I Became the Novel’s EX-Class Genius

It is said that a person’s life can be split into thirds: sleep, work, and walking. Thus, I divided my days and followed this plan, sleeping and walking when I needed to. But I couldn’t accept the situation.

So as soon as I woke up, I grabbed the person looking at me with a loving expression and talked to them.

That was the conclusion of the first round.

After a moment of rest, I came out to the living room to enjoy the dinner my mother had prepared.

“As expected, Mother’s food is still the best,” I said, glancing up at my mother with a satisfied expression.

“Oh my, has our Siwoo finally matured?” she asked. “Why are you suddenly calling me ‘mother’?”

“Well, an iron is too heavy to be lifted alone1.”

“I-is that so?”

Thank you for accepting your son’s dad joke, Mother.

After living here twice, it really felt like this person was my mother. Of course, I knew this was the world of novels, and I understood that she was just a character, but after so many loops, I couldn’t help but feel attached.

Lee Siwoo.

I reminisced about the character’s name – my name.

Lee Siwoo was one of the extra characters in the second part of The World After the Apocalypse, commonly abbreviated as TWAA. And I, a talentless ghostwriter named Lee Do Yoon, possessed him.

I was supposed to write the novel, helping the author work on the ending. But instead, the author delayed it and made me enter the novel.

“Are you tired?” Mother asked. “You must be excited about tomorrow’s entrance ceremony.”

Not at all, I thought. I’ve already experienced it twice, after all.

Instead, I said, “I thought so too. I should go to bed early.”

“Yes, I must go out early tomorrow morning, so rest well,” Mother said. “Remember that I’ll always support my Siwoo!”

“Okay, Mother. Thank you very much.”

“Now that our baby is finally a high school student, he’s so grown up!”

“After high school, I will become a great person and make you happy,” I said as I rose from the table and headed up to my bedroom, leaving my mother to be moved by my words.

Once I was alone, I sighed at the full-length mirror in my bedroom.

“I can’t believe I have to grow this body again,” I sighed, frustrated with how unattractive I’d become. Lee Siwoo, who had a slender figure, was good at nothing but talking, so I had difficulty following the main character with this weak body in the first regression.

“The original work, first regression, and the second regression…”

I sat at my desk, thinking I could finally succeed this time. But I had a lot of work to do tonight if I wanted the third round to go well. Human memory isn’t that clear, but when we return to the starting line, we can use the power of hindsight. And unlike the first and second regressions, the system gave me hints, putting me at an advantage this time.

I had to write everything down to ensure my success.

I grabbed my smartphone and began to type.

2.

In the year 2030, the world will fall into the Apocalypse; in 2050, the world will overcome it.

And that’s where I am now.

“Phew, I barely wrote it all down,” I muttered to myself, exhausted. I had stayed up all night recording and organizing the events of the first and second regressions on my phone.

Now that my work was done, it would be best to check my current condition.

“First, the status window.”

The second part of the original novel, “TWAA,” deals with the parallel world, which eventually saved the world after the apocalypse, just like the novel’s title. Eventually the world would be saved and the status window would be no more.

But when I muttered for the status window, I saw two hovering in the air:

[Lee Siwoo]

-Role: Regressor

-Ability: Amplified Vision

-Ranking: F Rank

[Lee Do Yoon]

-Role: Transmigrator

-Ability: ???

-Ranking: ???

“First, I’ll have to combine them.”

In the first regression, I was amazed to see the status window. Back then, I pressed both abruptly, and then the two windows merged.

Thus, I tried to suppress Lee Siwoo’s talent, Amplified Vision, but the explanation window popped up instead.

[Amplified Vision(晥眼)]

– A talent that allows you to see everything brightly

On the surface, it seemed useless. I couldn’t understand why Lee Siwoo was quick enough to approach the main and supporting characters with this ability, probably because he wasn’t the ‘hero’.

I swiped to the window with my name on it, sure that my talent would be the same as last time. I tapped the ‘???’ and called up the system message:

[Would you like to gain an ability? (Y/N)]

Of course, I clicked ‘Yes.’ But the message crackled unexpectedly.

[An error occurred. Lee Do Yoon… Lee Siwoo… are the same person. There is an additional acquisition of talent.]

The system message repeatedly glitched and blinked before it eventually reappeared. The first time, the error surprised me; in the original setting, a character could only gain one ability, so additional talents were considered impossible. But now that I was on my third regression, the error was unimpressive.

[Lee Siwoo (Lee Do Yoon)]

-Title: 3rd Time Regressor (Transmigrator)

-Ability: Amplified Vision, Metastasis

-Rank: F-Rank, EX-Rank

-Characteristics: Quick Judgement.

The title changed from the second to the third, but the status window was the same as before. That was lucky, because I kept my Ex-class ability, which was even superior to the main character, Yoon Mir.

I pressed ‘Transfer’ to see if the talent description had changed.

[Metastasis(轉移)]

-When attacked by an awakened person with an ability, the awakened person’s ability can be “transferred” and put into the slot.

– Available slots (0/7)

– Acquired ability is limited to used one time only.

– Even if the ability has been used once, the ability filled in the slot can be used for the second time if one is exposed to the ability again.

It was the same as before. Of course, it was a great ability if used well – the more you were hit, the more talents you could gain. In my second regression, I had been on a role with this power, but many other characters made fun of me for having strange tastes.

They just didn’t realize how powerful this ability was. After all, I could even steal the main character’s talent.

I better be cautious in my third life.

3.

Today was the day Lee Siwoo would enter Special Abilities High School.

I stayed up all night but looked at the rising sun with relief. Then, just as I realized it was time for my mother to come wake me up, I heard her voice.

“Siwoo, wake up! You have to go to school!”

“Yes, mother! I’m coming!” I called down to her.

When I came out, I saw Mother had prepared a feast for breakfast.

“Why did you do all this?” I asked, taking my seat at the table and grabbing a spoon.

“Well, I won’t be able to see you again until the weekend,” she explained, ever the affectionate mother. “It’s the least I could do.”

“Thank you for the meal,” I said as I dug in. It was my third time eating this meal, but it was still delicious.

4.

After breakfast, I got in my mom’s car and headed to Special Abilities High School. The banner flying above the gate was familiar, as it was my third time entering the school. I knew I would meet the key characters of TWAA here, and I had to remember the hint the system gave me:

“In our third life, let’s do the cha cha cha…”

We all had to work together – the main character, my friends, and I – to run to the end.

But why did it give me a hint? I thought to myself. Is it because of what happened last time?

“Siwoo, are you okay?” my mother asked me worriedly when she saw my sour expression.

“Oh, yes,” I answered. “I guess I’m a little nervous.”

“There’s nothing to worry about – this is the Special Abilities High School! Do it as usual!” my mother said, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “Mom believes you’ll do well!”

I nodded silently, knowing she could only say that because she didn’t know what would happen in the future. I couldn’t help but feel anxious when I thought of that future. But I had already experienced it twice; the third time wouldn’t make any difference.

“Let’s think this is the last time and do our best,” I said as I got out of the car, believing every word. “Then I’ll be back.”

“Okay, Siwoo! You can do it! Don’t forget to contact me from time to time at the dorm!”

“Yes, Mother.”

“And call your dad too!”

I bowed my head and closed the car door.

During the second regression, I had never seen my father. Since he didn’t appear in the original novel, I thought he was a character with little weight, but I wanted to see him. At least it would mean my mother didn’t have to be alone all the time.

After watching my mother’s vehicle pull away, I turned my head to the main gate of Special Abilities High School. Many of the characters I needed to oversee in the end were entering this school with me today. Using my experiences of the first and second regressions, I knew I could achieve the correct ending this time.

With that determination, I walked into the Special Abilities campus.