The First Step Toward a True Wizard**
The blue system screen hovered before Ethan, glowing with patient indifference. The choices remained unchanged:
[Retain Realm] — instant power.[Retain Technique] — the long-term foundation.
Ethan stared at the techniques list, each one etched in his mind like whispers from another life:
Ember Flow Breathing
Ashfield Barrier
Ember Shot
Heat Pulse
Flame Resonance (Passive)
Five skills. Five entire arts he had mastered across forty simulated years.Each one represented thousands of hours of meditation, pain, and growth… but now, he could keep them forever.
"I want the skills," Ethan said.
The system confirmed instantly:
[Reward Selected: Retain Technique]
Transferring techniques to host…Installing…Synchronizing with host mana pathways…Warning: Host body is mortal and untrained. Adjusting techniques for compatibility.
Ethan felt something change—subtle yet overwhelming.His breathing rhythm shifted.His mana channels stirred.His heartbeat synced with an invisible flame.
A hot, tingling sensation spread through his chest. Not painful—just unfamiliar.
The techniques weren't memories anymore.They were part of him.
His breathing naturally aligned to a slow, steady cadence—Ember Flow Breathing.His mana pulsed in waves—like he'd trained for decades.And deep within his soul, something faintly radiated warmth—Flame Resonance, the passive affinity-bond he had earned in the ruin.
He exhaled.
A puff of warm air burst from his lips, hotter than normal.Not magic yet… but close.
He was no longer starting from zero.
✨ Awakening as a Real Wizard
Ethan looked around the forest.The air seemed clearer somehow.Mana threads drifted through the world like floating golden dust.
He focused on one glowing strand.
His mind instinctively used the first technique.
Ember Flow Breathing activated.
His lungs expanded deeply.Fire-aspected mana slid into him like warm honey.
He gasped.Not because it hurt—But because it worked.
"I… can actually cultivate?"
The realization hit him hard.
He wasn't strong—without a realm, he was still weaker than the lowest apprentice.But his foundation was monstrous for someone who hadn't even started cultivating.
Every instinct, every method, every cycle was already perfected from decades of simulated experience.
This was the advantage of retaining technique over raw power.
He could build the strongest base imaginable… and rise higher than any normal wizard.
His lips curled into a grin.
✨ The First Practice
He moved to an open clearing. Leaves stirred around him, rustled by a gentle magical breeze.
Time to test the basics.
He pointed a finger at a nearby rock the size of a watermelon.
He concentrated.
Magic was unfamiliar in his real body, but the knowledge of how to shape it was crystal clear.
He drew a thin thread of fire mana with Ember Flow Breathing.Guided it down his arm.Compressed it at his fingertip.
A spark flickered.
It pulsed.
Ethan's eyes widened.
The world seemed to hold its breath.
"Ember Shot."
A bright orange spark shot from his fingertip and hit the rock with a soft pop, leaving a small scorch mark.
It wasn't powerful.It wasn't flashy.
But it was real magic.
Ethan's throat tightened with emotion.He wasn't dreaming.He wasn't imagining this.
He was a magician now.
Not powerful.Not even an apprentice.
But real.
✨ Understanding the World
He sat cross-legged, catching his breath. Casting even one spell exhausted him—his mana pool was tiny, barely enough for three or four Ember Shots.
But that didn't matter.
He had one massive advantage no one in this world possessed:
A system that let him train for decades in simulations…with no loss of time in the real world.
He checked his surroundings.The forest was peaceful, but he needed shelter, food, and a basic plan.
He opened the system interface:
[Simulation Cooldown: 7 Days]
Time remaining until next simulation:6 days, 23 hours, 54 minutes
A week.
Ethan's mind raced with possibilities.
If every simulation granted him decades of experience—If each run let him keep new techniques, affinities, or even bloodlines—And if he stacked them repeatedly…
In a year, he wouldn't just be a wizard.
He'd be a monster.
But surviving the week mattered first.
He needed to understand the world outside of the simulated Ashvale Slums.The forest seemed untouched, but distant smoke rising between trees suggested civilization wasn't far.
He tightened his fists.
"Alright. Step one: get my bearings."
He used Ashfield Barrier next.
A faint shimmer of translucent fire wrapped around him, barely visible unless the light hit it right.
The barrier was weak—thin and unstable—but it formed instantly, something even real apprentice wizards struggled with.
With his limited mana, it would break if a squirrel sneezed at him.
But again…
It was real magic.
Ethan felt light-headed and cancelled it. The mana drain was steep at his current level.
✨ First Contact
He began walking toward the faint smoke.
The forest gradually thinned, giving way to a dirt road. Carriage tracks ran through the mud, and footprints of various sizes followed alongside. Human ones.
Good.
It didn't take long before he heard voices—shouting, panicked.Ethan crouched behind a bush by instinct. His second life memory warned him—curiosity kills more often than ignorance.
Three men in leather armor rushed down the road, carrying crates. Bandits? Merchants? Hard to tell.
Behind them, a girl in a mage apprentice robe chased, panting heavily, holding a cracked wooden staff.
"Stop! Those belong to the guild!"
Yep. Bandits.
Ethan bit his lip.
His mind raced with calculations:
He had almost no mana.
Ember Shot was weak.
Ashfield Barrier could break if someone looked at it too hard.
Heat Pulse would drain him immediately.
He should run.He knew he should.
But then the girl tripped, falling face-first into the mud. The bandits laughed and stopped, circling around her.
Ethan's stomach twisted.
His simulated life had been full of moments like this—where no one helped him because he was weak.
He remembered their cruelty.He remembered the despair.
He clenched his fists.
"Not this time," he whispered.
He stepped out.
✨ The First Real Battle
The bandits turned.
One laughed. "Look boys. A lost kid."
Another spat. "Beat it unless you wanna join her."
Ethan swallowed hard.
This was stupid.Reckless.Dangerous.
But he raised his hand anyway.
The biggest bandit rolled his eyes.
"What's that supposed to—"
"Ember Shot."
The spark flew faster than the man could react.It struck his chest—not enough to injure, but enough to startle.
The man stumbled back."What the—!? He's a mage?!"
The girl in the mud stared in disbelief.
Ethan's heart thundered.He could only cast two more shots before collapsing.
But in a world where people feared magic, a little was enough.
The bandits hesitated, glancing at each other.
"Forget it. Not worth it," the leader growled.
They ran.
Ethan exhaled shakily.His legs trembled.He felt like collapsing.
The girl approached, wiping mud from her face.
"That was… brave. And stupid," she said. "But mostly brave."
Ethan smiled weakly.
"I'm new to this."
"Clearly." She offered him a hand. "I'm Lyra. Apprentice mage of Verdantbrook Village."
Ethan paused.
A village.Shelter.Food.Information.
Perfect.
He took her hand.
"Ethan," he said. "Just Ethan."
Lyra grinned.
"Well, Ethan-Just-Ethan, you're coming with me. The guild owes you a reward."
Ethan's system chimed softly in his mind, almost approvingly.
His journey had begun.