Jacob was hesitant at first but then he thought: 'I was so bored all my life to the point that I had no motivation to do anything normal, I might as well struggle a little in my next life. Besides, I doubt I could be bored in a world of magic. . .'
Then he said: "Old man, I would like to know more about the magic world. Would it be possible for me to learn magic there, or would I be stuck as a peasant?"
Relieved by the young man's casual demeanor, he answered: "The world I can send you to without attracting suspicion from others like me is one in which anyone can learn to wield magic since it is intrinsic to the lives of every living being in that world."
Jake then blurted out his sudden thought: "Wait! Since I just barely qualify then does that mean I would not have any memories of my past life?"
The old man smirked at his outburst. "Yes, you would have no memory of your past life, but you would have a stronger soul since you are reincarnating, so your first 10 years of life will be guaranteed, and you will not suffer any illness up to that point. You won't have your memories, but you will have a certain sense that you had a previous life, and you will more or less be the same person you were before, so many of your skills will be retained even if you can't remember Earth."
Jake was a bit dejected at those words, but he fixed the old man with a determined gaze: "Old man, I think I would like to be reborn to the magical world anyway. As long as I can be myself, I am fine with that!"
The old man replied to Jake, "Then I will be sending you off. Just to let you know what you are getting into, since you might retain an echo of this as a memory, or it might come to you in a dream."
The old man thrust his hands forward to display a world that looked similar to Earth with magic.
"The world you are going to is called Meldra and it is similar to how you probably think it is. The humans are not the dominant species on the planet, and it is about 2.3x the size of the Earth but its gravity is similar to Earth due to a balance between gravity and the magical energy contained by the planet. A race called the Zinthar has control of most of the planet due to their aptitude with magic. They look like a mix between elves and demons from the fantasy stories of your world, if you were into that. Even the Zinthar are outnumbered by monsters, and the main continent of the planet is mostly an unexplored wilderness."
The old man zoomed in on random farms and cities in the world he was displaying with his hands to emphasize the next bit of information.
"Even farmers know of some scattered bits of magical knowledge here and there, and only nobility is allowed to go to the academies to become knights or mages. There is still an adventure guild for people to prove their worth through field work, as well as a magic guild where even commoners can learn magic if they have the aptitude, but it is like the adventurer guild, where they have to earn the knowledge they seek. Understand that magic is not the only way to supreme power; becoming a mage is not the only way to the top, so don't be too discouraged if you have no aptitude."
Then the old man focused in on the villages and farms more where his display showed ragged peasants in their day-to-day lives.
"Since you are going to start as the child of farmers, you will not have much of a chance to come into contact with the main organizations, so if you remember any of this, you can learn more in a city. Also, this particular world runs on a system that tracks achievements and displays a status window for anyone. The status window is similar to video games in your world, where you can track your skill levels and have an idea of your overall power. It is a crutch, and if you plan to become truly powerful, then you should learn not to rely on it too heavily down the road."
Then the display went out in a wink, and Jake had to focus on the old man again.
"Now, do you have any additional questions?"
Jake thought about the things he was learning and realized he had no additional questions about his future, so he asked the one question he had forgotten to ask from the beginning.
"Thank you old man, I have no additional questions, but I would like to know your name since you have been helping me so much."
"BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA"
The old man laughed even harder than the first time after Jake asked his question. He laughed hard and long enough to cause tears to form in his eyes. After wiping his tears away he said, as he was still chuckling: "heheh boy first you call me an old bastard and now you ask me my name! What a character you turned out to be!"
The old man looked up with a happy look on his face as Jake watched him with interest. After a while, the old man looked back at Jake and said with a kind smile: "This old man has not been asked his name for more than a million years. Thank you for being polite with a forgotten old man, my name is Oblitus Virtutis."
Jake felt something reverberating within himself as heard the name of the old man. It was a sensation he had never felt before, but it felt like power.
"Just so you know, Jake, the name of an old monster like myself is powerful and you should never say it out loud when you have a mortal body. For now, it will serve as nourishment for your soul, which will cause your soul to continually grow in its own power due to a link between the spirit and the soul."
The old man looked like he was struggling internally for a while, as if he wanted to say something he could not.
"I cannot go into details due to certain universal laws but I can say that my name will ultimately cause your spirit to develop beyond what is normal. The workings of the spirit are not for a mortal to be known, but since we have gotten to this point, I will explain a bit of the importance of your soul strength."
Then it looked like the old man thought over his words in his head before speaking again.
"In regular worlds like Earth and those worlds under Earth, soul strength only affects intelligence and dexterity. Those people who seemed like they could learn and understand anything, from knowledge to martial arts, had strong souls and may have even been reborn without their previous memories. In worlds like the one you are about to experience, soul strength also increases intelligence, but it additionally affects talent."
The old man nodded his head to emphasize his point before he continued.
"The talent to learn magic is one of the main effects in your new world, but magic has many parts to it, from the ability to sense magic to controlling magic and everything in between. It all has a dependency on the soul and how the soul grows while learning magic. Other effects include the ability to manipulate other types of energy, willpower, memory, and control of your body. With the various paths to power, you will find that you have greater talent in anything you put your mind to when your soul is strong. Your soul will have the ability to attune itself to your needs regardless of the path you choose to take in this world."
Oblitus turned and placed his hands in front of himself, and a portal opened.
"Now it is time for you to go; may your second life be better than your first."
Jacob then looked at the portal and back at the old man, smiling, he said, "Thank you, Oblitus", then he jumped into the portal.
Oblitus had a good chuckle to himself once Jake finally left. "Hahaha looks like a monster will be born in Meldra after so many years."
Then, Oblitus could hear clapping behind him. He turned around half expectantly with a bit of a mischievous look on his face. The person he found when he turned around was exactly who he thought it would be.
"Arelion, what a pleasant surprise it is to see you here after all these many millions of years!"
Arelion had a smirk on his face, making him look half amused and half mischievous. "Oblitus, why didn't you tell that kid that he would get his memories back once he reached the threshold with the power of his soul?"
Oblitus put on an act of ignorance, "Did I not tell him? I figured he would be able to figure it out from what I said about soul strength…", as he put on a knowing grin.
Arelion laughed a little bit but then put on a serious face. "I know you understand the consequences of what you have done, am I right?"
Oblitus just kept grinning as he replied. "Of course, do you think I just forgot after doing this for the past 80 cycles? My friend, I have simply grown bored with this job. I want to watch the mortal worlds and have a chance to interact with them, as I did in the past, rather than just know of them."
Arelion sighed. "I know what you mean. 400 cycles ago, I was in a similar situation. Sometimes you just have to take a break, even if it hinders your progress. It is hardly a setback to us regardless of how the upper echelon treats it as a punishment. Especially someone like you, who seems to be capable of regularly producing a conqueror."
Oblitus pondered the words of Arelion as he asked. "How long have they decided to give me?"
Arelion grinned again and told him with excitement, "They are going to send you to Meldra for an entire cycle!"
Oblitus whistled, "That's quite a bit of time to watch a single world, I am glad I have already sent someone so interesting down there. Hopefully they can keep me as entertained as I think they will."
Arelion just shook his head at the old monster. Having a similar level of power as Oblitus he was able to think privately to himself. 'If he creates another conqueror, perhaps that war he has been talking about for the past thousand cycles will finally happen. . .'
****
On a Farm in the world of Meldra, a baby named Jacob has just been born to a poor farmer and his wife just before the first frost of the year.