1 . Rebirth

In the vast realm of literary, where tales of fantastical worlds abound, there are often narratives that revolve around ordinary individuals meeting tragic fates before being reborn into extraordinary realms. If you're well-versed in such narratives, then perhaps you can appreciate the circumstances that currently befuddle me.

The details of my demise elude my memory. It most certainly wasn't caused by a haphazard encounter with a truck or bus, as such an event would be permanently etched in my recollections. The last remnants of my transient life drift within my mind - a routine evening, returning from work, sating my hunger, and surrendering to the grasp of sleep. Yet, when the morning light failed to stir me awake, panic seized my drowsy form.

However, my attempts to rise, to move, to utter a single syllable were met with futility. Instead, the feeble cries of an infant escaped my lips, as though my voice had been replaced by the helpless wails of a newborn child.

It was then that I became acquainted with a middle-aged woman clothed in the attire of a maidservant. She cradled me gently, her presence offering solace amidst my bewildering circumstances. It became abundantly clear that I had been reborn, transmigrated to a realm beyond the confines of my former existence. But this was no mere canvas of reality. No, this was a world woven with the threads of fantasy.

I discovered this truth in a somewhat mortifying manner - the maid, now akin to a caretaker or nanny, tended to my soiled state by summoning water using enchantments. An embarrassing revelation no doubt, but it confirmed the fantastical nature of my newfound abode.

Three days have come and gone since I awoken in this mystical domain, and I've already begun to unravel some peculiar aspects of my being. The first revelation was the astounding acuity of my vision.

"Mere good vision" would be a grave understatement. Nay, my sight transcends the bounds of normalcy. Even as a mere newborn babe, I possess the uncanny ability to perceive everyone within the castle walls. Yes, every single soul registers within my divine sight. It's as if a metaphysical eye grants me unprecedented clarity, enabling me, should I focus my attention, to discern the ebb and flow of mana within each individual. Though the nomenclature surrounding these varying auras eludes me, I've taken the liberty of dubbing it "mana" for my own understanding.

Fortuitously, I possess the largest reserve of this ethereal energy, or mana, within the entire castle. A peculiar circumstance, which offers intriguing prospects for the path that lies before me.

The second observation I've made throughout my short sojourn in this fantastical land is that neither my purported mother nor father have graced my presence with their visitation. Only my nanny, the sole individual I've had the privilege of witnessing through my physical senses rather than my divine sight, has attended to my needs.

In my own indulgence, I bestowed my newfound ability of clairvoyance the name "Divine Sight." At initial contemplation, I considered emulating a character from a tale I hold dear, a certain white-haired protagonists power known as "Six Eyes." However, the striking golden hue of my orbs rendered that title incongruous, warranting the necessity for a different appellation.

Though I have yet to decipher the language in which my nanny communicates, her mentions of me provide a semblance of familiarity. It appears that, at the very least, I possess knowledge of my own name - Aelfric.

Fuck

Upon awakening within the grand corridors of a behemoth castle, accompanied by a nanny and a personal maid in tow, I naively believed I had been born into a wealthy abode. My fears of peril or an uncertain future seemed trivial at first glance, but alas, fortune had forsaken me.

As it turned out, I was nothing more than a bastard offspring of a nobleman, and I certainly wasn't his only illegitimate child; he had sired countless others. It was through forced interactions with these offspring that I learned of their existence while residing within the walls of the castle.

To make matters worse, I became the object of scorn, particularly from my father and his lawful wife.

You see, my mother had been a cherished elven slave, and my birth as a half-breed abomination eradicated his favorite plaything. As for his wife, my presence served as a constant reminder of the woman she loathed. Thus, I was banished from my original quarters and relegated to the lowly knight's chambers, perilously close to the castle's outer bounds.

What manner of father blames an innocent child for their birth? I was not the one who savagely violated and impregnated a slave. Thankfully, the noble laws that governed our society prevented any harm befalling me while I slumbered, for the vile act of extinguishing my life would have been a direct affront to the honor of his lineage.

As the years went by, I slowly unraveled the intricacies of this realm's language.

No, I did not possess some prodigious intellect from a past life. Instead, I had spent countless hours immersed in various forms of animated entertainment. Alas, learning Japanese had eluded me, but somehow, in the span of a mere six months, I managed to harmonize with a woman's speech patterns and understand her words.

My hypothesis is that the untainted mind of an infant is more adept at associating sounds with objects, allowing for linguistic endeavors. Additionally, I found that I had gained better control over my own tongue, enabling me to utter a few words, albeit in secret. I had no desire to be labeled as a juvenile savant capable of conversing fluently at the tender age of six months. Such attention could potentially invite the wrath of my father or his wife, as they might perceive me as a threat to their own offspring.

But I harbored no intentions of becoming a menace. All I yearned for was a tranquil existence reminiscent of my previous life, and perchance, to unearth the enigma of my transportation to this foreign realm and the slim chance of returning to Earth.

Adding to the complexity of my being in this world, I possessed an astronomical amount of mana – an indisputable cheat of existence. I dared not disclose this truth to those around me, so when the mandatory mana examination came, I deliberately suppressed my unique capacity to ensure it remained lower than even my father's legitimate son.

By comparing my mana reserves to those of others residing within the castle, I discovered that my reservoir held over a million times the quantity of my nanny. My father commanded approximately 90,000 MP, his wife hovered at 85,000, while their eldest child, a mere year older than me, possessed 120,000 MP. To avoid being perceived as a rival to his son yet not appearing talentless, I deliberately lowered my mana to approximately 75,000.

The reason behind my keen aptitude in mana manipulation, utilizing an instrument that siphoned this ethereal energy to gauge its presence within one's body, stemmed from my divine sight – or so is my hypothesis.