Late that night, Ankit lay alone in his room, staring silently at the ceiling.
His mind was drowning in questions.
Why…?
Why did You bring me into this world?
And if You were going to reincarnate me…
…then why didn’t You give me any power?
What exactly are You trying to make me become, God?
No answer came.
Only silence.
After a long while, Ankit let out a slow sigh.
Well…
there’s no point dwelling on it anymore.
I’ve already been reborn.
And now I know the truth.
I have no magical power.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
Even so…
The people of this world are far kinder than those of my previous one.
Back there…
I was called a disgrace.
People buried me beneath superstition and meaningless expectations.
But here…
They accepted me exactly as I am.
He remembered his father’s words.
“Don’t worry, son.” “So what if you don’t have magic?” “I’ll teach you swordsmanship.” Dad was right.
But…
This world runs on power.
Jobs…
status…
respect…
Everything depends on a person’s magical affinity.
And I don’t even possess one.
His expression grew serious.
I don’t want my family carrying my burden forever.
They may never see me as a burden…
But I would.
I can’t accept living that way.
He slowly closed his eyes.
Then…
A single thought flashed through his mind.
Grandpa once said…
“Power is never fixed.” That wasn’t just empty encouragement.
It was the very theory that allowed him to create an entirely new form of magic.
So…
What can I do?
He searched through the memories of his previous life.
I spent my whole life studying…
There has to be something…
Something I learned that still has value.
Suddenly…
His eyes opened.
That’s right…
In my previous life, people often told me to read ancient scriptures.
I read countless old texts.
Back then, they never helped me.
But…
Maybe this world is different.
He remembered one particular idea that appeared again and again in those ancient writings.
They all spoke about meditation.
They claimed that the sages of ancient times awakened incredible powers through deep meditation.
I never knew whether those stories were true…
Or just legends.
A determined smile slowly spread across his face.
But this isn’t my old world.
This is a fantasy world.
Who knows…?
Maybe meditation really can change something here.
Doing nothing will never change my fate.
So…
I’ll try.
I worked harder than anyone in my previous life.
This time…
I’ll work just as hard again.
And maybe…
Just maybe…
This life will have a different ending.
That night, Ankit made up his mind completely.
From today onward…
I’ll meditate every single day.
No matter how difficult it becomes…
I’ll never give up.
— The Next Night…
After everyone had gone to sleep, Ankit quietly sneaked into his room.
He looked around carefully to make sure no one was watching.
I’ve already decided.
From now on, I’ll meditate every night.
At the very least…
Two hours every single day.
And as time goes on…
I’ll gradually increase the duration.
Today is the first step.
Ankit clenched his fists and looked toward the ceiling with determination.
“Today…” “I’ll definitely meditate for two whole hours!” “And I won’t lose my focus even once!” “I’ll do it no matter what!” With that, he calmly sat down on his bed.
He crossed his legs, straightened his back, and closed his eyes.
Placing his hands on his knees, he formed a meditation mudra by touching his thumb and index finger together.
Then…
He slowly began meditating.
Twenty minutes passed.
The room remained perfectly silent.
Everything seemed peaceful…
Until— Zzz…
Snore…
The mighty meditator had completely surrendered to sleep.
Instead of sitting in deep meditation, Ankit was now lying flat on his bed with his mouth wide open, sleeping as peacefully as possible.
Inside his dream…
He mumbled proudly, “Today…” “…I meditated…” “…for the full eight hours…” “…Now…” “…I’m the master…” “…of every power…” “…Hehe…” A tiny trail of drool slowly slipped from the corner of his mouth as the self-proclaimed meditation genius continued enjoying the greatest sleep of his life.
His very first day of “serious training”…
Ended in spectacular failure.
The next morning…
The first rays of the rising sun slipped through the bedroom window and gently fell across Ankit’s face.
His eyelids twitched.
Slowly, he opened his eyes.
“…Huh?” “Morning already?” He rubbed his eyes before suddenly freezing.
“…Wait.” “Morning?!” A defeated expression appeared on his face.
So…
I really fell asleep after just ten minutes.
He let out a long sigh.
I guess I underestimated meditation.
There’s no way obtaining power could ever be that easy.
I honestly thought it would be simple.
But after only ten minutes…
My back became stiff.
I told myself I’d rest for just two minutes before continuing…
And those two minutes somehow turned into six hours.
“Ugh…” “What a disaster…” Just then, the bedroom door opened.
His father walked inside with his usual cheerful smile.
“Good morning, son.” “Come on.” “It’s time for your training.” Before Ankit could even react, Sore picked him up and carried him straight to the bathroom.
Placing him down, he smiled.
“Take your bath.” “I’ll be waiting outside.” “Once you’re done…” “We’ll begin your training.” As Ankit bathed, he couldn’t stop thinking.
Meditation is much harder than I imagined.
But if I keep practicing every day…
I’ll eventually get used to it.
I can’t give up after just one failure.
Then another thought crossed his mind.
Seriously…
Dad really announced morning training this early…
He’s not giving me any time to recover.
After finishing his bath, Ankit walked outside.
His father was already waiting.
Sore tossed him a small wooden sword.
It was light, perfectly sized for a child.
Then Sore picked up his own wooden practice sword and stood in front of him.
“Come.” “Attack me.” Several nearby villagers, who had gathered to watch, couldn’t help but laugh.
“Hey, Sore!” “He’s only one and a half years old!” “And you’ve already put a sword in his hands?” Sore smiled confidently.
“Don’t worry.” “My son can handle it.” Ankit tightened his grip on the wooden sword.
A confident grin slowly spread across his face.
Heh…
Dad…
Today I’ll surprise you.
I’ve watched so many action anime in my previous life…
I already know plenty of sword-fighting stances and attack patterns.
Let’s see how much of that knowledge actually works in a real fight.