“Do you know of the ‘Correction Phenomenon’?” I asked The One Above All. Since I’d interrupted the story at a crucial moment, he seemed dissatisfied with me. Looking like he wanted to hit me. It was hard to believe this great figure was this petty.

“Not really.” The man rolled his eyes.

Of course, he wouldn’t know of it.

We lived in a realm free from the restraint of physics and logic. Mana was common sense here. There was no way he’d know of a phenomenon that only occurs in physical worlds. Those that had to abide by rules written into the worlds they were born inhabiting.

“You might have been curious to why I said Mana wasn’t an omnipotent force.” After all, it was the exact opposite in this realm. If you had enough, it was easy to distort this world. Those with greater reserves could even directly ‘kill’ another idea.

‘The One Above All’ was one with Mana itself.

However, he didn’t care how others used it.

Even now, he didn’t seem to have much interest.

Even though he’d need to understand this influence.

“Let’s say that someone had their body stuck in a time stasis bubble for five years, then escaped it without harm. What do you think would happen to the person in question?” Since this was a difficult topic to explain, I decided to say a simple example.

“They’d be unaware of the changes around them?”

“That’d be true even if they were iced cryogenically for five years, then unfrozen. However, there would be a difference if ‘time’ itself was frozen.” I waved my finger while being full of myself. When I saw him frown again, it made me quickly cough awkwardly.

“Difference?” He didn’t seem to understand it at all.

“Those frozen by time are truly ‘frozen’. However, it is a problem. All human beings and existences in a world work by a connected timeframe. Freezing one person’s ‘time’ would affect the consistency of the timeline.” I spoke like a scholar of this sort of stuff.

Only someone who looked at humans would care.

“So if I’m understanding what you’re trying to say correctly, then this Correction Phenomenon would apply five years of aging to that person? All for the sake of keeping consistency?” I wasn’t sure if he used his omniscience or pure wit, but that didn’t matter.

“Exactly. This doesn’t extend only to time. If you conjure up a fireball, the world itself will try to correct the distorted reality… but whatever burned by that fireball will remain. It’s imperfect, but this is the reason why the worlds are split.” I made a smile.

“What does this have to do with your story?”

“It has to do with what happens next. The fight with the Ben Frasko and Vascovitch. You already know who the winner would be, right?” I had quite the embarrassed look because this was me trying to explain my apostle’s lunacy. Picking the wrong fight.

When their battle began, the difference was obvious.

Their ‘Strength’ in terms of ranking wasn’t much different, but Vascovitch wasn’t unevenly enhanced like Ben was. His speed and agility had reached the peak of humanity. Faster than the current record setter due to his already humongous frame’s benefit.

Long legs that could cover more distance in each step taken, and arms that made his reach twice of Ben’s own. This was the result of training that had been optimised for the Strength Ops. Eating steroids infused with Mana to increase their own limitations.

One punch was all it had taken.

BOOM!

Before he could react to what he was seeing, Ben felt a punch to his face that nearly caved it in. Vascovitch showed no mercy despite his current appearance. He didn’t hold back whatsoever. It was an attack that completely threw him off his feet and into a corner.

Landing onto the metal crates holding supplies.

He could no longer fight.

[You have been defeated.]

An expected message popped up.

Before their battle began, Ben was made aware of the difference between them via a message through on his ‘interface’. Time froze, and he was asked to make a choice before things got to this. Even before Vascovitch and him walked out of the tent earlier.

[You have encountered the MiniBoss: ‘Vascovitch’.]

[Encounter Menu:

—Fight

—Item

—Escape

—Special Action]

Before the fight even started, Ben was given the choice to escape or do literally ANYTHING else. He didn’t know what the other three options were like due to immediately clicking ‘Fight’. There was a reason he couldn’t back down in unfavourable odds.

“Why are you doing this?” Rina had confronted him.

“Because you won’t do anything. Don’t you know what happens when you use Mana to fight against Apparitions?” He glared at her. Thinking that she must have been acting meek, but was surprised when he saw that she was confused by his words.

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“Ben…” Her eyes saw his actions as immaturity.

It made him feel lost.

She must be too unaware of ‘that side of the world’ to know the consequences of this. There was a good reason why exorcists weren’t just commissioned. It was absolute law in the supernatural world to leave Apparitions for those of religious faith to handle.

The consequences of killing them with Mana…

He’d seen them himself.

But even if he wanted to explain himself, he’d just be leaving her unsatisfied in the end. Ben acted like the fool, but he wasn’t one. He was by no means the kind of tactless and witless child people saw him as. The secret to being a ‘likeable idiot’ was having a brain.

Quite ironic even for him.

“I’m doing this for you.” Ben tried to explain it.

“Don’t use me as an excuse like this. You’re getting annoyed by the commander’s attitude. I understand how you feel, but don’t let it cloud your mind. Just take a step back and be rational.” Rina tried to hold him back, but he couldn’t abide by her suggestion.

This wasn’t his pettiness.

He wouldn’t fight her commander for fun.

Rina in the past might have tried to understand him more, but the current her didn’t seem the same as she was in the past. She had so many complicated thoughts in her eyes. It was to the point he couldn’t understand what she was thinking sometimes.

One thing was clear.

She didn’t see him as an adult with maturity. She still saw him as the class clown from school. A fool that would always try to get attention. Someone who acted like a lunatic sometimes. Prancing his serious teachers and even openly calling the principal ‘Peep’.

He was suffering from his own actions.

Only those who were sensitive enough could tell that he actually never crossed the line in his antics. He never hurt anyone with his pranks, nor did he ever try to make anyone else into a joke. His brand of comedy came strictly from making fun of himself.

Always keeping a balance to get some attention.

Perhaps he was too much of an attention-seeker in the past, but this was the heart of his ‘lunacy’. There were many who had criticised his actions, but they’d eventually notice that there seemed to be a rationale behind his crazy actions. It could easily be found.

Take the ‘Silverware Incident’ as an example.

Despite it being stupid, he grabbed the silverware from his home kitchen to fight werewolves. It was a crazy act that seemed irrational at a glance, but the fact that ‘silver’ was effective against werewolves in any form could be considered rational thinking.

It was the difference in overall presentation.

The same could be said for right now.

Fighting the commander of the Strength Ops was foolish. It was an extreme decision, but what he’d get if he managed to win meant more to him than if he lost. The point was struggling. He’d fight tooth and nail for his beliefs. Even if no one understood them.

This was the result of his reckless choice.

“I should have prepared more.” Ben did not think that the difference between them would be so drastically different. His defence stat was at the level of a normal human, so getting directly struck had a great impact on him. Unable to continue the fight.

He had been bested.

The opponent simply outclassed him.

They were equal in terms of ‘Strength’, but every other aspect was in Vascovitch’s favour. He most definitely experienced the battlefield and devoured many specifically designed prescriptions. Having gone through a strict and rigorous training course.

On the other hand, Ben was mostly self-taught.

His martial arts taking some notes from someone that Samantha was close to, but was mostly aimed towards fighting Apparitions. He was not at all suited to hand-to-hand combat. His specialty in his past life was exorcism. Even if his skills were crude.

The world once again stopped. All frozen in place.

[Congratulations for battling your first MiniBoss.]

[You may use the privilege: ‘Infinite Restart’.]

He felt the pain all over his body was cleared away.

[For one time only, you can attempt the current MiniBoss without a cap for restarting. This privilege is given to balance the difficulty. Note that there will be no other event of this privilege reoccurring. You cannot transfer this privilege to a different battle.]

[Continue? Y/N]

It was the kind of option you’d see in a fighting game after losing a round. The only difference was that there was no counter. He was given room to breathe and time to think. In this frozen world, the only benefit he got was being able to try this battle again.

“Should I…?” Ben was tempted to simply give up.

This ‘route’ was already twisted from the beginning.

He’d originally intended to go through a series of loops within the hospital, but the change in the initial actions ended with him in prison. If he was allowed time and preparation, maybe he’d be able to beat Vascovitch later… but the current him couldn’t.

He felt the difference clearly in that one punch.

There was more to this than just a strength gap.

Ben had tried to counter the incoming punch or try to hurriedly defend against it, but Vascovitch simply reacted faster than him. Easily slipping through his defence with little effort. This wasn’t a simple speed difference. Their reflexes were also different.

It made his ‘Street Mixed Martial Arts (Expert)’ a useless skill. Without sufficient strength to back it up, all martial arts were useless. He simply hadn’t trained his body to the man’s level in five years. All his time was spent focusing on his Mana Sense.

[Characteristics:

—Positive Trait: Creative Applier

—Negative Trait: Scatterbrained Learner

—Learned Skills: Street Mixed Martial Arts (Expert), Material Crafting (Basic), Exorcism (Crude), Material Dismantling (Basic)

—Innate Skills: Mana Sense (Basic), Mana Control (Basic)

—Innate Gifts: None]

[Statistics:

—Strength Tier= D (Enhanced Human)

—Agility Tier= F (Human)

—Speed Tier= F (Human)

—Defence Tier= F (Human)

—Magic Tier= Rankless (Unawakened)]

Should he just try using ‘Random Box (Awakening)’ at this point? From what he saw, he could barely understand that everything about his opponent was a tier higher than him… but he’d have to give up on this run and go back to the ‘Main Menu’ to use it.

There was no method to use it in this current state.

Due to his lack of talent in general, he was only able to raise Material Handling to the Basic level and familiarise himself with his Mana Sense and Mana Control. There hasn’t been any actual progress of his skills beyond that. It made him lose his nerve a bit.

“Could I beat him?” Ben looked at his opponent.

A big guy who moved quickly, unlike his large size.

If he thought of this like reality and took the pain he felt into account, then he would probably choose to forgo this chance. Getting hit really hurt. No matter how brief it had felt, the feeling of his face and ribs caving in by two near-simultaneous punches hurt.

This was what he’d felt as a normal guy.

“I shouldn’t stay ‘normal’.” He told his conscience.

If there was any humanity in him, then he wouldn’t pass up a blatant opportunity to improve his skills with real-life experience. He wouldn’t pass up on the opportunity to make himself more capable. All in the hopes of one day doing what he’d set out to get done.

“A hero must be brave.” He thought about Rina.

Would she run away in a situation like this?

If he wanted to catch up to her, he needed to be endure. No matter how much it hurt physically. He must not give up. Didn’t he love playing games? If he could just see this as playing the same stage he’d lost in a video game, then maybe he’d keep some sanity.

“Who am I kidding?” That thought was brushed off.

No matter how game-like the mechanics were, this was his reality. If he was going to endure it, then he would do it gracefully and resolutely. He couldn’t prove his resolve with words alone. Now was the moment of truth for him. What would he choose?

Either be a cowardly hero waiting for salvation…

…or be the one strong enough to give it to others.

“Rina… and my past self… Are you still watching me?” Ben asked out loud. He could feel that the scarred man and woman were behind him. He’d been unable to face them all this time, but he was finally ready to at least show his back to them.

Proudly walking towards a future he’d carve out.

Those ghosts watched as he restarted the battle.

He lost nearly immediately again, but he struggled more fiercely. Trying his best to use his skills and keep up with his opponent’s reflexes. His stats did not improve… but continued this anyway. Even when he was struck down painfully each time.

“It hurts… It hurts…!” He writhed on the ground.

The more he was unwilling the lose, the longer time he’d spend with really painful injuries. Vascovitch did not calm down. Each iteration was him facing the man at full force. An untiring killing machine that would always strike him to give serious injuries.

The two ghosts could see that he already changed.

It was only Ben himself who doubted his sincerity.

From the very beginning, he never needed to fight for this city the way he did. Anyone who was a cynic could have used different means. They could’ve looped right away the moment things got even a bit difficult. Who would knowingly struggle like this?

Perhaps it was only Ben who would try to appease these shadows in his mind. People who had died.

A slave to his conscience and coward to nightmares.