(Third Person POV)
A few miles to the south, not far from the frontier, a young baby boy was born in the town of Wruens. A bleak ray of sunshine in troubled times. A baby with a face so cute, and with wise grey eyes that looked as if it had seen the very equations of the universe.
Like all normal parents, his parents were instantly bewitched by their baby's charm. They could feel that he was going to grow strong and clever one day. They fantasized that he would accomplish great things.
He was named Arius: immortal person. Undying resolve. Follower of war.
But despite the grandeur meanings of his name, Arius looked just like any other normal kid. Except that he was a bit different. And not in a good way, his parents thought.
It wasn't the lack of magic energy he had, though that did disappoint his parents quite a bit. But growing up, he was always quiet and indifferent, never going out to play with friends (heck, does he even have friends?), or rarely talking with anyone else except his parents. He would look gloomy all the time, and never show any hint of happiness, sadness, or anger.
Of course, as any parents would, Arius's mother and father worried about their son's well-being, both in his social life and health. But there was nothing they could do to change his ways and supposed that it was just a personality of his.
However, what they didn't know was that Arius was someone that had been reincarnated from another world. Many times, in fact. Once again, from the moment he was born, he had already begun studying every information about this new world. Time was limited so he wanted to know as much as he could before he died again.
In a few years, he quickly noticed that this world was quite different from the usual fantasy worlds he had been to. Instead, the time period seemed to be in the late colonial eras, about the late 19th century, speaking in terms of Earth's timeline.
However, despite the small advance in timeframes, the existence of monsters and the use of magic were still present, just like every other typical fantasy world. Monsters were sometimes referred to as "Dread-spawn", but the concept was mostly the same. Most machinery and tools were operated by magic, which meant that people had to eject mana into the tool they wanted to use. Which meant that Arius couldn't use any tools at all.
The concept of combat was quite different here too. Though people still used swords like sabres, cutlasses, rapiers, and even claymores, people and soldiers alike now had guns from the early century around the colonial and world war 1 periods. As people called it, the age of innovation.
However, this didn't mean the duty of hunting monsters was made easier. Magical monsters were strong, and people with good magic abilities could easily counter a normal bullet. What was more, a skilled swordsman could probably cut down a dozen people before they could finish reloading their primitive guns. "Innovation" didn't seem so advanced to Arius who had been to several futuristic worlds.
He also learned that there were 3 main nations on the continent that he was currently in. Paveria in the south, Lwicharvon in the northwest, and between them were the Felagan States to the west. Saravonica lay in the far southeast, almost completely detached from the rest of the land, but it was still a big country.
Though the countries supported each other economically and worked together to an extent against dread-spawn on the continent, they didn't exactly have good relations with each other. The tensions between Paveria and Lwicharvon had been high for a few decades, while the Felagan States stayed neutral. Instead of increasing the country's stability as one would've expected, this earned the scorn of both Paveria and Licharvon.
Arius's parents, Lord and Lady Scerriton were barons of the Felagan States, owning the small town of Wruens on the far border. Despite their low ranking, their leadership was a lot better than most others, causing the small town of Wruens to flourish as much as a city. Though Arius wasn't close at all with his parents, he still had respect for them and held them in high regard.
Even though he tried to distance himself from everyone else, there was one person he couldn't quite escape from. His older sister, who was the polar opposite of him plagued him every day. She was everything he wasn't: pretty, outgoing, courageous, talented, and a master at magic or as people called it, mana-manipulation.
But regardless of the miles of differences between them, she was the only person that was friendly and talked the most with him.
Every day, she would find a new question or idea to bug Arius about. It went usually like "Hey, lil' bro! Did you know abyss spirits can be a lot stronger than a rank 5 monster?" or "Hey, lil' Ari! What's your favorite food? Big sis can cook for you!" or "Hey, lil' bro! You're quite patient, y'know that? It's amazing how you're so calm all the time!" or "Hey, little Ari! Big sis is quite strong y'know? Would you like to see me train sometime?"
And even if he ignored her questions and pretended not to see her, she would just keep talking anyway whether he replied or not. At first he thought it was quite annoying, but without realizing it, he gradually felt a bit of comfort from being with his sister.
All in all, his early years were once again quite tranquil and enjoyable.
However, these peaceful times were not for long, as he already knew from previous experiences. A war suddenly broke out between the two neighboring countries, Paveria and Lwicharvon when he was 10.
At the same time, the only spark of light warming his empty shell left. His sister was called to the Felagan capital to enlist in the warrior training academy as all young nobles had to in preparation for the event of a war. But Arius was left behind since he was still too young to fight. Heck, he couldn't even operate a magic stove, much less fight on the front lines.
Without his sister, he descended back to his usual gloomy attitude, collecting mass information from books. But it wouldn't be for long since his time was already rapidly approaching.
The war spread like fire from a lit matchstick dropped in gasoline. Within the short span of a year, the feud had turned into a bloodbath and started to slowly encroach on the Felagan borders. Sooner or later, the declaration of war would also knock on the doors of the Felagan States and involve the peaceful nation as well, and people knew it.
However, to Arius who had been through many situations like this in previous lives, he had no interest or concern whatsoever for political affairs. He kept going on about his daily life without a worry in the world, wondering when his inevitable fate would arrive.
However, there was one thing that did worry him, though he wouldn't admit it himself, and that was his sister. Though he would insist to himself that he didn't really care about her, she was the only person he would consider to be close with. The prospect of war was not good news for anyone in or training for the army. And with his sister's virtuous attitude that had a usual tendency to get her into trouble, it was safe to say he was more than a tad bit worried.
Until one day, the dreaded news came and his worries were confirmed. The day that flipped his life all the way upside-down several times. The day that made him feel like a pile of rags in a washing machine.