With all the clues set in place, I stood above the hole where the fight was still going. What I just did, was nothing but a countermeasure against the inevitable. But what else should I do?

Right now, I was completely torn between the two options that I had right now. The drastic one entailed waiting for the fight to conclude so that I could get a jump at the side that remained. Leaving only the dead bodies in this pit would serve as far greater deterrent from inspecting the other, small marks that I left than anything else. There was also the point with how I was simply incapable of facing those people when they were at their peak, forcing me to look for opportunities just like the one I had right now if I were to ever face against them.

On the other hand, escape. A plan that I worked hard for in the past few moments. There were many points that made it far better than the first option, with how it was initially risk-free and would guarantee me at least a bit more of that calm and peaceful life that I could finally enjoy.

But just like there is no free meal in this or any other world, escaping from this place had its own weight that prevented me from doing so right away. Once I would escape from this place, then I would always be on the run. Without facing the obstacles, I could never overcome them. And considering how I was right on the doorstep to the highest ranks in the entire part of the world I was in right now, I couldn't allow myself to remain stale.

What's more, if I were to escape now, even if initially the risks would be far smaller than if I were to ambush the survivors, ultimately I would have no other choice but to move away from this place once again. With how I already settled into my new house, with how I started to learn about its structure by heart, with how I started to make memories in it…

I didn't want to leave at all!

Crack.

All at once, the reality around me seemed to just break apart. Like shattered plane of glass, what I considered to be my sight just a moment ago, was now falling apart in big and small chunks, all coming down and crashing right against the invisible barrier stretching endlessly at the level of my feet!

In the ensuing darkness, nothing could be seen. No presence could be felt nor any of my senses were stimulated. Surrounded by this eternal darkness and nothingness, I couldn't even look around to make any sense out of the current situation.

But I didn't really need it. Given all my experiences in the void and sea of primal energy, this place was quite familiar to the time when I was moving through the void. But to make sense of how did I find myself in the middle of it again, was a whole different matter.

And then, the darkness started to fade. Slowly, as if it was the morning sun was crawling through the skies and consistently gracing the world with more and more of its gracious light. But as the world around me started to change, revealing a whole lot of different shapes, I felt that something was going in a really bad direction.

It was as if someone snapped his fingers, turning over the entire world. The gradual increase of the light in this world suddenly turned instant, shocking my eyes with the amount of information that invaded my pupils.

"Impossible…"

After a short period of time that my eyes required to come back to their senses, I could finally see what the reality around me was right now. But to say that it was the least expected outcome out of all that I could ever fathom would be a gross understatement.

Just like that, I appeared back in my home!

Within an arm's length, the backs of my parents. The two of them sitting down on the couch, in a close embrace as my mother read a book for the both of them. This scene…

This scene was something that I could clearly remember from my past life. Yet, with how immature I was before experiencing all sorts of things in this world that allowed me to mature quite a bit, I never had the chance to put a huge value to this memory. But seeing it once again with my own eyes, even if it was nothing but an illusion, forced me to acknowledge how simple the answer to all my doubts was.

I didn't care for power. It was never my wish to be strong, but just one of the means that allowed me to strive for what I really wanted. But with everything happening so quickly around me, I never had the chance to truly immerse and acknowledge the thought of the end-game that I wished for myself.

One couldn't go through his entire life as a warrior. Even the greatest veterans had to accept the moment when their skills and expertise was no longer on par with their manual capability. Once that time would come, one would have to lay down his sword and move on or waste his life for nothing by refusing to acknowledge the reality.

Drunk on the life of a warrior that I led right now, with dangers lurking everywhere around me, no matter where I would go, I never really thought about what I wanted my retired life to look like.

As a warlord leading the masses against the vile empires of the gods? As the hero, killing the demon lords and earning a harem of empty girls? Or maybe like the two people, my parents, cuddled with my love and feeling safe about tomorrow?!

Hit by this though, I was about to start looking for ways to return back to the reality from this realistic memory when I realised that one detail of the scene in front of my eyes, didn't match anything that I could remember from my prime life.

"Mom? Dad?"

A picture of my former self. Made right before I went to the school on that fateful day. With a light, black ribbon passing across the frame, I could clearly tell that this scene had to happen after my transmigration.

But there was no reaction.

Even after I reached out with my hands to touch them, my body simply phased through theirs, as if either of us was intangible.

"Figures…"

Just as I was about to accept this huge disappointment of mine, the scene in front of me changed. Regretfully, it had nothing to do with my attempts at communication, but seeing my father suddenly stand up only to bring back a fresh cup of tea for his wife…

This scene was also vivid in my memory once I started to properly search through it. But just as I was about to conclude this moment and force my way out of this mirage, I realised one thing.

As unbelievable as it may sound, there was a tiny tinge of magic flowing through the room!