It had been approximately twelve years since Leo had arrived in this world.
"It's just like they say... time really does fly when you're growing up,"
Nova muttered to himself, checking his reflection in the mirror.
He was no longer the sickly, desperate street rat of his past life.
In this world, he had been molded into something different. He was tall, his body toned from years of his father's "hellish" training.
With jet-black hair and eyes the color of a deep, stormy ocean, he looked like a completely different person.
"If I had looked like this in my past life, I bet all the girls would have been over me," Nova said with a smirk.
He moved away from the mirror and grabbed a worn magic book from his bed—one of the many his parents had bought for him over the years.
He tucked it under his arm and headed toward his favorite spot: The Giant Mushroom.
Located in a vast field on the outskirts of the village, the Giant Mushroom was a massive fungal structure that gave "Mushroom Village" its very name.
It was Nova's sanctuary—the place where he played, trained, and read in peace.
But more importantly, it was the place where he met his only real friend.
Elena.
Nova remembered their first meeting clearly. It was a sunny afternoon years ago, right after a grueling training session with his father.
He had been heading to the Mushroom Tree to practice his magic in private when he stumbled upon a scene that made his blood boil.
A group of village boys were surrounding a girl, stomping on her and shouting insults while she curled into a ball on the dirt.
At first, Nova's old "survival" instincts kicked in. 'Not my problem. Walk away,' he thought.
But as he turned to leave, something caught his eye.
The girl had long, crimson-red hair and matching eyes. And, most importantly, a pair of unmistakably long, pointy ears.
"An Elf," Nova whispered.
Despite his cynical nature, he felt a spark of curiosity—and perhaps a bit of that "Unbound Ambition." If he was going to conquer this world, he couldn't let common brats dictate who got bullied.
He was seven years old then, and he had already been training with a man who could move faster than sound.
Beating up a few village kids wasn't even going to be a workout.
There were four of them.
"What are you looking at, kid? Leave before we beat you too!" the leader of the group barked, stepping toward Nova.
Nova's lips curled into a grin as he cracked his knuckles.
'This kid is my age and he's calling me "kid"? He's got some nerve.'
"You guys need some education, brats,"
Nova said, his smile widening into something a bit more predatory.
The leader, annoyed by the smile, gestured to a boy with an unusually large head.
"Thomas! Get him!"
"So you are sending Big head, huh"
The boy rushed forward, screaming, "My mom told me my head is perfect the way it is!"
BANG.
Before "Big Head" could even register Nova's movement, a fist connected with his jaw. He was sent tumbling backward, dazed.
Nova didn't stop.
He slid his leg across the grass in a perfect martial arts stance he remembered from the movies of his old world. He beckoned them with one hand.
"That wasn't even a warm-up. Come at me, all of you."
The bullies were furious.
They abandoned the girl and rushed him all at once, swinging their fists wildly. To Nova, they moved in slow motion.
He bobbed and weaved through their attacks like he was taking a walk in the park.
One boy, a skinny kid, was already wheezing for air. Nova decided to put him out of his misery.
BANG.
A sharp kick to the stomach sent the skinny kid doubling over, coughing up spit as his life flashed before his eyes.
Seeing his friends fall, the leader lost his mind and launched a full-force tackle.
Nova simply stepped aside, sticking his foot out.
The leader tripped over his own momentum and went flying, scraping his face across the dirt.
The last boy, the one wearing glasses, froze. He looked at his three fallen friends and then at Nova.
He immediately dropped to his knees, his hands trembling as he begged for mercy. Tears were already streaming down his face.
'Smart kid. I almost feel bad for him,' Nova thought.
"Just get out of here," Nova commanded.
"Take your friends and if I ever see you near here again, you won't like the result."
The "four-eyes" kid didn't need to be told twice.
He scrambled to his feet, hauled his groaning friends up, and ran without looking back.
Nova turned toward the Elf girl. She was still shaking on the ground, her red hair matted with dust. He knelt down beside her.
"Hi. My name is Nova. What's yours?" he asked.
In his head, he thought he was being friendly, but his grin was still a little bit creepy—a habit of his past life.
Because he wanted you wanted to survive in his past life even smile most be creepy.
Elena Ashfield was a girl from the Non-Human Realm. Though the Human and Non-Human kingdoms were technically at peace, the hatred from the wars hundreds of years ago still simmered under the surface.
Elena was a victim of that lingering racism. Her family had moved to the human village when she was very young, meaning she grew up with no friends and constant bullying.
She never fought back, even though she had the power to, because her mother had begged her to stay hidden.
But that day, everything changed.
As she looked up at the boy who had saved her, her heart gave a strange, heavy thud.
Thump-thump.
It was a feeling she couldn't explain. He saw her ears, he saw her red eyes, and he didn't care. He even asked for her name.
"It's Elena... Elena Ashfield," she whispered, her voice trembling with surprise.
***
Present Day
Elena was already at the Mushroom Tree, waiting for Nova. She wore a beautiful red and white gown that made her look older than she was.
"Why is he late today?" she complained to herself, pacing back and forth through the tall grass.
Over the years, the two had become inseparable.
Elena had actually been teaching Nova magic. While Nova had a wild imagination, Elena had the ancestral knowledge of the Elves.
It was a fair trade; Nova learned the mechanics, and Elena gained inspiration from his "irregular" ideas.
"Hi, Sunshine. Sorry I'm late."
Nova appeared behind her suddenly.
Elena jumped, her face instantly turning a shade of red that matched her hair.
She looked like a tiny, beautiful sun.
"Stop calling me that!" she huffed, though she had told him a thousand times and knew he would never listen. "What are we learning today?"
Nova dropped his book by the tree roots.
"Spirit Contract."
"Okay, let's get started," Elena said, her expression turning serious. She sat down on the grass, crossing her legs. Nova instinctively did the same, sitting directly across from her.
"To make a contract with a spirit, you must first be able to see them," Elena explained, closing her eyes. "And to see them, you need to be extremely sensitive to the mana flowing around you, not just inside you."
"So, how do I sense it?"
"By mediating. Clear your mind of everything but the environment."
Nova didn't waste a second. He closed his eyes and entered a deep meditative state. Thirty minutes of absolute silence passed.
Finally, Elena broke the quiet. Her voice was low, almost worried.
"Listen to me, Nova. Don't break your concentration. Just listen."
She stood up, looking down at him while he remained still.
"I asked my mother if it was possible for someone to use mana without sensing their mana core first.
I told her about how you used magic as a child before you even knew what mana was."
She paused, her voice trembling slightly as she said the last part.
"She said it was impossible... unless the person is an Irregular."
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[A/N]
Thanks for reading!
I am sure we will get to know the meaning of an irregular in the next chapter.
Stay tuned!