The Brutal World of Gods, Demons and a Fallen Hero

Prelude

A month passed since Nathaniel awakened in this world...

He quickly adapted to his new life during that time. He looks and behaves like a noble that was born into this world and nobody could tell the difference, even Peter was shocked by how quickly Nate adapted. Of course, etiquette was not the only thing he was learning but some fundamental magic as well.

If progress in manners shocked the Grand Priest then his achievements in magic almost made him have a heart attack. Not only is Nate capable of chant less magic but he also achieved the second awakening of mana in less than a month! According to him only a genius could achieve something like this in about 3 to 4 years.

'I wonder If he would die If I were to tell him I was close to advancing again. What was the ranking system he told me about anyway?'

Ranking system for mages is quite simple: first a person starts to learn some fundamental knowledge and is called an apprentice; he is not capable of performing spells at that stage yet. Then is the first mana awakening, it is the simplest step yet the most difficult one for some since it determines if you even have a talent for magic and gathering mana; at this stage a person can perform some simple spells. The second and a third mana awakenings are similar to each other and only increase the amount of mana the mage possesses. In these realms of power, you can call yourself a simple mage.

The situation changes after the fourth awakening, your mana experiences a qualitive change and becomes stronger, you're also capable of performing more advanced spells. You are called a high mage after achieving this feat. To compare the realm of the fourth awakening to the third would be like comparing a car to a bike. If a mage can easily burn a person with a fire spell, then a high mage can burn even ten people with the same spell and if he decides to use a more powerful one, he could even burn a hundred.

'Well, that's all in theory... but the way I approach magic is surly unorthodox. A regular mage focuses on learning many spells that require chanting and all of them have a fixed effect. I on the other hand don't use spells at all because I found out early on visualization and direct control of mana is way more versatile and powerful. The only downside being that a lot of effort is requried in control of spells'

Nate was thinking about his progress the past month as he was walking down the corridor, accompanied with a group of maids and guards. Today he was going to finally meet the Emperor. To be honest he was slightly nervous, in his past life the most influential person he personally met was the principal of his school and how can a mere principal compare to an Emperor? However just as he was outside of the throne room, he suddenly felt strangely calm.

'An Emperor so what? Just another person that wants to use me and throw away later'

He thought something along these lines as he waited to receive permission to enter.

"Are you nervous sir?"

One of the maids suddenly asked. This was the same young black-haired maid that he first met upon awakening in this world. Over the course of a month Nate developed some form of friendship with her as she was attending him almost every day he chatted with her to 'pass time' and occasionally ask her about recent rumours. Her name was Mia.

"Me? Nervous? Never"

"Really?"

"Oh well you caught me... maybe I am a bit nervous"

"Haha, I knew it!"

Mia and the other maids chuckled, even guards shook their heads a bit. Nate developed his image quite well the past month. He always had a smile on his face, talked politely, never behaved like he was better than others because of his status as a 'hero' and overall seemed approachable. Mia wanted to continue the conversation but was interrupted mid-sentence.

"The Emperor wishes to see you"

A middle-aged knight with blonde hair spoke as he opened the door to the throne room.

Nate nodded and entered. He slowly walked forward steeling small glances at everything.

'This place could easily hold a thousand people. Talk about being rich'

Other than admiring the throne room he also took notice of the people here. There were some faces that he was familiar with like Cornelius who was standing next to the throne and some that he was unfamiliar with and of all those his focus was attracted to a man on the opposite side of the Grand Priest, similarly standing next to the throne. He was bald as an eagle and on a fatter side with a sly smile on his face.

'I was taught to never judge a book by its cover but that man screams: I am a scheming bastard and I will betray you'

Finally, he looked at the throne and the person sitting on it. He looked to be around forty with black long hair, he was also wearing a very luxurious red robe. The most memorable trait Nate found in the Emperor were his half-closed blue eyes with a glint of wisdom on them.

'He looks like an Emperor alright...'

When he was a decent distance from the throne he knelt as per custom.

"Hero Nathaniel greets your majesty Emperor Julius Octavius the sixth"

The Emperor opened his eyes and smiled.