After eating breakfast, he went to his room. He was supposed to be getting ready now to attend his lessons, but instead, he just sat around.
After talking to his parents, he realized that he had gone back 10 years in the past. Currently, he's just 14 years old. He's still studying right now.
The war with the northern kingdom wouldn't happen in a year, so that gives him some time to figure out what to do.
The most important thing was to ensure that his father wouldn't go to war.
After all, his father's death was the main reason for their family's downfall.
Still…
"I really went back," he whispered.
Then, suddenly—
[Ding!]
A faint chime echoed in the air. Lionel's head jerked up in surprise. Right before his eyes, a faint blue light gathered and formed until it became a translucent floating screen.
"Huh?"
The screen blinked once. In there, words that were glowing appeared across it.
[System Initialization Complete]
"System…?"
Lionel's eyes widened as the glowing text continued to appear, one line after another.
[Welcome back, Host!]
[Your soul has turned back in time.]
[All knowledge, experience, and abilities from your previous life remain intact, but they have been partially sealed to match your current body's limits.]
[Displaying your current stats…]
Lines of text began to form, glowing in pale blue:
---
Name: Lionel Silvestre Exelio
Age: 14
Swordsmanship: C- (S+)
Archery: D+ (S+)
Horseback Riding: C- (S+)
Hunting: D (S+)
---
Lionel stared at the list in silence.
It was… humbling.
"Oh well," he murmured. "I have to admit that when I was 14, I wasn't that good yet."
[Stats reflect your abilities at this age in your previous life. The grade beside each one shows your full grade before you died. You can slowly unlock them by completing missions.]
Lionel frowned. "Missions?"
[You will find out soon, Host.]
"So you're not going to explain everything at once, huh?" He sighed and leaned back on his bed. "But I guess that means I can become stronger faster this time."
[Correct.]
The screen flickered again.
[But before that, the System has prepared a gift for the Host.]
[Would you like to receive it?]
"A gift?" Lionel tilted his head. "Why are you even asking? Of course I'll take it."
[Confirming…]
[Gift Granted: Mana Awakening.]
A blinding light filled the room. Lionel gasped, clutching his chest as a strange, warm feeling spread through his veins. It felt like fire and lightning were coursing beneath his skin.
"Ahhh!" He let out a painful grunt.
For his young body, the pain was too much.
Then, as quickly as it began, it suddenly stopped.
[Congratulations, Host.]
[You have unlocked Mana.]
[Mana: F]
Lionel sat frozen.
"Mana," he whispered. "I have mana?"
In the Vaeloria Empire, powers like mana were something only the Imperial family were born with. It had been that way since the beginning. It was said that this unexplainable energy was granted by the creator to those of the noblest of noble blood.
But that changed long ago.
When a cruel and selfish king once ruled, his greed brought misfortune upon the people. In anger, the Creator took back his favor from the royal family. It was also that time when the gift of magic began to appear randomly among the common people instead.
The old ones often said it was the Creator's way of reminding the royals to be humble and that everything they had, be it power, wealth, and blessings, came only from him.
Now, centuries had passed, and no member of the royal family had ever been born with magic again… except for the chosen ones.
Once every few generations, one royal would be born with the Creator's favor, a sign that they were destined to rule the empire.
And now, Lionel, who in his past life had none, now possessed it.
Lionel blinked in disbelief, then slowly grinned.
"Whoa… this is actually good!" He clenched his fists, feeling the faint hum of energy running inside him. "Does that mean I can finally use magic?"
Before his thoughts could run further, the screen flickered again.
[The Host has also gained a unique power, "Time reversal."]
"Time Reversal?"
[The
"Wait… turn back time? You mean…" His eyes widened.
[Yes, Host. However, this ability has severe limitations.]
[At your current mana level, you can only reverse time for three seconds.]
[The maximum limit of the
"So… I can actually rewind time," Lionel murmured. His heart raced with excitement. "That's insane."
[Warning: Overuse of the
Lionel let out a small laugh. He was amused and in disbelief at the same time.
"Three seconds, huh?" He smiled faintly. Even if that was so little, that was still a start.
He leaned back, letting out a slow breath. But the moment of excitement disappeared not just for a second as he realized something.
In this era, no royal family of his generation was known to have magic, not even his cousin, Cassian, who was supposed to be the crown prince after his father's death.
The corner of Lionel's lips rose.
"If they find out I have mana…" he muttered. "That would shake the entire empire."
However, his smile quickly fell. It was not yet the right time to reveal that. He was still powerless right now. He had to hide this for the meantime.
Lionel glanced back at the glowing blue screen.
"System," he said cautiously, "is there any way to hide my mana?"
The screen flickered.
[Processing Request...]
A soft chime rang out. Then, in a flash of light, something cold and hard appeared in Lionel's palm.
It was a simple golden ring. There was nothing special about it aside from the small blue stone in the middle.
"What's this?"
[Item Granted: Mana Suppression Ring]
[As long as the Host wears this, all traces of mana will be completely concealed.]
[Moreover, use of Magic will only activate once the ring is removed.]
Lionel stared at the small ring before slipping it onto his finger. The faint energy that surrounded him earlier instantly vanished as if it had never existed.
"It really worked." He let out a shaky laugh, both relieved and amazed. "You're a lifesaver, System."
[You are welcome.]
"Now what do I need to do? I'm pretty sure it wouldn't end here." Lionel's eyes squinted.
[You are correct, Host.]
[Ding!]
[Mission Unlocked!]
[Mission: Absorb enough energy to advance your Mana from F → E grade.]
[You may gather mana energy through natural sources such as Mana Stones or Magical Plants.]
[Amount required: 100 units.]
[Reward: +1 Grade Point | Unlocks Basic Mana Control]