「 Ahh~! Yes, Master~ Please... 」

「 Please what? Please go faster? Harder? Answer me, cheating slut. 」

「 Nnngh~! Please stop~ 」

「 Ohhh, I absolutely won’t stop. Seeing your sexy body and your beautiful face only for that excuse of a man you called husband. No, You need this. You need to be broken down into my fuck toy because let's face it, I’m better than that husband of yours. 」

「 Y-yes master~ Why did I ever married to that man instead of you master~ ♡ 」

Why… Why did you cheat on me, Karin?

All this time, I thought we were meant together…

Was it all just a play — a gimmick for you?

Have you ever truly loved me in the first place?

.....

I wake up; sweats all around me. I then realized it was yet another nightmare that has been haunting me for as long as I can remember in this whole new different world. Why am I having these dreams? Love is just a big fat lie anyway.

I’ve been stuck in this shitty world for about two weeks with no choice but to continue living. Counting almost every minute passing by. Probing myself whether to continue living when no matter how hard I did and follow what’s expected of me, everything is pointless and nothing good comes out of it.

They say pursue the things I’m passionate about, so I pursue history for my bachelor's degree. Yet, they daringly also say to pursue the things that will contribute to society, so I switched studies and pursued industrial engineering — a field I hate and love simultaneously.

They say it is the man’s duty to love and cherish his wife. To prioritize his wife's happiness in return for the husband to be happy. But what I got in return is bitterness.

I would lay awake and stare at the ceiling contemplating my past life — reflecting on the choices I’ve made, questioning the way I see the world.

Those facades she put on to me. Her innocent smile hides her devilish lie. Her hidden lust never shown to me before.

What did I do wrong? Why did she cheat on me? How could all of this happen?

Until it, all... starts to make sense. I cringe at my younger self who’s full of naivety and delusional.

Of course, she will pick that man over me. He has everything I don’t have. Wealth? He has a luxurious car, costing more than my house mortgage. Status and power? He has his own business project that surely earns him millions of dollars, compared to me who’s just a lowly system engineer.

It all stems down to one undeniable truth I wished I have known way earlier. That true love does not exist. Women will always choose the more alpha men in a heartbeat. I can’t really blame them. I mean, men would’ve chosen prettier girls too. It's just how the world works.

To gain love, men must be both powerful and wealthy. How did I not know this in my past life when there’s plenty of occurrence on this matter? Young hot girls would swarm over to rich and powerful old men. Society would think those girls are very shallow but the ones who said that are definitely the very people who don’t have power and wealth; overly jealous of those men.

All of this reveals an unpleasant truth. But it’s alright. At the very least now I know how to overcome it and improve myself to perhaps be worthy to feel love once more.

I arose from my bed and went to the table. On it was several papers and books lying around, with some of it were my notes from previous intense studying. I start reviewing my notes. These past few days I’ve been trying to learn as much about this world as possible. The writing system in this world is interestingly quite similar to Japanese; minus the mind-boggling kanjis. Because of that, and thanks to Butler Drake’s help, understanding writings came effortlessly and only took half a day.

He was quite shocked by the rapid speed of my learning. He muttered about how I really did change once during training. It doesn’t really matter, rather than worrying about my social image, I need to get ahead of learning magic.

The ‘Introduction to Magic’ book that I found lying around in the house’s library went into a brief explanation about this world’s magic. Magic in this world is defined as the art of manipulating mana energy at one’s own will. Mana exists inside all living beings with some races being blessed with it more than others. The people who dedicate their lives studying and mastering magic are called Magicians.

The art of magic is very vast and some forms of magic are inherent to a single race. The organization 《Association of Magicians》 categorizes magic as seven different schools of magic.

The《School of Aegis Magic》 — The magic art of using mana to protect oneself and others. The embodiment of defense and protection magic. Aegis Magic is famous for its powerful and even unbreakable magic barrier spells.

The《School of Assault Magic》 — The magic art of using mana to attack. The embodiment of offensive and assault magic. A master of assault magic for example can plummet the world with a rain of fireballs.

The《School of Alteration Magic》 — The most versatile out of all schools of magic. Affecting the world by altering the laws of matter. The most common spell is transmute, the ability to turn copper to gold and shaping materials to any kind of form.

The《School of Miracle & Blessing Magic》 — This form of magic is only granted to the followers of Maria through her blessings; Allowing even the most half-baked person to wield magic, as long as they are devout enough to Maria's guidance.

The《School of Wits Magic》 — The art of magic centered around the mind and sentient intelligence. Using mana to influence the mind and control information. The most common spell is Telepathy, mostly used for communication.

The《School of Enchantment Magic》 — The art of embedding mana to objects such as swords to increase their combat potential. And even non-combat items such as mirrors or other catalysts for communication across distance.

And last but not least.

The 《School of Alchemy》 — The art of brewing various herbs and other materials into drinkable potions with magic properties. These potions are usually used to transfer magic properties to other beings as aid or support.

To understand magic, one must be prepared to bear the heavy endeavor it will take. Since magic takes a lot of effort to understand, magicians practice and study to the tiniest detail to make sure the sounds they chant are absolutely correct and the magic runes they have to imagine are remembered vividly.

One slight mistake in the chant’s tone or the rune’s shape will result in heavy consequences. Mana going out of control results in a fiery explosion and might even endanger one’s life. For Magicians who specialize in combat, this becomes an even harder task in the heat of combat.

This makes a combat magician, the one who delves into either 《School of Aegis Magic》or《School of Assault Magic》or even both to be very sought after. Causing them to have both power and status in this new world. Therefore to not repeat the same mistake in my previous life, I will relentlessly pursue this path. Even if it means always gambling my life.

To standardize magic capability measurement, the《Association of Magicians》came up with a measurement system categorizing magic mastery into six levels. From lowest to the highest, they are:

Basic > Intermediate > Advanced > Master > Doctor > Supreme Doctor

It is said, each kingdom or country has about 3-5 Supreme Doctors serving them, demonstrating their superpowers and only utilizing them as a last resort.

Knock, knock…

「 Excuse me, Renald. Your instructor has arrived. 」

「 Okay. Let him wait in the guest room. I’ll come soon. 」

「 Understood, Renald. 」

And finally, the day has come, the day my magic instructor has arrived. No more will I get bored with nothing to do other than contemplating about life and reading books.

Feeling excited to learn magic, I immediately exited my room and went to the guest room, where my instructor is waiting. Upon arriving there, my “mother” and that instructor are sitting across from each other, with butler Drake standing next to her.

I was expecting a very stereotypical magician from your typical fantasy fiction stories; a skinny old man wearing a big pointy hat and baggy robe with a wooden staff. Instead, the instructor has a muscular body with slightly red skin and thick pitch black horns, a Rengda. One of the many non-human races in this world.

「 Good afternoon, young lord. The name’s Kalish. 」

「 Good afternoon, Kalish. You don’t need to call me ‘young lord’, just call me by my name, Renald. 」

「 It’s an honor to be able to call you by your name, Renald. 」

「 Son… Are you sure you still want to be trained by this Adventurer instead of an official Magician? 」

「 What’s wrong, mother? 」

「 I’ve talked with this man before you arrived. Not only is he a Rengda, but he also doesn’t even have any advanced magic capabilities. How could I let this imposter teach my son magic? 」

She has somehow become quite talkative… Strange, is it more because he’s a commoner or the fact that he’s a Rengda? Seems like racism is rampant in this world. Well, it's not like my previous world did not have it either.

「 Excuse me, lady. Although it is true I do not have any advanced magic capabilities, I’m very confident in my skills in teaching your son the basics of magic and strength training. It might be improper to say this, but your son is quite skinny and in dire need to grow some muscles.

「 What type of magic do you want to learn, Renald? 」

「 Preferably, Aegis and Assault Magic. 」

「 That’s perfect. I have Intermediate capabilities at both schools of magic. With my vast amount of combat experience, achieving your goals in learning magics, especially the combat variant would be as easy as baking an apple pie. 」

To be honest, I’m quite skeptical about this man. I mean, to learn magic, shouldn’t you learn from the masters itself? But he does have a point regarding combat and he clearly knows how to sell himself.

「 Okay, that’s great. Butler Drake, have you discussed his compensation for training me? 」

「 Kalish will provide Renald-sama training every day, for half a day. And every week he will be paid two silver coins. 」

Two silver coins? That's enough to support a peasant family with four members for two weeks. If that's the price just for learning basic magics, how much would higher tier magic education cost? No wonder there are very few magicians.

「 Can we start now, Kalish? 」

「 I’m ready anytime, Renald. 」

「 Renald, can we please talk a bit just the two of us? Before you start training. 」

Why does she want to speak alone with me? She barely even talked to me after my transmigration. Why now?

「 Sureee Mother... Butler Drake, accompany Kalish to the courtyard. I will go there as soon as I’m done with my mother. 」

「 Understood. Now if you excuse me Kalish, please follow me. 」

「 Sure thing. 」

After that, they left the room. I was finally able to sit across her. Her eyes looking downward, and her fingers fidgeting. Seeing how nervous she was, I took my time drinking the herb tea that was provided on the coffee table between me and my mother.

The tea interestingly is red, unlike the brown or green tea I’ve known of. Must be due to the leaves and other fancy herbs that have been put into it. And similar to its color, rather than slight bitterness taste, it has a spicy feel on it. Fragrant too, as my mind drifts with the excitement of my soon to come magic endeavor. If I remember correctly this is a luxury item since they have to import it from a place far away across the ocean.

When I had almost finished drinking my tea, my mother starts talking.

「 I-I’ve been a bad mother haven’t I? 」

Well… This is unexpected. I thought she’s going to tell me to be careful or whatever as a typical overprotective parent would. Noticing how this conversation might be serious, I finish my cup and put it down.

「 What do you mean mother? 」

「 Can you sit next to me first dear? 」

「 Okay. 」

Not wanting to delay my training much further, I began circling around the table. My movements are fast, yet somehow time seems to stretch out…

It was only until sitting beside her I was reminded that she is — although I refuse to think so — is in fact, my mother.

She hugs me right as soon as I sit beside her. Her warmth and pleasant fragrances force me to recall the time I first stumbled upon this world. But this time my mind drifts away and feels blissful, unlike the confusion and anxiety I felt before.

「 I’m sorry for being such a bad mother, Renald. 」

「 W-why are you like this mother? You did nothing wrong. 」

「 No, I did, and don’t you ever think otherwise! I’ve been neglecting you for a long time. Ever since that day. 」

If I have a familiar who has forgotten his or her memories and become a totally different person, I would probably act the same way as her.

「 Just because you were the polar opposite of Renald I knew, I’ve ignored you for a long time, thinking that my boy from before is gone — replaced with a completely different person. And now look at what happened to you.

You busied yourself in your room or in the library. Alone, without any person to support you, Renald. I’m so sorry for what I’ve done, son. 」

「 It’s fine, mother. I very much like it. 」

「 Look, there you go again. With how you call me, you don’t even consider me as your mother now do you? 」

This woman sure is quite perceptive. But what could I do? You're not my real mother and I never even had a mother in the first place. Perhaps, due to her sensing my tension, she pulls away from me, her hands still on my shoulder.

We stared at each other, her eyes blue as clear as the sky, unlike what I’ve seen back on Earth. Her silky straight hair that reaches her neck is as blue as her eyes. Several minor freckles can be seen around her smooth face, miraculously adding womanly charm. It is at this moment I truly realized how I never put much thought and notice into this woman.

「 That's why I want us to restart all over again. Learning what you love and hate, your hobbies, and much more. Let's get to know each other, Renald. 」

「 Okay... 」

Without notice, she pecked my cheek. Sound included.

「 That’s my boy, now go to your magic training. You don’t want to leave that instructor waiting right? I still don’t like that instructor, but I’ll make an exception if he can make my boy into a fine Magician.

「 Let me know all the cool things you learned in your training, okay? 」

Heat starts creeping up around my cheek, as I cover the slightly moist spot with my hand.

「 Okay… Mother... 」

Feeling a little redemptious, I returned the favor to her. Her tomato face makes it all worth it.

「 Wh-what are you doing?! Hurry up and go! Idiot son. 」

She yells at me — failing to hide the tenderness in her voice.

「 Bye mother! 」

I wave my hands towards her as I ran towards the courtyard. True love? It only exists in the form of parental love.

In the courtyard, I saw Kalish doing warmups with what seemed to be his gear set on the floor tidily. Preparing for what's to come soon.

「 Please begin the training, Kalish. 」

「 First thing, first. I just want to get this matter out of the way. My training will be hell and my behavior might offend you, will that be alright Renald? 」

「 Huh? Yeah, go ahead. As long as it will make me master magic faster. 」

He then clears his throat and takes a deep breath. Why do I have a bad premonition on what's about to happen...

「 From now on, I will address you as Renald, and you will address me as ‘Sir’. Understood?! 」

「 Understood. 」

「 You will end every last sentence with ‘Sir’. Say it again. 」

「 Understood, Sir. 」

「 Louder! Your small voice is proof that nobles are soft pussies! 」

「 Understood, Sir!! 」

「 Not bad, for a spoiled brat. Let's go for a run to the forest! three miles up three miles down. What do you say?!」

Is this really how you were supposed to learn magic?

「 Yes, Sir! 」

「 Let’s go! If you fall behind, we’ll run another three miles! 」

And so, me and my instructor... or should I say drill sergeant starts running.

Did I bring this upon myself? How did wanting to learn magic lead to me getting yelled at by a damn drill sergeant?

Ah, Whatever. Maybe with this, I’ll pass out to the point nightmares won’t come out anymore. But this shit still better be damn worth it.