General Fosdam marched in perfect formation going forwards.
'Who knew the young Adolbeit valued military culture? Regardless of his intentions, he understands the benefits of morale boosting. They warned me this boy lacked talent- but his family was wrong…'
Thought General Fosdam who sealed his grin behind grit teeth.
Similar to paupers, infantry soldiers found similar use clearing out hostile worlds.
Alien fauna, rogue civilizations, and rebel uprisings were suppressed using sheer numbers to overwhelm opponents through attrition.
So, General Fosdam knew the importance of keeping his soldiers morale on high.
Earth long since abandoned its green society for a tasteless conquering machine. The many trees, brush and fauna alike were placed by design.
Humans relied on bulk as opposed to artificial intelligence- since newer civilizations like humanity were lacking in knowledge compared to historical powerhouses.
Numbers enabled humanity to breach enemy defenses over time, overwriting any strategy in brutal attrition.
Percy sighed as he inspected the greenery.
He knew a human architect still designed each road, which allowed for a noble house of its own. Despite this universe's downsides there remained a few bonuses.
Jobs security remained at an all time high. People who needed a job found one.
The salaries were fixed and greed-driven, but still livable.
Space travel ensured a small getaway for impoverished citizens. By volunteering to work alongside paupers to colonize new worlds, commoners found better life quality by gambling what little they had.
Expansion fueled the empire as far as it could reach.
Their external problems had long been reduced to minor annoyances, and nobles enjoyed a level of security unbroken for thousands of years.
The one caveat- lived inside the royal family.
He disguised his identity and conducted numerous biological tests, mastering forbidden arts the ancestors sealed beneath old tombs and vaults.
Those researched anomalies defied the laws of the universe, originating from existences older than the stars.
Without speakable names or writable language, the forgotten ones scratched upon reality itself.
Percy assumed his odd tome matched the description of one such relic.
Often, these relics were sealed because they chose who wielded their power. Others demanded something unspeakable in return.
Percy's artifact, relic, a nameless creation; Its category title mattered little to Percy.
The wide gap between anomalies prompted scholars' inevitable classification problems. Even if someone discovered his forbidden tome's title, Percy doubted the information would be written down.
Thousands of years passed before another relic would be discovered, prompting a renaissance or apocalypse in turn.
Older artifacts, like the Key of Solomon summoned demons recalled in old books.
Medieval records spoke about demons in symbolism, but historical recollections of demons became Earth's first trace of an anomaly in the Solar System.
Another civilization discovered the Key of Solomon two-million lightyears away from Earth- unleashing countless evils that scoured the universe.
Two lesser demons found their way to Earth. Over a thousand years of medieval campaign, the Roman Empire finally slaughtered them both.
Much of Earth's success lay bathed in the chaos caused by anomalous artifacts.
The Key of Solomon in particular founded the empire's resolve, turning a divided humanity against the stars.
Its uncontrollable corruption spread past countless worlds.
The Key of Solomon also secured humanity's first steps across the stars by devastating foreign empires, leaving opportunity in the demon's wake.
Unfortunately Percy remembered his first goal. General Fosdam broke Percy's deep train of thought.
A second shuttle transported him south, where global warming cooled a gated society. Millions of luxury buildings sat above hand-sculpted tropical islands.
This 10% of Earth's landmass was arrogantly retitled Eden, an academic resort for humanity's most privileged nobles.
Despite the scale, Eden's relative population belonged to less than a hundred thousand people.
Ten million servants ran Osaka University's many amenities.
Outside the campus wall, a concrete coffin encased Earth beneath a military bunker. Below the planet's surface stood another academy- Loren University, the commoner's only route to quasi-nobility.
Percy wondered knowingly about the many hidden talents below. When should he look for them?
The shuttle cruised on a smooth left turn. Its elite pilot made 30 Gs feel closer to a breeze than pressure.
Perhaps inspired by his canteen bravado, the soldiers left both shuttle doors wide open, exposing Percy to the atmosphere's winds and pressure.
He chucked at the sharp air.
'Whoever called Percy Adolbeit untalented was led astray.' Percy realized in glee. Being able to breathe in low oxygen environments, and endure several atmospheres of pressure would send any normal student unconscious.
Marines like General Fosdam trained their entire lifetimes searching for that endurance. Percy smiled in relief.
When the shuttle touched down, its sharp deployment speed slowed down to a crawl.
Thirty Gs flipped in half a second.
Percy flinched- his first danger since entering this world panging his adrenaline. General Fosdam smirked as he sighed with relief.
'Well.. No wonder the Adolbeits considered him untalented. He can't mask his emotions to save his life! What a waste of a good man…'
Thought the general who extended his hand for a shake. Percy flinched again, this time composing his expression to a calculated smile.
"It's too bad. You would've made a fine marine, son!"
Percy scoffed and shook his head. "My ass. Good work today!" Replied Percy who jumped off the craft with a small hop.
He waved over his shoulder, hoping the expression looked tough.
Soldiers, despite being the empire's main source of security, received the absolute worst treatment.
Once he started moving, soldiers like marines became more important than ever.
Approaching demons and corrupted beings by using strong genetics demonstrated the importance of experience, rather than pure strength.
Mana control and mental endurance mattered more than noble bloodlines. Hit by surprise, the empire failed a proper counter attack.
Held between Percy's fingers rested that notebook from the luxury site.
It reminded him about the journey- something long enough to last a lifetime, but dangerous enough to last a year.
He decided to swallow the overthinking and search his new abode.
The academy manor appeared empty- so Percy double checked all the rooms. A massive guest bedroom displayed glass windows too wide for his comfort.
An empty kitchen lacked servants, but all the supplies were left polished clean.
The living room, study room, and closet rooms were completely empty.
By now Percy understood his position. Lacking talent, it seemed- meant the ability to sense mana.
Mana or magic power wafted on cosmic drifts throughout the universe.
Specialized craft could collect it- allowing impossible sources of power to be used in society.
The wide use of magic power in tools destroyed the nobles' monopoly over magic, but also allowed commoners to learn from scratch.
Mana became so well-utilized around humanity, that all commoners knew the basic light spell.
Luckily, control over magic power mattered even less than pure endurance. Even the hardiest of defenders fell to mental attacks, a guaranteed trait in higher-demons.
In self-diagnosis about his condition Percy abruptly realized his identity.
One such character appeared in the later chapters who fought with bare fists.
The man's empty name left craters with a single swing, and tore apart lesser gods by hand.
Not many nameless characters could slay strong enemies. Percy shuddered as he realized further- that more empty names appeared throughout the story. Four more, to be exact.
Were these people possessed by other transmigrators with similar abilities, or just traces of previous attempts to save a dying species?
Percy shook his head in denial. Whatever answer lay beyond the shroud of mystery, he still had work to do.
A week-long meal prepping session began right as Percy shook off his doubt.
The huge manor lacked chefs, servants, and workers of any kind. He read his new family's intentions loud and clear.
'You're being sent to Osaka for our face- not charity. Prove your merits by collecting your followers yourself.'
Percy guessed the main head would reply.
Osaka University gathered the sum of the empire's noble children, and taught them about combat or social relations.
Disowned children from large families could be sought out by lesser nobles as justification. Most high ranking families preferred to keep their fruitless children on a leash.
Percy sprinted from cabinet to cabinet, marking down ingredients on an empty new notebook.
He quickly encountered other issues the family bestowed with such a large manor. Food stores burst at the seams with expirable ingredients.
Meat in particular, Percy discovered four refrigerators stuffed chock full of it.
"No way.. They stored almost half the ingredients as premium beef, fish, and exotic meats. Were they expecting this to expire? No way the caretakers did this without thinking!"
Percy grumbled to himself and the empty manor. Outside the refrigerator setups, he searched for a temperature control system.
By freezing all the meat ingredients Percy knew he would avoid a catastrophe.
Ordinary nobles hire elite chefs, ornately trained commoners whose campus lay entombed beneath Earth's surface.
To cook one's own food meant poverty- a detail Percy thought seemed trivial.
'As zealous food critics, they can recognize frozen food by one glance, yet cannot make fried rice to save their life.'
Thought Percy who smirked in excitement.
His previous life cooking with cheap ingredients made plain wagyu steak seem ludicrous and expensive.
Whoever lived here before his identity change would've been tormented by hunger, only for his Adolbeit family to check the freezer, and mock the man further.
A solemn sigh left Percy's throat.
The basic meal used four types of alien vegetables, fish in place of chicken, and utilized a disgusting looking fruit to complete its nutrition.
Six days worth of meals Percy stored inside an emptied vegetable container.
With food problems solved Percy sprinted upstairs.
Osaka University's campus held multiple secrets, old traces of magic, and recruitable characters.
Issues with servants needed money to solve. Any strong commoners already carried noble ties, so adequate bribes were necessary for recruitment, no matter how badly treated.
Moreso, time constrained Percy's window for recruiting en masse.
Noble opponents kept track of social movements around the university.
Once people caught wind of his eye-for-talent, the cost of bribes would skyrocket.
Instead his opponents would realize the talent hidden beneath their feet- and foster them properly themselves.
On the bright side, not everyone declared loyalty through money. Those brave souls Percy sought needed something rarer.
Upstairs Percy reunited with the military cruise shuttle he spotted parked above his building.
Liftoff.
Controls flipped back and forth as Percy started the machine.
It soared quickly above, unspoken knowledge assisting Percy's command over the vehicle.
For knowledge based skills, the book seemed kind enough to guide his memory.
Other details, like planning out the contents of a meal, were hidden.
The strange mechanics made enough sense to Percy by now. Looking for a temperature control panel required otherworldly knowledge.
Cooking- did not.
The shuttle cruised at full speed, Percy's forbidden knowledge more potent than the pilot a minute before.
His first customer housed an office on the southern campus territory.
Each territory belonged to specific studies, and matched the surface area of a large modern nation.
The northern campus boasted an emphasis on combat. Sand dunes masked hidden mechanics beneath the ground, leaving its territory desolate.
Most combat focused nobles required such a meticulous battleground when cities lay devastated in their wake.
Old sections of Northern campus can be easily identified by sharp craters or glass valleys.
There, veterans whose talents outweigh reason left traces behind, great enough to prevent simple repair.
Such monuments were often allowed to persist.
No one managed to leave their mark for seven centuries, after all.
The western campus supported academic majors pertaining to logistics, strategy, and accounting.
Percy steered clear of their territory in his future plans.
One small detail created wide openings for western campus' top students.
Those snakes shaped battlefields using words instead of weaponry, and their careful demeanor would expose any plot.
The eastern campus taught nobles diplomacy, social advice, and espionage.
While the graduates of the western territory frightened the outskirts of the galaxy, eastern campus students shook up noble drama directly.
Family succession struggles always involved at least one eastern noble gone rogue.
If the prestige of Osaka University was not made clear, the southern campus belonged to the dunces.
Sure, the luxury buildings were maintained, but none glistened with fancy machinery.
Housed inside the southern territory stood recreational majors.
Archaeology in particular grouped with history, a trivial subject to the eyes of privileged nobles.
Ordered to further their education for the sake of the family, countless children sent to Osaka pursued any small advantage.
Those who needed power identified their talents, and enrolled in one of the upper three campuses respectively.
Not many saw value in people who obsessed in the past.
Percy paid no mind to property, landing his shuttle straight in the center of this noble's soft green lawn.
He jumped out of the cockpit and removed his keys in glee. Flying a space shuttle larger than his New York apartment brewed enough enjoyment for a lifetime.
Luckily, Professor Albast cared not for noble etiquette.
His well respected position as an archaeologist only came through generous pity.
Most noble heads thought the southern campus a necessary expense for luxury. It had always been there, so they always funded him.
A solid four knocks shook the stone-carved door to an ancient abode.
Knowing his small greeting was the first in years, Percy inhaled a deep sigh.
'This.. would be the first character I'll meet.. Will they resent me for knowing their struggles, without making any of my own?'
Wondered the inexperienced young man.
A sickening thought crossed Percy's mind. He knew- someday the universe would let him choke in turn.
'Forget worrying about other people's lives…'
Twenty minutes passed by in silence, leaving Percy ample time for rumination.
Cold stone colored the hue of ancient bone supported hundreds of flying buttresses. The Professor's taste in architecture varied between brutally utilitarian and beautiful ancient gothic.
"Young man.. Are you alright?" Questioned Professor Albast who caught Percy reminiscing. The professor opened his vault door before Percy realized.
Steel hydraulics supported the old man's body. Artificial organs replaced most of his vital areas- the elder being a living treasure too valuable to die.
The sorry professor held classes for centuries, only taking on a scarce hundred students total.
His value meant investment.
Old stellar artifacts held greater value than property, often being easier to exchange in place of currency for hefty noble deals.
His value as an appraiser forced Professor Albast to keep his life regardless of his will.
"Oh, yes! I've decided to apply for your class. You're the leading translator for ancient runic, right?"
Recited Percy who nearly stammered his words.
Reading about a character immersed him deeply. Future thoughts, and feelings conveyed themselves to Percy in unconscious pain.
Other traits such as physical pain transferred as well.
Hunched forwards on his roman era cane, Professor Albast experienced the highest level of physical pain Percy remembered.
Reading about such a person proved difficult enough.
Meeting them proved even harder.
'Don't meet your heroes? Yeah, right.. You should never meet your empathetic victims…'
Percy solemnly concluded.
Professor Albast dilated his pupils by force. The elder refused to speak his mind, heart broken by a thousand years of rejection.
Regardless, this young man's vigor appeared genuine. Professor Albast recognized Percy's identity.
When alive for millennia, details monopolized by the western campus became trivial to the Professor.
Just the shuttle model and Percy's posture alone filled in the gaps for him. He knew Percy belonged to the Adolbeit family.
He remembered their specialties, deceptions, and wrongdoing. The way their house head after head treated his life for decoration…
Percy blinked innocently at Professor Albast's unspoken inquisition.
Conversation to the old goat bored his experienced mind, whose knowledge jumped paragraphs in milliseconds.
By thinking about sincere intentions Percy drew the man's attention. Luckily, Percy remembered plenty to feel respectful for.
Professor Albast mobilized ancient vaults to seal unspeakable horrors, deployed runic for the first time in human history, and still lived on decrepit behind demonic machinery.
Even then his captors could not best his mind- Demonkind gave up corrupting him for the fear he might gaze back.
Of course, without opportunity, Professor Albast's career remained a spectacle to the forgotten past.
Cosmic horrors only appeared in damage logs from destroyed spacecraft, eons old, or by noble geezers who clung to false origins.
Percy smirked knowingly- because this tiny man's knowledge could shake him.