Chapter 6 - Turning Point [1]
—Ring ring ring!
"Mmh…"
—Ring ring ring!
"I don't want to get up…"
—Ring ring ring! Tap!
"Urk, shitty alarm…" I tapped my phone aggressively to shut off the alarm.
Feeling a little tense in the morning, I remembered what my current situation was and took a deep breath.
"Oh… right. I don't have to make breakfast that early anymore…" My eyes closed on their own.
"Which means I could just go back to… huaah…! Sleeping…” I felt drowsy, and my consciousness began to fade away.
…Ah, am I… forgetting something important…?
"…Ah! The garbage! It's garbage day!" I flipped the blanket away from me and ran to the bathroom to brush my teeth.
"Whu time ish it…? 7:27 AM…?! Shit, I have three minutes left!" I head off to the living room in a hurry, grabbing every single piece of trash on the floor with magic.
“Huak ptui!” I spat the toothpaste into a nearby cup and used a minuscule amount of water magic to rinse my mouth.
—Beep Beep!
"Already…?! The garbage truck is here!" I opened the front door and threw the garbage bag with precision, landing perfectly on the truck.
"Haah…!" To make sure, I used magic to levitate the garbage, slowing it down so it wouldn't fall too fast and make a mess.
Just like in the movies, it landed right inside the truck, successfully throwing the trash in the nick of time.
"Wew… magic sure is convenient, huh?" I clasped my hands around and stretched my back, happy about what I did.
After my last interaction with the Historia family, days like these were normal now.
I no longer have to babysit those insufferable pricks back at the Historia residence. The time I had now for myself was overflowing, and I was finally able to indulge in my hobbies and interests.
"Hmm. Then again, things have been going way too smoothly recently."
Three weeks have passed since I ran away from home. Since then, nothing unusual has happened.
Gael didn't even send someone to take me back.
That's… a favourable situation in my case. Still, I expected to use some forceful methods myself.
"Well… what's done has been done, I guess." I stopped thinking about it.
I live in a relatively small apartment because I find living in small, comfortable spaces like these much better. I also don't have to move around too much, so this much was enough.
I lived in a wealthy household for a decade, so the money I have (I stole) in my personal bank account is not to be scoffed at.
It's years' worth of income back in my previous life.
Wait, am I turning into a shut-in loser if it keeps going like this?
Nah, surely that won't be the case.
======
"…Perfect."
A bit of time has passed, and I have made food for myself in the meantime.
What stood before me was the ultimate package.
A comfy sofa, a table for the food and my feet, an air conditioner, and finally, a TV full of shows I have never seen back in my world, all available for me to watch.
Never wrote anything about entertainment involving shows in the novel, so most of these are foreign to me.
…Or it's just 84 years in the future, I don't know.
"This goes so hard…" I grinned. I took a deep breath, sat down comfortably and munched on my meal.
"Ahhh… the day officially starts now."
I turned on the television, and for hours, I slacked off for the entire morning.
I felt so truly at peace that the fact that I was in a novel I wrote disappeared entirely from my mind.
=======
"Huaaaah…"
Six hours have passed since then, so I sat down in my chair and used my computer.
"Hmm… Forceful methods…" I looked to my right and spotted the bag I'd taken home that day.
—Clank…!
I grabbed the bag with telekinesis, simply because I was too lazy to stand up.
"If I have to be honest, I was a little excited to use this thing."
It was the weapon I've been wanting to use ever since I had it custom-made.
It was a gun, a magic firearm to be exact, that I commissioned from a magic smith using a blueprint I developed myself.
It took a lot of trouble to obtain this since I had to convince them with a blueprint that a 12-year-old had made themselves.
Thankfully, Gael permitted it, which might be the only time I was pardoned for anything.
I leaned back on my chair and spun around, recalling a day I could not forget.
"It was around… 6 years ago?"
The day I killed someone with my hands.
It felt… horrible, unable to remove the blood stains from my hands for a year.
If it weren't for the people I saved, expressing their gratitude, I would have lost my sanity.
"…Bah! I should stop thinking about these things." I shook my head.
"Ahem… right. This gun." I snapped back to reality and observed the handgun closely.
'…I should've thanked the blacksmith more.'
Guns these days have improved over the decades.
As a result, magic too found itself integrated into weapons of war.
But the concept, "Guns infused with magic," was highly classified information.
Combining modern weapons with magic could lead to inevitable war in hindsight, so people forbid their production in times of peace.
As expected, this did leak, though it didn't turn out as successful as they thought it would, leading to complete failure.
The reason why magic-infused bullets failed was that they were too expensive.
Magic runes are still widely used when you can draw a magic circle embedded in the rune.
But encrypting runes in a tiny object is nigh impossible, the bullet I mean.
Unless the user has a diverse mastery of two magic arts, they can efficiently utilize runes.
—Otherwise, the project was a bust.
But the gun I had was unique. I also have access to all magic available.
This gun uses both magic and current advanced technology. The process of how it works is more complicated than I could have thought.
Instead of mana-infused bullets, the gun has no magazine and instead uses magic as a catalyst.
This complex piece of work was made by Herick Gretus, one of the most competent magicians in the world.
'…I should pay back the favour one day.'
Oops! Spoiler alert! He dies sooner or later.
Demiurge will be the center of the Cardinal Sky, where monsters will spawn endlessly.
Herick is one of the many victims who died that day.
Anyways, thanks to Gael's connections, I could easily get my hands on such a potent weapon.
All I have to do is partially understand the gun's concept, infuse earth magic as the base, fire as the booster, and wind as the amplifier.
Sounds impractical, but sufficient mana control allows it to compress the bullet to the extreme.
It's enough for me to trap a ball of fire into a pellet, adding in wind magic, filling up the base.
It doesn't use a magazine, so I'll have to repeat this complicated, multi-step process to fire it even once.
None of this is possible without the Magic Firearm and high precision of mana control.
There are many more magic arts I can use. Still, my current level of both understanding and magic mastery isn't enough to utilize them.
Instead of mastering high-level spells, I mainly focus on the control of magic.
Magic is diverse after all.
—Ding!
I placed the gun back where it belongs and checked the computer screen.
"Ah… an email from a college. Guess I'll go outside for today." I stood up and put on plain clothes stored in my wardrobe.
I stopped caring about my appearance after I got disowned, so there are only three sets of clothes: white, blue, and black t-shirts.
"…Good enough." I took the white one and put it on. My jogging pants were fine as it is.
I stopped wearing fake glasses as well and tried to fix my hair… though I found out it's permanently like this now, so it's still messy.
—Creaak!
I put on my shoes and went outside.
"Let's see… this way." My apartment is on the second floor, so I took my time and checked where my college is on my phone.
I planned ahead of time before I moved out.
One of them was picking an apartment with favourable conditions; it's close to my college and far from the Historia residence.
In a different world or not, finding an apartment or house is rough. I had to do my research without anyone noticing in case they lash out at me.
It took countless nights to find one that would accept a student, though I eventually found one, and that's where I'm living now.
"Hmm… What should I have for dinner? No, that's not the problem, I should probably apply for a part-time job…"
—Thud…!
"Ouch!"
"Ack!"
At an intersection, I suddenly bumped into someone because I wasn't looking at the road.
"Crap, my head hurts… sorry about that." I lent them a hand after realizing what I've done.
"Ugh… oh, thanks." The stranger accepted my help and took my hand.
"It's fine, the pain will fade away soon enough. Part of it was my fault, too." He scratched his head.
'Wait…' I took a closer look at him and realized something.
The person I bumped into looked like me.
Black t-shirt, jogging pants and the only difference was that he had gray hair and red eyes?
But wait, his eyes are grey…? No, I must be seeing things.
The stranger noticed that I was looking at his eyes and looked away.
"I-I see… Where are you planning to go anyway?" I asked him to divert his attention.
"Where am I going? Uhh… it's around… the college over here." He pointed it out as if his life depended on it.
"Otten College…? Oh!
"Hmm? Do you know where it is?"
"That's where I'm heading. But why are you going in the opposite direction?"
“…”
"Don't tell me… are you lost?" I bluntly said to his face.
He tried his best to hide it, but his face looked like he'd been told that countless times.
"Hey, do you want me to… guide you there?" Out of concern, I decided things on a whim.
I did feel bad when I bumped into him, so I might as well help a guy out.
"I'm also on my way there anyway, so why not tag along?" I smiled. This was a good chance to make friends early.
"Who knows, we may be classmates in the future." I bumped his shoulder.
"Y…Yeah! That would be awesome!" The stranger's eyes started sparkling.
"Great, let's go then."
We started walking to college, though I managed to pick up someone along the way.
Is this what people would often refer to as fate? Hah, just kidding.
If I believed in such a mindset, I wouldn't be here by now.
"So what's your name? We didn't introduce ourselves yet."
"Me first? Sure. My name is No… Alden Thena. Nice to meet you, friend."
"Hmm, Alden Thena? Isn't that the name of the…"
"Don't worry about it, yours?" He cut me off after fumbling.
“…”
—Y'know, I'm not that dense. It's clear he's using a fake alias.
"…Okay, then my name is Kuro… Kuro Cyth." I played along and used the surname my mom had.
It's the only thing I can remember before being taken in.
I smiled and held my hand towards Alden, expecting a handshake.
"…"
Yet Alden only looked at me in silence.
"Nice… to meet you?"
After that weird silence, he extended his right hand to return the favor.
"Same to you, too."
We exchanged greetings and walked to college.
Quite a first impression, but at least it ended well, and that's all that matters.
=======
"He was quite… something." I got back home after finishing my college-related documents.
"Alden Thena…" I lay down on the bed and closed my eyes.
It's a crazy assumption, but when I saw him, I thought the protagonist was in front of me.
If I have to describe what kind of person the protagonist is… someone edgy as hell? That's what I would like to think.
The hero of the story is named Noah Heavenfall.
Ask me why I picked this last name— there's no grand reason for it. I found it cool, and it fits well with his background.
Noah Heavenful, the savior of humanity, humanity's greatest hope, etcetera, etcetera.
All you have to know is that he's a direct descendant of the founder of Demiurge, one who bears the truth.
Before the main story, his past began with a tragedy that claimed his loved ones, the cause of which was an unknown curse.
A curse where those he treasures perish in front of him.
No matter how much they try, they will always die a painful death.
This happened so frequently that he stopped talking to anyone to prevent unjust deaths.
—This included his family, close friends, and everyone.
His sole purpose was to defy fate and take back what he had once lost, inheriting his ancestor's legacy so that no one else would inherit his curse.
…
—Whoops! Another spoiler alert! It's a superstition.
Bla bla bla, depending on the final volume— there were five routes by the way, each of them having their routes with the… my sisters… ugh.
Eventually, Noah goes through a mental breakdown, and it's the heroine's job to help him out of his pain and misery.
That's how he overcame that superstition. It's horrible when I explain it in this manner.
I wrote the Historia family to be simply mesmerizing, so even I fell for them at first sight.
Since they're my siblings… or former siblings now, they are going to fall for Noah, so I knew I never stood a chance.
The same goes for now; I hate them, and they hate me. It's as simple as that.
"Hmm… nah, there is no way that's Noah. Not a chance."
Maybe he wore red contacts, who knows.
"When is the main story happening anyway?" I checked the calendar, "…3 months. It's still a long time." I nodded my head.
The novel's story begins with a nightmare about his past, which turns out to be the opening ceremony of Arcadia.
Cool right? No? Okay sorry.
…I can't believe I'm butchering my novel like this.
Well, I do have a grudge against my father and my siblings after transmigrating into this world.
Nothing can make up for it unless I somehow get them all to grovel at my feet.
Well, even if a meteor fell and I was the only one who could save them, I'm sure they would still want me dead.
Let bygones be bygones, and I shall quietly indulge in my life. There's no point in dying this early when I'm given a second chance.
As long as I play my cards right and stay away from the main plotline—
—It'll be fine, right?
