Huu~

I took a deep breath before slowly opening my eyes. I was in a lotus position, one that was optimal for absorption and circulation of mana.

I wasn't doing any of that though, unlike most, I couldn't even form a mana core.

No, I was completely absorbing the last parts of the memories of my…predecessor.

It was a shitty life, to be honest, even shittier than the Nigerian government and that's saying a lot.

But it being a shitty life doesn't mean all hope is lost, or I am not thrilled at this new opportunity.

In fact, I am quite excited.

This was a world where magic and mythical beasts existed! There were also ancient arts and scriptures, dungeons and secret realms.

Only a fool won't be excited.

But as much as I was excited, I was also extremely nervous for a couple of reasons.

First of which was the most obvious, I was alone in this world. No family, no servants, nothing at all. I've checked out the place, the house was rundown and extremely secluded, it was a surprise that I managed to survive.

And secondly…

‘The academy…’

The Imperial academy to be exact. There were a lot of academies in Nerathia, but the Imperial academy stood leagues above.

They received only the best students and they birthed the greatest legends in all of Northannia.

And as luck would have it, I am a second year student there.

Due to a promise the king made to my father, I was accepted into the school and let's just say,

‘My peers were less than satisfied.’

It certainly contributed to the extreme bullying I went through.

We are on break now, but the academy resumes in two months.

‘I need to find a way to go from being weak to being…not weak.’

Yeah! Time for the protagonist to awaken!

Gruu~

But before that, I have to find something to eat.

I stood up from my lotus position, ignoring the creaking of the wooden boards that were beginning to rot.

There were weeds everywhere, overgrown flowers crawling into the building.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

It looked haunted and the fact that it was located in a secluded area linked to the city by a deserted forest path wasn't helping the situation.

‘It's actually not too bad, just needs a nice remodelling and I'll have myself one of those nature manors.’

***

Mazar, the city of gold.

This might as well have been the gate to hell. It was so obvious that this gigantic bustling commercial hub of a city was the entrance to the underworld, an underground city that was the complete opposite of Mazar.

‘It's just too obvious. Although I don't know where this entrance might be. I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to find one.’

Mazar was not just a center hub of commerce, it was also the center most city in Nerathia. If you wanted to go anywhere, you had to pass through Mazar.

It was also the closest city to my new house.

After grabbing a small pouch of gold—thankfully, the previous owner of the body knew the location and passcode of the vault—and a few pieces of jewelry; just in case—I rented a carriage and made my way to the nearest food stall.

After eating my fill, I paid up and left the stall, branching near a mask shop just in case and bought myself a fox mask to hide my face.

‘Good, now I can begin exploring.’

My goal here is simple: find one or two uncommon ancient arts to study and if possible, a way to use magic.

In this world, there were ancient scriptures and arts that shared not only deep insight but also techniques to help one walk whatever path they want to.

These ancient relics could be found in dungeons and secret realms and most of the time, they were incomplete.

The complete ones were usually family heirlooms.

The ancient art of my family has been stolen while I was at the academy.

‘Just when I thought my life was shitty enough…’

But as someone who spent a lot of time reading novels, I knew that somewhere in this city or the one underneath was the shop of an old charlatan who would sell me a wondrous ancient relic that would change my life.

‘Call it a protagonist's sixth sense.’

And my goal was to find that rundown shop.

I also had a secondary goal, which was sightseeing. This was my first time out of my rundown manor, I had to take a chance to explore this new world even if it's just a little of it.

“This is going to be fun!” I muttered as I glanced around, my eyes locked on a certain shop and I headed for it.

‘First things first, I need to blend into the crowd!’

After walking the streets of Lagos, you tend to pick up one or two things, if not, you could get kidnapped and you wouldn't even know how.

I could already notice a few stares at my outfit.

I might know a lot about nobles, but I do know that it was unusual for me to walk around without any sort of protection.

I could either hire a bodyguard, or I could vanish from the radar.

The choice was easy.

I wasn't about to experience my first betrayal.

Ding~ Dong~

The sound of a bell chiming rang as I pushed the door to the stall open. The slave was small with clothings for those in the lower middle class.

‘Perfect!’

“How can I help you?” I looked up at the store owner, a middle aged woman with brown hair and warm eyes. She was a bit on the chubby end too—for some reason, I'm just surprised.

“I'll have a complete set of clothing and a cloak…please…”

The woman looked at me for a moment, she seemed to have guessed at my dilemma which prompted her to smile,

“I have just the perfect thing. Give me a moment.” She said as she walked towards a corner of the room.