The final hourglass drained, and the proctor's voice rang out.
"Quills down."
Groans and sighs echoed through the examination hall. Some candidates slumped over their desks in exhaustion, while others clenched their fists in silent frustration. A handful smiled with quiet pride, but only one leaned back as though the entire ordeal had been nothing more than idle amusement.
Lucien Davisus.
The whispers followed him even as attendants collected the enchanted parchments.
"Space affinity… genius attunement…"
"Did you see how fast he finished?"
"House Davisus… their influence will only grow now."
Lucien ignored them all. To him, these were not revelations — merely affirmations of what he already knew. He rose calmly, brushing invisible dust from his sleeve, his golden griffon emblem catching the light.
House Davisus was not counted among the oldest of noble lineages, nor did it boast an unbroken record of archmages. Yet its crest — the golden griffon clutching a coin — was recognized in every corner of the Empire.
Where others built their legacies with bloodlines and spellcraft, the Davisus family built theirs with coin, commerce, and innovation.
They owned the largest trade fleets that sailed the Imperial coasts. Their caravans crossed the central plains, bringing salt from the southern mines, silks from the eastern provinces, and magical reagents from the northern tundras. Their banking halls lent crowns to lords and kings alike, and their refineries turned raw mana crystals into enchanted luxuries.
If the Veradis royal family ruled the Empire by divine right, and if the Arcanos commanded its magical supremacy, then the Davisus ruled the veins of its wealth. Gold flowed where they willed.
And now, their heir had revealed himself to be a genius unlike any other.
As the candidates were dismissed for the day, Lucien's gaze lingered on the fading sunlight that streamed into the arena corridors. The glow reminded him of something else — the pale fluorescent lights of an exam hall on Earth.
He remembered the scratch of cheap pens, the smell of paper, the sweat on his palms as he answered question after question in a life defined by endless tests.
Lucien Davisus was not born in this world.
He had once been a young man of the 21st century, a nobody buried in the anonymity of city crowds. Ordinary, average, chained to the cycle of school, exams, and the looming dread of a corporate grind. His life had ended abruptly — a blinding light on a rainy night, the screech of tires, the sickening crunch of steel.
Then, silence.
When he awoke, he was no longer in a broken body but in the cradle of one of the richest families in a magical empire. A second chance. A new name. A destiny others could only dream of.
Lucien had not wasted it.
From infancy, he devoured knowledge, testing the limits of his new mind. He learned arithmetic before he could walk steadily, read merchant ledgers before other children learned letters, and memorized magical theory long before his mana core awakened. His parents — Lord Marcus Davisus and Lady Helena Davisus — recognized the brilliance in their heir and provided him with tutors from across the Empire.
By the time he reached his eighth year, Lucien already outstripped most academy graduates in logic and economics. Now, at Twelve, he had stepped into the testing grounds not just as a wealthy heir, but as a transmigrant armed with two lifetimes of experience.
Beyond Lucien's family, the world itself thrived in grandeur. The Aurelius Empire stretched across continents, its banners of crimson and gold flying over cities of spires and marble.
Magic was its lifeblood.
Every child was tested for affinity by the time they reached ten. Those with talent were recruited into academies — training grounds that determined whether one would serve as mage, knight, healer, or scholar. Nobility and power were intertwined with magical ability, but wealth and influence could still tip scales.
At the pinnacle stood the Imperial Family — House Veradis, the ruling line crowned under the sun emblem. Surrounding them were the Great Houses: Arcanos, Astralis, Mervilin, Calvus, and Davisus among them, each commanding a sphere of influence.
Conflicts between houses were fought not always with blades, but with trade, magical prestige, and strategic marriages. Yet behind the polished veneer of civilization, old threats stirred: ancient beasts in the western wilds, whispers of rebellion in the southern provinces, and rumors of forgotten relics buried beneath ruined kingdoms.
For now, though, the Empire's focus lay on its youth — the heirs of its future.
As Lucien left the hall, his steps light, he caught fragments of hushed conversations.
"Space affinity… unheard of!""He finished before the princess herself.""House Davisus will be courted by every academy."
Lucien only smiled faintly. Let them chatter. Today, I am a student. Tomorrow, I will be a player on the grand board of nations.
He knew that genius alone was never enough. His past life had taught him the cruelty of systems, the weight of mediocrity, and the price of wasted potential. This time, he would not settle for survival. He would shape the currents of history.
And as the sun dipped below the horizon, painting the skies of the capital in gold and crimson, Lucien Davisus swore silently:
This world would remember his name.