Year 412 of the Ka Ryuu Calendar.
This was the year Rudeus advanced to Mizu no Seikyu (Water Saint-tier) in magic. It was also the second year since Roxy had stopped in Buena Village and become Rudeus's home tutor.
Southern slopes of the Crimson Dragon Mountains, northern Fittoa Region.
In the depths of night, the dense forest flickered under the pale moonlight. A cold wind flowed down the mountain ridge, slipping through the cracks in the treetops and weaving into the orange glow of a campfire, brushing lightly against the face of a young boy.
The flames reflected in his dark gray eyes, dancing and uncertain.
A scorched stick suddenly snapped with a loud crack, startling him. He blinked and looked down at the map of the Kingdom of Asura spread before him.
—At the center of his gaze, the northern edge of the Fittoa Territory was circled in red ink. Within it, four Chinese characters had been written:
Buena Village.
The map's owner rested his chin on his hand. He didn't look very old, but his expression was unusually calm. A pair of sharply angled brows gave his youthful face a hint of unshakable resolve.
"Probably one more day of walking and I'll finally meet Rudi."
Allen, a transmigrator.
Before dying and ending up in another world, he had been working overtime—testing road conditions for an autonomous driving system at an internet-based automotive company. Having been involved in the system's development from the very beginning, Allen had absolute confidence in its safety.
So, during a break, he whipped out his phone to sneak in some reading of Mushoku Tensei: Redundancy Chapter.
Perhaps noticing the love for reincarnation stories carved into his frown, the driving system graciously did what all overworked employees secretly longed for.
The speedometer needle jumped. In three seconds, he broke 100 km/h. One smooth drift into a corner—
And crashed head-on into a massive parked freight truck hiding perfectly in a roadside blind spot.
By the time he was found, his phone was embedded in his forehead, eyes wide open in a fury, clearly very un-peaceful in death.
Died at the age of twenty-five.
He reincarnated into the Mushoku Tensei world as a baby. It's now been nine years.
Coincidentally, this world had the same name as the one from the novel.
Well—technically not in Chinese, but a human language that shared phonetic similarities. With its grammar structure being close to Chinese, Allen picked it up incredibly fast without interference from his mother tongue.
He pinched his temple, a trace of frustration on his face.
"A shame... I was only four years old when Rudi was born. No way I could've made it to Buena Village in time to take part in the first major event of the Mushoku Tensei storyline."
Just as he said this, lines of smoky text began to appear before his face—gradually solidifying out of the air. Allen had verified it many times: this wasn't an illusion seen with his eyes, but a hallucination perceived directly by his soul. Others couldn't see it at all.
[Mushoku Tensei Cross-World Travel Guide]
[The Host must participate in "major events" of the Mushoku Tensei world, and leave your mark in the eyes of main and supporting characters alike, within the era of Rudeus.]
[Based on Rudeus's main arc growth trajectory (Childhood – Home Tutoring Period – Adolescence – Adulthood), you must score 60 out of 100 in participation at each stage to pass. Failure to do so may result in the loss of your Travel Guide Host status. Consequences unknown, but existence erasure due to time-space rejection is highly probable.]
Allen stared at the system panel, the corner of his mouth twitching.
When he first realized he had reincarnated, he was ecstatic. Sure, his death was brutal, but reincarnating as an orphan meant a full character reset. That was already a huge win.
Who wouldn't want a mom again?
And more importantly, reincarnating into a fantasy world meant no more dragging himself to a 9-to-5 with black bags under his eyes, right?
But even before his baby eyes fully developed, before he could even recognize his own mother's face, his soul "saw" this world's second mother—his system.
The words "ERASURE" were boldly underlined in red in Song font.
So touching.
Allen cleared his thoughts and looked further down the text:
[Current Stage: Childhood | Participation Score: 2]
[Selectable Growth Paths:]
[Path of the Magician (Abandoned): Inherit the mana factor of the Demon God Laplace. Increases mana pool, enhances affinity, doubles comprehension of magic.]
[Blessing: Beautiful green hair. Drawback: Physically unable to channel Tōki (Battle Aura).]
[Path of the Swordsman (Selected): Inherit the Ryūsei Tōki (Dragon Saint Aura) seed from the Dragon God Orsted. Reduces mana cost for channeling aura, enhances affinity with Tōki, doubles comprehension of swordsmanship.]
[Blessing: Strong and sturdy physique. Drawback: Mana recovery rate equal to Orsted's (extremely slow).]
[Current Sword Style Proficiency (Compared to the average of all swordsmen in the Mushoku Tensei world; system will automatically update once your techniques reach within 10% of the next tier's average):]
Kenshin-ryū (Sword God Style): Intermediate
Suijin-ryū (Water God Style): Advanced
Hokushin-ryū (North God Style): Intermediate
Over the past nine years, Allen had seen this system panel thousands of times. But every time his eyes landed on "Beautiful green hair" and "Strong and sturdy physique," the same scene popped into his mind:
A goddess named "Cross-World Guide" rising from murky waters. In her left hand, a green-haired trap with a wild haircut. In her right, a muscular, dark-skinned macho man.
And she'd ask, smiling: "Dear host, which one did you drop?"
Allen could only stare, speechless.
Why did he choose the swordsman path and give up Laplace's mana factor—essentially abandoning the route to becoming Rudeus 2.0?
First, because swordsmen were just stronger in the Mushoku Tensei world. In light novels, "sword" was a catch-all term for badass melee weapons, and Allen, personally, preferred the visceral style of close-range swordsmanship.
Second, Orsted's Ryūsei Tōki was just too good to pass up. The guy was one of the most broken combatants in the main storyline. Choosing Laplace just didn't make sense.
And it absolutely had nothing to do with the words "Beautiful green hair."
"According to the original, Roxy leaves Buena Village this year... I've been delayed for months. Hopefully, I can still make it to meet her."
Back in the winter of Year 411, Allen had already decided to head to Buena Village. He missed the major event of Rudeus's birth, but he had to be present for Rudeus meeting Roxy. Even if he was still a kid, he'd made every effort to escape his starting environment and join a Mushoku Tensei turning point.
Unfortunately, some unexpected complications left him wandering near the Crimson Dragon Mountains for months. It was now late spring of 412 by the time he reached the outskirts of Buena Village.
"If I miss her again, I'll have to rely on Sylphy, Rudeus, and his family for my childhood stage score. Risky. Roxy is way too central in Mushoku Tensei."
Allen waved a hand to disperse the system's smoky text and brushed back a tangled lock of hair from his forehead.
He gripped his sword and stood up.
The firelight lit up his figure. Though only nine years old, he already stood at 160 cm. His well-balanced physique filled out the tattered swordsman's outfit he wore.
But he had no interest in admiring the system's so-called "blessing." Narrowing his eyes, he turned his head slightly.
Beyond the light of the fire, the dense darkness stirred with the wind.
Four shadows stepped out from the black and into the firelight.
(End of Chapter)
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