At last—after thousands of ages—Alovenus had returned.
He awakened within the body of a twelve-year-old boy named Leo Dainhart, a direct descendant of the prestigious House of Dainhart, the ruling family of the northern territories of the Heinlein Empire. The Dainharts were one of the Four Dominant Houses that governed the continent.
To the south reigned House Ceram, to the west House Shainel, and to the east House Rosebrit. Among them all, House Dainhart stood apart. Unlike the others, it embraced both magic and swordsmanship as its path of combat—though it leaned more heavily toward magic. This was largely due to its current patriarch, one of the Five Grand Mages, the only individuals on the entire continent to have reached the Ninth Magic Circle.
Leo—no, Alovenus—rose to his feet, his heart brimming with excitement and anticipation. This new era lay before him like an unopened tome, filled with unknown possibilities. He was determined to uncover what it held, to rebuild his power, and to ascend once more toward the realm of Transcendence.
For upon reincarnation, his overwhelming strength had been stripped away. At present, the limits of his ability allowed him to wield no more than third-tier magic.
As he moved to leave the room, he encountered someone—someone who needed no introduction.
Lionel.
One of his brothers.
The moment their eyes met, Leo's hands began to tremble against his will. It was not fear, but the lingering emotions and memories of the original owner of this body—memories of relentless humiliation and cruelty inflicted by this very person.
Lionel sneered, his voice dripping with contempt.
"Do you really have the nerve to show your face after all the disgrace you've brought upon us, you worthless nobody? You're a stain on the family. No one expects anything from you—hah! If you weren't of direct blood, you'd have been thrown into the streets long ago."
Slowly, Leo lifted his gaze.
His eyes were sharp—terrifyingly so—filled with a killing intent so dense it seemed tangible.
Lionel froze.
A chill ran down his spine. Sweat beaded on his forehead as an invisible pressure crushed his chest. Acting on instinct, he lashed out defensively.
"You bastard! How dare you look at me like that?!"
He lunged forward, drawing back his fist with all his strength.
But in that instant—
Alovenus moved.
With a quiet whisper, he invoked a third-tier spell.
Paralysis.
Lionel's body locked in place, frozen as if time itself had abandoned him.
You were troubled by such filth? Leo thought coldly.
Don't worry. From now on… everything will change.
He stepped forward slowly and cast another spell—one long forgotten in this age.
Pain.
A third-tier mental spell that inflicted no physical harm, yet drowned the mind in agony beyond imagination. Only those with extraordinary mental fortitude and iron will could resist it.
Lionel, a fifteen-year-old boy, stood no chance.
His world collapsed into hell. His body writhed violently, his eyes rolled back until only white remained, and he collapsed unconscious onto the floor.
From this point onward, Alovenus shall be referred to as Leo.
Without a second glance, Leo walked away and began roaming the annexed palace, organizing his next steps. His first destination was clear:
The library.
He needed to know what had transpired during the fifty thousand years of his absence.
What he discovered shocked him.
Magical knowledge had regressed drastically. The world now believed the Ninth Circle to be the absolute limit of magic, dismissing the Tenth as nothing more than myth. Countless ancient spells had been lost to time, erased from history.
After conducting an extensive historical study, Leo gained a broad understanding of the current era.
Then, he began the next phase.
He entered deep meditation and started altering the mana pathways within his body—a forgotten technique. With intense focus, he purged impurities from his mana channels, reorganized their flow, and condensed his mana reserves.
After several hours—
He succeeded.
Leo could now activate fourth-tier magic.
He wasted no time. A meticulous plan formed in his mind, centered on rapid self-improvement. His next objective was ambitious and dangerous:
To create a strengthening elixir.
Not just any elixir—
but a legendary elixir of his own design, capable of increasing mana capacity by forty percent and drastically enhancing control efficiency.
The problem lay in its ingredients.
They were exceedingly rare.
After deep contemplation, Leo made his decision.
He would embark on a perilous journey, one fraught with monsters, deadly threats, and merciless uncertainty, to gather the materials himself.
A day later, fully prepared, Leo left the palace behind—
And thus began his first journey in this new era.
To be continued…