Chapter One: Life is but a first encounter

  Death is insignificant and brief.

  But death is also extremely long.

  Long enough to go back and revisit all the mistakes, sorrows, pains, and regrets of a lifetime.

  The sky was dyed with a thin ink, carrying the unique silence before dawn. Medici Aslexis sat on a mountain-like corpse, wearing a broken and tattered armor, holding a long sword that had already been broken, quietly waiting for the arrival of a new day's dawn.

  The three-day and three-night landing battle has ended, the enemy was counter-encircled under his clever tactical planning, with losses reaching tens of thousands, including three mobile fortresses stronger than giant dragons, while our side's sacrifices were less than ten thousand. Moreover, the gate to the Heavenly Realm also became unobstructed after this battle.

  Can be considered a brilliant victory?

  But for Middy, who won this victory with his own hands, it was just a daily landscape.

  And probably it's the last scenery.

  A rusty taste rising from the root of his tongue and a sense of emptiness that had thoroughly drained his vitality made him realize he was about to die.

  Neither fearful nor resistant, and even less regretful, Mi Di's eyes were slightly closed, extremely calm, waiting for the arrival of death.

  But gradually, thoughts became chaotic again.

  In the past, he was a high-ranking noble family, but unfortunately, due to the anomaly brought by the Great Transfer and the invasion of enemy countries, his family was destroyed overnight, and he could only start his wandering journey alone. He once had a reliable team, but with one battle after another, it eventually disintegrated.

  He had to watch his family being destroyed due to weakness, and lost victory because of arrogance. He also encountered various disasters, betrayals of varying degrees, and finally reached this point today at the cost of his life and physical pain.

  However, after today, he also had to stop his footsteps and sleep here for a long time.

  Finally, in Mide's mind, there emerged two women who were most important in his life.

  Fina, the "Queen of Magic Bullets", with her vibrant red hair and valiant appearance like a female warrior on the battlefield, single-handedly held off the enemy's siege for Middy, still maintaining her confident smile even in the final moments.

  That raven-haired, always icy "Fog Witch" Alice, who didn't hesitate to pay the price of her life to take on the terrible assassin's blow for Middy, and also passed on all her magical powers and knowledge to herself.

  But Mei Di couldn't protect them, and even herself, finally ending up in this state.

  Still not strong enough?

  Midi let out a deep sigh, death was near at hand, he felt that he could even feel the cold chill emanating from the scythe of the god of death.

  "If I could go back twenty years and start all over again..."

  With a final sigh, Medea's strength gave out and she closed her eyes.

  Then, die.

  In the year 1004 of the Arad calendar, Guts, the last member of the Band of the Hawk's Iron Triangle and known as the "Black Swordsman", fell silently on the battlefield in the heavens.

  But in the instant his heart stopped beating, the demon residing in his left hand seemed to let out a resentful roar, suddenly bursting forth with dazzling light.

  In an instant, the entire sky trembled.

  Midi walked alone, solitary in the darkness. The faint light source outlined his feet with strange and grotesque shadows, the wind howled from all directions filling the entire space, the street scene beside him was an impenetrable grey that sometimes repeated itself, but turned out to be completely different at a glance.

  Then, this lonely world suddenly surged with waves, and Mi Di, who was in the midst of it, seemed like a piece of wood chips in a huge whirlpool, powerless to resist this mysterious and powerful force, and could only follow the heavens and sink into the sea floor, buried in this vast graveyard.

  The next moment, the heavy black curtain shattered into thousands of pieces, and Midie opened his eyes.

  Along with the patter of rain and the crisp air of early winter, a grand hall filled with Victorian style unfolded before Midie's eyes.

  In the center of the hall stood a heavy-looking oak long table, with intricately crafted weapons adorning the walls on either side, and above the high-backed chair at the far end, the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Bellmard hung quietly, exuding an aura of unyielding majesty.

  Is there a country in hell too? Mei Di thought with some amusement and meaninglessness, but felt that the scene in front of her was familiar, with an extremely strong sense of familiarity, for a moment, yet couldn't think of anything.

  He subconsciously lifted his head and looked out of the window.

  There, millions of silver rain lines connected the sky and the earth together, beating on the densely packed rooftops, shrouding the entire city in a layer of mist. On the streets, boys and girls wearing uniforms walked forward with umbrellas, occasionally bursting into laughter and chatter, while in the distance, a towering bell tower stood proudly with its ancient and majestic body, overlooking all living things.

  This scene caused Meddy's memories, sealed deep within his heart, to begin stirring once more.

  The next instant, the deep and sonorous bell tolls from the clock tower struck his eardrums like a massive battering ram, shattering the last line of defense.

  This overly familiar voice finally made Midie recall - wasn't this Herton Mar?

  Isn't the place I'm in now the Bellmalle Royal Magic Academy?

  Twenty years ago, I was still training as a swordsman here, but before graduation, the large-scale anomaly and the Great Fire of Gran occurred, followed by the invasion from the Empire of Delos. These major events are unforgettable for Middy, even if he wants to forget them.

  And now, the streets are peaceful and serene, apparently nothing has happened yet.

  How could I possibly go back twenty years?

  Is this an illusion before death, or a labyrinth of hell?

  However, there was not much time left for Midie to think. Amidst the settling air and the patter of rain, a strong and powerful footsteps sound rang out, heading straight for the room where he was located.

  One footstep was heavy and slow, while the other was light and airy, even giving Midy a sense of a musical melody. When Midy turned around, the door to the room just happened to be open.

  "Sorry about that, Medei. I've kept you waiting." The first thing to catch his eye was a middle-aged man with an awkward smile.

  Midi tried to recall the person's name from his memories of his youth, but the next moment, he immediately forgot about it.

  From behind the middle-aged man, a girl emerged with strong, crisp and refreshing footsteps.

  Tall stature, slender legs, a beautiful face that is hard to believe, and... that head of bright red hair like the autumn foliage of Vermont.

  "Fina?" Middy took a dazed breath, subconsciously muttering the name that was engraved in the deepest part of his heart and would never be forgotten.

  The sound of the rain outside had disappeared, the voice of the middle-aged man had disappeared, and even his own heartbeat and breathing, Miti couldn't hear them at this moment. At this instant, he, who had always been a realist, suddenly discovered that people could really forget the passage of time.

  Consciousness, lost weight.

  However, the red-haired girl who was called by her first name instead of her surname closed her lips tightly at this moment and showed a displeased expression. Feeling the scorching gaze lingering on herself, she couldn't help but lower her face.

  "You all know, don't you? Next week is the annual trial of our academy." Sensing the strange atmosphere in the room, the middle-aged man hastily coughed a few times and intervened to mediate.

  "Students must form teams of four to head to designated areas to clean up and eliminate mutated monsters. Coincidentally, there are only three people on Fina's side, missing one member. And Middy has been solo for a while due to his leave, so I think this is a good opportunity. Plus, considering your professions, one being a swordsman and the other a magician, it's a reasonable match, I believe you two will definitely make great partners..."

  "Let's skip the pleasantries, I'll test his abilities personally." The girl cut off the middle-aged man's words in a very impolite manner, her furrowed eyebrows carrying a hint of undisguised anger. "Although he was forced on me, I won't make things difficult for him. But if he can't meet the general standards, I'd rather have a three-person team trial, isn't that fair, Principal Lin?"

  Faced with such a powerful inquiry that didn't seem to come from a student's mouth, Dean Lin De was completely unable to counterattack. He could only nod his head, casually find an excuse, and hastily leave the room, abandoning the two people.

  For Lind, the dean who was not really in charge of the academy but just a minor viscount, this was already his limit. However, with good intentions, he still couldn't help but want to give this noble young man who seemed to be still unclear about the situation some advice - never provoke the "Storm Queen" Fina Hamilton who was already ready to erupt.

  Before slamming the door shut, the principal threw Midy a sympathetic and apologetic glance.

  However, Meddy did not see any advice coming from the other side at all.

  Even if I see it, I won't mind.

  Suppressing the urge to rush forward and take the red-haired girl into his arms, Mide took a deep breath and extended his hand: "Hello, I'm Mide Aslexis. Nice to meet you."

  On a calm and peaceful winter morning, under the leaden gray sky, accompanied by the patter of raindrops, the two met again.