Chapter 2 Part 2

On my way back from the dining hall in the annex, I spot Rumia practicing her magic outside the window.

It will soon be nightfall, a lantern can be seen glowing near Rumia’s feet.

Father is standing next to her. It seems that Father is overseeing Rumia as she begins to chant magic.

“…‘O, bearers of light’—”

“……Hmmmm”, Father nodded.

From where I stood, I could only see his back.

“‘O, light, respond to my voice’—‘Light Sphere’!!”

A ball of light about the size of a pebble formed on Rumia’s palm.

Father began clapping his hands due to this feat. Wide back, thick limbs, short trimmed blond hair.

That’s my Father, Georg Grossalia.

“Isn’t that amazing, Rumia! When did you become able to chant correctly!?”

“…T-That I can’t say. Only that I’ve practiced”

“It is good to be enthusiastic. You were really amazing!”

“……There is someone else who is much more amazing than me…Father…”

Rumia has succeeded casting her magic a few times since then. But looks like the tongue twister chanting is still hard for her.

After that, Father invoked the magic to show an example.

It’s the same ‘Light Sphere’ magic, but with about the size of a person’s head.

Just like the common magic back in my era. Neither developing nor declining.

After confirmation, I returned to my room.

“……Has it really been 200 years since my death?”

I was sitting on a chair in my room, recalling the words of tutor Kachel.

Kachel said it has been 220 years since the discovery of Ancient Magic and Artifacts by the ‘Sanctuary Church, Elysium Temple’.

The previous me, Dean Nosferatu, died 20 years after the discovery of Ancient Magic and Artifacts.

In other words, it is now 200 years after I had died.

……200 years, huh? Lyle and Alice…aren’t around anymore, too….

It can’t be helped.

Back then, I had no choice but to reincarnate.

But still, it doesn’t feel like 200 years have passed.

I thought it was a much shorter time because the common grammar used for magic has not changed.

The name of the country has changed, but the social system hasn’t changed much from the past.

The ‘Ancient Magic’ is still a secret technique that can only be used by a select few, and those who can use it are at the top of society.

That’s why tutor Kachel, who can use ‘Ancient Magic’, is very arrogant, and nii-sama is aiming for the ‘Magic Guild’, too.

The only difference from 200 years ago is that no one talks about the ‘Sanctuary Church, Elysium Temple’ anymore.

“……I wonder what happened in these past 200 years”

I will have to look into it, and find out what the ‘Sanctuary Church, Elysium Temple’ had done, and what happened to them after my death.

Meeting them again is not what I desire. But if they became a taboo existence and disappeared from the public eye, I will need to find out why.

…If my memory serves me right, there is a room in the main building that stores books. And if I search there, I might be able to find out something about it.

But then again…as an illegitimate child, I have no right to enter the main building.

Let’s come up with a plan.

“And to do that, I need to put my skills to the test”

Also, I want to eat some meat.

The dinner I had with my maid, Martha, there were barely any meat dishes in it.

It can’t be helped. After all, our meals were left-overs of meals from the main building.

In addition to experimenting with magic, I will go hunting for meat myself.

At midnight, I decided to slip out of the mansion as planned.

Baron Grossalia’s mansion is enclosed by tall fences, and there are guards patrolling around the courtyard.

However, I know their patrol routes. So it’s not that hard to slip out of the mansion.

Before heading out, let’s check my current skills.

‘Yuuki Grossalia’

Age: 13 Race: Human

Stamina: D Strength: E Agility: D Magic: C Dexterity: D Skill: None

I usually disguise myself with this status so that my true identity won’t be revealed.

I heard that when we enter the school, our status will be checked in a ceremony. This is just a precaution.

The real status is as follows.

‘Yuuki Nosferatu’

Age: 13 Race: Unknown

Stamina: B Strength: B Agility: A Magic: S Dexterity: B

Skill: Flight. Magical Blood. Stealth. Ice Magic. Servant Creation. Multi-Species Linguistics. Erosion. Purification.

With these skills, it should be good enough.

“—‘Flight’”

I kicked open the window of my room on the second floor and flew out.

Gently, my body floats.

As if I was weightless, my body glided through the air and flew straight off the mansion’s premise.

This is nothing. I am just using my magic power to temporarily remove my weight.

With this body, floating like this is the limit, I guess. Still, it feels nice to be a human.

“Good”

I landed on a tree branch just outside the premise.

Kicking the branch again, I flew up.

The guards didn’t notice at all. That’s because I activated my ‘Stealth’ skill.

“…I’ll have to return by morning”

I pick up the pace.

A few minutes later, I reached the nearby mountains behind the mansion.

This is where monsters could appear. Father and Xellos nii-sama usually hunt and do some magic training here.

This is perfect. Let’s turn this uninhabited mountaintop into testing grounds for my magic.

I jumped from tree to tree as I headed for the mountaintop.

‘I’ve been expecting you, master’, my bat servant greeted me just as I arrived.

“Thank you for the greeting. Now, let’s do some experiments with magic. Please show me where I can find prey to practice on”

‘Before that, may I? Master’

“What is it?”

‘May I have your name, please?’

“It’s Yuuki. What about you?”

‘I don’t have a name. Master can give me a name’

“How about Dick?”

‘Thank you very much. That’s a good name’

“It’s the name of an old acquaintance’s father. He asked me to look after Lyle on his deathbed”

‘Isn’t master still young?’

“I was talking to myself. Forget about it. More importantly, where’s the prey?”

‘I’ll guide you. I’ve marked it before master arrived’

“I’m counting on you”

I headed towards the marked prey with Dick as my guide.

After a while, a rabbit can be seen at the base of a tree.

It has golden body hair with horns protruding out of its head. A ‘Large Rabbit’. Let’s hunt it.

I’d like to feed my maid, Martha, some meat every once in a while.

‘The Large Rabbit is a wary beast’

“I know. It has a fairly powerful horn and strong hind legs for kicking”

‘As expected of master. Knowledgeable’

“It’s just general knowledge. Besides, I won’t be fighting it up close and personal. Instead, didn’t I told you just now, I am going to experiment with magic”

‘It will notice flames by the light and wind by the sound, won’t it?’

“My specialty is ice magic”

In my previous life, my motto was to keep a low profile.

If I use flashy magic, people would be wary of me.

“Ice magic doesn’t produce any sound, light and air tremors. It’s perfect for sneak attacks and trapping”

I put my hand on the trunk of a tree.

“‘Rapid Freezing’—‘Freezing Net’”

Ice threads started to appear from my fingertips.

It travels down the trunk and extends to the base of the tree.

‘—-!?’

In an instant, the ice threads entwine the Large Rabbit’s legs.

‘Kyuu—!!?’

Noticing the abnormality, the Large Rabbit starts to run.

But right in front of it is a net of ice.

My magic had created an ice barrier around it.

‘—u!! —uu!!’

The ‘Large Rabbit’ started rampaging, but it got stuck at the base of the tree.

The ice threads have completely entwined its body. No matter how hard it tries, it can’t move.

“I’m sorry”

I got down to the ground and stabbed the Large Rabbit.

Let’s hang it to drain the blood.

‘A-Amazing, master! That magic, even I won’t be able to escape!’

“It’s a simple magic”

‘That’s not true. There wasn’t any sound or light! Your prey won’t even notice! It’s the most powerful magic for survival in the mountains!’

“Even so, it’s still no match against ‘Ancient Magic’”

Ordinary magic is activated through chanting incantations and using internal magic power to activate it.

That’s why it takes time for the magic to activate. Once activated, it can’t be used till some time has passed.

My ice magic has been simplified as much as possible, but it still can’t be used continuously.

But ‘Ancient Magic’ is different. It consumes less magic power, and it’s also good for continuous use.

In my previous life, I’ve seen the priests of the ‘Sanctuary Church, Elysium Temple’, wipe out a group of bandits with ‘Ancient Magic’.

The priests kept firing a barrage of flames until all the bandits were annihilated. And even when the enemy surrendered, they did not stop.

That was one of the reasons why I thought I’m not a match for the ‘Sanctuary Church, Elysium Temple’.

After all, their ‘Ancient Magic’ truly specializes in combat.

“If I could use more powerful magic in my previous life, maybe Lyle wouldn’t have had to kill me, too…”

The ‘Ancient Magic’ of this era is managed by the ‘Magic Guild’.

As far I’m concerned, judging from the tutor Kachel who is a member of the guild…it’s not an organization I’d want to get too close to.

‘Master. My fellow bats have found another ‘Large Rabbit’’

Dick suddenly announces.

“You have allies?”

‘When I told them about master, all of them wanted to serve you’

The moment Dick said that, a black shadow appeared in the sky.

Looking up, I saw a large swarm of bats flying around.

There are about 40 or 50 of them. This is amazing.

‘I wanted everyone to understand how amazing master is’

The bat, Dick, spread its wings proudly.

‘My fellow bats know these mountains well. Please think of this mountain as master’s territory’

“That’s very helpful. You’re a good servant, Dick”

‘I am honored to accept such a praise, master’

I stroked Dick’s head with my fingertip as it got onto my shoulder.

If the bats led by Dick are on our side, I could get all sorts of information.

This is a good opportunity. I will use this mountain as my base of operations.

“Pick a few liaisons for me. Tell me if there are any monsters they can’t handle, or when a hostile intruder comes. I will wield my power in return for their service to me”

‘Thank you very much for your kindness’

As soon as Dick bowed, the bats in the sky squeaked in unison.

“Now then, show me where the next ‘Large Rabbit’ is”

‘Yes, master! This way’

Together with the bat, Dick, I kicked a branch and headed for my next prey.

I finished checking my skills.

Flight. Magical Blood. Stealth. Ice Magic. Servant Creation. Multi-Species Linguistics. Everything works.

I will make full use of these skills and do my best to continue pretending to be human in this life.

“Let’s hunt a few more monsters before returning to the mansion. With a plan, too”