Not just possession, but regression too?"
What in the world is going on, doctor?!
Seora opened her eyes here at the age of 10.
Compared to the moment right before her death, she was now a child.
She had died at 27, but now she had woken up as a 10-year-old.
"Then what about my inner energy?!"
There was a reason she couldn't just be happy about regressing.
For martial artists, there's something even more important than life itself.
It was none other than inner energy.
The confusion from dying and waking up again lasted only a moment.
Seora quickly checked her energy center.
And then she despaired.
"It's gone! It's all gone! All that inner energy I worked so hard to build up! Where did it all go?!"
Well, in life, you might experience possession, regression, fight to the death with a demon, or even get caught up in a war between good and evil.
That's just how it goes sometimes, right?
So sure, let's say regression is fine.
But the fact that her inner energy had disappeared? That was something else entirely.
"I mean, in other stories, people come back with all their powers intact!"
Unfortunately, that didn't apply to her.
The vast inner energy that used to be the size of an ostrich egg was now as small as a grain of rice.
Her vision darkened with despair.
Sure, depending on how you use it, even a small amount of inner energy can be powerful.
Especially for someone like Seora, who was unmatched in how she used it.
But still, more energy is always better.
And now, going from handling huge amounts of energy to this tiny bit, of course everything felt hopeless.
"How am I supposed to deal with Bloodbrain like this?!"
She took a deep breath and tried to organize her thoughts.
Right before she died, she realized the truth—this place was actually…
"Inside a book."
She had thought she was reincarnated, but it was possession all along.
And of all times, she figured it out just moments before she truly died, after suffering in the Great War of Good and Evil.
"If only I had known earlier!"
The benefit of being in a book?
Knowing what's going to happen next.
But she died without ever getting to use that knowledge.
It was incredibly frustrating and regretful.
Seora had firmly believed she was reincarnated—and for good reason.
"Our sect doesn't even appear in the original story!"
Seora belonged to the Sword Pavilion. Though not part of the famous Nine Great Schools, it was a respected sect known for its strong skills.
In some stories, it was even portrayed as a mysterious elite group.
It was also known for its brutal training to create such skilled warriors.
Seora, who came from the Sword Pavilion, had gone through that intense training herself.
"It makes sense. The martial world kills off anyone without skill before they even take a few steps!"
Thanks to that, even a newbie like her had survived and adapted.
Now, looking back, she could say it was just tough, but at the time, it was truly hard.
"…Wait. I regressed, didn't I?"
And not just anywhere—right to when she first opened her eyes in this body.
Which meant…
"…Do I have to go through that hellish training again? That training that people call harsh but really mean insane?"
Again, her vision went dark.
But only for a moment.
A thought suddenly crossed her mind.
"Wait a minute. This might not be so bad."
Seora closed her eyes and tried circulating her tiny bit of inner energy.
Originally, at this age, she wouldn't have been able to do that at all. But now, she could.
Because she was a once-in-a-century genius, acknowledged by the martial world and given the title "Sword Queen" before she even reached her mid-20s.
"Hm. My blood vessels are flexible, and my body is clean."
Training depends on talent too, but it's more effective the younger you start.
Everyone knows that it's best to begin from a blank slate.
"Come to think of it, my final battle with the Heavenly Demon was such a shame. If I'd just been a bit stronger, things might have ended differently."
Remembering that, she realized—this was actually a good thing.
Even in her past life, when she started with no knowledge, she had reached the level of Sword Queen.
Now, she had all the knowledge and experience.
If she could pour that into this young, clean body?
"Isn't this what people call a 'heaven-sent opportunity'?!"
How far could she go by the time she reached her original age again?
Seora started feeling impatient.
This wasn't the time to be standing still.
"I need to start training right away."
In the book The Book of Regression, where Seora had possessed this body, the Great War of Good and Evil was a fixed future.
Out of all the timelines, there had only ever been one victory.
And that was the final round—the one where the main character didn't regress.
"In other words… if the main character exists, I won't have to die, the righteous sects won't fall, and we might even win the war!"
She didn't know exactly which timeline this was.
For the protagonist, it might just be one of many.
But for Seora, this was her only life.
Final round?
"Then I'll just make this the final round."
Wasn't she the one living, breathing answer sheet?
The reason the protagonist wins in the final timeline is because of all the accumulated knowledge and skills from previous lives.
But here, right now!
There's a living answer key—Seora herself!
"The protagonist probably doesn't want to suffer anymore either. Alright. Just wait, main character. I'm coming to save you! …But give me a moment. I need to train first."
To grab the protagonist by the collar and drag them to safety, she needed the skills to match.
Which meant she had to train…
As she pondered deeply, a voice called out.
"You're awake?"
A familiar voice.
"Master!"
Seora's face lit up as she saw who had entered through the sliding door.
Her master—who had died shortly after the Great War started, protecting the young disciples.
He wasn't someone who should have died such a meaningless death. But while protecting Seora, he had gotten caught in internal sect politics and was pushed out, ending up as the outer hall chief—where he was the first to die.
But now, that very master was alive and standing in front of her!
"I see you know how serious your mistake was. You're suddenly acting mature. But that doesn't change anything. Even if you've returned from the dead, you still have to be punished for breaking the rules."
Training at the Sword Pavilion was strict.
For example, there were ridiculous quotas. If you didn't meet them, you didn't get to eat that day.
Because of this, the young disciples were always hungry.
There was only one way to escape this suffering—
Meet the quota or show outstanding results.
Hunger itself was used as motivation.
"Still, being hungry is just… being hungry."
Sometimes, the young disciples couldn't bear it and broke the rules to sneak over the wall and eat wild fruits or plants.
The original owner of the body Seora now possessed had done the same.
In her hunger, she had tried to eat something—and unfortunately ended up picking a toxic herb… no, a spiritual herb.
"In my past life, Master covered for me when I made that mistake. And because of that, he was used as a scapegoat and driven to the outer hall. But not this time."
She wouldn't let her master die a meaningless death again.
She would protect him.
"Okay, Master."
Seora clenched her fists, her resolve clear.
"Even if you act cute, I can't cover for you this time. So, your punishment will be… Hmm? What did you just say?"
"
I said I'll take the punishment. I'll go into closed-door training."
"…What?"
Her master responded a beat too late.
Looking into his stunned eyes, Seora spoke clearly:
"Please put me into closed-door training!"