"Where are you, why did you divert from your assigned post!?" A certain squad commander angrily yells at Alfir.
Alfir wants to watch that marvelous battle at that time, so he ditches his team and then goes on his own merry way. Not that his grumpy squad commander has a complaint though. Of course, he does it with stealth, but no amount of stealth can save him after returning to their home base.
Normally, Alfir's head will explode from the chip for insubordination. But Alfir knows better than to let that happen.
"Chill, sir... Chill! Look what I have here." At Alfir's pleading, the squad commander looks curiously. In Alfir's hand is a familiar gadget that is used to record 'films'. It is a Long long-distance camera with high resolution. Alfir spends lots of his credits on this thing!
"Huh? Wha-WHAT!? How did you get this?!" The contents of the video are appalling; it is the Immortal King and the Undying!
"I want to take a risk at that time, and here is the result of my exploits. Now, out of my way, so that I can submit this thing to the mission halls. Hahaha! I will be rich!" Of course, all of that said, it is all a lie. Alfir simply wants to watch that video on his lonesome.
Taking advantage of the event is just a side quest for him. It can't hurt to earn an extra income, right? In all honesty, Alfir's main purpose in participating in that mission is just to get a glimpse of the battle. The benefits that follow are just extra bonuses to him.
Alfir watches the video again and again in curious elation. It is not just entertaining but also thought-provoking. Relatively, more than characters from a novel, the Immortal King and Gavin have become actual persons of flesh and blood… It is unreal!
"Heheh… I wonder what face the Undying would make if he learns he is just a fictional character… hahahaha." His malevolent smile vanishes as quickly as it appears.
Though the video lacks the proper audio to hear the two's conversation, Alfir can imagine what the two are talking about.
"The tragedy of the Undying, this event is the precursor to that."
After the battle, the promised rewards are given. Alfir sees a rapid rise in his authority level and Zentury Credits. The video he submitted alone is enough to catapult him to a higher position within the organization.
However, Alfir has different plans for his credits. Rather than buying an executive position, it is better to spend his capital on items with immediate returns.
[MINION #12913
Authority Level: 7,000
Zentury Credits: 2,001,021]
With this amount, he can apply for a vacation ticket, and so he does.
Alfir applies for leave to reorganize himself. He doesn't really care about his status within the organization. While it's true that staying here in the organization at a lie-low would allow Alfir an easy and slow life, it will be detrimental to his own growth— Alfir doesn't want any of that.
Moreover, it is not really safe to stay with the bad guys. They are the bad guys!
If he has a choice, Alfir prefers abandoning Zentury. It is a place brimming with villains, psychos, and immeasurable dangerous situations.
Getting tossed into impossibly difficult missions, again and again, will kill him someday. And this 'someday' is not in the far future, but in the nearest tomorrow, possibly there is… What a minion can only do is wait on standby and pray he gets lucky enough to survive one more day.
Minionwork isn't so bad, really. In a sense, it can be an easy job.
It is easy because in that case, Alfir will not need to bother with his accommodations.
On top of that, there are also numerous amount of amenities he could enjoy and revel in. The organization's brothels for example are top-notch, and so are the other enjoyable stuff imaginable to mankind.
"But I can't get strong by relying on luck and going easy." Recalling the 'Duel of the Immortals' in his mind, Alfir decides to quit minion work. Going straight to the shop, he buys a vacation card.
A plan is slowly forming in his mind so that he can leave Zentury.
Zentury operates on paid leave so that its members can enjoy their vacation. It sounds too good to be true, to the point that Alfir has some regrets about his 'end goal' of leaving this place.
"I might not be coming back to this place..." He whispers inwardly as he steps off from Zentury territory. "Hmmm... On second thoughts, I shouldn't be so hasty. If the occasion calls for it, I just might stay a little while longer." He steels his resolve to return after his vacation.
If the situation allows it, Alfir wishes to milk as many benefits as possible.
...
Alfir rents a small shack in the suburbs with the hopes of awakening his mutation.
Vacations in the organization don't come for free. In fact, Alfir has to pay for it. It immediately eats at his funds, leaving him with only half of the Zentury credits he has.
Why is Alfir so persistent in having a paid vacation? Is it really necessary? It's not like he knows a very good vacation spot where he can enjoy himself to the fullest.
No, it isn't like that. As a matter of fact, he just wants space for himself so that he can reorganize, train, and plan for the future.
Simply put, Alfir desires to go into secluded cultivation, do research, and stuff~ It is a rough analogy, but it will do...
"Now, at the very top of my priorities. How can I become a mutant?"
'Mutate' is an alien term this world has no idea about at all.
Different organizations see this phenomenon differently. The Hero Society simply calls it Special Abilities, racists call it a Curse, Religious Sects call it Blessings, and the Nobility calls it Bloodline Powers, while Alfir simply calls it a Mutation.
In general, the common populace sees it as sorcery or magic.
There are two methods to awakening Mutations:
1.) Life Method— Achieve sudden enlightenment through retrospection, as a result, the individual's potential will be awakened. The chances are rare but manageable as long as time and circumstances allow it,
2.) Death Method— With the stimulus of a near-death experience, the individual's potential will be awakened. The survival rate is immensely small but rarely fails.
Of course, there is an undisclosed method. As the author of this world, Alfir has an idea for this very special method. Something that Zentury discovers after years of research, this method creates a boom of mutants at their disposal.
They call it the Soul Method.
With this method, Alfir hopes to succeed and achieve a Mutation. In the meantime, that can wait. For now, knowing 'himself' will be his top priority.
Alfir stares at the mirror naked, inspecting every nook and cranny of his body.
Ignoring the ridiculousness of this stare-me-mirror sideshow, Alfir tabulates the data about himself with seriousness. He is from a different world and is now in a foreign body, so it is only right that Alfir prioritizes making sense of the information he has, especially Minion#12913's data.
"Hmmm... No birthmarks, or moles, and my skin is ordinarily pale. This appearance doesn't stand out, but it is uncanny. This guy also has black hair and dark eyes. He is slim but has enough muscles to be considered above average. This body won't die in a street fight. This guy's age is 16 years old, that's 11 years younger than I am. But in a logical sense, my age now is effectively 16 rather than 27 since physique also drastically influences a person's so many extending faculties, which include hormones, mentality, and even perspective."
It is not that Alfir dismisses his entire set of memories. He just has a firm belief as to how the state of the physical body may affect a person's thinking. He has confidence in his objectiveness about this particular what-is-a-transmigrator's real age.
Alfir fills up his drawing board using a black marker. The black marker and the whiteboard are from Zentury. They are not uncommon items, but also not cheap enough for mere peasants to get a hold of them.
This sight of modernity makes Alfir wonder. If this world doesn't have mutants in the first place, will it also develop like the Earth Alfir once knew?
There are arrows, symbols, and charts on the whiteboard. Alfir is doing his best, to make sense of his memory of Mutagenic Medieval, the novel he himself has written.
"Hmmm... After reorganizing information about my identity, then it's time I plan for World Domination... Since this guy has a bleak past and has nothing to restrain him, this is just perfect."
Aflir finds it most difficult to collect information referring to Minion#12913's past. It is sad that he doesn't catch Minion#121913's original name. He just has to be satisfied with what he has.
Slowly, Alfir pieces the fragments of memories in his head after a brain-breaking session of meditation. It is terrible.
The sensation of the brain being burned and frozen alternately is a very scary experience. Slowly and surely, Alfir finally makes sense of the smallest information he can get a hold of.
The old Minion #12913 is a commoner who possesses immense hatred for the world. His reasons go on a list. It can be easily simplified as his hate for authority and power— representing monarchy and mutants.
"World Domination, such are the dreams of my youth..." Alfir speaks to the mirror imagining the reflection to be Minion#12913.
"In your youth, almost every child experienced this once— the feeling of invincibility, that you can conquer anything that the world throws at you, that you are special."
Alfir looks at his reflection with manic glee as if he is possessed. Something is driving him to do this... To conquer the world. To own it.
Why would he do that? Why would he want that? Truth eludes Alfir at this very moment as his imagination turns into delusions that cannot be controlled.
In his shadow, a silhouette of evil lurks. They are always there, in hiding, waiting for a chance to strike. Even in his past life, these shadows have always existed.
"Yes, you. What do you say? Do you want to join me in this conquest?" He continues to address the reflection as if convincing Minion#12913 who is long already dead.
Alfir thinks that he is in control, but he is not... There are mysteries that surround him, but the man in question himself doesn't realize it. He is mad.
"I just have to use my every advantage..." Calm returns to him, no longer the disturbing smile on his face. It's as if the madness that encroached on him is never there, to begin with.
Alfir survives the recent S-rank mission thanks to his prophetic knowledge. But he knows that won't always be true, he has to humble himself as he is fully aware of his own abilities.
1.) He is not omniscient, just knowledgeable of some parts about the past and future, and...
2.) He is neither 'god' nor the 'god of this world', but just a mortal. Alfir won't even entertain the idea he created this world.
However, that doesn't mean Alfir can't be God. He wrote of this world, dreamt of it, and now he is here… it would be a shame if he doesn't claim it. A path to godhood— he pictures.
If he is really just another mortal in this world, so be it. Who knows, Alfir might only be a simulation existing for the amusement of its creator. It will be best for Alfir if his life is a self-wish fulfillment, but no— Nah uh...
"If it comes to that, I'll just slay God and take his place then…"
Three months pass, and Alfir's vacation ends on a high note— his every objective is met without resistance. Despite the success, he feels uninclined to celebrate as he peruses the letter in his hand.
On his hand is a letter of command for his participation in a highly classified mission. It's a direct order so Alfir has no right to refuse.
"Hey there, 12913! There is an easy mission I am recently assigned to… I want you on my team, I've already recommended you, so no worries. It's almost a freebie, some orphan massacre which will be a cinch." These are Palnes's words when he meets Alfir in the hallway, casually informing him of the nature of the mission.
The contents of the mission are familiar and worrying.
It looks like Alfir will be meeting the protagonist of the story far earlier than he anticipates. What is more surprising is, Alfir is made to become the second-in-command of the operation.
Within the duration of his vacation, Alfir is able to make a decade-long plan to make preparations for his 'SO MUCH DESIRED WORLD DOMINATION' with Zentury as his stepping stone.
Alas, this mission that Palnes 'forcefully' recommends has placed a stumbling block to Alfir's machinations. The shadows churn unnoticed, irked by the sudden obstacle Alfir has no choice but to confront head-on.
"It would be good if I could stay with Zentury and rise among the ranks, but I guess I should change plans, huh?"