All the scumbags on a battlefield can be divided into two types. The first are those who have completely lost their minds and are seeking death. The second are those who rush into battle without armour or shields — the mages.
Ian rode hard through the forest on horseback, a scroll unrolled against the reins, muttering as he came.
The knights lying in ambush were perplexed. Some wondered what he was saying under his breath; others were simply irritated, because he had ridden straight across their line of sight.
"I've got him," one of them said, levelling a crossbow. "He's in my sights."
Ian ignored him and kept casting. The knight cursed and set his finger to the release — and at that moment Ian tore the scroll in half.
A bright flash burst across the sky.
The knight stared up at it, mouth open, wondering what on earth was up there. Then the lightning came down beside them, and every man in the ambush took off running.
Ian belonged to the second type. He had been transported to this world, and he had received a system.
His name had been Ritsuki Kakuyama. At the very moment he received his acceptance letter to university, he was hit by a truck and died.
While he was dying, he thought about how bad his life had been. His student life was about to begin at last, and here he was, dying in the road like a dog.
However, when he opened his eyes, he had been reincarnated in the body of Ian, the son of a simple peasant.
Like any peasant family in the empire, they were as poor as church mice. He was the third of four children, so he was always hungry. While his parents and his older brothers worked in the fields, he and his younger sister wandered around all day looking for food.
Since he was the only one in the family who stood out, with his black hair, the other children often teased him about it and called him a crow.
"Brats," he muttered at them, not for the first time. It was not as though he had asked for black hair.
To hell with the Middle Ages. He had finally been reincarnated — so why was he in poverty again?
Something flashed before his eyes. He finally had a system. It addressed him by name, as though it were about to tell him his purpose in this world, and he swallowed with excitement and held his breath.
Then it simply informed him that he was nobody.
Even the system was laughing at him.
But he was not particularly upset. He had already resigned himself to his fate. Well — even if this status window appeared, there was nothing he could do about it. Even if he toiled from morning till night, they would still live in hunger. And since he was expected to inherit their way of life, he could not even dream of anything but a peasant's lot.
He did not even have a chance to learn anything new. A brave knight. A famous artist. A scientist constantly making discoveries. If only he could learn, he was sure he would succeed at anything.
He sighed heavily and wondered whether there was really a place somewhere that would at least shelter him and feed him.
Noticing his little sister drooling over his fish, he handed it across to her, and she was very happy.
And then they went to have dessert: wild berries.
They came to the forest. While she was picking berries he watched her with a smile. It seemed like he had only taught her the word dessert the other day. Children grow up so fast.
Looking up, he noticed a large shadow behind a tree. And when the unknown creature came out into the light, he shuddered, and he was very scared.
It was a huge bear.
The beast pounced on them and was about to strike them down with its sharp claws. But then lightning struck it. The bear's back was fried; it shook once and fell dead to the ground.
A woman came walking out of the forest.
"It seems I overdid it a bit," she said.
In the shadows she seemed frightening to them at first. Then she greeted the children with a smile and asked, "Isn't this Feltonberg territory?"
Still under the impression of what he had just seen, Ian stuttered as he confirmed that it was. She defeated the bear, he thought. Who is she?
As if reading his thoughts, she introduced herself. She was Alletus, a wandering mage.
Ian was very surprised. Mages were people who possessed spectacular skills and enormous destructive power. They were formidable creatures who appeared on battlefields. What was someone like her doing out in their wilderness?
She said that she was looking for a boy with black hair who lived in these parts. She leaned towards him.
"Are there other black-haired boys here besides you?"
"No," he answered, confused. "I'm the only one here."
"It looks like it is him," she said with a smile.
He did not understand what she was talking about. She, meanwhile, was remembering the words of the old man. Find a boy with black hair in the Feltonberg territory in Culbron. If she took this child as an apprentice, good luck awaited her.
She stared at the boy thoughtfully. His gaze was a mixture of curiosity and fear, and at the same time there was a lively, charming aura about him. So — she just needed to make him her apprentice, was that it?
"Oh, these chronomancers," she laughed.
He had heard that all magicians were creepy weirdos, Ian thought, but she was incredibly kind. And that spell had been monstrously powerful. It had incinerated a bear in one blow.
"Can I ask you a question?" he asked excitedly. "That spell you used on the bear. What was it?"
She smiled and remarked that he was interested in magic.
"I'd heard that magic is something scary," he said, "but seeing it in real life was amazing."
She told him honestly that it was nothing special. Once he learned, he would succeed. Anyone can learn magic, after all.
The thought of it ignited a desire in him.
"Could I use magic too?"
She smiled. He was truly destined to become her student. Stroking his head, she confirmed it. If he found a good teacher, then anything was possible. He could become a mage as well, if he wanted. She would gladly teach him magic.
She extended her hand to him.
"Will you become my student?"
He hesitated. This was his chance to change his life, because it meant that a path had opened up before him that did not lead to a peasant's lot.
He took her hand.
"I'd be happy to learn from you."