Chapter 2: Azrael

“Azrael! It’s time for dinner!”

“Coming, Mama!”

At his mother's call, Azrael rushed out of his room. As he ran down the stairs, the fragrant smell of rabbit meat wafted through the air. His stomach churned with hunger as he dashed toward his mother’s smiling figure.

“Wow! Rabbit meat!”

“Hahaha, calm down, you little rascal.”

“Hoho, Azrael, you’re as energetic as always, huh?”

“Oh, Byrael, go clean up when you come in!”

“Haha, okay, okay, Azela~”

Azela scolded Byrael with a smile, having noticed that he had yet to clean. With a light smile, Byrael bent over and kissed her on the cheek before running off to wash up. As she shook her head in amazement, she laughed while watching Byrael head into the bathroom with eyes filled with love.

Byrael and Azela were Azrael’s parents in his new life. Byrael was a burly fellow who towered over others with his six-foot-six frame. He had long brown hair that reached his shoulders and a full beard. Though he seemed daunting at first, that notion quickly disappeared due to his jolly laugh and kind hazel eyes. At thirty years old, he was in his prime. At eighteen, he had joined the army and gained fame with his stellar swordsmanship and numerous battles. Many expected him to become a commander, but to everyone's surprise, he retired at twenty-six. The reason was the young lady by Azrael's side.

Azela was a very beautiful woman. At the age of twenty-six, she was a rare type of woman. Despite being raised in a noble family, she was kind and courteous to everyone, even peasants. His father had told him that she used to volunteer at clinics for those who couldn’t afford a hospital. Byrael had seen her there after returning from a campaign and immediately fallen in love.

After that, Byrael frequently visited the clinic to be with her. As they got to know each other, they quickly fell in love and were married within six months. Since her parents disapproved of the marriage, Azela had to leave her family home, and Byrael retired before they moved to the east.

For the past three years, they had raised him with the utmost love, always doting on him. Although their family couldn’t be considered rich, they were well-off because his father had been hired as a trainer for the Baron’s soldiers and even privately taught the Baron's son.

While they happily ate, Azrael made a promise in his heart once again.

‘Even though I wasn’t strong enough in my last life, I promise that in this one I will protect these two. Hmm… I’ve finally learned how to read fully now; I should start training tomorrow.’

The next morning, Azrael sneaked into his father’s study. He headed straight for the bookshelf. Unfortunately, his family only possessed a few books.

‘Well, books weren’t common in my previous life either.’

With that thought, he quickly found the book he wanted and pulled it out. As he set the book on his lap, the title printed in large letters was:

**Introduction to Mana**

Flipping the cover, he began reading to understand how magic worked in this world.

*Mana is the gift that the gods have given humanity. With mana, humans can perform miraculous feats, such as casting magic or exhibiting strength and speed that can rival some of the physically superior beasts. This has led to the creation of two occupations that defend humanity from demise: Warriors and Mages.*

*Warriors are people who strengthen their own bodies with mana. By allowing their mana to flow through their muscles constantly, warriors gain superhuman strength and agility. Their rank depends on their physical abilities, affinity percentage with their element, and the amount of mana they possess.*

*Mages are individuals who call upon the abilities of elementals. By pouring mana into their elemental, mages can cast spells related to their affiliated element. A mage's rank is determined by four factors: the amount of mana, affinity percentage with elements, purity of mana, and the rank of their elementals.*

*Warriors and Mages are divided into the following ranks:*

*Trainee*

*Apprentice*

*Knight/Wizard*

*King*

*Emperor*

*Hero*

*Saint*

*Demi-God*

*God*

*Each person is born with their elemental. Due to the long assimilation process between humans and elementals, one cannot know their affinity until the process is completed near the age of six. Similar to beasts, elementals are ranked as follows:*

*F*

*E*

*D*

*C*

*B*

*A*

*S*

*SS*

*SSS*

*There are also seven different elements that Warriors and Mages are categorized into by their elementals:*

*Fire*

*Water*

*Wind*

*Earth*

*Steel*

*Light*

*Dark*

*Most people have just one element. Those considered geniuses have two elements. The strongest magician and warrior of all time, Godar and Ryder, each had three elements.*

*As people reach higher ranks, they also tend to live longer. Demi-Humans are reported to live for thousands of years, not to mention those at the God level who gain immortality.*

*Mana capacity, however, is something a person is born with. No matter how much one trains, their mana cannot be increased. The only known method to increase a person’s mana capacity is by eating a beast’s core. By consuming a beast’s core, people experience an increase in physical ability and mana capacity. Naturally, the increase depends on the rank of the beast. A core from an E-ranked beast will not provide nearly as much of an increase as a core from an A-ranked beast.*

‘Ho… so that’s why I couldn’t use magic before,’ thought Azrael. Even though mana in his past world and the one he was now in worked similarly, there was a major difference: Elementals.

The concept of elementals intrigued Azrael. The idea of using an external source to conduct magic fascinated him.

‘Hm… I wonder what kind of element I have. Maybe I’ll be lucky and have more than one? Oh well, unfortunately, that’s not something I can find out until I turn six. I should focus on what I can currently do, which is to purify my mana.’

With that thought, Azrael began meditating every night in his room to purify his mana. Though it was a tiring process for such a young mind, he persisted with the motivation to become strong and protect his parents. Time passed slowly without his parents noticing. If they had seen him meditating, they would have been extremely shocked. The method of meditation was typically taught only to mages and warriors who had surpassed the King Rank by their kingdoms. Azrael, however, had already stumbled upon the method through his previous life. Gradually, the murky gray mana inside him became more distinct and purer.

During the day, Azrael pretended to be a normal child and told his parents he was going out to play. When he went out, he instead headed toward the open fields to run. Although Azrael was eager to begin training, he knew starting too early would harm his growth, so he bore with it and focused on running to improve his cardiovascular system.

When he first started, he could barely run a quarter mile. Even though his mind yearned for the times he could easily run fifty miles, he gritted his teeth and continued. As he persisted, the distance he could cover slowly increased—half a mile, one mile, two miles. And so, three years passed by.