「 That exam was tough. How the hell was I supposed to know about the evolution of dragons in becoming dragonkin?! 」Elras says, seemingly pissed.

「 I agree, Reinhardt-sama, 」Aaron continues, 「 I don’t think we went over that material in rather deep detail over his lectures. What do you think, Alderhide-sama? 」

I feel dead inside…

「 Renald? 」

「 Huh, yes? 」

「 Like I was saying Alderhide-sama, 」Aaron patiently says,「 what do you think about the materials in the exam? 」

「 It was alright I guess… 」I mindlessly say,「 I was able to answer almost all of the questions. 」

「 No way, 」Elras astonished,「 even that weird question about the huge possibilities of the existence of races or sub-races that the historians couldn’t discover? 」

「 Yeah… It was quite simple. I just list down several insights on key historians regarding the matter and use it as the basis of my conclusion. 」

「 How about the question regarding the first appearance of humans coming to the surface and establishing itself? 」Aaron asks.

「 I think… Explaining the foundation and the early days of the Shiford kingdom should be enough… As you might know, Shiford was one of the earliest human kingdoms. 」

「 As expected for Renald, 」Elras bemused,  「 Truly the only Mayer Professor’s true student. 」

「 Yeah… yeah… yeah… 」

「 By the way, what will all of you do for the vacation period? 」Aaron asks.

「 Going back to my territory of course. Who knows what those damn elves are up to these days. 」

「 I’m not sure… 」I chime in with Elras response.

「 Sounds nice, I likely will be staying here, my territory isn’t that far from the capital anyway and I still have some things to do in the cathedral headquarter. 」

「 Anyway… Since we just finished the [History & Politics] exam, how about we celebrate it over a scrumptious and luxurious lunch? 」Elras happily suggests.

「 That sounds wonderful. 」Aaron replies.

Lunch huh…?

「 I’ll skip this one. 」

「 What? 」Elras eyes darts over to me concerned,「 Why? 」

「 I… I have some studying to do… 」I come up with an excuse.

「 Aren’t all of your exams already over, same as us? 」Aaron asks.

「 I still have to work on one of my《School of Wits Magic》spells. 」Just please let me go.

「 Are you alright Renald? 」Elras ask, worriness more visible in his eyes.

「 What are you talking about Elras? 」I say, mustering the best smile I possibly can,「 Of course, I’m alright, you know how hard it is to master that school of magic. 」I end with laughter.

「 If you say so Renald, 」Elras hesitantly says,「 Are you still up for the idea Aaron? 」

「 Fine by me, as long as I’m not late to attend my weekly cathedral meetings. 」

「 Alright then, I’ll see you later then Renald. 」

「 Take care, Alderhide-sama. I wish you great fortune in your study. 」

「 Bye-bye. 」

Then Elras and Aaron went off to the other way, leaving me behind on my way to my room in the dorm housing. My sole solace.

Do you see how powerful words and acting is? Simply say “I’m fine” and with the right smile, nobody would bat an eye. Nobody would notice what’s happening beneath the facade I put on. It’s necessary, however, I need to put on a strong will. Being weak and fragile won’t solve anything. A fake smile has always been plastered throughout my lifetime, frozen in place.

I feel dead inside.

I make my way through the lavishly furnished lounge, dreading the ascent of the stairs, enter my room, and finally leap towards my bed to curl on my blanket. These same thoughts play over and over again.

This black hole within me — it’s eating me up. The world no longer seems magical. The sky no longer seems limitless. The tears want to splash down in a torrent of misery, but they’re too stubborn. They just… wouldn’t come.

Hope. It’s gone. For she is the reason for its materialization.

It’s always there. It was only until now that it grew much worse. I always cling to the hope that one day, after all of my suffering, pushing myself to the limit, withstanding all sorts of abuse, then everything will be worth it. That I will finally find somebody who would simply love me for who I am.

But the reality is always harsh. Like a slap in the face, it pulls me to the ground from my dream. Reminding me of my failures.

My failed admission to the famed schools of magic, both《School of Assault Magic》and《School of Aegis Magic》

The failure of knowing the existence and learning the proper, noble, and superior art of magic. Instead, learn the common and inferior way of magic.

And most importantly, the utterly degrading experience from her strike at my lowest point…

Was it really bad, foolish, illegal for me to just dream of being with her?

It was just an aspiration of mine. But yet…

If only I worked harder. If only I focused more. If only I do this and that instead. Regrets piling up more and more.

What will be my next step now I know I truly fucked up this time?

I don’t know…

I truly don’t know…

「 Excuse me, young lord. Are you there, young lord?! 」

Normally, I would ignore it, but there’s something about her voice that draws me in. A sense of urgency and panic within it.

The distance to the front door never felt this far before. The small warmth and comfort from my only solace, blanket that I hold dearly to, are now gone. I opened the door. The maid’s eyes before me widen, shock clearly plastered on her face. She immediately bows down.

「 This maid is deeply sorry for raising her voice. This maid knocked several times and didn’t receive any response from the young lord. 」She says nervously.

「 So, what is it? 」I reply without holding back the annoyance I felt.

「 Lady Heva-sama, your mother, is waiting for you in the lounge. 」

「 I see… 」today is the day she comes huh… I forgot about that,「 tell her to wait a few more minutes. I need to prepare. 」

「 Understood, young lord. 」

I close the door, strangely slower than I expected. Everything happens in slow-motion as I prepare myself to head out, and select what clothes to wear even with the minimal clothes that I have. Which doesn’t even amount to one-tenth of the closet’s humongous capacity.

As soon as I’m in the lounge, I immediately take notice of Mother — of course — the way she sits alone as she looks outside the windows with that nostalgic smile of hers she always puts on, are way more charming than the fancy housing. She wears a beautiful blue gown that compliments her hair, flower patterns embedded on the gown’s waistline, the fabric looks smooth and gives out a luxurious feel. I never saw my mother wear this gown before, is this new? However, my mother’s favorite black pillbox hat is apparent.

「 There you are, my boy! I missed you so much. 」

Unbeknownst to me, she somehow covered the distance in a flash. By the time I became aware of her eager voice, she leaped towards me and hugged me. Very tightly. Her gown will be ruined, wrinkles formed with how she presses me very hard as if she never wants to let me go again. It’s to the point of discomfort and a hard time breathing.

But that’s very like her.

My breathing becomes slower, melting to my mother’s grasp as I can feel every muscle fiber lose its tension. In this moment of feeling mother so close I am more awake somehow, more alive than I have been in so very long. The heart slowly rejuvenates back.

「 H-hi mother… 」

「 I miss you so… so… so much Renald. 」She says as she rains kisses on both of my cheeks.

「 Yeah… 」I mutter,「 I miss you too mother. 」

She pulls away. The comfortable warmth is no more.

「 I’m glad to hear that my sweetie. Oh, how much you’ve grown taller! I remember when we hugged, your head was bound to my chest, now I’m the one who has her head on your chest. Fufufu…  」

「 Y-yes mother… 」

I swear I wasn’t that short. Oh, I see… She must be talking about it before I got transmigrated to Renald’s body…

「 I wish to talk more with you Renald. But we don’t have time. I already reserved an amazing restaurant I’m sure you’ll love it! There are more surprises over there too. 」

「 Alright mother. 」

She grabs my hand and pulls me towards her as she drags me outside.

The sun shines way too bright for my scruffy eyes. The carriage with the authentic Alderhide insignia is ready in front of us. I let mother go first before my turn, noble etiquette as always.

「 How long have you been taking a nap Renald? 」

「 Quite a while, I guess… an hour or two. You know, the university is very tough so I’ve been relaxing for some time after it’s all over. 」

「 I see… 」Mother says slowly,「 So how’s university Renald? 」

「 It’s alright… Learned a lot about《School of Wits Magic》arcane runes and spells. There’s also the [Logistical Warfare] class I took which is interesting. And I’ll probably take a class in [Business and Territory Management] and further my studies in [History & Politics] after the vacation period. 」

「 That’s interesting…  I thought you are going to take more warfare-based classes such as [Horsemanship] or [Magic Swordsmanship]. What happened to that? 」

「 What’s the point when I’m not even in one of the combat schools of magic? 」

「 That makes sense… But how come you’ve taken an interest in [History & Politics]? 」Mother says after a moment of shocked silence,「 I remember it was such a boring class. This is quite unlike you Renald. 」

What…? The fascination of learning this world’s ancient history is priceless. The wonders of the Verum Shihi Era, where real dragons roamed the sky, the time where humans hide underground is very interesting. How come mother didn’t know this? That’s right… The “Renald” beforehand hates, disgusted with the mere idea of reading books.

The conversation then quickly turns into mindless chatter, with me simply answering with “yes”, “no”, or “I don’t know”. My lackluster response somehow doesn’t ruin mother’s mood as she seems to be impatiently waiting for something. I guess she’s pretty excited about this restaurant of hers.

The carriage stops. That’s quite quick.

From the luxurious decoration this restaurant has, it seems to not be the kind of place you can get a table on impulse; large mullion windows, long embroidered curtains, dark walnut tables, flower pots on each table, and it even has a delicate live music performance.

A table is somehow empty amidst the almost full restaurant just near the large mullion window, giving a great view of the vibrant city. By the time we sit on that table, a butler immediately serves us tea from silver trays in white ceramic teapots. She whispered something to the butler, a wide grin clearly plastered on her face as she did that. Looks like mother already planned everything out.

「 Do you like everything so far Renald? 」

「 Yes mother. I rarely go out and see what the city has to offer during my study. So experiencing this wonderful place is pretty exciting and I’ve been greatly enjoying it 」

「 That’s quite a surprise, 」mother eyes slightly widen,「 I would’ve assumed you explored every nook and corner of the city? What happened, sweetie? 」

「 I just never thought about doing that, mother. 」

「 You’ve really changed huh sweetie… 」

I’ve changed? I’m always like this, I didn’t have much time left from studying night and day. Why does mother think this way?

「 Ohh! Here it is! 」

The butler placed a gigantic white cake in the middle of the table. Lit candles placed on top.

「 Happy 18th birthday Renald! Just another year and you’ll be a noble adult! 」

Wait, today is my birthday…? Whatever, it just means another year before I’ll get kicked out from the Alderhide family. Although, I still have some extra time to finish university first before I’m officially kicked out. Mother definitely didn’t know about the unwritten or unspoken agreement between me and father.

I don’t like cakes… I took a bite and the sweetness overloads my taste receptors to the point of sickening. Numerous weird and exotic dishes such as frogs, smelly chunks of cheese, and others then come to the table. These are not my favorites… Aren’t these the former Renald’s favorite? I hate these dishes. How come she didn’t know this? I clearly told her from time to time when I still live with her.

It was supposed to be my special day… But these dishes completely ruined my mood.

「 Are you alright Renald? 」Mother says worryingly.

「 I’m fine. Thank you for the great surprise Mother, 」I say, mustering the happiest smile I possibly can.

「 Ohh, 」She replied sweetly,「 You’re very welcome Renald. Now go ahead and feast to your heart content my healthy young boy.  」

I’m not in the mood to eat. But I must force myself to eat this lest I make mother worried again. I try to eat the dishes provided at the table. Each bite makes me more and more tempted to take smaller bites, pausing to take more. The taste is so unappetizing that I’m careful to not allow the food to touch my lips.

「 Have you tried getting along with your siblings in the university? 」

「 Noo… mother. 」

「 You know that Cefre-san is currently in university too right?  」

F-fuck… It’s that cursed name. I can’t believe a sister can hold such malice towards her younger brother…

「 What’s the matter Renald? 」

「 Ohh… I was just quite shocked… I didn’t know she was studying here too, considering how most of my brothers and sisters are way older than me. 」

「 It’s alright… You always have been such a shy boy. Ohh here it comes! 」

Mother says, her eyes dart to somewhere behind her. I follow her. The restaurant’s butler comes to us holding a box. A present. It’s perfectly decorated with its sparkling ribbons and colorful palette. Is that… going to be my birthday present?

Mother’s eyes sparkle as the butler place the gift near my still quite full plate. I wonder what kind of gift I will receive. The box is quite small, just a little bit bigger than my plate. Perhaps a book? I’m not used to receiving any gifts… When was the last time I ever received one? I never even celebrate my birthday at all, this is the first time I think.

「 What are you waiting for, Renald? Go open it! 」

I untie the ribbon and pry open the lid of the box. Looking inside, what greeted me was something unexpected, something that I wouldn’t think of in any way. I didn’t even know what to say. Why does she remotely even think this sort of gift is for me? No matter what you think about the contents. This isn’t for me. This is for someone else.

The gift mocked me as if it’s laughing at my current situation.

W̶h̶o̴ ̶a̶r̶e̴ ̵y̵o̴u̴?̶ ̶Y̶o̶u̷’̵r̶e̴ ̵a̵n̷ ̴i̷m̶p̵o̴s̶t̸e̸r̷.̸ ̸Y̷o̸u̷ ̵a̸l̴r̸e̵a̴d̵y̸ ̷d̸i̸e̷d̶ ̸o̴n̷c̵e̴ ̵–̸ ̵b̸y̵ ̴y̷o̴u̷r̸ ̶o̵w̶n̷ ̷w̷i̵l̷l̶.̸ ̸T̶h̷i̸s̵ ̷i̶s̵ ̸y̴o̵u̶r̴ ̴i̵d̸e̵a̷ ̸o̴f̶ ̵b̶e̸i̸n̶g̶ ̴h̶a̶p̸p̴y̶?̶ ̶T̵o̴ ̴f̸e̷e̷l̴ ̴l̷o̶v̴e̶ ̸b̴y̸ ̶r̷e̸p̴l̶a̶c̴i̴n̵g̷ ̴s̶o̶m̶e̷o̸n̵e̶’̷s̴ ̶s̵o̶n̴?̶ ̷Y̶o̷u̸ ̵d̷o̴n̸’̷t̸ ̴d̵e̶s̷e̶r̷v̶e̴ ̴t̵h̵i̸s̷.̴ ̵Y̴o̴u̸ ̸d̴o̷n̴’̴t̵ ̵d̶e̴s̸e̸r̴v̶e̴ ̴t̶h̶i̸s̴ ̴g̴i̷f̶t̵.̷ ̶T̸h̸i̷s̴ ̸g̵i̸f̵t̶ ̷w̴e̵r̴e̷ ̶s̸u̷p̴p̸o̵s̴e̴d̷ ̵t̴o̵ ̸b̷e̷ ̵f̴o̶r̷ ̴h̸e̵r̸ ̴s̸o̶n̸.̸ ̵N̸o̴t̷ ̷f̸o̸r̷ ̷y̴o̵u̸.̸

I can’t help but feel that her once beautiful and cheerful smile right now holds something spiteful. That’s right… I’m not her son. Why would she love me? She didn’t even know her son was replaced with another person. I’ve been lying this whole time.

「 What’s wrong Renald? 」

「 I… l… I love this gift mother… Thank you, 」I say putting up another bright smile, holding off my sheer disappointment.

「 You’re very welcome Renald! 」

Renald this. Renald that. At first, I didn’t pay any heed to that name, I just thought of it as my new identity. But now I realize it’s… not my name… It’s somebody else’s. This gift is for the Renald of the past, I’m not the person to who she’s giving the gift for. It’s for Renald.

「 M-mother, is it okay if we leave pretty quickly? I… I forgot that I have an appointment with one of the professors pretty soon 」

I need to get away. I’m not feeling well.

「 Are you sure Renald? 」Mother asks confused,「 Can’t you postpone it? 」

「 I’m so… sorry mother… I didn’t know you were coming. I would’ve not set up a meeting if you were coming…  」I lie as naturally as I can.

「 Oh don’t be Renald, it’s my fault anyway for meeting with you so suddenly. 」

We didn’t talk much as we get out of the restaurant and even then in the carriage. Everything feels surreal.

「 Sweetie, 」mother says, breaking the silence,「 will you join me to the Alderhide estate in this city after the meeting with your professor? It’s much bigger and luxurious than our private house in Quondartz. Your father will be there too. 」

「 No mother… I’m good. 」

「 Okay then… Oh and also Renald, do you want to come back to our home in Quondartz for your vacation period? 」

「 I-I’ll… think about it. 」

Definitely not around Renald’s mother or family. The carriage becomes silent once more with only the outside voice filling our eardrums. I swear I counted almost every second passing by. At the very least her mood hasn’t changed at all, she still exhibits her cheerful aura. That’s good. I would’ve been more guilty if she notices my behavior.

「 Okay then. Oh, we already arrived. I miss you so much but I cannot hold you back, right? Bye-bye Sweetie. 」

And off she goes along with the carriage. She looks very happy as she says those words while simultaneously waving her hands. She doesn’t need me.

How come I forgot?

It’s not me that she loves and puts her heart into. It’s the former me — Renald. She loves her son, not the one who replaced him. She mistook me as Renald. And I’m not the real Renald Alderhide.

I’m Yoshinobu Ryo.

True love does exist — it’s just not for the likes of me.

She’s… She’s not my mother. I never had a mother since the very beginning.

My life will always be devoid of love, even in this second life of mine, my undeniable fate.

I’m the worst. I truly am an imposter. And I don’t deserve love.

I just want to get out of this nightmarish place. But how am I supposed to do so?

「 Hey Renald, I thought you were supposed to be studying. What were you doing? 」

Unknowingly Elras is in the lounge, sitting relax-fully, and drinking tea like he always loves to do.

「 Ehh… Hey Elras… 」I say whatever I could think of,「 where’s Aaron? 」

「 Huh? Ohh… Aaron is in the cathedral as always. 」

「 I see… By the way Elras, you are going back to your family’s territory, right? 」

「 Of course, what’s wrong Renald? 」

Maybe getting away from mother or this place wasn’t so hard after all. The Reinhardt territory should be far away from the Alderhide territory.

「 Can I follow you to your family’s territory? 」

It’s supposed to be a normal, mundane evening. All sorts of homework with ranging topics from the meticulous military offensive strategy, outright inefficient military logistical operation procedure according to modern standards, to the complex and arcane《School of Wits Magic》runes that makes even advanced calculus formulas pale in comparison are all done. I even recently agreed to join the archaeological expedition. What remains are the few exams left needed to be prepared.

Same as always like in my previous life. Which I unsurprisingly enjoy. The boring routine gives me peace of mind, something predictable to do; the focus of achieving a goal, the engrossment of learning, the spent energy after crossing the finish line brings me a sense of accomplishment, a high of some sort.

The heart. A small organ. Fragility is one of its known characteristics, further proven with the skeleton ribs encaging it. Protected it must, for if it’s destroyed, its carrier will follow. So when the heart alerts its presence with its monotone, yet shattering beats, vibrating to the very fibers of my ribs, after the supposed normal one-to-one mentoring session with Instructor Smush, I start to remember. The fragility of the heart.

All of the things I did in this life. Practicing the way of the sword numerous times, getting every swing, movement, and sway right, to the point of extreme exhaustion. The countless hours studying the wonders of this world’s magic, memorizing the very letters and syllables of its chants, grimacing the agony of a failed spell cast. Everything is just a way for me to get myself busy. Occupied. Away from the unsettling truth.

The exhaustion and agony are a very good price to pay compared to embracing the deep hole in my heart that has left its mark upon coming to this world.

The ironic peace it brings was all that. A facade. A mask. Beneath a calm, stable, and strong mountain of appearance is an unstable magma flowing around.

Empty heart. It feels so… unsettling… Unlike exhaustion or pure agony, it doesn’t occupy your mind to the brim, it leaves you alone, for you to be solely occupied in its intolerable feeling. It’s just there. The void doesn’t fill your mind to the brim but barely enough to warrant you to constantly think of its presence. Slowly eating you alive. That’s why filling the mind with mundane routines that bring you to the edge of exhaustion and agony is way better.

But why does it also feel… familiar? As if I experienced this before…?

It emanates loneliness. A life without love. The very thing I always try to fight against.

Damned to eternal loneliness… The unsettling truth; my biggest fear.

The heartbeat slowly but surely causes my unsettling anxiety to float to the surface until it stands out like a sore thumb in my mind. The very thing that I try to keep hidden away, never to be seen and felt again, now it’s causing havoc and unrest in my mind.

It made me doubt myself on whatever I’ve been doing this whole time. Like how history always repeats itself, it makes me realize how I’ve been doing almost exactly the same thing as my past life.

The study, study, and study. Head bound on a book, sitting for an uncountable amount of hours, posture leaning forward to get a better angle on the book, right hand holding a pen, writing notes, or solving practice problems. Always has been.

Will I follow the same mistake as my past life? Am I fated to eternal loneliness?

Are all of my efforts in becoming worthy of love are always doomed to be a failure from the beginning? Will I always be… alone…?

With nobody to share warmth?

With nobody to confide with?

With nobody to accept for who I truly am?

With nobody to grief within my times of despair?

The inevitable loneliness…

Isolation…

O̵u̸r̶ ̸i̶r̴r̶e̷v̶e̶r̷s̵i̶b̸l̵e̴,̷ ̷u̸n̸b̶r̸e̶a̷k̶a̵b̸l̷e̶ ̶f̵a̵t̶e̴.

A cool breeze sweeps the quiet campus, chilling my heart that craves warmth, awakening me.

I should go back home right now. I’m done for the day and it will do me no good to loiter around on campus, being depressed at that. By the time I hit the bed, I’ll be fine and everything will go back to normal. I can’t risk further burden Instructor Smush and especially the mother. Who knows how much it will impede my progress if I tell them their son is depressed and the possible cost to get treatment if that even exists of course. Following the ideal mundane routine while feeling under the weather is my forte anyway.

The night is coming. The sky is not in complete darkness, the sun still barely shining its light to the surface. A glimpse of the full moon, however, can be seen in the sky horizon. Manaritium lamps all around the campus slowly start to shine their bright light on the faintly darkened campus. The air is quite heavy.

How long have I been trying to calm myself down and control my emotions?

I start walking back home, an unfitting solace but will do for now.

The steps feel heavy and slow, similar to the near exhaustion I felt after finishing the six-mile run training from that fucking drill sergeant. I guess they weren’t lying when they said mind to body connection exists, for I’m mentally… or should I say emotionally exhausted.

I come to cross again with the Bosart statue, its bronze surface doesn’t shine its usual bright reflection from the sunlight, gone was its magnificent aura, replaced with the horrifying solemness of the near soon dark night.

With no warnings or signs, the regal beauty princess comes to my view along with what seems to be her group of friends. Her charm brings a small warmth to my frozen heart. I know there’s a huge disparity between us, but I can’t help but dream of being loved by her. If I can’t have her then at the very least she’s my source of motivation in becoming a better person, one who’s worthy to be loved.

I stare at her, the soon dark sky doesn’t obscure her awe-striking details in the slightest. I notice how her face is beautifully heart-shaped, her lips as red as bloomed rose. Diamond jewelry as blue as her eyes dangling in her ears, adding more depth towards her magnificence charm.

「 Hey you. 」

Amidst my silent appreciation of her beauty, she stares directly at my eyes. I didn’t even realize it until now. Something awfully wrong. Her blue sky eyes are so different right now, filled with more scorn and wrath than I knew eyes could be. The lovely princess is gone and instead, it is the eyes of a predator preying on the weak.

Out of shock and at the worst of time, I trip and fall to the ground. Damn, at least I didn’t fall with my head first.

「 How dare you have the audacity to gaze at me with those lecherous eyes of yours?! 」

Wh-what?! Lecherous eyes?

「 I-I’m… I’m sorry… 」

「 If you were so sorry then prostrate yourself! 」

My already worse mood plummets. Frozen heart shattered. My limbs feel like leaden weights. Even breathing becomes quite a chore. Legs gave out, knees thudded into something very hard.

「 Does anybody know who he is? 」the princess asks scornfully.

「 I know, 」a familiar feminine voice sprung out, 「 he’s the failure of my family. The youngest idiotic son of the Count Alderhide family. Renald Alderhide. I’m ashamed to have him as my younger brother.  」

How does she know my name?! I look up and see her… Cefre Alderhide. My sister. Does she get along with the princess?! How come I didn’t know…

「 So a bastard? A count nobility one at that. 」

「 You would be correct, Hime-sama. 」

「 Hmph! Of course… 」the princess sounds annoyed,「 why do I even have to go to the same academy with the likes of you. 」

「 What? Got nothing to say…? 」I say.

Why am I even on the ground?

Gukh!!!

A swift kick hit my stomach. Stars burst in my vision, all of my senses wired to the stomach. My hands make it way shielding the stomach, grimacing the painful agony.

「 You lowly bastard speak too much! Hime-sama hasn’t given you permission to speak! 」Another one of her followers says.

F-fuck… it fucking hurts… I want to throw up…

Why is she acting like this? All I ever did was observe her from afar. That’s hardly a crime! Is this the price I pay for sticking too close to the rose?

I can’t think. I can’t comprehend at all. Is this reality?

「 People like you I hate the most 」

Hate. Hate. She clearly said that. She hates me.
My most beloved crush. The royal princess.
How could you really hate me this much?!
I didn’t even start anything… All I did was to look up at you from a far distance.

「 So… Cefre-san… What should we do with this little brother of yours? 」

「 He’s not my little brother, 」disgust apparent from Cefre’s voice, 「 father didn’t outright abandon him purely because he loves his mother more than my own mother. A leecher bastard fits him more. 」

Multiple Shadows fell on me, engulfing me to nothing but darkness. They encircled me. Their laughter is sinister and sickening.

And then all I can feel is pain, pain, and pain, the world spinning around, the ground by the atomic distance inches closer and closer to my face.

I can’t scream. The world no longer makes sense.

Pain. Agony. Inside and out. My heart, my body, everything fucking hurts.

I can’t fathom it. She was so beautifully innocent, so pure, so… clean as I observed her from a far distance. But up close right now she exhibits the end of the spectrum. Malice. Is this the price I pay for sticking too close to the rose?

Why?! Why?! Why?!

「 Pardon my intrusion, Hime-sama, 」Amidst my anger, I look up towards the direction of that voice,「 could you tell me what’s going on here? Why does Hime-sama use her spare time to bother a lesser noble? 」

That harsh remark on lesser noble bores deep into my heart. The young man as he walks closer towards us has fiery red hair with equally red eyes. He folds his hands tucked near his chest as he approaches the princess.

「 It’s none of your concern, Noxburg-san, 」an irritating smirk making its way on the princess’s face.

「 Oh it is, Hime-sama, 」he insistently continues, eyes staring daggers at her,「 It doesn’t fit the royalty image to harass lesser nobles. A united nobility is what we are in dire need of right now Hime-sama. If your harassments towards him come to light to the nobility community, or if worse, the commoners, hell will let loose. Do I have to remind you of the great unrest that’s happening in the international community? 」

「 It wouldn’t come to light if it weren’t for you showing up, 」one of the princess followers says.

A hand raises to the sky, it is the princess’s hand, prompting her followers to stop whatever protest they are about to raise towards him.

「 You bring up a good point, Noxburg-san, 」the princess continues, 「 however, you forgot one rather small, but nevertheless quite an important detail. That pathetic man dares to offend me,  Vivienne Veinard, the second royal princess of the Veinard kingdom, the white flower of the royal family. After knowing this, are you still going to defend this lesser noble? 」

He looks at me, raising a disturbing eyebrow.

「 It might be improper to say this as the son of the great Duke, Dran Noxburg. However, you need to give some leeway to this one, or else you will put more coal to the fire. I’m doing this for your own good. 」

There is an undercurrent of the meaning behind his words, as soft-spoken as it is. He’s judging me, and he’s simply helping me escape from this situation not out of kindness nor sympathy.

「 Ugh… Fine, 」the princess replies hatefully,「 remember, I’m only giving this lesser noble a leeway with the Veinard Kingdom stability in mind, not on your so-called “noble” advice. 」

An engulfing silence follows as she walks away, maintaining her ever-gracious posture, I would’ve appreciated it if it weren’t for the shame I went through. Soon, it’s only me and Orwen Noxburgh as multiple figures leave this place, following the princess.

「 My job is finally done, 」he lets out a relieving sigh,「 I’m sorry for what you’ve experienced, but please keep this situation a secret. This is not a request, by the way, it’s an order. There will be major consequences if you ever spill this out. 」

Without ever having the chance to spill a single word on my side, he left this place, leaving the once angered, now devastated me behind in this cold, dark place. Sunlight doesn’t shine to this place any longer, only the manaritium lamps shedding some light on this gloomy place.

My shortly-lived crush with the royal princess is destroyed that easily huh.

I know it’s an impossible dream. She’s a princess for fuck sake, of course, I’m not that of a fool. But she’s right, is there even a person out there who will even love me…

Another chill breeze sweeps its way to me, refreshing me to the present moment in the dimly lit campus.

Oh yeah… I need to go back home…

I didn’t think much on my way back home. The insidious insult she throws at me, the humiliation, the shame I experience truly shattered my frozen heart.

Ribs broken, heart shattered. Inside and out.

Out of habit, I check my mailbox as soon as I’m in the housing dorm. Surprisingly there’s a letter, what’s worse it’s from my mother. When was the last time I received a mother’s letter? I just bring it together with me to my room. Thankfully, Elras or Aaron isn’t present in the lounge, I don’t know how to interact with them in this pathetic state of mine.

As soon as I close the door, I leap towards the bed, still holding the letter. Ah fuck it, I should read it now, maybe it will give me some solace…

 

Dear Renald Sweetie,

Congratulations on reaching intermediate mastery of《School of Wits Magic》Renald! I wasn’t expecting you to be able to comprehend the immense intellectual challenge it takes, considering how you are always such a silly boy back then. I miss the days how I always need to give you a stern lecture to get your head down to the books. Oh, how you’ve grown my baby boy hehehe…

I heard that you’re still adventuring around with the son of the Reinhardt Marquis family. Elras Reinhardt was it? I hope you get along with him and nothing bad happens with you in your friendship with him. I’ve personally met the Reinhardt family, and I must say the rumors of them being a rough and barbaric noble family weren’t far from the truth. 

But I should’ve known you will get along with people like him, I know how you love the idea of adventuring and exploring the world. I remember how when you’re twelve you always come back home with weird items you found interesting from the city’s antique market.

This should’ve been a surprise, but I can’t help but tell you how I really miss you so when you’re reading this letter I will be already on my way to visit you! And since it’s a surprise I won’t give you any fixed date for my arrival. You miss your mother too right?

Can’t wait to see you Renald,

Your lovely mother

 

Mother is coming huh…?

It doesn’t matter — none of it matters anymore…

Darkness soon surges, embracing me… I welcome it with open arms.

Just like anything in life, nothing always goes to plan. Days have passed after Elras and I have finished the adventurer’s quest. I rarely saw Aaron outside of a brief moment in the lounge and in our class; putting a tremendous hold in further figuring out what that purple room is.

While waiting for the opportunity to meet with him, I try to keep myself busy like always, booking several adventurers’ quests with Elras and continuing my progress in the academy, especially in the《School of Wits Magic》that I’ve become quite fond of, but not too much. Combat magicians are always and will always be much wealthier and respected compared to Wits magicians. Following my passion will not bring me happiness; I need to always keep this in mind.

There is a bit of a silver lining, however, in joining the《School of Wits Magic》, one-to-one mentoring is very common amongst the department due to having the least amount of students, second to《School of Alteration Magic》. This, with the advantage of the slower time in the sky palace, allows me to master this field of magic quickly. And I’m about to attend my weekly one-to-one mentoring soon enough.

Arriving at the usual door, I lightly knock before slowly opening it. Inside, a source of dim light illuminating the room from a manaritium lantern placed in the middle of a round table with two cushioned chairs. All of it lies in the center of the room; the walls cannot be traced back, as if infinite darkness surrounds it due to the dim light. Creating a serene and somber atmosphere.

Behind the table sits an old lady. Despite her frail appearance and gentle expression, I know what truly lies behind that facet of wrinkles. Headstrong and wise. A profound doctor magician level at that. The very definition of the ultimate Wits magician known for its unfathomable wisdom and stoic nature. Noticing my arrival, she sends a warm smile.

 

---

Welcome, Alderhide-san. I’ve been expecting you.

---

 

I calmly approach the chair and sit down like I always do in our mentoring session, upholding the calm and serenity of the room. A mentally exhausting lesson awaits and every bit of tranquility helps.

Within the depth of my conscience, sheer concentration, and conceptualization intensifies. Symbols, shapes — patterns are all vividly imagined as it flows around in my mental space. An abstract woven-like thread sprung out and with my will, connects its way to her. A link forms between me and her.

A tunnel between two logos.

 

---

Good Afternoon, Instructor Smush.

 

What a pleasant surprise… You are able to cast a chantless《Cogitarn》spell. Albeit, requiring much more intense concentration on your end. It is very good seeing my students progressing rapidly, however, please be aware to not rush on your journey in mastering the《School of Wits Magic》since a single mistake can potentially impair your mind, especially in the realm of our subconscious mind, our… abs-logos. Now, please demonstrate to me any kind of illusion spell you’ve learned in our previous class.

---

 

Still, within my conscience, I recall a different set of symbols while simultaneously imagining the sort of circus I would perform in this room. Tiny sparks of light pop up one by one, and slowly magnifying into much grander colorful explosions. The silent room becomes quite hectic with the reverberated explosions. Illusionary Fireworks. The lights are intense and seem very real, instinctively closing my eyes along. However, it’s supposed recoil blast waves don’t exist. This small missed detail signifies this is only sparkles of light I came up with, not real fireworks.

Once the performance is over, what greets me when I open my eyes is the same warm smiles of hers.

 

---

Excellent display in coming up with the illusions as always, Alderhide-san. You scored very well. On to the next lesson that I’m sure you’re eager to learn. This lesson or spell I’m about to teach you, however, is not within your caliber. 

It is the《Somn》spell. A very complex spell, one that can be bent or shaped to fit whatever the caster’s desire. But generally, it is used to dive deep into the dark unknown of our subconscious that covers the majority of our mind, abs-logos. You might venture into a forgotten memory of your past, the good or the bad. Or perhaps… you will face the other side you’ll wish didn’t exist. Fear. Twisted impulsion. Malice. These are human traits, and as much as we try to deny them, they exist and we must face them. For only by accepting them, we can conquer ourselves, and therefore metamorphose as the true Wits magician.

Usually, the caster of the spell will be able to take a peek at the receiver’s subconscious, however, for this one, I’ll deliberately prevent it to do so. So you can experience the wonders of the spell without worrying over me prying on your secrets. I can demonstrate the spell now to give you a glimpse of it, that is… with your consent of course.

---

 

Wow, I can’t believe she’s going to demonstrate the infamous《Somn》spell. But isn’t this an Advanced magic spell? I’ve only reached intermediate mastery and I’m somehow being encouraged to take two steps ahead. Is this because I’m one of the very few students in her class that is progressing very rapidly?

The subconscious huh…

Now that I think about it. I rarely delve into that part of my brain for a good reason. I always try to keep myself occupied with something. Being alone with nothing to do is such a foreign concept for me. And that spell is well known to be able to explore the other side of human nature…

I should still do it anyway, all for the sake of mastering the art of Wits magic much quicker.

 

---

I consent.

---

 

Without an usher of words from her, I somehow become very sleepy. Sinking into a deep ocean…

 

…..

 

As soon as I’m conscious and able to create coherent thoughts on my current situation, dark rocky caves surround me and only weakly lighted. Its humid, damp air added with its strong musty smell and a tinge of rotting meat makes me wonder how real this dream is. All of my senses seemingly fully wired to the environment. I can even feel the slight uneven rocks beneath my feet.

Wait a minute… Isn’t this that very same cave?

「 It branches to two, Renald. Do you want to split or move up together? 」

I look towards where the voice comes from behind me. Turns out, Elras is talking with the… “other” me, both equipped with adventurer’s gear. Man, that… blue hair still feels pretty weird and awkward. You would think after several years I’ll get used to it.

Looks like I’m visiting a memory of mine where Elras and I went to investigate kobolds’ activity and eliminate them if possible and deemed necessary as an adventurer’s quest. And from the way they don’t notice me as I wave my hands in front of their faces and dance around like an idiot to gain their attention, I’m guessing I don’t exist, a ghost.

It feels quite awkward seeing myself from another perspective. I should probably experience this as if I was watching myself on a recorded video, but this time I can wander around with my own physical body to gain a different view or perspective.

「 Let’s split up, I’ll go to the smaller branch on the left, 」the other me says.

「 Alright, it should be quite easy, at least compared to those damn elves. We already encountered the majority of them anyway. Just remember to retreat back if you think it’s too hard. 」

「 Understood, be careful Elras. 」

They split up as they move towards their designated branch. Hmm… What if I follow Elras along?

I tag along behind Elras as he goes to the right branch. As soon as I got several meters away from the other me, however, a migraine struck like a bolt of lightning. Like a cage of pain, the more I’m away from the other me the more the agonizing pain intensifies. I must go back to the other me again on the left branch where the headache finally subsides.

So that’s it I guess? I can’t get away from the past me? That seems quite reasonable when I think about it. The brain doesn’t have any information regarding the things I haven’t experienced therefore it becomes confused and stressed out, releasing pain in return. At least that’s what I assumed, I would need to ask Instructor Smush for confirmation.

And so I follow along with the past me as we… or I encountered kobolds along the way. It was a grind for sure, killing all of these kobolds as I traverse deeper to the cave. I think it was around ten to twenty kobolds in total just by my own.

Oh yikes, that kobold struck its dagger to the side of my other’s stomach. I winch as I remember how the pain was a fucking bitch and still remains slightly to this day.

Oh yeah, there was that pesky kobold trying to hide in the cave blind spot, but thanks to《Biante》Wits a magic spell that increases my awareness and passively detects lifeforms in a short radius, its sneak attack attempt failed before it even started.

As I followed along with the old me as he encountered more kobolds, slowly but surely I realize this wasn’t just a normal memory… It is the start of an event I am remorseful and very ashamed of.

Oh god, oh fuck, it’s that cave room. No, don’t go there Ryo or Renald or whatever! Just don’t go there!

I try to push the other me away, but I always go through him as if I were a ghost. Ahh fuck, no matter what I did the other me is just going there. I can’t fucking stop it. He’s going to the room. Aah fuck do I really have to follow him. Dammit, that painful migraine fucking struck again. I got to follow him, aren’t I?

There they are, numerous babies and young kobolds. They are clearly underdeveloped, less than half of the already small-sized adult kobold. There’s no weapon in sight, clearly indicating they are very innocent and defenseless. I forgot what emotion I felt when I first discovered them, but one thing comes to mind.

“I need more shadow minions”

That single thought becomes the devastating start of the immoral slaughter.

Their unintelligible screams and dying whimpers, begging to be spared, are all for naught.

Their small bodies spasm, underdeveloped legs kicking in the air, tiny hands clutching to the big sword boring a hole in their stomach, pushing it away in a futile effort.

Again and again and again…

Until I’m the only one who’s still breathing. And the once chaotic cry is replaced with silence, their lives are all speck of dust, worthless, and disappear just as easily.

Their bodies are all laying flat, a deep hole on each of their stomachs, seeping out blood, digestive juices, and even its intestines can be seen dangling out.

The sword’s once shiny polish is now replaced with the glistening blood, dripping to the already dyed red ground, oozing out the immoral act.

If I remember correctly, at this point that child should be… Ah fuck, that one is still alive and is trying to escape, dragging its body on the ground, leaving a trail of blood. It didn’t move too far since it was moving slowly.

And as expected I just walk towards it with my bloodied sword. I mean it’s not going anywhere with its slow pace but still. The sword strikes his back. Ugh… That same haunting dying scream, causing shivers down my spine.

Out of my expectations, the other me turns back, facing directly at me. I remember back then how disgusted I was with what I’ve just done. It turned into one of the worst days ever, as their seconds before death is always replayed in my head over and over again. I have to keep telling myself that they are just monsters. Forcing myself, justifying myself to accept the idea that their death is for the greater good and how it is necessary to kill them for peace and the prosperity of humanity.

I can clearly remember how sour and griefed I was at this exact moment.

So why is he — the once I — devilishly smiling at me?

 

 

W̶͉̍̃e̵͇̖̅ ̴̞̘̀̚â̵̜̼͌r̵̫͆͋e̷̼͌́ ̶̺̙͠á̸̞͝ĺ̷̛̙̘w̸͇͑á̸͚͜y̶͍͚̑͆s̴̨̎ ̶̨̱̚a̷̧͐͒ļ̶̝̇o̸̥͑̓n̷̖͝é̵̫̕.̶̛̠̈́.̶͕̐̍.̸̗͎̾ ̵̳̆

̶̦̟̽D̵̝̪̐̓ạ̶̉m̸͕̰̉͊ṅ̷̫̻͝e̴͔͂d̷͙̦̎ ̶̰͇͌t̵̹̱͂͐o̶̮͐͌ ̶̪̈́e̴͙̋ͅẗ̸͉͚́ē̷̹̬r̵͉̖̕͝n̸͔̗͌ȃ̴̩̰l̴͖͍̐ ̴̫̮̋͗l̷̟͊͐ò̸̡̘́ņ̵̼̎e̸͎͠l̵̩̈́̕i̶̭͖̐͒n̵̘͛è̵̟s̸̨̳̀s̷̩͎̔.̴̱̞̀͗

̶͎̓̀P̵̗̓̓o̶̳͂w̷̺̳̒͘e̶̘͎͘r̶͚̫̆̾.̵̮͌̚ͅ.̶̰̊.̸̗̙̊͒ ̷̮͒͝Ô̴̿͜h̷̘͉̽,̶͍̆ ̷̨͍̆̓h̴̡̝̍o̸̳̽̃w̸̫͋ ̵̱͎̾͝w̶̠͓͛̓ẽ̷̥͂ ̷̟̦͊y̶̙̹̎̃e̸̕ͅả̴̦́r̴͉͆͘n̸͉̙̐͌ ̵̟̜̓f̵̝̕ö̵̢́͑r̶̻͒̕ ̴̓ͅi̵̼͆̇t̸̢̞͛͆.̵͍̻̒̊

̶̱̮͑Ö̵̪̚ǘ̸̯r̵̝̈̃ ̴̬̬͐ọ̷̻͒n̶͎̬͂l̸̰̲͌ẏ̷̩̲͘ ̶̠͝s̶̨̓ͅả̴͓̄l̷̨̆v̵̜̩̾a̴̟͂̍t̷̖͖͆i̶̩̘̎o̶̮͊́n̸̯̔̽.̸̩͔̊̆

̴̞̠̈͑

̵̼͉̃̎D̶̪͒͝o̶͕̱̕ṇ̶̡̓̀’̷͖̥͛t̷̞͚̐ ̷̙͆̔͜y̷̭̓o̸̻̮̓̔u̶̮͋ ̶̺͚͐ṭ̸̣͐h̴͓̩̀͐i̵̗̭̽̊ǹ̴̠̕k̶̝͎͌ ̶̫̊̎s̶̤͓̈o̸͖̓ ̵̡͋t̴͙̤͛̎o̸̡̍o̵͈͆ͅ,̶̜̖̈́ ̸̗̽̔R̸̙͝ý̶͈o̷͍͕̍?̸͙̎͋ ̸̢̫͋

 

 

 

---

I feel a great disturbance in your mind, Alderhide-san.

---

 

Her voice from within my mind unknowingly pulls me back to the surface.

It was a small period of darkness before now I’m back in the room with Professor Smush again. I could feel my heartbeat… every single pound in my chest. This pressure urges something… Something horrible. Each beat, pulse, thumping seemingly trying to urge me, reminds me of the other me.

She seems to keep herself and remain calm but the more apparent wrinkles on her forehead indicate she’s heavily worried about me.

 

---

Are you alright?

---

 

Not wanting to make her worry too much, I immediately nod to her.

 

---

We should end the session a little earlier than normal. You need to take a rest now. I’m very sorry for making you experience a bad memory. If you need any kind of help from this event please don’t be shy and let me know.

---

 

「 Thank you, Instructor Smush. I will take my leave now. 」

I immediately leave the petrifying room, trying my hardest to appear calm and to not bother her while the tsunami-like beating from my heart is still ongoing. A worried smile plastered on her face as I closed the door. Damn, I made her worried huh. I should be able to stop this fucking annoying beating soon enough.

I go outside the building, smelling the fresh air to calm myself down, but the thumping is still present. It didn’t work; why won’t it stop.

Damned to eternal loneliness…

Domination and Submission. Numerous people refer to it as something viciously evil, something uncivilized for us humans who have evolved from our betters, deeming it unfit in our new, just world. Yet, like the animals we evolved from, we always check the status quo, comparing one another, seeking who’s fit to rule or to be ruled, see who’s better, powerful, wealthier — superior amongst ourselves.

It’s ingrained in our social nature and daily interactions in plain sight. Managers with their staff, Politicians with their citizens, teachers with their students, and even in the almost equal relationship between a man and a woman. No matter how hard society tries to deny its existence or create a utopian system to prevent our reptilian thinking to manifest its way to societies working, it will always stay with us.

Even more indisputable in this new world with the advent of slavery. Yes. The very same slavery reviled in my previous modern world. It always has been a fussy topic. Denying its existence when centuries ago it was common and even considered as “good” for society. But then again who actually wants to be owned as property and submit to a person?

It is the undeniable truth however, that slavery is the pinnacle of domination and submission we humans can get. The master dominates his or her slaves and the slaves submit to his or her masters to the fullest extent.

Although I must agree it is a very immoral and bad practice, I don’t have time going on about the morality issues or ramifications of it when I first discover its practice in this world. So I ignore it, stored at the back of my mind to never see the light again. It was only until that slave girl came that the notion or concept came to the surface.

That shortly lived existence of hers that makes it through my life puts a rather unimaginable amount of fuel on the once extinguished ideals of mine I hold dearly, on the first day I stumbled upon this world, reborn from my previous treacherous life.

It reminded me of my twisted desires.

I want absolute, unwavering devotion. I want certainty. I don’t want to be betrayed or abandoned. I want complete exclusivity of body, mind, and heart.

But that doesn’t exist. My previous life showed that.

Her slight appearance, however, gave me a revelation — a hope — at the once foolish fantasy.

Her features are cute, but boring I dare say; just another typical person in the vast seas of humans with no major-breaking beauty that distinguishes her from others. But not for me. For her devotion and loyalty towards her master are the personification of my dark desires. Her outer appearance might be seen as a lackluster stone, common in the midst of gravel road, but her inside is where her true beauty is at, diamond resides in her core, radiating its magnificent charm.

It made me question the true cause of the sudden strike of the blade that ended her life. Was it to respect her dying wish? Or…  for something far more sinister? Spitting over myself for never experiencing that kind of undying affection one can have from a faithful person. It makes me wonder what if I-

「 RENALD ALDERHIDE! 」

Loud shout brimming with sheer authority echoes throughout the lecture room. The echoes vibrate following multiple eyes peering over to me, their expression disrelish. I’m in trouble, aren’t I?

I sluggishly stand up from my once relaxful seating position. Preparing for the stern lecture.

「 Yes, Professor Meyer? 」

「 Explain to me when the Verum Shihi Era and what is it! 」

「 Uhh… I think… It happened before the start of the Tenebris Shihi Era which starts around…  around two hundred thousand years ago by the historian, Cadres Redd, while the dragonkin historian, Kazler, refuses his claim and deduces it, in fact, happened a million years ago or even more. The Verum Shihi Era is a… is an era where mana is plentiful, surrounding the atmosphere. Gigantic races, ancestors to some races such as dragonkin, Rengda, and many more reign supreme at its time. It was due to multiple huge meteors crashing into the world that led to their demise and the start of the Tenebris Shihi Era. 」

「 Hmph, 」a condescending sneer making its way on the professor’s face,「 That answer is correct but that doesn’t justify your overwhelmingly slacking manner in my class. Don’t do that next time. You may sit down. 」

By the time I’m done with putting up the nerve-wracking show, Professor Mayer continues his profound lecture in ancient history. Pointer sticks in his hand, guiding the students as he teaches us the myriad of ancient beasts and dragons drawn on the board.

In the end, all of it is just that. Fantasy. With no true resemblance in reality. I’m not so sure what exactly causes the undying affection the slave girl can have, but It will do me better to be in the present moment right now, focusing on the [History & Politics] class.

So far the history that has been presented in the class doesn’t give me much resemblance to the characteristics of the purple room in that mystical sky palace. There’s no mention whatsoever about the uncanny decagram star magic rune surrounded by the equally strange four hooded angel statues in each corner, nor the alter table. None. I wonder why? There surely must be some historical significance of that room. Am I on the wrong track or just being impatient, too desperate in trying to find the usage or the purpose of that room?

Perhaps I should figure out what kind of era the room perhaps comes from, in order to narrow down my research?

Verum Shihi Era — where true dragons with massive wings, thick scales, and other numerous gigantic races reign supreme. Their superiority stems from their heavy reliance on mana both for simply living and powerful magic that is abundant in the air.

Humans, however, were not so lucky.

The world is an unforgiving, ruthless place for humans at that time. Defeated both in magical prowess and physical endurance, they were left gathering the scraps leftover from the mighty races. Humanity lived the majority of their lives in underground caves or rivers, hiding from the vicious world, unforgiving to the weak.

It is this era where I highly assume the purple room originates from. Humans lived in constant fear and desperate for resources, so it would be very reasonable for them to do all sorts of means to survive in that brutal era. like a blessing or even summoning ritual which I predict to be the room’s purpose.

Tenebris Shihi Era — Not much is known about this era, but the majority of historians agree that multiple meteors crashed to earth starts the mark of this era, changing the world forever. A calamity.

Chaos descents as meteors bend the earth’s shape, its mark can be seen in several places to this day. It also changes the status quo for all living beings.

It disrupts mana. The once bountiful mana around the atmosphere becomes volatile, and slowly but surely depletes.

It causes major unrest for most of the world’s inhabitants. To them, mana is their second oxygen. They are completely dependent on it in order to simply live by. As the mana in the air decreases, their kind dies off — races went extinct.

Human’s small, fragile body, independent from mana in order to live, ironically, becomes the ultimate saving grace that allows us to be untouched and unaffected by the world’s worst phenomena. It’s also the start of humanity crawling their way through to the surface.

Once the humans become more apparent than ever before, and how they seem to be completely fine in a turmoil-filled world. Dragons and other gigantic races start to race their way through in adopting a human form — one without the need of mana to live by. It was their only way to survive.

It was due to this massive trend that results in hybrid races such as dragonkin, and Rengda — former races from their once supreme ancestors.

Minimus Shihi Era — today’s era where we currently live. The current year is 1547 MSE, signifying the number of years after the Tenebris Shihi Era is over. Mana stabilizes and reduces to almost nothingness in the space.

The rise and spread of humanity become more obvious in this era. The once weak and unseen humans become much more prosperous with the absence of gigantic races, replaced with their humanoid descendants. From the underground we came to the vast surface we made claim.

Now, humans are almost in every corner of the world and the majority of its inhabitants.

A bell ring echoes, silencing Professor Mayer’s lecture, marking the start of the monotone buzz of several-ten voices hummed like an orchestra run by fellow students.

「 I didn’t know you would slack off in this class, Renald. You always seem to be the very definition of a diligent and uphold student. Looks like even people like you can fall asleep once in a while in his boring lecture. 」

A friendly smile appears as Elras said that, even when as far as patting my shoulder. Too friendly for my taste. After the《Kualitatem》outlaws encounter three weeks ago he acts differently. Less strict on his request for doing his assignments in this class, all the way to prioritizing his time with me over his friends. His rarely seen eagerness in inviting me to join his next adventurer’s quest for tomorrow is to mildly put it, quite unbearable.

It raises so many questions. The aftermath and how it happened are kept secret thanks to Elras. I bullshit my way through by heavily injuring myself and saying some nonsense excuses. Even he didn’t ask much about how the outlaw was able to be eliminated just by me alone.

I can only assume he’s interested in whatever happened in my encounter; perhaps he knows there’s something fishy and how I might have a hidden ability that helped me. But that’s fine by me since he’s not making much of a ruckus about it.

「 I’m going to meet with Professor Mayer after this class. How about you, Elras and Aaron? 」I ask.

「 I still have《School of Assault Magic》class for today, 」Elras sighs.

「 Thankfully I’m done with university for the day. I’m going to head out to the Saint Goxara Cathedral and the nearby orphanage. Obligatory duties as always, 」Aaron says.

We went our separate ways after class. The nostalgic smell of old books hits me as soon as I’m inside Professor Meyer’s quarter. It’s been a while. He’s sitting at his desk, on each side are bookcases filled with all sorts of books.

「 Ah, if it isn’t one of my favorite students. But also the one who daringly betrays me by sleeping right in my very class, 」Professor Meyer says coldly.

「 Hello Professor Meyer, 」I reply briskly,「 I apologize for my carelessness. Recovering from my heavy injuries hasn’t been kind to my energy. 」

「 That’s reasonable, 」He gestures to the seat in front of his desk,「 Please take a seat, I have a feeling you are not here just to apologize. 」

I sit down, making note of his dragonkin’s iconic characteristic of the two tall black horns with zaggy curves near the tip.

「 I was quite curious. From what you’ve taught us minutes before, are you by chance the descendent of the Mervyn dragon race? 」

「 Wow, for a student who slept in my class, you were still able to pay attention, 」He says, excitement flashed in his eyes,「 For your answer, yes, my bloodline can be traced back to my revered ancestor, Mervyn. It’s very rare for humans to tell apart dragonkin races. How come you notice this rather small detail? 」

「 Well, I always have a curious outlook on what happened back in the past. It just made me look more attentively at the finer details of history. I was able to connect the dots when you went over some ancient dragon races in the class. 」

「 I wish all humans had the same thinking as you do, heavily passionate about the past wonders, 」He mutters,「 It would make my academy professing career… much more enjoyable. 」

Well, of course, I’m not the first or going to be the last one to fall asleep in his class.

「 Do you remember my question about the decagram star magic rune surrounded by four hooded angels? Do you have any clues or leads about it? 」

「 Oh, that one. I’ve already looked into some of my records, and I’m sorry to say this but I just cannot find anything that mentions what you’re looking for. 」

Welp, There goes my hope and dreams in figuring that purple room from the ancient history perspective.

「 I’m not sure whether this will help you with your research, 」He continues,「 I’m building an excavation team, and around the next vacation period, there will be an archaeological expedition. A good friend of mine found what seems to be the ancient site of an unknown dragon race on the other side of Ivrett mountain range. We will be the first to ever go inside the site. Because of this, It will be dangerous for sure, but I would love it if you could join my excavation team. Maybe you could find some insights or clues on your research from it. 」

「 That is quite an interesting offer… 」I say, recovering from my past disappointment,  「 But I would need more details about the operation before I could make a decision. How are you arranging the logistics? 」

「 We will rent a ship and it should take around two days from the Hasten port to go there. The living expenditures during the journey will be taken care of by us. As you may know, an expedition is quite pricey, so an upfront fee of a gold coin would be needed. In return, if you found any treasure that us dragonkin deemed doesn’t hold any historical value, they will be yours to do as you please. 」

「 I’m not so sure Professor Meyer. a gold coin is a huge sum of money for an expedition that might result in nothing. 」

「 I agree. The only small assurance I can give is that I’m not getting any profit from any of this. All of the money will only be used to pay for the expedition cost. 」

「 As I said, it’s an interesting offer. However, I would need some time to make a decision. 」

「 Oh, feel free to take your time, 」He says, quite disappointed,「 My offer will always be on the table before the semester ends. Two months from now. 」

「 Okay, thank you for the offer, Professor Meyer. I came over wanting to know the result of my request. Even though there’s no result, I’m still very thankful for sparing your time and effort into looking at it. I have《School of Wits Magic》class after this, so I must go now. 」

「 No problem, my title as a  [History & Politics] professor is not just for show. I look forward to hearing back on your decision. 」

I leave him behind as I ponder whether to join his expedition. It will be interesting I bet.

Regarding the research for the purple room, the ancient history might not be the one. I have to probe about it in relation to the Maria religion from Aaron. When should I ask for his help?  I’m going to be quite busy today with my《School of Wits Magic》class that thankfully is going very well, even instructor Cathryn Smush was impressed with my progress. So today is out of the question.

Maybe tomorrow? Oh yeah, there’s the adventurer’s quest…

「 How the fuck do you know the《School of Orcus Magic》! 」

Elras shouts, his sword pointing directly to the raggedy man.

What?! What the hell is《School of Orcus Magic》? I’ve never heard of that school of magic before. Wasn’t there supposed to be seven schools of magic and nothing more? what’s going on?! Does that mean my《Adsignatos》ability has its own school of magic? How come I do not know any of this?

「 And why should I tell you? You’re going to be my priced undead soon enough. Now my fellow undead brothers, swarm them and feast on their flesh! 」

The magic barrier disappears with the horde of the undead slowly approaching us. Their appearance truly looks like a living corpse; maggots sprawling on several of them. The smell of rotten meat and egg fills the air as I desperately pinch my nose shut.

How many of them are out there? 20? 30? Ahhh… I can’t count shit at all. How the hell are there so many of them?!

「 Don’t give up! We need to slowly retreat while reducing the undead numbers!『 Pyre! 』」

A wave of flames thrice the size of mine sprung out from his hand, incinerating several zombies a few dozen meters in front of him. The investigators and I follow his lead as we retreat towards where we come from step by step as we maintain our distance between the undead.

The battlefield is soon filled with the sound of magic chants, undead groans, and metal slicing on the flesh.

「 Slave, handle that fancy boy. 」

「 Yes, master! 」

In the midst of it, I hear the outlaw commanding his slave to attack Elras. I hope he’s going to be fine. I need to focus on the enemies near me.

I’m on the right flank; seven undead in my proximity facing me, their monstrous arms desperately trying to reach over me. Soulless eyes and esurient mouth, showcasing their cracked teeth, plastered on each one of their faces.

My hand holding the nose is let off, as I grimace at the rotten smell of flesh. That hand turns into chanting support for the newly learned intermediate spell as I surge my mana towards it. Blue magic runes hover in my hand as I push it.

A burst of blue fire one-third of the size of Elras’s sprung out, decimating the two nearest undead. The stink of their burned flesh as they drop down doesn’t make their smell any better.

A single living corpse that wasn’t burned approaches me very quickly. I readied my sword. Now that it’s near, I swing in an attempt to decapitate its arms. The sword cuts through its hand and then sticks on the other. Shit. I try to quickly pull it off.

Unbeknownst to me, It dashes while simultaneously falling down to me. It’s head on my chest, gnawing on my gambeson armor. Shit! I push it away from me. Looking down, the gnawed parts have corrosive damage marks on them. A slight tinge of pain surrounds that area too.

That monster starts to rise again. Got to do it now before it’s too late. I swing my sword horizontally as fast as possible, decapitating its head.

The head flies a few meters, rolling around with the same blank expression until it inevitably stops. Blood spews out from its neck as it drops to the floor.

Even though it’s supposed to be already dead, killing them again is horrifying, to say the least. But I have no time to dread it, more undead is coming.

Fuck, several of them are already surround me again. I step back as I prepare another spell.

Force thrust blows outwards of my hand, knocking undead nearby. But the undeads are still approaching me.

Can’t catch a breath huh? There are just so many of them. Even if we retreat slowly, I got a feeling they will inevitably catch on to us.

Should I summon the shadows?! But Elras and investigators are here. They will find out about my strange ability. I still can’t let others know about it until I’m sure this ability is not some forbidden knowledge or won’t get me into big trouble if exposed.

「 AHHHHH! MAMAA! IT HUURRTTSS!! 」

The scream of a man in pure agony enters my eardrum to the very core. I immediately look towards the scream that is surprisingly quite far away. The undead swarm to one of the investigators, feasting on his flesh, as the ground dyes red. I try to divert my eyes away as soon as possible. I can’t handle that gruesome view.

「 GOFIN! NOOOO!『 Indutae! 』 」

The other investigator cast a spell. Frozen shards of ice blow to the undead feasting on his companion. He makes a run for it, butchering the surrounding undead in an attempt to save him. I wish I could help him out, but I’m too occupied on my side. I can’t support nor back them up.

The Undead enter my strike zone. I immediately cast my spell.

A wave of flame sprung out, burning the walking corpse, but not to a degree in my favor. The slightly charred undead still moves towards me, albeit slower than before. I should be able to deal with them with my sword.

I focus on swiftly moving on one of the undead flanks that is the farthest among others. Its slow movement couldn’t keep up with the pace.

Once I’m on its side, I thrust my sword to its hips, planting it deep. Yet, the undead behaves, as nothing has happened.

With the sword still stuck to it, the undead reaches to me, grabbing my hip. It bites down hard, leaving another mark on my gambeson armor before I kicked it, separating between me and that fucking undead.

Fuuuck…. I can feel a much worse excruciating sting in that place. Damn, it fucking hurts!

I look at the damage. This time a clear hole is left on the armor, a tinge of red and dark green behind it.

Calm down Ryo, or rather, Renald now, you got to move quickly. I retreat much further than I was before.

「 NOOOOOO!! SOMEBODY HELP MEE! 」

I look towards the scream again. This time, the scream comes from another voice; I fear the worst. Undead hurdles and groups to another spot beside where that fallen man is. Even the undead on my side starts to deviate, moving to feast on him. Fuck.. We already lost two people…

In the midst of my depression on the loss of our companions, Elras comes to my view. He looks quite battered, sweat and blood on his face. And more importantly, his free hand is now holding his bloody right shoulder. Shit, he’s heavily injured.

「 Renald! We need to make a run out of here! 」

「 B-but! How about them?! 」

「 Leave them be! It’s over for them. Quick! While there’s still time! 」

Elras make a run for it, I quickly follow him from behind, leaving this huge space filled with both the living and dead corpses. We run to the main entrance from where we entered the mansion before. By the time we arrive at the heavy front gate and push it, we find out it’s locked.

「 Damn it! It’s locked! 」

「 Elras, are you alright?! 」

「 Yeah, I think I’m fine. Fucking hell, this is what happens when you underestimate people too much. 」

「 Here, take my health potion. Should patch you up. 」

「 T-thanks…  」

Elras then gulps down the potion in a very quick manner. His complexion becomes much better, but not enough to call him “fine”.

「 Ahhh… As bitter as always. I used to fight those damn strong elves before… And now I grow weak against fellow humans huh? 」

「 I’m glad you are getting better, but we should find another way to get out of here. 」

We move out to another place, traversing this huge mansion randomly in god knows what. There are no windows as always and the place is filled with heavy dust and cobwebs as always. I try to make a conversation as we half-jog.

「 By the way, Elras, you better explain to me what is the《School of Orcus Magic》」

「 Ahh… It’s a school of magic that can summon.. summon the undead. It works by getting sacrifices from the dead to increase their numbers. And… And I heard the person who uses it will lose bits of their age the more they summon the undead. 」

「 How come I’ve never heard of them?! You got tons of explanations to do! 」

「 Of course, you wouldn’t. It’s unlisted and classified as a forbidden knowledge by the《Associations of Magicians》, only people deep in that organization, the aristocracy elites, or the one ingrained in the kingdom military-like me knows about this.  」

「 Wait wait! If that’s the case, do you by any chance know a school of magic or whatever that can summon shadow minions? 」

「 Huh?! The heck is that? I’ve never heard about that kind of magic. Even if that kind of magic exists, how do you even know it? Anyway, Renald, You’re getting sidetracked! We need to find a way to get out of this damn mansion! Oh, you see that! 」

I look at where Elras is pointing at. We come across a small window to the garden fit enough for a person to come through in this wide-open space that I assume is a dancing hall. Elras hastily casts a spell and breaks the window to smithereens. Hope rises amongst us.

That hope is immediately crushed as the smell of death approaches, leering at us. They must be nearby.

「 Elras. Whatever happens. Don’t question me about it and make it as if nothing strange happens. 」

「 What are you talking about Renald?! 」

「 Just go. I’ll give you some time. 」

「 Damn it Renald. If you make it out alive, I promise to treat you to the finest beer in Hasten. 」

Elras makes a run for it once more, traversing the uncared lust garden. I turn my back and see that despicable man with his minion numbers is as big as ever. So that’s it? our ridiculous effort in reducing them all for nothing?

That very man who apparently uses the dead to abide by his ideals filled with blood.

Huh, ironic. When you think about it, I’m also the same as him. I forgot. There’s no such thing as morals in this new world, only the strong and the weak. Well, We’ll see which one of us is better at playing chess commands.

「 Hahahahaha! Where’s your friend at boooy? Are you here to sacrifice yourself to save your friend? Such a gooooood friend. I’m soo touched by your wasted heroic effort! Go my fellow undead! After him! 」

His mocking gaze and smirk set on to me. I don’t mind it as I cast my spell chant.⁴

A magical shield that blocks physical attacks materializes in front of me. That should give me enough time.

My mana run’s out. Depleted. A fatal mistake for a combat magician, especially one in a life or death situation. Yet, only serenity exists inside me. For I know what’s about to come. That will surely turn the tide in my favor.

I stand proud, sword lowered. Directly making eye contact with that raggedy man as I recall those shadow minions in that mystical palace.

Ohhh… How eager they must be to serve their lord after such long neglectence.

 

『 As Your One And Only Lord 』

 

The darkness surrounding the closed-off air condenses, swirling into several shadows as it descends in front of me. Clear confusion plastered on that man’s face.

 

『 Heed Upon Your Creator’s Call 』

 

The shadows then shape into humanoid figures. Explicit weaponry takes form on their hand, contrasting their blurry physique that exhibits a dark aura.

 

『 I Summon Thee! Adsignatos! 』

 

They… No, my minions rise up, weapons on display, directed to the enemies. Their appearance is as stoic as ever as if they are the very reincarnation of Sparta. That confusion of his now turns into anxiety, not knowing what he’s up against.

 

---

Form a group of four to be in the center frontline. The other two swordsmen will push on each side of the flank as you make your way through and attack the undead force’s rear.

Yes, our lord. Your slightest wish is our very command.

---

 

My minions then do as I command, charging to the enemy horde as chaos descent once more — this time in our favor. Dying murmurs from the undead echo throughout the mansion.

I’m in the backline as always after I summoned them. Eyes dart on all corners, monitoring every detail of the battlefield state. Due to their superior numbers, I have to come up with a tactic that makes full use of my shadows’ agility.

Double envelopment maneuver. A lesson I learned in the [Military Doctrine] class. A maneuver or tactic in which some part of my force will move to the enemy force’s flanks in an attempt to surround it, and thus encircling the enemy. This way I can maximize my shadows’ full potential and make their fight much easier.

My shadows make quick work on them. He might have the numbers, but mine are much more coordinated and have better combat prowess. The shadows that were tasked on the flanks break-in, enveloping them, as they surround the undead on all sides. It’s only a matter of time before we win at this point.

One by one the living corpses fall until what remains standing on the battlefield are four of my minions. Two didn’t make it huh… Thank you for your sacrifice, my minion, please know that it is not in vain.

I walk nonchalantly towards him. His once confident smirk is now replaced with anxiety and most importantly — fear.

「 Wh-what kind of power is that? 」The man said.

「 That’s what I wanted to know myself. Now, tell me where did you learn that《School of Orcus Magic》? And I might spare your life. 」

「 I-I-I-I learned it from… from… the《Kualitatem》leaders. You shall know that our movement is right. We shall rise up from the ground and make our dreams come true! 」

The man jumps at me, dagger in his hand. But I prepared for his attack just in case beforehand. In a flash, I deflect his dagger, swinging my sword. His balance throws off. The perfect chance. As I drive my sword to his stomach.

He drops to the ground, sword still stuck in his body. But that doesn’t stop him from muttering his last words in his mouth flooded with blood.

「 L-long live《Kualitatem》…  For what we fight for is true magic e-equality… 」

The raggedy man is now dead, such the life of a lunatic who thinks his ideal justifies his sin of murdering rampage.

「 Y-Y-YOUU BASTARD!! 」

I turn to my back. Magic runes already hovering on her hand. Shit. I rolled to the side. Small arrows formed from the earth splintered towards me. Two made it ways to penetrate my right thighs.

D-damn it… Fucking hurts like hell… I can’t move with this shit.

Without issuing a command, one of the shadows moves to her back in the speed of light. The girl only notices when a sword strikes down, cutting off her spell-casting arm.

The girl falls down a bit, into a kneeling position, grimacing the pain. Her eyes become watery. That’s what you get fucker! I stand up sluggishly, holding the agony in my thighs.

「 P-please k-kill me…  l-let me join my master… 」

Her charmingly cute face looks so pure saying that. Her puppy-like eyes stare at me, deep hatred seemingly nonexistent, replaced with begging for mercy. Why would somebody love a person who enslaved them? Is this… Is this true love?

「 M-master… I-I will… join you very soon… 」

I plant a sword on her frail body. The girl fell down to the floor, her cheeks wet with tears. Peacefulness plastered on the girl’s face. The once dusty ceramic floor glistened as the rain had fallen, the liquid that shone wasn’t clear but red.

To think I’m envious of that despicable man…

For having something I yearn for — true love — so damn easily…

After several mundane days of classes learning the unique Wits magic and the annoying part of “helping” Elras’s [History & Politics] assignments, he is now filling the end of the deal by taking me to the《Dyron Temperament》guild headquarter. How should I even describe the headquarter that is in front of me right now?

Majestic? Adventurous? Or perhaps… Wealthy?

The things that I crave for, wealth, status, and power — all seemingly manifested within the extraordinary building. Compared to its neighboring building, the guild stood out like gold in the midst of dull gravel.

As we come inside, several eye-catching guild banners are scattered tidily around the hall. The banner is bright red, its core a golden Aegis magic shield surrounded by a ravenous golden tiger and eagle.

Robust armor stands and sharp weapons lie throughout the guild, its shiny surface oozes out eminence. Its antique-like appearance seems to give the headquarters a unique history feel to it; to me, however, gives me the impression of how might truly be the only thing that will stand through the test of times.

I was being amazed by this enormous amount of luxury and fine details when I look at Elras. To my shock, he’s doing a bit too fine, as if he’s simply doing a daily routine, walking nonchalantly.

On the wall behind the large reception desk, lies what I think is the guild’s slogan.

 

The Disciplines of Perception, of Will, and of Action. That’s the way of the Dyron Temperament.

 

Elras lead the way to the lounge, as we sit in one of the many sofas in this place.

「 Renald, We are going to meet with my advisor here soon enough. In the meantime, do you know how the《Dyron Temperament》guild works? 」

「 From my understanding, in the《Dyron Temperament》its adventurers will be assigned with an advisor throughout their career in the guild. From there, their personal advisor will give them a personally tailored quest that fits their character and need. This maximizes their growth as adventurers and also the guild’s reputation in solving monster problems. 」

「 That’s great, it seems that I don’t have to give you an introduction to how things work here. I know that we are already this far but I still want to know, why are you trying so hard to become an adventurer or combat magician? I’ve looked into the Alderhide family and it seems your family territory doesn’t have the same monsters intensity problem like most other territories. 」

「 I… I just want to become more powerful. Most successful people in this world are combat magicians, right? 」

「 Huh… is that so… 」

Awkward silence between us remains, with only other quiet chatter that could be heard throughout the lounge.

In the middle of my attempt to figure out how to continue the conversation, a person comes to my view and is walking straight ahead of us. The man is quite groomed, dressed very well in black and red attire, his face starts to show his old age, but nevertheless still looks quite young. Is he Elras’s advisor?

「 It’s great to meet you again Reinhardt-sama. I’m sorry but who is this person? 」

The man greets him quite respectfully, slightly bowing. He then gazes at me questionably as if assessing my worth to him. Do I really give an impression of being weak?

「 He’s my partner, Renald Alderhide. You say you have a quest that you recommended me to take right? 」

「 Yes… 」 I swear I noticed his eyebrow rise a bit just now.

「 …Reinhardt-sama. Let’s go to one of the available rooms to discuss the quest more privately. 」

We then go inside the many available rooms which I’m guessing is used to hold meetings between the guild members with their assigned advisor. There are two lavish red sofas, in between is a seemingly well-crafted mahogany coffee table.

I sit with Elras on the same sofas. By the time the advisor comes to my view, he’s carrying two teas in a fancy ceramic cup. The same exotic red tea my mother loves. For them to easily provide this luxurious tea just shows the amount of wealth they have in store.

「 By all means, please enjoy yourself. 」

As soon as the tea is on the table, Elras immediately drinks it, soon afterward I follow his lead.

「 I’ve never seen him before, is he registered in the guild? 」

「 No. He doesn’t need to. By the way, the tea is very nice. 」

「 Huh? Thanks… Anyway, what’s his magic capability then? 」

「 Surprise surprise, only basic on both 《Schools of Aegis Magic》and《Schools of Assault Magic》 」

The advisor’s face now fills with shock. He looks at me, his expression shows disbelief and disgust towards me.

「 I’m sorry Reinhardt-sama, but the rules clearly say that all participating members doing the quest must be a《Dyron Temperament》member. I cannot allow that partner of yours to participate in this quest. 」

「 Are you sure you can’t give us some leeway? 」

「 No can’t do. Allowing him to participate will be a disgrace to Dyron’s philosophy and possibly tarnish the guild’s reputation.  」

Ahh shit… Why does everything in life is soo damn hard? I’m beginning to start giving up but Elras seems to not falter and says,

「 You know… Tonight I’m going to have a pleasant dinner with my father and Carlen. He’s always curious about my experience with《Dyron Temperament》, bothering me every single time we’ve met from time to time if I have even the slightest discomfort in the guild. Well… He is the guild master after all…  I always said to him that I have a wonderful time here, but nothing in life is perfect I guess. 」

Somehow, the air becomes quite heated up. The way Elras looks at him is quite disturbing with a grin smirk creeping on his features. The advisor also slowly starts to reveal an unsightly face.

「 But anyway, too bad Renald, looks like you and I won’t be able to adventure together. Let’s go get something to drink, shall we? 」

He hugs my shoulder in his left hand as he drags me and him leaving the room.

「 W-w-wait! 」

「 Wow… Looks like you have the audacity to command two noble sons now. So…? What is it that you want? 」

We look back. The advisor’s face becomes even worse, his face is quite pale and his forehead becomes more apparent of sweat.

「 I-if he’s not registered then h-he can join the quest… But the reward or requirement won’t be changed to fit his participation…  」

「 See? Not so hard isn’t it? 」

We’re back again sitting at the sofas again. I can see the advisor’s shoulder much lower, starting to calm down and relax a bit, although I could still sense a bit of his nervousness, apparent from his forced smile.

While Elras acts oblivious to all of what’s happening towards the advisor.

「 Let’s get into the business, shall we? What’s the quest you wanted to talk about? 」

「 I’ve compiled several quests available in the guild that fits your expertise, Reinhardt-sama. Please look at these papers and see which one you would like to take. 」

The papers are laid out on the table. We take a look at it and I’m able to discern a few key elements on the quests he’s offering.

Archspiders are heavily suspected to be in early manifestation in an abandoned mine shaft near the Hughber town, a full three days ride by horse. The quest requirement is to investigate the mine shaft, assess in detail its manifestation, and see if we can destroy its nest. If not, report back our findings and bring down as many archspiders as we can. The baseline reward is 1 gold coin.

Orcs from the Camiln forest are terrorizing nearby villages once more, across the Hasten bay. The guild is planning and coordinating a massive operation in removing the threat of the orcs. Several adventurers and parties will join and some are already in this massive operation. The guild is still open for its members to join for another week. The duration of the operation is estimated to be around two weeks, with the first weeks to be filled with logistics and transportation that will be handled by the guild. By simply joining the operation, the guild will compensate 3 silver coins, and another 3 silver coins for each orc slain.

And last but the most interesting one,《Kualitatem》outlaws are suspected to be present in this city. It is stated three days ago, a high-ranking government servant has been murdered. What’s left in the scene that serves as a clue is a three-line bar inside a circle, shaped from the victim’s blood —《Kualitatem》insignia. Investigators have found a potential place where some of them are hiding and are requesting combat support in facing the outlaws. It is listed that if we neutralize the outlaw the compensation will be 2 gold coins, while as alive, is a staggering 5 gold coins.

「 《Kualitatem》outlaws huh? It’s been a while since I heard about them. I thought they were already gone; plucked out of their deepest roots. How come they start appearing again? 」

「 We don’t really know Reinhardt-sama. 」

「 I’m sorry, but can somebody explain to me who are these《Kualitatem》outlaws? 」

How come I’ve never heard of them before? What kind of organization are they?

「 Wow… You really are a clueless boy. 」

「 Umm… 」The advisor says, his face filled with discomfort. Doesn’t remember my name huh?

「 My name is Renald Alderhide. 」

「 Ah yes, Alderhide-sama. The《Kualitatem》is primarily an outlaw organization that advocates for equality in the way magic is treated. They demand high magic education be accessible to all kinds of people and much looser control in monarchy intervention to people’s daily life. Their cause can be seen as noble, the way they fight for it, however, is pure savages. During their prime days, they killed several high-ranking government servants and even members of the《Associations of Magicians》. Key figures in that outlaw organization were killed four or five years ago, leading them to disband their organization. Or so we thought. 」

「 Heh, resources are finite. That’s more so in learning magic. It takes true dedication and intellectual capability to understand it. And giving out free magic education to everybody is simply impossible. More so, for the common people.  」

Elras says so with a small smirking grin as he drinks his tea. The advisor stares at him, his features can be interpreted as being resentful with deep hatred, but maybe that’s just me. He is, in fact, a commoner.

Magic equality huh? Magic is quite hard to learn and does need the high mental capability to understand it. However, the more advanced form of magic is tightly closed, only for the richest and nobility people to learn its powerful wonders. So although they are morally right, at least from the perspective of a modern person’s moral compass, their act of murder, however, totally disdain their justified cause. So it’s hard for me to empathize with. But then again the strong can impose anything on the weak, so possibly they are forced to do so in order to bear fruit of their ideals. The same way happens in my previous world, only this time it is much more apparent.

「 The second quest is basically impossible, heck I don’t even know why you decide to recommend me that quest. Do you really forget that I’m a student at Bosart University? I don’t have that much free time laying around unlike most adventurers. For the sake of efficiency, I would rather choose the outlaw quest. Is that alright for you Renald? 」

「 Yeah, that’s fine to me. 」I say back.

「 Alright, when are we meeting with the investigators? 」

「 As soon as tomorrow, Reinhardt-sama. 」

「 Okay, prepare the meeting for me then. Oh and also notify me how we are going to proceed with intercepting the outlaws.  」

「 Sure, thank you for your cooperation, Reinhardt-sama… and Alderhide-sama. 」

The advisor says as he stands up and bows fully.

「 Yeah, whatever. 」

Elras says, not caring at all about what the advisor says. We then leave the room, leaving behind the advisor.

「 Hey… What happened there? 」I immediately ask.

「 What do you mean Renald? 」

「 The advisor was right you know, me joining the quest is against the guild’s founder philosophy. That’s why I told you from the beginning for me to partake in your quest discreetly. But you really want me to follow you into the meeting. 」

「 Well, you are correct Renald. But that’s just how the world works. The 《Dyron Temperament》guild  may have a very noble beginning, wanting to create a place for strong adventurers, especially commoners. After the death of Dyron however, things changed, its people become more greedy and corrupted. Always trying to gain favors from the nobility to gain more wealth. Heck, I didn’t even want to join this fucking guild in the first place, it was only because of my father forcing me to join the guild in order to “Not to grow weak and stay true to the Reinhardt mantra”.  」

「 Is… is that so Elras? 」

「 Yeah, man. Don’t think much about it. 」

Unbeknownst to me, we are walking to the training hall, inside is larger compared to the test room back in the university that I’ve known of. Polished light yellow brick walls with small damage marks are apparent throughout the place, giving its strangely welcoming vibe for people to train in. We went to one of the corners with multiple dummy targets altogether.

「 Since we are going to be together, I need to know your skills and capabilities that you could bring to the table. Make sure you demonstrate all of your spells. I even prepared some high-grade mana potions just in case if you run out of mana.  」

「 Sure. 」

Although surprised I just did what he wants, demonstrating again the full arsenal of my spells, exactly the same way when I took the test that I’ve horrendously failed at. As I cast each and every single one of my spells, I began to question what exactly made me failed. Was it truly because of my low magic capability? My small arsenal of spells? Or something much more that I don’t have the slightest idea of?

While Elras, on the other hand, becomes quite uncomfortable as if he’s seeing something truly unbelievable, out of one common sense. Did I make a mistake?

「 So, what do you think? 」

「 Man… You have so much to work on. Let me guess, all of your magic education comes from an adventurer, is that correct? 」

「 Yeah, what’s wrong with it? 」

「 Oh, my goddess! How can your father let an adventurer teach his own son?! 」

He says, barely holding his fury as he almost shouts angrily. He quickly then takes a deep breath and out, trying to calm himself down.

「 How do I say it… You’re basically at a disadvantage. The way most adventurers do their magic, most who are commoners, are very simple and are weaker compared to the way how we nobles do our magic. Our way is simply much more superior. So… So not only you have a basic magic proficiency, your way of magic belongs to those who are commoners. That must be the reason why you didn’t get accepted to both schools of magic. 」

What?! Just because I was taught by an adventurer, I was weaker compared to most nobles?! Fuck! If I’ve known this from the beginning I would’ve chosen a real magician instructor. Did my father purposefully let this happen? Just to save money? Ahh…  How can I succeed in this life when I’m at a disadvantage since the beginning?

「 Dammit, I didn’t know that Elras… I am the youngest son in the family, so my father probably hired an adventurer to train me in order to save money.  」

「 Here, let me show you what true noble magic is. 」

He then comes forward as he faces a fresh group of dummy targets. He raises both of his hands slowly, as I can tell he’s calling out his inexorably plentiful mana. Flickers of red surround him. Fire and magic runes materialize on his hands. Then he chants,

Those flickers transform into big globs of fire as they dash to the group of dummy targets at the speed of light.

BOOM!

Blinding light shines into my eyes. When I open my eyes. All that remains are ashes and deep black after marks.

「 Now that. Is real Assault magic. 」

The academic year has finally started as I walk my way to the class alongside my roommates, Aaron and Elras. We pass through beautiful trees, plants and even blooming flowers all around the campus. Its beautiful greenery scene with white buildings contrasts with the brick-jungle city where it resides. Even its pathway seems to be made with elaborate light red bricks compared to the dull grey bricks common in the city. It is a university exclusively made for the nobility by the nobility after all.

Surprisingly, I haven’t met Duncas Stager. I’m not sure whether he’s shy or just like being alone. But that’s none of my business.

In the end, I decided to study《School of Wits Magic》. Its magical philosophy is based on a mind communication network and the system is quite similar to industrial engineering back on earth. Is that why I’m matched with it instead of the 《School of Aegis Magic》or《School of Assault Magic》?

Can’t teach an old dog a new trick huh…

「 Yo Renald, do you remember which classes are we taking together again? 」

Elras ask me, nonchalantly. I then reply,

「 Have you forgotten? From the letter, we received recently, in our first semester all students are required to take their three mandatory courses. Which are [History & Politics], [Military Doctrine], and [Magics] depending on which Schools of Magic we got admitted to. 」

Then Aaron says,

「 That’s right Alderhide-sama. Although, I would like to mention the [Military Doctrine] course is only mandatory for men. My older sister told me that the course would be replaced with [Music Performance] for the women as their mandatory course.

This leads me to one small thing I would like to ask you about if it’s okay with you Reinhardt-sama. But why would they recently mandate the [Military Doctrine] course? 」

They must have some prior information regarding the university. And here I am just stumbling into it without any clue whatsoever. Maybe focusing just solely on magic is not a good idea anymore. I need to brush up on some of this world knowledge. Well, I will need to do it sooner or later to prove one of my hypotheses.

「 To be honest I’m not sure. But if I have to speculate, it might be because of the increased skirmishes between the elves and humans. Even the neighboring Shiford kingdom is getting harassed by those damn elves. 」Elras said.

「 Let us pray to our goddess, Maria in future hard times then. 」Aaron said.

「 Renald, what’s and where is our first-class then? 」

「 It’s [History & Politics] and it’s located in Marves hall, room 8. Did you even read the letter? 」

I responded back. Seriously how come Elras didn’t pay attention to it. It’s not like it’s filled with heavy or complex information.

「 I’ve been up to something lately. 」

「 What is it then? 」

「 Nothing much. I’ve been busy signing up to become a member of the《Dyron Temperament》guild. And I’ve been discussing with the assigned guild advisor which quest I should take. 」

Wow, he did tell me he’s an Advanced assault magician. So it’s very possible for him to join that amazing guild. Wait a minute, isn’t this my chance? If I can hop in with him, I could gain more combat experience and money. Perhaps I can even self-taught my way through in becoming a combat magician.

「 Is it possible that I can join your group in the《Dyron Temperament》? 」

「 What?! Renald, I’m going solo and you should know that the guild only accepts Advanced Magicians. 」

「 Relax, I don’t need to register with the guild. I just want the combat experience. Besides, it’s because you’re going solo, you’ll need me to help you out. 」

「 I only ever want to go solo, and why do you even think I would let you join in when you’re just a basic magician?」

「 I can help with your menial task and serve as a backup when things get rough, I’ll just stay in the backline and won’t disturb your fight. Trust me on this one. 」

「 … Fine, but you will help me with all of my assignments in classes we are in together. If there’s just one time you feel hesitant about helping with my assignments, then don’t even think about adventuring with me again. 」

「 Alright, but in return, you have to teach me some Intermediate Assault magic spells. 」

「 Deal. 」

Yes! I still have a chance of becoming a combat magician! Happily, I close the deal, I just realize we’re already at the Marves Hall. The white building is quite huge, with multiple glass panels, a common theme throughout the campus. We then go inside and make our way to our classroom.

Bright sunlight shone through the humongous window on the left side of the room, filling the room with its early spring light.

Calling it a “room” is an understatement; the inside is very spacious. A room this size would’ve fit around two hundred university students back on Earth, but I only found around forty chairs in this room. The spacing between each level and chair is very generous. The desks provided are quite large too, to the point I believe it’s too redundant. Compared to the foldable desk that could only fit a laptop back on Earth.

Several other people, or should I say nobles are already in the room. Some are sitting diligently as they prepare for the lecture that will happen soon by reading books and writing early notes. Although the others, on the other hand, are happily talking with one another, the room is not noisy. Well, they are nobles first and foremost. They must be disciplined and don’t act like lowly uncivilized commoners.

Aaron finds seats for the three of us in the far back corner. I remember in my past life usually the seats that are left empty are in the front most, now interestingly are the ones in the back. This just shows how eager these students are in learning. I must say that I admire their eagerness in learning. Just because they belong to the privileged group of society, they still try to learn and work on improving themselves.

I can hear Aaron and Elras beside me talking among themselves regarding their discontinued conversation of mandatory courses. Not wanting to join them with my questionably lack of knowledge, I sit down in silence as I enjoy the atmosphere of the classroom. It’s quite a chatter and the fragrance of old books draws me into serenity.

Then, a very distinctive person comes inside the room. What makes him stand out the most is not his silver-ish gray hair color, which shows his age, nor the fact that he wears what I think is a professor uniform. Rather it is his two zaggy horns and jet black tail. A dragonkin.

「 Welcome dear students to Bosart University. I’m your [History & Politics] professor for the semester. My name is Krig Meyer, but I expect you all to call me Professor Meyer. In this class, you will learn the many wonders of the long-forgotten past which form the basis of our current world, and the complex social web that shapes the relationship between kingdoms and empires. Some of you may already be very well-versed in this subject, however, it doesn’t mean you can slack off in this class. I’ll be passing down some early notes to get ahead on what you are about to learn. 」

The notes we receive highlights the various topics we are about to cover for the semester. Tenebris Shihi Era history, Concordis overview, Elves geopolitics, Lungkin-Concordis diplomacy relationship, and many more.

Tenebris Shihi Era, I think it was an ancient history period almost way before the human era. To think the ancient history subject would directly come to me; All I need to do is to dig deep further about ancient religion from Professor Meyer. Looks like going through the route of ancient religious hypotheses is going to be a smooth one. I wonder what I should speculate about that purple room.

Perhaps it’s a way to enhance my powers or bestow certain objects as it is quite common in this world’s religion? Or is it something far more sinister? The ability to summon superior forms of shadows such as demons or devils?

That reminds me, regarding my Adsignatos power, learning the [Military Doctrine] will be very useful in commanding the shadows, battle operations will be much smoother and efficient. Something I’m quite lacking at.

The class starts as Professor Meyer begins his lecture…

 

….

 

「 That’s all for today. Remember to read the section about the Tenebris Shihi Era. 」

The class ended with the sound of chattering students and clattering chairs fills the room as they prepare for their next class.

「 Elras and Aaron, I will take my leave first. I need to head over to my《School of Wits Magic》class now. 」

「 Take care, Alderhide-sama. 」

「 Bye, Renald. Don’t forget about my assignment! 」

I make my way to the《School of Wits Magic》class. I don’t know much about it, but that’s mostly my fault since I was too occupied learning other schools of magic. Will I be able to master it just fine? The ‘Introduction to Magic’ book did mention to choose and therefore specialize in only one school of magic since learning magic is already hard as it is. Guess, I’m at a disadvantage compared to other students who already have a head start.

Anyway, my class building should be next to the Aegis schools of magic building. I head over there, as I try to recall key landmarks and other paths from the map the university sent before our semester started.

While walking to class, my eyes drift across the scenery as I notice a peculiar bronze statue beneath the energizing sunlight. The face of the statue was not one of joy, nor the sort of pride that nobles are usually portrayed as, but of the sort of wisdom one gains from meticulously learning the many hidden wonders this world could offer. Its hand holding several books proves this notion. It truly shows what kind of character the founder of Bosarts University — Bosarts Kimsten — is.

Amidst my silent admiration of the statue, a girl among other students comes into view.

Truly what a regal beauty she is, with hair as white as shiny snow, and a calming smile. Her blue sky eyes are clearer than even my mother’s. Her skin is smooth porcelain and her body exhibits tantalizing curves. It strikes me harder since her beauty — never seen before — breaks free of my repressed lust and passion.

「 Hime-sama, please remember to work on your Aegis magic spells once more, our test will come very soon. 」

「 Of course. Do you really think, I, Vivienne Veinard didn’t come prepared to class? 」

She and her group are walking the opposite way of me. I try my best to maintain my poker face, hiding my screaming temptation to look at her perfection. Their conversations are all just mindless chatter as I muster all of my wills into looking straight ahead, without deviating from her.

After finally passing over her group, I can finally calm down. I look back to catch a glimpse of her once more. Even her back showcases her striking beauty with her hair flowing to her curvy bottom. Her walking posture as she goes further away from me is also filled with dignity and royalty. Truly the embodiment of a princess.

Vivienne Veinard… I think she’s the royal second princess and a year or two older than me. Goodness, gracious… Did I just… fall in love with her.

How can I even compare to her? She’s a princess… While I’m just the youngest Earl’s son… It’s a futile love, one with unrealistic expectations considering the disparity between our socioeconomic status…. I’ve already learned it and I need to know my place.

Maybe… Maybe if I just work hard, I can be worthy of her…

Ahh, there’s no time for that, I need to go to my《School of Wits Magic》class. I finally arrive at my classroom, inside is interesting quite the same as my previous [History & Politics] class. A wide-open space room with desks and chairs scattered around is already occupied by most students. But this time the chalkboard is much bigger with several complex magic runes I have no way of understanding already written on it.

 

---

Greetings students…

---

 

A mysterious woman’s voice. Heard not from the lobe of my ears, but rather conjured mysteriously through the depth of my mind. Its voice is clearly not similar to my own thoughts or even my shadow minions.

Is this the same telepathy magic as mine with my shadows? But why did I not hear any chanting words? Is this how a supreme Wits Magician uses their powers? The atmosphere tension rises as I can see several students growing confused or childishly frightened.

 

---

I can feel confusion growing in this class; I ask all of you to please remain calm. I’m just demonstrating one of the wonders of the《School of Wits Magic》you will learn in the near future. On a slight note, I’m Cathryn Smush, your Wits Magician Instructor.

---

 

The slight tense atmosphere dies down as everybody seems to finally calmed down. She then smiles widely as she starts to prepare her mind.

 

---

What differentiates us from the monsters? 

Most say it’s our heart — our benevolent heart that knows compassion and love. 

The Wits magician, however, thinks differently. It’s our will, our mind, our… logos – our ability to think, our ability to create coherent thoughts.

Studying the《School of Wits Magic》is not just about learning how to cast communication spells or coming up with silly illusions. It’s about learning what makes us human — our deep intricate and mysterious mind we can’t yet fully comprehend. By utilizing mana in such ways that take advantage of our slight understanding.

The world of Wits magic is deep with many unknowns. It takes real intellectual capability to understand not just our complex mind, but also the many details woven in our magic runes. If any one of you ever studied other Schools of Magic, you will find out very soon that our way of magic is far more complex than you’ve ever learned. 

But do not falter as I will guide your every step in understanding this fascinating Schools of Magic. And I gladly welcome every single one of you in pursuing this way of magic.

---

 

Hell yeah, maybe the《School of Wits Magic》wasn’t bad after all…