Author - This is a summary chapter for the Timeskip, you can skip this and the next chapter if you want to.
Aurelion's Pov—
Okay. Continued Before anyone starts panicking, let me explain.
You are probably thinking something like, what just happened, did we skip something, did I miss a few chapters, why does this suddenly feel different.
Relax.
It has been five years. Wait. Let me say that again properly. It has been five years.
Yeah. I know. That is a lot. But trust me, if I try to explain everything day by day, we will be here forever, and honestly, most of it was not that exciting anyway.
So let me start from the part that actually matters.I am five years old now. Physically, at least.
Mentally, that is a whole different discussion, and I am not opening that can of worms right now.
You are probably also wondering what happened right after that celebration. The grand one. The food, the noise, the Emperor declaring things to the entire Salamander Continent like he was announcing the weather.
Funny thing is, the biggest realization of my second life did not happen during the celebration.
It happened the day after. I remember it very clearly. Not because it was dramatic, but because it was stupidly obvious once it clicked.
I was sitting in a quiet room, playing with something that was supposed to help babies develop hand coordination. I think it was a wooden block. Or maybe three wooden blocks. I do not remember exactly. What I do remember is staring at the pattern carved into it and thinking, "Why does this look familiar?"
And then I remembered "THE SALAMANDER CONTINENT." That was when it hit me.
The world I reincarnated into was the same world as the novel I was reading before I died. Yes. That one.
"Oh My Lovely Knight."
The romance novel with the tragic ending that annoyed me so much I complained about it out loud right before getting struck by lightning through my phone.
That novel.
At first, I thought I was overthinking it. I mean, fantasy worlds tend to blur together after you read enough of them. Magic. Empires. Knights. Mages. You could slap any name on it and call it a day.
But then I started noticing details.
Names.
Places.
Terms.
The way magic was described. The way aura users were treated differently from magicians.
The way people spoke about the future events like they were not important yet.
And that was when I realized something else.
I did not reincarnate into the timeline of the novel.
I reincarnated fifteen years before it starts.
Not twenty or five. I checked.
Fifteen years.
That meant the main characters of the novel were probably still children somewhere. Or not even born yet. The knight. The noble lady. The tragic romance. All of that was still waiting in the future, like a script that had not started playing.
You know the funny thing, here I was.
A prince.
Five years old.
Already messing with the rules. One who never was even mentioned in the novel.
I am Aurelion Valerius Evergold, Crown Prince of the Evergold Empire. The Greatest and Strongest Empire in this world.
Now, let me rewind a little and explain what happened during these five years, because a lot did happen, even if it did not feel dramatic day to day.
Magic in this world is not learned the way games or novels usually describe it. You do not just memorize spells and throw fireballs because you feel like it.
Everything starts with something called a Mystic Heart.
Everyone in this world is born with one. Some are better than others. Some barely function. Some people never awaken theirs properly and live normal lives.
The Mystic Heart is what allows you to sense mana. Control it. Store it.
For magicians, this heart develops something called circles.
One circle. Two circles. Three circles.
Each circle means better control, more output, and more stability. When someone reaches seven circles, they are called an Archmage.
That is not a casual title. It is rare. Historically rare. The strongest mage in recorded history reached nine circles.
That is all I am going to say about that person for now. You will hear that name later.
My mother, Selene, is a seven star mage.
A proper Archmage.
Now here is where things start getting strange. I became a three star mage before turning five.
Let me repeat that in a less ridiculous way.
I became a three star mage at the age of five. The youngest in the history of the Evergold Empire. Possibly the continent, but they are still arguing about that part.
It was not because I trained like a maniac. It was not because I pushed my body to the limit. It just happened.
My Mystic Heart accepted mana like it was always meant to. Circles formed cleanly. Smoothly. Without resistance.
Every time a magician checked me, the result was the same.
Clear. Stable.
And that was only half of the problem. Because this world does not just have magicians.
It has aura users too. Swordmasters. Knights. People who strengthen their bodies and weapons using aura instead of mana.
My father, Aurex, is one of them. A high level one.
Aura works differently from magic, but for some reason, my body had no issue with that either. Which brings me to something important.
This world runs on two paths.
Magic.
Aura.
Most people choose one. Some are talented in one. Almost nobody excels in both.
I did not choose. My body just accepted both.
I realized this around the time I started formal lessons.
Yes. Formal lessons. At five. Do not look at me like that. Royal life is weird.
I learned reading, writing, history, math, and basic mana control at the same time.
And somewhere in between learning how to write my name properly and being lectured about imperial etiquette, I noticed something.
Training did not feel heavy.
Mana did not resist me.
Aura did not strain me.
It felt like the world adjusted instead of me forcing myself to adjust. That realization scared the adults a lot more than it scared me.
They tried to hide it. I could tell.
Lessons became shorter. Reports became vague. Evaluations became "inconclusive."
They started saying things like "let us wait and see" and "no need to rush." Which usually means they had no idea what to do.
The only people who did not panic were my mother and my uncle. Selene just smiled and told everyone to calm down.
Duke Lunaris laughed and said something about "strong blood." My father watched quietly.He never discouraged me. He never pushed me either.
Sometimes I would catch him looking at me with an expression I could not quite place.
Now, let me talk about the novel again, because that matters.
The original story was a romance,reverse harem story. . A tragic one. Focused on a knight and a noble lady who met too late and died too early. Their story was not about power. It was about choices.
I have no intention of interfering with it. Not yet. Because here is the thing.
I am not part of that story.
At least, I am not supposed to be. This timeline exists before it. Long before it.
Which means I have time. Time to grow.
Time to understand this world properly. Time to figure out what exactly I am supposed to be.
Because if there is one thing I learned over these five years, it is this.
Reincarnation does not automatically give you a role. It just gives you a starting point.
And mine happened to be very high up.
That is all for now. I will explain more later.
Right now, I have a lesson waiting for me, and my tutor gets very annoying when I am late.
Also, apparently, I am not supposed to say "annoying" out loud.
Royal etiquette, remember.
[To be Continued]