"A little more to the right wing, pull it back, it's sticking out too far… Yeah, just like that."
Amid the scorching heat of the battlefield that seared my cheeks, my voice cut through the wind. The clash of swords and shields rang out in metallic shrieks, soldiers' roars blended with the snapping of flags, enveloping everything in a storm-like clamor. Even so, my orders reached my comrades clearly. From an overhead view of the battlefield, I sorted every enemy movement in my mind, one by one.
"What's next?"
My adjutant turned, his face smeared with sweat and dust. His cheerful tone carried an unshakable trust that brushed aside the tension of battle.
"Bring the Leggs squad on the left wing forward to draw the enemy in."
At my words, the adjutant grinned.
"Got it. Leggs! You hear that?"
His voice boomed powerfully across his subordinates, as if rallying the entire battlefield.
"Roger! Just keep 'em pinned, right?"
One of Leggs' men replied with beast-like ferocity. I gave them a quick glance and nodded calmly.
"That's fine. I'll send follow-up orders."
The left wing unit under Leggs charged toward the enemy lines. Swinging massive swords and mowing down enemy soldiers, they looked like the incarnation of a raging storm. Amid swirling blood and dust, Leggs' greatsword roared, carving a momentary silence into the chaos.
"Should I use a skill to thin them out a bit?"
Leggs' voice sliced through the din.
"Go for it."
With my permission, he raised his greatsword high.
"Moon Slash!"
A crescent arc of light burst from the blade, glowing pale blue as it swept forward.
The blade of light tore through the enemy ranks, sending soldiers flying like leaves in the wind. After a brief hush, the enemy commander's roar echoed, and they unleashed skills of their own. Our forces were pushed back, and the battle settled into a tense stalemate.
"What now? We're not getting anywhere like this."
Impatience crept into Leggs' voice. I closed my eyes for a moment, sketching the battlefield terrain in my mind: rocky outcrops, wind direction, enemy positions… and the hidden card I'd been holding back.
"All right. Fake a retreat and gradually fall back toward the rocks. Make it look like a slow rout. Drag their right wing out after us."
As planned, my army withdrew step by step. The enemy pressed forward eagerly, but their movements played right into my palm. The ambush troops hidden behind the rocks sprang out the instant the enemy right wing passed by, charging in unison.
"Leggs, now! Turn and hit them!"
My voice rang across the field.
"Gotcha! As expected of our strategist. I knew you'd pull something off."
Leggs laughed heartily, raising his greatsword and launching the counterattack.
"I'll take the compliments after we win."
I gave a small smile, coldly watching the flow of battle. The enemy right wing collapsed instantly under the pincer attack from the rear ambush and Leggs' reversed assault. Confusion and despair swallowed their formation, and the wind of victory brushed my cheek.
---
My life used to be boring. No, boring doesn't even begin to cover it. Poor, hopeless, just barely breathing day after day. It was just my mother and me, living in constant fear of the debt collectors' knocks. We moved from one crumbling apartment to another; the thin walls let every pounding fist echo straight into my heart.
The library was my only escape. History books, politics, economics, I devoured them all. If I had knowledge, I could escape this poverty, I believed that. But reality didn't budge. The words on paper couldn't pay off debts or erase the exhaustion from my mother's face.
There was one exception: a war game a friend dragged me into. A medieval chaos of magic and swords, strategy, tactics, espionage, economics. All the knowledge I'd thought useless suddenly shone there. In the game, I was invincible. I controlled battlefields, outmaneuvered enemies, and racked up victories. For those moments, I felt like a different person.
This is the "next chapter" of that boring life.
*(Illustration by Mitemin)*
I was born as Ars, the fourth prince of a tiny country called Lorentz. My memories of my previous life are hazy, but the days of living with my mother in fear of debt collectors linger deep in my heart. The last thing I remember is the medicine my mother handed to high-school me.
"Drink this, and let's get some rest, okay?" she said, forcing a smile onto her utterly worn-out face. Then, I fell into a deep sleep, and awoke in this world.
Lorentz was once prosperous, but wars with neighbors and the rise of new powers drained its strength. Now it's a fragile little nation that could blow away in the wind. Every spring, during the great festival, it sends massive tribute to its western ally, Rehe, as a vassal state. But even Rehe is just a small player squeezed between the northwestern superpower Zaltz and the northern giant Godoa.
Lorentz survives only because the great powers tacitly need it as a buffer zone to avoid direct clashes. Skirmishes with the eastern neighbor Lundel never cease; though no full-scale war has erupted, the country walks on thin ice.
As the fourth prince, Ars is called the "cursed child" and shunned. After losing his queen in an accident, my father remarried my mother, Lizeze. But she died of frailty right after giving birth to me. Because of that, I'm treated as a nuisance tucked away in a corner of the palace.
My three older brothers live in luxurious palace chambers and receive proper education, while my "room" is a crudely renovated servant's storeroom. Still, compared to the dilapidated apartments of my previous life, it's not bad, no debt collectors, one meal a day (two if I'm lucky).
Fortunately, I get along well with the servants. They call me "Prince," though their eyes are filled with pity. Even so, being close to the library is the greatest blessing. I have no tutors like my brothers, but with books, I can learn anything. The belief I carried from my previous life, knowledge is a weapon, is what sustains me.
Today, I turned twelve. In Lorentz, princes at twelve traditionally hunt in the Nodoa Forest to the east. Today was the preliminary scouting day. I entered the woods with my attendants, but they were unreliable, reeking of alcohol, showing no real intent to watch over me.
I myself was caught up in the rare freedom outside the castle and the thrill of my first forest exploration, losing track of my surroundings. By the time I realized I'd lost them, I was deep inside.
Wondering whether to turn back, I caught sight of a small cave at the edge of my vision.
Overgrown with grass, its entrance was so tiny an adult would overlook it. Curiosity stirred in my chest. Wait, or go in? A boy's heart tilted toward the adventure before him. The opening was just big enough for a child to squeeze through.
I lit my portable lantern and peered inside. Surprisingly, it widened farther in and sloped downward. Setting the lantern aside for a better look, I saw a faint pale blue glow from the depths. I thought it might be an animal den, but there was no waste, no scent of life, nothing. The silence was unnaturally profound, as though time itself had frozen. "All right!" I whispered, eyes sparkling.
Hesitant to dive headfirst, I lowered myself feet-first. When I reached the bottom, the pale blue light felt even clearer. Some indescribable aura might be what kept animals away. As my eyes adjusted to the dimness, I saw the walls covered entirely in what looked like characters. Lantern light revealed unfamiliar ancient script.
Parts were chipped or cracked, yet the carvings seemed to whisper secrets from a distant past. Deeper in, the blue-white glow intensified. At its source was a gigantic crystal, tall as an adult, transparent, pulsing with light as if alive. In its center floated script like the wall's, with motes of light dancing as though with intent.
I caught my breath.
"I've never seen anything this beautiful… What in the world is this…?"
The moment I murmured and touched the crystal, pale blue light flowed from my fingertips. A sensation of my body merging with the crystal overwhelmed me. Something vast poured into me; my head spun. The next instant, darkness swallowed my consciousness.
---
How much time had passed when I awoke? Cool air brushed my cheek. Opening my eyes, I found night had fallen completely.
"Huh… Why…?"
I looked around the cave, but the dazzling light was gone. A faint headache throbbed as I pieced things together. In the darkness, I groped for the crystal, only cold, ordinary stone remained. Had touching that light knocked me out? I checked my body; nothing seemed different. What *was* that light?