By Zephyria 
Suddenly, the sensation that started circulating throughout my body slowly awakened my mind.
Haa.
I quietly inhaled and opened my eyes.
Then, I felt a cozy sensation enveloping my back. My current body was lying in bed.
‘Where is this?’
I glanced around and tried to get up. This body was so weak that it was staggering just to support itself due to the lack of strength in its arms and legs.
‘It seems I succeeded in the Soul Transference for now.’
But I have no memories of being born and raised in this body.
It doesn’t seem like reincarnation.
But this unfamiliar body is definitely mine. That means my soul has taken over someone else’s body.
‘Is the original owner of the body dead? Well… does it matter?’
It’s mine now anyway.
However, it was a body that was too weak to my liking. Even though it’s a human body and not a strong Demon… I didn’t think it could be this weak.
‘Hmm. There seems to be something wrong.’
First, I need to find out what the problem is.
I sat up straight, closed my eyes, and focused my senses to explore my body. I could feel the Mana Heart of this body, located near the heart. I could also feel the Mana Circuit that extended throughout the body.
Looking at it, the Mana Circuit, which is the path through which Mana travels, was not properly opened, and the Mana Heart was abnormally full, like a bloated stomach.
‘Tsk tsk. No wonder it’s weakening.’
Mana is an energy closely related to the vitality of living things. If it doesn’t circulate smoothly, it ends up like this. Moreover, this body had the same Black Mana Heart as me, despite being human.
Just like… that damn Gilbert did.
A Mana Heart with Black Mana easily absorbs Mana from the air. To put it badly, it was a reckless thug that absorbed indiscriminately, no matter what. So it was difficult to handle.
This phenomenon becomes more severe as one’s achievement increases, and by the time one reaches the 5th to 6th Circle, controlling the Mana Heart becomes a task.
It was quite unusual that Gilbert was able to handle Black Mana easily with a human body, even though he had achieved a high enough level to be equal to me.
In addition, the reason why the Mana Heart was so full was because it normally stops absorbing when a certain amount is filled, but due to the characteristics of the Black Mana Heart, it continued to absorb stubbornly.
Originally, all living beings born with a Mana Heart fill their Mana Heart with a certain amount of Mana necessary for physical activity from the moment they are born, and when they reach a certain point, they enter a state of maintenance.
This is so that there are no problems with the body even if the Mana Circuit is not opened.
This is called the 0th Circle.
But the Black Mana Heart doesn’t have that, so if you don’t open the Mana Circuit in time to induce smooth circulation, it becomes so full like this… and eventually bursts and dies.
‘It’s a body that would have died anyway due to Mana Heart or Mana Circuit rupture symptoms, even if I hadn’t taken it over.’
Rather, because I took it over, this body will live from today. Because the full Mana Heart can be circulated by opening the blocked Mana Circuit.
Without any difficulty, I began to draw out the Mana from the Mana Heart and circulate it delicately. It was smooth and natural.
Of course, it was never easy to open the Mana Circuit with the Mana Heart in such a full state. If you make a mistake, the uncontrolled Mana will destroy the Mana Circuit like water pouring out all at once when a dam collapses.
But I am different.
Who is this body? A great Archmage reaching the 8th Circle.
Moreover, one who used Black Mana freely.
Even though I am now in a weak human body, it was not difficult to control the amount of Mana at the level of about the 1st Circle.
‘Hoo.’
I could feel my body, which was as heavy as a water-soaked sponge, gradually becoming lighter. If I eat well and rest well in the future, my condition will recover quickly.
The Mana Heart, which had been breathing with difficulty, was now beating vividly. I could feel it greedily absorbing Mana from the air again, even after absorbing so much….
Good. As much as it craves, I accepted it together.
To avenge that hero bastard and put the world under my feet again, I need strength. To regain my former strength, I had to steadily store Mana from now on anyway.
Of course, I’m worried about how long this weak human body will last from the moment it achieves more than the 5th Circle….
As always, I will find the answer.
‘Why can’t I do it? It’s me.’
I believed it without a doubt.
‘Come to think of it… where is this and what year is it?’
I leisurely circulated the Mana Circuit and returned to the very first question.
I died in 1102 when I was still Mephisto. Since that hero bastard is human, it would be troublesome if too much time had passed and he was already dead.
No. Actually, to be honest, it’s not troublesome.
Of course, it’s a shame that I can’t avenge him, but just the fact that I don’t have to see that disgusting face again makes me feel as refreshed as if I had drunk a soda.
At that time, I heard someone’s footsteps outside the door. A moment later, the door opened. It was a woman who peeked her head in.
‘Hmm?’
It’s definitely a face I’ve never seen before.
But for some reason, it wasn’t unfamiliar. It was a strange feeling. I don’t have any memories related to this body, but maybe it’s because there are remnants of sensation left.
“Re… Ray!”
The woman who was staring at me like a ghost suddenly screamed. She was so surprised that she dropped the basket she was holding.
“Mom! Dad! Ray woke up!”
The outside was getting noisy.
‘Hmm.’
Judging from the reaction, that woman seemed to be a blood relative of this body. She called ‘Mom, Dad’, so the mother and father of this body would be coming this way soon.
And it seemed that the language was very different from the languages of the humans I knew… Fortunately, I had no problem understanding it, which I should say was fortunate. Is this also thanks to the remnants of sensation engraved in the body?
“Ray! Are you okay now?”
The woman rushed to my side and touched my forehead. The moderately cool skin felt not bad.
“The fever seems to have gone down for sure….”
The woman rolled her eyes and started grabbing my cheeks and examining them. I watched her for a while, wondering what to do, and then took her hand away and asked.
“Stop. Are you the sister of this body?”
“What?”
“Also answer whether the current year is 1102.”
“Oh my, what’s wrong with him all of a sudden.”
Just as the woman was about to step back, looking greatly embarrassed, four humans appeared behind her. A middle-aged man and woman whose age could be seen just by the number of wrinkles and two men who looked relatively young.
“Raymond! You’re awake!”
“Ah, God!”
“Doctor! Please check on my son’s condition quickly.”
The middle-aged man and woman seem to be the father and mother of this body. The man whom the father called ‘Doctor’ must be a doctor, and then the remaining one must be the brother of this body, judging by his age.
“Lord Raymond Den Valencia. Excuse me for a moment.”
The doctor carefully approached my side. But I gently held out my hand to refuse his approach.
“No need. This body should be fine now.”
“Yes?”
“Hmph. You quack. If you had just told me that the problem could be solved by opening the Mana Circuit, you would have kept looking for the cause in the wrong place, right?”
I crossed my arms and pointed out their foolishness. But I think my expectations were wrong. Their reactions were strange.
“Ray, don’t tell me.”
Suddenly, the father, who had been in shock, hurriedly stepped between me and the doctor and grabbed my wrist. He seemed to be checking the flow of Mana flowing inside me.
‘This man has a considerable amount of Mana for a human.’
Around the time I had such an impression.
“Ah….”
Soon, the father seemed to lose strength in his legs and sat down. His mother and brother supported him, and the father muttered.
“The Mana Circuit is open…. He did it himself.”
“Yes? Really?!”
“He was worried… so he finally tried it, I guess. It was just after he heard that there was no other way but to open it himself.”
“Then… then there’s no problem now, right?”
Everyone turned to me at the sister’s muttering. I don’t know the full details yet, but they, and the former owner of this body, already knew what the condition of this body was.
‘So the former owner of this body was just afraid and postponing the solution. Hmm. Really, humans are… pathetic and weak beings.’
I snorted briefly.
“If you’re still suspicious, go ahead and check.”
When I confidently held out my arm, the doctor looked around and cautiously reached out his hand.
He examined the places where the Mana Circuit passed as if he were taking my pulse, and finally made an unbelievable expression.
“There are no ruptured areas. You have really opened the Mana Circuit neatly. If you continue to exercise and eat properly for a while, your body condition will improve quickly.”
See?
“Ah! That’s a relief. It must have been God who helped us.”
It’s not God, it’s the Demon King, mother.
“But hasn’t his way of speaking been a bit strange since earlier?”
“Hmm. It didn’t seem like his memory was clear either.”
“What? His memory isn’t clear? Is that true?”
The brother opened his eyes wide at the sister’s cautious words. Then, the doctor, who had been hesitating for a while, intervened.
“In my opinion… it seems that temporary memory loss has occurred after the fever has passed.”
“That….”
“First of all, you need to help him a lot from the side. It’s also good to tell him stories from the past often. If you try to remember, you will gradually get better.”
“…I understand.”
The doctor carefully left the room. The blood relatives of this body were troubled and were all looking down at the floor in silence. I watched the scene with my arms crossed and quietly swallowed a sigh.
‘Memory loss, huh.’
I was wondering how to treat them in the future, but I thought it was a perfect excuse.
It’s good for them because they have hope, and it’s good for me because I have a place to stay for the time being, so isn’t it an excellent symbiotic relationship?
“Mother, Father. There are many things I want to ask you. Come and sit closer. And you are… my brothers? Don’t worry and come here too.”
I allowed them to sit facing each other with a very generous heart. I don’t like humans, but they are the blood relatives of this body that ‘has now become mine’. I had no reason to treat them badly either.
The blood relatives, who were gesturing to each other with indescribable expressions, pulled up chairs one by one and sat together.
“Yes… son. You must have many questions.”
“Hmm. Ask me anything.”
The father and mother spoke softly.
I leaned back comfortably and asked.
“Good, then I will ask. What is the exact name of this body… ‘my name’? Please also tell me as much information as possible that I need to know.”
The blood relatives exchanged glances once more.
It was the father who opened his mouth as the representative.
“Your name is Raymond Den Valencia. The youngest of our Valencia Duke family, famous for specializing in Necromancy.”