Looking at my reflection through the bus window, I couldn't help but scratch my hair, which stretched down to my shoulders. Despite my appearance not changing and me not aging my hair grew pretty long. Considering that the barbers in Arcadia were basically butlers for nobles I figured it would be a waste of time to hire one.
But now that I'm back I might as well get a haircut.
"This world is strange," Turning toward the red fireball floating around the bus, I raised an eyebrow.
"Strange how?" I mumbled.
There was silence for a bit before he replied, "It seems familiar."
This caused me to frown.
'Familiar?'
"Have you been here before?"
With the amount of mana here, I wouldn't be surprised if higher-dimensional beings had visited this place.
"No…Ah," floating in front of me he started to speak again "The Spirit World!"
*Cough*
I choked on my spit causing me to cough violently. After finishing I took a deep breath and seriously looked at the Great Calamity.
"What about it?"
"It seems that the spirit world is closely intertwined with this world,"
My vision immediately shifted.
The world around me changed and different coloured particles were everywhere. I started to look around however, I still saw mana particles and nothing else.
"I don't see any spirits," I commented
"That's due to the barrier,"
I tilted my head "Barrier?"
It didn't reply, but I got the sense it was looking at me like I was an idiot. "Tsk, how'd I lose to you?"
Calming myself down with a breath I returned my vision to normal and he started explaining, "There is a barrier that is separating the spirit world from this plain. Although I believe we can access it if you perform a ritual,"
Thinking about it I decided to leave it "Nah,"
"What!?"
Looking out the bus window, I realized where I was, tapped the button to stop the bus, and quickly got off. As I walked, a smile spread across my face as I saw the familiar neighbourhood.
I was finally home.
No more monsters, dealing with gods, or even trying to hide I was from another world.
I was free from all that shit.
"I just want to live a relaxing life," I said simply.
A peaceful life, that's all I wanted. If I was being honest I didn't want to rule the world or even create some sort of secret organization.
And if I were being honest most of the spirits were annoying and I didn't want to deal with them.
"Hey, are you crazy? Do you know how much strength you would possess if you tried to regain your power?"
"I just want enough power to make my life easier,"
I wanted to live a peaceful life where I didn't need to worry about food or losing my house. Something comfortable that didn't require too much labour and allowed me to spend most of my time at home doing nothing.
'Ah, what a dream'
Besides, more power did not necessarily translate to an "easier life." In those novels I read, when the main characters got stronger, it was either to save their family or get "revenge" on someone who ruined their life or something like that. I, on the other hand, didn't really have anyone else to care about or any particular motivation.
But as I was walking, the yelling that guy was doing started to annoy me.
'Can I even live a peaceful life with this guy?'
If I was being honest, I didn't like him. Based on what I'd heard and seen about this guy's powers, he was undoubtedly strong close to omnipotent even. However, in my current state, there was no way for me to kill or even seal him. That being said, I also didn't know how much strength the guy had left, but I knew he was weaker than me. For now, at least.
'I guess I should probably find a way to get rid of this guy'
However, I then realized something. Stopping myself I tried to hear his voice but what I was met with was silence. I looked around to see that the small fireball had disappeared.
I then closed my eyes I felt a weird feeling as I examined my soul.
The human soul was something I hadn't gotten a full grasp on yet. However, this was still some of my strength but now it's most of my strength. As I was examining it I found what I was looking for.
A small dark insidious aura was floating in my soul or to be more accurate a certain area of my soul had this dark insidious aura. It didn't seem to expand or really do anything.
'Should I cast something?'
However, at the moment there wasn't anything I could cast and there was also the fact it could probably adsorb my magic and expand its influence on my soul. That wasn't even touching the fact of what it could do to my magic.
With a sigh, I continued to walk and made it in front of a regular-looking house.
There wasn't much I could really use to describe it besides its brick exterior and lack of a balcony.
Approaching the door, I lifted the rug to find a key. Grabbing it, I inserted it into the keyhole and twisted, hearing a satisfying click. Opening the door, the familiar hallway greeted me.
"Ah," I took a deep breath and smiled.
'Home Sweet Home.'
Closing the door behind me, I kicked off my shoes before making my way to the living room. Everything was already set, meaning there wasn't much for me to do—well, other than bringing in my bed and sofa, that is.
I had rented this house to a nice couple, which helped me pay off the mortgage and stuff. The agreement stated that they had to leave once I graduated high school and started university, but they didn't complain.
This house was where my parents raised me before they passed away. From the memories I could recall, they were a happy couple. My father worked for the government, while my mother stayed at home.
It was safe to say we were middle class. I didn't think we were rich until I saw my inheritance.
That's why I could go to a boarding school and still pay for my university.
I didn't really have that much left. Excluding university costs, bills, and other expenses, I could probably survive for a month without working, giving me time to focus on university.
This meant I needed a job.
But then a certain idea hit me.
I have read my fair share of web novels and some of them even of the returnee genre. When the characters returned to their original world it would've changed as things like dungeons appeared and people with powers called "Hunters" explored these dungeons to earn money and kill monsters.
Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I checked every news source for any articles about strange phenomena, like glowing portals in the sky.
However, after I started to read it, I realized that I couldn't find anything.
There nothing! No strange murders, no glowing portal sights, and no monsters.
It was just people complaining about the current economy. It was safe to say that I was disappointed.
Now some might wonder, hey if you wanted to get home and relax why the hell did you want there to be a dungeon break?
And to that, I say…money.
But it seems that wasn't the case meaning I had to go back to plan A.
"Shame," With that mutter I got up.
After all, there was something important to do. Something I could not put off any longer. Getting up from the couch I went upstairs to where my room was located. When I opened the door there wasn't anything there as most of my stuff was in storage.
However, when I waved my hand, my PC appeared, along with the wires and my monitor. Grabbing the power strip, I plugged it into an outlet and started to connect the cables to my PC. Most of them were already attached, so it wasn't super difficult.
Opening a browser I then waited before I launched a game that I always played.
"Hey, human-" I heard the voice again, but I quickly cut him off.
"Shut it I'm trying to do something here,"
After the game loaded I quickly pressed "quick play" and was put into a game. I could sense the great calamity staring at my screen but I didn't care.
Since I was back I was going to play my video games to my heart's content.
***
Rolland Greinvil's POV
Taking the glass of whiskey, I quickly downed the liquid before feeling that burning sensation at the back of my throat.
Despite drinking almost three bottles of whiskey, I didn't get drunk–which was expected, considering that normal human drinks didn't exactly affect me—being a spirit contractor and all.
'Fuck my life.'
"Be a teacher they said, the pay is great they said, Damn bastards!" Taking another swig of the glass I slammed it on the floor.
"Those damn kids are menaces, I tell you!"
I took the academy job because I thought it would let me escape the succession race—which it did. However, dealing with these brats was something I hated! And don't even get me started on the pay!
"Fuck I should've kicked their asses in the succession race," I muttered
"Sir," Looking up at the bartender "Is there anything else you would like?"
"I'm good," Putting down a few hundred dollar bills I got up "Keep the change," I commented before I headed out of the bar. Looking at the afternoon sky I couldn't help but sigh "I guess I have to greet the freshmen," muttering I was about to head toward my home but I quickly froze.
I felt a sudden burst of mana fill the air.
"What the hell?"
The sudden burst probably would've made normal mages go dizzy or even have a hard time breathing however, I quickly regulated my mana flow to suit my body. Looking around I tried to see what caused that sudden burst.
'Is it a ritual?''
No, it can't be.
There was no event that corresponded to any nearby rituals. That didn't rule out rogue cults, but this felt different.
The mana felt so…afraid as it was running away from something.
"Damn"
I could feel my entire vision shift before I appeared above the city.
From up here, I could see many things, and I could also sense many things. Closing my eyes, I tried to figure out where the disturbance came from. Turning toward a certain direction I quickly moved toward that direction.
I then stopped as I looked at the building in front of me.
'A private school?'
There was no doubt about it.
This was where the disturbance originated from but I quickly realized a big problem.
I didn't know exactly where this disturbance came from. All I knew was that it was in that dormitory. I quickly descended to the ground and walked toward the dormitory increasing my senses.
I quickly used illusion magic to hide my appearance and make it seem like I went to this school. Entering the building I looked around trying to figure out where that burst of mana originated from.
After not finding anything in the lobby I headed toward the elevator and clicked the button. With a chim, the door opened allowing me to enter. I pressed the button on the top floor and when the elevator started to move up I tried to sense weirdness on every floor, however, I then found something.
On the third floor, there was a small presence. However, that presence seemed to be linked to another strange presence.
"Was it a ritual performed by some occultist?"
It wouldn't be a surprise as there were many people who weren't mages that did rituals. While most of them were fake there were still a few that were real which caused a lot of problems.
But this one seemed more powerful meaning it could be related to a more powerful being.
'Damn, another one? How many is that now?'
Returning to the third floor, I headed toward where I sensed the presence. I felt it approach the door. Bracing myself, I prepared for something monstrous to appear. However, what exited the room was just some regular kid.
He seemed to be annoyed as he was walking toward me.
'Crap, did he sense me?'
But then, he walked past me, leaving me confused.
Focusing my eyes on him, I noticed something floating around him.
'Did something latch onto him?'
Deciding to follow him, I changed my appearance again.
Trailing him to the elevator, I observed him carefully. He seemed to be a resident here, which probably meant he had rich parents.
However, my focus was on the entity around him.
I couldn't fully make it out, but it resembled some sort of spirit.
'Is he a mage?'
Looking more closely, I saw that his magic pathways were better than the average person's. While it was possible, this particular spirit felt off.
'Let's observe for now.'
I'd have to see what this guy actually was.
If he was a threat, I would kill him.
If not, then…
Maybe I could use him.