I heard a knocking sound.

“Master Percide! Time to wake up!'' I heard the maid say, she was the only one that I ever actually saw around the manor… was she the head maid?

She opened the door.

“Ah- yes I suppose it is?” I said calmly.

The good news about changing my body is that I can also manipulate my voice to match what I look like. In this case… Percide. It’s more like I stole his vocal cords, but that doesn’t matter.

“H-h-huh-… C-CAPTAIN!” 

I heard loud footsteps down the hall along with clunking metal. The Captain came flying into the room.

“Percide!”

“Uuuh… yeah… Captain?”

“Finally, he’s able to understand us!” The Captain sniffled.

Eh? Is he going to cry?

“Um… Captain? I- don’t really remember anything… Could you tell me?”

The Captain stood up in an honorable way.

“Uh- yes sir. Where would you like to start?”

“Hmm… first… what’s your name?” I said cheerfully.

“Heh-“

“Y-you don’t remember…?”

“Haha nope.” I said, scratching my head.

“Ah… well. I’m Tim.”

“…”

“Tim?”

“Yes, Tim Goldwill.” He said proudly.

“Tim…”

“Is there a problem? Percide?”

Yes, there is a problem! The merchant I’m playing as is named Percide, the elf girl is named Esther, and your plain old fucking Tim!

How the fuck is that name even in this world? The language isn’t the same!

“Err… no.” 

I looked away quickly.

“Ahh! Good, I was worried for a second there!” He said joyfully.

He seemed to have a pretty upbeat personality. I couldn’t tell if he was simply like that because it was Percide or if he was naturally like that.

“Alright let’s get back to my questions…”

“Oh- yes sir.”

“Where are we?”

“You don’t remember that either?”

“No.” I said firmly.

He sighed.

“We are currently settled in the town of Noyade on the human continent of Dynanimus.”

“Noyade?”

“Yes. We are quite aways from the capital.”

“What about the other human nations?”

“How much of your memory did you lose? This has been the most basic information for the last hundred and twenty years…”

“I’ve lost pretty much everything except my name and that I’m a merchant.” I stated.

“This will be rough…”

He put his right hand against his face.

Wait- was he facepalming me?!

“Listen closely.”

I shook my head hesitantly.

“Out of the seven continents, there are also seven nations. Each continent has one nation for each species that is held there. The Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Demons, Dragons, Beastmen, and Fairies. There used to be more nations, but one hundred and twenty years ago we changed this. This is due to ‘Hellion’s Purgatory’ appearing. For better management the continents united under seven nations that are all in an alliance. You follow?”

“Yeah… so far.”

“‘Hellion’s Purgatory’ is the most dangerous thing in our world. It has every monster to exist on it since it’s where they all originated from. The most dangerous of those is the Regulus Monsters which are even higher than SSS-Rank monsters…

“Wait... SSS-Rank?”

“Over time we developed a threat system for monsters, or anything dangerous to the seven continents. There are also appropriate ranks for adventurers that match these.”

“They range like this, F-Rank: the lowest class monster almost anyone can beat them, monsters similar in stats to a Slime would be a good example.”

A slime… that’s disappointing to hear since I am one, but not entirely unexpected…

“D-Rank: these monsters are the next stage up, not everyone can beat them, a Goblin would fit this rank. C-Rank: this is where it could be considered dangerous. C-Rank monsters could instantly kill someone if they wanted to, monsters in similar status to an Orc being a good example.”

Insta kill?! Really???

“B-Rank: monsters in this category are a threat to the immediate population, and if one is spotted the area should be evacuated immediately, monsters similar to a Wyvern match this pretty accurately.”

“Wait. There are monsters outside of ‘Hellion’s Purgatory’?”

“Yes, that’s why we united the seven continents. If ‘Hellion’s Purgatory’ isn’t put into check, or handled permanently, monsters will rampage the world. There are also occasional outbreaks that cause monsters to escape to the continents. That’s why the adventurer occupation is so important…”

“Shall I continue the rankings now?”

“Y-yes, please do.”

“A-Rank: one of the most dangerous kinds of monsters. They could eliminate entire towns, a Lich or a Wendigo fit this rank. S-Rank, SS-Rank, and SSS-Rank: these are all very similar in terms of danger. The entire continent would be destroyed. The higher the S-Rank the more dangerous. Dragons, Hydras, and Krakens and any other type of monster like those.”

So all the fantasy monsters from my world are real in this one, and they have monsters that can destroy continents?

“Wait… Dragons?”

“To be specific Ancient Dragons. They aren’t friendly or intelligent like the ones on the Dragon Continent. They focus more on primal instinct and destroy things to show dominance.”

“Alright thank you for clarifying.”

“Now finally… Z-Rank: very few monsters in this category have ever been seen. They are also known as the Regulus Monsters.”

Huh? The Regulus Monsters are… Z-Rank?

“These monsters have the power to destroy the world. They are sub-species of the original monsters that have increased intelligence and some form of unique skill. When they are born they are probably at least B-Rank and then they evolve into the inevitable Z-Rank. Almost none have ever been seen though. The only recorded records are from one hundred twenty years in the past. This world was on the verge of destruction, but before the monster finished it was killed by the Demon King.”

“Interesting…”

A Demon King? I have to be careful of that… 

“Yeah, right? I hope we never have to see a Z-Rank monster in our lifetimes though. Especially since that hero has long since died.” He said hopefully.

“Hahaha-“

The Demon King is dead?! Well the continent itself is probably still dangerous… and if one could do it… surely another could. Wait, he was a hero?

Also I can never tell him I’m a Regulus Slime… never. As another thing… he mentioned that Regulus monsters have a unique skill… so that means mine is [Variant Break] right?

“I have a quick question for you though Percide…”

“Hmm…?”

“Why does your left eye have this weird insignia engraved on it?”

Shit. That part didn’t change?! That fucking ‘01’ is still there…?

I touched under my left eye.

“I do?”

“Yes, it’s a yellow-gold-like color…”

“Uh- sorry I’m not sure why that’s there…”

“No problem sir, I was just curious.”

I learned a bit more about this world before the Captain left.

“I need to get stronger~”

||FORM SHIFT||

“It’s about time I start grinding magic again.”

I can communicate now so I should learn magic properly instead of attempting to learn on my own.

“Let’s try asking Esther!”

No. This isn’t just an excuse to see her, since she’s the only person I know.

“Ah-”

“How do I contact her?”

Well I’ll just walk around for now…

I snuck out to the terrace and began walking around town.

Hmm…

Clothing shop…

Restaurants, blacksmiths…

Guild…

Guild?

I read the sign on the building.

“Guild of the Impudent…”

So Guild of the… Disrespectful?

That’s… one hell of an attractive name…

“It doesn’t hurt to check out.”

I opened the guild’s door.

Everyone inside turned their eyes toward me.

There were all types of people inside; women who looked like mages, ripped men who almost resembled bandits, people in cloaks, people covered in shiny armor…

One of the bandit-looking guys got up.

“Hey. I don’t recognize you.”

“That’s because this is my first time coming here.” I spoke calmly.

“Hahahaha!”

“Well since you're new, how about paying your admission fee?”

I looked at him with a straight face.

“Admission… fee?”

“There he goes again…” whispered one of the female mages.

“Are you going to pay?” He said angrily.

He slammed his fist on the wooden table next to him.

I glared at him.

Well ‘Impudent’ really did match these people…

“Do… you want to die?”

My irises started glowing a little, the red becoming more vivid.

If he wasn’t pissed off already. He clearly was now.

“You good-for-nothing!”

He thrust his hand at me.

I sidestepped.

“I guess that was a… yes?”

I lifted my elbow and slammed it into his arm, shattering his bones.

“AAAARGHHHH! M-MY ARM!” He screamed in agony as he tried holding it.

“We aren’t done.”

I grabbed his throat and slowly began to squeeze it.

“Kek… ga…” 

Everyone in the guild had eyes filled with horror.

My eyes had a deep red glow now. They were filled with a brutal killing aura as my hand squeezed tighter.

“Cyn?” Said a sweet voice.

I turned around.

“Esther?”

…

She only looked at what I was doing. I could feel the disappointment in her eyes.

I let go of the guy dropping him to the floor and swiftly went to hug her.

She put her hand on my head stopping me.

“Hey.”

“I can’t help myself~”

Her face was turning a light pink. 

Everyone in the guild was shocked at the scene before them.

“H-he’s with the Mage Empress?!” Said a random guy.

“Huh? Mage Empress?”

“Yeah.”

“P…perfect!” I exclaimed.

I pushed harder, making her arm give out, my arms wrapping around her tightly.

“Hey knock it off!”

She angrily hit my head with her fist…

It kind of hurt.

⊰───────•✦•───────⊱⊰───────•✦•───────⊱⊰───────•✦•───────⊱

Esther took me to the guild receptionist so I could get registered. 

“Hey mister! Would you like to register?”

“Uh yeah I guess…”

The guild receptionist took this brown card out and placed it on the counter.

“Alright, place your hand on this card and pour a bit of mana into it.”

I placed my hand on the card. It immediately shifted from a dull brown color to a sleek black color, with a red line going across the top.

||NOTICE: Guild Registration Complete!||

||WARNING: Limiting data transfer…||

The details slowly filled out. The main things like my name, rank, and level were displayed on the physical card. The rest was on this holographic type of display similar to my status window. I wish tech like this was available to me back on Earth…

————————————

Name: Cynical

Species: ???

[F-Rank]

Level: 18

————————————

[Titles]

‘???’

‘???’

‘???’

‘Magician’s Crusade’

‘???’

————————————

[Stat Points]

Strength: 192

Speed: ???

Perception: ???

???: ???

Mana: 35

Intelligence: ???

Wisdom: ???

Luck: ???

————————————

[Skills]

||Passive:||

-???

-???

-???

-???

||Active:||

-???

-???

-???

-Storage, Lvl 1;

-Sword Bolt, Lvl 4;

-Fireball, Lvl 5;

-???

-???

————————————

“Why is almost everything blurred out? Oh! You have the [Storage] skill! Plus your strength is almost two hundred?!”

The guild receptionist was kind of in shock.

I’m so happy that almost everything is blurred out. If they found out I was a Regulus monster they would have tried killing me on the spot…

Not like they can though~ for an adventurers’ guild… everyone here seemed surprisingly weak.

The guild receptionist turned around and did this sort of 3D scan on my card before handing it back to me.

“So… am I all set?”

“Ah, yes. Also you’ll be starting at F-Rank until you complete some commissions.” 

“Uh okay?”

“Yay! You're an adventurer now!” Esther said excitedly.

“Oh, Esther?” 

“Yes~?”

“Could you help me with magic?”

“That’s all?” 

“Yeah, I only know one spell and was hoping to learn more.”

“Well of course I’d help.” She said cheerfully.

⊰───────•✦•───────⊱⊰───────•✦•───────⊱⊰───────•✦•───────⊱

We moved to an open field just outside of town.

“Alright, so the first thing you're going to have to do is channel your mana.”

…

I looked at my hands. Then at her.

“How…?”

“Huh?”

“You said you know a spell though?” 

“Well… yeah I do…”

“Show me.”

||FIREBALL; MODIFICATION, PURPLE FLAMES OF HELL||

The purple fireball glistened in my hand, as the cyan sigil circled on the back of my hand.

I changed my positioning and began to accelerate the fireball.

“W-wh-what… It’s purple?!”

I threw the fireball making a direct path through the trees. Leaving behind only a bit of the purple flames.

“See?”

“H-how did you…?” 

“Huh? I have a skill.”

“A skill?”

“It’s called [Spell Creation] and I made the fireball after visualizing one, but it came out purple…”

“You can make spells on top of that there was no incantation?!” She shouted.

“Well kind of… that’s why I needed help.”

She sighed.

“I’ll help on two conditions.”

“The first condition is that you make me a few spells.”

“Uh… I can try?” 

“And the second condition is…”

I looked at her confused.

“To go out to eat with me again…” she muttered.

I zoned out for a second before realizing what she asked.

“O-of course… and this time will be more fun since we can talk to each other.”

“Yeah…” Her face was turning a little pink.

“Esther, this might be a bit rude to ask, but why do you stay around me?”

She looked down for a second…

“You helped me, which might seem like a lame answer. However, elves don’t really have the best reputation…?”

“Elves don’t? Also… you're strong right? Everyone in the guild seemed to know you… So thinking back… why couldn’t you take down the thief?”

Esther blushed.

“My-... uh… My magic is a little too destructive to use in a town. Especially with people everywhere.”

Well that kind of answered my questions, but elves don’t have a good reputation? What happened for something like that to occur…? Ah- she looks a little down now, I’ll just ask later.

⊰───────•✦•───────⊱⊰───────•✦•───────⊱⊰───────•✦•───────⊱

Esther then taught me the fundamentals of magic. She taught me mana flow and a simple method for visualizing spells, our thought processes differed quite a bit. Maybe because we’re from different worlds?

“Should we try it out now?”

“Yeah!” 

She had a lot of enthusiasm in her voice

I put my hand out.

||SPELL CREATION||

Magic gears were being assembled in front of me.

Let’s see~

The spell I want to make…

Protection…

So a shield?

Now I have to think of the details…

So a multilayered dome with hexagonal shapes for the plates that make it. Let’s put some extra detailed pieces around the edges of the hexagons, this will serve as extra protection and will look better. Plus this… and this-

As I thought of the parts, gears were created and I clicked them together.

I punched the gears causing them to shatter, then they began shifting and rebuilt into magic circles around my right arm. A sigil forming in my palm.

“HEAVEN’S BARRIER!” I yelled.

I felt the amount of mana I had instantly drop. A yellow-gold dome started forming around us. The hexagonal plates connecting… it had a special glimmer to it.

“So… beautiful…”

Esther’s eyes sparkled as she looked at the barrier.

I closed my eyes for a second.

…

That’s where I made my mistake…