I Refused To Be Reincarnated

After returning to his room, grumbling about the time wasted, he focused on his favorite occupation under Nova's disapproving glance.

Despite her frowning and insistence on taking a break, he just tried to appease her, explaining how he relaxed his mind during the other duels.

Shepard had also informed him that Moira would deliver him a legendary artefact of the fifth tier. Though he didn't need it for its enchantments, it'll be valuable to broaden his horizon. After all, not everyone could scrutinise the best enchanter's creations.

And soon, a teacher knocked on the door, forcing him out of his world of dancing theories.

Nova leapt to open and took the item without gazing at it. Instead, she glared at the teacher, a threatening glint flashing in her eyes.

"They did nothing to you. You don't have to hate them because of me."

His gentle voice resounded, and his lips stretched into a reassuring smile after she slammed the door.

"I don't care. Anyone who's your enemy is mine as well!"

Her fist cut through the air as she raised it. Stella imitated her, a guttural growl escaping the cat's cute mouth.

'What a comical duo. I'm sure those enemies would die laughing before reaching me.'

He chuckled before catching the item she threw at him.

Despite his guess, he couldn't help but frown at Moira's minimal efforts.

She had just crafted a wooden wand. The material's worth reached the fifth tier, but the rough carvings were unbefitting of her title.

Yet, his grin enlarged to reach his sparkling eyes.

'The engravings are genuine. I can see all four of them and confirm their stability.'

He tucked his fingers around his chin, analysing it briefly before noting a few differences between Moira's and Yngrid's methods.

'In order, I would say Yngrid uses the oldest theories, followed by Durgrim and, finally, Moira.'

No matter how he scanned the wand, the core method seemed the same to him, the only difference being the intricacy.

As he thought further, his eyes enlarged in realisation, one that made no sense but was as solid as the wand.
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"How is Durgrim's better than hers?!"

Not just better, he could feel its overwhelming depth swallow Moira's work, making it look shallow at best and a pale imitation at worst.

'It's as if Durgrim improved on Yngrid's knowledge while Moira butchered it into something worse.'

The sudden urge to meet the old ghost seized his thoughts in a grasp of excitement and adventurous spirit. Unfortunately, Ossian's city had no operational Gate, making the travel dangerous and long.

'If I step into any of the surrounding kingdoms, I don't doubt their rulers would organise a magnificent party for me... one to send my soul into oblivion.'

A wry smile stretched his lips at the thought, and he shook his head, shoving down the distracting thoughts.

Like a sponge, he had to progress faster and faster. Faster than anyone ever did. Because at the end of the road, he would get what he had waited and worked so hard for: a body.

Nova's inquiries, as his only window on the world outside Durgrim's soul orb, he focused until the sun dipped on the horizon, then rose again.

Without wasting time, he went to Yngrid's shop and met the lively dwarf.

Together, they analysed the wand before casting it aside, deeming it unworthy of their time with contemptuous sneers. They still retrieved the wood and coating Moira used. After all, they were valuable on their own.

Returning to his routine, he learned, each passing day making him clench his fists in joy and self-approval.

Soon, his interface display changed, recognising his growing proficiency in enchanting and mana control, listing them both at the fifth tier.

Despite his achievements, Luna's note made him laugh to tears the first time he read it.

Note: You're doing well. If you had a body, I'm sure your beard would have reached your knees before you left a smithy. I highly recommend you shape a dwarf body to deepen the immersion!

In this wholesome atmosphere, weeks elapsed, then a month and a half.

He joined two more duels and crushed his opponents.

The first believed in his intelligence and developed a complex boosting spell to turn his monster immune to his field. Yet, he tasted his evil ghost's rage, losing under the Dullahan's vengeful blows.

The second one got the first turn, taking the opportunity to cast his own field spell before he could. But to what end?

He felt a little pressure, but Virgo's lesser incarnation, boosted by his spell to increase her effect, crippled his adversary's hand, forcing him to forfeit on the next turn.

Today, he'll compete in the semi-final against the School of Dark Magic and Necromancy's student, who surprised him on the first day.

Yngrid gripped his shoulder, her firm hand trembling.

"I would have never believed you would reach this far in the competition. I can't tell you much. But please, you must win the pair of hands at all costs."

The sudden demand surprised him but also shocked him into paleness.

'Are they related to her inheritance? Are they... the genius dwarf's?'

The possibility sent his thoughts into a reeling mess and his frame into a seizure of wooden noises.

However, she gave him no time to ask more.

"Go now. You'll be late if you waste time on small matters. I won't answer, anyway. But I'd rather see those hands with a diligent boy like you than a profane summoner or dark mage students."

"I should be back before dinner, so keep the forge hot. I'm impatient to craft the actual items!"

He nodded, confidence dripping from his voice and a wide grin stretching his lips.

Yet, an inferno burned in his eyes. A genius' hands? His desire for them increased by a thousandfold. He had marked them as his now. No one has the right to claim them!

The noise of his leather boots meeting the ground with unmatched determination echoed as he left the shop and threw himself into the Gate, ready to compete against the teen he noted as the tournament's most tricky adversary.