System Awakened.
"What?" James exclaimed, his voice trembling.
Binding user...
Binding successful, the robotic voice echoed coldly in his mind.
"Is it today?" James muttered, the realization dawning on him like a heavy storm cloud.
Error detected.
"Huh? What is happening?" James stammered, a sense of dread gripping him.
User has two consciousnesses and memories of a past life.
"No, no, no!" James gasped, panic setting in. "Don't tell me it's already noticed!"
Force sealing consciousness... Successful.
Force sealing emotions... Successful.
Force sealing memories...
"Not my memories!" James pleaded desperately, his mind overwhelmed as if he had just sprinted a thousand miles.
Mission failed, the system declared, its voice devoid of sympathy.
All processes complete. Placing restrictions on true blood power due to existence of otherworldly memories...
Restriction placed successfully.
James woke up to the sight of a bright, starry sky. His head spun as he tried to make sense of the situation.
"James! Come here, where are you?" his mother's voice called out from a distance.
"Coming," he replied in a daze, his voice faint and disoriented. Slowly, he began his descent down the mountain.
At dinner, James sat absentmindedly, the warm hum of his mother's voice drifting in from the kitchen. As they ate together, her cheerful chattering filled the small wooden house.
James stared at his bowl of corn soup, paired with rice and hard bread, barely tasting the food as he ate. The house was simple—reminiscent of an isekai setting—but his mind was too numb to notice the details.
"Did I awaken?" he thought to himself, his brain foggy and heavy.
He gritted his teeth. "Why can't I think properly? My head feels so... empty. Is it because the system took my consciousness?"
His thoughts spiraled further, a numbing sensation overtaking him. "I still have my memories, but... ugh, it's getting worse. I'd better stop thinking about them."
James, only six years old, had just awakened his powers. But with his mind clouded and his thoughts dulled, it felt as though he couldn't fully grasp the potential of his abilities.
Three years had passed. It was the last day of primary school for James.
He was quietly packing his bag, preparing to head home one final time before moving to a new town. His movements were calm, deliberate—he was a bit better now, compared to even a year before.
"I guess having two consciousnesses never allowed me to fully develop my real one," he thought bitterly, his lips pressing into a faint line.
His classmates gathered around to bid him farewell. Some offered kind words, others waved cheerfully, but James simply nodded in acknowledgment. As he descended the sloping town road, he couldn't help but feel detached.
He had been teased and bullied often during his time here, but it never seemed to matter much. "Petty little children," he thought, forcing a small smile as if to convince himself it didn't hurt. The distant view of the mountain top near his home brought a strange sense of comfort—it had always been a silent witness to his struggles.
To his classmates, he was considered odd—mentally unstable even. Despite his age, he often acted far younger, as if he were a small child trapped in the body of someone older. But now, finally, this chapter was over. In the new town, he hoped he could find some semblance of mental peace.
When he reached home, his mother greeted him with her usual kind smile. Her face had matured gracefully, now carrying the marks of her early forties, but her warmth had not diminished.
"Change your clothes," she instructed gently, her tone soft but firm. Nearby, a group of sturdy men loaded their belongings into carts. They were movers, hired to transport their things from the small mountain town to a rapidly developing city full of potential.
James quickly obeyed, changing into more comfortable clothes before climbing into the passenger cart. The journey began with two horses, each pulling its own carriage. The plain roads of the mountainous region stretched before them, weaving through stunning scenery.
As they traveled, James found himself gazing out at the world beyond the familiar slopes of his hometown. Rolling hills and lush greenery gave way to views of rivers cutting through valleys, the beauty of it all making him feel, for a moment, free from the weight of his thoughts.
Eventually, they reached a checkpoint, marking the entrance to the city's territory. The guards signaled with wooden tokens, waving them through after collecting the necessary taxes.
When James and his mother finally entered the city, his eyes widened in disbelief. It was nothing like the humble mountain town he had always known. Tall buildings, bustling streets, and an air of progress surrounded them.
"It's... amazing," he whispered to himself, unable to look away.
As the movers unloaded their belongings into the new one-bedroom apartment, James couldn't help but feel a strange sense of awe. The apartment was small, yet the entire three-floor building had an oddly grand presence. It looked unassuming from the outside, but James soon realized it was the quarters for the maids who served the noble family that ruled the city.
"So I guessed it right," James thought, a quiet acknowledgment passing through his mind. "The city certainly holds onto some old-age systems."
While the living conditions were far better than their small mountain town, James couldn't shake the feeling of discontent. Though the city's structure and technology were more advanced, they still seemed primitive compared to the memories of his past life.
"These buildings, these people... they are nothing more than a shadow of what I once knew. Worth pity," he thought, almost in a daze.
As he mulled over his thoughts, his mother's voice brought him back to reality.
"Stay at home, James. Don't unlock the door for strangers. I'll go and report to the chief maid," she instructed gently, her tone carrying a note of concern.
"Yes, Mom," James replied obediently, his voice distant as he watched her leave,
Three more years had passed, and James was now 12 years old. He had grown into a boy who acted exactly like any other 12-year-old—neither too young nor too old. His consciousness, which had been muddled for so long, had finally developed to a point where he could function like any other child his age.
He sat alone in a children's park, his friends having left a little earlier. The once lively space was now empty, save for him.
"Status open," James muttered under his breath, and instantly, a window appeared before him.
"My intelligence stat finally grew, didn't it?" he thought, looking at the numbers that appeared before him. It was a small but significant improvement. "Maybe I should also focus on training my body now. After all, it'll be better once I enter the Enlightened Academy."
James was one of the many awakened individuals who had gained a system, an unusual phenomenon that had swept across the world. However, most of his peers couldn't access their status windows at such a young age.
"But what's the use of that if they can't even understand English?" he mused, a knowing smirk tugging at his lips.
The world he lived in was an alternate version of Earth, vast and still filled with many mysteries he hadn't yet uncovered. Though the planet was large, James had only scratched the surface of understanding it.
"Once I enter the Noble Magic Academy, I can finally start learning some skills," he thought. Magic was the very foundation of human civilization. Without it, humanity would be vulnerable to the dangers lurking in the world. It was so deeply integrated into society that nearly one in three people would undergo a phenomenon known as Enlightening—a process that connected them to the power of nature and, ultimately, the universe itself. But the experience was different for each person.
James, however, had no idea what his powers were. Not even his status window could reveal them to him. He knew English, but his grasp of his mother tongue remained limited.
With a sigh, he got up from the slide and began walking home. "Just another normal day, no new meaning to life."
He had yet to utilize his past life's memories for anything innovative. His focus had been on syncing his muscles and learning English, but those things had taken time. He was still far from being able to understand complex concepts or do anything groundbreaking. Having a book didn't mean one could comprehend everything within it—that was something James had learned the hard way.
It felt like a cheat code with too many restrictions.
"Well, it can't be helped," he concluded, resigning himself to the fact that his journey was just beginning.