"So kid, tell me why you don't want to show us your magic? There should be a reason, right?" Once again, this young voice wasn't directed at the old voice but to Juan.
Juan, who had calmed his trembling, panicking body considerably, took a deep breath as he answered. "I can only use my magic two times." Yes, Juan told the small truth. At the same time, he hid more facts that supported that truth.
The people around were surprised a bit but weren't shocked. "I see, so you awakened a limited use of your supernatural power. Hmm, this is a loss. What do you think? What magic can you do?" Both questions are for people on the other seats and for Juan.
"Tell us your magic first." Another voice sounded, and this one came from an old woman. The others, who were silent, nodded. Juan can't see that due to the light. "Agreed," the old man said in a humph.
Juan breathes in relief hearing that; at least he won't have to show it. He relaxes his body a little, but his guard won't. "It's [healing] magic; I used it three times on me and my parents." Although Juan did hear the old man back then treating him as a criminal,
He ought to think that everybody was thinking the same. What they are doing now should be using a soft approach to extract information about his magic. And he already told them the truth. When he returned home, there would surely be surveillance.
Hehe, see if they can try to glean more information from then on. "[Healing] magic, huh, just a lowly supernatural power. It's not of the destruction category."
The old woman's voice sounded before she stood up and left. Juan followed the sounds of that leaving figure and knew that it was that old woman's voice that came from it. "He isn't lying."
"Oh, I see. I lost interest. I thought it would be another unique one, but it's just an ordinary supernatural power, huh. More over, it's a defective one that can only be used five times, and now he can only use it another two times." Another cape person left.
Afterwards, the others also followed. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Kid, you're lucky to tell the truth and not lie to us. If not, you would be detected. Being branded as a criminal would be your very worst results." The young man from before stood up as he said, then he told the old man not far away.
"Old man, that silly temper of yours. You need to change it. You're so old already, there are still many promising ones waiting for you to abdicate. I think it's time for a change, am I right? Hahaha." After that, the young man left with the others.
As for the old voice, it resounded once again in gritted anger. "You're still too young to teach me, young man. Although I'm old, you still can't defeat these old bones!" After that, the old man waved his hand as a white light flashed.
Juan and the old man's indifferent eyes met. "Hmph! Consider yourself lucky."
Bang!
A flash of light consumed everything. The world suddenly turned quiet, and he felt helpless as he felt weightless. The next thing that registered in his eyes soon enough was him standing on the side of the gutter with the already-melted ice cream still in his hand.
There were two people around him who were so shocked to see a man suddenly appear before them without their noticing. And they were even running hurriedly. Without thought, they bump into each other. Juan's dazed eyes delated in surprise.
Bam!
Sprawled on the ground, the three looked at each other's clothes stained with ice cream. The two young men immediately wore an unsightly expression as they looked at Juan fiercely.
They immediately stood up and surrounded him as they gave him punches and kicks before leaving in a hurry after seeing there were some people coming. Juan can only watch them leave. It's not that he can't fight them back right there.
But the problem was, he couldn't move! Right! He knew that old man must have done something to him that he didn't know. He wants him to die! Juan hates for that organization, immediately rose to its peak.
To actually dare to take the life of another person. This sin is immense. Juan must let the other party know the consequences of his actions! Juan hurriedly used healing magic on himself before leaving in a hurry.
Although there are people around who would pass by, they usually won't come to get involved in a fight. But that didn't mean they wouldn't call those problematic law enforcers.
After returning home, Juan was greeted by his parents barrage of questions as to what had happened to him and why he was all dusty and unkept.
Naturally, he used the fact that the clothes he wore were stained with ice cream to make it look like he bumped into someone and was pushed to a dusty corner with trash cans. His parents didn't ask anymore, seeing that he had no signs of being in a fight.
Although Juan was so irritated today, his heart was actually furious. But his mind is calmed—eerily calmed. He did not know if he was being monitored, but he didn't care anymore. He needs more magic to better protect himself from those people.
After changing his clothes, he took a bath and had dinner with his parents. When everything was done, he took out the box containing the mini house model from his room before borrowing a flashlight from Draw next door.
"What do you need a flashlight for? Going on a hunt for spiders? Is it that month of the year already?"
"Nope, I'm just going to place this mini trap in the forest because I can't do it tomorrow as I will be very busy." Juan had some chitchat with Draw for a bit before leaving for the forest. As for Draw, he looked at Juan silently.
He knew Juan hid something from him, but he did not ask what it was, as everyone has secrets. They should respect each other's privacy. After seeing him disappear in the forest, he closed the door.
At the same time, back in that mysterious organization. Inside one of the halls was a control room filled with high-tech equipment. There are many screens that show many places in real time. However, almost all of them seem to be coming from the sky.
"What's the situation about that young man? Have you heard anything from him?" A western man asked the caped figure beside him. "Nothing yet, but we have confirmed what supernatural power he has. It is healing, just an ordinary power, not to mention a defective one that can only be used five times."
"That's what happened for those who awakened without our guidance, hmph!" If Juan were to be here, he would surely know this figure was the owner of that old voice who berated him as a criminal. The one who did something to him that almost made him die.
"Are we just going to let him leave like that?"
"Let him be. Hehe."
"It looks like we don't need to do more investigations on him then. It's just a waste of resources," the man said, while the figure in the black coat nodded in agreement. "Indeed."
Of course, there's no need to waste it because I left something in him that will take his life. Hmph, arrogant kid, who doesn't know the immensity of sky and earth? To offend me is synonymous with your death! The figure in the coat sneered.
...
Under the moonlight, the forest behind Juan's village was especially eerie. There are tall trees that are said to be home to many misfortunes and mysterious creatures. Lifting up the model in hand, Juan trekked the forest slowly with a calm face yet a tense heart.
The flashlight in his hand was brighter than what he owned, which made him much more relaxed when entering the forest alone. Soon, he arrived at a place where a mound or a small hill was. It was said to be the house of the mysterious creatures called Duwende, according to folklore.
Juan placed the house on the flat mound shoulder as he clasped his hand and said, "Oh Duwende of the mounds, the spirit and guardians of mountains and hills, please grant me magic that can trick anything and anyone."
Duwendes are known for their trickster nature. They can create illusions or manipulate their surroundings to confuse or deceive humans. So Juan thought that those abilities to create money and multiply it might also be illusions.
However, their illusion was said to be so real that one couldn't distinguish between reality and illusion. Since that was the case, it doesn't matter if what he can create is fake or not. Juan was determined to use this magic to his advantage.
After bowing, he hurriedly left. Currently, he had [Magic Ritual: 3] from this morning, and he didn't know if he would get the same number tomorrow.
"It looks like I need a good plan to maximize my time. You force me to do this. I was just living leisurely in this world, but you just had to poke the hive."
When he returned the flashlight to Draw, Juan returned home and closed the door. Lying on his bed, his eyes weren't on the ceiling. Instead, it was in the text box that appeared before him.
[Ritual Successful. Created Illusion Magic x3]
[Magic Ritual: 0]
[Current Magic: Healing Magic x1, Illusion Magic x3]
Success! Juan finally smiled faintly, feeling some stones being lifted off his shoulder. Although it wasn't enough, it is still better than nothing. With a thought, Juan cast an illusion of magic in his room.
A purple-colored glowing light suddenly appeared to gather into an illusion in mid-air. Juan waved his hand, and the glowing word exploded into countless mini texts that immediately assembled themselves into beautiful magic circles.
Like the pulsing of light from the stars, the area around him the whole room was enveloped by purple lights before vanishing like it never happened. "With this, no one should be able to detect what I'm going to do now."
What Juan had just done was cover his whole room in the illusion that nothing out of the ordinary happened. So no matter how those who were surveying him outside tried to pry on him, As long as he was in his room, the illusion magic that he cast would always work its wonder.
Preventing them from further spying on him, be it from the sky or on land! With the magic active, Juan then thought it out, and what he needs now is money. With money, he can buy all the things he needs.
[Magic Ritual: 0]
[Current Magic: Healing Magic x1, Illusion Magic x2]
He took a deep breath and cast another illusion with his hand. The familiar purple-glowing [Illusion] word gathered above his palms before busting into countless mini texts that formed into beautiful purple magic circles.
The next moment, there was a flash of his eyes, and before he knew it, his room had already been half filled with countless bank notes of money in different currencies. However, most of them were from his country. Juan hurriedly picked up two closely and immediately sighed in relief.
Although it's illegal, with how the price of goods keeps inflating and the value of money keeps decreasing, Juan only felt a bit of guilt before he forgot about it. It's not that he was doing wrong; he didn't steal, so why could it be said to be a sin?
Illusion? Fake money? It's real, though; he can even touch it, and it even has its own scents and unique serial numbers. Juan suddenly laughed in his heart; he hadn't expected that he could just make so much money by doing this.
No, he didn't know the feeling, so he was overwhelmed by the feeling of getting rich. Money equals power; this is the first time Juan has truly felt the countless possibilities of what the word money can give. Money equals freedom!
....
"Sir, we have just detected some supernatural activation from that man again we had just court trial. It seems he used his magic. Should we arrest him? After all, it's in the law that using supernatural powers outside is forbidden."
"No, I already know what happened," the figure said. I hadn't forgotten that he uses supernatural healing power. Anyway, he must have used his so-called magic because what I left in him was triggered.
Hmph. See if your so-called healing can save your life. "Just let him be; he only has one more use of his so-called healing magic. After that, he would be an ordinary man." After all, it was recorded in the documents he read beforehand.
The man nodded. "What the superior says is always right." Since it was an order, the man hurriedly left to execute the order. Juan S. Right's name has been erased from the list of unregistered awakened people in the world.
Juan, whom the old man had already thought died under his little trick, was sleeping soundly amidst the company of money. With every sniff, he can smell the unique scent of money. Juan felt all the tiredness he felt today finally leave him as he entered a dream.
In a dream, he was flying above the ground, looking down on the people whose arrogance was through the roof. "Hehe, let's see if you can still be arrogant in the face of my magic. Face my wrath, old man!"
Boom!
A gigantic asteroid falls to the ground, bringing with it the burning heat and overflowing pressure that crushed one's soul. The area within a thousand kilometers immediately flattened.
Juan laughed happily amidst the destruction he had caused. However, when he suddenly realized what he had done, It was already too late; the world was destroyed. Every life was snuffed out—his parents, friends, wife, and other people.
No!
Juan opened his eyes and looked around at the familiar ceiling. Feeling the sweat trickling down his forehead and cheeks. He immediately realized that everything was just a dream. "So it's a dream, huh. Took me in panic for a moment."
Ring! Ring! Ring!
Hearing the dull sounds of the alarm, Juan dove down under the pool of money as he searched for his smartphone. Then he suddenly stopped. He returned to his senses. It's not his alarm; it's from someone!
Juan slowly moved to the other side of his bed. Then he immediately understood where that alarm came from. So it came from his parents room. Juan sighs, feeling the drowsiness of the morning that should have appeared vanish.
He relaxed more and let himself fall into thought. Magic can be permanent as long as its purpose is unique. So I won't have to worry about the money and illusions in my room vanishing. After a few minutes, he heard his parents moving outside.
"Son, you can lock the door after you leave for work today. Your mother and I will be going to the chapel on the mountain for the prayer parade." Juan's father came from outside the room and said. "Alright father."
After receiving an affirmative answer, his father answered, "Good," before returning to the kitchen to brush his teeth. A while later, Juan heard their steps leave the house with the sounds of doors closing. He can finally opened the door to his room.
Looking at the pile of thick paper bills on the ground. Juan let himself move along out of the door before lying face forward on the floor while his feet were still inside the room, submerged by his overflowing wealth. "Ah, I don't want to move yet. I want to sleep."
However, he can't do that naturally. As he still had work to do. But Juan didn't want to go to work today 'personally.' Because what happened yesterday was still vivid in his mind, he somehow felt repulsed going to his job today. So he had a change of plans.
[Illusion] Magic!
The familiar glowing purple word [Illusion] disassembles into countless minitexts. Juan observed them all as it turned into a beautiful purple magic circle in midair. In the next moment, the magic circle hovered down from above. What appeared before Juan was another him.
Yes, Juan made an illusion of another him. Although it is an illusion. It also an illusion that looked and felt like same as reality. Juan can only marvel in his heart at how mysterious the magic of illusion is. "It shouldn't be called an illusion anymore. It's more like reality magic instead."
"Go, and act like me for the subsequent days to follow." Nodding his head, the illusion him immediately goes to the kitchen to make breakfast like the usual him. Juan immediately stood up as he found a sack somewhere and stored his money in it.
An hour later, all his paper bills were categorized by their currency. Juan gave his illusion 10,000 paper bills to buy some sweet bread and a mini house model. Juan naturally had to restock his magic repertoire.
At the same time, he gave him another 50,000 to buy another phone. His phone apparently broke after that teleportation thing. It looks like gadgets like this can't withstand something from there. Or it might be intentional to avoid the spread of information.
What Juan was puzzled about was. Why did they release him back just like that? Don't they worry that he would spread it around? However, he also thought about it. Would he really offend them? Those people must have already known that fact. That if he did expose their existence.
That means exposing himself to danger and becoming their enemy. Not to mention, would he even use his magic in front of many people just to prove it? Hell no! That was just a waste of time and effort. Plus, no one would believe him. So Juan understood it immediately.
There's nothing he can do. In their eyes, he was nothing but a so-called defective awakened person. "Awakened, huh. That's the term here. I actually caught their attention by using magic."
Juan shook his head. He could only feel safe and sound with magic. That's why he needs to speed up! "Buy me a good smartphone too."