Chapter 1.

"Ah"

I died... There was little I could have done against an ambush specifically prepared for me. Even still, I couldn't help but curse myself for not having seen the signs earlier. The way the enemy was set up was certainly suspicious, why hadn't I retreated?... Curse you! Being X!

Wait.

How exactly was I still able to think?

Had I... No. No No No.

Had I been reborn again? What was being X planning this time?! Time hadn't stopped before my death. I was given no warning this would happen!

Perhaps I hadn't died at all? Maybe my unit had been able to escape with my corpse, and I was currently in a coma... That would hardly be ideal. Suddenly, I found myself wishing to be reborn once more. Better to start all over than to be stuck in my own mind for who knows how long.

"Ephabuhia! Tauwka seio kwa! Pahil za!" - I heard a female voice say. The language was unfamiliar to me, unlike anything I had heard before... She sounded relieved though, what exactly was going on here?

"Ivin kav Zenith! Pahail za!" - Another voice spoke, this time male. His tone was more excited than relieved, it was odd.

I felt a sensation. Light. The light was hitting my eyes, and it bothered me more than usual somehow. Still, it was a good sign, I could feel my eyelids at least, and my ocular globes were taking in information.

Slowly, I attempted to open my eyes... And was successful. In front of me was a ceiling, it looked rustic, unlike many medical buildings in the empire, where was I?

Looking around I saw a woman breathing heavily, and her clothes were rather revealing. Beside her was a man with long brown hair... And looking at myself, I saw nothing but a baby's body.

I had been reborn. Again.

- Ͼ - ⨀ - Ͽ -

Naturally, I was pampered with attention from the moment I was born. I couldn't understand the words both the man and woman spoke, but situational awareness dictated they were likely a couple.

There was another woman. She had hair close to magenta in color, unlike my mother, who had blonde hair and blue eyes. It was not quite as surprising then that I looked exactly like Tanya Degurechaff, down to the curly hair and facial expressions. And yes, I was a girl again.

It didn't take long for me to deduce I was in a rural setting, though I couldn't quite grasp the full scope of the world just yet.

Despite my lack of understanding of the language, I was able to at the very least identify the names of the people living here. Zenith, my mother. Paul, most likely my father, and Lilia, the servant of the house... Naturally, I figured out my own name as well. "Tanya Greyrat", how amusing was it I had the same name as my previous life? Oh well, it didn't matter much, though it did raise my suspicions of Being X's influence in this world.

Though... Hadn't he said there would be no reincarnation if I died again? So why is it I am still alive and breathing right now? I could only take this as confirmation of his fraudulent nature. I already knew that, but further confirmation most certainly was nice.

It took me more or less 6 months to figure out the language. It turned out my observations were indeed correct, and Paul was my father. And with a better grasp of what was being said around me, it didn't take long for me to understand that the rural status of my home was shared by most of the world.

Father was village chief it seemed, and I saw him practice with a sword through the window sometimes. A simple look at his form told me there was some form of body enhancement magic in this world... That, or Paul was just incredibly strong through genetics alone, which didn't seem to be the case as I felt no different than my second life as a baby.

My future seemed mostly set as the daughter of the village chief, however, the pursuit of magic greatly interested me. If I was capable of it, I would most certainly secure my standing by becoming strong enough to hold authority with little resistance.

- Ͼ - ⨀ - Ͽ -

Two years passed, and much was learned in that time frame. 1: Magic was indeed real in this world, and there were various types of it too. A book I read described three schools of magic, those being attack, healing, and summoning. However, I figured there was another type, "body enhancement.", I had no sources for it, but I had no sources for Paul's physicality either, so it only made sense he was enhancing his body with another type of magic. 2: This world was vast... Greatly so. The mythos and stories of the past were so outlandish I was skeptical about them at first, but the stories were historical facts, not folklore. Naturally, it came with the knowledge that other races were not only real in this world, they were common. 3: Society didn't see much discrimination in the sense of gender, race, and station. Of course, there were exceptions, but it was good to know I wouldn't be forced to marry some guy just because I was a woman.

During these two years, I also got a better grasp of the language and was able to fully communicate without problems. My parents were scared by my advancements at first, but quickly got used to it after a few weeks of constant interaction, and even felt pride in me after a while... Speaking of, I was able to learn a bit more about those around me during said interactions. For one, Paul was a questionable person at best, constantly fishing for the attention of village women and eyeing other people's wives, who was to say he wasn't having a secret affair of some sort? Still, he was also incredibly dutiful despite his shortcomings, being the village's protector and generally well-loved by his people.

My mother was also widely respected, being a prolific healer in the region, as well as a former S-rank adventurer in the same party as Paul, where she first fell in love with him. Apparently, Lilia was also part of that group at some point, but I didn't know the details of it.

Another thing I figured out was the fact books were likely quite expensive in this world, given we only had 5, and neither of my parents seemed like the ignorant type. It was rather unfortunate, as it limited my intake of knowledge, but it allowed me to fully focus on what I had, at the very least... And I had plenty indeed.

We had few books, but the ones we had were impossibly compact with knowledge. As previously mentioned, one of the books spoke about magic, "The Magic Manual", and I learned much from it, though its contents proved to be unreliable at best after testing some of the principles for myself. The first spell I cast was named Water Ball, and it required a rather simple incantation to be performed... Only I didn't need an incantation to cast. It was only required the first time, and from then on, I was able to consistently isolate the feeling of casting and do it without uttering a single word. Another thing that caught my attention was the spell itself, as despite being an attack-type magic, it lacked potency. It lacked any form of momentum for that matter, creating only a sphere of water slightly smaller than my head before dropping to the ground.

"This book is full of shit."

Another thing the book was wrong about was mana capacity. It stated mana was a fixed thing, mostly unchanging throughout one's life, but mine was increasing after every use of magic, so either I was special, or whoever wrote this was full of it.

With enough practice though, I ended up figuring out that magic worked in a somewhat similar way to my previous life's version of it. I had to perform some mental calculations to launch the water balls I created, first creating, then setting the size, and then setting the speed. It was much simpler than any spell in my previous life, but the computation element was still there... I couldn't help but wonder if there was an equivalent to computation orbs in this world as well.

After about an entire year of practice with beginner-level spells, I was confident enough to try my hand at the intermediate level. In the twelve months I spent honing my skill, my mana pool had increased dramatically, and so had my control over the magic I cast, to the point my water balls could probably kill someone if I aimed at a vital area, and that was only beginner-level magic? It was quite harrowing imagining what other ranks would look like, given they increased in strength by an order of magnitude. Still, it would be beneficial to experiment, and so I did... With all possible precautions, of course.

"Supple Spirit of water and princess of streams that flow through the earth, sweep away all things with your hidden inner might-", As I continued to cast the spell, fog started to appear beneath my feet, and I could feel large quantities of mana gathering at my fingertips. This was going to be strong, I couldn't risk aiming it at anything, so I pointed my hand at the open window of the little room I was staying in.

"Splash flow." - I finished the incantation and was instantly met with incredible, if not somewhat concerning results. The ball of water in front of me was massive, larger than myself by almost double. I was skeptical as to whether it would even fit through the window, but before I could think too hard about it, I released the spell, almost as if by instinct.

I realized my mistake too late, and the window had been blown to pieces in a fraction of a second. I could only watch as the water dissipated in the air above the village, causing short-lived rain to befall the settlement.

My parents didn't know about my magic practice, not because I was particularly keen on hiding it, but because they never saw me practice. I stayed mostly confined inside the house and only practiced in the room with books...This was a disastrous way for them to discover about it. Stupid Tanya!

Naturally, both Paul and Zenith rushed towards the room, and I had to quickly think of a response to minimize my punishment, though avoiding it entirely seemed impossible.

"What Happened?! What's going on?!... Tany?" - Paul screamed as he entered the room, calling me by the nickname he had established some time ago.

"Apologies Father, I was practicing magic, and underestimated the potency of the spell I just cast, i am okay though. I apologize for not disclosing my practice earlier." - All I could do was bow down politely just as Zenith arrived, likely having heard my apology.

"Tany... For how long have you been practicing?" - Zenith asked with a toothy grin on her face, barely being able to contain herself.

"Around a year, mother."

"SINCE YOU WERE TWO?! HONEY, WE HAVE A GENIUS!!!" - Jumping around in excitement, Zenith embraced my father as she continued to sing my praises... This was not at all what I had expected. Still, I would not get optimistic so soon, my mother may have been happy, but I could hardly read my father's face.

After calming her down, Paul would look around the destruction caused before sighing.

"There goes my dreams for a swordsman... Or woman." - He said defeatedly. - "Dear, we will have to start looking for a tutor... I wanted her to take up the sword, but not even i am stubborn enough to hold back this type of talent."

"Father, I have a suggestion"

"Hm?" - He turned around to look at me, and I began to speak.

"Why not practice both magic and swordplay? I believe my schedule, as nothing more than a three-year-old, is quite open to all sorts of activities. I may practice magic in the morning, and train to be a swordswoman in the afternoon."

"That's a fantastic idea! You really are a genius!" - Was this simple feat of planning truly his definition of genius?

- Ͼ - ⨀ - Ͽ -

Tanya unnerved me. Always had, from the moment she was born... Lilia was just a servant of course, but she couldn't help but feel something was off about Zenith's child, and now she had blown up a window with magic at the age of Three.

But that was insignificant compared to how she conducted herself. No toddler should be that polite, that cold, that distant, that seemingly dominating. Everywhere Tanya went was filled with an aura of dread Lilia couldn't ignore even if she tried, even being around the little girl caused her stomach to drop as if she was in mortal danger, and she may have very well been, given little Tanya's recent feats.

She trained day and night like a robot, and when she wasn't practicing the sword or magic, she was teaching Zenith how to cast new spells... Yes, teaching her own mother.

In 2 weeks, Lilia saw Tanya learn and improve upon Zenith's healing magic. She saw the girl run for hours on end at Paul's command, and even though she was pushing herself to her absolute limits, she was still as cordial as ever.

"I hope this girl doesn't grow up to be some maniac..."

- Ͼ - ⨀ - Ͽ -

It had been some time since a poster about a tutor job had been around... Naturally, after leaving her party, Roxy had no choice but to take whatever jobs she could. She just hoped whoever she was supposed to be tutoring would be easy to work with.

After leaving her carriage, the not-so-young girl would make her way to her destination, greeting whatever people she could along the way, god knew she'd need to go out often to clear her head.

Knock Knock

A couple and a child answered the door. No student in sight, or so she thought.

"I'm Roxy Migurdia." - She paused before continuing. "Pleased to meet you... Do give me your guidance."

They simply stared at her, and she grew nervous with each passing second. She was aware of how she looked, she was aware that she looked young and inexperienced, and being stared at only made her wearier.

As she played around with her blue hair, the man spoke up.

"Oh, you're the, uhm... Home tutor?"

"You're awfully, well..." - The woman beside him spoke too, and Roxy obtaining confirmation for her anxieties wasn't exactly a pleasant experience.

"Mother. She may look young but I am sure she has plenty of knowledge, no?" - Little Tanya defended the girl before Zenith could finish her sentence, something the mage was grateful for, at the very least.

"Ah... Uhm... Thank you, little one." - She looked around for a moment before continuing. - "Uhm, well, so, where is the student ill be teaching?"

Zenith's eyes sparkled with joy as she embraced her husband and child. - "Oh, he is right here!" - She said while caressing Tanya's cheeks... The child seemed annoyed for some reason, maybe she didn't like being pampered?

Sigh

"You do see them sometimes."

"Idiot parents who think their kid has talent just because he's an early bloomer."

"Looks like this one's a dud, huh?" - Roxy thought to herself as she looked away, only to look back and see Zenith's passive-aggressive face... Had she said all that out loud?

"Mother, do not be angry. She is careless for saying that out loud, but she has a point."

"If it will soothe your mind, I am capable of intermediate magic, and hope to achieve advanced level within the year." - The little girl spoke with grace and authority, an unsettling sight given such words were being uttered by a child no older than 3... Most importantly. Intermeditate level?! At such an young age?! There must have been something wrong here.

"...Thank you for clarifying but... Uhm... Should we start then?"

The two were left alone in the garden, and Roxy could only imagine what was to come. If Tanya's claim was real, then she wasn't teaching just a genius, she was teaching a kid with the potential to change the world.

DON'T SCREW THIS UP ROXY!