Reincarnated as a Genius Mage

On that day, the valley knew his name. The one who eventually shook the world. The Second Anomaly, and the wielder of the Flame of Eternity; Blank.

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My eyes snap open. My head keeps spinning, and my vision is unclear, hazy.

Oh, it's getting clearer now.

"Where are we?" I ask with a soft voice.

"Finally woken up." K replies. His tone is warm, but gruff. He's sitting, right beside me.

I don't reply, I just look calmly at my surroundings, trying to make sense of where I am.

The only thing I know is that I'm lying on a mat. The surrounding area is like some kind of green tent?

"We're in the Axis Battlefield." He says as he looks down at me with his eyes squinted and his arms folded.

"Can you stop smiling?" I ask. But his wide grin is still plastered on his face.

He shrugs, "I can't help it.." he stands. "Now, get up. You've been out cold for four hours." He stands up from the floor, and I do the same.

I touch my face. My mask is still present, and a wide smile forms on my lips.

"Where's my Chakram?" I ask as I walk behind him; out of the tent.

"More importantly, shouldn't you be asking how you're still alive?" He says.

I nod, "yeah, you're right. How am I still alive? What happened to the Flame of– to that extremely hot ma–"

"You can't fool me, kid. That flame of yours was more holy power-ish than mana. I'm not gonna ask about it, don't worry." He says.

As we walk out of the tent, my eyes meet the sight of the afternoon sun that outlines the rows of tents stretched out on the horizon. We're on a slightly depressed hill dressed with twinges of greenery.

The tents are many, innumerous, and almost everywhere on this hill.

Down the hill, I see blue. Endless blue— a sea.

As we walk past the tents to wherever K's taking me, I see different men. Soldiers dressed in green uniform moving about, some aren't wearing shirts, some are wearing only underwears, and they're all going about with their activities.

"Sir!"

Some of them stop to salute K with their hands raised to their forehead and their body stiff like statues.

K doesn't respond, and continues walking like it's normal to him. He just waves at them as he moves.

"Then what happened exactly?" I ask, in a low voice.

"Your heart was combusting with those flames of yours. It seems like they're either eating your circles or your soul. Or maybe both."

The Flame of Eternity is in my soul, and my two circles are forged from the Flames of Eternity.

"How do you know? Can you see my soul?" I ask in a sarcastic tone as we head to an area where the small, green tents are replaced with blue, slightly large ones.

"I can't see it. I can sense it." He says.

…

"What?" I ask. My head is tilted.

"It's as I said. I can sense your soul. I can sense souls. It's nothing unique. Once you get to my level you'll be able to do it too. Remember when I said the goal of every weapon is to dismember souls?" He asks.

"Like hell I do. You think I remember each and every one of your mad ramblings?"

"Hmm." He grunts.

I realize.

Shit. I used foul language, and indirectly called him a mad man.

"I'm sorry." I say in a low tone.

"I'll act like I didn't hear it. So, as I was saying, if the goal of weapons is to dismember souls, don't you think one has to be able to see them to dismember them? And by dismembering I mean cutting off the link between a living thing's physical body and its spiritual body. The soul is like a bridge and acts as the link between them, holding them together. So, the goal of every weapon is to break that link, that bridge called the soul, and–"

"Sir!" another soldier salutes.

K waves his hand at the soldier as we continue walking toward the biggest blue tent amongst the slightly big ones.

This sounds rather.. interesting. Although, I don't fully understand it. Does this mean that he's able to dismember souls? Let me ask him.

"So, you can dismember souls?" I ask.

He shakes his head, "I can only sense them faintly for now. To dismember them.. that's a mastery with weapons that would require me to form my ninth core, and I don't know how. I'm not sure I'll be able to because I've sought enlightenment and I couldn't find it. But, I do know that all weapon paths lead to the ninth core. If one masters all weapons and becomes extremely proficient in them, then maybe they'll attain the secret of soul dismemberment, and maybe that's the enlightenment to the ninth core.." he lets out a soft sigh, "it sounds stable and linear right? But it's actually not. I spent twenty years mastering other weapons, but still couldn't find a way to dismember souls. No enlightenment. So I just gave up."

This man gets sadder the more I listen to his story.

I want to say something, but it is not a matter for me to speak. I am not on that level yet.

"Ah, we're here." He slightly exclaims as we reach the largest blue tent.

He knocks twice on the iron frame of the tent, and says, "open up, brat. You've got visitors."

"That voice.. Sir K? I'm coming, sir. Give me a minute! " The male voice inside responds in a hurried, and nervous manner.

I turn to look at K, and K smiles at me, "this guy's such a wimp." He says, "I have no idea how he even became a sergeant in the first place. These freshly graduated noble kids." He lets out a soft chuckle as he shakes his head.

I smile underneath my mask. I don't know why I'm smiling. I'm just doing it because he did.

The tent opens as a young man walks out. I'm hundred percent sure he's in his twenties. His neat auburn locs cascade over the shoulders of his blue uniform. His yellow eyes stare calmly at K.

"You're back. Welcome, Sir K." The sergeant greets as he salutes. K nods and points his thumb at me.

The sergeant's yellow eyes fall on me. Locking directly with my red, fiery eyes.

"This masked gentleman is?" The sergeant asks.

"He's my apprentice. Add him to your troop. The one where George Flameworth is the captain." K says.

George Flameworth? Isn't that the first son of Alexander? My supposed eldest brother..Yes, I recall, he was never at home back when I was in the Flameworths Duchy.

Ah, I missed my chance to say I'm his partner, not his apprentice.

Now K's turning to leave, "then, I'll leave him to you. I have to go meet with the General."

Just like that?

"What about my Chakram, K?" I ask.

He halts, turns, and says, "I'm still trying to figure out how to forge a non-wooden handle that'll be able to withstand those flames of yours." He says as he walks off, waving at me from behind.

I turn to look at the Sergeant.

His smile fades as he clicks his tongue, "what a goddamn bastard. No manners, always acting like.."

He called him a bastard?

"Ahem!" I break his muttering, and he snaps out of his daze of insults and stares at me with a smile on his face.

"Now, follow me. I'll take you to Captain George's troop."