Regression of the Manaless Sword God

Chapter 2: I will protect you this time

He tried to remain calm, steadying his hands. His eyes scanned his surroundings.

’This is... awakening day?’

Looking at the excitement many had and the atmosphere around him, this was the day he took the awakening test and was declared a manaless defect.

He immediately pulled out his phone to check the date, and it was the year 2826 AD.

"Did I really come back?"

He asked again. As much as he wanted to believe this... he just couldn’t.

What if this was really an illusion cast by someone to toy with him?

"Or was that all a lie? Have I been hallucinating till now...?"

’No, it can’t be a hallucination, I remember everything far too well...’

The experience he had after going through that hell, and even the moment where he faced the Demon King just a while ago... they were still crystal clear in his mind.

And more than that... he now had something that he did not before. The battle sense he developed after facing countless monsters was still active.

This wasn’t something he had at this moment in time... and with that, he could now tell the level of everyone around him.

He never had mana, so he couldn’t tell how strong someone was before, as he couldn’t use mana sense. But after killing so many monsters, he began to perceive a threat from them, something that used to make him shudder. The stronger the opponent, the stronger the threat he felt. That’s how he could tell whether someone was strong or not. Though it wasn’t exactly a skill, but more like an assumption which never went wrong.

And right now, he could tell... none of them posed any threat to him as of yet, but that was true for the students alone.

’If I really came back in time, then that means I still have time.’

If this wasn’t a dream but reality, then that meant he could change the unfortunate future where he was all alone, and maybe even protect the one he couldn’t before.

He desperately looked around, trying to find the one person who was the sole reason why he never gave up in his previous life.

"Where is she?"

He wandered around, looking for her. Among the loud crowd of students here to take their awakening test, everyone was divided into different groups, so Ethan was in a different group than Eleanor, his childhood friend.

Even after he remained manaless, she was the only one who never looked down on him. She was the one who always believed in him even when everyone mocked him for being useless. She was the one who protected him in that hell and even sacrificed herself in the process.

Her death was the one thing that broke him completely. The only light in his world was gone with her.

"Group D... it was that..."

He ran, trying to find her there, and after a few moments, he did.

"Hey kid, it’s not your turn yet."

One of the stationed guards tried to stop him, but he swiftly went past him. He did not have the same body as before, but something like this was still easy for him.

"Stop right there."

Another one came towards him, but before he could catch Ethan, he had already located her. A woman with long silvery-white hair, patiently waiting for her turn.

The commotion made all those waiting for their turn focus their attention on the guy running past the guards.

Eleanor as well turned around, her shimmering sky-blue eyes focused on the man running towards her. Watching him run at her, her small pink lips parted, murmuring beneath her breath,

"Ethan~"

She had only just finished uttering his name when he pulled her into his embrace, tightly hugging her. Her small body melted into his.

She didn’t even have enough time to figure out what had happened, but when she did, it was enough to make her face heat up, turning it into a deep shade of red.

Everyone looking at them was stunned for a while, including the guards who were approaching Ethan to reprimand him. No one spoke a word for a while, they were equally baffled by this situation.

"Ah~ how romantic~"

Then someone commented on that, followed by many other whispers.

’W-wait, wait, wait... this is happening? E-Ethan is hugging me? For real? No way, no way, no way... ahhhh... why... did he know? When?’

More than the onlookers, the one more stunned, or to say flabbergasted by this suddenness, was Eleanor herself.

Her thoughts were going insane, and her face was about to melt from the embarrassment she was going through.

"Ah, yo kid... you can do this later, okay? Do not disturb the awakening process."

After waiting for a few seconds, giving the two a moment of their own, the guard placed his hand on Ethan’s shoulder and spoke.

But neither Eleanor nor Ethan heard him. As she was going insane inside her head, Ethan had his own thoughts as well.

The moment he lost her, her cold bloody body in his hands... he still remembered it far too well. The moment she sacrificed her life to save a useless him... he wasn’t going to let it happen again.

His heart clenched tightly. The thought of losing her again still remained in his mind, but the warmth of her body was proof that he might be able to change that this time.

Finally being able to embrace her, he did not care about the things happening around him. Now, he did not even care if this was a dream. Being able to do this was enough for him, enough to soften his regrets. But if this wasn’t a dream and was reality, then he swore to himself,

’I won’t let anything happen to you this time. Even if I have to slaughter every single one of those monsters, even if I have to reach the highest floor the tower has, I will do it. This time... I will be the one to protect you.’