Kris’ POV

Kris ran towards the unconscious Sophie and moved her near the mansion. The sound of fighting from inside has died down, and Kris concluded that the small-fry cerberites were taken care of. His mom and the General should arrive outside soon.

Kris has figured out why today’s mages were having trouble. It’s not that they’ve weakened, in fact with the help of standardized mage training, you could say that it opened up for more individualistic potential.

The problem was the monsters, at least this Cerberii, were leagues more powerful than how they were back then. That was one change he didn’t count on. He felt that it added another stack on to his current problems but it was an important discovery nonetheless.

Previously, he thought that Sophie’s opening attack could have destroyed any Cerberii, but he was surprised to find out that the beast remained unscathed. He wasn’t sure if it was because of enhancements from its summoner, but if one looked at the bigger picture, the mages had problems with just about any mid-tier beast so he doubted that the summoner would factor in.

But now he had another problem he needed to address. The fact is a Cerberii this powerful could actually have killed his mom and the General, and the fact that he so casually defeated it notified Kris of an issue.

Sure, he wasn’t going to hide his strength, but if he was too out of the norm, and if he didn’t slowly let his capabilities sink into anyone who he interacted with amicably, it was sure to result in large consequences for him and his family.

Not only that, there was a creeping doubt in Kris that there was something wrong with how his mind operated on things on a deeper level, but he couldn't quite put a finger on it; only that this event made him aware of it more.

With things from the past, his time on earth, and now his predicament, he couldn't help but feel anxious.

He at least, needed to act like the usual genius or prodigy, much like Sophie. He could act more prodigal and powerful than her, but it can’t become more than that, and he can’t suddenly be able to overpower the King’s Royal Battle Mages on a whim, at least until he graduates from the academy or has racked up enough merits.

Or, he can just drop the act.

His mana is unique, and its raw output was more than enough to draw unwanted attention, and well, it also felt sinister. Sophie’s reaction to his use of magic was more than enough to confirm that. He needed to find a way to at least mask the chaotic nature of his magic, even if the feeling of its power was the same before he entered the academy.

People had the fear of the unknown, and his background as an orphan and as a mage is nothing but that to others. He needed to find a balance between being an overwhelming being, and being a simply talented young mage.

But it wasn’t just for the sake of not making enemies of Dragnir out of fear.

It was also not to arouse suspicion from whoever summoned this beast, or those behind him. If they could use void magic, then they should at least be aware of the subtle differences of today’s era of magicians, specifically in terms of that chaotic mana. Kris didn’t want them to see him as a threat. See his potential, maybe, but not an outright threat immediately. The reason? So that he could cull them without them knowing what hit them.

Finally, though Kris knew that Dragnir purposefully made it so that he'd arrive in the future envisioned, he didn't leave behind any other clues that could give Kris himself a purpose. What if there wasn't any purpose? But Kris couldn't believe that.

Setting his priorities straight, Kris decided that he’d at least do the genius act, and at least find a way to mask his chaotic magic so that he could use most of his magic at their usual capacity without problems. He wasn't a good actor by any stretch of the imagination, but he had to put on an act a lot of times during his time as a musician.

He was still contemplating whether or not he should keep acting like a kid his age, though.

The genius act is a great excuse to being able to stand up to these beasts and other threats without having to conceal and limit his movements, as well as a great way to rack up the merits and extend his influence.

He also deemed an investigation towards the void users another priority. He was sure that the upper echelons of society knew about the perpetrators and their actual identity, but until he was trusted enough, he doubted that he’d gain any substantial and trustworthy information.

As he felt his mother and the General near the entrance, he summoned blades of winds around him. He then directed the wind to create three large cuts across his torso, and one on his shoulder.

The dust and debris from before that littered his body should help with making the difficulty of the battle look real.

At least, he wanted his parents to feel normal about him.

He wouldn't do something like this as Rizale, but he wanted to move away from that. He believed he isn't that person anymore.

‘That fucking hurtsss.’ Kris thought as the doors opened to reveal his mom and the General running towards him and the sleeping Sophie, both clearly worried and worn-out.

The pain from his 'disguise' overwhelmed the implications of the greater misunderstanding he had about himself.

Somewhere

“A kid, you say?” A man who looked to be in his forties sat relaxed on a chair. He had silver hair and a menacing scowl underlined by his bulging eyes. Beside him was a nonchalant woman of the same silver hair, seemingly bored out of her mind.

“Yes, my lord. He was too far away for me to feel his mana, but with a simple gesture he was able to split the Cerberii in half. He didn’t even seem old enough to be a student of the academy yet,” A black-robed man explained.

The silver-haired man thought for a moment, before smiling.

“Interesting. What do you think?” He looked beside him, only to receive an uninterested shrug from the woman.

“Keep an eye out on him but don’t do anything rash. He could be useful in the future if what you say is true. It seems like the academy would have quite the roster in the following years,” the man smirked. “Out you go,” Ordered the man as he gestured the black-robed man out of the room.

The woman beside him sighed. “When are we going to speed things up? At this rate, Rizale won’t be proud of us,” she said.

“Calm yourself. We’ll get there eventually. We just need to… have fun in our own little way for a while. Soon, we’ll be able to see our King again,” the man explained.

“Lord Rizale. How I hope to drench myself in the blood you spill again,” The woman said before her maniacal laugh echoed throughout the room.

Soon, my love. Soon we will once again be at the sides of our Lord, and stand at the peak of Ensfell.