Chapter 1: Reborn
It was soft, dark midnight. It was the gloom that came just before the sunrise, a kind of darkness that helps the orange and gold blossom across the sky.
The dark encouraged Abium to fall asleep as he shut his eyes, tossing and turning in a futile attempt to slip away from the depths of unconsciousness.
Blissfully unaware, a crushing pain came from one side of his head and went in a pattern.
It made him want to pace about, but he couldn't sit, couldn't lie down, or relax. He felt as if there was an entity trying to break his skull open.
Gradually, the pain started to vanish, and soon he recovered his senses.
A slight groan came out of his mouth as he woke up with a tired face and rubbed his black eyes.
A moment later, his eyes widened.
Abium hurriedly looked around and soon noticed that he was in a room that seemed so familiar!
He scanned the 10x10 ft room and blinked his eyes.
On his right side was a broken table, and on it were a few linen clothes laid in a disorderly manner.
Upon seeing the broken table, his body stiffened.
"This is… my old room?!" He muttered out loud and sat up in a hurry. He saw the same shabby and slightly poorly polished interior and became confused.
While he was in confusion, a mirror hanging on the wall caught his attention. He took off the old quilt and stood up from the bed while massaging his temple to ease away the headache.
Only then did he notice his reflection in the mirror and soon squinted his eyes.
What appeared in front of him was not a middle-aged man but a young boy!
He had the same straight black hair, deep-set pitch-black eyes, the same oval face, and appeared to be around 15 to 16 years old.
Abium also noticed he was wearing a ragged brown linen shirt and pants and finally confirmed the youthful body was his childhood one!
'How did I return here?'
A chill went down to his spine as he looked at his reflection!
He knew that the Kolgath demon's claw had already pierced through his body and killed him on the spot.
But to his astonishment, he was standing here alive, and what's more unbelievable was that he appeared in his younger self!
He found it very hard to accept.
'Why my body looks younger? I should have already died on the battlefield, right? But how did I come here?' A series of questions whirled in his head.
Even though Abium couldn't speculate how he went back in time, the truth was right in front of him!
Suddenly, a glimpse of the memory of his silver bracelet glowed at the last moments of his death came to his mind.
'Is it because of that silver bracelet?' He knitted his eyebrows in suspicion.
Abium clearly remembered how he got that bracelet in the past.
He got it 'luckily' when exploring a high-level dungeon.
Abium recalled that dungeon's history.
It was related to Udnir, God of Time. He was a mysterious god who had no followers in Edhen World.
'That unique silver bracelet... No, the white petal-like gem on the silver bracelet must be the reason behind this time travel... But this is not some dumb luck... Gods...' He hurriedly looked at his wrist and noticed no bracelet, nor did any petal-like thing appear near him.
As he was about to look away, a series of images appeared in his mind!
The first one was an image of a gloomy forest, the second one was a group of ugly green-skinned monsters, the third one was a gloomy cavern and a vault, the fourth one was a strange underground passage, the fifth one was a strange waterfall, the sixth one was a tall tower, and the final one was a golden throne!
'What the f*ck!' He stood there with a dazed expression on his face and soon turned grim.
'My past life memories appeared in the form of images?... No, those goblins... That's the ambush incident... And, there is also the image of the vault where I found the spatial ring... But, what is this strange underground passage? Waterfall? Tall Tower? Is it a magic tower? What about that golden throne?... I hadn't seen such a tall Magic Tower in my past life...' At that moment, an absurd thought appeared in his mind.
'T-They might not be my past memories... It might be a future vision!' He had heard that Seers and Diviners could look into someone's future in the form of images but never believed it.
'But what changed now? Why am I seeing a future vision? Is it due to my time travel?' Questions appeared in his mind but no answers.
'Wait... Does that mean the vault is an entrance to this Magic Tower? No, These images... Was it due to the petal-like thing? It is possible... That petal must be a 'Time' related artifact... Is it still in my body? Maybe in my soul?' A grim look appeared on his face.
Although he couldn't sense its presence, he had a feeling that this petal might be hiding somewhere in his body like a parasite!
'It seems I got my hands on some treasure... No, if this petal thing caught the attention of mages, I will be doomed.' He got anxious inside.
'No, I need to learn more about my current situation and then think of a plan to deal with the mysterious petal.' He let out a deep sigh and thought of what to do next.
He first took a deep breath and first checked his body condition.
Soon, the seriousness on his face disappeared and was replaced with a happy one.
'I'm still a mortal!' He breathed out a sigh of relief.
In the past, Abium chose the Warrior path and miserably died under the claw of a Greater Demon.
But now, he had an opportunity to choose the right track.
'Mage!'
Unlike warriors, Mages were mysterious people who could command heaven and earth within their palms. Even a fourth-tier warrior might die in the hands of some apprentice mage if his 'luck' was miserable.
That's the real power of magic.
'I need to be strong.' He clenched his fist and mumbled himself.
Abium vowed to become stronger than anyone, so he didn't have to be afraid of being killed by a random stranger.
He soon searched his memory of his young body and learned the right date and time.
Easica calendar Year 10291, September 3rd.
'Did I reborn on the day before the ambush?' Abium frowned.
Now it's midnight.
He transmigrated a few hours before his journey to the royal capital!
His lips twitched as he thought of his current situation.
'I need to do some preparations. My body is too weak to face those goblins in Baxborn woods.' He thought inwardly.
He recalled the gruesome deaths on their way to the Royal capital that happened in the past and sighed deeply.
He then took out his sword from the nearby cupboard and held it with his right hand while removing the sheath.
'I still have the Master level swordsmanship!'
It was an ability that required an in-depth understanding of sword art. This sword's ability grows alongside the understanding of the user.
It allows one to infuse their sword technique with mana from the user's body, granting them cutting power. The sword technique he practiced was a modification of the original 'advanced royal sword technique.'
Abium received this Royal sword technique from Prince Raollet after completing one of the dangerous escort missions.
To fulfill the promise, Prince even gave him a splendid sword technique. An advanced sword technique was a priceless treasure for ordinary warriors and low-rank nobles. So, Abium still respected that Prince for keeping his words.
A yellowish sunshine sword aura enveloped that sword as he sent mana into it.
But after a few seconds, he frowned a bit and then stopped.
At that moment, a slight pain appeared in his head. His breath grew heavy, and he also felt slight dizziness.
'This is my limit.'
Letting out a deep sigh, Abium went near the wooden bed, sat down on it, wiped the tears from the corner of his eyes, and clicked his tongue.
'My body lacks mana!' He muttered inwardly.
The pain started to fade after a few seconds, and then he stood up from the bed.
Although he was a master swordsman before his death, and his understanding of the sword arts was higher than any other in this kingdom, he still lacked one crucial thing.
Mana!
Practicing the sword technique consumes mana.
It varies based on the type of sword aura.
With a measly amount of mana inside his body, he could maintain the basic sword aura for a few minutes without any problem.
But he doesn't have enough mana to use an Intermediate sword aura.
Abium made an accurate calculation with his knowledge and confirmed that he could only maintain the intermediate sword aura for around three seconds.
Not only warriors, even mages, would love to practice sword techniques in earlier stages.
Although mages would spend most of their time constructing spell models and meditation, some would still practice sword arts during their free time.
Abium had already planned to walk on mages' path; otherwise, he knew his fate would repeat like before.
But it was not an easy thing.
He needs many things like mana cultivation, spirit cultivation, spell models, and many more.
'But the problem is those greedy nobles. There is no way in hell they would let me enter the magic academy. Although I have backup plans, it would take some time... Ha! I need to get out of this mansion and find the spatial artifact. Then, I will search for some clues about that strange vision.' He thought to himself and soon fell into deep thoughts.