Chapter 1: Horus Durkton (I)

'Ugh, What just happened?'

Clay jolted as he woke up, barely opening his half-asleep eyes. As the windows of his eyes opened shakily, he felt odd, like nothing in his life made sense anymore.

'Huh? Wait, where-'

By a sudden realization, he shuddered as he yanked his upper body from the bed. He was startled. He could feel that his body had changed; no, it was different.

He glanced around to see his surroundings. It was dark, but he could still see he was on a comfortable fancy-looking canopy bed with curtains. The floor below was dimly shining as if it was made of finely-polished marble.

In the dark room, which is dim enough to see, there are either large picture frames with curving borders or arched windows with thick curtains on each side of the wall. As for the remaining space, each corner was populated with intricately carved furniture made of wood or porcelain. It's full of extravagant things, but the room is still spacious.

Clay breathed heavily to compose himself to this sudden situation.

'What just happened?'

Remembering all the events he could recall, he was in his apartment room last night. Clay was celebrating his long-awaited retirement from a job he didn't enjoy while reading a fantasy novel.

'Did I pass away while sleeping? Where in the world am I, and why am I in another guy's body?'

Questions filled his head as his mind went chaotic.

There's only one conclusion he could deduce on this situation he had gotten himself into just now.

'I transmigrated?'

Before he could ponder more, a sudden headache reverberated in his head. It was so extreme that he let out a groan.

'Ugh, what the-'

Clay wanted to spit more words out, but he was interrupted by gentle yet loud knocks on a fancy wooden door enclosing the room.

"Young master Hok, the Count requests your presence for breakfast."

A tired, manly voice followed. The gentle but respectful tone of the man who knocked made him think that the man was probably the butler or a staff member of this fancy place.

"Shit..."

He mumbled as he rushed out of the comfortable bed. He was about to respond as he stumbled upon a mirror beside the wall of his bed.

He faced himself to the cheval mirror, bowing slightly as the mirror was not tall as him.

"Ho..."

'Son of a bitch.'

Clay held himself from swearing as his migraine was getting worse than ever.

Looking at the mirror with his palm covering half his face, he smirked sarcastically. It was dark, but he could see himself sweating with veins popping out of his temple while assessing the facial features of this new body he had transmigrated into. His sharp, dark crimson eyes glimmered visibly in the mirror. It matched well with his neck-long, messy black hair.

Clay was furiously flabbergasted. He could see an image of himself letting off an evil smile that would make anybody think he was plotting a grand regime on someone's life.

Clay, no, but Horus, one of the antagonists in the novel he read before falling asleep last night, was all he could see. He knew this undoubtedly as this body suits the descriptions the book had given to him:

<A noble's son with a scar on his left eyebrow. He had a face that matched well with his menacing smirk. Horus Durkton, the second son and an heir candidate of the Durkton family, was known to be a troublesome brat who made the academy life of many students difficult.>

Based on the current frame of this body, this Horus would be about 14 or so years old right now.

Clay was irritated because this Horus Durkton, following the book, made one of the main characters suffer for almost 4 years in the academy. Even after getting admitted to a knighthood, he didn't stop and made the main character suffer in all possible ways.

'Of all characters, why is this trash?'

Remembering how he tormented one of the main characters, Axel, for years made Clay furious. The faint but still throbbing headache in his head didn't help, but he could at least contain his anger for now.

"Ahem, young master Hok? Are you feeling unwell... again? Should I call the family doctor?"

Hok. He could remember it. It was Horus' very nickname. He almost forgot about the butler waiting for a response outside the closed door as he sighed.

'Now, how should I play this?'

Horus, which is now possessed by Clay, answered nonchalantly.

"I don't feel well. I also don't want a doctor."

He was thinking of how the Horus in the novel usually speaks while enduring the faint headache gripping his head.

In the book, Horus was one of the noble figureheads at the Gilshire Academy. This Horus was treated indifferently but still respected in his household, even though the staff knew how troublesome this young master was. Horus' father, Count Glen Durkton, would apparently spoil this brat with all the things he needed.

'Well, I should act like a spoiled brat then.'

"I understand, young master. Please, do rest well."

Clay, but now Horus, waited until the footsteps of the butler faded quietly. He sat on the bed with his hands on his temples, thinking of a way to figure his plans out. Of course, he would need a different, not troublesome way to live as Horus.

As he was about to ponder again, another gentle knock at the door interrupted him.

"Y-young master..."

It was a voice of a girl. The tone was too timid and scared as she was stuttering. As Horus could deduce, she might be one of this place's maids.

"Enter."

The maid entered, slowly walking with her head lowered. She was holding a tray with a wine bottle and wine glass on top of it. Horus raised an eyebrow, wondering what this maid was bringing to a kid who was not even an adult yet.

'Ho... This is surely interesting.'

The maid was shaking as she carefully laid the tray on the table beside his bed. Horus was staring at her coldly, trying to match the usual demeanor of this spoiled brat.

The maid's shaking intensified, making Clay wonder what just the brat Horus did to make this maid act like this?

"Y-young master Hok... S-should-?"

"No, just open the windows. It's just too dark here."

Horus interrupted as the maid flinched shakily, making Horus think if she was relieved or out of her mind. He casually shifted his gaze to the extravagantly-looking wooden bookshelf by his bed.

There was a sudden awkward silence in the room as the maid was not moving as if she was petrified.

"What?"

As Horus broke the silence, the maid hurriedly opened the curtains of his room.

In the room, lit nicely now, Horus stood and paced himself to the bookshelf as he randomly took a book.

The maid was about to leave while bowing, but Horus asked a sudden question. He didn't even look at her as his gaze was fixed on the book he had taken.

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"What's your name?"

The maid flinched as she stood up straight. At that moment, Horus turned to her as he could now clearly see her face.

She was sweating bullets while forcing a terrified smile. She was slender and skinny, with faint-blonde hair and brown eyes.

"G-Gwen."

He took a while before he gave a reply, almost sighing.

"Gwen, get me a breakfast, please."

Horus calmly requested while turning a page. The maid nodded vigorously as if her life was on the line once she made a wrong move.

"T-thank you, young master."

Horus shifted his gaze to the maid as she hurryingly left quietly. He sighed before turning his head back on the book he was reading.

'Why is she thanking me?'

On the shelf, there were only a few books. Most of them are about a thing known as 'mana,' and some are fictional tales Horus wouldn't bother reading. He also recognized that he couldn't understand the characters written in the book as he couldn't read them.

'This is bad news.'

His observation tells him that some symbols are somewhat familiar. There were symbols similar to the Greek and Cyrillic alphabet. However, he had no idea if those symbols would refer to the same phonetics he knew in his former world.

Additionally, Clay finds this strange. This world's language sounds different from that of his former world, but, for some reason, he can speak and understand this world's language without breaking a sweat. It felt like Clay, in Horus' body, had already become familiar with the language ever since. However, the most concerning issue he has right now is that he can't read even a single word from the book.

'Maybe it's because the novel is written in the language of my world? That, however, does not explain my inability to read here.'

It still didn't make sense to him. For now, he forced himself to set aside that thought as he shut the book off and lay on the comfortable bed. Instead, he is thinking of ways to avoid getting his cover blown to not overcomplicate things. This is because he was unsure if he would be living as Horus for a short time or, god knows, for the rest of his life.

'How old am I now? Looks like I have to ask the maid.'

Horus assumed that the maid would not mind answering such questions. He had to keep that maid close to exploit more information on how he should play this.

Now that he was thinking it through, he closed his eyes and tried to retrieve all the relevant information in his mind that Clay, who is now Horus, might need from the novel he had read.

<To Kill a God>

The title of the novel Clay read before he became Horus was 'To Kill a God.' It was a story where a group of awakened individuals stood to defend themselves from unfathomable beings who referred to themselves as 'God.'

The novel was composed of 7 volumes, each centered on a new main character. In the first volume, it would be Axel, the one that Horus harassed and tormented for years.

Supposing that this Horus is about 14 or so years old right now, he still had a chance to at least do something before this Horus starts running wild at the academy.

All nobles reaching their 14th age are mandated to join the academy and study all sorts of schooling they need. They are required to study academic subjects but are free to choose sub-components such as swordsmanship, archery, alchemy, magic, enchantment, etc.

In the novel, both Horus and Axel end up choosing swordsmanship. Axel was a commoner who managed to get a scholarship because of his outstanding swordsmanship. Horus wasn't too good at handling swords but also not too bad. His envy of Axel's abilities began there, and he began to torment and harass Axel to relieve his insecurities as a noble son.

A knock came through the door. After a short moment, the maid stutteringly speaks.

"Y-young master. I had your breakfast."

"Come in."

The maid, Gwen, bowed as he placed a bed tray on the bed where Horus was sitting. The stainless cloche covered the meal on the tray, but Horus could already smell the aroma of butter and thyme.

'This guy's sense of smell is nuts.'

Horus was surprised but showed an indifferent expression. Instead, he asked the maid a question calmly.

"What is the date today?"

Horus took the bib off the tray and casually wrapped it on his neck. He took off the cloche as he felt the savory smell of the steak. As he dug through the steak with shiny cutlery as if it was made of gold, the maid answered.

"I-it's late-spring fifth, year 495."

'Hmm, I think I remembered.'

This world uses seasons to refer to months, and four of those are equivalent to a year. Each season lasts eleven to twelve weeks and is divided into two parts: early and late.

Horus confirmed that he is currently 15 years old, indicating that he has completed or is presently taking his first year at the academy. In the third volume of the novel, apparently, 4 years from now, Horus will be subjected to the crime of killing the closest friend of Axel, one of the main characters. Horus got out of it with the help of his family's money and power, but he met his early demise after being beaten to death by Axel.

Just thinking how Axel mercilessly pampered this brat to death frightened Clay. He composed himself to think of a solid plan to enjoy his aristocratic life while avoiding meddling with the main characters at all costs.

'Well, I just have to avoid them and enjoy this new life.'

To achieve that, he needed to reach out to his father, Count Glen Durkton, and plead to make him shift him in the academy from swordsmanship to literally anything else. The Count should be able to do that, at least.

Second, he should find a way to familiarize all the academy students, family members, or anyone related to this brat. Horus needed such information to not get his cover blown. They might freak out if they learned that this Horus had changed, no, different than who they knew.

'Ah, I should also prioritize learning how to read first.'

Horus stared at his food with a troubled expression, chewing slowly. Gwen stealthily stared at him with her head lowered.

"Gwen,"

Horus called out to the maid without even giving her a glance.

"Tell father..., the Count, I need to talk to him."

'I had to be careful. I have no idea how the usual kinship works in this household.'

"Y-yes, young master."

"Tell him it's important."

The maid tensed, slightly shaking, but he knew she was listening attentively.

"I u-understand."

Gwen was about to reach the doorknob, but Horus interrupted with a long request as he swallowed a chunk of steak he was chewing.

"Ah, also get me some good basic reading and writing books and... all books related to the Durkton family bloodline from the study. Make sure you tell the bookkeeper to keep his mouth shut about anything I ask you to bring from now on."

The maid blanked and shakily stared at Horus, who started shoving pieces of steak into his mouth as if he hadn't eaten anything the entire week.

"I u-understand, young m-master."

Gwen quickly replied as she hurriedly reached the door.

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