First Step
[ACHIEVEMENT: “First Step for Women” has been achieved]
[1P is granted]
“Eh…?”
I rubbed my eyes, thinking I was hallucinating, but the text was still hovering in place.
Positive impact on the world…
It was insanely easy, wasn’t it?
“Gacha.”
[1P is required for the gacha.]
[Current holdings: 1P]
[Would you like to draw from the 【★★】?]
A hole had appeared in the holographic window, leaving a blurred section.
It was strange, but drawing something was better than just sitting here wondering what it was.
“Of course.”
[Drawing…]
The golden status window flashed for a moment, then fell silent.
[Congratulations! You have obtained the first fragment of the Great Magician’s memory.]
A wave of dizziness hit me like I’d suddenly developed anemia.
My vision blurred, and the world tilted toward the bed.
***
I opened my eyes, and the sight before me was nothing like what I remembered.
Books scattered everywhere on the floor.
A faint smell of ink lingered in the air, mixing with a crisp, fresh scent.
“Ah, you’re awake?”
The words came from my own mouth, yet the voice that left it was completely different.
Most of all, it wasn’t my voice.
“What… what the hell.”
“Watch your language from the start.”
My head shook on its own, without my will.
And my mouth opened again.
“There isn’t time to explain everything one by one, so learn on your own.”
That was me… No, the thing dwelling inside this body reached out.
Blue energy began to gather in front of my hand.
It was the first time I’d seen anything like it, but I could tell it was mana.
Right before the blue magic circle completed in front of my right hand, the voice spoke.
“What do you think magic is?”
“…Something strange?”
“Drop the dumb act.”
I wanted to object, but the dazzling magic circle in front of me stole my thoughts, leaving me without the energy to reply.
“Magic can’t be objectively defined. I could explain it in a rote way, but that’s not why I started this conversation.”
Flames slowly rose from the magic circle, dancing through the air.
While I stared at the wandering red sphere around the room, the voice continued.
“It depends on how you define magic yourself. In other words, your subjective definition determines which magician you become.”
Guided by his hand, the flame ball shifted into the shape of a sharp spear.
“Some see it as the most convenient tool for harming life—”
The sharp spear plunged into the floor, then transformed into the form of a warm bonfire.
“Others see it as a means to protect the weak and spread warmth—”
A chill spread from the bonfire, and the floor began to freeze.
“Still others might define it as the power to break the world’s laws.”
He snapped his fingers, and everything vanished as if it had never been real.
“So, what kind of magician do you want to become?”
***
“Heh… heh…”
I jolted upright in bed, and the blanket was soaked with cold sweat.
It felt like I’d just woken from a nightmare that was too horrible to bear.
Outside the window, night had already fallen.
And around the room, blue lights flickered like will-o’-the-wisps…
“Wait. This… this is mana?”
The same color and refreshing aura as in my dream.
Mana that hadn’t been visible before I fell asleep was clearly here now.
While I touched it, the golden status window flashed.
[You have acquired the trait ‘Master of Mana.’]
“…What a flashy-sounding name.”
At least I wasn’t crazy or hallucinating.
“Explain it to me.”
[Master of Mana: You can freely move mana.]
The explanation was shockingly simple.
Anyone who’d played a game would know.
A vague explanation was far more broken than a long-winded one.
I reached out toward the blue aura, and mana began to gather in front of my hand.
“Fireball.”
The moment I chanted the name from my dream with grand solemnity!
“…”
Nothing happened.
Just mana gathering in front of my hand.
“Thunder.”
“Lightning.”
“Magic Missile.”
I waved my hand and shouted the spells from novels at random, but…
“…”
No response.
Unable to bear the shame, I collapsed back onto the bed.
The last words of the man from my dream floated back.
“What kind of magician do you want to become?”
“Damn it… I need to learn magic to become a magician.”
I lay there staring at the ceiling for a while, my face slowly cooling.
I gradually regained my sharp mind and started thinking the situation through.
“Gacha.”
Gacha meant drawing one from several candidates.
“That means there were candidates to begin with.”
So, which one was it?
The Great Magician.
A common fantasy job that appeared everywhere in novels and games.
But it was also one of my many personas.
If my guess was right…
The gacha.
It might be an incredibly powerful thing.
After all, my personas were mostly super overpowered.
Of course.
“Meteor.”
“…”
It seemed like a power with some flaw had been drawn.
But I scattered the mana that was just gathering at my fingertips.
Thinking long was never my style.
If I drew again, the answer would come out.
“Positive impact on the world.”
An abstract phrase, but now two things were clear.
Monsters.
Hunting those who contributed heavily to ‘doom.’
And an unreasonably fair treatment improvement.
The first one was something I’d have to handle someday, but it couldn’t be done right now.
But the second one?
Even a half-crown like me, the young master of the Ludaiph ducal family.
Plus the knowledge I’d brought from a world where democracy was already well-established.
It was more than enough.
No.
I had to do it.
Because if I was going to survive, I needed to become as strong as possible.
Honestly, any man would feel the urge to get stronger.
It felt like a second-rate high-schooler syndrome, and I laughed out loud in bed.
“Aigoo…”
Huh?
I heard a sound I wasn’t supposed to hear, so I froze with my mouth still open.
I turned my head toward the sound.
Lirith was sitting in the room.
Crazy. When had she gotten here?
Ignoring the blood rushing to my face until it felt like it would burst, I asked gruffly.
“When did you start?”
“I… I… Meteor…”
Aigoo.
I wanted to die.
“Forget it.”
“…Eh?”
“Forget it.”
“…Yes.”
Watching her unable to stop the hiccups, I let out a sigh of relief.
‘Thank goodness I couldn’t see ‘Fireball’ from here.’
If I had seen it, I might have jumped off the balcony no matter what the world’s fate was.
The hiccups slowly stopped, and an awkward silence filled the room.
I tried to break the mood by speaking up.
“Clothes?”
She flinched at my question, then stood up and answered.
“Th-thank you… I was able to buy suitable clothes…”
She came closer to me and held out the money pouch with both hands respectfully.
“…Th-thank you…”
Thank you…
This was the first time I’d heard it besides the formal replies I gave customers at the convenience store.
Of course, it wasn’t sincere even in this case.
Feeling the subtle emotions, I said gruffly.
“You can keep it.”
“…Eh?”
“I’m not going to turn you into some stingy bastard who takes what I give and keeps it.”
She flinched as if she had something to say.
What kind of life had that Caron guy lived?
“Anyway, I don’t care. Did you pack all the luggage?”
She nodded, and I continued.
“Then we’ll depart right away.”
“I-I’m sorry, Master…”
“Why?”
“Y-you’re not taking… anything?”
Her words froze me in place.
‘…I completely forgot because of that gacha stunt.’
I thought about what I should take, but nothing came to mind.
Where were the clothes? Where were the daily necessities?
How was I supposed to know? I’d only been reincarnated today!
In situations like this, I had to be shameless.
“Help me pack the luggage. I’m having a hangover, so I’m having trouble.”
She stood up at my command and checked my face.
“I-I’m sorry, Master…”
I stared at her, trying to figure out what she was going to say.
She avoided my eyes.
“I… I won’t… touch Master’s things… as before…”
“Ha…”
Nothing but a sigh came out.
I couldn’t know how many accidents that golden-haired Caron had caused.
“Forget all the commands up to now.”
Confusion filled her eyes, but luckily she understood.
“Yes… I understand, Master.”
Watching her move like a robot, I felt a little sorry.
I was standing blankly in the room by myself.
I decided to help her by walking toward the drawer beside the bed.
‘If something like precious metals comes out, I’ll take it.’
Drrrrrk
No precious metals appeared, as I’d hoped.
Instead, a riding whip for horses was lying there.
I could tell it wasn’t something meant for a horse.
The bruises on Lirith’s body.
And the way she looked at me.
Those things overlapped on the whip in my mind.
I accidentally put more strength into closing the drawer.
Drrrk.
I sat back on the bed again and began to daydream.
Imagining beating up that onion-like Caron guy.