I'm an Overpowered Villainess in a Reverse Harem Novel

3 - The Heroine

It was early morning, the sun still at its waking hours. Aneath grunted, her eyes still half-closed from weariness. She sluggishly rolled out of bed and approached her desk. On the surface was a waning candle, its wax dripping out of the small dish. A notebook was placed next to it, resting with its spine pressed to the furnished wood. Its pages were scrawled in messy handwriting and complex runes. Aneath sighed, drowsily blowing out the candle and scooping up the notebook. With that, she trudged to the main library.

She had been repeating this routine for the past five days. Earlier, she contained so much excitement she could barely breathe. Despite her current body still adapting to her soul and thus lacking her original mana retention, she could still cast relatively high spells. This was due to one reason, a much richer air of mana surrounding her.

In Aneath's world, the 22nd century, the mana had significantly thinned, causing there to be a constant struggle for resources. Middle class spells, in comparison to the ancient times, were much more difficult to execute, and high class spells were practically unreachable by the common populace. There was a constant struggle, and the elaborate and creative aspect of spell fabrication had long since faded. There was no possibility of a highly complex spell to be executed because there simply wasn't enough mana for it.

However, in the world she was in now, it was like she was transported back to ancient times, when the air was rich. Even the most common spells seemed to be teeming with possibility, creative and invoking.

Aneath was originally a high class mage. Her magical talent and fascination in spells, especially in a world where it was much more difficult to cast high class spells, was unreachable by many. When she arrived and realized that there was so much more potential for innovation, she delved into her studies with newfound earnest. Everything had an added intrigue, and as she walked through the halls, she felt the thickness of idle mana flowing through her fingertips.

Aneath perched in her usual position, which she had already riddled with dusty tomes from around the library, and begun reading.

----

She had not moved from that very spot until noon. When the sun rose to its greatest peak, her tired eyes finally strayed from the page. Her vision blurred as she stood, her mind rushed with blood. "Jesus Christ..." Aneath muttered, rubbing her temples with a bit of astonishment. Has it already been that long? She tittered to herself as she walked down the spiral staircase towards the grand doors.

She yawned, the silk nightgown flowing lightly behind her as she sauntered around the manor. The halls were empty the moment she left the library. The servants feared her, unwilling to make even the slightest bit of contact. As a result, Aneath had grown used to relaxing, fully adapting into her new life of a recluse.

Aneath soon found herself in one of the west courtyards. That specific courtyard was well enclosed and isolated, with not many servants crossing through its side of the mansion. It made the perfect place to practice magic without interruption. The weeds, which had grown tall before, were singed and withered from her previous practices.

"Extreptus," she muttered, her hand gently caressing the thin strands of air as if she was working a loom. Thick, voluminous strands of mana were slowly siphoned from her surroundings, gathering in her palm as a red glowing light. She watched with ecstaticity as more and more mana danced towards her extended fingers in a whirlwind. If she could execute tier seven spells with such a small mana pool so easily, what would happen when her body finally adapted to the new soul and her original potential was restored? She started shivering in delight as she caressed the accumulated energy with a fanatic gaze.

She lifted her palm to her mouth, feeling small beads of mana surrounding the large orb of light. "Dimitto locus," she whispered into her palm. The idle energy suddenly turned frantic, condensing and turning a dark crimson red. The air around her seemed to turn silent as the mana erupted, sending rogue waves of azure fire in all directions.