"Still asleep at this time? Useless as always." A nasally female voice irritated Rivens ears and he cringed as a bright light suddenly filled his closed eyes.
"What…" he grumbled as he blinked against the brightness. A sudden cold and wet sensation on his face had him bolting upwards in a sitting position.
"Clean yourself off and then come down for breakfast." The nasally voice continued as she slammed down a basin of water beside him. "The count has ordered all family members to join him for breakfast. Unfortunately, that means you too." The woman sneered and left the room.
Riven picked the cold, damp cloth off his face and blinked as he took in the grand bedroom he was currently in. High arched ceilings, golden embroidered panelling on the walls and fancy decor was scattered everywhere.
But something was off.
A fine layer of dirt seemed to cover every surface. Parts of furniture was splintered or outright broken, various stains littered the solid hardwood floor and the bedsheets were thin and disgusting.
Where… where the hell was he?
Welcome player Riven! You have met the requirements and have been reincarnated into a world full of magic and wonder!
Here, mana is in abundance and you have been given a system that allows you to harvest this mana and build your strength!
Do you have what it takes to become the world's most powerful mage?
"What? Mage?" Riven muttered as he chucked the cold cloth into basin. "It's just like one of the novels I read before."
You have reincarnated into the son of a Count, Riven Drakar!
Do you wish to download his memories?
(Yes/No)
Riven gulped as he read the words in the game-like screen. This really was like one of those reincarnation novels he used to read whenever he had spare time. Was this really happening? Was he perhaps dreaming?
Rivens hands clenched into fists as he recalled what happened in the bakery.
He had died. Betrayed by his father and sold to those thugs without a second thought about being cut open and sold like a pig in a butcher shop.
"I accept." He grunted, his voice hoarse as he spoke to the notification. The 'yes' button lit up and what felt like a strike of lightning splintered his mind.
Riven grasped his head and cried as an onslaught of memories filtered through his mind. The owner of this body was also named Riven and took on the same appearance that he did in his previous life. He was the illegitimate son of Count Drakar, a drunken mistake the Count had made with one of the maids in the manor. The count had only begrudgingly accepted Riven into the family because in the empire where they lived, blood relations were extremely important because it meant that the family's mana element could be passed down.
But Riven seemed to be also unlucky in this aspect because this body was born without the ability to absorb mana and form a mana heart.
The count placed power above all else and saw that his illegitimate son would be useless to him so he was sent to the furthest bedroom in the manor and was forbidden to show himself in public or in front of the family without being called for first.
And so, Riven was subjected to abuse by his elder siblings and even the servants of the Counts household. He had been starved, beaten and belittled nearly every day of his life and eventually took an overdose of herbs he stole from the medical room in the manor.
Information continued to filter through his brain, this time it was related to the world.
He was in the Solis Empire, the biggest empire in all four continents and one where magic power was placed above all else. He learned that humans were able to absorb mana from their environments and form something called a mana heart, a separate organ that sat across from the heart that stored mana. The more mana the person accumulated, they could then refine the mana and form something called 'mana circles' around the mana heart that resulted in the magical power being doubled.
Ofcourse, not just anyone could form a mana heart and accumulate mana. It all came down to talent, knowledge and typically the stronger the bloodline, the stronger your chances of success were.
Also, money provided even more chances for advancement. Medicines and magical items greatly enhances your power and abilities and can be made from various magical herbs and ingredients or can be found in dungeons.
"Ugh." Rivens stomach lurched with the seemingly endless information.
Information complete. This body has been hidden from the outside, so its knowledge of mana is limited. It is now up to you, Riven Drakar, to go forth and prove yourself.
Welcome to the Solis Empire!
The screen flickered and then disappeared as if it had never been there in the first place.
Riven closed his eyes and searched for something, something that shouldn't be there. He placed his palm on the right side of his bony chest and concentrated.
Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump.
Rivens eyes flew open and the hand that had been on his chest was now covering his gaping mouth.
"Holy shit…" He half chuckled, half cried. "A heart beat." He could feel it in his chest, the left side where his normal heart sat pumping weakly, and the right side where his new mana heart lay, pumping so strongly he could almost feel it against his ribs.
"So it wasn't a dream." Riven tried to recall the moments of being in the void. He remembered darkness and some sort of error occurring, and then a heat in his chest. He remembered it being so painful and unbearable but at the end, he recalled the window had told him there had been some sort of override.
"It's like there was a glitch in whatever system this is." Riven grumbled to himself, a smile stretching across as he listening to rhythmic heartbeats.
"You're still not up and ready?" The nasally servant from before came charging in and startled Riven. She was middle aged with greying hair and wore a black and white maid outfit that he had only seen in manga. "You're going to be late which will get us all in trouble!" She grabbed Riven by the arm and began to pull him from bed.
She lifted the freezing wet cloth and began to harsh scrub at his thin arms and anger swept through him like a wave.
He didn't even hesitate as he brought his hand back and swiftly brought down upon the maids face, a harsh smack sound echoed through the room.
The maid stumbled back, crying as she clutched her face. In the memories he just received, this maid had been the worst out of all the servants. She had tortured Riven since he'd been a child, stealing whatever allowance he had been given, giving rotten food, never cleaning him or taking him to get medical care whenever he was sick.
She was cruel to the bone, not an ounce of humanity.
"What…" the maid, Candace was her name, looked up at him with wide eyes. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"
Riven got off the bed to stand in front of her, his normally soft blue eyes turning dark and cold as he spoke, "Who am I?"
"What the hell are you asking?!" The maid yelled and Riven lifted his hand and once more brought down against the side of the maids face, her head snapping to the side with the force.
"Who. Am. I." He asked again, his voice soft but full of a quiet wrath.
"You… you are Riven Drakar." The maid choked out, tears streaming down her face.
"And who are you?" Riven asked, taking one step closer.
"I… I am a maid." She whimpered as she scurried backwards.
"So who are you, a maid, to treat your young master this way?" He crouched down and cocked his head to the the side as he asked. "Is this how you should treat the one whom you serve?"
"No… no, I was ordered to do this!" The maid cried and a humourless chuckle escaped Rivens lips.
He suddenly grabbed Candace around her neck applying pressure as he pulled her face closer to his. He felt his mana heart thumping furiously as if begging to be used but he wasn't sure how to handle it yet.
"Because we have shared so many touching moments together I'm willing to forgive you this once." He said each word carefully as she gasped for air. "If you don't treat me with the respect I deserve from now on… well, I don't think it's hard to understand what will happen." He applied a bit more pressure and the maids eyes became bloodshot as she fought against him.
He shoved her backwards and stalked towards the dust covered mirror to the corner of the room.
"If you understand, then get out." He ordered. "Bring me warm water and something clean to wear."
Candace scampered from the room and Riven tilted his head back with a sigh. He learned from his past life that being nice to everyone was going to get him nowhere. Power and wealth was what everyone valued in the end, especially in this world.
He smeared the dust from the mirror and met the gaze of his determined dark eyes.
He was not going to live his new life being a pushover like in his previous life. He was going to become the most powerful mage - or he would die trying.
Only then would he be satisfied.