Rebirth System: Blood and Ash

Daylight filtered through Aric’s windows, casting a muted glow on the sparse, old furnishings. A tension hung in the air, as if chaos was impending.

In the middle of the room was Aric, hands pressed against the floor as he pushed himself upward, only to let himself down again and repeat. It had now been four days since his regression and the system’s daily subquest begun, and Aric had made sure to never miss a single day of his rigorous routine.

His body was still undoubtedly weak, and each session of training was grueling and painful, but he was gradually building strength. Although his nose still bled, he no longer fainted as much.

[Subquest Completed]

Following the prompt was also the voice of the system guide, who simply watched as Aric struggled.

"You have completed today’s exercise," she confirmed, echoing the panel’s words.

Aric collapsed onto the floor, his limbs feeling like they were on fire as he turned onto his back.

"So, was today faster?" Aric asked the guide, his body drenched in sweat.

"Yes, you completed the routine 15 minutes faster than yesterday," the guide confirmed, causing Aric to let out a small smile. He found satisfaction in his little progress.

’Today will be interesting, huh?’ Aric thought.

He couldn’t forget even if he wanted to—this day in his previous life had potentially altered his fate completely, and if things had gone differently, maybe he wouldn’t have had to live so miserably the last time.

Today was the day the Valerian Mage Academy would be touring the imperial city, but more than just a tour, this day held significant importance not just for the mages of the academy but for the princes as well.

Part of their tour was a stop at each of the princes’ estates, and the academy students would be given the opportunity to put on what was essentially a show for the princes. If impressed, a mage could be recruited by a prince and become a part of their respective houses.

His estate would be the first stop, and Aric needed to make sure he was prepared to give them a welcome befitting the forgotten prince.

Just then, a knock echoed through the room, interrupting Aric’s thoughts.

"What is it?" Aric beckoned, annoyance evident in his tone.

"A letter for you, Your Highness," the voice responded.

Aric sighed in relief. He had begun to second-guess whether his threats to the clerk had actually worked, but it seemed they did indeed.

Aric turned, pushing himself off the floor as he struggled to the door, his legs protesting with every step, burned out from the routine.

He cracked the door open a bit to see Alan, one of his new estate guards. He was the youngest of them and the most respectful of the lot, so Aric was assured the contents of the letter were unread.

"Thank you, Alan." Aric stretched out his hand to take the letters before retreating and closing the door behind him.

Aric walked over to his bed, sitting as he began to open the first of the three letters. He read the address of delivery and shook his head.

"I knew he wasn’t dumb enough to send them straight to the lord’s manor. If he had done that, no way the clerk would have agreed to send them to me," Aric mumbled to himself as he pulled out the first letter from its seal.

As he began to read, a smile spread across his face, one with a glint of mischief and excitement.

"Oh Darius, how much I want to see the look on your face when I’m done with you... its now as though that is my main drive, and the quest reward is just a bonus"

Aric closed the letter back up, not bothering to read the rest. He then began to scan around his room for a safe place to keep them, knowing that if they were stolen, it could be incredibly problematic for his plan.

"Where do I hide this?" Aric muttered aloud.

The system guide, silently watching from a distance as it always did, then glided toward Aric, who saw the familiar glint in her eyes and knew she was about to go into an explaining frenzy.

"The user has access to an inventory: this is a subspace that can store any item as long as it’s not a living being, and the user can retrieve said item at any time. To store an item, simply picture placing the item in the subspace."

Aric’s mouth dropped open in shock. It seemed as though each day this little floating lady opened her mouth, she spoke of one new blessing or another. He began to doubt how it was possible for him to be this lucky.

Aric stretched his hand as he imagined placing the letter into a subspace, and with nothing but a blue wisp, the letters vanished into thin air.

Aric spun around, looking to confirm that they had truly disappeared, and he could no longer see the letters.

He then reached out again, imagining retrieving the letters, and just like that, they appeared in his hand.

Aric’s face lit up with excitement, like a young child who had been shown magic for the first time.

His mind raced with so many possibilities.

"Guide, do things age in the inventory?" Aric questioned.

"No, there is no flow of time in the subspace," the guide explained.

"So if I were to store food in it, it would never go bad?"

"That is correct," the guide confirmed.

Aric sat back on the bed and laughed almost excitedly.

"I really thought Mia would find out I don’t eat her poison if I kept sneaking around to feed, but now I can just store food with me wherever I go," Aric rubbed his chin as though brainstorming a master plan.

"Well then, I should get prepared before my guests arrive. After all, I’ve planned quite the show for them... especially you, Serina."