"Ronie?"
"Saintness…"
Ronie shifted his attention away from Edward and turned fully to Saint Solaria.
He knelt down and quickly sheathed his sword.
"Saintness, forgive my earlier rudeness. I had my reasons…"
Saint Solaria glanced briefly at Ronie before her golden eyes moved to Edward.
Her expression was hollow, uncaring, like someone whose soul had slipped away.
"Edward…"
"…."
Hearing her voice, Edward slowly knelt as well, following Ronie's posture. He closed his eyes with practiced calm.
"Edward, paying respect to the Saint of the Solaria Church."
"…."
"…."
Ronie frowned at Edward's sudden obedience, but Saint Solaria, studying him with those keen golden eyes, sensed something was off.
"It's good to see you've regained your sanity."
"All thanks to the Saint's guidance. Someone as lowly as myself could never have recovered without your grace."
"Hmm… is that so."
Suspicion flickered in the Saint's eyes. She shifted her gaze to Ronie.
"Ronie, we're done here. Let's go."
"Yes, Saintness."
Edward remained kneeling as the two left him behind.
________________________________________________________________________
"That… was terrifying…"
Why is the Saint here? Everything happened so fast, I couldn't process anything.
When those golden eyes landed on me, I felt like she was examining every corner of my soul.
But the part that confuses me most… what duel was Ronie talking about?
Oh! So that was Ronie?
Damn it, I didn't even realize because I was too focused on Saint Solaria.
Now I remember. He's one of Solaria Church's holy guards. I wrote him myself. His job was to protect the Saint during her time at the academy.
How could I forget something that important?
So… did this duel happen before Episode One? But something should've happened first.
Forget it. Maybe the case was brushed off because Edward got caught holding a grudge in his diary.
Anyway, I should get back to my room and handle the rest of my tasks.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Strange.
Today, I was forced to the limit of this body.
Bruises and pain throbbed relentlessly, spreading with every movement.
The wound on my left shoulder stung the worst.
I'm certain 100% sure that this was the aftermath of my duel with Ronie. Even so, I can't bring myself to be angry at him.
"I should re-evaluate what this body can actually do."
I pulled out a sheet of paper and drew a simple stickman, adding notes beside it:
Terrible physical condition
Mana not yet awakened
Appearance not too bad (in my opinion)
I added markings for the bruises and wounds across the little stick figure.
"How sad… I reincarnated and didn't even get a system."
Just kidding.
What I really need now is a plan for Episode One.
Soon, Ethan will enter Class S and make his perfect debut. As the main character, it's easy for him to gain friends and admiration.
Especially from Yuno, the first heroine who starts to fall for him.
A scholarship student in Class S, chosen personally by the Headmaster. Her magic is insane, the strongest after the Headmaster herself.
But that's natural. Headmaster Ardenfield is a Magister Artium and a dragon. Someone who has lived for centuries and mastered magic beyond imagination.
In this world, the longer you live, the stronger you become.
"But what I still don't understand is how I can awaken my Mana…"
As the author of this world, I knew the theory of Mana awakening. Practically, though, it's nearly impossible. I even added a punishment mechanic to make it 'realistic.'
Mana circuit overheating leads to vomiting blood just like an overclocked computer. Sometimes I wonder why I ever pretended to be clever enough to compare the human body to a processor…
But more importantly…
"…."
This body must have a family. Someday, I'll need to explain that their son is now occupied by someone else.
I also worry about my family back on Earth… my parents, my siblings… what are they doing right now?
Maybe one day, I'll find magic that can take me back.
"Ouch… sigh."
For now, I should treat these wounds before sleeping.
I searched the room for something to help with the bruises and fortunately found a small wooden container the size of a coin. Inside was a simple ointment, nothing special, but better than nothing.
After locking the door and extinguishing the candle, I finally fell asleep.
________________________________________________________________________
Timeskip: Three Days Later
Three days passed quickly filled with grueling, humiliating routine. Edward woke at dawn each morning, long before class, just to avoid Melissa and work on his pathetic physical condition. But progress was almost nonexistent.
"Ten push-ups and I'm already exhausted. This is hopeless," he muttered, wiping sweat off his forehead at the training field.
Each day, he endured additional suffering under Melissa the Survival Instructor and the antagonist of Volume 1. Thankfully, he managed to remain 34th out of 36 students, just barely low enough to escape her hunter-like gaze.
Edward knew he couldn't rely on physical strength alone. He needed to awaken Mana.
Self-Study and Consequences
That night, long after curfew, Edward sat at his desk. He had gathered several basic magic textbooks from the academy library books he himself had written, yet now felt impossibly complicated.
"I need a shortcut to Mana."
He ignored the dense theories he had once crafted, theories warning of mana-circuit overheating and blood vomiting. Instead, he returned to the meditation method he had attempted before, focusing on the strange pressure in his back.
Sitting cross-legged, he closed his eyes. Slowly, he tuned out the pain in his body and concentrated only on his spine.
That pressure… as though something restrained him.
He imagined the Broken Chain from his dream. He pushed attempting to break whatever held him back.
Push. Push. Break.
Something snapped.
Not gently, but sharply like frost spreading beneath his skin.
A chilling sensation surged through his body.
Ugh… my head…
Edward clutched his skull. The pain wasn't like a normal headache. It felt as though someone was tearing the skin off his scalp, ripping his hair out one strand at a time. His vision blurred as he opened his eyes.
"What's happening…?"
He staggered to the bathroom and turned on the light.
Nothing looked unusual until he angled his face and froze.
Blood.
A thin stream of fresh blood ran from his nose.
A nosebleed.
A Diagnosis
He quickly washed his face with cold water. Not vomiting blood, but still alarming. A nosebleed meant ruptured capillaries.
But why?
He rushed back to his desk, heart pounding. Opening Edward's old diary, he wrote:
Day 17.
Attempted Mana meditation.
Failed. Mana circuit did not activate.
Result: Severe headache and nosebleed.
"This makes no sense," Edward muttered. "Overheating the circuit should cause blood vomiting. A nosebleed means ruptured vessels. But why?"
Then a memory surfaced from his days as an author.
A rare condition he had created for worldbuilding fairness.
"Oh wait. I remember. In Volume 3, I wrote about a rare condition…"
He grabbed a thick book: Foundational Theory of Aether and Fluids.
Flipping rapidly, he found the passage.
Hemorrhagia Arcana
A rare condition in which blood vessels cannot endure the resonance caused by drawing Aether into the mana circuit, resulting in bleeding from the nose, ears, or eyes.
"…I really wrote this," he groaned.
It hit him.
This body had Hemorrhagia Arcana.
A condition that inherently prevents the use of strong magic.
Any attempt to draw Mana would cause bleeding.
"This means… this body does have Mana. But it's too sensitive. The circuit is too fragile. That's why the original Edward was weak. That's why he was bullied. That's why he was forced into a duel."
Now everything was clear.
Edward had magical potential
but could not use it without risking his life.
Physical strength was the only safe path for survival.
"I need to find a cure for Hemorrhagia Arcana… or I'll bleed out long before I can stand beside Ethan."
With that, he added a new entry to his diary.