Chapter 3: Reincarnated In Another World (2)

’What!? A scenario?’ Arthur thought. If his memory served him right, nothing like this happened in the game’s plot. Initially, the game through Arthur’s lens was meant to start on January 1 of the 567th year of the goddess Sylvia. That was three years before the academy began, and from his size, he was fairly certain that he was at least near the beginning of the story. The problem was, at the start of the game, Arthur’s family no longer existed and his clan had been destroyed. That was because a certain noble pedophilic Lady had fallen in love with Arthur and wanted his mother to give him to her. But when Arthur’s mother refused, she declared war on their territory, and since they were all injured from the mana beast horde attack they had been fending off at the northern border, it was relatively easy to defeat them, and Arthur became their pet. The only one later revealed to have survived the attack was his mother—Alica Arcain, the woman known as the Frost Knight of the northern border, and one of the world’s Elite-rank. She was also the fifth demon king from the five demon clans. Alica later died after discovering that Arthur had died in the original route of the game, the route most players took if they didn’t play as Arthur. This ending occurred after the elixir mission, so most people didn’t care about it. But Arthur—or rather Beom-seok—did. Arthur would die after one of the girls in the main protagonist’s harem set him up. He would be framed as a graper, and the protagonist, Kim Ha-joon, a reincarnator from ancient Korean times, would kill Arthur instantly without hearing his side of the story. However, things were different for Beom-seok. He had played as that same pitiful character, for the sake of praise from his girlfriend—and had learned things others didn’t know. The first fact was: Arthur Arcain wasn’t weak. He was much more than his pathetic ability Ultra Instinct suggested... in fact, that wasn’t even his true ability. And... there was a way to change Arthur’s fate. Though if he planned to escape the protagonist’s harem, he’d either have to kill the girl or the protagonist. For Arthur, he didn’t need to think too deeply about it... if someone tried to frame him, he had every right to eliminate them. All he needed was to increase his strength to a level where even the pathetic protagonist couldn’t stop him. His main issue wasn’t Arthur Arcain’s talent, but the fact that he had a severe illness that made him unable to use mana. That was why he formulated a different ability, something no one else could do. Thereby creating a more stable form of Zone, he also learned martial arts, and gained enough power to stand as an equal to most characters with A-rank talent. This time was going to be different because Beom-seok knew the future. He was a walking cheat code, and a virus to those who dared test him. It was probably because of Arthur Arcain’s memories, right? Because the moment he stepped into the room and locked eyes with his mother, who merely smiled at him, he felt warmth in his heart—and a sting. Alica Arcain, the Frost Knight of the North, and the most doting mother in the entire story, some would say in the entire world. She would do anything for her son. Even die for him. And Beom-seok couldn’t bear the weight of knowing that someone so gentle would eventually die. Except for her, the rest of the Pilament was made up of women. Yes, Arthur was the only male ever born in the history of an all-female demonic dragon clan. The clan was known for its beauty, its secrecy, and its rejection of men or outsiders in general. Arthur was a miracle. A child born from their world tree and his mother, the first ever male in the clan. Because of that, Arthur was loved by all, and he was extraordinarily beautiful for a man—even for a woman. Arthur ignored the system message and bowed slightly. "Arthur Arcain greets mother." Arthur had always been a gentle soul, that was how he was trained. He loved nature and he loved people. Most of all, he was a hero. Yeah... Beom-seok could be the first two. But a hero? Nah. He’d rather aura-farm as an antihero. There was no way in hell he’d go out of his way to save people. The world already had a hero... and he was a complete asshole. Alica, who sat at the edge of the round table, rose from her chair and spread her arms. "My baby!" She called out. Arthur glanced at her expression. ’Yeah... no way I’m dodging this hug, right?’ He tried not to curse and stepped forward to embrace his mother. She was just a bit taller than his small frame—about 170 cm—which made Arthur rethink his life. If this was how short his height genes were, did that mean he’d never become that six-foot king? He forced those thoughts away. There was no way he’d stay looking like a child forever. Though his appearance resembled a certain demon king with dragon blood he’d seen back on Earth, he had forgotten the name—all he remembered was that it had slime in it. Well, that wasn’t his concern. What bothered him wasn’t just the system notification, but the softness of his mother’s bosom. At least he wasn’t feeling anything. Still, it made him reconsider whether he had male organs or not. ’Need to confirm. But first, let’s play the sweet son.’ Arthur blinked and moved away from his mother, who acted like she wasn’t going to let him go. "Mommy..." he began, letting her expression shift into something more formal. She ran a hand through his hair. "What, dear?" Arthur smirked inwardly. ’First stage cleared... Why don’t people on Earth have mothers like this?’ Well, he wasn’t one to talk. His mom and dad had gone to get milk when he was two, and he hadn’t seen them since—so he was fairly inexperienced when it came to being someone’s child. "Can I ask you for something?" His mother nodded, cupping his face. He struggled to smile through her grip. "Can you give me an elixir?" "An elixir?" Elixirs in the world of Magic Academy’s Genius Scholars were refined forms of mana that had varying effects on the body. There were elixirs that could heal, and others that only supplied refined mana. In the original route of the story, when the Arcain family was destroyed, nearly all their elixirs had fallen into the hands of that noble family. And in Beom-seok’s first route, he managed to acquire some elixirs, that was when he discovered something incredible. Arthur Arcain’s body couldn’t handle mana—yes, but that only applied to the unrefined mana in the atmosphere. If the mana was already refined... Then Arthur became an absolute monster. The only other problem was that his body leaked mana, but that could be dealt with at a later time. Right now, he needed to find a way to get some elixirs. Because if his memory served him right, this was two weeks before the awakening ceremony, which was also the day of the attack. So even if the elixir’s mana was a one-time boost, it would be enough to protect himself during the awakening ceremony, which would allow his mother to fight the nobles without worrying about him. Alica didn’t shift her focus from him, then asked, "But baby, why do you need an elixir? You can’t even use mana or force yet." Arthur shook his head. "I know that, Mom. But as you may already know, certain nobles have been lurking near our borders." Alica frowned. But she didn’t question how he knew. Arthur continued, "And I have a feeling they’ll attack during my awakening ceremony, so..." Alica’s gaze softened. Then she grabbed him and lifted him up like he was some toddler. "My baby is all grown up." She spun him around. "How did you figure that much out from one eavesdrop?" Arthur raised a brow, then quickly adjusted his expression. "Yes, Mom, your son is a prodigy." His mother chuckled softly. ’It is kind of fun having a mother who believes everything you say... At least she didn’t go out to buy some milk.’