I was just an ordinary sixteen-year-old high school student, living a normal daily life.
My grades weren't perfect, but they weren't bad either. I went to school, attended my classes, and then returned home.
After school, I played football with my friends. In the evenings, I watched anime, played computer games, and stayed up late.
Simple. Ordinary. Peaceful.
But everything… changed in a single night.
That day was no different from the others.
I came home, did my usual routine, sat down at my computer, and lost track of time.
I had been playing games for so long that I didn't even realize it was past midnight.
When I felt thirsty, I went downstairs to get some water.
But…
For some reason, I felt strange.
There was an unexplainable unease inside me.
"Maybe I stared at the screen for too long," I thought.
As I was going down the stairs, I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my chest.
My breathing became irregular.
My vision started to darken.
"What… is happening?"
I lost my balance.
I fell.
Everyone in the house was asleep. There was no one downstairs except me.
I wanted to shout.
"Help…"
But no sound came out.
I couldn't breathe.
It felt like my chest was being torn apart from the inside.
My heart… felt like it was stopping.
My vision went completely dark.
And I…
But…
My consciousness didn't completely disappear.
It was as if my mind was still functioning.
My thoughts echoed within the darkness.
There was no pain. No weight.
Instead… there was a strange lightness.
I felt… relieved.
"So this is what death feels like…" I thought.
I wasn't someone who believed much in life after death. To me, when something ceased to exist, it simply became nothing.
No heaven. No hell.
Just an endless void.
Soon, even my thoughts would probably fade away.
And I… would completely disappear.
But at that exact moment—
Transparent, blue-colored texts appeared before my eyes.
[System Activated]
[Soul Synchronization: 100%]
[Host: Lucius Valerius]
[Status: Resurrection Approved]
I whispered to myself:
"What… is this?"
Before I could fully understand what was happening, I started hearing distant sounds.
Crying.
It was coming from far away. Muffled, yet real.
"What is that…?"
Suddenly—
The darkness began to change.
The surroundings slowly started to brighten.
It was as if a black curtain was being pulled away.
Light… was tearing the darkness apart piece by piece.
And then—
I opened my eyes, as if waking up from sleep.
I was lying on the ground.
My vision was blurry.
I forced my eyes to move left and right. Everything looked distorted and shaky.
I blinked a few times.
This time… it was clearer.
I could see.
But my body… didn't feel like mine.
Even though I could feel it, moving it was difficult.
It was like trying to control a completely new machine.
After a while, I managed to slightly turn my head to the right.
And what I saw…
Was shocking.
Around twenty, maybe thirty people were sitting in front of me.
Some were crying.
Some were talking among themselves.
Others were staring directly at me.
I didn't recognize any of them.
"Who… are these people?"
I lifted my head a little more, trying to understand the situation.
I wanted to greet them.
"Hel—"
But the only thing that came out of my mouth was…
"…Hh…"
At that moment, the atmosphere in the room changed.
Some people screamed and stepped back.
Others jumped to their feet.
One of the women shouted loudly and fainted.
Chaos erupted.
Some people's hands… started to glow with light.
Before I could understand what was happening—
A middle-aged man rushed toward me.
And…
He hugged me.
As he held me, I slowly began to feel my body again.
He pressed me tightly against his chest.
I could hear his heartbeat.
Strong… yet trembling.
"He's alive… he's alive!" he cried out in tears.
At that moment, I realized the truth.
This was a funeral.
And I… was the one who was supposed to be dead.
I wanted this to be a joke.
But what I felt… didn't feel like a joke at all.
A month had passed since that incident.
Let me briefly summarize what happened.
After that night, for several days, doctors kept coming to check on me.
My pulse, my breathing, my reflexes… they examined everything.
In the end, they concluded that I was completely healthy.
Officially, I had become "a miracle who returned from death."
As time passed… Lucius's memories gradually became clearer in my mind.
The real name of this body was:
Lucius Valerius.
He was the same age as me. A sixteen-year-old boy.
Even though I still hadn't fully adjusted, I had been born into a powerful family in this world.
My father, Arieon Valerius, was one of the lords of the city of Sinka. He was thirty-seven years old.
My mother, Elara Valerius, was the daughter of another lord of Sinka, Aleric Vane. She was thirty-six.
I also had a younger sister—eight years old: Marcella.
We lived in a castle.
We had servants.
Wide gardens, training grounds, a private library…
In short… this wasn't a poor isekai beginning.
The city I lived in, Sinka, was part of the Kingdom of Luvonia, one of the human kingdoms.
This world was known as the Continent of Thidor.
Thidor consisted of four major regions:
The Human Kingdoms: Luvonia and Vandemar
The land of the elves: Elowen Forests
The dwarven nation: Khor Modan
And the most dangerous of all… the monster-infested Umbra Forests
When I learned that elves truly existed, a childish excitement rose within me.
In my previous life, elves had been my favorite race.
Sure… I knew they were a bit arrogant. But they were still elegant and fascinating.
But this wasn't an anime.
This world was real.
And here… blood truly flowed.
In this world, there were two types of power:
Physical strength — developed through training and discipline.
Magic — used by those who could control mana.
Mana was an invisible yet dense form of energy that existed within all things, both living and non-living.
In the air. In the earth. Even within our bodies.
Humans usually began to sense mana during adolescence.
After that, they would either be trained by private tutors or sent to academies.
The most prestigious magic academy in the Kingdom of Luvonia was:
Aethelgard Academy.
And I…
Before all of this, I had already been accepted as a student there.
But now, there was only one question:
As someone who had returned from death…
Could I really continue as if nothing had happened?
The magic system in this world was far more complex than I had imagined.
Basically, there were four main elements:
Water
Air
Fire
Earth
But beyond these, there were many sub-branches.
Healing magic.
Sand manipulation.
Plant control.
Ice.
Lightning.
Construction magic.
Shapeshifting…
The list went on and on.
However, it seemed that…
Lucius's affinity was not with one of the four main elements, but with a derivative of them:
Ice.
Cold.
Rigid.
Lonely.
Strangely enough… it suited him.
As Lucius's memories became clearer, I began to learn more about him.
He had just been accepted into Aethelgard Academy.
But his life there… had been anything but easy.
Despite coming from a noble family, his magical capacity was low.
His mana control was weak.
His spells were unstable.
And the academy… was not a place that forgave weakness.
Especially among nobles.
Bullying.
Mockery.
Humiliation.
Duel excuses used as a means to degrade him.
Lucius had endured all of this for months.
He hadn't told anyone.
Not his father.
Not his mother.
As I dug through his memories, a heavy feeling formed inside me.
But the worst part…
Was when I tried to remember the moment of his death.
My mind suddenly went dark.
And the only thing I saw was:
A swinging rope.
A body being strangled.
I didn't know all the details.
But I was almost certain of one thing.
This… wasn't an accident.
Bullying.
Shame.
Loneliness.
Lucius… probably couldn't endure it anymore.
And I—
Was the second chance that came after his end.
That's why I made my decision.
I wouldn't waste this second chance.
For my own life…
And for Lucius's unfinished story.
I would carry his memory not as a stain—but as strength.
At the same time, I wanted to explore this world.
The Continent of Thidor.
Magic.
Elves.
The academy.
Everything.
And for that, the first step was clear:
I had to return to school.
I decided to talk to my father and mother.
At first, they didn't like the idea at all.
For someone who had returned from death to go back to the academy so soon…
To them, it was madness.
But I didn't give up.
In the following days, I deliberately acted more active to show them that I was truly fine.
I went outside often.
I got fresh air.
I spent time with my family.
I even helped the workers in the castle garden.
I carried soil.
Stacked wood.
Took part in small repair tasks.
Honestly… it helped me too.
I was getting to know my body, measuring my limits, and gathering my thoughts.
Slowly, the worry on my family's faces began to fade.
Finally, my father let out a deep breath and spoke:
"If you truly believe you're ready… I won't stop you."
My mother was still worried, but there was pride in her eyes.
However, they set one condition.
Since I had fallen behind in my studies, I would have to start again as a first-year next year.
I paused for a moment.
Then I nodded.
This was actually an advantage.
One more year.
To prepare.
To observe.
And… to grow stronger.
That was everything that had happened during this one month.
And now…
A new chapter lay ahead of me.
As Lucius Valerius…
My second life was beginning.