Reiji closed his eyes, memories of his past life flashing through his mind.
'It's been a few years since I watched it,' he thought, rubbing his temples.
A small smile grew on his face as he remembered watching the show during night shifts with his buddies from the military.
He could still remember debating lore like idiots to break away from the somber atmosphere.
Shaking his head slightly, Reiji's smile vanished.
''I wonder how far away the Holy Grail War is…'' he mumbled before glancing at his system interface. ''And what exactly are you?''
He had never heard or seen anything like it before.
'If I remember correctly, only a handful of people are born with a set of magic circuits,' he thought, narrowing his eyes. 'The amount is usually fixed unless you inherit more from your family.'
A capacity of twenty-one and 420 mana… he had no clue if that was good. Back in his old life, he'd never cared enough to look into the exact numbers of other mages.
'It doesn't seem too bad though,' he nodded.
As his eyes fell on the bottom row of text from the system, he noticed an arrow in front of the Servant option.
Curious, he raised his finger and pressed on the arrow.
A smaller golden screen opened up in front of his face, lines of text slowly appearing on it.
[Servant Summoning currently unavailable.]
Estimated Unlock: 2 days 04:51:33
Reiji raised an eyebrow, surprise flashing across his face.
'Two days?' he thought, a smile spreading on his face. 'Gives me some time to look around and get accustomed to this body.'
Reiji laid down on the ground, closing his eyes.
He spread out his arms and let out a deep breath.
'I need to call in sick for today,' he thought, head still aching. 'Too much is going on to go to school today.'
As he rested, his thoughts wandered back to his previous life.
''To think he really killed me,'' he mumbled, the gun barrel flashing in front of his eyes. ''What an idiot.''
He had been the strategist for that massive loan shark company for years, only to be stabbed in the back in the end.
'I can't even say I'm mad,' he thought, smiling slightly. 'My life wasn't worth much over there and my boss? He'll dig his own grave by going after the finance minister.'
After he left the military, jobs were scarce, but the bills kept piling up. In the end, he joined a loan shark company to survive.
He'd soared through the ranks thanks to his intellect and military background, eventually becoming the lead strategist in charge of major targets and expansion plans.
'I've probably ruined tens of thousands of lives,' he thought bitterly. 'But I don't regret a thing.'
At first, it was just about survival. But once he became the strategist, money stopped being an issue. By then, his work rarely involved innocent people anymore, which led him to stay.
'I would be lying if I said I didn't like tearing other loan shark companies into the ground,' he thought. 'The constant pressure and risking my life was amazing.'
Every strategy he came up with had to be perfect. One mistake, and his enemies, or even his own company, would kill him.
'I might be able to make something else of my life this time,' he thought, a small smile spreading on his face.
Reiji sat up slowly, his muscles still sluggish from the aftermath of transmigration.
The wooden floor creaked under his weight as he stood up, stretching his back until he heard a satisfying pop.
''This body feels light,'' he mumbled, rubbing his arms. ''But it's barely trained.''
He took a slow walk around the room, taking in every detail from his new living situation.
Reiji came to a stop at a cracked window and glanced outside.
The neighborhood was quiet. A narrow street stretched outside, with bicycles parked against fences and a vending machine in the distance.
'Peaceful,' he thought, leaning against the windowsill as he felt a warm feeling wash over him. 'I haven't felt like this in years.'
After a few minutes, he shut the window and turned away.
''So… I'm in the Fate universe,'' he reminded himself. ''There's constant scheming, hidden magic societies, and massive fights that could obliterate entire cities.''
He opened the door to his courtyard, the bright sun outside forcing his eyes shut.
Sitting down in the middle of his courtyard, he started calculating.
'I have no idea how much time is left until the war starts… or even which version of the Fate universe I'm in,' he thought, putting his finger to his chin. 'So what do I do?'
Go to school and pretend everything was normal?
Move away to live a normal life?
'Can't do either of those,' he thought, shaking his head. 'The chances of dying are too high and I don't have money to move away.'
'Not even mentioning that I'd never truly be safe with all those mages around.'
He clenched his fist. 'No… that's not who I ameither.'
Reiji smiled slightly.
'The Holy Grail War is coming… and it will be dangerous, maybe even suicidal.'
He paused, his smile turning into a wide grin. 'But it might be fun.'
Reiji leaned back slightly, staring up at the blue sky.
''I can't imagine a better battlefield for someone who loves strategy,'' he said. ''And magic? There's no excuse to refuse learning it.''
He stood up, brushing the dust from his pants.
''The system mentioned two days until summoning unlocks…'' he muttered, lips curling up. ''Let's see what exactly that system is and what it will do.''
Just as he turned to head back inside, a sudden knock echoed from the front door.
Reiji blinked, brows furrowing.
"Now what…?"