The world was falling apart. Maxwell lay on the ground in a ruined wasteland. He looked down at his body and saw that his arms and legs were gone. He was one of the strongest mages in history, but now he was dying.
A figure stood in front of him. It was so bright that it hurt to look at, but it was also dark enough to swallow everything. The figure lifted its arm and began to chant. Maxwell felt a chill go through his soul. He knew that spell. It was his own magic.
"Seriously? You are using my magic against me?" Maxwell said.
The entity had stolen his power and was now using it to kill him. After finishing the chant, the entity looked down at Maxwell. A cold sneer twisted its face.
"Weak" the entity muttered.
Maxwell felt a wave of anger and hopelessness. He had reached the peak of magic only to be called weak by a creature using his own spells. As the light grew to consume him, Maxwell's life flashed before his eyes. He remembered the first time he learned a spell. He remembered the long years of study and the moment he finally became an Archmage.
Then everything went black.
Maxwell was in a dark place where time seemed to stop. It was peaceful. He wanted to stay there and rest forever. But a sudden bright light appeared and pulled him away from the darkness.
"Wake up, you trash!"
Cold water slammed into Maxwell's face. He jolted up from a bed, gasping for air. He looked around and saw a youth standing over him with an empty bucket.
"How dare you!" Maxwell shouted. He was furious that someone would treat him this way.
The youth started laughing. He turned to the other boys in the room. "Haha! Guys, look at this. This trash actually dared to talk back to me!"
Maxwell looked at the arrogant youth. He decided to teach him a lesson he would never forget. He started to chant a spell in his mind, but nothing happened. He reached for his mana, but he felt nothing. His body was empty.
"What did you do to me?" Maxwell roared at the youth.
The youth shook his head. "Looks like this trash has finally gone mad. What are you talking about?"
The youth raised his fist to punch Maxwell, but a loud voice echoed from outside.
"All apprentices must gather in the training ground now!"
The youth gritted his teeth and glared at Maxwell. "You got lucky this time. But I will see you on the grounds. Don't you dare try to hide from me there."
The youth turned and ran outside with his friends. Maxwell sat on the bed, confused. His body felt small and weak.
"Lucian! Why would you mess with Vane like that?"
Another boy was looking at him with a worried face. Maxwell stared at him.
"Who are you?" Maxwell asked.
The room went silent. The boy looked terrified.
"Did Vane hit you too hard in the head yesterday?" the boy asked. "It's me, Leo."
"huh..."
....
Maxwell looked at Leo and tried to process the situation. "So you are saying I am Lucian Ironbound? The thirteenth son of House Ironbound?"
Leo nodded slowly. He looked like he wanted to run away or call for a doctor.
Maxwell continued. "And the guy who poured water on me is Vane Ironbound. The twelfth son of Ironbound."
"Yes," Leo whispered. "Are you feeling okay, Lucian? Did you hurt your head or something? You are acting really strange."
Maxwell did not hear him. He was lost in his own thoughts. He sat back on the hard mattress and stared at the stone wall. In his previous life as an Archmage, he had spent decades researching the soul. He had looked into reincarnation and the possibility of life after death. He had always come to the conclusion that it was impossible. He thought reincarnation was just a fantasy that fools used to believe in because they were afraid of disappearing.
Now he was the proof that he had been wrong. Reincarnation did exist. He had somehow crossed the boundary of death and entered a new vessel. But of all the families in the world, he had ended up in the Ironbound house, This was a family known for despising mages.
Maxwell tried to feel his mana. He looked deep inside himself for any sign of power. There was nothing.
"What did you do to me?" Maxwell had roared at Vane earlier.
Now he understood why Vane called him mad. Maxwell looked at his small, weak arms. He was in a house that hated mages, and he had no way to defend himself with magic.
"Did Vane hit you hard in the head yesterday?" Leo asked again. He seemed very scared for Maxwell.
Leo pulled Lucian and headed towards the training grounds.
On the way, Maxwell began to probe his new body. He used his knowledge of biology and energy flow to check his internal state. He found something shocking. Inside the body of Lucian were traces of poison. It was a slow acting toxin that had been sitting in his system.
After a while, they arrived at the training ground. Maxwell had no magic, but he could still sense the atmosphere. The area was filled with dense mana. The trainees around him were all much stronger than he was. One man stood at the very front, radiating power.
Maxwell pulled Leo aside. "What is going on?"
Leo looked at him as if he were crazy. "We are going to do the warmup before starting training. What else would we do?"
Maxwell looked at the man at the front again. "Who is that guy?"
Leo showed deep concern. "That is the lead instructor, Luke Ironbound. He is a Great Knight of the family. Lucian, you really did hit your head hard."
In his previous life, Maxwell had focused on magic, but he was not ignorant about knights. He knew they were beings whose bodies were weapons of mass destruction. Mages formed circles in their hearts to store mana. Knights were different. They distributed mana throughout their whole body. This made their body much stronger and more durable than any mage.
Luke Ironbound was a 4th star knight. That earned him the title of Great Knight.
He knew he was not really Lucian, but he had no choice. He had to accept living as this boy if he wanted to survive. As soon as Maxwell accepted the name Lucian in his mind, a wave of memories hit him.
He saw the life of the real Lucian. He was the 13th son of the Ironbound patriarch, but his mother was a commoner. Because of his birth, the elders of the family wanted to get rid of him. They only spared him because he carried the patriarch's blood. He was given no support and was bullied by everyone.
Lucian had been a strong child, but there was a limit to what he could take. Eventually, he decided to end his life. He had taken the poison himself. That was how Maxwell had ended up inhabiting the body.
Maxwell opened his eyes slowly. He felt a deep pity for the late Lucian. The boy was not welcomed anywhere in this world. This life reminded Maxwell of his own past. He had been an orphan who never knew if he would see the next day. They were both outsiders.
A loud voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Lucian! Why are you not focusing?"
The lead instructor, Luke, was staring directly at him. His eyes were sharp and cold.
"Come forward!"