"I Reincarnated But Have No System? You Must Be Kidding Me!"

"So it was you..."

The words left Austaire's lips like venom. Her voice was low, trembling with the kind of rage that simmers for years before finally boiling over.

The fading sunlight caught the sharp edges of her golden hair, now tousled and streaked with dust from battle.

Her eyes, those same golden eyes Auren knew were connected by blood, were molten with hatred. Her fingers clenched around her sword hilt until the leather groaned before letting herself loose,

"You are the reason for all this!!"

Auren stood still, his masked face giving away nothing. The faint wind stirred between them, dragging with it the distant sound of clashing steel and muffled war cries.

"I'm sorry?"

His tone was even, though the air around them carried the weight of something unspoken.

"You," she hissed, her gaze locked on him like a predator's. "You are the one who caused our misery. The destruction of my life. The one who caused the death of thousands of people and children..."

Silence.

Auren didn't need her to explain further. He understood the accusation, even if it was misguided. Obviously from her tone, it seems like she suffered because of that stupid king's mad decisions.

'It seems like my identity's already exposed… probably because of my lack of a Divine Frame.' He let the thought sit for a moment, watching her posture.

'But why does she hate me as if It was me who killed them all?'

His boots shifted in the dirt, just enough to adjust his stance. He made sure Micha'el, who is still injured nearby, wouldn't get caught if things turned violent.

"So I guess this is a family reunion then?"

Her glare sharpened.

"Do not insult me."

Her voice cracked- not from weakness, but from the sheer strain of holding in her emotions.

She raised her sword, light catching on its polished edge.

"I don't recognize you as my family, especially after causing such death to my kingdom!"

"Fair enough." he sighed.

Auren's gaze slid briefly toward Anast'cia and Gondar, both tense and watching.

"Listen. Leave her to me," he ordered, his voice calm but edged before turning his gaze to Micha'el.

"Go help him."

They didn't hesitate, their eyes darting between the siblings as they quickly pulled out Micha'el from the field.

Anast'cia's voice was low as she took Micha'el's arm. "Auren can't use most of his mana. Is he going to be okay?"

Gondar adjusted his grip on the wounded young elf, his jaw tight.

"We've sparred countless times. I seldom win. That's with him holding back."

Anast'cia frowned, her brows knitting together.

"So you're saying he's fine?"

"I'm saying he has plans," Gondar replied. His voice carried a strange blend of respect and unease, the kind of tone one uses for a man who's survived too many battles to be underestimated.

A breeze stirred the battlefield's dust, swirling it around Auren's boots. The grit shifted under his weight as he stepped forward, measured and deliberate.

Across from him, Austaire's golden eyes tracked every movement. Her shoulders were squared like a duelist ready for blood, her blade angled slightly forward,steady, but impatient.

Without breaking their silent stare, Auren reached for his belt. His gloved fingers closed around a small glass vial,a narrow, twenty-five milliliter container of deep blue liquid that shimmered like trapped lightning.

It was a concentrated mana potion he had crafted himself, tailored for his unusual condition.

This is going to cost me a lot of mana, he thought, thumb brushing over the etched glass. Can't afford to go offline mid-fight. I'll need it all.

With a subtle mental command, the potion's Divine Frame flickered into view,a glowing overlay of arcane text hanging in the air:

*

Name: Blue Bull High Grade Mana Potion

Potency: 68%

Crafted by: ________

Description: A high-concentration mana potion brewed in the sacred elven forest of Runewood. Infused with a unique mixture of Rosemana leaves, Skitterbolt antennae powder, Runewood morning dew, and ground Bluemoon Ginseng.

Additional Effects:

Increases movement speed by 24%

Increases reaction speed by 23%

Mana Capacity temporarily increased by 25%

Mana Shock symptoms reduced by 30%

Spellcasting speed increased by 7%

Side Effects:

Spellcasting failure chance increased by 10%

Restlessness and excessive sweating

Insomnia for up to two days

*

The swirling liquid caught the dying sunlight, streaks of silver twisting through the blue like veins of quicksilver.

Auren popped the cork with his thumb. With his other hand, and tilted the vial back in one smooth motion.

The taste hit immediately,bitter, sharp, with an undercurrent of metallic sweetness. It burned down his throat, the heat spreading into his chest before exploding outward into every vein, flooding his limbs with that familiar electric hum.

That's more like it, he thought, the corners of his mouth twitching under his half-face mask. His pulse quickened,not from fear, but from the sudden, addictive surge of energy.

Across from him, Austaire's lips tightened at the sight, her jaw hardening as if carved from marble. Her voice did not falter, but the pitch sharpened.

'How shameless!' she seethed inwardly.

'Here I am spouting my anger, yet he still finds the time to drink?'

The thought coiled in her chest, sour and hot, feeding the vulging pulse in her temples.

Auren, meanwhile, stood rooted as if the dust and grit under his boots were part of him.

He listened,not with the politeness of a courtier, but with patience of a veteran. Every word, every subtle shift in Austaire's stance, every twitch in her sword hand was logged in the quiet ledger of his mind.

Because whatever came next, he intended to be ready.

Her voice dropped to a near-whisper, but the venom in it was palpable.

"To tell you the truth, if only you were never born," Austaire began, her tone measured, her enunciation as precise as the point of her blade,

"my family would still be alive. My household,the ones who raised me from the time I could walk,were massacred. And all of it was because of you."

The words hung in the air like frost, crystallizing the moment. Even the dust motes seemed to still, caught in a shaft of fading light.

Auren tilted his head slightly, a gesture more curious than defensive. "What do you want from me? To die for sins I never committed?" His voice was calm, but there was an edge beneath it,a tempered steel warning that he would not kneel to ghosts.

"You don't understand," she snapped, the veneer of royal composure fracturing. Her fingers tightened around the hilt until her knuckles blanched, and the sword's tip dipped ever so slightly, trembling,not from weakness, but from the sheer force of the emotion behind it.

Her breath quickened, fogging faintly in the cooling evening air, and the faint tremor in her lips betrayed that her rage was rooted in grief far deeper than her words could carry.

Her golden eyes narrowed. Mana rippled off her in waves as she raised her sword, the glow around her intensifying. The ground beneath her boots cracked from the pressure.

"You being born was the sin."

The blade shimmered, gold aura wrapping it like molten light. The very air seemed sharper.

"That is why," she said, her voice hard as steel, "I have decided to kill you,to appease the souls of my family and the thousands of children who died that day!"

Her feet slammed into the earth, propelling her forward.

'This is ridiculous.'

Auren's gloved fingers tightened around his weapon,a massive rune-etched bazooka resting against his shoulder. He could feel the familiar vibration of charged mana within, like a heartbeat against his skin.

But Austaire was ready. She slammed her shield into the dirt.

[SHIELD WALL]

Golden barriers erupted around her, encasing her in shimmering plates of light. Each one pulsed with a steady hum, resonating like a living thing.

Instead of aiming directly for her, Auren lowered the weapon.

ZTT–KABOOOM!

The explosion rocked the earth, flinging dirt and gravel high into the air. The blast swallowed them in a cloud of dust so thick it stung the eyes and coated the tongue. Turns out, it was a smoke screen!

Austaire didn't slow. Her [Observation] skill cut through the haze, revealing faint movement ahead. She swung,only to slice through empty air.

'Invisibility skill?' she thought.

"Princess! Above you!" Ovan's voice pierced the chaos.

She looked up,

Auren dropped from above, MJ boots still glowing from the leap. The angle bypassed her glowing shields entirely.

Zzzt–KABOOM!

The shot hit with the force of a falling star.

THAANG!

The shield absorbed it, but the shock still drove her to one knee. She gritted her teeth, a metallic taste filling her mouth.

'It's like being slammed by a giant's hammer,' she thought, the tremor still running up her arm.

Her golden wings flared open with a sudden snap.

"You think you're the only one who can fly?"

She surged upward in a burst of wind, sword raised.

"I see, so you have that skill too..." Auren commented as he fought back by aiming his bazooka.

Zzzt–KABOOM!

Zzzt–KABOOM!

The shots glanced off her shields, sparks scattering.

Auren exhaled through his nose.

'What a strong shield! Not worth the mana.'

He snapped his fingers as he activated his storage ring, the bazooka ins his hand dissolved into motes of light, before switching into his Divine Rapier in his grasp.

'Melee combat it is.'

They met midair.

CLANG!~

The first strike sent a shock up Auren's arms, the impact echoing in his bones. Her strength was greater than he'd anticipated.

"RAAAH!"

Austaire's cry tore through the air as she rained down blows. Her sword blurred, each slash carving the air with lethal precision.

Auren blocked, deflected, pivoted, but she pressed harder with every swing.

On the ground, Anast'cia's eyes went wide.

"Are you seeing this?"

Gondar's lips pulled back in a grin, though his hands trembled with anticipation.

"Her swordsmanship… it's rare to see someone overpower him."

The duel became a storm of steel. Sparks showered with every clash, the ringing of blades punctuating their movements.

CLANG!~ SLASH!~

Auren parried high, ducked low, twisted his wrist to redirect her thrust.

'This fight is not on my side on a long stride..'

His breathing stayed even, but the cut along his cheek proved she was breaking through his defenses.

"Her swordsmanship is a level higher than the one Robert thaught me."

A thin rivulet of blood slid down, warm against his skin.

He blinked once, slow.

'Time to get serious.'

"Activate, Manamor."