"Art, come on," Veronica said, and I glanced her way.
She was seated right beside me in an enormous dining room that had a massive table as its centerpiece. A wide spread of dishes lay before me, but my mind was far too occupied to focus on food.
What happened an hour ago kept replaying in my head—she had literally bathed me against my will. That incident reminded me of a harsh reality I couldn't ignore: as long as I remained crippled and trapped in this damned dimension, I was completely at her mercy.
Even if I somehow regained my ability to walk, it wouldn't make a difference. I still wouldn't be able to oppose her in any meaningful way.
As I initially said, Artemis is the direct opposite of the protagonist. While the protagonist was overpowered—or rather, WOULD be overpowered—Artemis had no such privilege. He was handicapped from the very start.
I took away the one thing every human in this world possessed, the most common thing anyone could have, and the very thing that would have given him a chance to survive.
I took away his mana.
Yes, Artemis couldn't sense mana at all. In fact, he didn't even have a mana core. That was his greatest flaw, and the main reason I was currently so deep in thought.
I didn't know how or why I went back in time, and frankly I didn't care anymore. It had happened, and no one would be able to give me an answer even if I wanted one. So why waste my precious time thinking about such things?
This time I would be selfish. I wouldn't waste my life again.
At this point, all I wanted was to get out of this world, be free from the plot, and live the life I had denied myself as both Jake and as Artemis.
The plan was simple—get strong. So strong that I could punch a singularity through reality and escape.
Okay, maybe that wouldn't work. Punching a singularity through space might be theoretically possible, but in practice? Nah. Even if the singularity was successfully created, there was no chance of controlling it and tunneling it to another world. And even if I somehow managed that, how would I know the precise location of another world? I could end up sending myself into an uncharted part of the cosmos where I'd encounter abominations of reality.
No thanks.
There had to be another way. In fact, now that I thought about it, there was.
"ART."
I heard her voice and looked at the girl sitting beside me.
"What's wrong?" she asked, and I just stared at her for a moment before looking away.
"You're doing it again. Why are you ignoring me?"
I kept silent.
I wouldn't make the mistake of becoming emotionally attached to these traitors ever again.
I had about a year and five months before I turned nineteen and my exile came to an end, after which I would be promptly shipped off to the academy. At that point, I could cut all ties with Veronica and distance myself from all those major characters.
As much as I wanted to make them pay dearly for what they did to me, I was too weak for that right now. Revenge is a dish meant solely for the strong, which I wasn't. However, if I ever got the chance, I wouldn't hesitate.
My plan once I reached the academy was to found a group that would aid my plans to escape this fucking cursed world. I wasn't stupid enough to think I could go far on my own—well, I could, but if there's one thing I came to understand during my time on Earth, it's that he who controls the people controls the real power.
So, I would aim for those psychologically weak and insecure characters who were initially weaklings. Good thing I had created quite a lot of them, many of which had fallen to the dark side and became major villains later in the story.
At this point, the plot of this world could rot for all I cared. Fuck character development. If Lucian couldn't find a way to grow stronger outside of using those characters as steppingstones, then he could die for all I cared.
The characters I would be targeting were initially weak, powerless, and gullible individuals who, with time, became dangerous powerhouses that the protagonist literally had to receive help from his lackeys to take care of. So, I would gather the most powerful of them to form a team directly under my control that would protect me and further my plans.
They would be my ticket out of this world.
"Sigh. Don't tell me you're thinking about her again," she said, and I looked at Veronica properly this time.
"So, what if I am?" I replied, saying it just to spite her.