv1  (1)

　Stamina: 3

　Strength: 3

　Endurance: 7

　Speed: 2

　Luck: 2

　Points: 0

　――――――――――――――――――

　Unique Skills:

　・Return from Hell

　――――――――――――――――――

(…………I see. Is it reacting to the word status?)

　Almost as if it were a game itself.

　With these thoughts in mind, Akira looked at the screen carefully once again.

(So, these are my current status, huh? Stamina, Strength, Endurance, Speed ……those make sense, but what is Luck?　Does it simply makes get luckier?)

　In a game, this would be an element that would affect things like criticality rates, but if one were to think about what criticality rates were in this reality, nothing would immediately come to mind.

(……No way, it can’t be something that solely increases my normal fortune.)

　Thinking this, Akira couldn’t help but let out an exasperated laugh at the thought.

(In any case…… Huh……?　I’m pretty sure that the +5 to Endurance was due to …… that, you know, trophy thing――――that’s right, isn’t it?)

　As soon as he woke up, he saw the words “Bronze Trophy”.

　he didn’t know what it meant at the time, but apparently, the Endurance value was increased due to that trophy acquisition.

“The fact that there’s a level means it’s going to go up eventually, right?　Don’t tell me, if I defeat that minotaur, it will go up?　………… haha, that’s just not possible.”

　Muttering, Akira smiled bleakly and miserably.

　This was understandable because he had faced it once ―― or rather, twice.

　That monster was not an opponent that he could defeat even if he pushed himself to the limit.

　There was an obvious difference in levels.

　A certain death awaited the person who met it, the so-called “losing event” in a game.

(The only other thing I would be curious about would be …… points, huh? What’s that?　I guess if there are levels, then that’s what you get when you level up.)

　Currently, Akira’s level was 1. There was a mysterious parenthesis after it, but the contents of that parenthesis were also 1, so there could be no doubt about it.

“And then there’s this skill that I’ve had since the beginning.”

　Saying this, Akira looked at the spot. Unique Skill, Return from Hell. Hell―― well, considering it was written as the land of the dead, did this mean coming back from the other world?

　If taken as it stood, this skill seemed to be involved in the reason why he had returned to the past in this manner despite having died twice before.

(……Why is this happening to me?)

　Akira pondered the cause of this.

　He was unaware of the screen that emerged when he was killed by the Minotaur and appeared at the time of his death. Furthermore, this screen was not visible to anyone other than Akira. There was nothing Akira could do now to find out the cause.

“Haaー……”

　Akira exhaled a deep sigh at the unsolved question. Then, as if to change the mood, he turned to the screen and began to speak.

“In any case, is there any way I can see the effect of the skill?’ “

　Akira then stretched out his hand to the words ” Return from Hell” written on the screen as if testing them out. Then the screen instantly transitioned and switched.

　――――――――――――――――――

　Return from Hell

　・Passive Skill

　・When the skill holder dies, the skill is triggered and the skill holder returns to a specific point in the past with all causality laws distorted.

　――――――――――――――――――

(Return, huh?)

　Return――In other words, going back to where one came from.

　That particular point described in this skill might be the place where he was approached by Nao Nanase at the company.

　With that in mind, Akira turned his attention once again to the skill description.

“And what, then, is a distorted state of the laws of causality? “

　Akira muttered as he tilted his head.

　However, no matter how much he touched the screen, no further explanation appeared. He tried it several times, but the result was still the same. Akira then let out a sigh at this and took his gaze away from the skill description.

(To turn this screen off……Oh, so you can just wave your hand and it will go away?)

　Akira moved his hand as if to brush the screen away, and the screen that had appeared before his eyes quickly disappeared.

　He then called up the status screen again and stared at the screen, thinking.

　No doubt he got caught up in something, but he didn’t know what to do from now on.

　If this were a game, there would be some kind of guideline or goal, but as it stood now, Akira’s goal was simply “not to die”.

(I guess to do that, I’d have to raise my level, which is shown on this status screen……)

　Muttering in his mind, Akira let out a loud sigh.

“Could it be? Maybe that thing……That minotaur thing…………”

　If this were a game, that fiend would definitely be a monster, and defeating it would gain experience and raise your level.

　However――――

“Do I just keep on trying to beat that “losing event” in order to raise my level?　That’s just shitty game design.”

　Muttering, Akira laughed brokenly.

　There was no way you could do such a thing, no matter how strong your mind was.

　That pain, that suffering, that fear, repeated over and over again just to raise a level that may or may not come someday.

　It was too crazy of an idea. It was the equivalent of a suicidal act with no end in sight.

　Akira exhaled a sigh and dismissed the thought.

(Then what am I supposed to do?…………)

　While understanding that this screen was similar to a game, this did not change this current situation.

　Akira let out a loud sigh, furrowed his brow, and held his head in his hands.

　Then an idea suddenly crossed his mind.

(Wait. If encountering that minotaur is going to kill me, why don’t I just not run into him in the first place?)

　As far as what he experienced twice, that monster was encountered on his way home from work. Given that the location of the encounter was the same, it seemed safe to assume that the monster was bound at that particular place.

(Maybe, that way I can survive this…………)

　Akira’s mouth broke into a smile at the hope that presented itself.

　And with a little more breathing room in his mind, a thought came to Akira’s mind.

(――Or rather, if dying will take me back to that particular moment in time, then…… Now, if I see the winning numbers of the lotto and then go back from the dead and buy the lotto ticket once again, Aren’t I……sure to win a lot of money!?)

　Instantly, Akira’s face lit up with a smile, as if a flower had bloomed.

　The amount of money won in a lotto could exceed 100 million, depending on the time. If he had that, he could quit that black company that didn’t pay an extra penny no matter how much overtime he worked, and he could even become a millionaire by using it as a source of income to increase his capital by doing FX or stocks.

“For real…… For real!!　No way, no way!!　T-Thats right. The lotto, I need to see the numbers for the lotto!! “

　In a panic, Akira pulled out his phone.

　Then, when he opened the lottery site, he stopped that movement with a snap.

(The winners will be announced tomorrow?)

　The numbers now available for review there were last week’s winning numbers.

　If he could go back further in time than when he was working all that overtime, he could just memorize these numbers. But all those two times he died and returned to the past, it was that moment just a few minutes ago when he was working overtime.

　As long as he didn’t know if he could go back to the past before that moment, he should first consider that it was impossible to go back to the past before that moment.

“……Or I could wait until tomorrow.”

　Akira then closed the site with a sigh.

　He then looked at the time displayed on the home screen and gasped.

(Oh, crap!!　The last train!!)

　He was so distracted by the mystery of the pale blue screen that he forgot about the time.

　He rushed to get up, but it was already after the closest last train had already departed. It would take 30 minutes to get from this place to his home by train. It was too far to walk home, and a cab would be an unnecessary expense.

(…………It can’t be helped. Should I go back to the office?)

　As a corporate slave working for a black company, staying overnight at the office was an everyday occurrence.

　With no more resistance, Akira naturally took that option, and with a sigh, he made his way to the office.