(What is this? I’m… still alive?) Zieg wondered, confused.

He was quickly wrapped in a small blanket and held tightly by what he presumed to be his mother from her tone.

(So I’ve reincarnated, huh? What a strange twist of fate. Whatever… I’ll play along with this game for now. I’m too vulnerable to do anything rash as it is.) He thought after spreading out his senses. He judged that he was currently F-tier in terms of power, the weakest on the end of the spectrum. That was only natural as he was a newborn, it would be more strange if he were anything else. He also judged that the woman holding him, his mother, was at the A level, a single rank away from becoming an immortal.

In common knowledge, tiers of power ranged from the lowest to highest: F, E, D, C, B, A, and S. Everything in the world possessed mana, usually a blue magical force, but those at the F-tier were the weakest beings in existence, possessing the least amount of mana. You could easily breakthrough up until the D-tier simply by increasing your mana capacity, often by meditating or using the mana you currently possess. Starting at the rank of C, the requirements to breakthrough increase and continue to become more difficult, requiring you to reach a certain level of understanding in mana to breakthrough any further.

Understanding of mana cannot be taught by others, and must be learned with your own power. Those who reach a considerably deep understanding of mana are able to become A-tier. There are two known ways to gain understanding, one of them being simply to meditate, while the other being to gain sudden sparks of insight from anything in the world you’ve experienced. These sparks of insight can be earned from anything, and enlightens you in an aspect of the laws. At the S-tier, more commonly known as immortal, these sparks of insight usually lead to the development of unique “Worldbreaking” abilities, extremely powerful skills that are capable of bending the laws of the world itself.

Potentially, any being in the world is capable of becoming an A-rank in the tiers of power given enough time. However, becoming an immortal of the S-tier is much more difficult, and may not be achieved by some in several life times. The difference in terms of power between those at the A-rank and Immortal level is like the difference between Heaven and Earth. To reach the S-rank, and thus becoming an immortal, requires you to have a sufficient amount of mana capacity and possess enough understanding in both mana and life. At that level of understanding, S-tiers are able to stop the process of aging on a whim, and thus earning them the title of “Immortal.” Immortals are existences that can fell kingdoms, and even royalty must act respectfully and cautiously around them.

Zieg is a genius in that he was able to gain consecutive sparks of insight while roaming the North of the Grandiel continent alone. He quickly broke through from a mere F-tier to S-tier in fifteen years without any guidance, which would be considered an amazing feat.

While going over this knowledge, Zieg reminisced about his past days roaming the North.

(I’m thankful for that dragon.) He secretly thought to himself.

In the deepest depths of an Ancient Dungeon in the North, at the age of twenty-three, Zieg encountered an S-tiered creature, an immortal black dragon. Immortal beasts are incredibly fierce, intelligent creatures. Beasts that reach the S-tier become capable of speech, and usually possess intelligence that is on par or greater to other humanoid races. They’re also capable of using Worldbreaking skills.

Fighting this immortal dragon was one of the many life-threatening situations that Zieg had faced in the past. Zieg and the gigantic black dragon both fought relentlessly, until the immortal dragon was finally on the verge of death. In the dragon’s dying blow, it mightily clawed with all of its remaining power, completely consuming both its mana and life force.

The attack gave off white blades of air that shook and collapsed the entire Ancient Dungeon. Zieg was barely able to make it out alive. Through experiencing the immortal black dragon’s dying blow, Zieg gained a spark of insight and was able to develop his own Worldbreaking skill through it, naming it “Collapsing Dragon.”

Zieg shook off his thoughts of the past.

(I’ll play along with this farce for now…) He thought.

Like that, Zieg played the role of an obedient infant and child, while secretly collecting information, training himself, and cultivating his mana. As to not arouse suspicion, he did not increase his mana capacity and breakthrough the tiers at an unbelievable pace, but fast enough that he would still be considered a genius. Since he held the memories and understanding of his past life, it was easy for Zieg to breakthrough, all he had to do was become accustomed to his new body and increase his mana capacity to breakthrough and reach his previous level of strength.

He gradually collected information over time. He lived in a mansion, and through listening to the talks of the servants, was able to grasp some of the current state of affairs on the continent.

(It looks like six months have passed since my death.) Zieg was surprised that so little time had passed.

He heard that his original body was not found by the demon army that subsequently arrived after the aftermath, and that only his sword Bloodwhistler was retrieved by the demons. Apparently, Zieg is now known to most demons across the Grandiel continent as a legendary heroic figure, and Bloodwhistler is enshrined in a temple by a cult of demons that seem to worship and deify Zieg as a god, making claims that Zieg will return to destroy the rest of humanity.

(Well, they aren’t that far off, hahah…) Zieg wryly laughed internally.

He had heard that humans are now on the defensive, with the morale of demons at an all-time high after the eradication of the allied human army. Demons are slowly making their way out of the North end of the continent, and are now making raids on human settlements, like a reversed situation of the “Holy Crusade,” albeit on a smaller scale.

He learned that he was the son to the now deceased Volheilm Kaiser and his wife Aisha Kaiser. Speaking of Aisha, she appeared to be in her early twenties with wavy black hair and deep brown eyes. She undoubtedly gave off a gentle, calming, and motherly aura.

(Still going to kill her, though.) On this, Zieg was… almost resolute. At times, he had trivial internal conflicts between his hatred for humans, and the small fondness he had for his mother, but quickly brushed them off and ultimately decided to kill her every time he had them.

As for Zieg himself, he had the same deep brown eyes as his mother, while inheriting his father’s silver hair.

Lastly, he had learned that his father, Volheilm, had been a member of a guild of six, now five human immortals that call themselves “Paragon,” that idealize human supremacy over other races. He’d heard that the other five members are spread across other continents, with one of the members doing something similar to the prior Holy Crusade on another continent.

For now, Zieg planned on eventually killing the five members of Paragon.

Five years passed peacefully in this way… It was now the morning of his fifth birthday.

“Let’s go, Hope!” his mother Aisha called out to him, preparing to open the door to leave their mansion.

“Go? Go where?” Zieg asked, puzzled. This was the first time since he was born that he would be allowed to step outside of his home.

“You haven’t heard from the servants? Almost everyone is talking about it. You’re old enough now. I asked a favor from a friend of your father to train you to breakthrough,” Aisha explained.

Hearing that, Zieg’s eyes narrowed and he ran to stand beside his mom.

“A friend of dad’s? What’s their name?” he asked, oddly serious.

“The Elemental Master Julius. I’m sure you’ve heard of him, Hope.” Aisha replied while opening the door.

When the door was fully opened, a handsome young male that looked to be in his twenties appeared out of nowhere, standing in front of the mansion. He was clothed like a butler, wearing a long black overcoat, and had long black hair that was tied into a ponytail. Performing an elegant bow, he introduced himself.

“Greetings, Hope. I was a good friend of your father’s. I am Julius Eletrix, pleased to make your acquaintance,” he said, and gave a genuine smile, seeing his deceased friend’s son.

Aisha was right. Zieg had heard of him. Julius Eletrix, an immortal, and also… a member of Paragon.

Zieg clenched his fists tightly, forcing a smile, he willed himself to sound as cute and innocent as possible, saying, “Please take care of me… Uncle Julius…” while he thought (I will rip your fucking throat out.)

Author’s note: I was so tempted to make him think “DEATH TO ALL HUMANS!” at the end, hahah. Anyway, I hope I can fit in a fight with Zieg and Julius soon after a timeskip.