It's been about eleven years since I was reincarnated into this world
I now possess the name of Vergil Albion, and I still have pretty much the same appearance as the one in my old life. Black hair, crimson-shaded eyes, average-looking face, with the only difference being that I was now a bit slimmer
I was also born in a country known as the Ironscorn Empire, a country that is renowned throughout the world for its powerful soldiers and mighty military
Anyhow, I've learned a lot of other things since then, and one of those things was the fact that there is magic in this world. And not the fancy, card tricks and misdirection bullcrap like the one in my previous world. This world has genuine magic that had the ability to bend the rules of reality itself and allowed people to do all sorts of supernatural stuff
Remember the lights that I saw back when I was a baby? Those lights are referred into this world as mana...the very thing that allowed people to cast magic. And I was more or less born with an above-average mana pool...
I don't know if this was the result of my Shaolin monk training, the demonic sacrifices back when I was in my previous world, or the fact that I was born into a noble family in my new life.
But none of that was important right now. What was important was that I'm finally able to use magic...the one missing piece of the puzzle known as being the final boss...
Because with magic, I could truly be the final boss that I desire to be
Magic allows people to enhance their physical capabilities to the point that they'd be able to punch holes through boulders, carry an entire bull with one finger, be fast enough to run on water, see better than owls in the night, and even manipulate the five basic elements to their will...
And for the past years, I was spending each second I have into mastering this art
For the record, I was born into an aristocratic family of paladins...they were people who basically devote their entire life to mastering the sword. And I, along with my older sister, were no different. I usually spent every second of my life in order to further polish my skills with the blade and magic in secret, and right now I've already reached a somewhat suitable level
I'm more than capable to take down an entire city on my own...but I was still unsure if I would win in the face of an entire army of a country...or better yet if some sort of alliance of armies was made by the world to fight me...will I be able to stand my ground and demolish them all?
My answer to that would be maybe...and that's the problem. I need to be confident and strong enough to be able to say 'yes'...So my next mission for the following years is to be powerful enough to take over the entire world...
But right now, I'd say that my progress was not too shabby
I just need to keep up the pace and continue to improve my skills...all the while building up my reputation as this one kind and humble kid that could possibly never be evil...only to subvert their expectations at some point and reveal that I actually wasn't...
Hehehe, just the thought of doing it gives me the chills...
But I can't just do that on a whim...No, no, no, I need to create the right atmosphere and set up the stage for my grand reveal. And I can't just do it to some schmuck down the road, I need to do it to somebody who is either a bigwig in order to make my reveal be a big deal to the world, or it's someone who I think has the potential to be a great hero in the future...
And luckily for me, it seems that I don't have to look far for that person
"Come on, Morgana! Focus! Make sure to always watch your opponent's every move and counterattack! Stay calm, and always anticipate what they're trying to do!"
The blonde-bearded man who was shouting was our father. And while he might seem quite old already, he's still the Grand General of the Imperial paladin's division. Basically, he was a powerful bigshot in our country
"Let's go you two! Make sure you do your best!"
And the black-haired woman who was cheering from the sidelines was our mother. Despite her rather average appearance, she still possessed a unique appeal that made her more beautiful than any of the noble women that I've seen up until now. But don't let her kind demeanor fool you...
This woman was formerly one of the court mages of the Ironscorn Empire...and she knows how to pack a punch
"Yes, Father! Kgh..."
The blonde young lady who was struggling against a swordfight with me was my sister. Her name was Morgana Albion, and she inherited the strong will of my father and the beauty of my mother. In fact, there were a lot of young boys from aristocratic families that wanted to be her suitor in the past...though my father made sure to make all of them disappear...
Anyway, in terms of her sword skill, she was quite a prodigy for someone of her age. She once joined a tournament at the capital a couple of years back, where a bunch of powerful warriors from across the world joined in and fought to their heart's content in front of the emperor himself. And my sister managed to win fifth place out of the three hundred people that participated
She really is quite talented...and her swordplay, which focuses on using ice magic and defensive stances to leave spaces for counterattacks and parries, was very effective against most of the paladins and warriors that she faced, and even our father was nearly defeated by it once...
But it's quite unfortunate for her...because she was against me...
The one who was crowned the champion of that tournament
I brought my sword overhead and began to dish out a flurry of attacks which caught her off guard
"Let's pick up the pace shall we?!"
"Kgh!....So fast..."
My sister then quickly shifted to a defensive stance and deflected most of my blows...but not all of them. My blade was able to give her a few scratches here and there which fueled her annoyance. Unlike her fighting style which focused on a sturdy defense, my fighting style was the complete opposite
Through trial and error during the early stages of my life here, I came to the conclusion that the best defense is a powerful and unstoppable offense. And so, I trained my sword style to be as aggressive and swift as possible. I was then able to hone it to a point in which Morgana, who was more than used to dealing with fighting styles like these, would have an extremely difficult time...
After all, her sword style focuses on taking advantage of the openings and weaknesses of an attacker...but what if the attacker has no weakness to exploit?
The result is...not too good for her
"Kgh...Gah!"
After a long stalemate which lasted for a while, I was able to swipe down her sword and go for the finisher. My blade was mere inches from her neck, but in a last-ditch attempt to save her skin, she activated her magic, which caused a magical circle to form under her feet. And I was blasted with an extremely cold breeze all of a sudden
Before I knew it, my toes were frozen to the ground...and my sister was going in for the kill
"This is over!" She shouted as she swiftly charged in
"Heh..."
I have to admit, she was becoming a bit stronger now...but not strong enough to beat me...
I began to emit my mana and activate my magic, which caused raging flames to burn throughout my body. It was strong enough to melt the ice building up on my legs, and I was able to counter her attack
"Oh come on, I should've got you there!"
"If you think your tricks are enough to beat me then you are mistaken!"
I then continued on with my aggressive flurry of attacks. My sword was swung left and right, up and down, behind and in front of her, which caused her stance to crumble at some point, and I was able to swoop in and finish it. With my sword pointed at her neck, she could only drop her blade and raise her hands
"That's enough!" And with my father's declaration, I placed my sword back on its sheath
"Oh, man...I lost again...how many times does this make it?"
"Three hundred and fifty matches, all of them are your loss"
"Ugh...come on there has to be at least one where I win, right?"
"I'm sure you can come up with the answer to your own question"
"Oh shut it..." My sister said with a pout before letting out another sigh
"What is with you, Vergil? You're getting way too strong lately, this is starting to seem unfair to me..."
"You're becoming strong yourself...It's just that if you think I'll sit idly by while you become better, then you're wrong"
"Hmph...There's no way that the younger sibling would be stronger than the older one! Just you wait, one day I'll get stronger and overtake you! You can count on that!" My sister declared this to me with a bright smile
She had been saying the same phrase ever since we had our first sword duel...
But despite that, I can't help but admire her tenacity. While she might not be as strong as me, I could tell that she has the potential and the talent to be far greater. She also has a noble spirit that protects the weak and upholds justice...I've been observing her for years and I could tell she's perfect to be one of my hero candidates who'll face me in the near future...
"Hehe, I'll wait for you then..."
I could only hope that she becomes as strong as she says
...That way, I could finally fight you at my best...