A split second later, within the same consciousness, a spark of awareness ignited, and Oliver's eyes opened.
"Huh…?"
All that he saw was a darkness as well. But now there was a bright source of light just within his peripheral view. He also noticed, there was someone there other than him alone.
"You poor boy… you almost died to that monster. I'm glad I wasn't a second too late." The old man sighed, standing in front of him.
As Oliver was about to try to make sense of what was happening, his head suddenly throbbed with intense pain. He closed his eyes again, enduring the stinging pain.
"Arrghh…!!"
A surge of memories exploded. Now he not only had memories of his past life before he died, but also memories of his new life. That person was also him—he himself was precisely the owner of this body.
He vividly remembered that, since childhood, he had been the owner of this body, but for some reason he only recovered his past memories now, after reaching fifteen years old.
Though still hazy, it was all there in his mind now, and he believed he would be able to recall everything in time.
As he was still configuring his mind, the old man spoke, "You're lucky the monster didn't instantly take your life and instead toyed with you."
He tried to open his eyes, still dizzy, and looked at the old man. Instinctively, a strange clarity washed over him, as if his mind was calculating… or rather, predicting things. Something that had long been dormant inside him stirred—but the sensation only lingered for a heartbeat before vanishing instantly.
"W-What…?"
The old man was tall, with an athletic but normal build, and the aura he emanated indicated that he was no ordinary person. His hair was mostly brown, streaked with gray due to his age, and he had a mustache. One of his pupils was white, and a large scar ran across his head.
"What creature are you talking about?" he asked.
"It's monster that lives deep underground. But now that I'm here, you're safe… for now kid."
"Th-thank you… for saving me."
"No need to thank me. It's my job. You could say I came a bit late, and you should consider yourself lucky." He adjusted his stance slightly, his eyes scanning the room calmly.
Oliver looked around in disbelief. What kind of monster break could have breached the village's defenses and reached all the way to his house? It was, after all, located near the center of the village.
"Calm yourself." The old man looked outside the window. "You look… unsettled."
"I-I don't know what's happening. Everything's happening so fast… I can't make sense of it."
"This was no ordinary monster." He rested a hand on his waist. "Whatever led to today's monster break, I'll make sure it's dead before the sun sets."
Oliver wanted to ask something else, but before he could open his mouth, the old man waved his hand, gesturing for him to stop. He told him that he was about to leave and would speak to the village chief to inquire about everything. Before departing, however, he handed Oliver a pouch of mana stones with a knowing glance.
Oliver watched his back until he disappeared from sight. So much had happened in an instant, and he needed more time to process it all at once.
As he was about to get up, he realized that it wasn't just his head that was in pain. Earlier, his head was in such agony that he barely noticed anything else. But once it subsided, he felt his entire body aching as if he had fallen from a cliff—though nothing was broken.
"Ugh…"
He groaned instantly, enduring the surge of pain.
"Damn it…"
After twenty or thirty minutes of pure torment, the pain finally subsided.
Then he began sorting through his thoughts once again. He had truly been reincarnated indeed—it was just that he was only realizing it at this point in time. Before, he had no recollection of his past life and only lived normally since childhood. In this life, his name was Oliver and he had a family here as well, all natives of this village.
His father was Coren, and his mother Lida, and they were still working on the farm. They usually didn't come home until noon. But, judging by today's incident, he thought they might return very soon.
As for his sister… Oliver's mind paused for a moment. Where could she be right now?
"Wait my anxiety…?"
As far as he could remember, similar to his past life, Oliver actually had the same problem with anxiety from childhood. Since childhood, he had always worried about everything, overthinking even the smallest things, and often had trouble sleeping at night. He hadn't realized the cause from the start, but it was indeed something that came from his past life.
This constant mental burden had made his psyche thin and fragile, and he never had a proper night's sleep for as long as he could remember.
"But, how...?!"
Yet strangely… his anxiety had suddenly disappeared now. After his near-death experience with an abominable monster, and being saved by a formidable old man, that constant worry was gone—and he only realized it now, to his own surprise.
For the first time in ages, he felt his mind clearer, calmer, and lighter. His body felt relaxed and at ease.
Now that he thought about it, it didn't make sense. How could his heightened anxiety have come from his past life? Wasn't it supposed to be a mutation that affected the body only?
Before he continued his train of thought, he was distracted by the mana pouch in his hand. Honestly, he was far too eager to inspect it anyway, and judging by its size, it must contain plenty.
"I can't use it, though… Did he expect me to me to sell it? But why?" he pondered.
He took one mana stone and gripped it in his hand, then started playing with it. He could still remember his magic lessons from childhood.
When a child reached the age of ten, the village checked their constitution with magic. A child with a good constitution could use mana to some extent and absorb mana stones to increase their affinity. They would also teach them the appropriate techniques to use mana stones from an early age.
Oliver had been taught this technique as well, but sadly his talent for magic was very low, making it difficult for him to learn any magic skills.
"Well… I still remember the technique pretty well. Let's give it a try."
He quickly adjusted his posture and sat calmly in his room. He held the mana stone tightly in his palm, focusing his mind on sensing the faint flow of magical energy within it. Slowly, he extended his own mana outward, forming a subtle connection with the stone. Surprisingly the energy within it pulsed gently, as he carefully drew it in to merge with his own mana reserve.
"Huh..?"
Oliver was slightly confused about why he was able to easily absorb the mana stone. Wasn't his talent in magic supposed to be trash?
"What… happened?" Oliver blinked, momentarily stunned. A few years ago, the last time he tried to absorb mana stones, it had taken him two hours of unrelenting focus before he could start absorbing one.
"Was it because I awakened the memories of my past life?" Oliver's mood rose as he grinned cheekily. Perhaps things weren't so hopeless after all.
But before he could entertain any idea, he suddenly remembered something important. His heart skipped a beat as he realized he had forgotten to check on his sister's whereabouts.
"Damn. My sister!"
After a brief moment, he remembered that his sister was in the neighbor's house. She must be playing with her friend there. He hoped that she was okay, yet he couldn't help but worry.
"Okay… calm down." He didn't want be a worrywart, He knew his sister never liked it—but yeah, it was still an old habit after all.
He tried to move, but his body ached too much to respond. He gritted his teeth and tried to stand up. Just then, the village chief appeared.
The village chief appeared to be in a hurry and came to him worriedly.
"Are you okay?"
Oliver swallowed hard. He held himself up against the aching pain as he stood. "I'm fine. Do you know where my sister is?"
The village chief hesitated before speaking. "She's been injured… attacked by a monster."
Oliver froze.