CHAPTER 1

The 100-Million-Year Button & the World of Time

My name was Allen Rodol, and I was fifteen years old.

I had absolutely zero talent with the sword. I was so incompetent and unskilled with the weapon that even I had to acknowledge my own feebleness. Despite that, I still spent day after day frantically swinging my blade. I practiced longer and harder than any of my peers.

“Hard work will always bear fruit”—that was what my mom always told me.

She’d raised me as a single mother. My dad had died from an epidemic when I was still a baby. I was told he was a faithful and honest man, but I didn’t even remember his face. Since I had no memories of him, I didn’t really feel much for him. I’d gotten my jet-black hair from my mom, while my piercing eyes apparently resembled my dad’s.

I had few memories of when I was little, but I did clearly recall Mom grinding herself into dust every single day to support me. She’d scrimped and saved for years with her meager salary to pay for my enrollment and tuition fees at Grand Swordcraft Academy, which I was currently attending.

That was why no matter how much I was ridiculed as the “Reject Swordsman,” no matter how much my classmates bullied me, no matter how much of a nuisance my teachers thought I was…no matter how hard my days here were, I was never going to slack on my training.

If I practiced ten times harder than anyone else, I was sure to become a great swordsman eventually. One day, I would be able to pay Mom back and grant her an easy life. That goal drove me to give my all at the academy. And yet all my hard work was going to go up in smoke in just one day.

It was all because of what happened that evening.

I was swinging my sword in the schoolyard as per usual when a classmate approached me, with two girls following behind him.

His name was Dodriel, eldest son of House Barton, a barony. His trademark blue hair was done up in a ponytail, and he stood at about the same height as me at 165 centimeters. He was a handsome boy and always had girls following him around. Most importantly, he was exceptionally talented with the sword—a prodigy, if you will.

I hated him with all my guts. He bullied me relentlessly and called me the “Reject Swordsman” to belittle me. Normally, I ignored his snide comments by pretending not to hear him.

This time, however, he said something I couldn’t let him get away with.

“Take back…what you just said…!”

“Whoa there, buddy, no need to get so angry. All I did was speak the truth. Trash children must come from trash parents… Do you find any fault with that statement?”

“How dare you, Dodriel!”

I lost my temper and grabbed his collar.

“Tch… Get those filthy hands off me, Reject Swordsman scum!” Dodriel yelled, clicking his tongue and kicking my stomach with incredible speed.

“Hargh?!”

The kick had enough force to put a grown man to shame and sent me flying backward. When I crashed onto my butt, the girls behind him giggled with delight.

“You may be right about me being talentless garbage…but I won’t let you speak about my mom that way!” I fired back, pointing a finger at him.

He shrugged and sighed.

“Haaah…you know what they say, right? The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Conventional wisdom dictates that parents of garbage must be garbage themselves.”

Though he was insulting me, he made it sound as if he were sympathizing from the bottom of his heart.

“Y-you bastard!”

His incessant provocations finally sending me over the edge, I pointed my sword toward Dodriel in rage. He paid me no mind and continued to speak nonchalantly.

“Hey now, do you really want to do that? Surely, you know it’s against the rules.”

“Grrr…”

According to school regulations, personal sword fights between students were forbidden. Breaking that rule could lead to repercussions as harsh as suspension or expulsion. Given my position as the lowest ranked student at the academy…there was no doubt I would be expelled if I started an altercation.

“No, I won’t fight you here. I instead challenge you to a duel, Dodriel Barton!”

“Now this is surprising… The Reject Swordsman is challenging the top student in the academy to a duel?”

“That’s right! If I win, you’ll take back what you said!”

“Ha! How amusing… I grant you your duel, Allen! I also accept your condition. If you win, I’ll eat my words! I’ll even bow my head in apology if you so please! However, if you lose—”

He paused, curling the corners of his lips into a wicked grin.

“…If I lose?” I pressed him to continue.

“Yes, that will do… If you lose, you will withdraw from the academy on the spot.”

“What?!”

I couldn’t believe the stakes he had just forced on me.

“Is something the matter? A duel requires the stakes to be equal for both parties. Even you must be aware of this.”

“O-of course I know that! But in what world are those equal stakes?!”

One participant would have to take back a single statement, while the other would have to withdraw from the academy. There was no way anyone could call those terms equivalent.

“This is truly painful to watch… What about this do you not understand, Reject Swordsman? Your quitting the academy would be of very little consequence. After all—you yourself are of very little consequence.”

“…”

It killed me, but I had no immediate comeback. He was spot-on. My grades were far and away the lowest at Grand Swordcraft Academy. They were so bad that it wouldn’t have surprised me if I was dismissed any day now… Withdrawing would certainly mean nothing to the academy.

“…Understood. I challenge you to a duel on those conditions…!”

“I accept! How does tomorrow morning at nine in the gymnasium sound to you?”

“I have no objections.”

“Wonderful. I’ll take care of the application for the duel. You just focus on your trademark hard work to try and make our match at least resemble a duel…though, I’m sure you are well aware your efforts will go to waste. Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha!”

Thus it was decided I would duel Dodriel, a true genius of the blade.

Now that I’d had a moment to think about it, I realized that it was a foolish thing to do.

But if someone said the same thing to me now…I would probably challenge them to a duel all over again…

My morals would not allow me to stay silent as my mom was insulted.

But Dodriel is really strong…

He was a prodigy in every sense of the word. Though he didn’t practice that much, he would immediately soak up any technique he saw and make it his own, like a sponge.

Rumor had it that he was even being recruited by the Elite Five Academies, the prestigious schools of swordcraft in the capital.

I totally get that he’s stronger than me. But tomorrow at least, there’s no way I can lose…!

Losing would mean I’d have to withdraw from the academy. But most importantly, I needed to make him take back his insult to Mom.

After we went our separate ways and I returned to the dorm, I then headed straight for the forest with a sword in hand. Arriving at my usual practice spot, I focused my undivided attention on wielding my blade.

“Hah, yah, ho…!”

Surrounded by the silence of the forest, I frantically trained as if my life depended on it. I wasn’t doing this out of desperation. It was simply the only thing I knew how to do.

After I enrolled at the academy, I approached each of the teachers and begged them to let me into their schools of swordcraft. But the response was always the same.

“You have no talent with the blade, unfortunately. I cannot take you into my instruction.”

“What did you say?! I’m almost impressed that someone as unskilled as you would have the guts to ask to be my pupil. Have you no shame?”

“Ever heard the phrase know your place?”

Everyone had rejected me out of hand, so I’d had no one to learn from. As a result, I didn’t know any forms, nor schools of swordcraft, nor techniques. All I’d learned in class was how to swing my weapon and hone my body.

The only way I knew how to train was to simply keep swinging, like I was now.

I kept at it for a while, finally letting up when the moonlight began to illuminate the surrounding area.

“Ha, ha-ha, ha-ha-ha-ha…!”

I let out a dry, humorless chuckle.

“I’m such an idiot. No amount of practice will get me the win tomorrow…!”

Swinging my sword around like a madman was utterly pointless. I was going to lose to that prodigy the next day, no matter what I did. It would be a brutal defeat.

The gap between Dodriel and I couldn’t be shored up in a day.

I hate it… I hate it, I hate it, I hate it!

Though I was loath to admit it, no matter how many times I played out our duel in my mind, I just couldn’t envision myself beating him.

“What can I do…?”

Tears of frustration slid down my face.

…I want to win. I want to strike Dodriel down and make him take back that insult…

But I just wasn’t good enough, not by any stretch of the imagination. I lacked strength, I lacked ability—and most of all, I lacked time…

“Dammit!”

Stricken by helplessness, I pounded a fist onto the ground. That’s when I suddenly heard a hoarse voice from above.

“Hyo-hoh-hoh. Something appears to be troubling you deeply, young swordsman.”

“Wh-who’s there?!”

I jerked my head up to find a short old man standing directly in front of me. The hair on his head, his eyebrows, and his beard were all snow-white. His back was clearly bent, and he was gripping a cane in one hand. What unsettled me more than anything was how he’d managed to get this close without me noticing him at all.

“Who am I? Hmm… I suppose you could call me the Time Hermit,” answered the mysterious old man, running a hand through his impressive beard, which nearly reached the ground.

“Anyhoo, is something the matter, young swordsman? How would you like to share your problems with this weary old man?”

“…Talking to you about it won’t change anything.”

“Are you sure, sonny? Keeping your troubles to yourself takes a real toll on the mind. You’ll be surprised by how much better it feels to confide in someone. You don’t need to hold back. I already have one foot in the grave anyway! Hyo-hoh-hoh!”

He laughed as if he had said something hilarious.

“…Yeah, you might be right.”

I was getting desperate. Not knowing what else to do, I began to recount the hopeless situation I’d gotten myself into.

I told him about how I had no talent with the blade; about the bullying at the academy; about my mom, who I’d left in my hometown; and about the duel the next day. Spilling everything that had been building up in my mind definitely made me feel a little better.

“I see… So that’s what has you in such low spirits…”

The Time Hermit listened to me earnestly, without making fun of anything I said. He was a surprisingly good listener, which I suppose came down to the wisdom of old age.

“Hmm, if that’s your predicament…I may be able to give you some help.”

“…How?”

If there was some magical method that could flip this totally hopeless situation on its head, I was all ears.

He twisted his wrinkled face into a grin.

“Hyo-hoh…by using this.”

From out of his pocket, he produced a fist-sized red button.

“…What is that?”

“The ‘100-Million-Year Button,’ an incredibly rare magical item.”

“Hundred-million-year button…? Magic item…?”

“Indeed. Anyone who presses this button will instantly receive the effects of having trained for one hundred million years! Can you imagine a more useful tool?”

“…That sounds hard to believe.”

Those were my honest feelings.

“Now, now, at least hear me out. This is the request of a man in his last moments of life…”

The Time Hermit put his hands together in an entreaty. He had just listened to everything I had to say…so I decided to lend him my ear for a little bit.

“Okay, I will. But please keep it short.”

“Oh-ho, so you will listen! Thank you, thank you!”

He cleared his throat with a cough and began to describe the 100-Million-Year Button.

“All who push this button are transported to an ‘alternate world,’ where, as the name implies, they spend one hundred million years. In that world, you are completely free. You can even spend all your time staring at the wall if you’re so inclined. But you can also devote yourself to your training. After all, you do have a full one hundred million years at your disposal.”

“I can train for one hundred million years…?”

Given my current predicament, this sounded like a dream come true.

“Yes, you can! You’ll also have a house and a bed—and even a large bath! There’s a magical storehouse that produces an infinite amount of food, so you’ll never go hungry! On top of that, you won’t age, so you have no need to fear death!”

“…!”

Eating and sleeping would be taken care of, I would have all the time I could ever want, and I wouldn’t even age.

I gulped. This sounded way too good to be true.

“Hyo-hoh-hoh! Sounds wonderful, right?”

Having finished his explanation, the Time Hermit suddenly leaned forward and thrust the scarlet button toward me.

I stared at it.

If I really could train for one hundred million years…

I thought that might give me a chance to beat Dodriel.

Four or five years, for instance, would be way too short a time frame to catch up to him.

But given one hundred million years, even a talentless swordsman like me could catch up to a genius like him— Scratch that, I could surpass him!

The utter stupidity of that thought brought me crashing back to reality.

This is way too good to be true… Geez, why did I let myself take this seriously…?

This wasn’t a fairy tale. No way could that exist in the real world.

“Is that all you have to say?” I asked.

“Hmm? Does this not sound appealing to you?” he responded.

“I think it would be amazing…if what you’re saying is true.”

“I’m not lying! I have never once told a lie, not in all my long life!”

“Uh-huh. That’s impressive.”

I cut off our conversation there and returned to swinging my weapon. Despite knowing no amount of practice would give me a chance at victory, I wanted to do everything I could.

“Hmph… Are you really sure you don’t want to give it a try? All you have to do is press it once. Please, I’m asking you as an old man with little time left!”

The Time Hermit rubbed his hands together in a fervent plea. I was a little surprised by how badly he wanted me to do this.

“Fine…I’ll push the button.” I sighed.

Figuring that tapping it once would satisfy him, I casually reached my hand toward it and stopped when the Time Hermit’s face suddenly turned gravely serious.

“Young swordsman. I have one warning for you.”

“What is it now?”

“There is one thing you must never do—commit suicide. You’ll be living in another world, but you still only have one body. Dying there will spell the end of you,” he cautioned. Where the heck did that come from?

“Yeah, yeah. I get it.”

Then I pressed the button cradled in his hands. I had no idea how this was about to alter the course of my life.

The next thing I knew, I was standing in an unfamiliar place.

“…Where am I?”

I looked around to find brown earth extending as far as the eye could see and a single large, white house placed in the middle of it.

I noticed one more thing—a string of numbers in the sky.

Year 000000000 Month 1 Day 1 00:01:31.

The final number was going up every second. It must have been some kind of clock.

Once I was sure that I wasn’t in any danger, I reflected on how I got here.

“The Time Hermit said something really weird… Oh yeah, I pushed the 100-Million-Year Button.”

Did that make this the “alternate world” he was talking about?

“Ha, ha-ha… This has to be some kind of trick…”

Letting out a nervous laugh, I began to panic. I just needed to stay calm and think about this logically— No, wait, everything about this defied logic. There was no way a 100-Million-Year Button could be real. That sounded like something from a children’s tale. It couldn’t actually exist.

But now that this impossible world lay right before my eyes, I had no choice but to accept the button’s existence.

“This makes no sense…right?”

I raised my head to see an endless blue sky.

“…It’s not there.”

Something was clearly missing from the sky—the sun. Despite its absence, the world was still filled with a warm glow. And light shining in a place with no source resulted in a total lack of shadows, as if the laws of physics were in disorder. Reluctantly, I had to accept that this was an “alternate world” separate from reality.

I pinched my cheek just to check if this was a dream, but I indeed felt pain. My mind, my senses, and my body were all telling me I was actually here.

“There’s no doubt about it now. That 100-Million-Year Button was real!”

Now that I’d come to that conclusion, I thought back on what the Time Hermit had explained.

“‘All who push this button are transported to an alternate world, where, as the name implies, they spend one hundred million years’…is what he said, I think.”

I looked up and stared at the giant clock floating in the sky.

If the Time Hermit’s words were true…I could train in this alternate world right up until that clock displayed the year one hundred million.

“All right!”

I shouted with jubilation.

I can win… I can win!

If I had this much time, I would definitely be able to defeat Dodriel, no matter how much of a prodigy he was!

“I can’t believe it. He was actually telling the truth.”

I would have to thank the Time Hermit as soon as I got out of here.

“I can’t just stand around!”

Drawing my sword, I began swinging right away. Time tended to move faster than one might have expected. I was sure one hundred million years would pass in no time.

I’ve been given a huge opportunity. I can’t waste a single second!

After that, I devoted myself fully to wielding my blade and didn’t look at the clock again until my stomach gave a massive growl.

“Huh, it’s already been this long?”

I looked at the clock in the sky to see that twenty hours had already passed. Given the absence of the sun, it was a bit hard to tell the time here.

“All right, might as well go find some food.”

Taking a break from practicing, I entered the large white house in front of me.

“Wow, it’s way bigger on the inside!”

Not only was it significantly more spacious than my mom’s house and the dorm where I lived now, but it was also tremendously clean. There wasn’t a single speck of dust in the place, as though it were cleaned every single day.

“Hmm, where was the food again?”

According to the Time Hermit, a magical storehouse produced an endless supply of food in this world.

I searched the house and quickly found a giant refrigerator in the kitchen. I opened the large double doors.

“Huh?!”

Meat, vegetables, fish, milk… The fridge was packed tight with every conceivable kind of ingredient. I grabbed a tomato that was directly in front of me, wiped it gently with my clothes, and sank my teeth into it.

“…! Th-that’s delicious…!”

It was as fresh and juicy as if it had been picked that morning. The sweet taste filled my mouth.

Next, I ate some dried meat and vegetables that didn’t require any preparation and headed right for the bathroom.

“It’s huge…!”

The bathtub was ten times bigger than I expected. I quickly got in.

“Ahh, the water feels so good…”

Even though I didn’t adjust it at all, it was somehow the perfect temperature. Neither too hot nor too cool—it was perfectly warm. The muscles throughout my body slowly relaxed.

After my bath, I got ready to sleep and headed for my bedroom. Additionally, I glimpsed what looked like a library on the way there, but I passed by it without stopping. I wasn’t going to spend my time on anything other than training. That level of focus would cause one hundred million years to pass by in a flash.

“So sooooft…”

The bed in my bedroom was spacious and otherworldly soft. My body sank into the plush mattress.

“This is incredible,” I muttered to myself while wrapped in the fluffy, warm comforter.

I had delicious food, a relaxing bath, and a soft bed. And more than anything, I had one hundred million years. Nothing could beat this. This was the best environment I could have asked for.

“Heh-heh, I’ll train for the full one hundred million years. Then I’ll surely become an amazing swordsman…”

Filled with great hope and ambition, I slowly drifted off to sleep.

Ten years had already passed since I’d come to this world. By honing my skills with the blade every day during that time, I came to grasp the essence of swordcraft.

I wonder if I can consider this optimized yet…

I knew the best timing for both when to put force behind my sword and when to let up during a downward vertical strike. This wasn’t vague intuition—I had come to completely internalize it.

One hundred years later.

By this time, I had learned a great many moves. For example…

“First Style—Flying Shadow!”

…I’d even mastered a projectile slash attack.

I’d been trying to name the various moves I devised. It felt as though I’d become the founder of a new school of swordcraft. This was a blast.

One thousand years later.

…I’d gotten a bit tired. Probably more mentally than physically.

I was repeating the same thing day in, day out. First, I would practice, then eat, then sleep. That was all I had done for an entire millennium. My days were dull and monotonous, with zero new stimulation. I just did the same thing over, and over, and over again. This lifestyle was beginning to wear on my mind.

One day, I decided to take a walk as a little diversion and quickly discovered that this world was much smaller than I had assumed.

I concluded that it must be shaped like a small sphere. If I left the house and walked straight, it didn’t take long to end up at the back of my house. This world was tiny—even smaller than the schoolyard at Grand Swordcraft Academy. I suppose this was the first time I’d felt lonely since arriving.

“I wonder if Mom is doing okay…”

I spent that day swinging my sword as well.

Ten thousand years later.

Humans being the strange creatures that they are, I eventually fully adapted to my new environment.

Thinking back on it, things were toughest around the five thousandth year.

At that time, all the food I would eat—meat, fish, vegetables, you name it—had come to taste like flavorless rubber. When greeting my doorknob had become part of my daily routine, I’d really started to worry that I was spiraling.

However, I had been able to overcome that crisis surprisingly easily. The moment that I internalized living in total solitude with no people around as “normal,” my mind was set totally at ease. Nobody found it weird that humans couldn’t fly through the sky. Since we didn’t have wings like birds, that was merely common sense. So if you could accept living in solitude as “normal,” then it would simply become another part of your everyday routine and cease to bother you.