A Prophecy

It's set in stone already, my enrollment to the Royal Magic Academy, that is.

This academy in particular differs from any academy from my previous world. There are no semesters, meaning that one could enroll and start attending the school whenever.

Though there were still many preparations that had to be made, so I opted from doing that.

If all goes well, I should be making my way towards the capital by the end of the week. Apparently my father had purchased a mansion nearby the academy for short commute. I guess that meant that the academy didn't offer dormitory to their students, which is fine by me.

While I trust in my father to take care of that for me, there are some preparations that I must make myself.

Remember how I said that I've only used my skill Fate Breaker, specifically its ability Prophecy, once? And that I saw and experienced my death by the hands of criminals?

Yeah, there was some information that I omitted from that ordeal.

For example, with skills like Change Outcome and Optimal Action, why was I not able to survive?

Prophecy does not explain everything to me so I too also found it difficult to believe that I'd be bested by a few criminals even when I was heavily guarded by the people my father had hired.

But, the people that kidnapped me were far from ordinary.

While the future me in the Prophecy was actually able to use his(our?) skills, which did help him initially, but in the end it was not enough to escape death.

I thought it was strange. If they had such great abilities, why did they stoop so low to the point of ransom? No matter how I looked at it, there had to be something bigger at play.

Alas, my information is limited, and I can only learn so much from Prophecy.

The only thing I remember were their appearances and abilities, that's all. I don't recall any of their names being mentioned so I can't rely on that.

And now that I'm looking at all of the details, I came to the conclusion that I was bound to die no matter what in that particular circumstance. I merely thought they were criminals who wanted to make some quick money, but they had no intentions in letting me live from the start.

I have not had many interactions outside of the sphere of my family and close friends, so why would they go out of their way to kill me? It's hard to believe it was simply for money, as they probably would have been able to earn a lot more by utilizing their abilities as mercenaries or adventures or something along those lines.

Did they know I came from another world? Or were they aware of the skills that I possessed? For all I knew, there could be skills out there that can identify the skills of others, so that wasn't out of the option. The same could be said for skills that could identify those who come from another world.

I had no way of knowing why. So, for a while, I lived in constant paranoia and anxiety, but the more I thought about it, the more I was certain that it couldn't be anything like that. It had to be something else, because if that were the case I probably would have died long ago.

With the help of Great Sage, we theorized that my death was most likely plotted by someone or a group that opposed my father and his success as a merchant.

It made sense. After all, it had only taken about a decade for the unknown small merchant that nobody knew the name of to become someone of high status and power in the nation. It's only natural that those who'd be jealous of his success would try and take him down.

The problem was, who would do such a thing? And who exactly were they to be able to employ such high-skilled people for a mere murder? They had to be exceptionally wealthy to do so, and that's what troubles me.

It was one of the reasons why I wanted to learn magic (besides it being cool), so I can have another form of protection for myself in instances like those.

And because of that, I decided that I'd use my Prophecy sub-skill again. As much as I hate having to use it, it's better than not using it and dying a foolish death because of carelessness.

I paced around my room with my hands behind my back, taking deep and steady breaths while I prepared myself.

After a few minutes passed by, I was ready and sat down on my bed while facing the balcony where the moonlight shined the brightest and ordered Great Sage.

Notice. Would you like to activate Fate Breaker's ability Prophet?

Yes

No

I took one final deep breath with my my eyes closed before I confirmed its activation.

I opened them again and let out a breath of turbid air.

Yes, activate it.

Confirmed. Employing ability Prophet... successful.

As soon as I heard those last words from Great Sage ring out in my mind, my vision faded away, and i fell unconscious.

The skill had activated.

...

An exquisite and finely made carriage made its way through a road that led to the capital of Falmuth.

One would assume it is the carriage of a noble, but that was not true as the carriage did not have any notable symbol denoting that. In fact, the personnel who were accompying the carriage had varying attire that showed that they were not affiliated with any nobility.

By the looks of their equipment, they were most likely members of the Free Guild who were employed for whomever was riding the carriage inside.

That person happened to be me, Zerua. I'm currently on my way to my residence that is located at the capital. Where I am to attend the Royal Magic Academy for the next four years.

In front of me are two people who my father has hired to protect me. They are adventurers. One is a woman who has a colorful set of wizard robes that are two sizes too big for her and a wooden staff held in her hand, a mage. The other is a man who is plated in full armor with a sword tucked on his belt, a warrior.

They both conversed with each other about matters of their party, so I took this as an oppurtunity to satiate my curiosity.

"I apologize for rudely interrupting you, but if i may ask, how is adventuring for you two? I'm a little bit interested in it."

The two stopped their conversation, while the female mage was the first to respond to my question.

"Huh, I would have never expected Little Zerua to be interested in something like adventuring. How come?"

"Oh, there's no particular reason, just meager curiosity, that's all. I've heard much about adventurers and the journeys they embark on. Honestly, it's starkly different from my uneventful life so maybe that's why I took an interest in it."

"I see, I see. I guess being the son of such a grand merchant isn't so easy. Right, Helkan?" The female mage, Sedra, playfully nudged her party member, Helkan, with her staff.

"Hmm, oh, yeah, I guess it would be. Though, commoners like us wouldn't know how it truly is so we can't say much. Still, Sedra, you are far too informal to Mr. Zerua. He's our client, so act in accordance."

It seemed that Helkan was very strict with the rules. I felt a little bad for Sedra being berated by him, but she didn't seem to be fazed in the slightest by it.

"Geez, stop being so stuck-up. It's not like Little Zerua has any problems, right?" She said as she looked at me with a smile.

"Haha, it is as you say Ms. Sedra. It doesn't hurt to be informal with me, think of it as me attempting to build a connection with the both of you."

Helkan didn't seem quite convinced, but it's not as if he could rebuke my statement.

"Then, we will have to trouble you for the remainder of the trip." He bowed down in gratitude to me. I guess it's not common practice for clients to be so lenient with the people they hire. I pity them.

"Not at all, not all. Anyways, please tell me about your adventures."

"Ah, yes, yes. Then let me tell you about the time when we were stuck inー

Sedra stopped in the midst of her story and her whole demeanor went from that of being carefree to serious in an instant.

"Helkan, I sense some unknown people in the area."

Helkan, too, turned serious upon hearing Sedra's discovery. He grabbed the sword that was tucked on his belt, and unsheathed it. Once in hand, he nodded at Sedra.

Shortly after, he exited out of the moving carriage.

"Huh? W-wait, Sedra, what is going on?"

"Don't worry Mr. Zerua. It seems that we have some uninvited visitors, so we must take care of them. Please stay here in the meantime, we will return shortly."

She, too, also jumped out of the carriage with magic, leaving me unattended in the carriage.

I realized what her words meant, but it only made 'me' feel worse.

"No, it can't be... But, if it isn't, then what else can it be?"

I tightened my fists in anger, and slammed the wall of the carriage next to me.

"Damn it! I knew I should've used that skill!"

It was too late to lament over this blunder, as I knew I couldn't do anything if the people out there were similar to those that had killed me in the previous Prophecy.

"No, wait... there's still hope. Great Sage!"

What is it?

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but everytime I use the skill Fate Breaker, my fate is changed, right?"

Correct. By using Fate Breaker's ability, Prophecy, you will prevent your future death by diverging the timeline.

"So, even if I'm certain to die right now, I can prevent it as long as the past me uses the skill?"

Yes. It is how you prevented your death when you used the skill for the first time.

I let out a sigh of relief after hearing Great Sage's confirmation of my theory.

In fact, now that I knew this information, it's possible that the past me has already seen this future, thus preventing our death.

"Then, aren't I practically unkillable because of this?! It seems I underestimated how overpowered this skill truly is."

Now that I know I won't truly die, it seems to have calmed me down to some extent. But a part of me is still reluctant to die in this timeline.

Boom!

There was a clamor outside, it seems that whomever was out there carried no good intentions.

"Shit, even if I know this isn't the end, I don't want to experience death again..."

I stood up and opened the small window located on the upper middle section of the carriage's door, and peered outside of it.

As I expected, they were fighting with both Sedra and Helkan, and it didn't look good for them. They were outnumbered as all of the other personnel besides them had already been killed off.

When did that happen? I didn't hear any of it at all. Not only that, those people...

I took a closer look at my soon-to-be executioners, but did not recognize any of them? Were there different people or groups that wanted to bring down my father? Or were they merely bandits this time around?

No, it's most likely the former considering the fact that they were able to take out dozens of C and B ranked adventurers without letting out a single sound.

"It looks like I won't have it easy this time either. I hope I'm not cut down by that guy's sword, it looks sharp."

It's almost funny how the situation turned out. Just recently I was panicking over dying, but now I was making jokes about my death. Though I'm mostly doing it to lessen my stress, it's a little sad, but who cares.

I mean, I was about to die after all.

"Still, it really isn't looking too well for those two."

I felt a little bit pathetic that I wasn't able to help them out. Coming from a peaceful world, it's difficult to understand the concept of people willing to risk their lives for others in this manner. To me, at least.

Though I guess I didn't feel much when I saw the corpses of the adventurers lying lifelessly on the ground. Though that's solely because of my understanding and confidence in my skill Fate Breaker.

Once I activate and change the timeline, it prevents my death which also, technically, prevents their death. Because I won't die in the diverged timeline, they, too, do not have to die protecting me.

In a certain sense, you could say that I'm saving their lives from something that would have never actually happened. That's how frighteningly powerful this skill is.

We were starting to get farther and farther away from the battle, when all of a sudden the carriage had stopped moving.

I immediately felt something wrong, so I quickly dove back into the carriage and closed the small window.

The driver had probably just been killed. Though I was not even able to hear any movements made.

I felt a knot forming in my stomach as death loomed over me. It only intensified after the clamor from the battle had stopped and everything turned silent.

"Tch. Game over, huh?"

A man should know when to accept defeat. With no one else left alive to protect me, my death was simply a matter of time.

"Well, let's put on a show, shall we? I should feel obligated to provide some assistance to my past self, even if it's minor."

I tidied up my suit, brushing off any dirt that had gotten on it, and stepped out of the carriage.

Awaiting me was a group of five people, all who held an attitude that said 'this is a pain' and 'can we go now?'. It did not serve to soothe my nerves, at all.

But when I saw their faces and attire, my heart sunk.

It's something I would have never imagined.

Earlier, I couldn't get a closer look because we were moving on bumpy road, and it was quite far, but now that I was in front of them, I was able to discern every little detail about them.

However, never would I have expected them to be asian. And from their looks, they appeared to be Japanese like me in my previous life.

My reasoning lied in their facial attributes and their clothing.

While there might be people who may look asian in this world, they probably would not have modern clothing like the people in front of me.

Then, a sudden thought formed in my head.

Did they find out that I'm also an otherworlder?

I couldn't know, and I didn't want to ask them in case I was wrong. I didn't want to ruin this chance.

I had many questions, but for now, I had to calm down and stick to my plan.

Great Sage, activate Optimal Action.

Affirmative. Employing ability Optimal Action... successful. The most optimal action in this scenario is for the user to swiftly kill themselves in order to avoid a painful death by the opposition.

Seriously? Is this situation that hopeless?

I knew they were powerful because they made light of Sedra and Helkan who were A rank adventurers, but I did not expect them to be this strong.

Knowing how dangerous they were made me start to falter, but I still did my best to hold myself from running away. Hopefully they don't notice my body trembling.

"I command you to identify yourselves! Just who are you people!?"

I was attempting to get some answers from them before I died. But I wasn't too sure if they could understand me.

I reckon that rather than being reincarnated in this world like me, they probably found themselves transported here. So they may have not have had the chance to learn this world's language. I was also afraid that I was being a little too emotional, they might get annoyed and immediately off me.

However, my questions would be answered in the next moment.

"Oy, Sakura. That's our target, right?"

One of the guys spoke to one of the girls. Sakura was her name.

She quickly responded to his question. It seemed that he had some authority in the group. Was he the leader?

"Yeah, the name matches and he doesn't seem to be lying, my skill said so."

"Great, then let's kill him and quickly get out of here. The dirt is making my clothes get all dusty, it's annoying. I'll let you do the job this time around, Souichiro."

The leader called out to the guy behind him, Souichiro. He was the one who wielded a long-sword, one that had a slight resemblance to a katana.

When he was called by the group leader, he looked extremely conflicted, "But he's only a teenager, Ryuga."

He voiced his complaints directly to the leader, Ryuga, who did not take it well seeing how he looked at him with scorn.

"Do it. I won't repeat myself again."

This time it was enough for Souichiro to keep quiet and do as he was told. Just what made him so scared of this one individual?

Heeding Ryuga's words, Souichiro stepped forward and walked closer to me. The closer he got, the more I wanted to just scream and run for it. But I still have not learned enough about them, I can't run yet.

It was time for an act.

"You... you... you motherfuckers!"

My sudden yelling had made the atmosphere silent and a little bit tense.

"You have all killed these people who were innocent, and now you have the gall to start arguing with one another? Don't fuck with me! Who the hell do you think you are?! Why have you done this?!

A few of the members on their side were not the bit surprised at my outburst. I could tell they were used to this behavior.

If I might say, i was putting up an incredible performance. Gotta give myself some props. Though thir leader, Ryuga, didn't seem to enjoy it at all.

"That ain't none of your business, brat. You'll be dead soon enough so quitー"

"It's not like we have anything against you in particular, we're merely taking orders from someone whom we can't refuse. So, I hope you'll forgive us."

The man who stood in front of me, Souichiro, interjected to tell me what their motives were.

I glanced at the man called Ryuga, and could notice he was extrmeley pissed off. There were veins bulging on his neck and his face started to redden from anger.

"Souichiro, you bastard, just what the fuck do you think you're saying?"

The man in question stood silent for a brief moment before replying back, "We have killed his men and are about to kill him without any explanation. At the very least, he should know why we have chosen our course of actions."

Ryuga only stood silent after hearing Souichiro's answer. His furious disposition earlier was no more and was replaced by a blank expression. His eyes looked beyond Souichiro, and locked with my eyes.

When he saw me, a sadistic smile formed on his face.

"That's no good, Mr. Souichiro. Remember what Lady Mariabell told us? Any behavior that directly clashes with the tasks that we were assigned with is met with punishment. I hope you have not forgotten, unless you want me to relay this to her?"

Souichiro immediately knew what he was getting at, and it angered him.

"...No, I apologize for my actions. I was being insolent, forgive me."

He unwillingly lowered his head to Ryuga, which to him was nothing more than shameful. But, more than anything, he was furious because he knew what was coming next.

"It's fine if you understand. As for your punishment... hmm, let's see..."

After 'long' contemplation, Ryuga's eyes lit up as if he had thought up of a brilliant idea.

"I know! Instead of killing him painlessly like you do with others, why don't you first cut off his limbs one by one, let him bleed out, and then right before he dies of blood loss, you stab him to death! What do you think?"

As soon as I heard his 'brilliant' idea, shivers ran down my spine and the hairs on my arms stood up. The composure I had built up earlier had crumbled instantly. I started to feel sick.

His allies were also quite visibly disturbed. Even if they were used to killing others, they didn't particularly enjoy it.

Souichiro gritted his teeth and exerted a tighter grip on his sword's hilt.

"...I understand."

Once I heard those words, I instinctively turned around and started to run away from this group of psychos.

But, not even a few seconds later, the whole world felt like it was spinning and an immeasurable pain stemmed from my neck.

Huh? What's that?

There was a headless body that had yet to fall down, blood crazily spewing from the open neck.

Then it hit me.

Oh, I was killed.

...

I opened my eyes frantically after I regained my consciousnessas, gasping for breath.

I touched my neck just to make sure it was still there, and after confirming it was, I let out a sigh of relief.

The moon still shed its pale light through the windows of my balcony's doors, signifying that only a moment had passed in reality, whereas the prophecy lasted a few minutes.

Exhausted, I fell flat on the bed, yet also unsually happy. Unlike last time, I was able to learn a lot more about my enemies, and the details weren't insignificant either.

That girl, Sakura, from how she said that she could tell I wasn't lying is most likely because of a skill of hers. Some sort of lie detector?

Also, that Souichiro. Even if he was the closest one to me, he shouldn't have been able to slice me with his sword from the distance he was at.

A skill? Or perhaps abnormal physical ability? Either way, he's dangerous.

I wasn't able to discern any of the other's members names and abilities, but I should be grateful for the information I was able to earn this time around.

But, something else troubled me.

"Otherworlders like me...however, they seem to have arrived to this world differently than I have. And it's safe to assume that they have also acquired skills of equivalence to mine."

It was really troubling. At one point in time, I gave up on the prospect of finding other fellow otherworlders like me, but now that I have, I'm not so excited about it.

There was also a name that they mentioned that stood out to me because of the importance they placed on her.

"Mariabell... just who are you?"

All of this thinking was giving me a headache, especially after what I just went through. It's best if I think about it tomorrow with a refreshed mind.

With that, I shut my eyes and dozed off.