The last thing Kai remembered was the cold hospital bed, the incessant beeping of machines, and the bitter taste of regret.
Forty-two years old. No family. No friends left. No achievements worth mentioning. A lifetime spent as a mediocre mage who never broke past the intermediate rank, scraping by on odd jobs while watching the prodigies he once studied with rise to legend.
He had been betrayed by the people he trusted most during the Great Demon War twenty years from now. Left to die on a battlefield while his so-called comrades fled with the glory and the rewards.
And then nothing.
Until now.
Kai's eyes snapped open to the sound of a bell tower chiming seven in the morning. Sunlight streamed through a narrow dormer window, illuminating dust motes dancing in the air.
He was lying in a narrow wooden bed, the sheets coarse but clean. His hands, smooth, unscarred, young, gripped the blanket.
He sat up so fast his head spun.
Across the small dormitory room, a mirror hung on the wall. The face staring back at him was eighteen years old. Messy black hair, sharp gray eyes, lean build just starting to fill out from academy training. The face he hadn't seen in two decades.
"Holy shit," he whispered.
This was the first day. The very first day of his enrollment at Elyria Magic Academy.
The regression had actually happened.
Kai swung his legs off the bed, heart pounding. Every regret, every mistake, every face he'd watched succeed while he failed, it all flooded back, crystal clear.
He knew the future. He knew who would betray whom, where the hidden opportunities lay, which professors were corrupt, which students would become legends… and which women he had silently desired from afar, never daring to approach.
This time would be different.
This time, he would take everything.
A knock sounded at the door. "Hey, new guy! You awake? Orientation starts in an hour!"
Kai recognized the voice, Renn, his roommate from the first life. Decent guy, but average talent. Died early in the war.
"Coming," Kai called back, his voice steady despite the storm inside.
He dressed quickly in the standard academy uniform: black trousers, white shirt, deep blue vest embroidered with the Elyria crest. Simple, but on his reborn body it fit perfectly.
As he tied his boots, his mind raced through priorities.
First: the entrance examination tournament this afternoon. In his previous life, he'd placed 312th out of 500 new students, barely enough to stay on scholarship. Today, he would aim for top three.
He knew every participant's spells, habits, and weaknesses. He'd watched the tournament from the stands for years as an upperclassman.
Second: the hidden artifact in the academy's old library wing. A ring that amplified mana regeneration by 30%. In his first life, it was found by that bastard Edwin Voss two years from now. Not this time.
Third… his gaze darkened as he remembered certain faces.
Professor Elara Veyne, the forbidden magic specialist, curves that haunted his dreams for decades, rumored to hide dangerous secrets.
Lilia Silverthorn, the ice princess of House Silverthorn. Cold, untouchable, destined to become the kingdom's greatest battle mage.
Aria Voss, Edwin's younger sister, fiery red hair and a temper to match, rumored to have succubus blood.
And Saintess candidate Mira Lunelle, pure, kind, utterly devoted to the Goddess… until the war broke her.
In his previous life, he'd never even spoken to most of them beyond polite necessity.
This time, they would be his.
All of them.
Kai smirked at his reflection, running a hand through his hair.
"Let's begin."
**
The orientation hall was packed with nervous first-years.
Nobles clustered together in their fine silks, commoners like Kai kept to the edges. The headmaster gave a long, droning speech about honor, diligence, and the glory of Elyria.
Kai barely listened. His eyes scanned the crowd, cataloging faces.
There, Lilia, standing ramrod straight, platinum blonde hair braided elegantly, pale blue eyes scanning the room with faint disdain.
There, Aria, laughing with a group of second-years, her red hair catching the light like fire.
Near the faculty dais, Professor Elara Veyne stood among the staff, raven hair cascading, violet eyes bored but sharp.
And near the front, Mira, hands clasped in prayer, golden hair glowing almost ethereally.
His blood heated just looking at them.
Soon.
The speech ended, and students were dismissed to prepare for the afternoon tournament.
Kai slipped away early, heading not to the dorms but to the academy's eastern garden, a quiet spot few visited this early in the year.
He had one more thing to secure before the tournament.
Behind a crumbling statue of the founder lay a loose stone. Kai knelt, pried it free with practiced ease, though his young fingers fumbled slightly, and reached inside.
His hand closed around cool metal.
The Mana Focus Ring. Silver band etched with ancient runes. In his first life, he'd only read about its effects. Now it slid onto his finger like it belonged there.
Instantly, he felt his mana pool stabilize, the natural leakage slowing dramatically. Regeneration up by at least 30%. Perfect.
Kai stood, flexing his fingers. Power hummed beneath his skin.
Time to show them what a regressor could do.
The tournament arena was a massive circular field ringed by stone bleachers already filling with upperclassmen and professors. First-years drew lots for bracket positions.
Kai drew number 47. Fine. He'd carve his way up.
His first opponent: a burly earth mage named Torren, son of some minor baron. In the original timeline, Torren placed 89th, decent, but predictable.
They faced off in one of the four smaller rings.
Torren grinned confidently. "Commoner, huh? Don't worry, I'll make this quick."
Kai said nothing, simply raising his hand.
The proctor shouted, "Begin!"
Torren slammed his foot down, raising walls of stone to trap Kai.
But Kai was already moving. He'd seen this exact sequence a hundred times in memory. A simple tier-2 wind spell, Gale Step, propelled him forward faster than Torren expected.
Before the walls fully formed, Kai was inside Torren's guard.
A single finger pressed to Torren's chest.
"Ice Lance."
Not the flashy version most students used. A compressed, needle-thin spike that pierced clothing and struck a precise pressure point.
Torren's eyes widened. His mana flow disrupted, body frozen in place.
The proctor stared. "Winner: Kai!"
The crowd murmured. Too fast. Too clean.
Kai walked off the field without a backward glance.
One down.
By the quarterfinals, whispers were spreading.
"Who is that guy?"
"Never seen those spell forms before."
"Did he just beat a Voss cousin in under ten seconds?"
In the semifinals, Kai faced Edwin Voss himself, blond, arrogant, already surrounded by sycophants. In the future, this man would steal opportunities, betray allies, and leave Kai to die.
Edwin sneered. "A commoner in the final four? How quaint. I'll enjoy crushing you."
Kai smiled for the first time all day.
"Try it."
The match lasted twenty-three seconds.
Edwin opened with his signature flame serpent, a tier-3 spell he wasn't supposed to have mastered yet.
Kai countered with a water spell he'd learned in his thirties, shaping it into a perfect sphere that swallowed the serpent whole, steam exploding harmlessly.
Then he closed the distance.
Edwin panicked, throwing up a fire shield.
Kai punched straight through it, his fist wrapped in compressed wind mana, and struck Edwin in the solar plexus.
The heir to House Voss dropped to his knees, gasping, eyes wide with shock.
"Winner: Kai!"
The arena erupted.
In the stands, Lilia's cool expression cracked for the first time, eyes narrowing as she studied him.
Aria leaned forward, lips parted.
Professor Elara Veyne watched from the faculty section, fingers tightening on her staff, a faint, unreadable smile playing at her crimson lips.
And Mira, sweet Mira, clasped her hands together with something like awe.
Kai stood in the center of the ring, breathing steady, ring glinting on his finger.
First place.
A perfect start.
As the awards ceremony concluded and students began to disperse, Kai lingered near the edge of the field, letting the crowd thin.
He had plans for tonight.
The note he needed was already in his pocket, retrieved from the restricted archives during his brief detour earlier.
Professor Elara Veyne would be working late.
And he intended to pay her a visit.
Day one.
Everything was falling into place.