The name's not Elric!

[System Connected. Welcome, Elric von Eisenwald.]

"A system what now!?"

I winced, still clutching my head. Pain throbbed with each heartbeat as I tried to process what had just happened… and more importantly, who the hell is Elric?

This thing has to be broken. How can it not recognize my greatness?

My name is—

My name is...

My...

Elric von Eisenwald?

That's impossible. That couldn't be right. My name could be anything — anything but that.

...

There's no use trying to remember a forgotten name when I'm in a body that isn't even mine. But more pressingly—

What is this [System]?

A giant black rectangle of text hovered in front of me.

I tried waving it away, swiping at it like some kind of futuristic glass screen, or commanding it to close like an overbearing book — but it didn't react. The message didn't change.

Still stuck on the same thing:

[System Connected. Welcome, Elric Von Eisenwald.]

And now... is that a triangle?

A tiny one, pulsing up and down beneath the text?

Ah, how foolish of me, it's clearly telling me to scroll it down.

[System Connected. Welcome, Elric Von Eisenwald.]

Maybe press it perhaps? Definitely that's the way.

[System Connected. Welcome, Elric Von Eisenwald.]

Why wouldn't this thing budge!?

I tried everything from sending a flurry of my finest finger flicks, every confident commands, I even tried some of imbuing my words with the very little magic this body possessed but simply—

Nothing. Nothing at all worked.

It seems this thing's stuck in front of me for a while...

Until I figure out how I'm actually supposed to access it — or what it wants from me.

[Detected that the User: Elric von Eisenwald hasn't interacted with System for a while, will now enter Idle mode.]

"What!?

What on Mirelda's green earth are you saying!?"

And with that, the black rectangle construct vanished into nothingness.

"Come back here you little twat!"

I yelled and started stomping on the floor, clenching my fists in clear anger but alas, even that was of no use in this situation. In the decades of experience I gathered in my past, nothing's gonna top this one.

Going out of the bathroom, I took a deep breath.

I have no choice but to accept this new life.

...

"LIKE HELL I DO! I'VE ALREADY DIED AND NO AMOUNT OF YOUTH COULD MAKE ME CHANGE MY MIND!"

I march out of my room unknowingly with no sense of direction but I am the emperor of my life and I am the feared Knight of the Empire.

Nothing in this world could ever put a halt into reclaiming my destined death.

From the fourth floor to the first, through hallways and down the stairs, onlookers gathered to watch as I descended — chin high, chest proud gracing them with my glorious presence.

Although it might've taken me a little bit more time to navigate the premises.

And upon my arrival on the two massive doors that stood before me.

I smirked, catching more attention and whispers from the inhabitants of what I could only assume as the academy's door.

And once I opened it, I was greeted by a breathtaking scene.

Greeneries unlike the barren wasteland that is the battlefield, students buzzing and walking from here and there, beasts of varying sizes that roamed with their masters, and most of all.

Multiple students just right outside with bizarre expressions, looking at me as if they've seen a ghost.

"Has he finally lost it?"

"Is the pressure of being a dropout that much?"

"I think the psycho finally snapped."

"I thought the pervert was just a rumor... but this really confirms it."

Whispers amongst the crowd, but one voice stood out the most.

"Elric... you're such an eyesore to the Eisenwald family as ever."

A woman long flowing green-hair with silver eyes approached me, an aura resembling elegance with manners almost like a noble, I'd say she's the same or a year older than those two brats that entered my room from earlier, yet her uniform is different, now it's similar to the empire's?

But the lion insignia remained.

"Does embarrassing yourself the first time isn't enough that you'd wish to drag your household name down to the mud with the best of your abilities?"

The way she talks is oddly familiar but what does she mean by embarrassing myself?

I gave her a strange questioning look and she gave me the same response.

She sighed. Closing her eyes before shaking her head in disappointment.

"Even if you're amongst the lowest rank students in the Iaross Academy, do you have no sense of pride?"

"I-ya-Rows Academy what now?"

And the response I got this time was a slightly appalled expression, nay, she looked like she was insulted from the way I pronounced it.

Even more murmurs erupted amongst the crowd.

"Hopeless. Utterly hopeless, Elric. You've shown how low you could even go."

She walked forward without even batting an eye to me but not before giving me advice.

"Unless you want stares, maybe throw on your uniform—or, you know, anything less embarrassing—before stepping out of the dorm. You're putting on quite a show, you know?"

What did she mean by that?

In the midst of confusion, I looked down at what I'm currently wearing.

The pajamas.

I forgot to check this guy's closet before going out and I just walked out there.

With pride and my chin over my head, describing my presence as glorious.

"Heh."

I smirked before turning back and returning to my dorm with a smug expression all over my face.

"He might as well be an exhibitionist at this point." I heard one of the students from outside murmur and that struck a chord within me.

...

Now back at my dorm. Locked up.

I felt my knees crumble as I screamed in mortification and muttered incomprehensible words as if I was summoning a demon from hell.

"I can't be branded as someone who exposes himself in front of children!

I don't wanna die that pathetically!

I'm a revered knight!

I CAN'T LET THIS BE MY LEGACY! ARRRGH!"

"WHO WAS THAT BRAT ANYWAYS!?" I cursed under my breath rolling around my room.

And then I bumped onto the heels of my bed putting a stop to my whining as I lay flat, facing the ground.

"But then... I can't even remember my name... nor do I possess my own body.

I'm far more built different than this kid."

I slowly rose to take a seat at the edge of my bed trying to ponder what to do now, for I look at myself as a mess. I thought I wanna die and reclaim my peaceful death but... here I am being embarrassed by trivial stuff.

In my own terms that is.

My poor old soul shouldn't even be here, who knows? I might've stolen a kid's youth or future. I couldn't quite process how this reincarnation or something worked but still... I can't help but feel guilty.

Nothing's making me understand anything when it's usually just slashing enemy soldiers down and drinking booze after a long day.

"If there's really a god out there, why put me into a situation like this?"

I scratched the back of my head before looking outside the window once more, it's already noon.

...

"What should I even do [Next]?"

[System Reactivated.]

[System User Identification Confirmed: Elric von Eisenwald.]

The black rectangle appeared before me again startling me from my seat.

The way it returned back is odd, almost like sliding down from above even though it wasn't there in the first place.

[System Anchoring: Status Interface...]

"Status Interface? You mean like my status as in dead or alive?"

This very thing felt like an opposition to magic itself since I couldn't really discern any form of mana coming from it, something difficult to describe like a transparent tangible form but at the same time, I couldn't even touch it.

If it isn't magic or a tangible magic item, what is it?

[System Anchoring Failed: Status Interface]

"First I managed to open you, now you fail?"

I'm at the point at thinking that this is simply an elaborate prank made by somebody towards this kid.

[System Recovering: Status Interface...]

Now I'm starting to eat my own words. Not even the most powerful mage could engineer something like this and simply hiding its mana presence would be a task impossible in itself.

Could it really be perhaps the work of gods?

[System Recovered: Status Interface.]

[System Rebooting...]

[System Anchoring: Status Interface.]

[System Anchored: Status Interface.]

[Status Interface]

Name: Elric von Eisenwald

Title: Academy's Pervert, Disgrace of the Eisenwald, Dropout Knight

Age: 19

Class: Knight

Level: 1 [EXP: 54/180]

Mana: 12/5 [!]

Skills:

Beginner's Swordplay [Lv.2]

Knowledge of the Blade [Lv.1]

Afflictions:

Curse of the Dazareth ▼

Curse of the Immortal Minos ▼

Curse of the Oathbreaker ▼

Fractured Mana Veins ▼

[Replay Tutorial?]

[System noticed that user had foreign skills prior to reactivation, analyze?]

The huge black rectangle of text transformed into a vertical one, a rectangle still but the obvious difference was this wall of information.

"EXP? Level?"

Such strange foreign words but most importantly... looking below those things, the most concerning part was the amount of those four afflictions.

"Analyze those skills later, what the hell is up with those afflictions?!"

Three curses? in addition to fractured mana veins?

Calm down, young child you're hogging all these curses to your body like they're women.

I could honestly deal with this body's fractured mana veins but dealing with the three unfamiliar curses was the dealbreaker.

The EXP has some numbers in it... so perhaps the kid did try to obtain or accomplish something before... not to mention that [Replay Tutorial?] I might gain insight on how this entire thing functions later.

"Man, problems after another! It couldn't get any worse than this. This old soul doesn't have enough resolve in them to continue..."

I stared at this thing for a while before taking a deep sign since I have nothing else to do. I don't wanna die as a Nameless Knight or some kid known as a pervert.

"Let's try to at least clear your name, kid."

Although I have to understand what I am dealing with first, it wasn't a good time figuring out the commands without watching the [Replay Tutorial?] I don't think I need advanced knowledge for this.

Is what I thought after guessing the proper command on accessing information about at least one affliction.

"Tch... uh... since it works like that then maybe...[Affliction... Curse of the Oathbreaker!]"

[System Command Recognized.

Curse of the Oathbreaker ▲

— A broken oath is the most frowned upon, thus resulting in the Divine Punishment of a god.

— The user cannot wield the sword properly while this curse is active. Stamina will drain faster in attempting to do so.

— The user's stamina is halved while this curse is active. Can be improved but will need more effort.]

Wow.

Who hates a brat like this much?

Divine Punishment from the gods?

That's my first time seeing or reading anything about that, now I'm starting to feel a bit sorry for him even if he's a pervert.

No one deserves this kind of curse... well... except for some that actually deserve it.

But it didn't have to be this kid.

"Ahem... ahem... [How do I remove this curse?]."

[System Recognized Question...]

[User Level is too low to access information. Level 20 or higher is needed to access it.]

"What the hell do you mean Level is too low!?"

I squeezed the temples of my forehead cursing under my breath as I'm ready to throw a punch at it—

Until I heard a knock from my door putting another stop to my antics, which psycho is gonna visit this time?

Hopefully it's not those two brats from earlier for round two, I'll really try and give it my all later.

I made my way towards the door's peephole to take a look at who's on the other side.

And good lord in heaven.