After eating breakfast, he went to his room. He was supposed to get 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 start of their family's downfall.
"I really went back," he whispered with a smile on his face.
Then, suddenly—
[Ding!]
A faint chime echoed in the air. Lionel's body 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 in front of him, 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…]
---
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 at this age, I wasn't that good yet. I don't take any of my studies or training seriously."
[These 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 accomplishing missions and training on your own.]
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 in a faster way this time."
[Correct.]
The screen changed 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 and 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.
However, 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 they could never have been born with.
"This is impossible…" he muttered.
In their world, power was not shared equally.
Their world was called Aetherion, a vast land made up of countless kingdoms, duchies, and territories. But above all of them stood the Four Great Empires, each one favored by Gods in a different way.
Their empire, Vaeloria, was one of them.
The Vaeloria Empire was known as the empire of war and gold. Its people were gifted with natural talent in combat. Much more, with those of noble blood. They also have fertile lands and overflowing gold and precious stones.
Vaeloria produced the greatest knights, generals, and swordmasters in all of Aetherion.
Then there was the Aurelion Empire.
Aurelion was blessed with advancement. They have different and more advanced thinking. With it, their looks weren't those of a normal person, either. In the whole land, they produce the best armories, technology, and things that no normal people could do.
Next was the Seraphyne Empire.
Unlike the others, Seraphyne was gifted with life itself. Their people possessed strong healing abilities. Even common soldiers could heal wounds faster than normal, while their royal family was said to have the ability to heal others.
And lastly, there was the Drakvar Empire.
Drakvar was feared for its people's bodies. They were born tall, broad, and overwhelmingly strong. Their muscles were dense like iron and their bones tougher than stone. Their gift was brute force and endurance.
A Drakvar warrior could fight for days without rest, crush armor with bare hands, and survive wounds that would kill any normal man.
Despite their differences, the Four Great Empires had lived in peace with one another for a very long time.
They did not invade each other's territories. They did not wage wars directly against one another. An unspoken rule existed between them, a balance that none of the empires dared to break.
It was also because they were far apart that they rarely crossed paths with one another.
However, while they did not clash with each other directly, none of the empires ever stopped expanding. Every year, smaller kingdoms would disappear from the map because one empire would conquer them.
Peace between empires existed only because there were still a lot of weaker lands to conquer.
While Magic? Magic belonged to none of them.
True magic was said to exist only in ancient times or in myths. He has only heard of it through history classes or books.
And yet…
Lionel looked down at his trembling hands.
"I have mana," he whispered again.
If this were discovered, it would shake Vaeloria to its core.
A deep sigh escaped from his lips. He looked at the air, and slowly, a huge smile appeared on his lips.
"Whoa… this is actually good!" He clenched his fists, feeling the faint hum of energy running inside him now.
However, his smile quickly fell. Even if this was very nice, he still had to hide it for a moment. Not when his mana was still low.
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 before.
"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: 300 units.]
[Reward: +1 Grade Point | Unlocks Basic Mana Control]