The first thing the new Zeref sought to know, upon realizing his new reality, was what period of history he found himself in.
This was a most crucial piece of information. Depending on the period he was in, he had a greater chance of achieving his dream compared to another.
The best option would have been to be born as Zeref when he was a newborn. Not only would he not have to bear the consequences of his bad choices, but he could also change many things and have fun over a long period.
Unfortunately, that was not the case.
According to his new memories, he was currently 28 years old.
Based on this data and his memories of the novel's plot, Zeref understood that he was ironically in one of the peaceful periods of history.
It was a year before the main plot began. During this period, no major events took place.
Zeref was glad to learn that he was in this period. There were earlier periods better than this one, but ironically, this was the deadline period that favored him.
If he had been incarnated a year later or after the start of the plot, his maneuvering room would be reduced to the bare minimum, leaving him almost no chance of achieving his dream.
'The worst-case scenario hasn't happened yet.' That was Zeref's thought, and he rejoiced in it.
It is important to note that Zeref was actually the very first major antagonist that the main character of Magic Chronicles would face.
As such, his life would end a year later, as he would die at the hands of the hero.
As for why? Well, the original Zeref would trigger an action in a year that would threaten the existence of all Middle Land, becoming the first of the seven calamities that the main character would defeat.
With the period of history he found himself in known, Zeref then prepared the necessary plans to take advantage of this period.
For several days, he recalled all the future events of the novel, not bothering to eat or drink.
Although he had escaped the pain of being beaten by the main character, it remained that Zeref wished to live an exciting life and become the hero of this world.
And to do so, he had to use his knowledge of the novel to reshape events in his favor.
After a week of contemplation, he managed to establish the novel's timeline.
Zeref's first goal was to put an end to the seven Calamities that would befall the world during the first part of the novel before the main character, or failing that, to work to receive credit for them.
The first Calamity being himself, there were only six Calamities left.
Their appearance in order was as follows; the Unholy King, the Black Mist, the Night Howlers, the Cursed Melody, the Red Witch, the Cannibal Virus.
These were a lot of potentially world-ending problems.
Among these calamities, two were unlikely, three were very likely, and one was already underway.
As for the two unlikely ones, it was because they were inherently linked to major events, but Zeref doubted they would happen given the changes his actions would produce.
The calamity that was already underway, on the other hand, Zeref put aside for the moment, as it was impossible to deal with by either the main character or himself at the moment.
However, this was not a concern, because, ironically, it would be when it reached its climax that it would be easy to handle.
There were only the three likely calamities left.
If Zeref wanted to, he would be able to prevent the appearance of each of these three calamities.
But that was not his intention at all.
How could one be recognized as a hero if instead of saving from disasters, one prevented them?
It was to his advantage that they occurred.
As for how to stop them, Zeref wasn't too worried about that.
The real challenge lay in the most epic and glorious way to stop them or how to take credit for them.
It might seem despicable to knowingly let disasters happen for personal gain, but Zeref had a weighty enough excuse to justify such actions.
It wasn't just the pleasure of being a hero that motivated Zeref.
It was also the only way to slow down the actions of the final boss and in a way prepare for his appearance.
Of these three calamities, Zeref decided to handle them chronologically.
It emerged that the first Calamity he would be called upon to deal with was that of the "Unholy King".
It was the second major danger faced by the main character after the original Zeref.
The Unholy King was actually the name given to a bloody sovereign who, through his thirst for power, would trigger the second Great War and almost bring chaos to the world.
A stereotypical villain who was evil just for the sheer pleasure of being evil. And of course, he was the most hated and despised antagonist in the novel.
According to the novel's plot, the Unholy King would be the next king of the Kingdom of Joranis, one of the five great countries in the world.
Originally the legitimate heir to the throne, he would purge the royal family and nobility after a civil war he himself orchestrated in order to seize full power of the country and begin his sinister objective of becoming the king of the world.
What made this Calamity a probable event was that it was said in the novel that the civil war between the nobility and the royal family of Joranis had lasted nearly four years during the Unholy King's ascension to the throne. However, the Unholy King's coronation took place two years after Zeref's defeat. So, it was about two years after the start of the plot.
Thus, the civil war had been raging in Joranis for over a year already.
In any case, it remained only to figure out a way to deal with the Unholy King.
It was already out of the question for Zeref to wait two years until his coronation day as in the novel.
Not only did he find it long, but he feared being overshadowed by the main character who would arrive in Middle Land next year.
Therefore, his ascension had to be hastened, and to do so, Zeref would have to interweave events.
It would have been easier if he knew the identity of the main character, but as Zeref Darthen, it was difficult for him to act freely.
However, he was surrounded by competent henchmen and possessed the identity of a leader of an underground guild, a role that would come in handy.
After much thought, Zeref managed to devise a semblance of a plan.
And according to this plan, if everything went as intended, the civil war would end this year, the Unholy King would be crowned the following year, and then defeated by Zeref in the same year.
Proud of his plan, Zeref spent the whole following day lounging on his comfortable bed, recovering his mental strength.
'The time for isolation is over.'
With this thought, Zeref straightened up.
He was going to take his first steps in this world.