Another body

Isaac stared at the glass of water offered by Alfred in astonishment. He took it unconsciously and nodded at the butler in a gesture of gratitude.

Isaac's mind was in a chaotic state; the magic circle he had worked so hard on clearly wasn't intended to possess William's body. It was common for spells to fail and lead to strange, terrifying, and dangerous situations, but Isaac had never heard of anything like this.

As he reviewed the various accidents he had heard about related to failed spells, Alfred's voice brought him out of his reverie.

"Now that you're awake, if you permit me, I will return to my duties, sir."

Isaac stared blankly at the butler for a few seconds before responding absentmindedly, "Yes, of course."

As soon as he said it, Alfred bowed deeply and backed towards the door. Before leaving, he turned as if he had forgotten something.

"Sir, we received a request this morning from the Wonder Times; they would like to interview you about your new thesis."

My new thesis... Hearing that irritated Isaac, but now wasn't the time. He brushed it off and responded naturally:

"We'll discuss it later."

The butler nodded, looking slightly surprised by the response, but he left without asking any questions.

Once the door was closed, Isaac waited until he could no longer hear Alfred's footsteps in the hallway before getting up and heading toward the mirror.

In the mirror, the same scene repeated itself; however, once again, it wasn't Isaac's reflection, but William's in luxurious pajamas.

How could the spell have failed so badly? No matter how many times he reviewed the elements of the circle, Isaac couldn't determine where the error might have come from.

"No, finding the source of the problem is not my priority."

As a sorcerer who had never faced such a situation before, he didn't really know what to do. However, he knew that his first objective was to analyze his current situation.

Isaac, or rather William possessed by Isaac, closed his eyes, connecting with his magical power.

After several seconds of silence, he frowned. He had managed to locate his magical power, but it was unusual.

His magical power was different from that of his previous body; it resembled a mixture, a distorted fusion. As if someone had spilled a pot of paint on a canvas that wasn't yet dry.

Is it… Have my magical powers fused with William's? No, it seems more complex than a simple fusion... Isaac noticed that his magical power seemed disjointed, as if broken.

He sat on the edge of the bed and began to think about what could have led to this change.

The purpose of the spell he intended to use with his magic circle was to forcibly break an enchanted oath he had made with William. To do so, it was necessary to destroy his magical powers, and before Isaac fell asleep and woke up in this body, he clearly remembered the sensation of his powers slowly breaking.

"I think my broken magical powers tried to reconstruct themselves with William's power." Isaac came up with a preliminary theory, but he couldn't be sure until he conducted some tests.

If this turned out to be true, it would change the world of magic. Many people debate whether magical powers are linked to the body or the soul; Isaac's situation might help answer that question.

"First, let's try a basic spell." He approached the glass Alfred had given him earlier and placed his index finger just above the water. William's green eyes became even greener, and the water in the glass slowly began to swirl, forming a miniature vortex.

"Blue Rose."

A thread of water slowly emerged from the center of the vortex, rising about ten centimeters above the glass. It resembled a stem, and gradually, petals began to grow at the top of the water stem, forming a beautiful rose.

This spell is one of the basic magics that students learn upon entering the Rose Academy. It's said to have been very much appreciated by the archmage who founded the academy.

Following Isaac's finger movements, the rose slowly descended back into the glass, and the vortex disappeared with a splash.

I feel like I'm back at the beginning. An ironic smile crossed Isaac's lips in William's body. His magical abilities were clearly lacking, but he could still use basic spells without too much trouble.

"Well, now that I've confirmed that I can use basic magic, let's address the real issue: what to do now that I've become William?" Isaac murmured.

He didn't even know if this situation was permanent or temporary. Maybe after a few hours or days, he would suddenly return to his original body…

Suddenly, Isaac realized another problem.

"Damn, my body." Isaac wasn't used to swearing, but the realization forced him to make an exception. Due to the shock of his body changing, he had set aside one of his main concerns: what had become of his body, Isaac's body?

Is it still asleep in the chair where he performed the spell, or has William also awakened in his body like him? In any case, the situation isn't good.

Isaac, in William's body, walked to a wardrobe and dressed haphazardly in simple clothes: pants and a light white shirt. He didn't take the time to admire himself in the mirror and quickly headed towards the door Alfred had used a few minutes earlier, opening it abruptly.

Clack!

"Hiiii!" As he opened the door, a cry of surprise echoed. Isaac saw a woman in a maid's uniform jump, dropping the white sheets she was holding.

Upon seeing William, she bowed and stammered, "S-Sorry, sir, you surprised me. I'll pick everything up and wash them again, please don't fire me!"

Isaac, in William's body, frowned. "I'm not going to fire you for that, don't worry, it's my fault in the first place."

The young woman, no more than in her twenties, bowed even more deeply. "T-Thank you so much, sir!"

Disturbed by the exaggerated reverence, Isaac was about to leave when he realized he didn't know which direction he should go. He then turned back to the maid, making her tremble slightly.

Gulp

Isaac clearly heard the young woman swallow heavily. Ignoring it, he tried to imitate William's tone, "To make it up to me, take me to Alfred; I want to go to town."