I Refused To Be Reincarnated

The sun rose and dipped on the horizon as time passed as he studied Shepard's grimoires.

He furthered his mastery of Vivian's affinity, cementing it as the strongest he could use for now.

A week later, he borrowed a book written by a long-dead arcanist and focused on the lava element. Despite its formidable attack potential, he found Vivan's theory much more fascinating and of higher potential.

Next, he delved into smoke before discarding it like lava as optional possibilities but not core abilities he would rely on. After all, even if he could use all the elements, many's effects overlapped. Scattering his focus too much would only slow him down.

'I'll focus on the most potent ones.'

He nodded before focusing on Thurin's book and delving into gravity magic.
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Even if the spells were low-tiered, he learned a lot through their activation method and understood why they called it force.

According to the author, a force mage could divide the world into arrows pointing in different directions. Of course, most pointed down, while the rest influenced the different items' trajectories. By manipulating these arrows, force mages rudimentarily altered gravity, making it one of the most fearsome elements to master.

He made good progress, focusing on those imaginary arrows with the utmost care and trembling at the idea of using too much mana and forming a black hole by mistake.

However, someone broke his concentration another week later, hammering on his room's door like on a drum.

"I heard you! Stop the racket!"

Soul throbbing at the insistence, he dragged his feet out of his training room and gripped the doorknob.

"You'd better have a good reason, or I'll prepare a special training program and ask Arun to monitor you for a month!"

"I'd love to learn under the one who trained my rival,Julius. When do we start?"

"..."

'Why is it that training maniac, Aurelius?!'

He facepalmed at the muscular, tanned youth before him, noticing the eagerness sparkling in his eyes.

Head snapping to the side, he answered.

"Maybe later. I'm busy right now, so tell me what you came for?"

Aurelius' eyes narrowed in answer, and his muscles tensed, causing veins to protrude under his skin as he pointed an accusing finger.

"You don't read the chat, so I had to deliver the message personally. The dwarves are crying about a ritual starting and that they don't want to become werewolves."

"Already?! What an impatient bunch!"

Before his words could linger, he opened his chat interface.

[Adam: Give me your location. I'll come now.]

[Paul: You're finally here! We're in the forest three hundred kilometers west of Durazmarn. They'll start the ritual during the next full moon, split our souls from our bodies and fuse them with wolves! We don't want that!]

'Shit. I only have three days!'

A shiver ran down his spine as the time pressure pressed on his shoulders.

Without wasting a second, he blurred to his bedroom. A surge of mana collided with the teleportation circle he had prepared, making its symbols glow and sing in the room.

Then, he stepped on it and vanished in the next second as a flash of light engulfed his frame.

When he recovered his sight, he stood in the hole he had prepared in Durazmarn's nearby forest slope.

As he dug into the soil, urgency fueling his movements, a bright light flashed behind him, making his eyes enlarged in shock.

"Why the heck did you follow me?!"

"He? I locked the door behind me and saw some lights, so I checked?" Aurelius said, confused about the change of location, before understanding everything and grinning.

"Let's save our dwarven brothers together!"

"Let's save your head! Go back, fool!"

He punched a hole through the slope in anger, making Aurelius whistle at the power.

"I'm strong now. Let me accompany you! I even unlocked a special class and conquered the third floor with Khalid and Najat!"

"You did?!"

"Yes! I was an MMA fighter on Earth, mind you! Also, I'm a Berserker Mage. My mana equals my physical might. Hahaha!"

'It doesn't even exist! What kind of broken class did Luna design for him?'

His eyes narrowed into slits as he observed the boy using Elara's spell.

And what he saw stunned him. Like natural generators, Aurelius' muscles produced mana before absorbing them back to reinforce themselves.

'Every punch he throws is a spell of its own!'

The realisation crashed on him, making him doubt his sanity and all the mockery the other students hurled at the boy... because, in the end, his resolve paid off, and he got what he wanted.

Still, the mission was too dangerous and way above Aurelius' league.

"I'll drop you in Durazmarn. Take the Gate to return to the college."

"I'm coming. You can let me follow you or wander the forest alone. Remember? I know where it is."

He noticed the steely glint flashing in the boy's eyes as he straightened his broad back and towered twenty centimeters above him.

"Annoying kid. If you act recklessly, I'll knock you out and force you to follow Asha for a month!"

"Yeah! Don't waste our time!"

"..."

His mind spun as another voice echoed from nowhere, one he recognised.

"AHH"

He roared his frustration before pointing at Aurelius' shadow.

"Why is Anya here, too?!"

"Because I thought you'd do something interesting after seeing him rush to your room. Let me scout like last time!"

The teenager materialised from the boy's shadow, offering him a mischievous grin as the tattoo on her shoulder glinted.

Defeated by the two teenagers' shenanigans, his shoulder slumped and lips twitched.

With heavy steps, he pushed them out of the hole and covered it before speaking, voice solemn and eyes spitting suppressed fire.

"Never leave the shadows, Anya. Aurelius, you stay back and observe."

His eyes slipped up as an idea popped into his mind. With a thought, his dark blade of adaptation materialised in his hand, the intricately carved frame glinting under the sun's light.

"Use it if you have to. It'll complete your body perfectly and can change shape."