(Guys, this week's goal is 100 Powerstones, Whether this fic will continue or not will depend on the support I am getting which is decided by the number of Powerstones this fic receives or the number of Patreon members)
'I wonder why I transmigrated? Is it for somebody else's entertainment? Or is it for some other purpose? Or is it natural?' Akeru thought while looking at the clouds and the rain falling on him.
He was floating in the river with his backpack resting on his stomach, ensuring it didn't touch the water.
He was relaxing while drifting in the river.
He wasn't worried about getting ambushed by some animal under the river or about getting sick due to the weather.
He had his mana sense active, so if he felt somebody approaching, he could take care of them or run.
'Did I actually die in my previous life? Or was it a random transmigration? Did this body's soul swap with mine in that world?... Then again, thinking about it is meaningless at this point,' he shook his head, dismissing unnecessary thoughts.
'Asta... the main character of this series. To be honest, I really liked Asta's character. Apart from his hero complex, everything else is really likable. One may argue that he has broken powers, but then again, people sometimes forget that he had to be mana-less for nearly 15 years of his life.
Commoners are treated as insects; I wonder how he was treated. Even if we ignore that, his dream of becoming Wizard King without mana is just unrealistic. I guess I really liked how he believed he would get an opportunity someday, so he prepared for that opportunity by training his body.' Akeru took a deep breath.
'Possibilities exist. Opportunities are taken by those who are prepared,' Akeru hummed while stretching his hand behind his head, his palm pointing toward the water below.
Without even looking, he formed a water ball and fired it.
BOOM
It collided with a large shark's eye. The creature groaned in pain and swam away.
'Why are there sharks here? Does this river connect to the ocean or something?' Akeru wondered, continuing to ponder as he drifted down the river.
Hours passed, and he decided to sleep in this position when night came.
Some animals approached him during his slumber while he drifted into the water, but he scared them away, just like the shark earlier.
The next morning, he woke up and jumped out of the stream.
'I hope I'm not far from my destination. It would be quite annoying to have to run toward the city,' he sighed, adjusting his sack onto his back before starting to run.
Luckily for him, he was in the right place and entered the city discreetly.
He changed his hair color to blue and removed the lenses.
He was worried that during a battle if somebody attacked his eyes, the lenses might break and damage them.
He put on his mask so that nobody would remember his real face.
After all, he intended to become a Magic Knight in the future, not some thug who steals money from people.
'Time to beat some thugs—magic knights,' Akeru grinned, hiding his bag at a safe location and searching for some magic knights to bully.
He spotted a few knights in red-orange uniforms.
'Hmm, I would love to, but I have some form of shame.' Akeru decided not to target the Crimson Lions since he would soon be seeking refuge under their captain's House.
It would be problematic if his identity somehow got leaked, even though he was sure it would be these guys who lost their dignity.
'I'm such a good guy. You guys better thank me later,' he thought, deciding to wait for other knights to take over patrolling duties in the city.
Days passed. During this time, Akeru occupied himself with experimenting with water, converting it into various shapes while avoiding the radar of those magic knights.
Soon, his wish was granted, and two knights in blue uniforms were assigned to patrol the city.
'Hehe, time to test something.' Behind the mask, a devious grin formed, unnervingly sinister on a 12-year-old's face.
***
Today, two members of the Silver Eagles could be seen patrolling the area.
They were walking through a network of alleys, which was eerily silent.
Let's call them NPC A and NPC B.
"Senior, why do we have to do this menial task? I bet we could be doing better things," B complained while looking at his senior, A, ahead of him.
"It's part of our job. Even though we don't need the money, we need prestige to maintain our houses and gain fame. Plus, who knows? Maybe we'll find something exciting here," A replied monotonously.
Even he didn't believe his own words about something unusual happening.
With his experience, he knew this was going to be boring, but at least his words would shut up NPC B.
Suddenly, NPC B felt someone touch his shoulder. He quickly turned around to see who it was but found nobody.
"Senior, I felt someone touch me from behind, but I can't find anyone," he said, turning back to his senior—only to find him lying motionless on the ground.
'What the fuc—' He thought, almost shouting.
The keyword is 'almost,' as before he could, he blacked out.
'These guys were very easy pickings. Well, the thing is, they didn't sense me coming. I do have an advantage in that regard since I'm not releasing any mana from my body at all. To a sensor, I'd be no different from Asta,' Akeru thought, escaping the scene silently.
This time, he coated his gloves with mana, so he wasn't worried about being tracked.
'Still, if there were an advanced sensor, they might have sensed me coming. Those guys can even detect objects in their field. I was actually worried that one of these guys—if not both—was an advanced sensor baiting me to get closer. That's why I had Oscillatory Dysfunction active in my other hand. But it was all for naught,' Akeru sighed.
He didn't get a proper fight and decided to change cities.
As he exited the city and entered a clearing, his instincts blazed.
He quickly enhanced his legs to the fullest and side-jumped.
At that spot, a fireball landed.
'What the fuck?' Akeru thought as he felt the heat, even from a distance.
A crater formed where the fireball hit, with much of the mud liquefied and some of it vaporized entirely.
"You must be the famous spy the Magic Knights of various squads have been searching for over the past two months. I guess my luck is really good," a voice said, prompting Akeru to turn toward the source.
It was a Magic Knight dressed in green.
'Green Mantis? Or something along those lines. That should be the name of his squad. Their captain gets quite handsy with Yami; that's the only thing I remember. Oh, and one of the commoners in this squad became the king's guard. Useless information,' Akeru thought, scanning his brain for anything useful about the guy.
'Also, why am I a spy?' Akeru really wanted to ask out loud but didn't know how to alter his voice with mana, so he risked exposure.
He started retreating toward the forest, but before he could, a phoenix made of fire rushed at him at blinding speed.
'What the fuck?' He quickly formed a water ball and launched it, but it was useless. The water evaporated effortlessly against the phoenix.
The fiery creature struck Akeru, hurling him into a tree.
BOOM.
The man in green, named Kaiser, thought, 'When is he going to bring out his grimoire? It's pointless for him to hide it now that his identity is exposed. Unless... that grimoire is on a level similar to a four-leaf grimoire. Maybe Four-Diamond or something?'
At this moment, Kaiser had a very absurd thought, but in this scenario, it made a bit of sense.
"Oh, Mana Skin? And a flawless one at that, such that you didn't even get burned. Now, that's something," Kaiser said, observing the masked dwarf who stood up with none of his clothes burned.
A sheen of blue covered them.
Kaiser raised his guard by several notches.
'It seems the intelligence was correct. He's at least an intermediate-level knight, but he could be even higher. I must be careful,' Kaiser thought as he prepared another spell.
***
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