"Hmm."

Isaac nodded and read the document.

He did not expect that much money.

Did Duke Wright finally gain some conscience after nearly killing his son for something he never did, then never apologizing to him?

Amanda gritted her teeth as she stared at Isaac.

Now that he was no longer the heir, around whom she had to be on her toes, she could pour her heart out.

"Finally, our family is removing the stain that had been tarnishing our name. We can finally throw away the monster that had been sucking our blood and growing in our house."

Anger rose inside her when Isaac stayed calm.

At that moment, Merlin spoke up, realizing Isaac was not going to say anything, "Amanda, Isaac is changing. He is—"

"Do not interfere." Amanda turned to him with a sharp gaze. "I know you have tried to reform him for a year, Merlin.

"But snakes like him will always stay the same. They only know how to bite the hand that feed them.

"He is just staying low because he knows father is reaching the limit of his patience.

"If he is forgiven, he will revert to his heinous self," she said.

Isaac closed the document and looked at his sister.

He had gained the memories of the original Isaac as he lived for decades in his last life.

He remembered her calling him ’brotha’ when she was a child, and following him with a smile.

Now, she was spewing venom at him.

Isaac raised his gaze and looked at Hazel.

The maid flinched and looked away.

She knew Duke Falcon had tried to kill him a year ago. She must have told his sister.

She also knew Isaac was later proven innocent.

For something he did not do...

For something he was framed for...

He was ’nearly’ killed.

Yet, after his innocence was proved, no one came to apologize to him. Not his father, not Duke Falcon, not Zara, not his maid.

No one said, ’I’m sorry for not trusting you.’

They probably thought it was still his fault.

’Zara only did that because of how you were. It’s your fault to begin with.’

That’s how they must have rationalized their decision.

’I miss you, Sylvie.’ Those words unconsciously rose in Isaac’s heart.

He suppressed those thoughts quickly. He had to remain strong.

"Okay."

He stood up.

Amanda stiffened. She had expected him to argue or lash out. That was why she had placed knights in the room.

Merlin’s eyes widened. His worst fear came true. Isaac had no intention of defending himself.

He had already given up on himself, and everyone else.

"Isaac, wait! Wait!"

Merlin reached for his wrist but stopped when Isaac looked at him.

That cold gaze made him hesitate. He felt something would go wrong if he forced Isaac to stay.

When Merlin stepped back, Isaac turned and walked toward the door.

"I know you are acting! Even if you behave like this, we will not forgive you!" Amanda shouted.

Isaac didn’t stop or acknowledge her words.

Merlin stayed behind. He probably hoped he could change Amanda’s mind.

Isaac knew it would not work.

He returned to his room and packed his things. As expected, the academy sent his expulsion letter by evening.

By then, he had already packed everything.

He was about to leave when Merlin appeared at the door.

The protagonist’s expression was a sight to see.

He looked miserable.

Anyone who did not know the situation would think Merlin was the one being cast out, not Isaac.

"I’m sorry."

"For what?"

Merlin’s face twisted. Regret, sadness, and guilt filled his expression. Isaac’s words made him realize he had failed to help Isaac.

Isaac clicked his tongue.

He patted Merlin’s shoulder to cheer him up, and spoke, "I will be at my mansion. Finish the altered Communication Technology and come there. Do it quickly. I don’t have much money left for resources."

Merlin nodded.

Isaac left the academy late at night.

He traveled for two months before he reached his mansion at the edge of the kingdom.

The land belonged to Baron Jilk. It was a poor land due its proximity to the Mourning Frost Mountains.

Cold winds and monsters often came from the Mourning Frost Mountains. They destroyed crops and killed livestock.

Isaac faced several attacks during his journey from those who held grudges against him.

He dealt with them easily. Although some of them were of the same rank as him, no one could match his combat experience.

Three months later, the protagonist arrived.

"Brrr, it’s so cold here."

He shivered.

Isaac made two cups of hot chocolate and placed one in front of him.

"Hot chocolate? Isaac is treating me nicely? Isaac would never do this! Who are—"

"Do you want me to throw you outside?"

"Cough... never mind. Isaac always treats me nicely."

Merlin smiled as he spoke. Isaac had not changed much.

Merlin had worried Isaac might fall into despair. Someone who did not even defend himself could not be in a good state of mind.

But Isaac seemed stable.

He might feel low, but he would not do anything foolish like self-harm, given his current condition.

"Oh right, what did you do? The entire noble society is in chaos. Marquis Belikas and Earl Hamilton are out for your blood," Merlin said as he drank.

"Only two nobles? I expected more."

Merlin’s lips twitched.

Did Isaac understand what he was saying? Entire noble houses wanted to kill him, and he wanted more of them to come after him?

"So?" Merlin asked again.

"You already know the answer. They attacked me when I left the academy. I killed all the knights and mages they sent. They are angry because of their losses."

Isaac did not worry about revenge.

They would not get the chance.

A war would begin soon. It would pull all noble houses into it. More than ninety percent of the kingdom’s population would die.

No one will have time for Isaac.

Isaac did not know the full details of the war.

By the time he had started getting in contact with the elves in his last life, the war had already ended.

In fact, the reason he got close to elves was because, near the end of the war, an unknown knight brought human children to the elves’ forest to protect them from the massacre.

The elves did not reject the children.

They took them in and later contacted Isaac to help care for them.

That was how Isaac grew close to the elves.

As for the knight, Isaac never learned what happened to him. The children said he left them near the forest and never returned.

"I was waiting for the nobles to send more soldiers, but no one came. Did you do something?" Isaac asked, knowing the war was still years away, so the nobles should’ve sent troops.

"No?" Merlin blinked with an innocent face.

Isaac clicked his tongue. He could tell the protagonist had done something.

’The protagonist in the novel was arrogant, narcissistic, and self-righteous.’

’But this guy is completely different, maybe because this is now a real world.’

’He must have threatened the noble houses.’

’Maybe he said he would not sell them the Communication Technology. Or maybe he revealed his strength.’

’That’s why they are not coming after me.’

"So, about the communication technology..." Merlin said. He changed the topic and smiled. "I swapped it in the Royal Patent Office! That’s right! Even the king’s forces couldn’t detect me! Hahaha!"

Isaac tuned out the words when the protagonist started his drama queen act again.

A few days later, Isaac and Merlin co-founded a merchant company called [InstantSpeak].

They started building the foundation to sell their Communication Technology, through their merchant company.

The process was difficult.

Laying down the infrastructure for Communication Technology needed massive money.

They had to dig across land, hire Life Element mages, build systems to send mana message packets, set up encryption, and manage everything.

It was all an endless sinkhole of money.

The technology could bring endless profit, but they needed heavy investment to start.

Isaac and Merlin did not have that kind of money.

Many large merchant companies saw their situation and tried to take advantage of them.

They offered to buy the selling rights of the Communication Technology.

In return, they would cover all the initial costs.

Isaac and Merlin told them to scram.

Isaac had his own plans, and Merlin refused to share his already small cut of the pie.

The merchants tried to put pressure on the duo, but that turned out to be a mistake.

Several merchant guilds disappeared overnight.

Isaac sent a message to the rest. He said he would not sell any rights. He would only accept loans with 1% interest.

The demand sounded absurd, but he did not change it.

He knew how valuable the technology was.

Even if the loan gave little profit, some merchants would still agree just to build a relationship with him.

At the same time, the noble houses watched everything.

They wanted a share too.

But Isaac had been exiled from the Wright family, and his engagement with Zara had ended.

Everyone knew the Wright family and the Falcon family stood against him.

No noble house wanted to make enemies of two ducal houses by approaching Isaac.

But in the end, one did. Their greed had overcome their caution.

Once one noble house offered a loan, others followed quickly.

They could not boycott the Communication Technology. It was too valuable. Even the Wright and Falcon families could not stop its growth.

Their only choice was to work with Isaac, and flatter him.

Isaac accepted the loans and made more deals.

InstantSpeak grew fast.

Soon, Isaac was swimming in money.

He used it to buy rare resources. His growth speed exploded.

Blinded by his fortune, many Noble Houses tried to marry their daughters to him to share his fortune with themselves.

Isaac refused all of them.

Three years passed.

Isaac broke through.

[Magic Core: Awakened (Beginner) → Awakened (Intermediate)]

He exhaled white mist and stood up. His Existence was elevated. His muscles tightened and relaxed as they adapted to his new power.

"I reached Awakened (Intermediate) three months before my five-year limit. I really did it."

He clenched his fist, and closed his eyes, focusing on the endless strength coursing through his veins.

Five years to reach Awakened (Intermediate) and First Layer (Intermediate).

It was an absurd goal.

Anyone who heard would laugh and call it a fantasy.

Only the heroes in the myths could perhaps reach that level in mere five years.

Yet, Isaac had made those myths reality.

’I’m finally back to the level I had in my last life.’

Isaac was currently in the courtyard behind his mansion.

From there, he could see the edge of a forest filled with tall trees.

He used Weapon Element on his fingers and swung his hand.

Trees dozens of meters away split apart and fell.

The sight satisfied him.

"With First Layer (Intermediate) strengthening my body, I can now fight the Ten Stars."

The Ten Stars stood at Awakened (Advanced) or First Layer (Advanced).

Isaac stood one rank below them. But his Weapon Element allowed him to fight people one rank above him.

’The hard part starts now. I never reached Awakened (Advanced) or First Layer (Advanced) in my last life.’

’Everything from here is an uncharted territory to me.’

Isaac understood the theory for the breakthrough to the next rank.

For Magic Core, he needed to buy more resources, and use them to gain more mana.

For his Weapon Element, he needed to train his internal organs, which was quite easy but time consuming.

He would damage his organs with Weapon Element, heal them, and repeat the process.

’I need to make sure I live for as long as possible.’

’If I die too early and without reaching Awakened (Advanced) or First Layer (Advanced), then I would still have no idea how to reach that realm in next life, meaning I would’ve wasted this entire life.’

Isaac set a goal for this life.

He had to reach Awakened (Advanced) or First Layer (Advanced).

At the very least, he needed one of them before he died of old age.

Isaac froze when he realized he had started treating his lives as disposable.

He closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.

’This is for the better.’

’The sooner I accept my reality, the faster I can focus on my main goal.’

’People don’t matter.’

’Bonds don’t matter.’

’Lives don’t matter.’

’The only thing that matters is strength.’

’I only need to focus on living for as long as possible to squeeze out every potential gain from each life.’

’Only then can I kill the one who trapped me in this time loop.’

He clenched his fist so hard that his skin tore.

He could not understand what he was feeling right now.

Did he feel angry about how he had decided to live? Or did he feel angry at the person who trapped him here?

Isaac suppressed those thoughts.

The more he thought, the more his resolve would weaken.

He only needed to train, and get stronger.

Two more years passed like this.

Then Merlin brought news.

"...Isaac, your father, Duke Wright, is dead."

...

Author’s Note:

Send Powerstones if you are enjoying the novel!