A black coloured forest spawned with oppressive swamp filled with a thick, wet fog.

Even the most strident sunlight was unable to penetrate the low clouds and gloomy fog layer of white mist in the surroundings as it renders the path unseeable while giving off a chilly feeling. Foul-smelling ponds inhabited by a swarm of strange creatures were everywhere one looked.

But, right at the heart of the of this forest land, where no reasonable living human being could bear to live, a dense number of tower hovered over the encompassing land.

Some were exaggerated large and tall with greyish stone, that seems like plugged deep into the ground. Some were small and patched with clay and clapboard that seems barely place on the ground.

At the southwest part of the Tower, the land was completely populated by dwarfish towers some seems new and shinny some old and fragile that a little wind blow could seem to make the tower tremble. The sky darkened with the coming night, small and faint light appear like popping out of the darkness of the dwarf towers land.

In one of the dwarf towers a young man seemly around 16-year-old laid down on his bed, its body was rigid, not the faints bread could seem from him.

Suddenly its eyes open like a bolt and taking a deep breath at the same time.

‘My heart really hurts….’

This was Ryan first thought upon waking up. In truth, all of its body was aching with pain but its heart seems more severe.

It felt as if there was a cut on it, hurting so badly that it seemed as if it was about to crack apart.

"Huh?" Barely containing the pain he raises its head looking around.

"Where?" As his consciousness cleared he felt out of place as he surveyed his surroundings.

What filled his vision were a dark room, with the musty old shelves lining the sides filled with a sense of antiquity with walls formed from hollowed stone blocks and worn out wooden pillars that support the tall ceiling, widows that barely resembles one.

Slightly moving his head, wanting to see his surroundings more carefully. Suddenly, a bunch of memories flashed in Ryan mind after a strong pain hit his head. Ryan fell straight down to the bed as he lost his consciousness

 the moment followed by his eyes whiting and he fainted.

Just as he faints, at his heart position that was beating at a slow pace only to spike fastly. At the same time, a tiny dark-red-blood dot at Ryan's hands seems to gain life and start moving upward its arm, then in no time it arrived at his heart.

The moment the dark-red-blood dot arrived at his heart it starts to grow frenetically as if feeding on the most delicious gourmet.

It slowly grows a cacoon like a thing out of Ryan's heart. But it doesn't seem to affect by the fact that it had grown out of Ryan body as it continues the suck him and grow.

 But it seems to suck something different from blood or else by the size it has now it would have suck Ryan blood dry by now.

Sometime later it had stop suck, it was now the size of Swiss Ball. But it was still stuck to Ryan's chest. It cocoon shell seems to harder.

"snap" It cocoon soon start to show signs of a crack. At the beginning was one but with time it starts to spread till the crack cover the entire cocoon.  Then the entire cocoon shell seems to crack by itself as it starts to crack to the size of the sand grain, then falling to the ground. From the very beginning to now roughly was enough for the dark sky start to breed some light.

After the shell had fallen down a humanoid could see on top of Ryan. The humanoid was still at his chest.  But then he raises its head and raises from the top of Ryan staying by his side.  

"Crunch, Crunch" In its mouth, it seems like it was trying to chew something. Then he spits it out to it's his hand to see it. It was a yellow smug like a thing that seems to have a life of its own. But the humanoid creature just shoves in its mouth to chew it again and swallow it in one go.

Then the humanoid creature starts looking around with curiosity. At the first sigh of everything, its eyes were vague but at the same time, it could seem to gain light every time lay its eyes on something.

...

By now the sky had complete wake as it was shiny it light heavily on the lands but around the all the light seems to be shade by the shadow of the tower and the gloomy dark forest.

After a long time, Ryan finally managed to wake up. When he was unconscious he seemed like he was in a dream, his face was gloomily and dark frowned by the realization of his wake up.

This world was no longer the Earth that he knew, and his body wasn`t his original body either. It once belonged to a neophyte in the craft of magic, whose name was Zaru. In short, he was just a soul, who managed to take over this body right at the bridge of death when the original Zaru died.

His mind was distracted, the scenes of what happened back on Earth continually flashing through his eyes. Ryan, a young and promising man of society just finished his college degree after arduous work. Just barely getting a job in a research facility, although he was just residual disposal in a Genetic company, the payroll was enough for a young man like him to settle his superficial needs.

“Damn!”

 In contrast to his familiar memories, there was another that would perfectly contrast with one another.  The original owner of the body, Zaru from the distant island of the lower coast. Considered to be from low birth by this world standards, but at the age of 8 was found to possess a magic aptitude, so he was taken by a local noble the moment it was founded. Then he passes from the hand of one noble to another, as the lowers noble were put under pressure by the upper nobles until he ends at the grand duke. By the age of 11, he has taken to the main continent home to great creatures of magic and knowledge and since then he was accepted under Eternity Tower Institute. A sacred place dedicates to the knowledge of magic.

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 Although he was founded to have an aptitude for magic only after coming were that he realizes that what caused nobles to fight for was nothing but the barely minimum to be accepted as a neophyte.

After 3 years as a neophyte, he was able to progress to the beginner practitioner. But more one he could not make more progress he made the decision that most would prefer to give up instead of choosing it, become a Magus study partner. In other words a lab-rat. As his last trace of memory was enter the magus lab and then waking up were.

"Hum?". Suddenly Zaru heart knitted was his sensed was slowly focusing in his surrounding and taking a note at has as his right bedside.

"M..." Domeric almost gave a scream like a little girl being chased by some monster. But he then stops himself before the sound could completely run out of his mouth. He didn't give a scream as he felt the oppressing breath.

A woman seemed in her late middle-age with a dark robe, her body flashing a little glow of strange grey that seems to drabness any light that passes around her.

She stares at Zaru with her gaze analysing his body detailed like if cutting peace by peace so see.

"Pre-.. preceptor Lilissy " Zaru brows knitted into a tight frown. He couldn’t control himself and clenched his fists and barely spitting out comprehensible words and his body sitting there straight. The one who studies before him now was the magus that had experience with his body.

She studs there not binding any mind to Zaru state of mind. She only stares intensely and frowning her brows from time to time. She then raises her hand to send a stray of light to Zaru body.

The moment the stray of light enters his body e could something like a tidal wave ravishing his body sending straight to the land of unconsciousness.

At the same time, a drop of blood flow out of Zaru body into a test tube in Magus Lilissy hand. Then she takes the test tube and saves in one of her bags.  Next, she takes a notebook crowed with words then the page start move as if by their own will and stop, she then cast her eyes on rows of names where some are marked with crux other with "?" and strings of number. Then she marks an "X" at Zaru name.

Oyl - X - X4XX

Haeny-? - X23X

Ireny - ? - XX2X

..

Zaru -X - XXXX

Her face was written full o frustration. After all this she turns to go, only to stop and a light ball flows out of her hand into Zaru head.

....

After an unknown amount of time Zaru again wake up, and as he wakes up he hurriedly looks around only to find nothing that could again give him enough shock to send him again to the dreamland.

"Come to my laboratory when you wake up". Suddenly a voice sound inside Zaru head.

"Hhhh!!" Barely after he hears a noise, everything he went through just now went to the back of his head as his stomach gave a cry hungry so loud that he could hear it with is bared hears.

He hasting to look around as he holds his stomach with his hand, then he settles his eyes on the ham on top of the table not far from him.

He barely masters any strength from the inexistence from his body to reach the table to take the ham and biking a mouthful of it. Barely chewing it he forcefull swallow it to relieve his hungry.  

After he had lower a little his hungry he cast a look at his body. As it looks at it he had a feeling that is body was a round smaller than his memory.

Afterwards, he cast a more precise gaze around. The tower was a little small and was divided into four partitions, a bedroom, living room and washroom and an upward part dedicate to be a small laboratory and as he cast his look around memory associated with it would be stimulated.

"Creek!".

As Zaru was lost between chewing, processing his memory and looking around e could hear a creaking sound of a door opening

"Who?". In a bolt turn his head facing the door and seeing that a person that had already was halfway in. Zaru was starting to falling in fear again, according to his memory only thing that had a bit of magic in his tower was his door that would only allow people that have permission could enter.

As the person enter not answering Zaru question. Zaru stood in high alert carefully looking a the intruder. The person had a grey robe with a vertical strip of black on it whit his hood on barely showing his face. Zaru instantly identify it as a neophyte robe and as the strip of black it indicates that was a level 1 neophyte.

"Don't come closer". Zaru raise his hand with the little strength it had gained while holding the peace of ham in his hand in a treading way as the intruder now had entered and walking to him

The intruder stopped was he heard Zaru, but not caring for threating at all. Then the intruder slowly takes off his hood. Revealing his lineless on his face that echoes his teens years,  his short light-dark hair, with his glossy dark eyes with a tinge of red submissively lying on his face calmly looking at Zaru.

Zaru knitted his brows as he lay his eyes at the intruder as he identifies it. But as his memory indicate what he was seeing he casting a deep gazing almost sending his eyes out of his socket. It seems as if his image was cast on the intruder.