Down in the dark cave, Kane sat cross-legged on the ground with his eyes closed. Despite the ongoing battle outside, he remained unfazed and still as if he had turned into stone. He seemed to be sleeping from the outside.
As of right now, Kane was standing in a foreign place. There was a huge ancient structure, fallen into ruins and eroded by wind. Some of the towering stone pillars had broken, split in two. Wild grasses grew on the gaps of the dusty floor and vines crept both on the walls and pillars. Kane was uncertain whether he was dreaming or he had been teleported by unknown means. He couldn’t even remember what he’d been previously doing, so he just walked forward, hoping to find the way out.
When he stared upward, there was a colossal statue of a lean woman. Garlands of flowers adorned her wavy hair. She wore a dress that draped down her knees. In her right hand, there was a staff with seven gems on the top. Kane was unsettled by her wide eyes as if they were following his movement.
“Kane Foxsnove, the ax saint who is living his second life. Welcome to my temple,” a deep yet alluring voice called from the statue’s head.
“Are you one of the Lords? Where is this place?” Kane knitted his brows together as he looked at the gazing eyes.
“You are correct. My name is Vetess, the Lord who rules over sorcery and mana. In other words, I am the Lord of Magic. I guide aspiring mages to set their foot on the path of magic. You do not seem surprised; perhaps you have met a Lord before?”
Kane nodded. “Yeah, I’ve met one back then. I hope you’re more pleasant than he was.”
Vetess let out a chuckle. “I may know who you are referring to. Ehem! Going back to your other question, you are currently in one of my temples as a mere form of consciousness. I picked this ruined temple so that we can talk in private.”
“A consciousness?” Kane checked his body. He was translucent and naked. While covering his private part, he realized that his form was his previous life’s body. Was it because his soul was still unchanged despite the reincarnation? Kane was convinced that this was the answer. He then asked,
“Well, this is embarrassing. How did I get here?”
“When someone unlocks their mana within the body, their consciousness is transported momentarily to another realm. Whoever they are, they will be blessed to be able to use magic,” she explained.
“So, every mage or magic-user has met you before, have they?” Kane stroke his corporeal chin.
“No. They were under the care of my guardians. I never personally interfered with the process until now.” Despite being made of stone, her eyes crinkled slightly. “But before I answer more of your questions, you must answer mine first.”
“The entity who governs this world, a Lord, wants me to answer her questions. Interesting. What do you need to know?” Kane grinned, somehow feeling superior.
“Like every other Lord, we are not omniscient, unfortunately.” She uttered a sigh. “Why do you desire magic? With your vast experience, I predict you will stand at the peak in just 40 years without relying on magic,” said Vetess. Her tone was filled with confusion.
“Three reasons.” Kane extended his hand and lifted his three fingers. “First, if I don’t learn magic, it will be a huge waste of my talent. Second, I realized that learning something new would be fun and challenging. Third, I need to become strong fast to complete my goal before it’s too late.”
“I understand. Is your goal related to the woman who has killed you?” she asked again.
“Yes. I need to stop Xervatia from misusing the rank 10 sword. She’s a highly dangerous demon with a hatred for humanity, I think. Additionally, I’m responsible for the sword creation,” said Kane.
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“Ah, a noble goal. You are heading to the right path in spite of your appearance. Indeed, a rampaging demon could threaten this world.” After a short pause, she then said, “I am satisfied with your answers. You may ask again.”
“I’ll ask the most important first. Why was I reincarnated?” He crossed his arms.
“I am afraid that I do not know the details. We have had a couple of reincarnators before, but they were never from this world, nor did they possess dead bodies. The Lord of Life and Death might be more knowledgeable than I am,” lamented Vetess.
“I see.” Kane nodded. Even though he didn’t get the answer, Kane learned something useful. These reincarnators may know the reason; meeting a Lord would be much more difficult. “Then, how can my current body have a level 10 magic aptitude talent?”
“Hmm, I am going to tell you a brief history first. Back in ancient times, the oni was once a proud race. With their superior talent to control magic combined with their unmatched strength growth, they were the peak of the demi-human, even surpassing the elves. However, their arrogance was at par with their might. They believed that they should rule the world, and thus they declared war on us after conquering all of the continents.
“Long story short, we won. Most of the Lords suggested the oni race should be eradicated. I suggested they have the chance to redeem themselves with one condition: deprive them of their intelligence and magic talent. A genocide was too evil for my taste, after all. They too then share my sentiment on that,” she finished explaining.
“Thanks for the history lesson, but what does that have to do with me?” asked Kane with a dismissive tone. He didn’t know about this until now because he had never cared for history anyway.
“Your oni bloodline is the reason for your high talent. Perhaps—”
Kane’s form began to waver and fade away when Vetess was halfway speaking.
“Ah, your time is almost up. Here is my special blessing for you. I hope you use it wisely.” The statue’s head shot a ray of light toward Kane. He began to glow as he bathed in the light. “You will find more answers in the future. Goodbye, Kane Foxsnove.”
“Just finish the answer!”
He vanished from the temple, leaving nothing but the echo. The presence in the statue also faded away.
---
Kane slowly opened his eyes. When the dark rocky wall entered his vision, he knew he had come back to the real world. The encounter was real yet it seemed like a dream. Looking around, he saw neither Zumi nor Athera in his vicinity. Faint shouts and other mixed noises echoed from the cave. Was there a battle going on?
Still, the abrupt interruption was annoying for Kane. Now, he had no option other than finding the answer himself. Also, he wondered what the blessing was.
While he was pondering, he heard a couple of footsteps approaching. Judging from the sounds, there were two people. They were conversing as they walked. Kane managed to comprehend the conversation, although it was barely audible. He pretended to fall asleep.
“I’m still not used to this body, Max. I wonder when the shapeshifting potion ran out,” said the twin.
“Be quiet, Ray! What if the observer hears you. The prince will be disqualified and he won’t give us the money,” the other hushed him.
“Ah, sorry. By the way, your lighter is really helping us in this cave. I forgot mine back at home.”
“I always carry this around. It’s my lucky charm after all. Didn’t expect it would be handy.” He stopped his feet in front of Kane. “That’s the half-oni and those are the cores. Looks like we hit the x mark.”
“Heh, sleeping when his friends are being beaten by the prince. What a carefree kid,” said Ray.
“Don’t wake him up. Even though he’s still a child, he can take down a rank 2 monster alone. He might wipe the floor with us,” warned Max.
“Right, right. I’m done collecting the cores. Huh, what’s that?” Sound of wing flapping entered Kane’s ears.
“It’s just the observer’s summon. Let’s go back.”
As the two walked further from Kane, he opened his eyes. His brows narrowed. Wanting to beat the twins, he reached for the ax. Kane unintentionally grasped the spell book first and got a sudden idea. He could try learning a spell for the first time.
Kane imagined his mana gathered on his hand. The book flipped its page fast by itself. The writings also glowed blue light. A moment later, the book combusted, leaving no trace. The new information rushed into his head. Kane somewhat knew how to cast [Lesser Firebomb] as if he had cast it before.
He took out the ax and prowled the cave floor, stalking the twins from a distance. When they were standing at the cave entrance and talking to the prince, Kane made his move.
He threw the ax at the right twin after making sure it would land on the blunt side. It conked his posterior skull; he fainted almost immediately. The loud thud startled the other twin. Kane already caught the ax and bashed his head. He hoped he didn’t use too much force — otherwise, the inflicted injuries would be fatal.
And finally, Kane stepped outside.