Prologue

I've lived most of my life as a lie. I faked a law degree and cheated at the LSATs and I even went as far as illegally practice medicine and teach Engineering to a prominent university and how you ask? It's easy because I am the smartest man in the world and had I wanted it I would have become the president by now.

However life went to shit when I got caught for malpractice of law and then I left the country to escape the cops and I became a lowly pickpocket not long after but just until I get enough money to bribe the judge or join the mafia. The irony was that I stole a goon's wallet containing all the contacts of the mafia which I kindly returned, in exchange for a place in the mafia that is.

I blame the stupid movies for making these brutes seem negotiable because as soon as I told them what I know, bullets came flying. I guess there's really no point in blackmailing people who are experts at it huh. Long story short after a short runaway I got caught and was shot in the lung.

The last thing I remember was goons coming to me as I lost consciousness. When I woke up I was standing in a chair with a rope in my neck. Did they really think they could make my death seem like a suicide? It's pointless I mean they're the mafia what would cops do? and I have a bullet in my lung, how the hell would they explain that, wait… It's gone?!

I know modern medicine is amazing but removing a bullet and fully healing my lung how is that possible?! Well I guess it wasn't because I was startled to see that my hands were smaller, less calloused and my body was that of a young man just barely older than a teenager probably 19 or so.

In my startled state the chair fell off and I almost got stangled by the rope but hopefully this body is strong...insanely so, I was able to break off the rope which is something even in my fit body I couldn't do easily.

I see a note from below me written in some odd language, I was surprised to know I could read it and even more so from the fact it was me who wrote it from my own handwriting. It was a suicide note containing things like what led me to do this and it was being abandoned by my family leaving a debt of 50,000 silver quills which from my estimation is worth probably somewhere around 2 middle class houses.

Ha ha ha to think even in my next life I would be buried in debt. Life is certainly is a cheeky son of a bitch but unlike the weakling who controlled this body before I am not so pathetic as to let something as petty as this push me to ending it all.

I immediately garner all I could learn from this world while part by part remember things from this body's memory. Its an odd sensation remembering things that never happened, remembering things that never happened to me to be exact.

As I get out I see a somewhat olden village with brick and wooden walls, with people wearing wool clothing and only the wealthy wearing silk, I saw children playing with sticks as if they were having sword fights and I felt as if I was in an old western movie complete with the cliché camera angles and ragged people. Although this was reality, one without any electricity or sewer systems and relying on old fashioned fire and holes in the ground which is why the smell of this village was like being in a donkey's arse.

While I stood outside the house trying to grasp everything I am seeing, a man of flamboyant clothing and a large build approached me angrily.

"Gordy Marod! Today is the day you pay your father's debt!"

The language he spoke was something that sounded closest to Spanish with an emphasis on 'R's and not at all sounding nasally, having long vowel sounds and a chunky layer of Basque phonetics to what seemed to be Latin words. It had really reinforced the whole medieval age feel but it was not quite the case because there was something different, odd somehow.

"I'm sorry however I am unaware of the Gordy your talking about. My name is Spade, Spade Escroc"

I bluffed my way hoping he really did mistake me for someone else. Well I was named Gordy, that part is true as well as my father being a big time gambler which led my mother to leave us as well as my younger brother who was my father's favorite. Eventually he had lost a large sum of money and in fear of the loan sharks, left with his favorite son leaving me to clean up the mess and upon learning this, my body felt no other option but to kill himself and hope its enough payment.

"You scum don't think you can run away from me!"

The loan shark then called two of his guards to capture me. The muscly men wearing wool plate armor reminded me more of a B-rated movie's idea of a generic bandit to be honest but these guards were serious and really did come after me.

"Ok, ok! I don't have quite enough yet but give me a month and I'll double it!"

Honestly there's no negotiating this anymore, I couldn't pay the debt so how am I supposed to double it in half the time given? However the loan shark was greedy and thought that 100,000 quil was enough debt to make me a work slave so he was fine either way.

He then told his guards to let go of me and despite my strong body I still fell to the ground unable to withstand their force. I suppose that this world is one that makes the strength to break wood seem ordinary and I despite being much stronger than a body builder in his peak am still much too weak relative to actual people with muscles here.

"One month"

He said as he left grinning like a toddler told he was about to get a new toy.

Sorry old man but I am not paying a debt I can escape from, I thought to myself as I took the country's map and anything valuable from the house and burned it to the ground by midnight.

To my surprise the fire only affected my house because of some sort of force field protecting the nearby houses. The hell? My plan was to orchestrate my own death and drive away all that knew me but something strange was present in this life other than the whole different civilization and twisted strengths of course.

Your kidding right? Magic? I observe further from a far and the firemen arrived some of them floating from air and other riding on horses made of water which was something out of a painting I saw of Greek mythology.

Tell me I'm crazy! Goddammit my plan now goes down the drains as the pressence of magic makes things extremely complicated. My memories had barely any memories of using magic though and I also have no understanding of it.

When the morning arrived I decided to break into a scholar's library where I took some time to learn about magic. I've read some books and none of them had any clear explanation of what magic is or their limitations and further into my study showed that gods exist here as well which makes things harder but I'll cross that bridge later on if I get to it.

I decided to take two books from the bookshelf that was least dusty for the ones treated best were probably the most valuable as I took my leave knowing that most of the villagers are now awake and the scholar will probably enter here soon.

The loan shark's arrogance was with reason for I cannot leave this village's walls without the chief's permission which happens to be his brother and neither can I simply just kill him because he knows magic and has four guards while I know neither magic nor any understanding of this world. Thanks a lot dad even in this life you still suck!

Well I still have the one advantage of knowledge from a more advanced world and for now I'll make a plan making use of it to escape this problematic mess.