“Gurururuuu.”
Reiji woke to the sound of a low rumble and the sensation of something warm and incredibly soft against his skin.
“...Ngh?”
Rubbing his eyes, he sat up and looked around. The first thing he saw was a mass of fluffy, dark fur. A large creature had curled itself around him, using its own body as a pillow to protect him while he slept.
Realizing this, he reached out to stroke the coat. As his hand moved through the fur, his eyes met those of the being watching him with a look of deep concern.
“...”
“...”
For a long moment, the two stared at each other in silence.
Reiji saw a sharp, black beak and a pair of round, blue eyes. Those eyes were searching his face, as if checking to make sure he was alright.
They’re the same blue as mine, he thought idly. In the next instant, the creature—which possessed the face of a predatory bird—pressed its head affectionately against his cheek.
“Gruu.”
It was acting like a pampered kitten. A smile tugged at Reiji’s lips as he reached up to scratch the bird’s head.
“Guruu!”
Encouraged, it rubbed against him even harder, seeking more attention. As Reiji continued to pet it, he took a moment to look over the creature’s entire form. His hand froze.
“Gruu?”
The creature tilted its head as if asking what was wrong. Reiji ignored the question, focusing on the part of the body he had been leaning against. It wasn't covered in feathers as he had expected; instead, it was a thick, silky coat of fur that felt like fine satin. It looked like the body of a feline... or more specifically, a lion. However, its front legs ended in the sharp, powerful talons of a raptor. The body of a lion, the head and forelegs of an eagle, and a pair of large wings folded against its back. Reiji knew the name of this legendary phantom beast.
“A Gryphon.”
“Gruu.”
It rubbed its eagle-like head against him again, as if to say, “Exactly.” Reiji finally remembered why he had passed out in the first place.
“Right. I performed the ritual for the Beast Magic... which means this Gryphon is my Beast.”
Accepting its presence, he took a proper look at his new companion. It had a lithe, powerful lion's body and a sharp yet oddly adorable eagle's face. Excluding the wings, it stood about two meters tall.
In the games and novels Reiji remembered from his old life, Gryphons were always depicted as ferocious, aggressive monsters. But there was no sign of that here. Watching it nuzzle against him like a giant housecat, the word 'ferocious' didn't even come to mind.
“Maybe it’s different because it was created through Beast Magic,” he mused.
“Gruu.”
The Gryphon chirped from the back of its throat at the perfect moment.
“...Do you actually understand what I’m saying?”
“Gruu!”
It let out a sharp cry, confirming his suspicion.
“Wait a second.”
Reiji continued to stroke the Gryphon’s head as he sifted through Zephyle’s inherited memories.
According to the ancient records, the abilities of a Beast were determined by the amount of mana absorbed by the Magic Circle during the ritual. Given Reiji’s staggering mana reserves, it made sense that the creature before him was highly intelligent—certainly enough to understand human speech.
“I see. I think I get the gist of it... But first, you need a name.”
While the Gryphon had been attached to him from the start, the laws of Beast Magic dictated that a Beast’s existence was only fully established once its master gave it a name.
“Gryphon, Sky, Storm... how about Set?”
Reiji explained that the name came from Egyptian Mythology—a god who governed storms. He added that Set was also a god of war and ferocity, a symbol of immense power.
Looking at the creature that had guarded him while he slept, it was the first name that had come to mind.
“Gurururuuu!”
Set purred happily, clearly pleased with the name and its origin.
“Alright. From today on, you’re Set. And I’m Reiji... No, that’s not quite right. That was the old me.”
He scratched Set behind the ears as he thought. Reiji Saiki had died under that steel beam. The person standing here was a fusion of Reiji and Zephyle. Even if his personality remained largely the same, using his full old name felt wrong. Besides, Zephyle’s knowledge told him that 'Reiji Saiki' would sound incredibly foreign in the world of Elgin.
“Reiji... Yeah, let’s go with Rei from now on. Good to have you, Set. My name is Rei.”
“Gurururu!”
As Set barked its acknowledgment, a window titled 'Skill List' suddenly appeared in the back of Rei's mind.
“What is this?”
The text floated in his vision, looking remarkably like a status screen from a video game. However, it only showed a list of skills; there were no stats for strength, agility, or attack power. Furthermore, the name at the top was Set, not Rei.
He hurriedly consulted Zephyle’s memories again.
“...I see. This was your doing, Takumu.”
It turned out that Takumu had interfered with the development of Beast Magic to include this interface. He had designed it so that any skills Set acquired by consuming Magic Stones would be displayed for the master. It was exactly the kind of thing a transmigrator from modern Japan would come up with. Even the Misty Ring, the only other item left in the room, had been modified with a similar function to list its contents mentally.
“Well, it’s convenient, so I won’t complain.”
Rei gave a wry smile, feeling the lingering influence of his predecessor’s country even in this new world, and stood up alongside Set.
“Gururu.”
Set watched him, then reached into the shadows where he had been lying and picked up a long, narrow object with its beak, offering it to Rei.
“Is this... a scythe?”
It wasn't a tool for farming. With a handle nearly two meters long and a curved blade stretching a full meter, it was a weapon of death—a true Death Scythe.
“What am I supposed to do with this?”
“Gruu.”
Set nudged the weapon toward him as if to say, “This belongs to you.”
Rei took the heavy-looking weapon to spare Set the trouble of holding it. Both the handle and the blade were a polished, matte black. As he gripped the obsidian-colored shaft, a memory surfaced.
“There wasn't a scythe in the lab when I got here. It must have manifested while I was out. Which means... there’s only one possibility.”
He checked Zephyle’s knowledge once more and found the answer immediately.
“It really was the Beast Magic.”
According to the theory, if a ritual released more mana than the new Beast could possibly absorb, the excess energy would condense into a magic item. Takumu had been the one to add that specific clause to the ritual’s formula.
Zephyle and his Clan had never seen this happen because they had always used just enough mana to create the Beast. Takumu had likely added it as a joke or a 'what-if' scenario, but Rei’s absurd mana capacity had actually triggered the hidden effect.
“And since Takumu was involved, that means...”
Holding the scythe, Rei mentally whispered the word status. Immediately, the item’s information appeared in his mind.
『Death Scythe』
“So you just went with the most literal name possible? You couldn't have been a bit more creative?”
Unfortunately, Takumu wasn't around to hear his complaints. Rei sighed and read through the description.
First, it functioned as a magical focus. Since it was forged from Rei’s own mana, its conductivity was top-tier.
Second, like Set, it could absorb Magic Stones to gain new enchantments and list them for the user.
Third was Weight Reduction. This effect applied only to those with the same mana signature as the weapon—specifically Rei and Set. For them, the massive scythe would feel practically weightless.
Fourth, its basic cutting power and durability would increase in proportion to the amount of mana the user funneled into it.
“This is actually an incredibly rare find, isn't it?”
“Gruu!”
Set barked in agreement.
“I’m happy to have a weapon that works as a focus, but... why a scythe? Usually, you get a sword or something, right? This looks like it’ll be a nightmare to learn how to use.”
The stats were incredible, but the weapon itself felt like it was meant for a specialist. Still, it was the only weapon he had.
“Well, if I’ve got it, I might as well learn how to use it.”
He gave the Death Scythe a test swing. The Weight Reduction was no joke. A piece of metal that size should have weighed twenty or thirty kilograms, but in Rei’s hands, it felt like it weighed no more than a hundred grams.
“This is amazing.”
“Guru.”
Set let out a low trill of approval.
“Alright, I’ve successfully inherited the Beast Magic, but... what now?”
Rei stroked Set’s silky fur as he pondered their next move. He knew they couldn't stay in the mansion. While they had plenty of water, there was only about ten days’ worth of food left for a human. He needed to find a village or town quickly, or his journey as the successor of the Clan would end in starvation.
“Actually, that food is only enough for me. There's nothing for you to eat, Set.”
Even a magical creature needed sustenance. Given Set’s size, they probably only had a day or two before the Gryphon started getting hungry.
“We need to find civilization, but...”
Zephyle’s memories warned that while the mansion was protected by Space Magic barriers, the surrounding forest was home to some truly vicious Monsters. The mages had built the manor here specifically as a sanctuary, using the local monsters as a natural defense against any intruders.
“I really wish they’d considered whether a complete fantasy-world amateur like me could actually survive the trip out of here,” Rei grumbled, letting out a long sigh.
“Gurururuuu!”
Set spread its wings, each spanning nearly two meters, but Rei shook his head.
“Flying out might be too dangerous. Apparently, there are even dragons nesting in this area.”
“Gruu...”
“Don't look so down. Besides, we don't even know how strong we are yet.”
He patted Set’s head to comfort him.
“I really wish Takumu had included a way to see my own stats, not just skills. Useless bastard... wait, maybe there’s something in the Misty Ring that can help.”
Rei walked over to the jewelry box containing the ring, Set following close behind.
“Gurururuuu!”
Set purred happily at the sight of the gems. Rei remembered a legend that Gryphons loved to collect treasure.
“Go ahead and play with the box for a bit, Set.”
“Gruu!”
Set rubbed its beak against the jewelry box with a look of pure joy. Smiling at the sight, Rei slid the Misty Ring onto his right arm. It was too large at first, but it quickly shrank to a perfect fit.
“Now, to show the list... Ah, I just have to think it.”
A massive inventory list unfolded in his mind: rare materials, powerful magic items, and various pieces of equipment. But as he scrolled through, he felt a headache coming on.
“Okay, there’s some incredible stuff here, but not a single scrap of food? Is this a joke? Am I supposed to eat dragon bones, demon horns, and salamander tails? And if this was for the successor of the Beast Magic, you could have at least left one Magic Stone for Set to eat.”
He searched Zephyle’s memories for anything that could help him get a handle on his current situation. Eventually, he found a reference to something called the 'Orb of Diagnosis.' It was a tool used to determine a person’s magical affinities—excluding Beast Magic, which was a given.
Since Zephyle had insisted that Rei possessed world-class mana reserves, Rei wanted to know what he was actually capable of. He pulled the orb out of the Misty Ring to check his traits.
“If I have an affinity for water, I won’t have to worry about thirst. Space Magic would be great for teleporting, and Alchemy would let me make my own gear.”
Full of anticipation, he placed his palm on the Orb of Diagnosis. The device was designed to display a symbol representing the user’s primary elements: a droplet for water, a door for space, or a flask for alchemy.
Rei stared at the orb, his heart racing. Only one symbol appeared.
It was a flame.