Cube

"Cube"

Riezel Brihaut was a genius.

The reason for that wasn't because he had exceptional comprehension, nor because his talent was especially high. It was simply because the world favored him a little more, allowing him to be born far ahead of countless others.

Riezel Brihaut wasn't some great figure with an overwhelming background either. On the contrary, he came from an obscure rural village. His family had been farmers for three generations, and his grandfather had even been a slave. It was easy to imagine just how humble his origins were.

Yet Riezel Brihaut was undoubtedly a lucky man.

Because he had been born with an extraordinary amount of magic power.

After discovering this, unwilling to remain merely a farmer or a slave, he abandoned his grandfather and family, who had intended to offer him to their master. He fled the rural territory where he had grown up and escaped all the way to the domain of a great noble, where he took part in the National Magic Academy's entrance examination, which happened to be held there.

Thus, his immense innate magic power easily caught the attention of the academy's higher-ups. He was directly admitted to The Continent's Highest Academy and became a new student renowned throughout the academy.

That was how Riezel Brihaut's reputation as a genius had begun.

His comprehension was not actually that impressive, nor was his talent for magic particularly exceptional. But because he possessed outstanding magic power from birth, he became the genius everyone envied.

That was because, in this world, although everyone possessed magic power, the amount one had was an innate quality determined at birth and could not be changed through acquired means.

In other words, however much magic power a person possessed at birth was how much they would have for the rest of their life.

This meant that many people were doomed from birth to never become magicians through effort alone, no matter how unwilling they might be.

Conversely, some people blessed with exceptional natural gifts and vast amounts of magic power barely needed to work hard to become magicians. They could cast high-level, high-powered magic that others could never use and easily become so-called geniuses.

Riezel Brihaut was one such person.

That was why countless people praised him.

That was why countless people flattered him.

Many people gathered around him. Even many prominent figures wanted to curry favor with him and extended invitations his way. Even the kingdom valued him greatly; it was said that the king himself remembered his name.

So the question was this.

What would become of a country boy of humble birth and little experience, someone who had lived as a lowly person all his life but, upon arriving in the big city, was flattered, supported, and praised everywhere he went after being tempted by its dazzling pleasures?

Would he be like the protagonists of certain novels—work hard, strive ever upward, resist every temptation, become the strongest, and completely change his fate?

No.

At least, Riezel could say with certainty—

"In an environment like this, the chances of a person turning bad are countless times greater than the chances of them turning good."

The original owner had been exactly like that.

Amid the praise, flattery, fawning, and support of those around him, the original owner had just as easily forgotten diligence and hard work, sinking into the sweet-coated traps laid by others and unable to pull himself free.

As a result, he became a complete good-for-nothing. Relying on his so-called "genius" title, he spent every day indulging in pleasure with the children of nobles. He had not gone so far as to bully men and women or prey on the weak, but he had gradually become arrogant and conceited, believing himself to be one of the upper class. He refused to associate with those of humble birth and spent his days fooling around with a group of noble heirs.

At last, the disaster that shattered the original owner's beautiful dream arrived.

One month ago, after spending time with a group of noble heirs and preparing to return to the academy, the original owner was attacked. Not only was he gravely injured and at death's door, but the Gate within his body was destroyed, leaving him unable to use magic ever again.

From that moment on, the genius would fall from his pedestal.

Upon understanding this, the original owner was overwhelmed by grief and died.

Even his final thought was not regret for all he had done until then, but an absolute refusal to accept the future that awaited him—a return to the life of a lowly man he once knew.

It was under such circumstances that Riezel arrived and replaced the original owner. Yuri, believing that he had been successfully saved, brought him back to her own residence.

Riezel felt no sympathy or pity for such an original owner.

"This outcome can be considered self-inflicted."

In his previous life, Riezel's circumstances had actually been somewhat similar to those of the original owner. They had likewise been filled with sweet words and endless flattery.

But unlike the original owner, Riezel had basically seen through the true faces hidden behind those smiling expressions. He loathed those people with ulterior motives, as well as the environment he had lived in.

Now that he had left his original world and come to this Another World of Sword and Magic, it was something of a release for Riezel.

With that in mind, Riezel had originally had no intention of pursuing the matter of the original owner's attack.

But the situation seemed to be far more complicated than he had imagined.

"I've already ordered people to investigate."

At the mention of this matter, Yuri's brows furrowed slightly.

"They found nothing?"

Seeing her expression, Riezel immediately guessed the outcome.

Sure enough, Yuri nodded.

"The other party has hidden themselves very well. Whether it was the attack one month ago that left you seriously injured or the assassination attempt half a month ago, the attackers were underground figures hired by someone. Following their trail leads nowhere."

That was right.

Half a month ago, Riezel had been attacked once more.

At first, Riezel had assumed that the original owner had been attacked because he had offended someone, or because someone disliked him and acted out of jealousy.

But while he was recovering at Yuri's residence, someone had infiltrated the mansion disguised as a servant. When everyone had fallen asleep at night, they launched an assassination attempt on Riezel.

Fortunately, although this mansion was only one of Yuri's residences, its security measures were excellent. Guards patrolled and stood watch at all times, and magical alarms had been set up as well. Yuri was able to reach Riezel's room the instant the assassin entered and subdue them.

Otherwise, Riezel would not be lying in bed right now. He should have been lying in a graveyard.

This was clearly abnormal.

"To be able to hire an assassin capable of infiltrating even this residence, the other party isn't merely well-hidden. Their identity must be anything but ordinary."

Riezel said this in a tone so calm that it made Yuri wonder whether he was truly the victim.

However, Riezel was right.

Even if it was merely a secondary residence, anyone capable of infiltrating this place had to be extremely skilled.

After all, this was where Yuri Franzer lived.

Whoever could hire an assassin of that level would certainly not lack status, influence, or capability.

"I really want to know what reason could make such an important person set their sights on me."

Riezel smiled at Yuri, seeming utterly unaffected.

Yuri looked deeply at Riezel before finally speaking.

"I'll continue investigating. Until then, you can rest here without worry." Yuri said, "You also don't need to lose heart over your current condition. Though they are rare, methods to repair a completely destroyed Gate do exist. I'll keep an eye out for them for now. I hope you won't give up on yourself."

"I won't." Riezel nodded noncommittally. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Yuri smiled softly, like an orchid in bloom, beautiful and captivating.

After chatting for a few more moments, Yuri finally rose to her feet.

"I won't disturb you any longer. Get some proper rest."

With that, Yuri took light steps away, carrying a faint fragrance with her as she left Riezel's room.

Riezel watched Yuri depart, but his heart was far less calm than he appeared.

"Who could it be?"

Riezel tried his best to recall the original owner's memories, placing every person the original owner knew under suspicion one by one.

Not only the noble heirs, but even the commoners the original owner had once looked down on, as well as the villagers and neighbors from his time in the countryside—Riezel suspected them all, yet found no answer.

"There are still too few clues."

The original owner's memories were not necessarily reliable.

Perhaps the mastermind was someone the original owner had overlooked, perhaps even someone whose name he had never remembered.

If it had been Riezel, he would never have let such a thing happen.

The experiences of his previous life had long cultivated in him the habit of doubting everyone. He would never deliberately overlook any person.

It was also because of those past experiences that Riezel deeply understood one thing.

"The other party definitely hasn't given up. They'll continue targeting me and send someone to kill me."

Yuri's status was noble, and the environment around her was unusually sensitive and important. Yet the other party had still been willing to send assassins just to kill Riezel. That alone proved their determination to see him dead.

Having suffered from similar matters in his previous life, Riezel felt deeply unsafe.

"What kind of person will they send next time?"

"Will they be more troublesome than the person they sent last time?"

"When the time comes, will Yuri still be able to reach me in time and save me?"

Each of these questions told Riezel just how unstable and unsafe his current situation was.

Besides, Yuri had not saved him without reason.

Otherwise, given that the original owner and Yuri had never had any dealings at all—indeed, their relationship could be called far beyond his station—she would never have taken Riezel in for an entire month. It would have already been generous enough for her to save his life when he was on the verge of death.

Riezel did not want to entrust his life and death entirely to someone else.

He had to protect himself.

He had to find a way to escape his current helpless situation.

Clearly, that would not be easy.

With his Gate completely destroyed, Riezel could not cast even the most basic magic. In this World of Sword and Magic, how could he possibly protect himself?

Fortunately, Riezel was not completely without options.

Closing his eyes, Riezel sank his consciousness into his mind.

In a daze, Riezel seemed to see something within an ocean of consciousness.

A transparent cube, shining with brilliant radiance and dazzling light.

Riezel touched it with his consciousness.

The next moment, a message directly entered Riezel's awareness.

"Dimensional Cube, activate."