Reincarnated in the Magical Realm

Chapter 2

In the year 566 of the calendar, Angelina turned ten. It was in that winter, under the brilliant winter sun, that her physically weak mother departed from this world. On the day of erecting the tombstone, there was no rain. Angelina, holding a bunch of pure white transcendence flowers, placed them on the gravestone as a final farewell to her mother, Fiona Lilith, a Level Six Mage of the Escadian Empire.

Five years prior, Angelina's "No Affinity for Magic" report had reached Fiona. Upon seeing the results, Fiona, whose face was already lacking in color, turned even paler. However, she quickly noticed Angelina clutching her own skirt, wearing an uneasy expression. The faint look of disappointment on Fiona's face was swiftly concealed.

Fiona, as usual, affectionately touched Angelina's head and kissed her soft cheek, "There will be other opportunities..." She whispered gently, as if comforting not just Angelina but also herself.

On the return journey in the carriage, Fiona held Angelina in silence for nearly half an hour. Then, facing Angelina's puzzled gaze, she informed her of the decision to "move away" the next day.

Angelina couldn't recall the scenes during the relocation. Despite the already sparse belongings in the desolate castle, that night was brightly lit with bustling activity. Angelina sat blankly on the bed, watching Fiona's busy figure. Eventually, she drifted into an uneasy sleep.

When she woke up, she was already on a magical carriage leaving the town of Odyssey. Fiona was the only one by her side, and the old steward who had been with them for five years was nowhere to be seen.

The second five years of Angelina's life were spent in the small city of Kuslang on the western border of the Escadian Empire. This was Fiona's hometown.

Kuslang was one of the many unknown towns in the Escadian Empire. It belonged to the territory of Countess Lilith—Fiona's relatives. Here, commoners, knights, and mages lived together. Although there was a local adventurer's guild, its achievements were ordinary, and its reputation was not prominent, making it a moderately significant place in the Escadian Empire.

However, even after living for five years in Fiona's hometown, Angelina never encountered any of her mother's relatives. The two lived together in an attic with three floors: the first for daily activities, the second for bedrooms, and the third a small study.

During this period, Fiona, shedding her usual image of bedridden weakness, put in extra effort to sustain their lives. She often went to the adventurer's guild during the day to take on tasks and earn extra income, teaching Angelina to read and write in the evenings. Occasionally, Fiona would be absent for three or four days, during which a temporary neighbor would take care of Angelina's needs.

In these five years, Angelina's range of activities was no longer confined to the empty castle. Like any other ordinary children in the small city, Angelina could freely play on the streets. Finally having normal peers, Angelina made friends with common children, and though she had no chance to enter an academy, she received some education in private lessons offered by adventurers.

After moving to this small city, Fiona expressed her determination to focus on Angelina's physical fitness and other knowledge. She tactfully rejected Angelina's requests for magical theory lessons but did not prevent Angelina from spending a considerable amount of time studying magical knowledge from books.

After teaching Angelina the basics of literacy, Fiona also added guidance on ancient languages, elvish, and even dragon language within her permitted range. This made Angelina's daily study content quite rich. Thanks to Fiona's approval, Angelina's impulsive nature gradually restrained.

Thus, in terms of knowledge, apart from the literacy basics designated by Fiona, Angelina, based on her own preferences within Fiona's permitted range, perused numerous books in the small attic library. Additionally, through private lessons with adventurers, she accumulated a variety of miscellaneous knowledge and experiences.

The Escadian Empire is the only human-sovereign state on the current continent, a class-based empire.

People with noble status can enjoy superior educational resources and privileges. Peasants serving nobles can also qualify for admission to academies. However, commoners can only gain eligibility for academy admission by accumulating wealth and participating in the adventurer guild's identification exam, which costs ten gold coins. After identifying magical potential or warrior potential and obtaining the corresponding certificate, they qualify for academy enrollment.

Generally, commoners who manage to graduate from the academy have the opportunity to secure positions serving under nobles. Exceptional graduates may even receive noble titles bestowed by His Royal Highness the King.

Fiona had limited time to educate Angelina. As a Level Six Mage in the empire, she registered for tasks at the adventurer's guild and also served as a magical instructor at the Escadian Third Academy, which was two cities away from Kuslang.

In Angelina's vague memories before the age of five, Fiona was a sickly Sleeping Beauty. However, in the following five years, her mother transformed into a tirelessly busy person, denying the accelerated deterioration of her health due to excessive exertion until her final moments. Angelina, stubbornly, attributed her mother's accelerated decline to being burdened by her, preventing her from enjoying the final moments of life.

On a day that marked the first clear sky after three days of continuous snowfall, Fiona, lying on the bed unable to move, suddenly regained a lot of spirit. Angelina remembered that day well; her mother spoke a lot, arranged many things, but in the end, she didn't reveal the reasons for the hurried relocation.

Memories are always susceptible to the erosion of time. Angelina could hardly recall her mother's expression when she left. Only the temperature of the magic stone necklace that Fiona handed to her five years ago, taken away when leaving the palace, was deeply imprinted in her heart.

The necklace was warm; her mother's hands were cold.

The funeral was arranged by the Kuslang church, and it seemed that Fiona had prearranged everything, keeping the ceremony simple. Fiona had prepared Angelina's future.

Books and valuable possessions from the attic were stored in the magic stone's storage space, leaving Angelina with only a notebook. It mentioned that a friend carrying a token would come to take Angelina away a month after her departure, becoming her new guardian. The notebook emphasized once again that Angelina would change her last name to Lilith in the future.

The once vibrant necklace, which Fiona had tucked into Angelina's hands, now grey and sealed by magic, was placed into the magic stone together. Considering Angelina's lack of magical output, Fiona set a restriction: "Only Angelina's blood and her will can open it, and the amount of blood determines the size of the available storage space."

During the one-month period of independent living, awaiting her mother's friend, Aunt Maria continued to take care of Angelina's daily life as usual. This often created the illusion in Angelina that "Fiona had taken on another long adventure task and couldn't come home temporarily."

Her daily routine seemed unchanged: leaving early, attending classes with friends everywhere; returning home in the evening, taking the dinner left by Aunt Maria at the doorstep, going to the attic on the third floor, reading the newly discovered beginner's guide to magic while eating.

However, some subtle differences emerged: her friends who usually played together would unconsciously observe her facial expressions and often insert some funny and laughter-inducing anecdotes. Aunt Maria added a bottle of fresh milk to the basket, on top of the usual two freshly baked soft loaves of bread. A vase of transcendence flowers, claimed to never wither, was placed at the bedside in the bedroom.

Except for the nighttime, Angelina felt that she could face life naturally now. Each night seemed longer than the day, and Angelina, with her eyes open, had spent several nights counting the stars. Finally, she resisted the pessimistic emotions that had been consuming her.

In these moments of clear-headedness, she should focus on contemplating meaningful things. Angelina pricked her fingertip with a needle and smeared a drop of blood on the dusty magic stone hidden in her clothes.

The storage space within the magic stone still contained many precious books originally stored in the attic. After a few days of experimentation, Angelina had grasped the approximate rules of the blood-sealing. A drop of blood from her fingertip allowed her to control the space to retrieve one book.

The blood drop on the magic stone instantly illuminated a small magic array. Angelina could take the opportunity to glimpse a corner of the iceberg within the magic stone's space.

On the first night after Fiona's burial, Angelina used the blood from her fingertip to see the interior space of the magic stone: an endless white area filled with all sorts of strange items. Inside, there was some basic categorization, with similar items stacked together.

Angelina successfully retrieved a book called "Origin of Magic" after experimenting. It was the first encounter with magic for Angelina after being determined to be without magic affinity.

Magic, this special ability, could only be used by species with special bodies that could store and transform magical elemental properties. Magic elements were based on the five elements: gold, wood, water, fire, and earth, but there were also other rare and special elements.

The first requirement to become a magician was to possess a body capable of storing a certain element, showing an affinity during detection. The second requirement was the comprehension and mental power to convert stored elements into magic, demonstrated through potential and spiritual values during detection.

Although there was no specific basis, Angelina was sure that the shining of the magic affinity stone proved her innate ability to store magical elements.

Angelina had presented the evidence she found to her mother, hoping that Fiona, as a high-level mage, could see her magical potential and guide her onto the path of becoming a mage. Unfortunately, she was gently rejected by Fiona every time.

Fiona would patiently listen to Angelina's lengthy speeches, then pat her head, expressing belief in a vague vision of Angelina becoming a source of family pride. Now, in times of distress, there was no gentle hand patting her head. Angelina could only pat her own forehead, hoping to spark a moment of inspiration.