The forest was silent, and the sky was dark without a moon or stars, obstructed by clouds sprawling above him like an army of monsters.

A boy with gray hair was running in the forest; his body was sprawled with dirt, scracth, and blood, and his hand was holding a nest of birds. The locals called these birds glowwings. They were as small as sparrows, with beautiful blue fur and very rare silver feathers.

The bird's parents were chasing behind him; they were quiet, speeding past the branch and into the sky. His eye was bright in the dark. He was jumping and sprinting in the rough terrain of the forest, holding the nest in his chest while his left hand had a gash that bled.

His breath was steady, but sweat had appeared on his brow. He needed to get rid of the bird before other predators started noticing it. He looked at the three eggs in the nest, feeling a sense of regret appear on his face. However, he knew he needed to lose two of the eggs. The ritual only required one magical beast egg, but a Gleamwing egg was worth at least one silver. He knew it should be worth more than that, but as an orphan in the village, that was the best price he could get.

With a last look at the nest, Leif took a deep breath, using his ears to detect the Gleamwing bird. He held one of the eggs and finally threw the nest in their direction, then ran in the direction of the village. When he finally heard no buzzing, he knew his bet was successful. While it was true that these birds were magical, they were small and barely meat-eaters. If they encountered a large predator, they would still get eaten. So, even though he only got one egg, Leif was satisfied.

The forest at the foot of the mountain was rocky and full of thorns, but his skin was much thicker than in his past life, and as he got closer to the village, the forest here had become much tamer and sparser since many villages had passed through. Knowing he was already in the area of the village, Leif started looking at the egg. The Gleamwing egg was the size of a chicken egg. At night, it looked pitch black without any specialness.

Gleamwing eggs normally glow or shine under sunlight. They had a unique sparkling light, like a wave in the ocean. Leif had seen it once in the market, and it was also part of their natural growth. Gleamwings, as magical animals, had two magical characteristics. Their wings could create dazzling light to help catch small insects or to dazzle enemies, and they had sharp eyes. Leif was going to use the other characteristic to enhance his own eyes.

He was so focused on the pitch-black egg that he didn't realize a man was urinating under the tree. Leif cursed his carelessness, but it was two in the morning; how could he expect someone still running around when not only the man had seen the egg?

"Oi, that pitch-black egg, what is it? Let me fucking think," the man slurred, the smell of alcohol wafting toward Leif. He recognized the man as Grizz, a forty-year-old drunkard with a wild, unkempt beard and a wild look in his eyes. Before he could think any further, Leif rushed to the man while his pants were undone and smacked his head against the tree twice to make sure he passed out.

Looking at the crumpled man, Leif shook his head and quickly ran away from the scene of the crime. As he reached his adopted parents' home, he slipped into his room. "A ritual always requires sacrifice," said Leif, looking at the bird egg. When he stood over Grizz's body, he had considered using the man as fuel for his ritual, but he shook his head. Leif had a bottom line, although that bottom line was very low. Besides, the reason he didn't use the man was that he didn't want to mess with the ritual anymore.

He also pushed away the guilt he had for sacrificing the bird's egg. In his last life, Leif identified himself as a psychopath. It wasn't something to be edgy about, but he found himself lacking empathy. His morals and his sense of good and evil were not something he found in himself but something taught to him by his parents.

Thinking of his parents, Leif fell onto the bed and closed his eyes. He missed them, but now he was in a different world. It had been thirteen years, and he hoped for the best, whatever had happened to them.

Leif didn't know how he was reincarnated or why. He knew that in order to live, he had to keep fighting for opportunities to survive. That's why he had stolen the Gleamwing egg, stalked the Gleamwing bird, picked the best night, and planned the route. It was about giving himself more of an edge instead of thinking of himself as a chosen one destined for greatness.

Greatness is fought for, not expected. Leif was lucky to have memories of Earth and his experiences. At least they made up for his lack of education and parental guidance in this world, along with the Grimoire. The Grimoire was an artifact that was born with him, capable of attracting magical knowledge.

Leif knows the Grimoire is a high-personality artifact because it can attract and persevere knowledge from the outer wall of the world.

The outer wall of the world is a concept he knows from the Grimoire since both of them come from outside the world, Leif from Earth, while the Grimoire comes from someplace in that void.

Unfortunately, the only knowledge it had snatched was the ritual to grant magical characteristics. The ritual had no name, and the Grimoire had informed him that it snatched the knowledge from a ripped paper. If he could get the egg of a dragon or phoenix, he could gain their power. However, with his status and power, where would he get those things? For him, the Gleamwing's sharp eyes were the best option, as eyes are the window to the soul, and enhancing his own eye would increase his survival.

Speaking of magic, this world seemed advanced enough that a wizard would pick children from the village and bring them to a wizard organization. If he thought of himself as the chosen one, he would squat in the village, waiting for the wizard. But Leif didn't like waiting. What if the wizard didn't come? What if he was sick or didn't have the qualifications?

Leif didn't like being passive. Since magical animals and wizards existed, why couldn't he find them himself? Or, to be more precise, Leif wanted to find deceased wizards who died in seclusion. Raid them. He meant to respectfully bury them and inherit their efforts. "Yes, it's not tomb raiding but respectful archaeology," thought Leif.

Leif opened his eyes again. This ritual would be his first experience with magic. Leif had a lot of introspection like this. After all, he had no books or the internet. If Leif had a goal, he guessed it was magic itself or doing whatever he wanted to do. And perhaps having children. Leif loved his previous parents. They were very understanding of his psychopathic behavior. It's not like Leif purposely tried to be evil, but he didn't think it was wrong to stab someone who wanted to bully him. It was probably his lack of regret or guilt that made them worry.

"Thinking about it, Mom and Dad really want grandchildren from me, but I don't think I can find a partner. I always use them as an example for everything, and jumping into marriage without love seems wrong."

He observed the egg in his hand again. Perhaps magic could solve his dilemma. He could create a child who would listen to their stories and favorites. But would they like non-human grandchildren?

"Well, as parents, you guys need to accommodate your children's eccentricities, right?" He smiled. He finally had a meaningful goal aside from doing whatever he wanted to do.