Hugo Clay
The protagonist of this story.
Originally, he was a character destined to appear as a villain in Luminous History... but after the soul of a kindhearted Nichiasa otaku named Yugo Kurei took up residence inside him, his personality transformed into something heroic that bore no resemblance to his former self.
In the original game scenario, he was meant to stand before the player for a time as a piece of scum who looked down on the protagonist after they enrolled in Luminous Academy, harassing them for various petty reasons.
Eventually, he was supposed to steal a kiss from the main heroine, Claire, in front of everyone. This act of public humiliation and grief was the trigger for a duel. He would have faced the player as the boss of the prologue, and after his defeat, he was destined for a steady downward spiral into ruin.
Although he wielded the powerful magic item known as the Sacred Sword Galandil, he could hardly be said to have drawn out its true potential. In fact, players often remarked that Galandil was the main entity, while Hugo was merely a disposable accessory.
While the techniques he used were reasonably strong, his personal performance was mediocre. However, the lineage of the prestigious House of Clay was not just for show; he possessed world-class talent.
Despite his original role, Hugo’s fate changed drastically after he lost a duel to Zenon—who had ignored the game’s script to claim Claire for himself—and, as mentioned, the soul of the human known as Yugo entered his body.
By spending a month after enrollment committing wicked deeds, he was supposed to have become the most hated person in the academy, falling into a state where his affection levels would never rise again. However, because he lost the duel before that could happen, that dark future vanished. Certain characters, starting with High School Division transfer students like Melt, began to evaluate his character from a fresh, neutral perspective.
As a result, Hugo earned high praise from Melt, who saw his heroic nature and his devotion as an older brother to Fee, leading her to become his friend.
Furthermore, the high potential dormant within Hugo’s body merged with the imagination of the Nichiasa otaku within him, allowing his power to be drawn out in an incredible way. He reached a state where he could freely unleash the spectacular techniques of the heroes he so admired.
He possessed perfect compatibility with the armor-type magic item Blaster, drawing out levels of performance that even Fee, the creator, found bewildering.
While Hugo successfully resolved the incident caused by Rush, only a handful of people like Melt and Fee knew the truth. Many in the academy still held a grudge against him, and it seemed the day he would receive a proper evaluation was still far off.
Even so, he continued to help people in need. He marched forward, aiming to become the greatest hero—one his younger brother could be proud of.
Fee Clay
Hugo’s half-brother and the only person who stood by him after he was disowned.
He possessed a timid and quiet personality, yet he was strong-willed at his core.
Although born into the House of Clay—a family famous for producing many renowned Magic Knights—he was deeply troubled by his weak constitution and lack of aptitude as a knight. However, his talents as an engineer and scholar were recognized by Hugo (the original one), who encouraged him by saying he had the ability to serve as his right hand in the future. Because of this, Fee came to respect him from the bottom of his heart.
Hugo also seemed to dote on him, showing a side as a kind older brother that he never revealed to others, which earned him Fee’s unwavering devotion.
In the original scenario, Fee was meant to be exploited by a desperate Hugo, eventually becoming a sacrifice to summon a demonic sword so Hugo could gain more power, resulting in his death.
However, once Yugo entered Hugo’s body, the situation shifted. His fate changed, and he became the one who watched over his brother as he strove to become a hero.
In a world filled with enemies, the presence of a brother who adored and respected him was massive for Hugo. Driven by the goal of becoming a hero his brother could be proud of, Hugo continued to charge down his own path.
While providing the armor-type magic item Blaster was a major contribution, it was undoubtedly Fee who helped Hugo decide which road to walk.
From adding weapon generation capabilities to increasing the capacity of the micro-particle metal, Fee’s technical support would continue to be essential to his brother’s success.
Melt Epee
The heroine of this story. (Probably)
She was one of the characters in Luminous History whose popularity rivaled that of the main heroine, Claire. In contrast to the refined Claire, Melt had a bright, energetic personality—though she had a bit of a clumsy side as well.
She was a student of the Transfer Group who started attending Luminous Academy at the High School Division level. Since she hadn't personally witnessed Hugo’s past misdeeds, her opinion of him started at a neutral baseline.
Normally, she was supposed to witness his villainy firsthand and gradually lose interest... but because Zenon defeated Hugo before that could happen, her affection level never dropped into the negatives.
Later, after seeing Hugo’s genuine concern for his brother Fee, she became interested in him and formed a team to take on requests.
During their missions, her feelings grew as she watched him struggle to protect her and the children, and fight desperately to save those kidnapped by the Magic Armor Beasts.
Having decided to believe in the Hugo she saw with her own eyes rather than the rumors, she avoided the fate of falling into the clutches of the Reincarnators who viewed him as an enemy.
Furthermore, after witnessing Zenon’s behavior when he condemned Hugo for winning the duel against Rush, she felt a wave of disgust that made her break with the Reincarnators definitive.
For better or worse, the kiss she gave Hugo to flaunt their close relationship led the Reincarnators to believe she had stepped into the role originally intended for Claire.
However, the greedy Reincarnators had no intention of giving up on such a charming girl. Even after the Scenario Route Vanished Announcement, many were still watching for a chance to claim her for themselves.
Regarding Hugo, that first kiss caused her to stop seeing him as just a friend and start viewing him as a romantic interest.
She didn't do much to hide her feelings, but perhaps because she was still a young maiden, she hadn't quite worked up the courage to take any truly bold actions.
Nevertheless, Hugo was equally conscious of her, making her the heroine closest to him without a doubt.
She utilized a ring-type magic item called the Sword Ring.
By channeling magic power, she could create purple magic power swords, which she primarily used as projectile weapons. Thanks to Melt’s natural talent and her training, the speed and variety of her sword generation were quite substantial. She could instantly manifest countless blades, create a single massive sword, or generate a powerful blade with concentrated magic power.
Since the ability to generate weapons was added to the Blaster, she also took on the role of providing the base swords for Hugo to use.
Between her versatile attack patterns, her balanced and high-growth stats, and her ability to use support and recovery magic, her in-game performance was top-tier. (An S-rank in terms of Tiers.)
Many fanservice scenes were prepared for her character events, which was likely another reason the Reincarnators refused to give up on her.
As a side note, Hugo had already experienced events like accidental panty shots and walking in on her bath. If the Reincarnators ever found out, they would likely weep tears of blood in envy.
Marcos Borg
The heroine of this work. ( )
While he started as an arrogant noble, he was hot-blooded and serious at his core, taking great pride in his status. He was the type of person who proved to be a surprisingly good guy once you got past his initial attitude.
He first met Hugo when he came to challenge him to a duel upon hearing that Hugo had been disowned and stripped of the Sacred Sword Galandil.
At that time, his unpleasant traits were at the forefront, but he was gradually influenced by Hugo and regained his true personality—a man who might be a bit thick-headed but treasures his noble pride.
After Hugo talked him into helping out at the care facility, they reconciled completely after fighting off a mysterious Magic Armor Beast that attacked the site. He apologized to Fee and Melt for his past behavior and, while he struggled to be entirely honest about it, he formed a genuine friendship with Hugo.
When Rush transformed into a Magic Armor Beast, Marcos fought desperately to protect Melt and the children despite knowing he was outmatched, buying precious time until Hugo arrived.
Hugo praised him as a hero for that stand, and his bravery lit a fire in Hugo’s heart for the final battle against Rush.
After the incident was resolved, he returned to his family home to recover from his injuries and repair his broken magic item. Before leaving, he reaffirmed his friendship with Hugo and vowed to train himself to catch up to his rival.
He occupied the "Additional Warrior" position in the group, and since becoming an ally, he had frequently served as the comedy relief. While he claimed to be Hugo’s friend and greatest rival, those around him didn't seem to take the claim very seriously.
The magic item he used was Giga Scissors. As the name implied, it was a weapon featuring giant shears integrated into the armor covering his left arm.
While he possessed impressive physical durability and attack power, his performance against magic was lackluster. Because of this, his Tier rank sat around B.
...However, that was only the Marcos within the game. There was no guarantee that the Marcos of this world would be limited by such stats. Great things were expected from him now that he had found a worthy rival in Hugo.
Zenon Ash
The transfer student who defeated Hugo—the man once called the lowest of the low—in a duel and saved (or rather, took) his fiancée, Claire Rouge.
In reality, he was a human who had reincarnated into this world as the protagonist earlier than Yugo: a game otaku named Seto Haino.
As a die-hard fan of Claire, he defeated Hugo in a duel before the event where Hugo would have stolen Claire’s first kiss could occur... but that act became the primary trigger for the world’s fate to change.
Following the disappearance of Melt’s scenario route and Rush’s defeat at Hugo’s hands, Zenon spread rumors to disparage his rival. He tried to use his Protagonist Charisma to win back the "stolen" Melt, but his actions only infuriated her. He ended up being completely rejected after Melt kissed Hugo right in front of him.
However, since his charisma still worked on others, he managed to pull himself together and lived as he pleased. But then, Rush—whom Zenon had advised—took the idea that "strength is justice" too far and became a Magic Armor Beast.
Zenon was knocked unconscious and defeated by a version of Rush whose strength had exceeded the limits of a protagonist’s reincarnation bonus.
While the academy fell into a panic due to the monsters Rush unleashed, the incident was resolved by other Reincarnators, creating a massive gap in status between him and his peers.
Afterward, the allied Reincarnators stripped him of his priority rights to weapons and allies. Driven by desperation, he acted again to reclaim Melt.
During a request at Mount Yumyum, he plotted to eliminate Hugo, but failed miserably. The cowardice he displayed during the crisis cost him the trust of the other students. Having lost all hope of a comeback and suffering a total mental breakdown, he became the first Reincarnator to be declared "Game Over."
His true personality was that of a self-centered, socially awkward otaku. He was reckless and suffered from a "game brain" that made him view the people around him as mere NPCs.
He had managed to hide his flaws by playing the ideal protagonist and reinforcing it with his granted charisma, but once that respect from others vanished, he could no longer conceal his true nature and fell into ruin. If he had been even slightly more considerate of others, this outcome might have been avoided.
The weapon he chose upon reincarnation was a straight sword. He had also boosted his aptitude for flame attribute magic, resulting in an orthodox combat style. Given his extensive knowledge of the game, he could have been quite powerful if he had simply enjoyed the world properly; his early exit was surely a source of great regret.
Rush Winhelm
A male student with a rather self-righteous streak. Like Hugo and Marcos, he was part of the group that promoted from the Middle School Division.
He hailed from a prestigious family of Magic Knights and had many followers, though most were attracted to his family name rather than his personal charm.
He met Hugo because of Melt’s involvement with him. Believing that Melt was being deceived by the "scum" Hugo, Rush demanded he stay away from her and challenged him to a duel. His refusal to listen to Melt’s side of the story and his insistence on pushing his own views highlighted his arrogant nature.
During the duel for Melt’s hand, he used the Avatar Ring to create clones and the sword Windrum to generate wind sickles, nearly cornering Hugo with his relentless attacks. However, he was ultimately overwhelmed and defeated by Hugo’s Rising Crimson Fighting Style.
Afterward, he joined Zenon’s party and monitored Hugo on his orders. However, after witnessing the Crab Magic Armor Beast and Hugo’s strength in defeating it, his mental stability crumbled, allowing the "Hooded Person" to manipulate him.
Twisting Zenon’s words into the belief that "strength is justice," he sought a power that transcended all others. Using a crab pincer provided by the hooded figure, he began preying on those around him.
After obtaining immense power and defeating Zenon, he attacked the care facility in search of even more strength. He overwhelmed Marcos, Melt, and the newly arrived Hugo, but was eventually slain by Hugo’s Purple Armor. He was then unceremoniously disposed of by the hooded figure who had deemed him a failure.
However, the small crab monsters he created managed to escape to various regions, destined to leave a lasting impact on the world.
In the game, he was the type of character who started strong but was eventually benched due to poor stat growth, earning him a Tier rank of C. Zenon had only recruited him on a whim, intending to demote him to the second or third-string later.