Opening my eyes, I am greeted by a familiar ceiling. I lifted my heavy body. It feels like I'm carrying a set of weights or something.
As my vision became clearer, I could see that I am inside my room. The bedsheet that I lay down on is wet from all my sweat. It is also hot to boot.
Beside the bed, I saw my kaa-san sleeping in a chair. I saw the packets of 'KoolFever' on the table not far away from me. Now that I saw it, I noticed the fever pad on my forehead.
"What did just happen earlier..?" I blankly muttered.
Right, I saw the disjointed sky. When a crack was formed, it overlapped with another blue sky. But, what's strange is that I saw… two moons.
Two moons!
The bigger one is bluish while the smaller one is reddish.
I swear… Is it Mars? No, the sky is not orange but the same as ours. But then, what could be the possible explanation behind it?
"Argh!"
I tried my best to shout in frustration as silently as I can to not wake kaa-san up. Fortunately, I did not wake her up.
Ba-dump-!
Ba-dump-!
What is this feeling of excitement that I am feeling?
Ba-dump-!
Ba-dump-!
For over eight years, I did not encounter anything out of the ordinary. There is no magic, no knights, no ghosts, nothing. Although I might have to change my impression of my world after that event.
Two moons.
That huge crack in the sky.
Most importantly, the paradise inside my dream. That, and the silhouette who I saw. The only thing I could discern, however, was the white robe he or she wore.
"Huh?"
I came to a shocking discovery. Out of habit, I checked my cheat, and I sensed that it could now be used seven extra times.
How the fuck did this happen?!
Because of that hotness that I felt, my cheat's energy bar got refilled!
"Fuu…"
I took a deep breath to calm my hectic mind. Still, I could not completely get rid of it. After all, I toiled so hard for a single chance to use it, but now I could use it seven freaking times! That's 70 years' worth of practice!
What should I use it on? Mathematics? Economics? Other instruments? Physical exercise? Experiments?
There are so many possibilities that came into my mind. I could train myself in combat once I am done with my physical training. Now that I know the improvements done over the next ten years will be translated into my current self, I might be able to use them to become stronger.
There's also the possibility that I could use it to investigate that special occurrence–the supernatural–and find out more about it.
To be honest, this is the part that I am thrilled about the most!
Wielding swords and casting magic spells was once my childhood dream. While I did not acquire the eighth-grader syndrome, I held some hope that it is true.
I am thankful to my past self for not giving me memories that will send shivers down my spine.
My cheat is already a shred of evidence that supernatural things exist. It's just that I could not find traces of it. After seeing that crack in the sky, this hope was ignited further.
'I… still feel tired.'
In the end, I gave myself to the warm and comfy bed.
*****
Damn.
I recalled all of my memories right before I entered my parents' room. They were all surprised I wasn't lying about having a friend!
I mean, why would I lie about that?
But then, the most embarrassing one is the talk of me having a "crush" on my only friend. That's what you would expect from a classic family slander.
Even Ryuu is joining in with a smug in his face! He's cuter when he's younger…
After clearing all of those misunderstandings, I managed to get through that day and have peace. Kaa-san is already going to work while Ryuu is now going to school—he is already in the 1st grade.
We are stunned when we first discovered his intellect that far surpassed his age.
He's the true genius of our family. I managed to get all of my current knowledge due to my past life advantage and my cheat. Meanwhile, he managed to get all of that from his talent.
He is currently showing interest in technology so I have a hunch that he'll end up becoming a programmer or an engineer in the future.
Of course, I am not downplaying my advantages. I managed to reach my height regardless of what I used. This is a worthy achievement to be proud of.
"Nobu-kun."
Tou-san called out to me in a serious tone.
"It looks like D-day will be brought up earlier."
"What happened?"
"US's markets are beginning to decline."
Immediately, I got the gist of the situation.
"A hedge fund is targeting them."
Hedge funds. A common practice in trading. It is the act of converging their wealth into a single group and betting on the stock market. However, most hedge funds, if not all, engages in the practice of illegal shorting. They deliberately burn their funds and target their prey's market until they benefit from it.
Tou-san is "quite" familiar with them as he benefited from them during the 1998 Asian Financial Crisis. They are the ones who targeted Thailand, Hong Kong, and South Korea for profit. He caught wind of this with his superb intuition and rode in this flow, which led to him multiplying his properties a hundred-fold.
Heh.
As if thinking what I was thinking, he smiled sinisterly before he focused on his desktop. I also sat on a smaller desk placed right beside him. Then, I went through several folders before entering the same market app that tou-san was using. This is originally the kids' computer but tou-san helped me with hiding it.
""It's hunting time."'
*****
"Fuu…"
After that small battle, I decided to head straight to the playground. It's been two days since that incident which is why I need to give her my thanks for helping me.
"I wonder what their feelings would be when the stage that they have prepared benefitted us the most…"
My thoughts drifted to trading subconsciously until I arrived in that place.
"She's not here…"
As expected, she's not here. It is now the 2nd day of August, the start of our summer break. A whole month break for us kids to do anything we want.
"What should I do…"
While I am contemplating, I decided to buy something from my favorite ice cream store.
"Yawn… You're here."
"A watermelon-flavored one, shopkeeper." I said before placing the package on top of his desk. He already knew that I'll be getting it from the cold storage, hence he proceeded with the usual number punching in his calculator.
"Are you waiting for that girl?"
"Excuse me?"
I saw Shopkeeper-san nod his head with an understanding look. He gave me a thumbs-up before returning to his previous self.
'Why does it feel like he misunderstood something?'
With this suspicion, I left the store. I am planning to go back home after I finish this one.
Swooosh-!
"Huh?"
I swiftly looked above and saw a black flash. I followed it with my sight and saw that the black flash is a human.
He is wearing full black attire while holding a silver object in his hand. He defied physics as his small body jumped from one roof to another in his high jumps. I saw a small silver circle emerge from his hand before disappearing.
"Huh?"
I could not think for a while. By the time I blinked a few more times, he is gone. Because of the bewilderment that I feel right now, I dropped the popsicle in my hand.
"Ma… Ma… Mag..ic?"
I felt my heartbeat increase every second. This belated realization that I got sent me into a state of excitement.
He should be here for that crack, right..? That is just too eye-catching. What's strange is the fact that only I saw it.
'He went in that direction!'
I didn't have enough time to contemplate when I chose to chase him. I did not look forward as I memorized our entire neighborhood. My focus is on the skies, hoping that I could see him again.
"Huff…"
This is strange. I am running for about five minutes straight, yet I do not feel tired. In fact, it is only now could I feel that my body feels lighter after ridding the fatigue brought upon by the fever.
Swoosh-!
"There!"
Luckily, I saw the black silhouette again. He's a few houses away from here. I hurried into that place and scanned the skies, but a loud sound interrupted me.
It came from… an alley. An abandoned alley where one would choose to pick a fight with someone. It is well-cleaned as it belongs in the community.
Bam-!
A loud explosion shook my eardrums. I saw dust brought by the shockwave passing through my direction, which resulted in me inhaling some of it.
"Cough..!"
Fortunately, my coughing sounds were covered by the loud noise made in the alley. Should I still look at it? This is my only chance with magic but it seems dangerous…
'Would I have another encounter like this again?'
To be honest, I'm not confident with my luck. If I could not encounter magic again, when would I be able to use it? I tried using my cheat with the thought of training magic and it was fruitless.
I might be able to encounter this again, yes, but it's not without certainty, unlike now.
I tightly gripped my small fists as I made my decision.
"Screw it..!"
I took a small peek in the alley.
Thud-!
I saw the man with the black overcoat fighting against a… monster. It is purely black and has a crystalline appearance. It resembled a canine.
"..!"
I immediately hid in that corner of the alley before deciding to screw off.
What the fuck was that?
What the fuck was that?
WHATTHEFUCKWASTHAT?!
A monster!
That is a monster..!
I regret my decision just now..! This is a supernatural being that could fight against mages!
Before I ran away, I saw the magician being beaten into that wall. I did not see what happened next, but I could guess what happened. It could have torn out his organs and eaten them.
"Fuck..!"
I felt a chill behind my back. The hair on my skin is standing up, warning me of something. My breaths became heavier while my thoughts started to stagnate. My heart started beating faster, complementing my tense body.
That scary feeling just now…
Fwshook-!
My body froze. I sensed a part of me missing. What is it?
"H..uh?"
Red.
Blood.
I saw red blood… splattering on my face.
Thud-!
My sight rotated 180 degrees before it stopped. I could not think of anything. I could not do anything. I am left blankly staring at the sight of the familiar street that I always passed by. A crystalline monster is approaching me from the distance.
My sight was then blurred by my tears.
'I… understand.'
That feeling… It is fear. The most primal fear hidden in the depths of a human. For some reason, I felt such fear towards that monster.
'I… my life…'
For eight years, I lived a peaceful life. Even when in my past life, I lived a civilized and normal life. Never did I expect that I would encounter something abnormal today. Because of my greed, excitement, and worry, I dived head-first into my death.
'I… not… die…'
My consciousness began blurring. The black silhouette that I saw immediately left after seeing my current state. This familiar feeling… it's what I felt when I first entered this world. Having just died in my past life, I am suddenly thrust into this world. I forgot most of it now, but I recalled it now.
It is death creeping up on me. Ending my feeble life and cutting me away from my future possibilities.
'I… do not want to die!'
My convictions pulled me out of that unpleasant feeling. With my last ditch effort, I used my final chance of living.
*****
A/N: Magicians come from the "Isekai Mahou wa Okuteru!" world.