Chapter 4: The Same Kind of Idiot from Two Different Eras

Chapter 4. The Same Kind of Idiot from Two Different Eras

When I opened my eyes this time, there was no sacrificial blade in my hand.

Progress.

I stared upward.

A dark canopy stretched above me, embroidered with silver thread and tiny magical symbols that glowed faintly whenever I moved my head. The mattress beneath my back was absurdly comfortable. Soft enough to sink into, firm enough to support every aching part of my body.

No stone floor, ritual circle or crying mermaid crushing my ribs.

Good signs.

The air smelled faintly of herbs, sea salt, and something floral.

Ariel must have carried me here after I passed out.

Then the system flared.

[Memory Integration Complete.]

I went still.

A heavy pressure passed through my head.

Not pain.

More like someone had opened a library inside my skull and quietly inserted several thousand books.

Faces. Places. Battles. Magic. Languages. Arguments.

Rey’s past.

Fragments came and went too quickly to fully process, but they were there now.

I breathed out slowly. "That’s useful."

Another notification appeared.

[Curse Stability: 100%]

[Curse Conversion has stabilized the current curse cycle.]

[Warning: Curse Stability may decrease if Host excessively uses normal mana too much.]

That made sense.

The curse contaminated normal mana.

Too much usage would increase its activity.

Then another line appeared.

[Forbidden Energy: 100%]

[Forbidden Energy functions as an alternate magical resource. It may only be used for forbidden, corrupted, or evolved arcana. Normal spells still require normal mana.]

I smirked. "Nice."

Not perfect.

But definitely progress.

I wasn’t magically cured.

I had simply taken the thing trying to kill me and given it a job.

Very researcher-like.

"System."

[Listening.]

"Give me Rey Valen’s current combat status. Rank, mana, spells. Everything useful."

The display shifted.

[Name: Rey Valen]

[Race: Human]

[Title: Royal Magus]

[Current Rank: S]

[Status: Cursed]

[Mana Capacity: 70%]

[Cause: Long-term curse erosion and repeated mana instability.]

I stared at that last part.

Seventy percent.

So the curse had already eaten thirty percent of Rey’s usable magical capacity.

Wonderful.

At least I knew what happened to it now.

The spell list opened.

[Active Elemental Manipulation]

[Fire Manipulation]

[Water Manipulation]

[Wind Manipulation]

[Earth Manipulation]

[Light Manipulation]

[Dark Manipulation]

[Host may shape elemental mana freely into simple offensive, defensive, or utility forms.]

The next category opened.

[Support / Team Utility Skills]

[Instant Magic Formation Creation]

[Arcane Eye]

[Teleport]

[Elemental Ward]

[Mana Link]

[Purification Support]

[Wide-Area Detection]

"Mana Link..." I paused.

The memory attached itself instantly.

Rey had used it constantly during the war.

He had been the backbone of the Five Heroes.

Not merely their artillery.

Their support structure.

He reinforced Garr’s body when brute force alone wasn’t enough.

Fed Darius extra mana for barriers.

Created openings for Raven.

Maintained suppression fields so Elia could heal without interruption.

"And even after everything he did for them, those bastards still betrayed him."

I scoffed.

The irony was almost impressive.

Rey had protected them, supported them, and practically held the whole damn team together. And this was how they repaid him?

Yeah.

Suddenly, I really wanted to punch all four of them in the face.

Preferably one after another.

Maybe twice. Or more.

Then I noticed another category.

[Inactive Skills: 19]

I narrowed my eyes. "Open."

The list unfolded.

And I immediately understood why Rey had once been called the Royal Magus.

[Inferno Dominion (Inactive)]

[Frozen Sea (Inactive)]

[Tempest Crown (Inactive)]

[Mountain Burial (Inactive)]

[Heaven’s Radiance (Inactive)]

[Nightfall Prison (Inactive)]

[Grand Elemental Cataclysm (Inactive)]

[Sixfold Arcane Territory (Inactive)]

[Celestial Mana Storm (Inactive)]

[Royal Annihilation Formation (Inactive)]

I stared.

Those weren’t normal spells.

Those were battlefield erasers.

Area skills.

High-level ones.

The sort of spells that made armies suddenly reconsider whether invading was truly aligned with their personal goals.

[Reason: Current mana capacity insufficient.]

[Requirement: Return to SSS Rank.]

I leaned back against the pillows. "So that’s it."

Rey hadn’t always been S-rank.

He had been SSS.

Top of the era.

Then the curse slowly destroyed his mana, destabilized his core, reduced his usable power, and eventually locked away his strongest techniques.

History probably called it deterioration caused by forbidden magic.

I smiled faintly. "Don’t worry." My fingers curled. Forbidden Energy pulsed quietly somewhere inside me. "I’ll turn the table."

First, though... I needed to test it.

I pushed the blanket aside.

There was a training ground behind the western wing.

Rey’s memory showed me the route perfectly.

Large enough for high-level spell testing.

Reinforced barriers.

Target dummies made from mana-resistant stone.

Perfect.

I swung my legs off the bed. "Let’s see what this new energy can—" I stood. My knees immediately betrayed me.

"Whoa!"

My vision tilted.

I fell backward onto the mattress.

-Thump!

Silence.

I stared at the canopy again.

"...Right."

For the past three days, Rey had eaten almost nothing.

Not because he lacked food.

Because he’d decided a strict purification diet made from specific herbs would help cleanse the curse.

It hadn’t.

It had only made him weak.

I covered my face. "Genius magician. Terrible nutritionist."

Though, considering my own sleeping schedule back in my previous life, I really wasn’t in a position to judge him. At least when it came to food, I had always kept protein bars nearby for emergencies whenever I was too busy researching to remember that normal humans required meals.

I paused as I remembered how I died.

Okay.

We were basically the same kind of idiot from two different eras.

At least when it came to food, sleep, health, and an unhealthy obsession with magical research.

Although dying because I was too lazy to wipe up a puddle was arguably much dumber than starving myself on some questionable herbal purification diet.

Still, I had one advantage over Rey.

At least I hadn’t killed any of my wives.

Mostly because I’d been single.

But that still counted. Right?

Suddenly, the door opened.

I turned my head.

A servant entered first.

Young woman.

Brown uniform with a pale face. A tray in her hands.

She saw me sitting up and instantly looked like she had accidentally walked into a dragon’s nest.

Then another woman stepped inside.

And the entire room changed.

Golden-green hair fell past her waist in loose waves, threaded with tiny flowers that looked alive. Her eyes were a clear emerald, bright enough to almost glow. A translucent pair of fairy wings rested behind her, shimmering faintly whenever she moved.

Her dress was layered in white and pale green, decorated with vines and tiny crystals.

Beautiful, soft and warm.

And somehow carrying the unmistakable energy of someone who would absolutely poison an army for stepping on her garden.

Her eyes widened. "Rey!" She crossed the room immediately. "You’re awake."

Relief rushed across her face so openly that it caught me off guard.

She reached me and placed one hand against my shoulder.

Then another around my back.

"Lie down."

The servant behind her went even paler.

Rey’s memories answered why.

Recently, if anyone tried to order him around while the curse was acting up, he usually reacted badly.

Cold words.

Anger.

Violent.

Sometimes magic.

Toward his wives often.

The servants had learned caution.