Reincarnated Hero System

"Let's hope it's a member of 'The Five'. It better NOT be the Demon King."

Evan made that not-so-silent prayer as he reached out to the door of the Trial Room while Eliza stood behind in silence.

'How does Evan have 'Memories' of the 'Demon King'?'

That was the new question that bugged her mind and she could not hold her curiosity back anymore.

"Okay, Evan, hold on a second."

She grabbed the boy and pulled him closer to her before she started speaking.

"I know you've been dropping hints everywhere in the past few years and if I start to think about how many hints you've given me, I might lose sleep over it.

So, I'm just going to straight up ask you this."

Her sapphire eyes locked right onto his grey orbs as she asked.

"You're not the reincarnation of someone from 1000 years ago, are you?"

"Huh? No, way. I'm not."

Evan didn't even hesitate to answer her question, crossing his arms in front of his chest and shaking his head to show his denial.

"No way, I'm not that old."

"Then why do you have memories of the Demon King from 1000 years ago?"

Eliza demanded an answer and Evan's lips twisted into a light frown as he spoke.

"I can't just tell you, but I can give you a clue. Though, fair warning, you might not like it."

Raising an eyebrow in curiosity, Eliza watched as Evan pointed to the left side of his chest, drawing a circle there.

Confusion clouded her face initially, but then she remembered Evan's grave injury from a few months back, and her expression soured.

The moment that happened, Evan spoke.

"How did it get back to normal?"

Knowing exactly what he was talking about, Eliza answered automatically.

"Didn't you say that EOTD helped yo-?!"

When her expression morphed into one of surprise, Evan smiled and gave her a round of applause for her quick thinking.

'Time Magic…

Does he mean that he used Time Magic to show Evan the past?'

"Got your answer?"

"…yes."

"Great. Let's wrap up this Trial. I'm craving strawberry pizza."

Evan pushed the arena doors open with ease and strode inside; his attention was immediately drawn to the illuminated platform at its centre. It started to generate a Replica, starting from the legs.

"Those legs…definitely a woman."

"So, Altrishia or Vaeri?"

Eliza pondered aloud, eliminating male Transcendents from the possibilities based on the feminine form of the legs and hips.

She summoned the Memoria, extending its spear tip while activating her Ethereal Equilibrium. Meanwhile, Evan infused the Unforged with his golden aura while thinking those legs looked 'familiar'.

As the Replica continued to form, the person's hair became visible. Seeing this, Eliza furrowed her brow with confusion.

"That's not Altrishia's hair colour."

"Or Vaeri's."

Altrishia had black hair and Vaeri had deep purple. However, the hair strands they saw were a blend of blue and black.

"It also shouldn't be taking this long to generate."

The Demon King's Replica had generated within 30 seconds for Roselia and Nadarus, but it had been over a minute now and this was still forming.

Evan looked back down at the person's legs as he tried to think of who this could possibly be.

'Maybe it's a different Character from the game? Does it consider other players as 'Existences' in my memory?'

At that moment, Evan realized what had triggered his sense of familiarity earlier: it was the jeans.

"Those jeans remind me of Levi's."

"Levi's? Is that a person or a type of jeans?"

"It's a Jean brand."

Evan casually replied to Eliza, remembering how he used to see adverts about that Jean brand on his way to school in Earth V.

"The shoes also look like Nicks too."

"Nicks? Never heard of it."

"Of course, you haven't. It's a sneaker bra..n…d…"

Evan's voice trailed off as realization hit him. Both Levi's Jeans and Nicks sneakers did NOT exist on Planet Aidos.

Something was off. Why was the Replica wearing clothing from brands that were alien to Aidos?

Just then, the Replica generation process accelerated, forming the person's upper body. The person wore a casual T-shirt with a design Evan recognized—a shirt Evan hadn't seen in four years.

"That hair colour too…"

As the Replica generation completed, a beautiful young woman stood before Eliza and Evan. When Evan saw her face, his sword slipped from his grasp, clattering loudly on the ground.

"Evan?"

Eliza called out to him but the sound of her voice went in one ear and right out of the other.

For the first time in his three years on Aidos, despite facing multiple life-threatening situations; Evan's will to fight vanished in the face of an opponent.

Thiswas the same Evan who had fought on undeterred,even whensurrounded by a dozen assailants, who had pressed on despite losing a hand and even having his heart destroyed.

Yet, now, his fighting spirit had vanished like smoke at the sight of this Replica.

She had a striking beauty that would turn heads wherever she went. Her hair was a lustrousshade of blue-black, cascading in glossy waves that framed her face and fell gracefully down her back.

Her eyes were deep and captivating, matching the hue of her dark tresses.

She possessed acurvaceousfigure, accentuated by a generous bust size. Her choice of attire included a soft pink T-shirt that complemented her complexion, paired with snug black jeans.

Completing the look were trendy black and white sneakers, adding a sporty touch to her ensemble.

The sight of this person made Evan's expression contort into the deepest frown Eliza had ever seen the boy wear.

Evan's grey eyes glinted with an intense glow, the Mystic Eye Symbol within them shining brighter than she had ever seen, as he locked eyes with the mesmerizing blue-black gaze of the woman standing just 20 meters away.

In a voice laden with myriad emotions, Evan asked.

"…how…

HOW areYOUin This World?!"

"…"

The Replica offered no answer to his inquiry; it could not talk, after all.

Despite the expected immediate commencement of the fight upon the Replica's completion, it remained stationary, fixated on Evan, for an unusually long ten seconds.

Then, on the eleventh second, its eyes shifted towards Eliza, flaringwith a sudden intensity.

"Divergent Wards. Barrier!"

Eliza instinctively activated her barrier skills and generated a wall of translucent green light that stood firm like a rampart capable of warding off any and everything.

The Replica's hand raisedanda jet of inky blue liquid shot forward at supersonic speed, piercing through Eliza's barrier like paper.

Immediately, the girl slammed her staff on the ground, spawning a duo of flower cannons. The first cannon fired a beam to counter the inkyliquid,while she directed the second towards the Replica.

But before she could unleash it, the ground beneath her shattered, and a hand-shaped aura construct made of the same blue-black ink burst forth, seizing her and hurling her into a nearby wall.

The moment the Replica took Eliza out of the equation, it turned towards Evan and dashed forward, reaching himin an instant and throwing outa punch towards his face.

However, despite how blindingly fast it was, Evan's left handthat parried it waseven faster. The boy leaned in after parrying the strike, his right fist crackling with golden lightningandhe threw it forward.

**BAMMMM!!!

The punch sent the Replica hurtling through theair,all the way over to the other end of the Arena.

The Replica quickly recovered, landing gracefully on its feet, showing no sign of damage from Evan's attack.

As Evan approached, the Unforged returned to his grasp, and he skilfully twirled the sword between his fingers, an action that made the Replica tilt its head to the side.

A moment later,it condensed the inky black liquid aura and moulded it into a sword resembling Evan's.

The two looked at each other in silenceandEvan felt multiple rings of green light appearing around his legs and wrists ameremoment before he kicked off the ground and lunged at the Replica.

In response, the Replica raised its blade and charged at Evan, mirroring the trajectory in which he swung his sword and meeting his slash midway.

The clash of their blades echoed with athunderousresonance, andseeing their exchanges,Eliza's eyes widened in shock.

'Its sword technique…it's theexactsame thing as Evan's!'

Evan's sword technique was a mixture of Arlan Maddox's swordplay, Finley's, and Roselia's—all threeof themaugmenting the original swordplay Evan had known ever since Earth V.

It would take a skilled swordsman studying Evan for an extendedperiod of timeto realise that Evan was mixing four styles into one.

Anyway, the core of his swordplay was one he did not learn here on Aidos.

And this Replica was using the same swordplay, mirroring each movement of his with uncanny precision.

It was a sight that made one wonder whoactuallyhad 'Mimicry' powers here.

Evan initiated with a sweeping left swing aimed at the Replica's torso. Without missing a beat, the Replica mimicked the motion, intercepting Evan's blade with its own.

Pulling back momentarily, Evan thrust his sword towards the Replica's right flank.Naturally, the Replica executed theexactsame thrust, meeting Evan's blade tip to tip.

With a swift overhead chop, Evan targeted the Replica's head. The Replica responded in kind, raising its blade to block the attack, their swords clashing with a shower of sparks.

Changing tactics, Evan spun low, aiming a sweeping cut at the Replica's legs. In a fluid mirror of his move, the Replica bent its knees and swung its blade horizontally to counter Evan's strike.

Evan pulled back his bladeoncemore,before swinging it down in an overhead arcwhichthe Replica was about to mirror.

It was then thatEvan suddenly let go of his sword and activated another skill of his.

'Burst Cannon.'

The barrage of condensed aura projectiles reached the Replica before its sword reached Evan, striking it squarely in the chest and sending it hurtling backwards.

'Hydra.'

Six Serpentine dragons emerged from the ground behind Evan, lunging forward with their jaws wide open.

The snake-like constructs bit down on the Replica's body and charged forward, slamming it into a wall before releasing the condensed energies in their maws.

However,all ofthis had little to no effect due to the thick coat of blue-black aura that covered the Replica's skin at the last moment.

With a burst of aura, it blasted away all the serpentine dragons and released itself from their hold, but the time it took to do that was already enough for Evan to complete his preparation.

Evan's wings unfurled to theirfullspan, and his dragon horns pulsated with potent magic power as he widened his mouth to the limit.

'Dragon Breath.'

A radiant beam, a kaleidoscope of colours, erupted from Evan's mouth with unbridled force.The power behind it distorted the surrounding spaceand madeit 'shimmer' as it sliced through and engulfed the Replica in less than a second.

The creature did not even have a chance to fight back as Evan's attack broke down its aura barrier and completely disintegrated the Replica's form.

Within seconds, all that remained of the once formidable Replica was a dissipating trail of blue magic power.

[Trial Complete]

[Calculating Rewards...]