Li Qi, the Transmigrator

"Those sons of bitches from Falor are retreating!!"

"They're retreating!!!"

"Don't pursue them!! Clean up the battlefield! Get the wounded to the medics! Move!!"

"Is there a Medical Mage? Where's the Medical Mage? My hand... I think my hand is broken..."

A battle of offense and defense ended as the sun fully set and night fell.

Across the battlefield, soldiers gathered the bodies of their comrades.

Some shouted loudly for medics, while others wept with joy that could have been fear or relief at surviving the disaster.

Thirteen-year-old Li Qi silently withdrew from the battlefield and returned to the trench.

Of the few comrades who had followed him, another had died today. His body was carried back by the others and laid with the rest, awaiting burial.

Li Qi glanced at the corpse and observed a brief moment of silence before finding somewhere to sit and rest quietly.

It had been over a year since he recovered the memories of his Past Life, joined the army, and came to the front line, yet Li Qi still could not quite adapt to life here.

He could accept killing people, and he could endure the smell of this place.

But no matter what, he could not accept a comrade who had been bragging and chatting with him during the day becoming a corpse by nightfall.

Yet helplessly, he had no choice but to accept it.

Because this was the battlefield.

This damned battlefield.

Li Qi... or rather, by his name in this world, Li Qi Grat.

He was a transmigrator.

A transmigrator who had passed through two worlds... three, counting this one.

In the first world he transmigrated to, Li Qi was born into a Music Family.

With his exceptional hearing, he achieved considerable success in music, only to eventually die of cancer.

He was eighteen.

In his second life, Li Qi was born into a world centered on "gambling." Unlike his previous life, that world possessed so-called "superpowers."

But for some reason, the people of that world only used those superpowers for gambling.

Li Qi was one such superpowered gambler.

His ability allowed him to sense his own or others' physical conditions, including heartbeats, pulses, and body temperature.

With that ability, Li Qi became the Gambling King of a region at a very young age, as well as a "Heavenly King."

That was one of the highest honors among gamblers.

Unfortunately, at nineteen, Li Qi, the "Gambling King," died in a car accident.

Then his third life began.

This life.

He was born into a family in a border region that was neither wealthy nor poor. If not for the war, then with his family circumstances and Li Qi's own abilities, he should have been able to live out his life without a care.

Unfortunately, reality had no ifs.

The country he lived in went to war with the neighboring kingdom.

It began with minor friction, escalated into local disputes, and finally became an all-out war.

Because of the war, Li Qi lost his family in this life. And because of the war, he had no choice but to join the army and become a soldier.

Fortunately, Li Qi carried the abilities from his Past Life with him every time he reincarnated.

The hearing from his first life, the superpower to sense physical conditions from his second, and this life's Magic Talent.

Together, they allowed Li Qi to rise from a Magic Apprentice to a mage nearing Title Rank in just one year.

That was right.

One year.

Although Li Qi could reincarnate, he did not awaken his memories immediately after each rebirth.

Every time, he only recalled everything about himself when he turned twelve.

This life was no exception.

At twelve, just as his family had been destroyed and he was left wandering the streets, Li Qi remembered his past-life memories.

Then, relying on the little combat knowledge he had mastered, he resolutely joined the army.

Because of the war, every man in the Duchy of Uno had to enlist upon reaching adulthood.

In other words, once Li Qi came of age, he would have to join the army whether he wanted to or not.

Rather than enter the army later as cannon fodder, he might as well enlist voluntarily now, while the war had not yet become too brutal.

By the time the war grew more and more vicious, Li Qi figured he would have risen through the ranks and would no longer need to stay on the front line.

Besides, only by joining the army could Li Qi gain access to this world's magical techniques, refine magic power, and become a mage.

Thus, just after recovering his memories, he entered the army and became an ordinary recruit.

Even more fortunately, Li Qi in this life truly possessed magical aptitude.

The army treated those with magical aptitude favorably.

If someone with magical aptitude could master some magic within a short time, they would be granted the status of First Class Soldier upon joining the army.

Skipping two ranks outright.

That was how Li Qi entered the army, and in just one year, he earned the title "Wolf of Mien" on the Mien Frontline.

Though the officers familiar with Li Qi preferred to call him "Young Wolf."

Not only had he earned a title, but his position had also risen from First Class Soldier to Sergeant.

He could lead a four-man squad, including himself.

The two people sitting beside Li Qi now, as well as the one who had just been sent to the morgue, were his teammates.

Now that one had died, Li Qi's squad had only three people left, counting himself.

"Squad Leader... should we find a recruit to bring in?"

As they rested, a young man with a Full Beard leaned over and asked.

His name was Generro. A Corporal, he was the Vice Captain of Li Qi's squad.

Though he was only Li Qi's Vice Captain, he had actually spent longer on the battlefield than Li Qi.

If not for his lack of magical aptitude, Generro's position would never have been limited to being Vice Captain of a small squad.

Still, although Generro had more experience than Li Qi by seniority and could be considered a veteran,

he showed no disrespect before Li Qi. He completely treated this little brat, who was only thirteen this year, as his captain.

Li Qi was also very satisfied with this Vice Captain, so he gave Generro extra protection on the battlefield.

After all, Li Qi did not want to replace him with some thorny troublemaker as Vice Captain.

"Call in recruits... so they can come here and die?"

After considering it, Li Qi gave his reply.

They had no time to train anyone right now. Forcing recruits from the Barracks into their squad was no different from sending them to their deaths.

If too many people died in his squad, it would be very detrimental to his future promotions.

Generro looked troubled upon hearing that.

"But... Meller is dead. Our squad is down one person. If we're needed tomorrow, then we..."

"Then we'll deal with it tomorrow."

Li Qi closed his eyes and spoke softly.

Tomorrow's matters could wait until tomorrow. Li Qi was exhausted now and only wanted a good night's sleep.

Fighting enemies on the battlefield was no easy task. Even if Li Qi had cheats, they could not turn him into an unstoppable force on the battlefield.

Li Qi's cheat still came from the talents of his first two lives. It helped him master magic and grow faster. It did improve his combat ability, but not by much.

If dozens of people surrounded him, and all of them had guns, even if Li Qi were Title Rank, he could only die on the spot.

Not to mention that he was not even Title Rank yet.

"But it's close... At this rate, I should reach Title Rank in a few days."

Feeling the magic power within him, Li Qi estimated silently.

The magic-power ranks in this world were simple.

There were only First Rank, Second Rank, Third Rank, Tactical Rank, and Title Rank.

He had heard that this world's original magic-power ranking system had been quite complicated, with separate systems for mages and knights.

Apprentice Rank, Formal Rank, Magus Rank... a confusing mess that made one's head hurt just listening to it.

But ever since firearms were developed and formally deployed on the battlefield, those classifications had become useless.

This was a Low-Magic World. No matter how powerful a mage was, at most they could summon a few fireballs from the sky or call down lightning on a rainy day.

So no matter how strong mages and knights were, Ordinary People could take a gun, pull the trigger, and kill them.

Mages and knights no longer held dominion, and the rankings became simpler as well.

All the old ranks became useless. The distinction between mages and knights no longer existed, leaving only rankings based on magic power.

Li Qi had not had much exposure to magic before. He entered the army at twelve and only began learning magic after his magical aptitude was detected.

But thanks to the cheat from his past life that allowed him to sense physical conditions, Li Qi had leaped through several ranks in just one year to become a Tactical Rank mage.

Or rather, a Magic Swordsman.

If this had been before firearms were invented, he would at least have been a genius whom those old mages in the Imperial Capital would fight to accept as a disciple.

Unfortunately, in the current environment, a genius in magic was no longer useful.

What the duchy needed were geniuses of war.

And Li Qi knew nothing about that, so even now, he could only serve as an ordinary soldier on the front line.