Zinless

Chapter 26: Let There Be Luminite

“Hey, I’m back,” a voice echoed from the hallway.

Another bandit had entered the base. His voice sounded rough yet composed.

What I did know was that I was practically invincible in the dark. I figured I could probably pounce on this new bandit in this pitch-black room and defeat him easily.

So, I intentionally caused a sound by tapping my sword on the rocky walls.

“Huh? What are you two doing down there?”

I heard his footsteps getting closer. I positio...

Announcement

Due to unforeseen circumstances, I'll be slowing down my schedule for a moment.

This is the current (temporary) schedule for my chapters:

Every Saturday, Wednesday, and Friday, at 9:30 AM (GMT-4)

Don't worry, it'll be a temporary thing, won't last a month. It's just that things have been wild for me lately and my time to write has been constantly dwindling.

I could still write 5 chapters a week, but I don't wish to rush my chapters. If you had already read chapters 24-...

Chapter 25: Darkness My Old Friend

With the bandits distracted by their argument and their own chaotic combat, I was left with a crucial task: find a way to disable the lantern without getting either of us killed in the process.

We were still caught up in the fight, parrying and dodging attacks as our arms grew increasingly fatigued. 

The first bandit was swinging his dagger like a man possessed, forcing me—Carine—to dance around his blows while trying to keep him at bay. 

Meanwhile, the second ...

Chapter 24: Sneaking

I removed the ropes around Feyt’s arms using Carine’s teeth. It was a struggle, but I managed. After that, I used Feyt to remove the rest.

With our hands finally free, we had to act quickly.

I listened carefully to the guards outside, they were still arguing if cooking steak underground was a good idea or not. 

Good, they’re distracted.

No torches or candles were lit in the deeper parts of the base, so I had Carine take the front for her eyes with F...

Chapter 23: Fathers

Inside the elder’s house, several figures stood around a small table. Anger, fear, and confusion were on all their faces.

“Where is my boy, Feyt?!” Rayn’s voice echoed angrily through the small room of the elder’s house.

“I-It’s all my fault…” Teffa sobbed, covering her face with her hands. “I was the one who sent him to the market… What have I done…”

Fray, her daughter, stood silently beside her. She herself looked distraught at the news, staring i...

Chapter 22: Kidnapped

I was blindfolded and gagged, but through Carine’s eyes, I could still catch glimpses of what was happening. Feyt’s vision, on the other hand, was completely pitch black.

The horses finally came to a stop and I felt the bandits hoisting us up like we were cargo. I should have had experience with being manhandled like this due to Sis, but I soon realized that she was a lot gentler no matter how she held me.

These guys were taking us deep into the forest, far away from the villa...

Rewrote Chapter 21 a bit!

I felt like the fight with the dagger man probably wouldn't matter much and I decided to cut him out.

Chapter 21: Myself and I

So that’s where the déjà vu’s came from, this is Feyt’s village!!

I was so focused on how to survive in my new lives that I hadn’t even considered meeting myselves, and now that I did, what should I do?!

How did this even happen?! Coincidence? Fate? Luck? Destiny?

No matter what the reason, the truth was laid bare before both pairs of my eyes. 

In front of me stood an elegant girl with a mature demeanor, a face of absolute strictness and coldnes...

Chapter 20 Illustration Colored Full-Res

Sorry about the delay in the illustration! I booked the artist when his schedule was filled, my bad!!

Chapter 20: Fated Meeting

The journey to the village after leaving the city was rather uneventful. 

Father was tapping his fingers rhythmically on his lap as he watched the scenery with a wide smile on his face. He seemed pretty happy that I entertained him, so I let him be. 

But now, since I had no one to talk to, I was a bit bored.

I looked out the window and tried to enjoy the scenery, but…

Hmm? What’s this?

My unnaturally sharp eyes seemed to enhance every singl...

Chapter 19.5: Father's Love

I woke before dawn, as I always did, to the sound of the chirping birds outside my window. My wife, Reina, was still sound asleep beside me.

I wanted to lie down with her for a few more moments, but knowing my schedule for the day, I refrained.

I pushed the heavy covers aside and swung my legs out of bed, stretching my legs before walking to the dresser.

Today was the day I needed to get ready for the journey to the village with Carine, and there was quite a bit to prepare b...

Chapter 19: First Outing

A week had passed since I woke up as both Carine and Feyt, things were going well for us.

After tons of activities, my simultaneous movements became more refined and fluid, and I was practicing simultaneous speech whenever I was about to sleep, I even got more used to my new lives.

Of course, the grueling work as Feyt and the intense training as Carine still tortured me, but it was getting slightly more bearable each day. Slightly.

It was a warm morning in Carine’...

Chapter 18.5: The Guardians

As Feyt’s only older sister, I had the moral obligation to protect him from any harm. 

Of course, I was rarely home, but whenever I was, I needed to make sure that he stayed in shape. Thankfully, he was. Ain’t like I was going to cut back on his training though.

All we needed to do was to get him a Talent Scroll and I could start helping him build towards the career that would fit his talent.

But, judging from how I had trained him for the last few years, I began to...

Chapter 18: Don't Be Cocky, Me

“Feyt! Dinner’s ready!” Mom shouted. Her voice reverberated inside my head. 

I could hear you clearly even if you whispered, you know? No need to shout.

“Coming!”

I jumped out of my bed and headed towards the door. As I held the wooden handle though, my mind reminisced about the first time I woke up with two bodies.

Hard to imagine that I woke up in this body just this morning. 

I could barely even walk and talk, I was like a baby in ...

Chapter 17: Dead Drunk

I played a couple of games of Old Maid—I mean, Dark Card—with Ricent. The result of the match was… kind of unexpected.

“Aaaaagh! Why are you so good at this?!” Said the person with the world’s worst poker face.

All I had to do was shift my hand a bit to the left or right, and I could immediately tell if the card I was hovering over was the Old Mai—I mean, Dark Card. Not to mention, when I was about to grab the Old M—I mean Dark Card! God, I hate that name�...

Chapter 16: Dark Card

“Lady Carine?”

“Uwah?!”

I whipped around, nearly dropping the book in my hands. It was Leila, again, appearing out of nowhere like a ghost.

Could you stop that, please?!

“It is time to rest, My Lady”

“W-what? Already?” I said, my hands still on an open book.

Around me were several books with most of them I already skimmed through. 

I had plowed through seven of these books in that measly hour, and what did I learn? Nothin...

Chapter 15: Sergio Sauro, The Liar

Underneath the ruins of an abandoned town on the outskirts of Setus, a secret meeting was taking place.

Three men huddled around a small round wooden table deep underground.

One man pressed his hands beside his head, his thinning hair falling as his hands trembled in stress. "Two months and we haven't met any Talent holders with a unique symbol yet! I'm getting sick of this!" The balding man slammed his face onto the table with a thud.

Another man joined in with his opinion....

Chapter 14: Read-a-holic

Books.

Everywhere I looked there were books.

The library was so large it extended up to the second floor. It felt more like a city’s worth of books than a family’s collection.

I could hear several maids cleaning on the upper floor, they were pretty quiet with their work. Were they doing it for my sake? Nah, probably not.

An impulse hit me to grab as many books as I could and see how many I could read. But with only an hour of free time before I’d be basically gro...

Chapter 13: Skipping Out

Leila escorted me to the dining room. There, both of my parents were already seated.

I had a good recollection of their appearance, personality, how they treated me. But this was technically my first time meeting them.

Father—known by many as Duke Kyrat Sareid—was a man of dignity. He has black, graying hair and a short yet glorious beard. He wore a distinguished dark blue suit which looked meticulously tidy.

Mother—Duchess Reina Sareid—was a woman of strictness. Her...

Chapter 12: Best Day Ever

Professor Karvin sat back in his seat, his posture more relaxed. His face showed a genuine smile this time. “Considering our tight schedule, I cannot divulge the details much, but I want you to know, Lady Carine, that both I and the Third Prince expect much from you.”

Great, as if I wasn’t already under enough pressure from Mother.

“We will support the Sareid family as best as we can, but it would be preferred if you accomplished great things without our interfere...

Chapter 11: Who's This Old Man?

I let out a sigh, it couldn’t be helped. As Fray treated me like a piece of luggage, I answered Leila’s question.

“Yes, Leila, please come in.”

The door opened, and Leila stepped in with her usual perfect posture. "Lady Carine, Professor Karvin is ready for your lesson. Shall I help you prepare?"

I gave a small nod and she went to work.

Ahh, what should I do?

Since escaping Fray’s iron grip was out of the question, the least I could do was to t...

Chapter 10: Fray

As I enjoyed my apple pie as Carine, a sudden shiver ran down my spine in Feyt’s body. An alarmingly quick thump echoed outside my door, someone barreled towards my door at breakneck speed.

Who was it? I asked myself. Before I could theorize, the door flew open, slamming against the wall with a resounding crash. There stood the source of my fight-or-flight response.

Her intimidating presence and towering figure told me exactly who she was. My sister, Fray.

Fray has blonde ...

Chapter 9: Consolation Pie

I opened my door and poked my head out, only to find Leila standing right beside me, motionless like a statue. The moment she realized I was there, life seemingly returned to her body.

She turned her head and asked, “What is it, Lady Carine?”

“Ah, Leila. Didn’t realize you were there… Why are you here?”

“I am standing by in case you ring your bell, My Lady.”

Right, the bell. I was supposed to ring that whenever I needed anything from Leila. Whether it b...

Chapter 8: Talents

After the etiquette lesson, I flopped into my bed and stared at the ceiling.

What in the world was that?

What I did during the lesson, the tea-pouring—when had I learned that? I did it perfectly. Too perfect.

The previous tasks were done through muscle memory, or at least I thought so. But the tea-pouring…

I ran through the lesson again in my mind. Every detail, every motion. The graceful way the teapot tipped, the steady stream of liquid. It was flawless....

Chapter 7: Et-tea-quette

Etiquette: the exhausting set of unwritten rules you’re supposed to magically know to avoid embarrassing yourself. It’s the anxiety of picking the right fork at a fancy dinner and the nerve-wracking challenge of nailing the perfect greeting.

I thought corporate etiquette was bad, but aristocratic etiquette was on another level. From Carine’s memories, I could recall my previous lessons with Lady Maltine and how I easily aced them all.

But hey, that was pre-two-bodied-soul Ca...

Chapter 6: Graceful Walk

““Okay, be natural! Don’t think about it!””

With my hands on my chin, I focused on things other than walking. My goal: walk in circles around my room.

What kind of lunch would I have in this world? Are there steaks here? As if I was thinking the answer to the meaning of life, I paced around the room.

To my surprise, it actually worked. My steps felt more fluid, less like I was marching in a parade. I took another lap around the room, this time switching be...

Chapter 5: The Lord and The Lady

Since both of me were left alone again, I couldn’t just sit on my bed and wait.

It was time to learn how to walk.

Seriously, I was like a newborn baby with the things I had to learn.

I stood up from my beds and tried walking as Feyt and Carine. Both of my rooms’ layouts couldn’t be more different, so it wasn’t easy.

I took things slow, one step as Carine, the next as Feyt, and another as Carine. Gradually, I traversed the room fully, but my movements were so ri...

Chapter 4: Parallel Mornings

Once I slowed down, I could eat both breakfasts simultaneously with no hiccups. But still, drinking warm soup while enjoying cold yogurt was a weird sensation, to say the least. Both of them were good, by the way, nothing to complain about.

Taking a final scoop of the soup, I cleaned out Feyt's tray.

“Aaah~” I let out a satisfied sigh.

Mom picked up the wooden table with the empty bowl and glass. As she stood up, the wooden table balanced on her right hand, she held her ...

Chapter 3: Two Bodies, Two Breakfast

“Excuse me,” the voice said beyond the white door.

It creaked open, revealing a stern-faced maid with brown braided hair in a typical Victorian-era uniform. She had a tray balanced in one hand with a white cloche.

Tilting her head, she asked, “Lady Carine? You looked worried. Are you alright?”

Leila, my one and only personal maid. Despite it being our first meeting, I felt like I had known her for a long time.

Realizing I had left her hanging, I quickly answere...

Chapter 2: Two Bodies, One Mind

After gazing into space for a few seconds, the people in front of me told me to rest and headed out of the room. I looked into their faces as they left and I could immediately tell, the four of them were my parents.

I looked at my surroundings, trying to get a bearing on my situation. To put things simply, I could see two rooms at once.

My visions felt like they overlapped. If I had to describe how it felt, it would be as if your left eye was in a different room than your right ey...