Chapter 2

A month has passed.

There are two months left until the entrance exam. Considering the move to the capital, it would take about a month and a half.

During this month, I gained a certain level of understanding of the effects the awakening had on my abilities.

To sum it up, there were no significant changes other than in my intellect and personality.

I had a vague, intuitive understanding of this, but it seems I'm not a reincarnation cheat who can do anything.

Huh? Yes, I had high hopes. I was quite disappointed.

It was somewhat surprising, but it seems my intellect has been considerably enhanced. This is the only benefit of the awakening.

It's not just that my knowledge has increased.

Originally, my memory and thinking skills were more effective in areas I was interested in.

And I was reborn into the world of swords and magic that I had always longed for.

Knowledge that I used to dismiss as commonplace in the era of "Allen" is now incredibly interesting.

Even for the typical early stages of a reincarnation story, such as practicing magic in the middle of the night, one needs knowledge to start.

I greedily studied magic theory, knowledge of monsters, and the geography of the kingdom.

Another point, which is more of a hypothesis, is that the layering of memories is physically enhancing my brain's capabilities.

"Allen" was originally much smarter than "my previous self."

It wasn't just about memory; the speed and depth of thought were on a different level.

Even so, my brain seems to be working even better after the awakening.

Just like in my previous life, the more you use your brain, the more it gets trained.

For example, the amount of reading directly affects language skills, logical thinking, and vocabulary.

It's easy to spot someone who doesn't read books.

Also, in terms of calculation skills, children who learn mental arithmetic from a young age can perform calculations at an unbelievable speed.

Such brain capabilities are easier to develop during childhood.

In this life, I have compressed 12 years of experience and 36 years of experience from my previous life into a 12-year-old brain.

Normally, no matter how efficiently education is packed in, it would be impossible.

After all, time is equal for everyone.

My brain, which has been subjected to four times the load of an average person by the age of 12, must be quite wrinkled.

While this is just a hypothesis, there's no point in thinking about it further, so I decided to accept it.

Next, regarding physical abilities, there were no significant changes.

I was a bit worried that my physical abilities might have dropped significantly due to the average of a malnourished child, but it's better that they didn't.

There were also no significant changes in magical aptitude.

The only magic "Allen" could use was a physical enhancement spell, which involves manipulating the magic stored in the body's magic organs to enhance physical abilities.

This spell is learnable by anyone and is very practical, so it is used by everyone regardless of social status, much like a general education.

Using physical enhancement magic efficiently can make a big difference in productivity, whether it's moving heavy loads or farming.

However, the level of mastery varies greatly from person to person.

There are two important aspects of magical aptitude for physical enhancement magic: the capacity to store magic, known as magic power, and the ability to manipulate the stored magic, known as magic control.

Magic power depends on the basic capacity, which is said to be completed by around 12 years old, and the magic compression rate.

The basic capacity is largely determined by talent, while the magic compression rate can be gradually improved through effort.

Naturally, the more magic power one has, the higher the maximum output and the longer the duration of the spell.

Magic control, on the other hand, is largely a matter of innate talent.

While it can be improved to some extent through training, innate talent seems to play a dominant role.

In "Allen's" case, while his magic power was superior to that of an average person, his magic control was said to be exceptionally high.

I can't gauge how my talent compares to others in this world, but according to the sword instructor who is my practical skills tutor, my magic control is so good that I might even be in the A class at the royal school, which is where the best students gather.

I hope this isn't just flattery from a country instructor.

Regarding the effects of the awakening, it seems there were no significant changes in magic power or magic control.

Magic power can be measured with magic tools, and I found that it hadn't changed after the awakening.

The average basic capacity for the general population is around 100, while mine is about 2000.

Currently, I can handle about 1.2 times my capacity through magic compression, so my maximum magic power is roughly 2400.

For reference, the average magic power of royal academy entrants is about 2000, the cutoff is around 1000 (in my sister's year, it was unusually high at 1500), and the top entrants each year exceed 10,000.

The best score in the royal academy entrance exam, which has a history of over a thousand years, is 57,000, recorded about 300 years ago by a great magician who is later known as the founder of clinical magic. He was 12 years old at the time, but he failed the entrance exam.

He had no interest in studying and didn't meet the cutoff for the theoretical exam.

The exam gods are cruel in any world.

This story symbolizes the royal academy's emphasis on theoretical knowledge and proves that even if one excels in practical skills, the cutoff line is strictly enforced.

It's a famous cautionary tale for children who neglect their studies, and "Allen" before the awakening, who hated studying, had heard it so many times it was like a broken record.

On the other hand, quantifying magic control is difficult.

Unlike physical tests in my previous life, which are easy to quantify, magic control is heavily influenced by one's natural physical abilities and magic power.

However, it seems that those who know can immediately tell the level of magic control.

They apparently look at aspects like the burst of power when using magic and the integration with body movements, which are hard to verbalize or quantify.

Of course, if there were significant changes in my magic control, I would be able to sense them intuitively.

In short, there were no significant changes in my existing abilities other than my intellect.

Actually, there was another significant change I felt in myself over this month, though it's not an ability.

It's vitality.

It's hard to explain in words, but it's like a force of life, a driving force to overcome difficulties, which I can clearly feel is abundant in me.

This is something that neither my previous life nor "Allen" had.

It feels like having twice the soul or life force of a normal person.

So, what did I diligently verify over this month, driven by this overflowing vitality?

Of course, it was whether I could do things like...

"Let's go, Fireball!!!"

Boom!!

...and other such things.

After all, I was reborn into a world with magic, right?

I wanted to do it, it looked cool, and I was definitely a sage type.

...And I reconfirmed that using external magic is extremely difficult for me.