Chapter 01
When does a person feel most successful?
Is it when you’re drinking aged whiskey to your heart’s content, gazing down at the city sunset through a wide-open window?
Or when you’re envied and resented by colleagues for your rapid rise?
Or perhaps, when you become the most famous person among all who share your name?
All of those could apply, but I could confidently say—
That this very moment was it.
“Lastly, we have long believed that the flow of mana follows fixed laws. However, through this research, we have discovered that mana flow can actually distort spacetime.”
Standing at the podium of the research presentation, I slowly scanned the audience.
Eyes filled with respect and wonder were fixed on me.
“Of course, I cannot yet claim this is perfect. Twisting the flow of mana may unexpectedly cause spatial collapse, and there may be unintended side effects, but…”
Ahem. I paused briefly, steadying my breath.
“Nevertheless, I am certain that this research will serve as a milestone for future magical engineering studies.”
I gave a faint smile and wrapped up my speech.
“That concludes my presentation. I am Mage Adel Catherine.”
Clap, clap, clap, clap!
Applause filled the auditorium.
As I stepped down from the podium after my final greeting, just as expected, a swarm of reporters rushed toward me.
“Mage Adel, that was truly remarkable! Could you spare a few words for us?”
“Professor, your research today is being hailed as a new paradigm in magical theory—how do you feel?”
“How does it feel to have become the youngest professor ever?”
Naturally, countless handshake requests came my way.
As I had prepared, I smiled lightly and raised my hand.
“I’ll take interviews at a later time. I appreciate your understanding.”
My junior colleagues would handle the rest.
Savoring the feeling of being a successful mage, I gracefully exited the hall.
‘I never expected to become this famous.’
Yes, as of today, I am the most capable mage in the Magic Tower.
‘This talent of mine is almost frightening…’
Having successfully completed the presentation, I had now become the most famous Adel among all Adels.
…But I was dreaming, and someone was shaking me awake.
Who dares interrupt a successful mage’s sweet dream?
“What is it.”
Bleary-eyed, I opened my eyes to see Isabella, already ready to leave, looking down at me.
She quietly whispered to me, still adrift between dream and reality.
“Adel, the sun’s already up… I’m heading out first. You should go to your room and get some real sleep, even if it’s just a nap.”
“…?”
Only then did the cold reality gradually seep into my skin.
The dusty air, the acrid smell of constant experiments permeating the room, the relentless hum of the mana synchronizer—
And me, Adel, Research Mage #1, dozing off slumped over my desk.
‘It was a dream. A pipe dream at that.’
Everyone else seemed to have already gone home; the lab was empty except for me.
‘I can’t keep this up. Today, I’m going to my room and resting properly…’
Spending all day buried in research means even in my dreams, I’m either stuck in the lab or giving presentations.
Still, this dream wasn’t half bad.
‘If only it were a prophetic dream…’
Since tomorrow was packed with work, I started tidying up and getting ready to leave.
My desk was a mess of research materials and correspondence.
Over half of them were replies from nobles requesting research funding.
Most of them were probably politely worded rejections, so I only picked out Adolf’s letter from among the pile.
Just as I was about to pack up—
My eyes suddenly met the research equipment that had led me to success in my dream.
“You’ve worked hard too.”
Of course, this hunk of scrap metal hadn’t worked as hard as I had, but still, to succeed, you have to show gratitude even to inanimate objects.
So, let’s keep it up.
With a newfound sense of appreciation, I stroked the surface of the magic synchronizer.
Swish, swish.
That very moment—
ZAP!
An intense surge of mana swept through me, starting from my fingertips.
“Wh-what the…?”
My voice stuttered out like a broken machine.
Suddenly, the world lurched and spun, and everything began to move in slow motion.
At the same time, a flood of memories flashed through my mind.
Scenes beyond the years I had lived—scenes I felt like I was seeing for the first time, yet somehow not at all unfamiliar.
They were my memories.
More precisely, the memories of my past life.
‘So… I reincarnated?’
I was proving with my own body that my research had never been wrong.
A soul displaced into a different timeline due to twisted mana? Shouldn’t I add this to my thesis?
No, wait. That wasn’t the most important thing.
What mattered more was this:
In the stream of memories, I saw myself lying in my room, reading a novel.
The title was: <The Master Doesn’t Want to Stop the Apocalypse>.
It started off incredibly gripping. It even topped the male-oriented fantasy novel charts for over 1,000 chapters.
But in the end, the work couldn’t escape harsh criticism for being a case of “great start, weak finish.”
And no wonder—the ending was…
ProfessorExecutionStyle: Why kill it off? Do you even have any love for your own work? What a waste of money.
I had never left a comment on anything in my entire life, but right after reading the final chapter, I wrote my very first one.
That’s how baffled I was.
Not only was the final boss revealed to be an utterly ridiculous character…
But the protagonist, who had gone through all that trouble to regress, ended up dying without stopping either the final boss or the apocalypse.
‘Is the author out of their mind?’
Don’t you want to make money? Are you mocking your readers?
Feeling a surge of frustration, I left an unusually irritable comment—something unlike me.
No, I wasn’t alone; many readers were furious, saying all that time invested was a waste.
That day happened to be the day I’d been thoroughly chewed out by my professor and was leaving the lab.
I sighed, finally tearing my eyes away from my phone—
BEEP—!
CRASH!
A horrifying horn, and blinding headlights flashing before me.
“Huff…!”
I shuddered, recalling the moment I was hit by the truck.
And only then did it hit me.
“…This is bad.”
I was the final boss in that very novel, <The Master Hates It>.
And on top of that, I had just over a year left before awakening as the final boss and bringing about the apocalypse.
I was the professor’s dog—
No, I was a grad student.
Which meant I showed up earlier than the day laborers and left later than the self-employed folks.
Of course, it hadn’t always been like that.
My previous life fell apart when my professor dove into writing papers for an academic conference.
From that point on, my human rights were shredded, and all that remained was the title of “lab slave.”
Napping in the lab was standard.
Even if I went home, I’d collapse unconscious, only to be jolted awake by the alarm and dash back out—this had been my life for two years straight.
I wondered if I might die from overwork…
But luckily (?) I got reincarnated after being hit by a truck.
‘But how is it that even after reincarnation, I’m still the professor’s errand boy?’
