"So that's why I have been telling you, we need to visit the kids back at the orphanage, and even Kimberly would cry every night because you didn't come to see her." Charlotte had been talking to me throughout the entire journey back to the school.
Since I was exhausted, she couldn't just fly me with her talent, so we had to return the traditional way.
From our one-sided conversation I was able to deduce two things—
Firstly, Kaiser Vanguard was an orphan, and he and Charlotte were the only ones in Roswell Orphanage to ever awaken.
So in a sense, their duty was to grow stronger, secure employment after the academy, and help the other children who were like their siblings live a comfortable life.
Charlotte also explained her traits to me, which, as I had already surmised, allowed her or at least granted her the potential to move at light speed or even faster, which was part of the augmentation archetype.
It was also made apparent, even though I already knew, that this was indeed my novel.
'Tales Of Heroes And Demons' followed the journey of Matthew Von Silver, the protagonist, in a world that was exactly like Earth—only with a different name both for the world itself, its continents, countries, and even down to streets and customs.
The only difference between Meltonia and Earth, which could be considered a significant one, was the presence of mana that originated from gates—sky-blue portals that resembled a warp or rupture in space.
When these gates, which led into dungeons that were part of the demon realm, first appeared, humanity was nearly driven to extinction until the first mage emerged, those capable of wielding the same mana that was devastating humanity, and defeating the same beasts that even nuclear bombs couldn't harm.
That marked the beginning of the age of heroes and their struggle against demons.
After the initial battle and the reclamation and stabilization of Meltonia, some children began awakening with mana at birth, which in turn granted them talents: different and unique methods of manipulating affinities like fire and ice.
Those kids became mages who conquered these gates according to its rank, which ranged from Tier 9 to Tier 1, earning rewards from both the mana and gem stones that grew within the dungeons and from the monsters—classified as drifters, which were ranked based on their Sequence in power from 9 to 1.
"As you may know, I'm a C-rank, which is one of the best in my year, so if you get into trouble after getting admitted just come to big sis, okay?" she said, dropping me from her piggyback.
I nodded and entered my lodge building. I was honestly exhausted; my first day in Meltonia had been far more draining for a regular guy like me.
"My goal now should be reaching C-rank."
I sighed, collapsing into the embrace of the bed. "S-rank was where I stopped writing, right?"
Out of the eight human ranks—E, D, C, B, A, S, SS, and SSS—no known human had ever surpassed S-rank, and at the point I left off in my serialization, Matthew was still an S-rank.
Resting my back on the headboard to remain upright, I summoned Gobo to stand guard outside my lodge door and closed my eyes, channeling mana through my body.
Mana oddly felt similar to the sensation one experiences during an IV infusion in a hospital.
My body surged with newfound energy, as mana—akin to blood—flowed through my being.
[YOU HAVE ACTIVATED THE TALENT: CLAIRVOYANCE.]
My blood began to boil, my vision became sharper, and the world appeared to slow down.
Even though I wasn't looking into a mirror, I could see my reflection and my glowing lavender eyes and the star at their center growing darker, it was as though I had a 360° view of the world.
And from the sensation of my heart's rhythmic pounding, I could tell that my mana wasn't depleting rapidly.
Without turning, I looked through the window beside the mirror, extending my vision as far as possible, the images of applicants, who had already formed cliques appeared in my spherical vision.
"That's about one kilometer, let's test something else."
I closed my eyes and focused as intensely as I could, sensing every organ in my body as if through an x-ray, then looked at the students again.
This time there were two of each of them, one that felt like the main body and another blurred form with varying hues ranging from red to blue to purple.
My eyes burned from the overload of information, but curiosity overruled my restraint.
The blurry hues were one to two steps ahead of the main body and difficult to follow, but the main body often mirrored the path the blurry form took.
"Is this sixth sense? Or a form of vague future sight?"
[User's mana has been depleted. Deactivating talent.]
My glowing eyes returned to normal as I sank back onto the bed. "Haha... that was fun."
My mind had been preoccupied with all the negative aspects my transmigration brought, and not the opportunities I could seize from it, like the fact that magic, once alien to me, was now at my fingertips.
"Tomorrow we do some ice training," I muttered, closing my weary eyes.
I didn't know when next I would have the chance to dominate another shadow, so utilizing the talent I had now was the only prudent choice.
"First actual nap in another world." I smiled as my mind slowly faded to black.
[AUTHOR'S AUTHORITY HAS BEEN ENABLED—DO YOU ACCEPT: YES/NO.]
[AUTOMATIC REPLY: YES.]
---
It had been about six hours since I fell asleep, meaning it was around seven in the evening.
Since I felt a bit hungry, I went out to grab a cup of noodles or something similarly priced, since money wasn't something Kaiser Vanguard had.
'Come to think of it, I need a laptop, so I can use my knowledge to earn at least some profits.' I thought, pushing open the café's door.
Kirin Food Store was one of the main buildings personally designed by me, with an exterior resembling a standard British café and street lamps flickering at the entrance.
The store was primarily intended for visiting parents, with the interior featuring a neat brown palette that evoked Victorian times.
Sofas facing each other, separated by a single wooden table, were arranged throughout, with a lone counter facing the door.
As I stepped in, the warm, gentle, untainted breeze made me feel like some sort of aristocrat, though monarchy didn't exist in Meltonia.
I ordered two packs of instant ramen, dodging the glances of both those stunned by my appearance and those repulsed by my perceived cowardice, only a glance at their faces could tell—they weren't happy about my devious act during the exam.
Just as I was about to leave the area, a voice called out to me, soft but at the same time filled with youth.
"Hey, lavender!"
Turning to face the voice, I noticed a girl who—unlike Charlotte, who gave off a sisterly vibe with her black hair and green eyes—had a fiery presence.
"Me?" I asked, feigning ignorance.
'Just my luck.'
"You're the boy everyone's been talking about, right?" she asked, flipping her crimson hair, her velvet-red eyes shimmering slightly. "The ice cat or was it ice cub? Well, I don't know, but you are him, right?"
Feeling the impulse to walk away without replying, I nodded. "Great, do you want to team up with me during the exams?"
Sighing, I answered, "No."
"Wha... What? That's not how it was meant to go! You were supposed to say something like, 'I would do anything you say, young lady Amy.'"
'What is a member of the main cast even doing here?' It felt quite strange looking at a character I wrote.
The main cast of TBH was, in my opinion, rather overdeveloped, but you can't always trust an author's judgment of his own book.
Matthew Von Silver, Edo Ikenna, Cordelia Blackwood, Anica Abraham, and Amelia Reinhardt.
Each had a distinct personality and occupied one of the five classes in the team.
And their tank—Amelia Reinhardt, the flame wall and the character I least liked writing.
Why? Because she had the personality I disliked the most—clingy, energetic, and overly inquisitive.
'Where does all that energy even come from?'
"I'm sorry, but I'm not fond of people copying my work during exams." I said, turning back toward my lodge.
"How... How did you know? Amy didn't say anything." Her eyes widened as if struck by a heaven sent enlightenment. "You can read minds, can't you?"
'Idiot,' I thought, gripping my brown paper bag tightly.
"Ha, I'm right, aren't I? Amy is such a genius," she said smugly, catching up to my pace.
"No you're not... And why are you following me?" My gaze locked onto the figure who leaned in, matching my steps.
"Oh me... Well." She raised her hands as if taking an oath. "I won't leave you until you agree. I could even help you out."
Amy's eyes were filled with plea as she looked at me with her almost cat-like gaze. "My answer is still no—go ask someone else."
Sighing heavily, she replied, "I did ask everyone. If they hadn't said no, I wouldn't have come to you."
'So you thought I would be easy.'
Her posture slumped as though she were the one hurt by her own words. "But everyone said Amy is stupid—Am I that stupid?"
She drew close... too close to me, my face slightly flushed red as I stepped back. "How would I know that? We just met."
Slamming her fist into her palm. "Can't you see? This means we're destined to be best friends—right, bestie?"
My face twitched at her words. 'What's wrong with her? Damn... another mistake I made.'
---
"Haaaaaah."
Collapsing on my bed with a heavy exhale, I emptied the two cups of ramen into my stomach.
At the end of the day, Amelia had made me agree.
"She sure knows how to be damn persistent..." I paused, swallowing the last bite of ramen."Tomorrow is the written exam."
Tossing the ramen cups aside, my eyes briefly caught sight of something that didn't make sense to me.
I felt dread evade my senses momentarily, as I struggled to speak.
"My... My... laptop," I muttered under my breath.