The next morning, Ash woke up as usual and headed to class. The day passed uneventfully, almost making the events of yesterday feel unreal.
When he returned to the dorm that evening, he found Ezra already waiting for him in the living room.
"Ash, I've made my decision."
Ash glanced at him calmly. "What is it?"
"…Before that, can you answer one question?"
"What question?"
Ezra hesitated briefly before speaking. "Who are you really?"
Ash stared at him for a moment before smiling faintly. "You really want to know?" He walked over and sat on the couch across from Ezra.
"I suppose there's no harm in telling you now." His voice remained calm. "I'm from another world. It was called Earth. There, I was the son of a famous scientist. Eventually, I died during a mission assigned to me." He paused slightly. "So technically, I reincarnated here."
Ezra's body visibly trembled. "That's… impossible," he muttered. "There are other reincarnators besides me?"
Ash's eyes narrowed slightly. "…You're from Earth too?"
"Yes."
"…Who were you?"
"Justin. Twenty years old." Ezra swallowed nervously. "I was in university before I died during a mission to… steal something."
The room suddenly fell silent.
Then both of them froze as realization struck at the same time.
"You were the assassin?"
"Joshua?"
Their voices overlapped.
Ezra stared at him in disbelief. "Oh my god… this is insane."
Ash, however, regained his composure much faster. A faint smile slowly appeared on his face. "Well," he said calmly, "this makes things more interesting."
"Joshua…" Ezra looked conflicted. "Are we really going to continue this?"
Back on Earth, they had attended the same university. They were classmates—ordinary people living ordinary lives.
But now-
Ash smiled faintly, though there was a dangerous glint hidden in his eyes. "Why wouldn't we?"
"…You're insane."
"Maybe." Ash leaned back slightly. "But I answered your question." His gaze locked onto Ezra. "Now tell me your decision."
Ezra clenched his jaw tightly. "…I accept." The words came out with difficulty. "I'll obey your orders."
Even as he said it, humiliation burned inside him. Knowing Ash was mentally the same age as him only made it worse.
But Ezra understood one thing clearly. This was no longer Earth. There were no laws protecting slaves here. No police. No human rights. And more than anyone else, he blamed himself for allowing Ash the chance to cast that spell on him in the first place.
Ash smiled. "Good." He knew he enjoyed it, and that realization made him feel a trace of guilt, not because of morals, but for something far deeper within him.
Then Ash called Eve over as well.
"So first, Eve, after my classes end every afternoon, you'll train with me in combat. I'll also make some effort to allow you to awaken your mana."
Eve's eyes lit up. "Really, Master? Thank you!" After all, she was just a slave. Opportunities like combat training, let alone mana awakening, were things most slaves would never even dream of.
"You're welcome," Ash replied casually. "Now, for you, Ezra, after your classes end, you'll join Eve in her training. Get me?"
"Yes." His answer was short, clearly still carrying the lingering resentment from earlier.
"Alright, that's it for today." Ash then left to rest in his room.
Back in his room, he decided to check the skills he had gained.
[Bloodflame Surge: Generates crimson flames infused with vitality. The fire behaves more aggressively than normal flames, spreading, pulsing, and intensifying with her movements. On the first cast, flames will be generated and controlled to one's will; it will stay till mana runs out or is deactivated. On the second cast, a burst of flames will be cast towards the enemy, this uses a significant amount of mana.
Volt Core: A lightning circulation spell that forms a stable "core" of electricity inside the body. It continuously converts mana into lightning-attributed energy and stores it as compressed charge.]
'Oh well… isn't this useful?' 'Volt Core.' He cast the skill, he could feel the core forming in him. It wasn't big, but it certainly could be felt. After analyzing them further, he decided to take a rest and head to sleep.
The next day, Ash decided to take on a mission again to test his new skills. He took the same F-ranked mission as last time. This time, he left more prepared.
When he arrived at the location, he immediately set up the traps and waited patiently for the prey. Then,
"Bloodflame Surge." He immediately cast the second part of the skill. When it hit the rabbit monster, its vitality could be seen visibly decreasing; however, it wasn't much. When the monster tried to run away, Ash used the electricity generated by the volt core and chased after it. Surprisingly, he could keep up with it. He then caught it with a monster net. By this time, the bloodflames had already gone out, leaving the rabbit alive but weak.
'The new skills are certainly useful. But it seems that they get weaker from their original version.' Without further delay, Ash returned and redeemed his points. He currently has 80 points left.
When he returned to the dorm, he let Eve choose her weapon, which was surprisingly a dagger. So he decided to also train in the dagger as he trained her. Ezra, however, chose a bow. They trained till night before resting. This same schedule was repeated for the next few months.