Chapter 2 (1/2)

Volume 1

Chapter 2

Year 991 of the Holy Calendar .

Yufilia Continent, Beltram Kingdom .

In one corner of the Capital’s slums, with his chest full of agony, a boy was lying on the ground .

“Ha~, ha~…”

Even after opening his eyes, the anguish he was feeling could not be extinguished nor could he distract himself from it . Knowing so, the boy still strongly gripped his chest .

Before he noticed, his body was already drenched in sweat .

His whole body felt hot .

It felt as if his flesh was on fire .

Suddenly, like a miracle, the torment subsided and slowly, warmth spread throughout his body .

(What was that…?)

The boy did not understand what just happened, only that the unpleasant feelings were slowly dissipating .

When he regained his composure, he took a look at his surroundings .

It was a gloomy and dirty alley lined by crude wooden houses .

Unpleasant odours drifted into his nose . He frowned at the foul air but thanks to the stench, his head cleared up a bit .

As for what happened during his sleep, he had no memory of .

At that moment, the boy realised he had slept on the ground .

Dirty clothes hung on his body . He felt the need to do something about his clothes but thought they could last a bit longer .

Lifting up his face, a vast clear blue sky was reflected in his eyes .

(What was that uncomfortable feeling and why am I lying down on a road?)

Having just awoken, he still could not think clearly despite having no memory of drinking sake .

He noticed the surrounding houses seemed unusual before realising their architecture differed greatly from the Japanese wooden style houses he was accustomed to .

Feeling uncomfortable, the boy lost himself in thought .

Moreover his body was not in the best condition . Maybe it was due to being exposed to the cold weather from sleeping on the road . His joints also ached .

(!?)

Trying to raise his body again, he noticed the greatest disaster . Screams were rising in the boy’s head .

What entered his view was the body of a young child .

I’m supposed to be a college student .

No, I’m supposed to be an orphan .

(What’s the meaning of this?)

The boy was confused at his overlapping memory .

Thinking slowly about the problem, the boy directed his gaze towards his own hands and feet .

It was not the healthy skin of a person living in a wealthy country like Japan .

On top of that, his skin was dry and body was frail as a result of malnutrition as well as being covered in dirt .

The boy tried rearranging his thoughts; there were no memories of him taking a bath there .

(Seriously…)

He unintentionally performed a tsukkomi on himself after witnessing his dirty self .

The clothes he wore were made from worn down rags .

Of course, he did not own a pair of shoes either .

However, he still felt grateful that he at least had something to wear .

He was unsure what his facial features were like but from his long bangs, he discovered the slightly dirty hair was black in colour .

His limbs were in a similar state to his worn out clothes but his mind was not in chaos .

Cooling down his thoughts, he tried to assess his situation .

The boy’s name was Rio, it was also Amakawa Haruto .

Looking at his memories, he determined that he was 7 years old in the current world, as well as a 20 year old Japanese man .

A wave of dizziness hit him due to excessive hunger . After confirming his situation, he sat on the ground and began to think .

He, as Amakawa Haruto still had recollections of his memories before he died .

He also had memories of Rio’s everyday life until now .

He did not know the reason why he was unconscious on roadside just a while ago but for the time being, it was not important .

Possessing the knowledge of Amakawa Haruto along with obtaining Rio’s memories, he concluded that at the moment, he was not on Earth .

Rio1 was an orphaned child without education, but he knew the name of the country where he resided .

Judging from the level of civilization and taking into account the circumstances as well as other factors made him arrive at the conclusion that this country was not located on the Earth Amakawa Haruto knew .

Possibly, he was reincarnated .

(But it’s really hard to believe… no, perhaps there’s still some chance that this is a dream?)

But when Rio thought harder about the situation, the possibly of it being a dream was greatly lowered .

His mind was far too clear for it to be a dream .

Calming himself, he tried but failed to find any irregularities about himself .

At most, it was an influenza-like symptom that caused his joints to ache . This was reality and he had already assured himself that .

Rio never heard of this country’s existence before on Earth . The things such as Kings and nobles, things like countless numbers of vagrant orphans becoming slaves, the absence of electricity and any products of science . In addition, monsters existed in this world .

This was not a dream neither was it on Earth .

Currently, Rio was in the slums district of the Beltram Kingdom’s capital .

It would not be an exaggeration to say that his condition was at the lowest and if things continued as such, he would not survive for long .

It seemed that is was due to luck that Rio was able to survive until now .

Only the most fortunate orphans were able to live in orphanages . As for the ones living in the slums, it was a never-ending struggle for survival; scavenging for scraps of food and pick-pocketing .

If his luck was good, he would be able to buy some cheap hard bread with the insignificant amount of money he looted . It was no surprise that he was suffering from malnutrition .

That was what Rio did every day to survive .

In such a condition, to be honest, it would not be strange if he dropped dead on the streets .

For the time being, he needed to secure some food but thoughts about his current situation still lingered .

It was common sense for weak orphans to form groups, however due to Rio’s unusual black hair he was ostracized by orphan groups .

As a result, it was exceedingly difficult for him to cooperate with other orphans . One way or another, he managed to survive until now by himself .

(Now I need to find work and settle in but…)

It was difficult to find a workplace where they would employ an orphan .

It was convenient for people to treat orphans as if they never existed .

Even if he was able to find one by chance, it would be hard labour with low wages .

In that case, Rio wondered if he had any advantages in this world . The skills he carried over may prove to be useful .

Most of the skills he possessed were ones he developed in his previous life .

He could perform mathematical calculations meaning he had a big advantage . Fortunately, this country was already using the decimal system .

Other skills that seemed useful were martial arts, cooking, and miscellaneous everyday life skills .

He had already engraved into his head how to use all those skills .

But currently, he lacked social status so it was challenging for him to make full use of his skills .

Either way, right now there was nothing in this place that could solve his problems .

Feeling the need to ease his hunger, Rio began looking around the city .

And then, Rio noticed another change that occurred ever since his memories awakened .

He noticed that a faint light was being emitted from people’s bodies .

At first he thought it was just an illusion but it did not disappear even after he tried refocusing his eyes .

The amount of light emitted differed from person to person with the majority only emitting a small amount .

He already ran into hundreds of people since his memory awakened so he was confident that his ability to measure the amount of emitted light was fairly accurate .

Suddenly, Rio noticed his own body was emitting a similar light .

The amount was many times greater than that of other people .

No, it was best to say that his knowledge on this matter was still too limited .

Looking at other people, there was no way the light emission would be infinite .

Just like vapour rising from boiling water and dissolving into the air, that light was also coming out of Rio’s body .

Moreover, the amount of light emitted started slowly increasing .

At the same time, he became more and more sensitive to that light .

It was as if he could feel his surroundings through his five senses .

Through his own eyes, he could see anything in the world that came in contact with the light as if they were his own eyes . He was able to grasp one of the properties of the mysterious light .

He could infinitely stretch his senses allowing him to perceive things beyond any normal person can .

(I have an unpleasant feeling the light’s only function is to enhance my perception…)

Stretching his senses granted a feeling similar to his spirit parting his body . With the sudden increase in perception, a question appeared in his mind .

Was he the only one who could see the light?

Because the amount of light emitted from his body was clearly abnormal, Rio understood that being different may expose him to danger .

Anyhow, he needed to find a secluded place away from people . Rio immediately left the main street and entered a back alley and sat himself on the cold ground .

The amount of light emitting from his body continued to increase but there were no changes to his physical condition .

There was no need to be impatient .

He thought so with a serene mind .

Rio started meditating, his mind achieving perfect unity of body and mind2 .

He did not expect the martial arts he learned from his grandfather would become useful in such a way .

While still being aware of the hustle and bustle on the streets, a significant amount of time passed . Who knew how long he had been meditating for? His mind was already beyond its limit .

Having achieved unity of the mind, Rio felt an overflowing amount of energy pulsating throughout his body .

The power filling his body was as thick as blood .

The true nature of that light was magic .

The magical power gushing out from his body could not be perceived by the naked eye .

Therefore Rio instinctively understood that a powerful sense of imagination was required to control the magical power .

It still felt surreal to him .

(Alright…)

Feeling confident about his speculation, Rio slowly and cautiously began decreasing the amount of magical energy overflowing from his body .

It had a similar feeling to erasing one’s presence .

Not entirely the same but similarities were noticed .

Understanding the concept, Rio immediately gained control over his magical powers .

Now, all of his magical powers were sealed within his body without a single speck flowing out .

The feeling could not be expressed solely with words but somehow he got the gist of it .

A slight smile emerged on Rio’s face .

But a question still lingered in his mind .

What was that light?

Currently the only changes he felt were a sharpening of his senses .