The air was growing chilly as midterm season approached. John, too lazy to prepare for his own midterm, instead went around to check on everybody else's progress in more detail.

Destiny was first, since they shared a class. Aside from his skill with mana, he was coming along well in his swordsmanship as well. Unlike the previous year, when John had still been able to overpower the boy in swordsmanship, Destiny was now on equal footing in skill, even without using mana. That wasn't to say he was better, but if things kept up, he'd be able to defeat John with a blade easily.

Moreover, the rest of the class was doing quite well. A good number of students were comfortably into the Expert stage, with a few edging their way into the Master class. They were no longer kids John could beat. If they held the entry exam at this point in time, John would be one of the first to die.

The same applied to the Casting class.

John had an idea of how strong Prota was, as well as Ryan and Lilith. However, he hadn't really paid attention to any of the other [Characters], or how strong they were.

"How strong are your classmates?" John muttered as Prota settled in for bed.

She turned to him, tilting her head.

"Like… how strong are they?" he said hesitantly. "On average."

"Nn… good," Prota nodded.

That was all the description she had to offer, so John wound up watching a class himself. This time, Sofya didn't pull him aside.

The kids were good. Obviously, none of them had Prota's fighting style, but their destructive power and adaptability with spells seemed quite advanced. Unlike Prota, John was unable to see the flow of mana, so he couldn't tell how good their control was, but he had to assume it was on par with Prota's level back in the Town of Beginnings. Maybe even better.

The farther John strayed from combat topics, the less he was able to identify the point in the [Story] he was at. The blacksmiths were making impressive-looking weapons and armour. The magical engineers were doing… something. The same went for the magic circle class. Celestia was healing well, but John didn't know what a good healer looked like. The alchemy class was brewing up a storm, but again, John had no idea if they were progressing well or not.

He'd gotten a handle on how strong Destiny's [Companions] were, but right now, that wasn't what mattered.

What mattered was Destiny himself, as well as the general strength of the average [Extra] lingering around in the [Story].

Right, he didn't actually care about how strong these kids would be. He probably wouldn't see most of them in a few years. No, what mattered was setting a benchmark for strength.

According to Prota, Sofya was capable of destroying an island with her signature spell, creating a giant crater in the ocean. According to Lupin and Leora, Mystics could take such an attack once and survive. Hikari had displayed some interesting strength during their fight, but it was, again, capable of destroying an island at best.

This implied that the maximum potential of the [Characters] in this story was just that: destroying an island. Technically, Mystics could destroy a continent with a Final Stand, but that was a spell that required one's life as a sacrifice, so he wouldn't count that.

If that was the endpoint, then John could roughly judge how far in the [Story] they were based on how strong the current opponents were. The cultists weren't bad indicators of this, but they were sometimes goofing off or inconsistent in their strength, meaning they weren't objective enough for John's purposes.

The students, on the other hand, were perfect. The [Protagonist] was meant to stand above the average fodder, at least in this kind of [Story]. This meant John could observe the gap between Destiny and the students, then make a rough calculation based on the level of fights they'd taken in the Town of Beginnings.

Then, assuming a bit of exponential growth due to things speeding up in the climax…

"We're about… seventy percent done," John muttered one night.

The snow was falling around him, soaking into his hoodie, but he didn't care. Something felt off.

"It… it doesn't make sense. There isn't that much story left, but we've still got one more year of school left. And then we haven't resolved things with Kit, and there's probably going to be a war… that should be at least forty percent more," John frowned, counting on his fingers.

Something wasn't adding up.

"Unless… this whole school arc has been skipped over? No, Destiny has been growing steadily. There's no way the [Author] would simply skip over all that and make him stronger in an instant. But then… what if?"

That was the issue. John was a [Reader], but his perspective was limited to seeing things in real time. Things like time skips weren't visible to him. He didn't know if something was a [Plot Point] or just a random incident that wasn't being written. He was under the assumption that each exam had been a subject of interest. Similarly, Destiny's summer vacation adventures, Briar's troubles, Destiny's tutoring…

But what if none of that had been shown? Were his calculations still accurate?

What if they had been shown, and the [Author] just planned on dragging this [Story] out for as long as possible?

Or what if the [Author] planned on ending it right now?

"There's no point in this," John muttered, standing up and kicking at the ground.

He couldn't help but feel anxious, though. What would happen when the [Story] ended? Was he headed for the original ending? Or something better?

…or something worse?

"Ah," he mumbled, shaking his head. "I'm overthinking again. It is what it is. That's all I can do."

Still, a nagging voice echoed in the back of his mind.

You'll have to make a choice eventually.

A choice. Even in his previous world, he'd only been forced to make one choice. In this world as well, he had yet to truly dedicate himself to anything. In the first place, [Resets] made one lax in their judgement since mistakes could easily be corrected, and even without them, the habit was hard to break.

"Hm…"

~~~

Surprisingly, the midterm also passed without incident. Prota came out of it with full marks, as usual, and thought that this year might be quite peaceful. John had, of course, warned of potential threats, but nothing had happened.

No cultists. No cocky nobles. No monsters to fight off, no evil people to defend against.

Of course, Prota didn't relax in her studies. Her goals were aimed higher than anybody could've imagined: defeating a god-like being, one more powerful than Mystics. No matter how much she improved in Scholaris, she would never feel satisfied. As a result, her growth was comparable to Destiny's. Had John not known better, he might've assumed she was a [Deuteragonist], perhaps someone meant to be Destiny's companion.

Still, at the moment, she was nowhere near that level of growth. There were still mortals stronger than she. But that only served to fuel her growth even more.

Truth be told, she was almost bored. The weeks leading up to the midterm were fine, but after nothing happened during the exam itself, she began to grow restless.

However, with no threat to approach, she instead turned her frustration toward her mentoring sessions. The training grew more intense, more harsh, and while Sofya was hesitant at first, the dragon eventually gave in and began teaching Prota as much as she could.

Finally, a month after the midterm, Sofya stopped her lessons.

"I can teach you no more," Sofya said after a spar between the two of them.

Of course, the dragon hadn't been going all out. But for a dragon, even with handicaps, to be pushed around by a mere mortal… that in itself was a feat. Few other mortals could manage such a feat. Masters or casters of the seventh-circle, perhaps. S-rank adventurers. Destiny.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

Prota had come a long way since her talentless self when John had first found her in the streets. Her greatest curse had turned into one of her greatest blessings.

"All you can do for now… is practice on your own."

Prota was confused. What did Sofya mean by this?

"Prota," Sofya sighed. "Your resilience is incredible. I don't know what drives you, but it must be a strong desire indeed. It is admirable indeed. However, practice takes time. That is one of the things that sets us immortals apart from you mortals; we have an unending amount of time to hone our skills. Some of us do. Some of us do not. But should we so choose, a mortal could never catch up to us in skill. Do you understand?"

Prota didn't. Why couldn't Sofya teach her anymore?

"I see." Sofya shook her head. "Prota, I do not literally have nothing left to teach you. However, to instruct you as I have been doing now would only serve to hinder your progress. I have taught you the necessary skills to progress your knowledge. However, your skills in the manipulation of mana are already so strong that I cannot guide you on that any further. You have the fundamentals to become a top-tier mage already. All that remains is for you to forge your own path."

Sofya let loose a small smile, watching as she gathered a handful of snowflakes falling from the sky. They crystallized into a giant snowflake, spinning and glistening with beauty.

"I believe at least one of your mentors should have taught you this. Magic is the pursuit of creation. I do not know if you know this, but our entire world was created with mana. If you were wide-minded enough, you could even play god. I suppose that is why that group searches for the truth they do," Sofya said, sighing. "Regardless, Prota, you must find your own path from here on out. There has never been an archmage as underdeveloped or young as you, but you've done it. Congratulations."

Prota couldn't believe what she was hearing. She was done? Was this the limit of her growth?

"Child," Sofya said, her tone a little exasperated now. "You have much more room to grow. My point is that nobody can teach you that growth. What you need to do is search within yourself. Think of when you first made your own spells. That is the direction you must take. I am more than glad to answer any questions you may have, but I can no longer tell you what you need to do. You cannot rely on others for your whole life. At some point, you must forge your own path."

~~~

"...that's what she said," Prota said sadly.

John rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean… she's not wrong."

She looked up at her brother, feeling a little betrayed. She had expected John to take her side, but instead, he was agreeing with Sofya?

"I mean, I don't mind giving you ideas. But, um… he who builds a house on sand will be homeless or something like that." He pointed at her chest, poking the area where her heart was. "Think about your growth. Every time you've needed to grow stronger, you have. Now, it's possible this is just some bullshit pulled by the [Author], but I think it's a result of your training. Remember what I taught you?"

Prota thought back. Her ability to move, her ability to react, and—

"That's right," John grinned. "Nothing."

Prota flinched. That was right. Technically speaking, he had never really taught her in the traditional sense. He simply identified things that needed help, then threw her into the deep end until she learned how to swim. To continue the analogy, she wasn't capable of drowning, so she would sink in the pool until she knew how to surface on her own.

Now that she thought of it, the only spell Sofya had taught her that she'd successfully used in combat was Rain of Arrows. Every other spell had been one of her own creation, made to solve an otherwise lethal situation.

Even spells copied from others were spells she'd developed into her own design. Frozen Blossom was the result of imitating the flower Kit had shown her. Frozen Flame was a spell born of desperation. Frozen Bullet was a combination of mimicking John's gun and a need to pierce through high defences. Absolute Zero and Plasma Disk were spells created in a moment of panic. Frozen Cannon was also a spell formed of her own intuition.

The only spell she'd truly learned in a textbook fashion was Rain of Arrows. Even the domains she was continuing to develop were spells Sofya had left Prota to develop on her own.

"Looks like you get it," John said, rolling over. "Good. I'm gonna go back to playing video games."

Prota didn't understand. Video games?

John was sitting in his chair at his desk, his fingers moving around in the air aimlessly. Curious, she moved closer, only to see holographic devices set up in front of his vision. They looked similar to something the system might create, but it was strange that she could see them.

"Haah… I gave it to him as a gift, but to think he'd spend so much time on it…"

Prota nearly jumped as Zero came out, rubbing the back of his neck.

"This is something from his original world," Zero explained, visibly annoyed. "He's been going through a lot, so I thought it'd be nice of me to allow this, but… well, I suppose it's ok for now."

Prota stared, interested. There was a little person moving around on a screen of sorts, swinging a sword around. Suddenly, the person shot out something that looked like a dragon, although it was far longer and monochrome in colour. It froze everything in its path, clearing out a swarm of what Prota had come to assume were enemies.

Soon, she was growing dizzy just by watching. She couldn't grasp the purpose nor the goal of whatever John was doing, but perhaps that was for the better. He seemed happy with his game, so she left him alone to chat with Zero and do what he wanted.

A flame of excitement grew in her chest. She'd just gotten a new idea.

~~~

Two weeks later, a student went missing.

The issue was kept quiet at first. Destiny heard of it first, and his first thought was to tell John.

"You came to me first?" John frowned as he finished his lunch. "Seriously?"

"What? You're the best guy to deal with this kind of stuff, aren't you?" Destiny shrugged. "Even I can tell this is something unusual. I was just hoping you'd be able to tell me… you know. If it was something we need to seriously be worried about."

John sighed, putting his fork down. He'd been enjoying himself for a while, but it was about time he got back to work. If he let himself go too much, he'd slip into a cycle of slop, and that would inevitably kill him. He rubbed his chin, thinking. Had anything else happened as of recently?

Besides the matter with the Wyntons, no. Was there something he was unaware of? Maybe he should've gone on that vacation with Destiny after all.

"I mean… nothing I can think of," John said after a bit. "But it's something to consider for sure. How many people know about this?"

"A bunch of the teachers, apparently. Besides that? Just that kid's friends and me."

"Hm… they want to keep it down low," John muttered. "But that's the logical move to make…"

He shook his head. There was no point in overthinking this. He didn't have enough information to [Read] into the circumstances. If he overdid it, he'd start going down rabbit holes that would end with him convincing himself of things that weren't actually true.

"Let me know if you think of anything," Destiny said, patting John on the shoulder.

John turned to his friend. "You're not worried about the kid?"

"Well…" Destiny let his expression turn dark for a second. "I mean, I am. But I can't do anything about it. You taught me that, John. I can only do what's within my power. Being a good fighter isn't going to help anybody right now."

John frowned. "Hold on, you're smart. You don't-"

"Don't play coy, John," Destiny muttered. "We both know who saved us in the Town of Beginnings."

John shook his head, grabbing Destiny and forcing him to sit down. "No. You don't understand. You are smarter than I am, by a long shot, ok?"

"What? John, you-"

"No, put it this way."

John grabbed a set of utensils and made a little square. He folded up a napkin and put it in the center.

"This is a person, ok?" he said, pointing to the napkin. "And right now, they're trapped in a box."

"...what?" Destiny frowned. "They can just-"

"Get up and out, right? No. That's a two-dimensional person. They don't understand up and down," John explained. "Their only options are left, right, down and up."

Destiny nodded slowly.

"Now. This little two-dimensional person realizes they're stuck. So they build a magnificent gizmo that's capable of analyzing the materials they're trapped in. Then, they create an entirely new element to break out. Unfortunately, they don't have the materials to make enough of this new element, so they stay stuck."

"So I'm the two-dimensional guy, and you're the person who can see into the third dimension?" Destiny asked. "But- what, are you some kind of time traveller? Do you know the future?"

The hero's eyes began to glow.

"No," John said simply. "That's not the case."

The glow began to fade.

"Then what? What is it that- wait, never mind. You can't tell me, right?" Destiny sighed.

"Sorry," John shrugged.

To his credit, he really did seem apologetic. He put the utensils back, then picked up the napkin and wiped his hands.

"The point is, the two-dimensional guy is probably smarter than we are. After all, he made that fancy gizmo shit, right? But we just said move up. Destiny. You're more clever than I am," John said, putting his hand on Destiny's shoulder. "You can stop relying on me for so much."

"John, at least explain something," Destiny pleaded. "I don't care about who's smarter. Just… just explain something, anything."

John grimaced. Well, Destiny was pretty mature. He could give the boy at least this much, right?

"Do you believe in fate?" John said quietly.

"No. I believe we carve our own paths."

John bit his tongue to stop himself from saying something. Well, that was good. It was better to let Destiny believe that. In hindsight, the [Author] had a bit of a twisted personality, didn't they?

"Great. I'm here to tell you that the world follows a path."

"So my future-"

"I'm not saying that. I'm saying it follows a path. That's different. You being summoned as the hero to defeat the Demon King? That's a path," John explained. "You're supposed to train and get stronger. The cultists will rise in preparation for the rise of their glorious leader, and… well, you get the idea."

"John, life isn't a fairy tale," Destiny frowned. "That's not how things work."

"Great."

John felt a twinge of guilt enter his heart. There was no way to explain this without partially breaking Destiny. The boy's view of the world was too fundamentally rooted in freedom, too rooted in an ideal that didn't exist. Well, if he thought about it, Destiny was a fictional character that resisted his own—

No, he was getting too meta. Best not to think about it.

"Look," John sighed. "The point is, I'm here to help you with things you can't handle, ok?"

"Things… I can't handle?" Destiny said, confused. "John, what do you mean?"

"I can't explain," John said, shaking his head. "Just… don't ask anymore, ok?"

"I can-"

"If you told a two-dimensional person that a third dimension existed, no matter how hard you try, they'll never be able to see it," John said sadly. "I don't mean it like this, but… you won't get it, man."

"I- I'm sorry," Destiny said, hanging his head. "I'll leave it alone."

"It's fine. I get it. You're curious. I just… I don't know how to explain this," John said, picking up his food tray.

"Let me at least ask one more question." Destiny looked up into John's eyes. "Is this weird, secret knowledge you have… does it have to do with the way you look all the time?"

"The way I look?" John frowned.

"That empty look in your eyes. I didn't really notice it at first, but you seem kinda… lonely, I guess. I don't know how to describe it. You feel healthier these days, but still…"

John closed his eyes and smiled. "Thanks, but it's fine. And… yeah. It does have something to do with that."

Destiny put his hand on John's shoulder one last time, nodding in gratitude.

"Then, thank you. For trying to protect me."

A weight felt as if it'd been lifted off John's heart. "Thanks, man."

~~~

The next week, another child went missing.

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