Ordeal of the Worst Magician

    I am Nakamon Reno. A proud otaku and sci-fi enthusiast. I have watched, read, played and collected every sci-fi genre entertainment my money can afford. I posted theories about sci-fi stuff online like how light sabers work and how can we make a spaceship even with a limited resource here on earth. In truth, I am a loner, useless virgin, and a shut-in who was kicked out of my parent’s home and now living in an apartment working as an online accountant for a foreign company.     But today, everything will change because I am about to meet my first girlfriend. We met at on an online game I devoted myself to play. Her name is Akito Naomi and we had fun time partying together and talked about personal stuff. Last month, I asked her out and I was surprised she said yes. Today is the day I stepped out of my apartment and I am now waiting in front of the arcade for my first date with her.     Ever since I found out she is a girl, I started fantasizing about her. How would I look in front of her? what clothes do I need to wear and is my body fit enough for her? My insecurity grew the more I think about it so I started my strict diet and change my wardrobe. Right now, my well-maintained black hair is crowning my flawless face. My black coat and pants were complimented by my white scarf and t-shirt. In short… I look like a normie.      As I gaze at my surroundings, I found her waving at me at a distance. She wore her blouse and skirt with grace. I stood still as I watch her walk near me. She has a suit case with her.     "Did I made you wait long?"     She asked as she leans forward looking at my face from below. From this view I can see her adoring features as if she is seducing me. I paused for a moment as I engrave this view into my memory.     "Ah... No. I just got here myself. Should we head to the convention?"     "Y... Yes! I need to do make up and wear the costume so we better go early."     The awkward tension fills the air as we walk towards the venue. The number of people also increases. Groups of people are starting to crowd the sidewalk and it's becoming harder and harder to walk through.      "Let me handle that case. Its harder to move with the people around."     She nods and hands me over her suitcase. We then proceeded to go near the venue.      People are taking pictures with the cosplayers and others are grouped up talking about their interest. A group of cosplayers decided to do a reenactment of a scene which accumulated a huge crowd blocking our path. We decided to move around them by walking beside the road barrier. As we walk around them, people started chanting to build up the hype of the performance.      One cosplayer tumbled to the crowd after failing her somersault. The crowd was backed by the cosplayer and pushed people around. As the crowd tried to reform however, Naomi got knocked over the barrier and fell flat down on the road. I immediately jumped over to her rescue when we heard a loud horn quickly approaching us. It was a truck.     My vision went black. I can't see anything but my consciousness is still up. I slowly gain some sense of touch. I can feel the wind blowing. Then I can hear the rustling grass. I can smell them even. The smell of raw nature free of smoke. It feels like I died and I am currently in a place people call heaven. Finally, I opened my eyes.     I am under a tree. Around me are plants that I don't recognize. some flowers even glow even with the sun shining. In a distance, I can see what seems to be a small old school farming village. Looking at it closely, it looks like a medieval village with wagons and horses as their main transportation. I then noticed that my body is that of a black haired child around the age of ten.     After much thought and deduction, I assume that I died and  was reborn in another world. Figuring out more of the situation I am currently in, a blonde girl is running towards me calling me Laurence.      "Laurence! Mother has been looking for you! Come home immediately!"     I stood up and ran towards her.      "Laurence! Don't you go out for too long we don't know what will happen to you specially with your condition! And don't go too far the house."     I don't know how but it seems that this world's language is similar to ours. That or I have something that translate their language automatically like some game.      We pass the farm and town as the people greet and wave at use. Their actions shows respect to indicate that I am part of a noble family of this town. Their outfit are medieval like and their houses are simple. The night slowly falls as we reach the huge house.     A blonde woman awaits us as we enter the door. She Looks angry while maintaining a flawless face.   "Laurence! Where have you been?! We are worried sick! Go wash your hands before the dinner gets cold. Thank you for finding her Lucia."     I noticed that the house has quite an advancement in terms of household structures. There are skinks, meaning plumbing system are present but there is this marble that shines whenever I open the faucet. There's also light bulbs that shines bright but I don't see any electric cables around. Have they developed some sort of energy converter that convert other energy into light? Or are they using solar energy and has batteries somewhere? I have so many questions about the mechanisms around the house. Even though the houses are old, they seem to have quite the technology.     I need to get to the bottom of this. But first, I need to eat dinner.      Sitting at the dinner table are Lucia, the blonde woman, and a black haired man. I assume that he is my father due to him also having black hair. The table is filled with food fit for four people.     "Laurence... Where have you been?"     The black haired man asked me.     "I found Laurence at the mana tree pass the farm. He doesn't seem to do anything that could harm himself. He is just laying on the grass."     Lucia explained to father. I continued to eat but the word "mana" sounds familiar.     "Still something might happen to Laurence anytime. His body has can't handle mana and you know that!"     With the tone of the blonde woman, she must be the mother. This piece together some puzzles.      "I'm sorry I won't do it again..."     I apologized. It so just hits me that what if Laurence actually died on that tree and I took over his body. I hated to admit this illogical hypothesis but it's the only possible case to explain happened.     "Be careful next time or we won't let you go out anymore."     Mother warned me before finishing dinner.      "Wash your faces and go to sleep."     Mother ordered after we finished eating dinner.     After washing my face, I am now faced with a problem. I don't know where my room is. I need to think of a way to find it. It so happens that Lucia is walking upstairs. I think if I annoyed her enough she will point me to my room. I followed her and stared her down while she is entering her room. "Don't you dare come in here! that is your room!"     My annoying tactic worked on her like a charm. My room looks pretty simple. There's only a bed and a study area, three books, and a wardrobe.     I walked to the window and looked at the town. It's surprisingly Lit without any electric sources around. This level of light is not from a candle but a light bulb. I am quite intrigued but as the night falls deeper, I am becoming more sleepy so I laid on the bed and closed my eyes.        After a few days of studies and observation about this world, I found out that this is indeed the world of magic. Not only that, my family are nobles who manages this village, providing medical support and organizes funerals. The Devout household are known to service souls through out life.     My father, Nathos Devout, used to be a necromancer. Now he organizes funerals and yearly rituals to honor the dead. People sometimes wish for him to use his necromancy to their dead love ones to give their parting words before sending them to their graves.      My mother's name is Agatha Devout. She on the other hand, is a great cleric. Her reputation is well known through out the land. Other nobles visit our village just to seek her abilities as a healer. The surname Devout is my mother's surname. They had to use the surname because of my father's past.      Lucia is my elder sister. She has a lively nature and has affinity for healing magic just like our mother. She often assist mother whenever there are patients. Everyone adores and respect her. She is very protective to me though.     I also learned that when I was few months old, I was involved in a mana burst accident resulting for my body to be prone to mana poisoning. This signify that Laurence did actually die under that mana tree and I took over his body. I on the other hand, Don't show any signs of mana poisoning. Mother told me that I am slowly getting better.       The concept of mana in this world is different from the RPG games. Mana in this world doesn't reside inside a person but its filling the air. Some are gifted to harness the mana and convert it into the element they are born with. Mana poisoning occurs if a person pushed oneself to convert mana beyond their capabilities. That's why Lucia gets dizzy when she helps mother. To enhance the affinity in the use of mana, one must adjust with the frequent yet moderate exposure to mana conversion.     The marbles on the light bulbs and faucets are mana converters. It is a convenient tool for people's daily lives. Even so, the its quite expensive so people uses it sparingly. These can be made through alchemy. This contradicts my beliefs as a science enthusiast. This world relies on magic too much.     My father has a collection of magic books. I can't cast any spells even after testing the spells written . I feel kind of frustrated not being able to cast magic even though I got reborn in this world. It maybe because I suffered from mana poisoning. Still, the theories and practices in these books are no different from science. I read them occasionally and try the spells written inside. Maybe one of these days I awaken my magic affinity. It would be cool if I have affinity for electric or fire magic.     One day, as I am strolling around the village, a group of men arrived to the town with a wagon filled with dead bodies. Grief are shown in the villager's faces. The men were drafted by the kingdom to assist on the thing they call "the seventy two calamities". According to the gossips, it was the demon Agares that delivered the calamity.      I rushed to check out what is happening at the square and saw father all over the place. he is busy preparing for the final words that the families requested to have. Each corpse that the families requested to talk to are placed inside a coffin.      "Laurence... will you give me a hand?"     I nodded to father's words. He handed to me a crystal orb.     "Follow me. Place this crystal on top of the coffin and stand back until its over. Make sure you toughen up to what you're about to see."     I followed father and solemnly greeted the first families. He told me to place the orb on top of the coffin. As I place the crystal orb, it turned dark. Father and the family were surprised.     "It... can't be..."     Father immediately took the crystal orb off my hand and the family opened the coffin. Inside, soil can be found but no body in sight. Everyone are confused about what happened and the room froze for a few seconds.     "Thank you... He wants to help us even after death."     The father of the corpse said in a calm manner. Everyone were astonished about his response. He shook my hand and collected the soil. I felt guilty for not knowing what happened. The other families requested me to do the same on their diseased member. But before we continue, father requested the families to follow him and told me to wait where I am.      They came back after I heard the families voice themselves to insist me doing it. My father's eyes are filled with reluctance while the families are filled with determination.     I was assisted by my father in turning the corpses inside the coffins into soil. After a few body, my body feels weak. A man stepped forward after we finished the rituals.     "I am Norman Oak. The chief of this farm village. On behalf of the villagers we thank you. If you are willing to accept, We bestow you, Laurence Devout, the title of Undertaker of the land."     My father patted my back and nodded at me. As if he is telling me to accept it with honor. I nodded and smiled in acceptance. At a very young age, I am assigned to be a grave digger.     I am still confused about what happened and I still don't know what kind of magic did I use. I am still stoked about the fact that I can use magic. Thus, my deed made its way to the dinner table.     "Agatha... It's a miracle! Laurence was able to use magic. The crystal orb turned dark and the diseased turned into soil. The villagers insisted on doing the same to everyone."     Father bragged to Mother. Both her and Lucia were shocked after hearing my deed.     "Really?! That does mean Laurence is cured? What is his magic?"     Lucia became excited and asked a lot of question.     "From the reaction of the orb and how his magic affected a body, I say a variety of life and dark magic. He might be a necromancer too."     Father bragged proudly.     "Dear... Let us not talk about death while having dinner. I am glad about the news and I want to hear about it later."     Mother called out father about the matter. The conversation was shifted from the rituals into political matter. We finished dinner.       I went ahead to my room but Lucia stopped me midway. She has a grin on her face.     "Laurence, Tell me what happened! I want to know!"     I let her in my room and told her the details of what happened and what I think why it happened. She listened carefully to my explanations. I made it easy to understand too. While I am about to end my long talk, I noticed that she fell asleep. I gave up a sigh and moved her over my bed. Mother opened the door and saw me putting a blanket on Lucia.     "Laurence, we need to..."     Mother paused and gestured at me to come out of the room. I quietly went out of my room. and followed mother to father's library. There, father awaits. He holds a book that is bound with a strap with runic symbols.     "Laurence... How are you feeling?"     Father asked with a serious tone.     "I feel fine now. I'm still confused what my magic is."     Mother placed her hand onto my shoulders. With a weary tone, she spoke.     "You'll know when you go to school."     "For now I will train your magic proficiency before you're in the right age. This book is your personalized grimoire. When your magic proficiency is well enough, Spells compatible to your magic will appear in here."     Father then hid the grimoire inside his drawer. He stood up and pats my head and smile. I yawned. Father laughed at me.     "Sorry for keeping you awake. You must be sleepy."     I left the library and returned to my room. I remember that Lucia is sleeping on my bed so I took some spare bed sheets and slept on the floor.      As I am sound asleep, I huge strike hits my body. It was heavy. Turns out Lucia fell onto me. The pain is unbearable yet I can't lift her up. I am lucky that its morning and mother always wakes me up. As expected, mother opened the door.     "Lucia, Laurence. It's time for breakfast. Wash..."     Mother saw Lucia on top of me. She picked her up and helped me stand up.     "Are you okay?"     "My stomach got hit... She just fell down on me... Thank you mother."     Lucia woke up while being held by mother. She immediately blushed and was put down.     "Why... am I in Laurence's room?"     "You fell asleep here so Laurence had to sleep on the floor and you fell on her."     Lucia's face became as red as it can get.      "Anyway, wash your faces and head downstairs. Don't keep the food waiting."     Mom then left my room. Lucia rushed out too. I followed them shortly after I recovered from the pain.     While washing my face, The water stopped pouring. The marble stopped shining. This might be because it was worn out. I asked for help and father came with a bucket of water.      "It must be that time huh... I hope the merchant will come soon."     This event gave me an idea as to what should we do about the water problem. This village is relying too much on magic marbles that it consumes a portion of the village's fortune. This is no different from earth where we pay for water even though its free and everyone needs it.