11. Future planning

After meticulously checking everything in his room, Ren sat back in his chair, fingers tapping lightly against the wooden desk. His mind was already working through his next steps—his priority was to regain his lost strength.

Survival in this world demanded power, and if there was one thing he had learned from both his lives, it was that the weak were always trampled on, forgotten, and discarded.

Ren couldn't afford to stay weak.

His first order of business was to visit the library in the main building. Despite regaining memories of his past life, his knowledge remained fragmented, like a puzzle missing several crucial pieces. Two lifetimes of memories coexisted in his mind, but they felt disjointed—overlapping yet blurred at the edges.

Perhaps reading more about this world would help ground him, allowing him to reconstruct the missing details and develop an efficient training plan.

His skills in swordsmanship and marksmanship had been honed from a young age, instilled in him through relentless training. Yet, ever since regaining his past-life memories, something felt off. The techniques were familiar, but they no longer flowed as smoothly as before. His hands hesitated where they once acted instinctively. His body remembered, but his mind faltered.

It was frustrating.

"I need to rebuild myself from the ground up."

He had already decided to stay away from the main plot as much as possible, but the more he thought about it, the more complicated things seemed.

As he pondered, a certain name came to mind.

"Astria Academy."

The heart of the novel The Knights of Eternal Journey.

A place where the young elites gathered, where future leaders, warriors, and strategists were forged. The academy was not just a prestigious institution—it was a battlefield in disguise.

This world had once been identical to the Earth of Ren's previous life, but everything changed when the Otherworldly Races arrived. Their sudden appearance had triggered an all-out war, reshaping civilization itself. Kingdoms fell, new powers rose, and humanity found itself struggling to maintain its place in a world now teeming with foreign beings.

The so-called Peace Treaty that followed the war was nothing more than an illusion—a fragile agreement that could shatter at any moment. People knew it. The powerful families knew it.

That was why Astria Academy was established.

Under the guise of a prestigious educational institution, it was, in reality, a training ground for the next generation—those who would defend their race when war inevitably erupted once more. The academy gathered the strongest and most promising youths, pitting them against each other in fierce competition.

The students who enrolled had to pass a rigorous entrance exam, and based on their results, they were placed into different rankings. The academy's program lasted four years, but those years were anything but peaceful.

Ren knew exactly what awaited them.

This year, the protagonist of The Knights of Eternal Journey would be enrolling. A young man destined for greatness, who would dominate every exam, event, and competition without fail.

But his journey wouldn't be a simple one.

The academy would soon become a battleground. Villains lurking in the shadows. Demons infiltrating the ranks. Betrayals from trusted allies. The so-called "peace" that humanity had clung to would begin to unravel—piece by piece, secret by secret.

And, as expected, the protagonist and his party would overcome every hardship, slay the so-called final boss, and be hailed as heroes.

That was the "perfect ending" the novel had promised.

But Ren knew better.

"Perfect ending? What a joke."

The story liked to pretend that everything was neatly wrapped up, but the truth was far from that.

Even after the protagonist killed the supposed final enemy, an even greater foe would always emerge. It was a never-ending cycle. The moment he thought he had secured peace, another disaster would strike.

It was the same pattern, over and over again.

And yet, the protagonist and his harem conveniently ignored this.

They acted as if they had achieved their happily-ever-after while disregarding the real consequences of their actions.

Ren couldn't stand it.

In fact, there were many things about the protagonist that irritated him.

The way he and his harem were portrayed as flawless, no matter what they did. The way they always blamed others when things went wrong.

There had been plenty of villains in the story—some who deserved their fate, but many who could have been saved. People who had suffered, been pushed into darkness, and might have changed if given a second chance.

But the protagonist never hesitated to kill them. Every male villain was slaughtered without mercy.

And yet…

When the villain was a woman, he suddenly became merciful.

Ren had seen it happen over and over again.

A male antagonist who sought revenge for his family's destruction? Killed.

A female villain who destroyed countless lives? Spared.

A male knight who betrayed the protagonist's party out of desperation? Executed.

A female spy who did the same? Forgiven.

The hypocrisy was blatant, yet the novel glorified it.

And then, of course, there was Ren's own fate in the story.

He remembered it vividly.

The original Ren—the foolish, naive young man who had desperately sought love and acceptance from his so-called family—was ultimately betrayed and cast aside when he was no longer useful.

They had killed him.

And worse—they hadn't even felt the slightest bit of regret.

Not a single ounce of guilt. No hesitation. No remorse.

It was as if he had never existed at all.

Ren's grip tightened.

The past Ren had died believing that maybe—just maybe—his family would mourn him. That the people he cared for would feel even the slightest regret.

But they didn't.

They moved on.

They laughed. They lived happily.

They didn't even acknowledge that he had once been part of their lives.

It was disgusting.

"I won't be that fool again."

In his previous life, Ren had been an orphan. He had seen the cruel realities of the world. He had learned, time and time again, that kindness meant nothing if you weren't strong enough to protect yourself.

This time, he wouldn't be a disposable pawn.

This time, he would live for himself.

A slow smirk crossed his lips.

If they thought they could just erase him from existence, pretend that he had never mattered…

Then he would make sure they never forgot his name again.