A Lesson for the Rookies
Twisting space and time to regress. Everyone has that thought at least once—when you’re lying in bed trying to sleep and suddenly kick the blankets in frustration over a mistake you made that day. In other words, the desire to somehow mess with spacetime is one of those primal human concepts that’s been around as long as the idea of commanding the five elements.
Yet the ‘Ether’ school, which studies spacetime and handles non-attribute magic, remained a ridiculously small faction until I showed up. Magic is fundamentally the domain of “concept and calculation”—turning the idea you want to manifest into something concrete enough to interfere with reality, then computing it. That process breaks down into four stages: Planning / Composition / Proof / Casting.
You need an attribute just to begin the Planning phase. Only then can you move on to Composition, complete the Proof, and finally Cast. But Ether is literally non-attribute. There’s no value to input in the first place—what the hell are you supposed to calculate?
Impossible. That was the official verdict from the high-ranking mages of the five major schools, the elders, and even the Magic Tower Master—who was called an Archmage. So the study of Ether had practically died out. But then I appeared, the guy who could only use spacetime magic, muttering, “Why can’t this be done?”
I casually calculated the non-attribute that had no attribute to calculate, and at the exact age of twenty-nine, I even reached the Truth.
So! Why am I suddenly muttering to myself like this, you ask…!
“A mistake? Me?”
I’m in the middle of fiercely denying this moment, insisting that there’s no way I—the Sage who grasped the Truth of spacetime—could have made any mistake in my entire magical career.
“…Don’t tell me I regressed with it too?”
The mere thought makes me let out a hollow laugh. I close my eyes and carefully retrace the planning stage of the last spell I cast. No matter how I think about it, the magic was flawless. It wasn’t pride stopping me from admitting fault—there really had been no mistake in my spell.
“Then where the hell am I?”
As a proper mage, I don’t believe in gods, so talk of heaven or hell never crossed my mind. I doubt what’s in front of me, analyze it, and at the end of that process, I understand and accept it. That’s how a mage operates. Right now, it was time to trust my own intuition.
I narrow my eyes and look around. A reasonably soft bed and white sheets. On the antique desk a short distance away, books and a fountain pen lay open as if I’d been studying until yesterday. Next to it stood a five-tiered bookshelf packed full of volumes.
‘Not an inn… more like a dormitory.’
Reality. The moment I assumed this was the three-dimensional world I’d always lived in, I cast a spell on myself.
Thought Acceleration.
It was originally a high-level spell that corresponded to 3-Circle and required a 5-Circle mana circle if pushed to its limit, but…
“I can at least raise it to 4-Circle for now.”
Having reached the Truth of spacetime, as long as I met the minimum requirements, I could somehow squeeze out maximum efficiency.
I close my eyes and activate my mana circles. One second becomes ten minutes. After six seconds—conceptually an hour—I carefully review everything that had happened to me and let out a deep sigh before opening my eyes.
“———It’s a parallel world.”
I had gained a new life.
Parallel World (平行世界).
Quite literally, another world existing on a parallel line to the one you live in.
⟨ Parallel World ⟩
I had recognized the existence of parallel worlds the moment I reached the Truth of spacetime, but I had never once imagined I would actually step into one. A world whose starting point might be the same, yet whose ending pointed somewhere entirely different. It meant that no matter what world it was, it still operated under the massive system of fate, causality, and probability… Even if I possessed the power to interfere with a parallel world, that world would refuse to accept me in order to protect its own fate, causality, and probability.
That was why I had simply marveled, “Oh, parallel worlds exist. Whoa, that’s wild,” and then lost interest…
“So this is how I end up entering one.”
I had no idea what was going on, but I had successfully entered a parallel world.
“Neither I nor the system knew about this, so that’s probably why this happened.”
I stretched, then put the book I’d been reading back on the shelf. After reading a total of twenty-five books, my stiff body loosened up as I stretched and glanced out the window. The time was 11 a.m. Outside, people were busy preparing for lunch.
I let out a long yawn, turned my head, and looked straight into the mirror in front of me.
“Who are you?”
I asked the stupid question at the unfamiliar, extraordinary face no matter how many times I looked at it. I’m a person with excellent self-objectification. By my own definition, I possessed reasonably handsome features. I wasn’t particularly obsessed with my appearance, but whenever I caught my reflection, I would nod and think, ‘Yeah, this is decent,’ and feel satisfied.
But the face staring back at me now went far beyond “decent.”
“Holy shit, I’m insanely good-looking.”
My appearance was so outstanding that curses slipped out naturally. At this level, I could probably stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Michael, the republic’s famous pretty boy. No, it wasn’t just because it was my face—this was the kind of looks that would make even another man jealous. The saying that true beauty possesses an androgynous charm that transcends gender wasn’t a lie; my current face was living proof.
“This must be what narcissism feels like.”
I’d spent five whole minutes just staring at the mirror. Muttering that I might develop a habit of looking in the mirror every day from now on, I lay back down on the bed. Listening to the birds chirping, I reviewed the information I’d gathered once more.
First. The overall history of this world wasn’t much different from the one I knew.
Second. I, who had originally been the eldest son of the Seton family, was now just an ordinary citizen with no surname.
Third. I still possessed knowledge of the ‘Truth’ of spacetime.
“Even I don’t have the confidence to prove this one.”
I rolled onto my side and muttered. The fact that this world’s history was almost identical to my previous life had been confirmed through the books on the shelf. It was definitely good news, but… fundamentally, I still had no idea why I had fallen here.
“Haa…”
A deep sigh escaped me. I couldn’t decide whether being given another chance at life was truly a good thing. I had no answer.
The world doesn’t move on a whim. Fate. Another name for it is Apocalypse. The birth of the world is simultaneously a declaration of the end for all things in heaven and earth. Therefore, all things inevitably reach the apocalypse assigned to them. The essential elements in that process are probability and causality…
In my previous life, the fate imposed on me had been ‘The One Who Leads the Apocalypse.’ The cause was pain, the effect was violence. The probability granted to me was ‘Villain.’
“At least there’s no way I’m a villain here…”
I didn’t know what kind of fate this world’s Rain had been given, but the moment I crossed over to this parallel world carrying all my previous life’s knowledge, memories, and the Truth intact, the fate assigned to the character named Rain had vanished. In other words, the world now had the possibility of imposing even stronger probability and causality on ‘Rain’—the ‘exception value’—in order to solidify its fate. Even if that went too far.
“Yeah, Rain. Don’t try to do anything.”
The more you try to change things, the stronger fate’s restraints become. Besides, this body was terribly inadequate for a mage. Trying to change anything with a body like this was impossible from the start. I should just live quietly. Reflecting on the sins of my previous life and atoning for them, if there was any good I could do, I would devote myself to it. Whether someone became a villain or a hero had nothing to do with me anymore.
Even so.
“……Hero.”
Just saying the word left a bitter aftertaste in my mouth, like I’d drunk espresso. It wasn’t referring to anyone in particular, yet one person naturally rose in my mind… Sien Lawrence.
“I wonder how you’re living in this place…”
Just as there had been another Rain here, she must exist too. Could the her of this world live an ordinary, happy life? Or had she once again been burdened with the ill-fitting fate of a hero?
…Yeah, what’s the point of these assumptions?
“Don’t forget, Rain. The best thing you can do is avoid meeting her, even if it means never finding happiness.”
I repeated it several times, making a firm resolution. Ruining her life once was enough.
“Let’s just live quietly and leave.”
I had sworn it many times. Being a villain once in a lifetime was also more than enough.
I will live quietly.
I will atone for my past sins.
I will not get involved with heroes or villains.
+++
Rain, age 15. Orphanage-born. Three years ago he awakened his mana circles and became able to use magic. After that, he entered the 97th class of the Academy’s Magic Department through the kingdom’s commoner quota system. His major was, of course, Ether, which deals with spacetime.
“You look like you’d be better suited for Aero, but I guess Rain is still Rain.”
Hah—.
I greedily stuffed the last piece of bread into my mouth and gave a short review. The Royal National Special Purpose Training Institution—Academy. A place of learning and growth where the kingdom’s greatest geniuses knock on the door to achieve their goals. At least, that was the official story. In reality, it was a social club for the nobles who would lead the kingdom’s future. In other words, not exactly a place where commoners belonged.
“I can see it. I can totally see the pathetic future where I get pushed around just for being a commoner…”
Even without using magic to see the future, the bleak prospect made irritation and exhaustion wash over me. Part of me wanted to quit the Academy right this second, but… the advantage of receiving treatment equivalent to nobility in society after graduating as a commoner made it impossible to drop out easily. After all, the current me was an orphan with no home, no money, no friends, and not even family.
“I’ll make money quickly using my talent and get out of this place.”
I tossed the crumpled can and the plastic bag that had held the bread into the trash and stood up from the bench. With nothing else to do, I wandered aimlessly to enjoy the nice weather.
The Academy was currently partially open for dormitory move-in before the opening ceremony. Since dormitory check-in had ended a week ago and students usually returned right before the ceremony, there wasn’t a single person in sight no matter where I went. Good weather, no people. Could there be a better situation for a walk?
‘Perfect. Absolutely perfect.’
A soft smile curved my lips. Humming cheerfully while enjoying the flowers, I eventually left the main garden and reached the outskirts far from the dormitories. Since I’d come this far, I decided to explore a bit more and followed wherever my feet took me…
“I told you not to act up———!”
Smack—.
A crisp sound that instinctively made me frown rang sharply in my ears.
“…Huh?”
Three boys and two girls. Plus one more girl whose hair was being yanked so hard she couldn’t even resist and simply hung her head. In total, five people were doing something ridiculous to one person. I witnessed the wretched scene.
The guy who had been fiercely gripping the kneeling girl’s hair turned his head and looked at me.
“Who the hell are you?”
“I’m Rain.”
“…Ha?”
Ignoring the guy glaring at me, I smiled and carefully assessed the situation. Honestly, if we’re talking about cruelty, I’ve done plenty and could do it better than anyone. I’m a natural-born villain. So watching a group beat up one person didn’t stir much emotion in me, but…
“Okay. Let’s let our friend go and say bye-bye with a smile, yeah?”
Hadn’t I decided to turn over a new leaf? Hadn’t I sworn to do my best at any good I could manage? Without hesitation, I walked toward the group.
“Hah, you bastard, can’t you read the room?”
“You’re the ones beating up that young lady with five people. My eyes aren’t decorations, you know?”
“…What the hell is this guy?”
“Let’s not swear at someone you just met~. Just like my eyes aren’t decorations, my ears aren’t either~?”
I’m a person with excellent self-objectification. By my own definition, I am a geezer. So when these young punks swear right to my face, I really, really want to deliver a proper punishment…
——Wait a second. This isn’t something only a geezer would feel, is it? Whether you’re old or young, getting sworn at to your face makes anyone feel bad and want to beat the crap out of them.
“You guys have given me an epiphany.”
With a benevolent smile, I wiggled my finger. The three boys in the lead made dumbfounded faces as if they had no idea what was going on…
“In that sense, I now have an obligation to teach you common sense.”
The boys, finally realizing it was a provocation, flushed red.
“This bastard…?!”
“Beat him up!!”
“He’s practically begging to be killed, the crazy bastard!!”
To survive long as a villain, you should avoid drawing aggro as much as possible, but…
“Let me teach you a lesson, rookies.”
No one draws aggro better than a professional villain.
“A life lesson that will become flesh and blood to you. Since it’s free just for today for you cheeky brats, you should be grateful, right?”
Above all, when young punks swear right to an adult’s face, giving them a proper education is simply ‘common sense.’