"Crap, I'm late." The bells rang over the rooftops of City, breaking the morning mist into scattered rays of gold. The street was bustling, and the sound was for the occasional hiss of steam from an exhaust pipe or the rhythmic clatter of the trains passing in the distance.
I tightened the strap of my bag, adjusting it over my shoulder. My boots clicked against the cobblestone with every step. I was on my way to the Academy—the Magic Academy Hall of Arcanum and Strategic Arts, to be exact. Yeah, not joking, that's the actual name. Anyways, somewhere between yesterday's storm and this morning's drizzle, I had become a freshman mage. Yes, that still felt strange to think.
My name's Natan, and I have a secret that only I know.
(A/n: That's why it's called a secret.)
And that is I am a reincarnator.
"I died on a crosswalk."
No last words, no cinematic flashbacks.
Just a screech of tires, a blur of headlights, and the gruesome experience of getting hit by a speeding car.
When I opened my eyes, the world had changed. Men and women in coats too long and hats too wide, wielding guns that have that weird, ancient-like language. They call it Rune Language.
They told me I was lucky.
"You survived the mana fever," a woman who I don't know and care about said.
"That means you have potential."
I didn't ask. Anyhow, that's the story, and now I'm on my way, running to the academy.
I still can't believe I'm late on the first day of school.
But still, those muskets that some gentlemen are holding pique my interest. The moment I saw that first spell—stormpiercer, a 1st circle basic magic carved with geometric precision, engraved from the man's gun—I was hooked.
The academy was still a few blocks away, but the narrow alley beside Bellringer's Row caught my attention. It was a side street packed with odd little shops—those that specialized in used tomes, broken talismans, and things that looked like trash but whispered to you if you stared too long, kind of like those fantasy novel cliques where an old rusted sword turned out to be the sword used by King Arthur or some fantasy hit.
Curiosity tugged at me. There's no way those kinds of cliques can happen, right?
A single sign creaked above the door:
"Used Items for Sale"
I stepped in. The air smelled of old paper and something burnt. The lighting was dim—candles that hadn't been changed in days flickered beside shelves of rusted lockets and cracked goggles.
And on one of the shelves lay a black gun with a Mana stone in its center, acting as a core. This Mana stone acts as a medium used to store spells.
But it's not just any gun, a manatech caster—the kind they said was used during the war. The kind only combat mages wielded.
Slim barrel. Carved mana slots on the side. A trigger ward etched in silver.
Its name was engraved on the handle, though half the letters were worn out.
My breath caught. My hand moved before I could think. I took the gun.
The clerk, a disheveled man with goggles too thick to see his eyes, barely looked up.
"Doesn't work," he said with a shrug.
"Mana circuit's dead. Can't hold a spell in the stone anymore either."
"I'll take it," I said.
He raised a brow.
"Sentimental value?"
"Something like that."
I stuffed it carefully into my bag, next to my standard-issue uniform and beginner's spellbook. It was heavier than it looked. Or maybe it just felt heavy. Like it remembered something.
Outside, the bells rang again. Louder this time.
I sighed, "I'm really good as dead."
They say every mage's path starts with a spark. I guess mine starts with a sprint in the dark.
---
"Now then care to explain what happened? And don't even think of lying"
A Dude who looks like a barbarian more than a mage is currently interrogating me in the teachers office.
"Like I said, I stayed up late last night in the library and didn't manage to clock in" I said in annoyance
He sighed
"Haah- forget it, just go to you class"
"Nice, hehe" and with that I somehow managed it without further trouble. I quickly walked my way into my class while observing some things along the way. One thing that caught my eye was some various students were working on their Weapons
The school inquire what weapon they will use and provides students the materials required to construct it
They have the freedom of whether they'll make it themselves or take it to the nearest Magi-tool Smith
Most students prefer the latter since it's quicker and precise
Only a quite few students build their wands or Mana-tech gun
But personally I think it's more efficient to build it yourself.