Being reincarnated a third time was easily on the list of the last things Tanya expected to happen after she died. Being sent to Being X’s form of hell? Probable, almost guaranteed even. Drifting off into the nothingness that likely followed death? That was certainly up there on her list. Being reincarnated in some fantasy world as a busty elf woman? Not on her list.

 

Being X had made it fairly clear that she would have no third chances, not unless she willingly prayed to him at least. With that being the last thing she’d ever do, it made no sense why she was given a third chance anyway.

 

Had she somehow beat the system or was this an oversight by Being X? Perhaps reincarnation is a normal phenomenon and Being X just got sloppy or completely forgot about her? Many possibilities had filled her mind since she got here, but with no sign of Being X ever appearing, it became safe to assume that he had no part in it.

 

Her new life was far more modest than her others. In her first she expertly and meticulously began climbing her way into the role of an executive, only being stopped by a fired worker overtaken by emotion. In her second life, she was effectively forced into the role of a military officer, one that she worked in until the end of the war. She lived a somewhat modest lifestyle after that, but her life after the war was surprisingly short, dying around her mid-20s in some accident that was too fuzzy for her to remember clearly.

 

Whatever the case was, she now worked as a barmaid, far from the chaos and supposed ‘glory’ of the frontline in her eyes, and far from the easy life of an executive she had once strived for. She didn’t like the job, but it paid surprisingly well.

 

The pinnacle of why she hated it was obvious with her appearance. Being a blonde-haired blue-eyed girl seemed to just be her destiny at this point. The first time it was a coincidence, perhaps a direct result of Being X. But the second time it happens, well at that point it’s just fate.

 

The uniform she wore was a basic barmaid outfit one would expect to have seen in some Renaissance fair in her first life. A brown skirt that barely could reach her knees, a corset that clung tightly to her small stomach region, and a cloth top that hugged her chest too much for her liking. Her breasts were more along the lines of just above c-cup range, but even that was too much for someone who just years prior had nothing at all. Though her chest was just above average, her butt was certainly noticeably above average, though not by too substantial a degree.

 

The hourglass figure she had been biologically blessed with annoyed her to no end, but without the same malnutrition through her developing years as she had faced in her last life, she understood where it came from. Nevertheless, that didn’t change the fact that her ‘uniform’ showed it off more than she appreciated.

 

In her eyes, it was a necessary and relatively brief sacrifice in her long-term plans. The job paid well, primarily in tips. The tavern doubled as an inn, making it a prime attraction for adventurers who came to the city, a job profession that she would’ve attributed to a mere fantasy concept in her past lives. Regardless, she noticed that the men always tipped her significantly more than the women, causing her to assume that gender inequality must still be an issue in this world. While she hadn’t seen anything else to suggest that, she kept it in mind considering the fact she was still stuck in a female body.

 

Of course for now her focus was on making enough money for her future plans, thus meaning she had to deal with this outfit and her job for just another few weeks, perhaps months depending on how well business was. Carrying a mildly heavy bucket of soapy water from outside, she once more entered the tavern as she carried it to an empty table.

 

The tavern was bustling with adventurers and locals alike, the room lit with a warm glow from the fireplace and the few lanterns that dotted the center of every table. The bar in particular was especially lively as more solo adventurers and other individuals mingled to drink themselves unconscious, often making a mess that Tanya annoyingly was left to clean up.

 

The adventurers who sat at the tables mostly were in groups, some as small as two or three, others as large as eight to ten. Adventurers were usually a colorful group that could be easily spotted even beyond the tavern, with their knights usually donned in thick plate armor, their rogues in dark robes or hoods, and their mages in brightly colored outfits with towering magical staffs.

 

There was a consistent fashion amongst adventurers in particular, though it was split by gender almost perfectly. Men tended to prefer over-the-top and over-exaggerated outfits. Their armor was large with numerous parts sticking out of it that they frankly didn’t need, their mage’s clothes were usually long robes with elaborate details, with their weapons and staffs all matching this perfectly.

 

Women, on the other hand, while similar, tended to be more on the revealing side of things. Their clothes often revealed a lot of skin, with even the heavily armored knights often showing at least their arms and legs to an extent. The mages were the worst in this aspect, with one being lucky if the mages even had full sleeves or leggings. Whatever the fashion of this world was, it was far from anything Tanya was used to.

 

Now placing the bucket of soapy water on the floor next to her, she reached in and pulled out a drenched rag, sliding it across the table to clean it as she bent over the table to reach the other end, unknowingly lifting her plump butt into the air. As she did so she could feel the eyes of many standing around her burning holes through her.

 

She did her best to hide the frustration on her face, continuing with her work as she mused, ‘Can’t these impatient bastards take another table? I’ll finish cleaning this one when it's clean! There’s plenty of others, take those!’

 

After another minute of cleaning off the one table, she moved on to the next, again repeating the same process as she could again feel them staring right at her.

 

‘People in this world seem to care a lot about hygiene. Every time I clean one of these tables they’re always waiting for me to finish it. The table that was cleaned now is just as clean as the one washed ten minutes ago, trust me. This must be why everyone hated working in retail in my first life.’

 

Finishing up with the last table, she was finally free of her shift. Cleaning the tables always came last before she was allowed to leave, and at this point, she no longer needed to say anything when she did, so long as she made sure to put everything away. Carrying the bucket back outside, she felt the warm spring breeze hit her face as she opened the door. Holding the bucket by its rope handle, she began to walk to the side of the building, entering the shaded alley and dumping out the bucket onto the ground below. Placing it onto the ground again, she stretched and let out a sigh.

 

‘Finally done with that today. I made a good amount. At this rate, I could probably make it to the academy in a month or two. Summer’s around the corner as well, the adventurers are about to enter their peak season. That means a whole lot of 'em are about to start flooding in.’

 

Tanya’s goal had barely changed since her first life, as in the end, she had one ambition: comfort. Born originally as a peasant orphan girl, albeit one much better off than in her last life, she was still bound to the rules of medieval society. Those rules were simple: if you were a peasant, you were fucked as she put it.

 

While this medieval society didn’t seem nearly as bad as the historical one she had heard about, especially in the way of hygiene, it still had the same old flaws of medieval hierarchies. If she wanted to obtain any good, stable position, she would need to work her way up into upper-class society.

 

As she had discovered, there were two ways to do that. The first was through the military. While she certainly had the military experience to consider that a viable path, unlike the Empire’s radical meritocracy, the medieval state of her country meant a peasant conscript wouldn’t have a chance of reaching any commanding post for at least several decades.

 

It was possible, sure, but she had found a much safer and much faster way to rise the ranks of society: the Academy. The academy was hard to get into for the lower class, but if you could do well on an academic test, they would pay for a portion of your tuition, or all of your tuition if you were a noble. That didn’t make it cheap by any means, requiring Tanya to still work as a barmaid for several years before even attempting it, but it was at least possible for someone like her to do.

The challenging part came from passing the test to obtain that partial scholarship. She considered herself adept in math and science, enough so that she could at least pass, but there was one field her knowledge of was lacking. That being magic.

 

Magic in her second life seems to be different than in her third. Some of the fundamentals might be similar, but there is no such thing as a ‘computation jewel’ and ‘formulas’ are now ‘spells’. Rather than casting through computation and calculations, you cast through geometry and mental imaging. She believed normal computation might be possible too, but it was an unheard-of magic form that she couldn’t rely on her knowledge of for any academic test.

 

Her solution to make up for that lost knowledge was simple, research as much as she could within the library. She was fortunate to be residing within the capital, meaning the library she had access to was quite large and entry, though costing a monthly fee, was somewhat reasonable. Most nobles had their own personal libraries anyway, so it made sense not to set entry prices with nobles in mind.

 

Tanya patted down her barmaid’s uniform, looking down at the slight mess it had on it with a sigh. She would need to clean it again, and looking down at all the dark spots where water was spilt on it or places where there was otherwise dirt on it she knew that it would probably have to be soon, but she didn’t have time for that, or rather she was too impatient to care about her appearance.

 

Tanya once more stepped out into the street in front of the tavern, guarding her eyes as she stepped back into the light as the sun bled down onto her. Looking at its position in the sky she assumed it to be roughly 4PM, giving her a good amount of time before she would get hungry for dinner.

 

Walking down the busy street she passed by merchants selling collections of items she didn’t need, battered and refreshed adventurers alike, and even a few knights patrolling the street. The tavern was placed at a busy spot in town with the Guild Hall only a minute’s walk in the opposite direction from where she was heading.

 

After a few minutes of walking the houses stopped appearing to her left as she looked down at the capital below, the ocean breeze hitting her as she stood for a few moments and looked down at the sight. The city was built on several layers as you got further down to the coast, built on a tall sloping hill which they had effectively built around, partially mimicking a staircase in the process.

 

At the lowest part of the capital, she could see the port itself, ships sailing in and out of it on a daily basis. The docks were obviously located there along with numerous merchant stalls, countless shops, and the single largest commercial area the country had to offer. Above that were the grander homes, the nicer buildings where the richer merchants and minor nobility lived or stayed temporarily. The large white buildings with blue roofs reminded her of some pictures she had seen of Greece in her first life, though the architecture wasn’t a true one-to-one.

 

The rest of the layers had a variety of architecture, shifting from the cool blues near the ocean to warmer oranges and reds the further out you got. Near the upper layers was where she was now and was also where the Guild Hall was placed, thus attracting a lot of attention to the higher levels as well.

 

There were also two cliffs that overlooked the ocean below, one on each side of the city which rested between them. On the left cliff was the academy which consisted of numerous tall spires attached to a few smaller castles which made up the campus. On the right cliff was the King’s castle, a single mighty beast of stone that pierced into the sky, overshadowing and overlooking the entire city below.

 

She could only imagine the view one would have from up there. It partially made her miss being able to fly. But that wasn’t important to her now, what was important was getting to the library.

 

It took a few more turns down the lively roads of the capital before she reached it. The building was a tall structure, almost mimicking a cathedral in how it was built, with the architecture being heavily Gothic in nature. Heading inside, the first room was a warm cozy reception hall with a single lady sitting at the desk.

 

The receptionist had bright amber-tinted hair and square glasses, wearing a modest dress as she sat neatly behind the desk. The woman took Tanya’s card and looked it over for a few seconds before handing it back with a nod, allowing her to enter the library through the large doors to her left and right.

 

Tanya didn’t waste much time entering the library again. As soon as she entered she was once more reminded of just how massive the library was. It was no less than five floors tall and its curving halls could easily become a maze for anyone unfamiliar with their structure. Spiral staircases led to the upper floors and the large tinted glass stretched to the roof, letting in a warm yellow light from the sides of the building.

 

She wasn’t here to admire the library’s architecture, however. Heading deeper into the elaborate halls of the library, she quickly walked up to the third floor where she began walking around the countless bookshelves, looking over the countless books and their titles. It had taken her some time to learn to read and write, but the alphabet seemed loosely similar to the Latin one like the Imperial language of her last life, so that certainly helped.

 

Throughout the past several years she had been moving through the library, shelf by shelf reading every book that she could find on magic. Some provided great revelations on how it worked, others repeated what she had already learned, and some told her nothing of use at all. Unfortunately, none of the books she had read yet gave a clear explanation on how to use magic. That, it seemed, was more directly taught by teachers.

 

Apprenticeships weren’t uncommon, after all, as such Tanya had come to assume that things like that were left for mentors to teach, not for scholars to talk about. Books weren’t usually shared around the lower classes anyways, causing most books to be more academic in nature, written with the assumption that one already knows how to cast magic.

 

It was yet another mild inconvenience that Tanya added to the increasingly longer list of things in this world, but her focus was to become a scholar for now anyways. Any magical shenanigans could come later in her mind.

 

Collecting just about any book that she thought was even slightly related to magic, she quickly formed a tower of roughly ten books that she carried to a nearby circular table. The table was fairly bland in design, though expertly crafted nonetheless. Regardless, Tanya pulled out the first book in the pile, titled ‘Flaming Arcana: A Study Into the Foundations of Fire Magic’.

 

It was among the more promising books in the pile for what it could possibly teach her, though it was easily the largest of the bunch. Without much hesitation she began to read, minutes beginning to pass. Minutes turning into hours as before long the yellow light coming from outside had turned a warmer shade of orange.

 

“For a barmaid, you sure seem quite interested in magic.”

 

Tanya jolted up in startled shock as she looked up to see what she could immediately assume to be a male mage standing in front of her. The man was donned in an overly elaborate outfit of blue with gold and white detailings, a coloration reflecting in his golden-blonde hair and blue eyes capable of rivaling her own. His golden staff held the same amount of over-the-top details, appearing like a spherical astrolabe with a giant blue magical crystal that appeared as if she was looking into the night sky.

 

Despite his grand appearance, there were signs of wear on his clothing. Small bits of dirt on his gloves, visible wear and tear on his boots, and while it was all well-cleaned and maintained, it gave the obvious signs of an adventurer that she could recognize from working in the tavern.

 

Still somewhat startled that she had been too deep in her research to notice him, she collected herself and responded, “I don’t intend to remain a barmaid forever. I plan to go to the academy to become a scholar. I’m confident in my skills in many academic aspects, but not so much in magic. I’ve taken up researching it here while I work to get enough money to pay for tuition.”

 

The man made a gentle smile and nodded, “A noble goal, I see you’re quite committed to it. I first started coming here a few weeks ago and noticed you come here almost daily. Needless to say, I couldn’t hold back my curiosity forever. My name is Damian von Armitheus, it is a pleasure to meet you. Out of curiosity, would you happen to be capable of casting magic?”

 

‘A noble, huh? Makes sense how he could afford such a large magic orb for his staff. He’s probably affiliated with the Royal Mage Corps, or perhaps he goes to the academy. Best if I keep my guard up, but whoever he is getting on his good side is probably in my best interests.’ 

 

Tanya shrugged her shoulders as she placed the book flat on the table, “No clue, none of these books really tell you how to, so I’ve never been able to try.”

 

Damian thought for a moment before sitting down across from her, leaning his staff against the table as he pulled out the large blue orb from its end, “Well in that case I assume you’re not aware of your magical affinity. Most of these orbs are able to test if someone has mana in them and how much. It is usually used by mages to determine how much mana they have left, but for someone like you it just tells us how much mana you have.”

 

She looked at the orb as he slid it towards her, certainly interested in how much mana she had in her new life, but not sure how it worked, “What exactly did you want me to do? I’m unfamiliar with how these things work.”

 

Damian waved his hand dismissively, “Oh that’s simple. Just imagine running your mana through it. I’m sure you’ve heard of what mana is from your research, just imagine it as an energy you’re transferring into the orb. As an Elf, you should have slightly more mana than the average human, though there are often exceptions.”

 

She had heard that elves tended to be more magically inclined, but in exchange had a much harder time building muscles. The difference between elves and humans magically wasn’t too big though, and it was really only when compared to their polar opposite of dwarves that you started to notice a difference. Dwarves had an easier time putting on muscle and a harder time using magic. Whatever the case, it meant she had a slightly better chance at having mana, which certainly would work in her favor.

 

After a moment she placed her hand on the orb, trying to run mana into it as she shut her eyes doing it. After a moment she opened them to see Damian looking visibly startled, though his facial expression was hard to see through the bright light emanating from the orb.

 

“That's… Well, that’s certainly more than I had expected.” Damian muttered as he rubbed his chin, “Your magical affinity is incredibly high! You have about as much mana as a well-trained mage. If you’ve never used magic before, then that means your magical affinity must be crazy!”

 

“Is that rare for someone outside of nobility?” Tanya asked. She knew that nobles often had strong magical bloodlines, though she heard there was some degree of randomness to it all.

 

“Not particularly. Sure it's true that nobles like to keep the chances of their heirs inheriting strong magical affinities high, but there is always a random factor. A child of two parents with no magic can still be born with high magical affinity meanwhile the opposite can be true for two parents of high magical affinity.” Damian explained as he picked up the orb and returned it to his staff.

 

“It's good to know I have mana then, I suppose…” Tanya muttered.

 

“I’d be careful if I were you. The Kingdom likes to snatch up anyone they find with high magical affinity. One possibility is that they’ll enlist you into the army to fight as a front-line mage. But another possibility, especially for a nice-looking lady like you, is that you’ll be forced to be a wife or a concubine to create an heir with high magical affinity.”

 

Tanya did her best to hide her growing frustration as she muttered, “Do you think I could perhaps hide my magical affinity?” 

 

Damian shrugged, “I’m not sure. If you continue working as a barmaid you could be fine. But if you go to the academy, they do document magical affinity tests and keep the results on a record. There are also magical devices that some nobles have that can detect individuals with high magical affinity. It’s not common, but it's very possible that if one of them happens to use it when you’re nearby that you’ll be found out.”

 

Damian jumped as he heard a loud slam from Tanya’s face planting into the table. With a sigh, he leaned back in his chair and muttered, “There is a way around it, I suppose. While most countries act the same when it comes to individuals with high magical affinity, being part of the Adventurers Guild gives you protections against stuff like that. Of course, you’d need to be an active part of their guild, and with high magical affinity they’ll come to expect you to be a useful asset.”

 

Tanya sighed, ‘Great so now my options are potentially being drafted into the army, becoming a concubine, joining the Adventurers Guild, or continuing to be a barmaid and hoping no horny noble finds out about my affinity.’

 

“That last option doesn’t seem much different from joining the military,” Tanya grumbled, no longer capable of hiding her annoyance at her newfound situation.

 

“Well aside from the fact you can’t be dragged off into some unwanted marriage, the Adventurers Guild offers a lot more freedom. Sure they do expect you to actually contribute, but they won’t outright force you to, simply punishing you if you don’t do anything for a long time. Furthermore, since the Guild is a neutral entity, you can’t legally fight in wars, so that’s good.”

 

Tanya sighed as she sat up in her chair leaning back, “I suppose it's my best option, but I can’t even cast magic yet.”

 

Damian smiled, standing up and picking up his staff, “Don’t worry, I’ll teach you.”

 

“You? What do you gain by teaching me?” Tanya stared at him with a skeptical gaze, one which he simply brushed off with a light chuckle.

 

“I could tell you would be the skeptical type. There isn’t much that I want that you have to give me. You see I’m an old man who has recently come to terms with his own mortality. I may look young but I’m nearing a thousand years old.”

 

“A thousand?!” Tanya blurted out in shock. She knew magic could extend one’s age, but never had she heard of someone living to a thousand years old. From what she had read, doubling one’s age was about the limit, and even then you’d end up spending most of it in your elderly state. He wasn’t elderly at all, however, he was youthful, almost as much as her, making it hard to believe.

 

Damian nodded with a gentle smile, “Yes, I use a form of magic that I was taught by my mentor. It has been lost to time, unfortunately, but that does not make it any less efficient than the kind used today. You see, I had always wanted a mentor to pass down my magic to, not some snotty rich noble, either. I had always assumed I had plenty of time to do so, but as it turns out, while I can keep my body going forever, I cannot do the same with my soul.”

 

“So souls age as well?” Tanya asked with a slight bit of worry. She knew souls existed to some degree, after all being born into three different bodies now proved it to her. But if souls could age, that meant that she could have a serious problem on her hands.

 

“Not the souls themselves, but rather the bonds that keep a soul attached to their body. Over time these erode, and while you can heal the body and keep it alive forever, Nobody has found a way to prolong this erosion. As such, I will inevitably, and fairly soon, pass on to whatever comes next. Before I go, I want someone to pass down my knowledge to.”

 

‘So some old wizard wants to pass down his knowledge. I suppose it makes sense, but there’s still one question I have…’

 

“Why me?” She asked, staring intently up at Damian.

 

Damian’s smile continued unphased, “That’s simple. I don’t want some noble with little care for the world around him, and I don’t want some idealist who will go around on some grand crusade of fame to flare their own ego. I want someone studious who will expand their knowledge from what I teach them while not going over the top. Call it a hunch, but I consider myself a good judge of character in this aspect.”

 

‘So he doesn’t want some egotistical maniac as an apprentice. I suppose if you live a thousand years you earn the right to be picky. Considering my situation, I don’t have that right. Whether he’s a good mentor or not, and whether he’s completely right about the noble situation, I don’t have the freedom to take that chance.’

 

Tanya closed the book she was reading and added it back to the pile, standing up with a heavy sigh, “Alright then. Where do we start?”

 

“We start immediately.”

 

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Thanks to various editors and helpers on the Discord who helped with things like plot decisions, grammatical errors, and other aspects of the chapter:

 

Terraman60

 

Special thanks to BrettFire for helping me with the creation process and the finer details for this fic.

 

To join the discord for chatting, discussion, updates, or to apply to be one of the credited helpers, join the link below:

 

https://discord.gg/xcCvpSxmA7