"Besides, System... if you told me about a 'previous mistake', that means you've got information, right? Like... a file, a report, an old post-it?"
My brain goes into orbit at the speed of light.
If someone else was detected as 'strange' before me, then... surely it goes back to the time of the class.
But was it just one student? The whole room? A neighbouring class? The whole school?
No, that would be too broad and far too visible, because otherwise there would have been other signals, or at least other anomalies. The system would have fried them all a long time ago, wouldn't it?
...Unless I underestimate that damn omniscient thing.
"And... do you know when exactly this 'error' was spotted?"
[No data on this detail is available.]
Of course, it would be too simple otherwise.
So the most likely possibility is that we were all sent at the same time, but our locations and shapes varied according to a cosmic roll of the dice.
And then I ask the real question, you see, the one that makes me grit my teeth.
"Is it possible... that others have also reincarnated, but you haven't detected them? Like... if they got here before the System took over the whole planet?"
[Almost non-existent probability. The System has been around for thousands of years. The possibility of a being escaping its surveillance is extremely remote].
Thousands of years? Gosh, the System's pretty old, so I'm surprised it's everywhere...
[Besides, the likelihood of reincarnated entities being introduced before the expansion of the System is also negligible].
I frown.
"So you're saying that there are hardly any bugs in your matrix?"
[Affirmation: the System is designed to minimise irregularities. Exceptions... are rare. Very rare.]
I bite my lip. So they are rare. But since I'm living proof, it's not impossible.
As I lie there for a moment, staring at the glowing ceiling, trying to take in all the information from the System, an idea comes to me.
"System, now that you've become my Co-Mind skill, does that mean you can give me information you couldn't before?"
[Correct. The Co-Mind skill is normally a duplication of the person's mind, but in your case, the System had to replace it].
"So, System, if you have access to all the information in the world, can you tell me what's going on outside?"
[Temporal reliability not guaranteed. Analysis based on latest available transmissions].
"Spit it out. Actually, I want to know if it's shitty out there too."
[Partial summary: Several human kingdoms are in open conflict or advanced instability. A religious war has broken out in a region called Sariella].
"Sariella? Is that a country or an app name?"
[Population: now mostly human. Recent rise in fanaticism following unidentified incidents. Data incomplete].
"Become mostly human? Does that mean that, like, it used to be a mixed club?"
[The country had a significant proportion of half-humans. Many were eliminated during a purification campaign carried out to strengthen "divine unity"].
I freeze, even my thoughts freeze.
"Wait, you mean the System allowed ethnic cleansing to take place to see who survived better?"
[The System applies an evolutionary selection filter based on survival. This implies no direct interference].
"Oh yeah, so "natural selection", magical Hitler version. How charming."
I take a deep breath. Bloody hell, what a bad idea, I forgot the air in the Labyrinth is still shit.
"Okay, well... What about the other races? Is it just the humans that are causing trouble?"
[The demons are mobilising. Their territory has unified under a single entity].
"A single entity?
[Status: power equivalent to the former administrators.]
I swallow.
"Great... someone who thinks she's a demon goddess or something. Does she want to kill everyone too, or just dance in a volcano?"
No answer. It's still not reassuring.
[The elves, led by Potimas, are currently in a phase of military expansion].
"...Excuse me? The ELFES are at war?"
Like, first of all, what the fuck kind of name is that? And secondly, aren't the elves in the isekai like super kawaii and nice creatures?
[Potimas, clan leader and great elf scientist, has launched a series of armed campaigns to set up laboratories in various outer territories].
Strange... why does the System hold him in such high regard? It calls him "Great" itself. That either means he's extremely intelligent, or that the System thinks well of him. But it's still odd for something that killed its own masters...
"Wait, wait... but does that mean this guy has turned half the world into test tubes?"
[His stated aim: to turn the entire planet into an open-air experimental space].
I stand there speechless.
"Do you know if that was their plan before the System took over, or if they adapted to the change?"
[Incomplete and out-of-date data available.]
"So express summary: humans eat each other, demons have an overcheated boss, elves turn people into guinea pigs, and me banging giant raptors to survive."
I sigh.
"For fuck's sake... I'm not in an isekai. I'm in a nightmare update of Risk mixed with Resident Evil."
[Note: the data has been incomplete for a while. The real situation could be worse].
"Ah well, while we're at it! Might as well burn the world to a crisp now, eh?"
I want to get out of here. And I want to see this mess for myself.
It looks messy outside, but it's way too much fun. Surely the story will begin then.
But in the meantime, I'm still here. Not exhausted, and certainly not eaten yet. In fact... wait, it's better here than being lobotomised by a psychopathic elf scientist. Is that a victory? Maybe it is.
But I'm not an idiot. At least... I don't think so. Because if I go out like this, even a pigeon with a gun will beat the shit out of me.
"System, I'm not ready yet, but I want to be ready. So what do we do?"
[Proposal: accelerated survival training. Exploiting your current skills and targeted development of your combat power].
"Training? Like... You're gonna make me run around the Labyrinth screaming "faster, maggot!"?"
[Mental projected reality possible. Reflex adjustment, tactical simulations, partial movement management via [Co-Mind] skill].
"Oh fuck... I signed up for a tutorial, now I'm in a hardcore Dark Souls."
I'm not going to survive with a lousy flamer and a stolen axe.
"OK. Start training.
[Phase 1: Perfecting mana manipulation. Objective: fluidity, control, absorption under stress].
I close my eyes, and suddenly the world turns upside down. I end up waking up in... Wait, what the hell?
[Active mental simulation. You are currently in an isolated training interface].
I look around.
A white, vastly empty room. It looks infinitely boring to me. It looks like a cosmic IKEA waiting room, without the ugly furniture or the Swedish dumplings.
"Seriously? This is supposed to help me become a fighting goddess? I've seen more immersive YouTube tutorials."
And then - bam - everything changes.
The room warps, the walls melt, and suddenly I'm in...
"Wait a minute... This area... Isn't this where I fought the Baladorado?!"
I freeze as my heart lurches.
Oh fuck.
[Objective: feel, channel, stabilise. Mana is an extension of your being, not a tool].
"Are you serious? You're going to give me the HD trauma all over again?! And do I feel pain here or not?! VITAL question!"
And of course, because karma hates me, the Baladorado materialises in front of me.
Majestic, gigantic, and of course scary as hell.
I can feel my legs turning to jelly.
[Your skills won't evolve here, only mastery.]
"Great. So I've got no XP and no loot. All I get is fear and stress. Poor man's Dark Souls."
I rub my face, which probably doesn't even exist here.
"What about my body, eh? I'm not going to get eaten IRL while I'm doing spiritual yoga with a snake, am I?"
[The physical body is in temporary stasis. Automatic surveillance active. No predators in the immediate vicinity].
"Well... that's good, because if I get bitten during a tutorial, that would be a real shame."
I take a deep mental breath.
While the training mode kicks in.
"Let the fiesta begin.
The simulated Baladorado charged forward without missing a beat. Wait, is he faster than I remember? Damn!
But this time I won't be fooled.
His tail flies through the air, trying to pierce my right eye, and clearly he wants to throw me off balance from the start.
I dodge at the last moment using [Perception of danger], as if my legs had been replaced by optimised lines of code.
Its tail smashes into the spot where I was half a second earlier.
I counterattack directly. I grab my weapon - the one made from his bones - and stick it where he's just struck.
His skin rips open on impact and the Baladorado screams in pain. For God's sake, if I'd had a weapon like that in my real fight with him, I'd surely have beaten him?
Well... I don't think so. I've unlocked a lot of skills here. On the other hand, he's resisting. And worse still, he swings his raging tail, propelling me against the wall. I shatter violently, but after all I've been through? It's almost like a caress.
The mana pulses through my veins, and this time without a twitch. Bloody hell, at last.
A flame is born in my palm. It's bright, very concentrated. It's not a random flicker but a real spell.
Really? It's a good thing the System handles the calculations for me.
"Taste this, pustule bag!"
I swing the fireball straight at his eye. The impact dazzles him and makes him scream, but he's still standing.
I charge forward and try to use my axe to split the air.
I aim again at its tail, which is clearly the most dangerous part, and the metal scrapes the bone. Not enough to cut it, but enough to knock it off balance.
He turns his head. And then - surprise party - he spits out a spray of acid.
"Can he fucking do that?!"
I hold out my left arm, a desperate reflex, like an improvised shield. But I'm in pain.
The pain is like a living fire eating away at my flesh, but I resist. And it even makes me smile. A twisted but proud and determined grin.
"Is it just me, or am I finally being badass?"
I throw my axe in his direction, and it flies towards his head. Unfortunately, he dodges. But he's not the real threat.
In the rush, I concentrate a sphere of fire in my right hand and propel it, straight at the already slashed area of his tail.
Her flesh starts to burn and a foul smell fills the air. But the best part is the scream he lets out. It's a pleasure worthy of an orgasm.
"You can smell it, can't you? That's what you did to me, you bastard!"
Baladorado struggles, furious. Even with his burnt cock, he whips the air with a sick whistle.
And here I am, with one arm half-burnt, the other outstretched towards him, my mouth twisted into a smile that smells of the end.
"There's no doubt about it, we're fighting on equal terms!
He lunges at me, but I run as fast as I can, straight for the axe that's been thrown to the ground. It's clearly at the end of its life, but it doesn't matter.
Just as he's about to bite my head off, I swivel round, axe in hand, and point it straight at his neck.
A dull thump, a crack of bone, and the Baladorado collapses in a final spasm, a geyser of simulated magical blood spurting from his throat.
I fall to my knees, gasping for breath, my arms ablaze, my heart on the verge of implosion.
[Simulation over, training complete, consciousness restored].
I open my eyes again, and the clammy heat of the Labyrinth comes back to me like a slap in the face.
My body is intact. Certainly numb, drenched in sweat like a cursed jogger, but alive.
I sit up slowly, still groggy.
And then I see them in the distance.
Dozens of them... Wait, no... hundreds of mini-spiders.
I freeze. A shiver runs down my spine.
"...Wasn't this supposed to be a day of fucking rest?"