Chapter 02
It took three days to face reality.
At first, I doubted it. I thought it was just a terrible dream.
But one day became two, and two became three… and I had no choice but to accept it.
I did not wake up from the dream.
This was reality.
‘Ten years ago…’
I sat quietly in the mercenary barracks, organizing my thoughts.
I, who should have died at the hands of the Magic King, had returned to the past—ten years ago.
There was plenty of proof.
The mercenaries who should have been dead were alive, and the old club beside me was clearly the weapon I used as an apprentice.
‘…I returned to the past.’
For some reason, at the moment of death, I regressed ten years back.
It sounded absurd, but the reality in front of me was too real to deny.
I had regressed. I accepted that.
Then the question remained—how, and why?
Even after wandering the world as a mercenary for half my life, I had never heard of time being reversed.
Then who did this?
And for what purpose?
Am I the only one who knows?
Why ten years ago?
Countless questions filled my mind.
But there was one possible answer.
‘…Could it be this pendant…?’
I stared at the pendant hanging on my chest.
The groove in the center was open, and inside it, a strange rune glowed faintly.
Renia had said there was a final rune inside the pendant that no one had deciphered.
If there was a reason for my regression, it was most likely this.
If Renia had planned all of this and gave it to me…
“…That girl really gave me a troublesome task.”
An opportunity had appeared.
A chance to set the world right.
I am not a hero who saves the world.
I am not a saint either.
I am just a mercenary.
And a mercenary completes the job he is given.
Looking at the pendant, I remembered what Renia told me in my previous life.
“You see… I hired you without asking.”
It seemed our contract still continued, even now.
Her goal—
was to kill the Magic King.
“I’ll kill him this time. No matter what.”
Then I would simply fulfill her will.
The Magic King would throw the continent into chaos seven years from now.
That was when he fully raised his army. Which meant he had already been preparing long before that.
Once he began, he destroyed the great magic families, including Benheim, and stole their secret techniques.
All to reach the 9th rank.
The time I had left—
about five to six years.
‘I need to start preparing now.’
It was enough time… or not enough at all.
To defeat the Magic King, I had to become stronger than before.
First, I needed to check my condition.
———
I focused and examined my body.
Because of my harsh life as a mercenary, my body was well trained.
But there was not a single trace of mana inside.
Compared to my body before regression, when I was called the Sword God, this was nothing but a wasteland.
Back then, I never even had the chance to learn about mana.
To use mana, you need to form a core inside your body.
That method, called a “Mana Heart Technique,” is extremely expensive.
Far beyond what a poor boy in a third-rate mercenary group could afford.
But—
before I was a vagrant, I was a swordsman who reached Sword Master with just one old sword.
Even without learning a technique, I can enter the world of mana through pure sense.
And within seven years, I can reach Sword Master again.
I did it once before.
So this time, I can do it even faster.
‘No.’
But I had no intention of following the same path.
Even at my best, I couldn’t even take one arm from the Magic King.
The gap between us was overwhelming.
Then I must become stronger than before.
To face the strongest mage in humanity, I need to surpass him.
At that moment, I remembered something Renia once told me.
“I feel sorry whenever I see you, Mr. Reagan.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your talent was wasted because of your environment. If you had grown up properly and trained systematically, you would have reached a level far beyond me.”
“…It doesn’t matter now.”
Back then, it didn’t matter.
But now—it does.
I returned to the past.
I have knowledge and experience of the future.
Now I can build my strength properly from the beginning.
“Sword Saint… or Rank 9.”
For humans, the limit is Sword Master.
For mages, Rank 7.
That was the common belief.
But I knew two exceptions.
Renia, who reached Rank 8.
And the Magic King, who surpassed even her.
There is already proof.
Then I can do it too.
“Let’s try.”
I made my decision.
Now that I had a goal, I needed a method.
“First…”
I looked up at the ceiling.
The torch above the tent swayed unsteadily.
“…I should collect my unpaid wages.”
* * *
“What? Reagan is acting strange?”
“Yes. I think he ate something bad.”
Mercenary Captain Gerkin frowned at his subordinate.
“What did he eat? Poisonous mushrooms?”
“No… he’s like a completely different person.”
“A different person?”
“He used to work quietly, but now he doesn’t eat or sleep. Yesterday, he beat a senior mercenary badly! And even beat someone who tried to stop him! I think he’s possessed! We should call a shaman—”
“Shut up. What nonsense are you saying?”
“I’m serious! Everyone is scared of him! At this rate, someone might die!”
Gerkin sighed deeply.
“So you can’t even control one kid and came to me?”
He muttered, then said,
“Isn’t that just puberty?”
“…Ah, that might be it!”
“Fine. Bring him here. I’ll teach him a lesson.”
—Click.
Before he finished speaking, the door opened.
Reagan walked in.
“Haha. Speak of the devil.”
Gerkin smiled—
then froze.
‘Was his gaze always like that?’
Reagan.
An eighteen-year-old boy. A low-ranking member of the Black Fang mercenaries.
For five years, Gerkin had fed and sheltered him out of pity.
To him, Reagan was like a wooden puppet.
Quiet. Obedient. A tool.
Gerkin even planned to sell him as a slave if he became useless.
But now—
his presence was completely different.
That gaze… belonged to someone who had killed many and survived countless battles.
“…You’re here, Captain. I have something to say.”
Reagan sat down and spoke calmly.
“I’m leaving the mercenary group.”
“…What?”
“You haven’t even been here three years!”
“I know. But this job doesn’t suit me.”
“…If that’s your wish…”
Gerkin was about to agree—
“How much severance pay will you give me?”
“…What?”
“I’ve worked unpaid for over three years. You promised to give me money when I became an adult.”
Give me money.
To Gerkin, that was unacceptable.
“Are you crazy?”
“I’m perfectly sane. You should pay what you owe. Or did you think I didn’t know you planned to sell me as a slave?”
Gerkin froze.
“How did you—”
“I also know you gambled away my money. And used advance payments to throw drinking parties.”
Gerkin’s face turned red.
“Shut up! Others can hear!”
“Then pay me.”
“You bastard!”
Smack!
The world spun.
A scabbard struck Gerkin’s head at incredible speed.
Before he realized it, Reagan was holding it.
His own scabbard.
Too fast to see.
Gerkin lost consciousness.
“You should’ve listened when I asked nicely.”
* * *
I left the mercenary group with a pouch full of silver coins.
The sound of money felt good.
Inside, the mercenaries lay groaning.
“…Was that too much?”
Maybe.
But Gerkin was trash.
And the others attacked me too.
Before regression, I wasted five years there.
Five years.
And what did I get?
Four silver coins.
Not even enough to survive.
He even tried to sell me as a slave.
But now—
things were different.
I was a regressor.
Even in this young body, I had enough skill to defeat them.
I had money.
And I took a good iron sword.
So I called a carriage.
The old driver frowned at first, but smiled when he saw my money.
“Where to?”
I didn’t hesitate.
“Benheim.”
Now that I’ve returned, all I have is my past memories.
Then I should go meet that troublesome woman who gave me this burden.
“Take me to the County of Benheim. I’ll pay well.”
The driver smiled.
“Going to Benheim too?”
“Too?”
“Like others trying to become a mage?”
“…Explain.”
“In Benheim, they hold exams to accept outsiders as disciples. Not treated as well as blood members, but many try.”
I remembered what Renia told me.
Benheim was open to outsiders.
“So… are you going to become a mage too?”
I thought for a moment.
Then I remembered her voice.
“You have great talent for magic, Mr. Reagan.”
“…So I could succeed as a mage too.”
I smiled.
“Yes. I’ll try being a mage in this life.”
“This… life?”
“It’s a long story.”
The driver looked confused.
