Another World Reincarnation Chronicle

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“Come in.”

As the door of the cabin opened, the first thing that caught my eye was a large staff hanging on one wall. It was crafted from high-quality wood, coated with a special substance, and had a large mana stone attached at the end. It was the type of weapon commonly carried by wizards.

Why would such an item be hanging here?

As I pondered this, the old man seemed to notice my gaze and spoke.

“It belonged to a friend of mine.”

“And this friend…?”

“Is no longer with us.”

From the old man’s answer, I could easily imagine the fate of a wizard. A wizard who lost the mystery of magic probably could not contend with the giant monsters of this world.

“Make yourself comfortable.”

With that, the old man began to prepare tea. He scooped boiling water from a small pot set up in one corner of the cabin and poured it into a small teapot. Afterward, he added some dried petals inside.

The old man seemed quite accustomed to serving tea to others. After a few movements of the pot, steaming cups of tea were placed in front of Su, Shu, and me.

The scent was unfamiliar but not off-putting. Cautiously lifting the cup to my lips, I took a small sip and was met with a gently fragrant floral aroma, followed by a hint of bitterness.

“Um…”

“You must have many questions? Why you can’t use magic, where exactly this place is, and whether you can return to where you came from?”

“Oh, yes…”

I nodded at the old man’s words. Since he had voiced the questions I wanted to ask, I had nothing more to say. The old man nodded as if he expected this and continued.

“Answering them is not difficult. However, you must also answer my questions in return.”

“What would you like to ask?”

“Everything about the Celestial Realm!”

It seemed the old man was very interested in the continent floating above the sky. I could understand a bit now why he had been so kind to us.

There weren’t any conditions I couldn’t agree to. Nodding, the old man smiled with satisfaction.

“Let me introduce myself properly. My name is Lesh.”

Lesh looked at me, Su, and Shu with sparkling eyes. I carefully set down the cup I had been lifting to my lips and replied.

“I’m Seris. This is Su and Shu.”

“Good names.”

Did he know what our names meant?

I stroked my chin and continued.

“I have a question I’d like to ask first.”

“What is it?”

“Why can’t we use magic here?”

I wanted to see if it was possible, so I tried to create a small star on my palm. Just as mana began to gather to form the guiding star, it suddenly dispersed, failing to form.

“It’s because mana couldn’t recognize your existence.”

“My existence…? Mana?”

Lesh nodded at my question and continued.

“This place is different from the Celestial Realm. It’s a world teeming with beings that transcend the species known as life forms. The immense presence they emit envelops this world, so mana couldn’t perceive your existence.”

“Is that even possible…?”

“Isn’t that what you’re experiencing right now? The reason the monsters here have grown so large is due to this. They have evolved to expand their presence by increasing their size. It’s to use magic, you see.”

“Ah…”

I looked down at my hands as I contemplated Lesh’s words. The idea that my presence was so faint that mana couldn’t recognize me was quite the shock.

Would it change if I revealed the shape of a dragon?

As I frowned and lost myself in thought, Lesh’s voice cut in.

“Now it’s my turn to ask. How did you end up here?”

It was time to fulfill our question-and-answer agreement. After taking a sip of tea, I slowly opened my mouth.

“We discovered some ruins. They seemed to be the kind that might have come from here.”

“Ruins from the Lower Realm? Go on, go on, tell me more in detail.”

“They were ruins buried deep in the sea. They looked like a place built by wizards…”

“Wizards…? Oh, I see. You must have discovered remnants of Trevel.”

“Trevel…?”

“Just as the wizards of the Celestial Realm built mage towers, the wizards of the Lower Realm also built a massive city called Trevel. Anyway, what exactly did you find there?”

“Wait a moment… Wasn’t it said that humans can’t use magic here?”

“I don’t recall saying that…”

“Then does that mean magic can be used?”

“My friend told me. There are significant differences in how the wizards of the Lower Realm and those of the Celestial Realm use magic. If you could figure out the differences, you might also be able to use magic. But this is all I can tell you—I’m not a wizard, so I don’t know the details. Anyway, tell me what you found in those ruins, as my questions are not finished yet.”

I could only nod and continue.

“Well, we didn’t find much. Just the fact that the place was a school for teaching magic to many, and a large mural… Oh, and we did find a few artifacts containing magic, but we didn’t take any with us.”

“Hmm. I see…”

“Were you satisfied? Can I ask another question now?”

“Not yet, you still haven’t told me how you came down here.”

“Oh… Well, we got caught in a mana surge while exploring the ruins. The magical inscriptions all over the ruins emitted light, and suddenly we were transported to the sky.”

Lesh nodded with a satisfied expression upon hearing my answer. He muttered under his breath continuously, clearly pleased with the information I had delivered.

“Alright, now it’s my turn to take questions. Ask me something.”

“Is there no way to return to that place called the Celestial Realm?”

“If you could fly, maybe you could return. Of course, if you could avoid the gaze of the massive beings living up there.”

As my conversation with Lesh dragged on, the tea began to cool. The cold liquid left a bitter taste in my mouth. I had gathered quite a bit of information through this Q&A session.

My focus was particularly on Trevel, the city reportedly built by the wizards that gathered here. It was a place that even established a school to train many wizards. If I could arrive there and discover the differences between the two wizards, maybe I could use magic again.

“Mr. Lesh.”

“Hm?”

“Could you tell us about the language here and the location of Trevel?”

“Hmm. That’s not a difficult request… But I’ll tell you if you promise to help with some work in our village.”

“What kind of work?”

“Nothing too difficult. You could gather firewood or occasionally collect herbs.”

“Alright.”

The deal with Lesh was settled. I stood up with a light smile.

*

Su, Shu, and I were given temporary shelter. It was a small cabin that the villagers used as a storage area, but after clearing out the items inside, it became quite livable.

The villagers were extraordinarily kind, especially to me.

While they regarded Su and Shu as if they were just stones on the road, the dwarves and elves treated me like a friend. Perhaps the dwarves were drawn to the two swords I had, and the elves were likely attracted to the wind spirit I possessed.

Even humans were kind to me. They approached with warm smiles, giving me fruit or dried meat.

Watching the villagers bring food, it felt like I could laze around and not starve to death. Of course, I had to work hard to keep my promise to Lesh.

During the day, I mostly handled tasks needed by the village, and in the evenings, I went to Lesh’s cabin to study. Since the language of the Lower Realm was quite similar to the sign language used by beastmen, I quickly picked it up. By the third day, I could manage basic communication, so with about a week’s time, I felt ready to leave the village.

Of course, Su and Shu’s studies were still at a standstill.

“Emily!”

“Yeah.”

I stepped out of the house with a small cart slung over my shoulder at Su’s call. Today’s task was to chop firewood. I recalled Lesh’s words about needing to stack up many items in preparation for the approaching winter and left the village.

Looking at the tranquil countryside scenery and my twin friends calling me Emily, it gave me the feeling of returning to my hometown.

Of course, there were significant differences between here and my hometown. I hurried my steps while watching a giant bird flying in the sky.

Swish- swish-

The small nightmare, transformed to a diminutive size, ran around energetically near me. Chasing a fluttering butterfly, it wagged its tail adorably.

“I think this spot will do.”

The location I arrived at was a logging yard considerably far from the village. I could see tree stumps remaining here and there, with branches scattered all around haphazardly.

I didn’t need an axe to chop down trees. I had two swords.

“Are you going to do it all today, Emily?”

“Yeah. You all can practice your swordsmanship on the side.”

“Got it.”

Confirming that Su and Shu had settled in, I focused my mana into the two swords sheathed at my waist. As my two swords grew heavy with my mana, a loud burst of sound erupted as they shot into the air.

Boom-!

The two swords streaked through the air, tracing lines of red and blue. As they swept through the dense forest, dozens of lines were etched into the tree stumps.

Crash-! Crash crash-!

Trees began to fall, one beat slower than the swords that had passed. I controlled the two swords to chop the fallen trees into smaller pieces for firewood.

The firewood needed to be the right size and consistent, which required delicate focus. As the two swords flew through the air, chopping wood, they returned swiftly to my waist, and hundreds of pieces of firewood lay on the ground.

Today’s work was done.

As I picked up the fallen firewood with a light smile, a dark shadow suddenly loomed over me.

Curious, I looked up slightly and saw a giant deer staring down at me.

[Nooooong-!]

The translucent deer opened its mouth while letting out a peculiar cry. Just as its translucent body began to darken, its mouth opened wide, and a burst of bright red tentacles spilled out from inside.

“What the…!”

I hadn’t even noticed its approach. It was as if it had always been there. I hurriedly drew the Fire Dragon Sword and swung it.

Whoosh-!

A blazing flame erupted behind the red blade slicing through the air. In the next instant, the tentacles that rushed out covered the ground.

Boom boom boom-!