When he woke again, dusk had already fallen.
A faint jolt ran through his body.
Kanzaki Rei shot upright.
He scanned his surroundings—only to find himself seated inside a bright, spacious carriage. Iz, Kumironi, Akasei, and even the stone man were all present.
Seeing him sit up, Iz smiled.
"You overcast and passed out."
"Your magical aptitude is excellent. But you just completed your class advancement. No matter how high your talent is, your total mana capacity doesn't undergo a qualitative leap overnight."
"In a state of complete mana depletion, you still managed to cast twice more."
"That suggests your elemental affinity and mana resonance are both quite high."
Mana depletion?
Rei's thoughts flicked back to the final moments before he blacked out.
He had been spamming Lightning Strike. Since it required no incantation, he had cast it without restraint.
He hadn't even considered his mana pool.
Come to think of it… during the final two casts, he had felt hollow. Like something inside him had been scooped out.
But the spell flowed too smoothly. He'd thrown it out on instinct—and it had worked.
So he never questioned it.
Under normal circumstances, once you ran out of mana, you simply couldn't cast.
Iz continued, his tone calm.
"Casting without mana causes significant damage to the body. In severe cases, it can even be fatal."
"Fortunately, we have Kumironi. So there's no issue."
"I also replenished your mana in time. You'll be fine."
…Fatal?
You could've mentioned that earlier, Rei thought dryly.
"Master… what if I really had died?"
Iz burst into laughter.
"With Kumironi here, even if you wanted to die, it would be difficult."
"And experiencing overcasting once isn't a bad thing. Consider it a compulsory lesson on the path of a mage."
Rei turned toward Kumironi.
She wore the same elegant, composed smile as always.
She's really that capable?
For a fleeting second, a reckless thought surfaced—What if I cast Lightning Strike on myself just to test it?
It vanished just as quickly.
Kumironi smiled gently. "How does your body feel now?"
Rei flexed his arms and shoulders.
He felt… good.
No sensation of emptiness. No lingering weakness.
If anything, the opposite.
It was like he had simply enjoyed a deep, comfortable sleep.
"Very good," he replied honestly.
"That's a relief."
Rei glanced around.
The carriage was rather luxurious—wide leather seats, bright interior space, room to move freely.
He asked, "By the way… where are we?"
Akasei, who had been polishing his sword, answered without looking up.
"On the way to Rane Town. It's the nearest settlement."
"We're almost there."
The jolting was minimal.
Through the window, Rei saw a blazing red sun sinking behind distant mountains. Open plains stretched endlessly around them.
Ahead, scattered lights shimmered in the gathering darkness.
The carriage rolled along a broad roadway—far from concrete-smooth, but well-leveled and maintained.
Rei's gaze returned inside.
It drifted to Akasei's sword.
That blade really was absurdly large.
Without this spacious carriage, it wouldn't have fit at all.
Noticing Rei's stare again, Akasei flashed him a wide grin.
A slightly foolish grin.
"Kid."
"My sword's awesome, right?"
Rei blinked, caught off guard by the sudden question, but nodded anyway.
"Yeah. It's awesome."
And it was.
A massive red-and-black greatsword, heavy and imposing. Intricate patterns were etched across the blade—crimson and obsidian lines forming what looked like a battlefield scene frozen in steel.
Just looking at it, one could feel the immense strength of its wielder.
"Right?! I had it forged by the greatest blacksmith in the world!"
The greatest blacksmith in the world?
…That's impressive.
Rei wasn't entirely convinced—but he didn't argue.
"Interested in the warrior class? Want to try switching your second class to warrior?"
Rei actually was interested.
Logically speaking… the more classes he activated, the more God-Tier Talents he should obtain.
He had been seriously considering acquiring a second class.
But before he could answer—
Kumironi cut in with a soft sigh.
"Akasei, he just advanced to Mage."
"And Rei's magical talent is extraordinary. With Iz personally teaching him, having him switch to Warrior now would be a waste."
Akasei scratched his head.
"Yeah, yeah. Just joking."
Guess I don't need to respond after all.
And honestly—saying he wanted to switch to Warrior in front of Iz, who was clearly eager to teach him magic, would feel like telling your math teacher you preferred literature.
Under normal circumstances, after being transmigrated into another world, he should be far more cautious.
Yet with these people… the instinct to stay guarded felt unnecessary.
If they meant him harm, they wouldn't have rescued him.
Even if all they'd done was escort him out of the dungeon—
That alone hadn't been simple.
The dungeon had been a maze. Without Iz and Kumironi guiding the way, he might have wandered for days.
And when he first arrived in this world, his physical condition had been poor. Without Kumironi's healing, he might truly have died down there.
To Rei, Iz and Kumironi were already life-saving benefactors.
The faint vigilance he still maintained came purely from self-preservation instinct.
You don't lose all caution on your first day in a new world.
A deep, heavy voice sounded.
"We're here."
The carriage came to a halt.
So the stone man can talk after all.
Since last night, he had barely uttered a word. Rei had assumed he was incapable of speech.
Iz opened the carriage door.
One by one, Kumironi and the others stepped down.
Only after exiting did Rei notice what was pulling the carriage.
Four creatures resembling rhinoceroses.
Unlike normal rhinos, their heads and bodies were covered in thick, armored scales.
Kumironi placed her hand gently on one's head.
"This is a Dracohorn."
"Dracohorns possess incredible stamina and remarkable speed. They may look heavy, but they can run up slopes nearly ninety degrees steep."
"When we travel alone, they serve as our mounts."
She smiled at Rei.
"But now we have a new member. We'll need an additional mount."
Dracohorns must be rare creatures. Otherwise, she wouldn't have taken the time to introduce them so deliberately.
Her voice was always soft.
When she spoke like that, Rei felt genuinely accepted—like part of the team, not some stray child picked up by the roadside.
They had stopped in a brightly lit town.
Quite a few people turned to look their way.
Before Rei even realized what was happening, a crowd had gathered around Iz Parut.
Most were young—many clutching magic books. They surrounded him eagerly, chattering questions Rei couldn't even follow.
Iz shot them a helpless smile and gestured, I'll be right back.
Then he allowed himself to be guided toward a nearby building by the group.
Kumironi watched with a knowing smile.
"Iz always enthusiastically answers questions about magic."
"So many mages come to seek his guidance."
"He's quite popular, wouldn't you say?"