"What are all these?"
Kanzaki Rei turned to Ansu and asked.
"Heh… they're nothing more than… regrets left behind by history."
"The occurrence of these events caused catastrophic disasters—disasters that stripped entire portions away from this world."
"If the Arrian Cathedral Incident could have been reversed…"
"…then most of the current class advancements wouldn't require secret scrolls."
"And if the Emperor had never fallen into slumber, the Nests wouldn't be running rampant across this world like they are now."
"As for the Great Migration… that was a nest uprising that could never have been stopped."
"That single migration caused one-fifth of the territory that once belonged to intelligent life to fall into the hands of monsters—including an entire continent, along with vast stretches of ocean."
Kanzaki Rei paused at Ansu's explanation.
"One-fifth of the world?"
"…You're including the ocean, right?"
If the ocean was counted as well, then that figure might actually make sense.
"The ocean?"
"Heh. The ocean was never the domain of intelligent life to begin with."
Kanzaki Rei frowned. "What about the merfolk?"
"The merfolk? What's the difference between them and monsters? They've long since learned to coexist with monsters beneath the sea."
Again—something he had never heard before.
But he had never heard of any continent or ocean region being completely overrun by monsters either.
"It's normal that you don't know these things," Ansu continued. "The Great Migration happened long before your current calendar even began."
Kanzaki Rei looked deeper into the fog.
More fragmented scenes were faintly taking shape within it—each one likely representing a painful chapter of history…
Whoosh—
The fog suddenly accelerated.
In the blink of an eye, as layers of mist dissipated, Kanzaki Rei found himself standing within a bustling city.
"This is…"
He lifted his head toward the sky.
It was night. The first thing he saw was a pale white moon hanging above.
He extended his perception, feeling the aura of the entire world.
"Ansu, where is this place?"
Ansu replied lazily, "Heh, how would I know?"
"Even I haven't set foot in every city in this world."
Kanzaki Rei glanced at a nearby shop. On the board outside a bakery, today's date was written clearly.
"…Looks like this is the year 3272."
After mentally accounting for the missing months in the calendar, Kanzaki Rei calculated that the current year in his own timeline should be exactly 3000—a leap year.
As for the month…
He sensed the current temporal state of the world. Beyond the white moon, the sky was filled with a chaotic sea of stars.
The air itself was saturated with madness and disorder.
This was still the Month of Chaos and Madness.
A faint voice echoed between heaven and earth—a shifting, unstable tone filled with disorder.
It was Aegmissa.
"In this city, an event is about to occur—one that will bring sorrow to the entire world. A tragedy no one wishes to see happen."
"Stop it."
The voice faded.
Kanzaki Rei shifted his gaze back across the city.
So… it really was a mission to save the world.
A Level 6 Observer Undead materialized at his side.
Its perception spread outward, scanning the entire city.
A detection radius of twenty thousand kilometers—yet it still couldn't find the city's edge.
It was enormous.
"Ansu, any ideas? Something that happened in 3272 that plunged the entire world into grief?"
Ansu thought for a moment.
"A tragedy that shook the whole world?"
"…No idea."
"Maybe Aegmissa is the only one who knows."
Kanzaki Rei fell silent briefly, then began to think.
This wasn't the real world.
It was only a simulation of the past.
And if it wasn't real…
Then the methods for solving the problem were no longer so limited.
Solving things while adhering to principles—and solving things by abandoning morality—were entirely different approaches.
Whoosh!
In an instant, Kanzaki Rei transformed into a streak of light and shot into the sky.
Roughly thirty seconds later, he arrived outside the city.
No matter what came next…
The first priority was clear:
Get both the Warrior class and the Mage class to Level 5.
Power came first—always.
With practiced ease, Kanzaki Rei began carving a ritual array for advancement into the ground.
Without the need to resist corruption this time, the process was far easier.
In just a few minutes, the advancement array was complete.
He exhaled slowly and looked up at the sky.
"I am a fearless warrior—I have upheld the principles of battle!"
His nerves tightened as he initiated the advancement.
He didn't know if progressing from Level 4 to Level 5 would once again attract something unusual—like how Ansu had appeared before.
But Ansu had been a special case.
It had been drawn primarily by his soul.
As for the Warrior origin…
Kanzaki Rei didn't believe there was anything about himself that would particularly attract attention.
Buzz—
The sky split open.
A suspended sword-like Origin descended from the heavens.
Kanzaki Rei began to demonstrate every combat technique he had mastered!
His battle techniques erupted outward—striking the forests, the earth, the sky!
Boom!
With every movement, golden holy flames surged, and storms of massive blades tore through the surroundings.
The land split apart in vast fractures. Forests collapsed under the onslaught. A massive arc of heavy sword light cleaved through the base of a mountain.
Kanzaki Rei raised both hands beneath the mountain—
—and lifted!
He actually moved the entire mountain.
Then, with a powerful upward thrust—
he hoisted it completely into the air!
This… was the manifestation of raw strength.
With his current physical foundation, Kanzaki Rei could already lift mountains barehanded.
Compared to Akagi—who was also Level 4—he wondered which of them was stronger now.
Kanzaki Rei exerted force again.
Holding the mountain aloft, he slammed both hands forward with explosive power!
The force penetrated deep into the mountain's core—
Crack—crack—crack—
A cascade of fractures echoed—
BOOM!
The entire mountain exploded into countless fragments of shattered stone!
…What a pity.
This advancement lacked a true opponent to test his strength against.
The display felt… incomplete.
But it was sufficient.
Kanzaki Rei presented the tokens that proved his battles—bones of magical beasts, strips of bark—some even from Tier 7 monsters.
The process of advancing from Level 4 to Level 5…
He had fought Aeltia.
He had battled countless powerful enemies through repeated future simulations.
Though simulated battles were recognized by the system's principles and held some value…
…they were still not considered true combat.
Fortunately, there had been many of them—and the enemies had been strong.
That compensated for quite a bit.
The advancement requirements might seem lowered…
…but in reality, that only applied to Kanzaki Rei.
For ordinary individuals, achieving conditions even close to his would still be nearly impossible.
In any case—
It was done.
Kanzaki Rei felt the principles he had upheld being acknowledged.
Now…
He was a Level 5 Warrior.