"Axel?" Phoebe's voice came through the door. "Are you sick or something?"
I scrambled toward the door and raised my voice, trying to sound casual. "I'm… changing! One second, please!"
A beat of silence.
"Okay… are you not going to school?" she asked, her tone shifting into suspicion. "I saw you enter the tavern. You should be going to Redwood. You know this counts as breaking the law, right?"
I swallowed hard and opened the door slowly, revealing Phoebe standing there, arms crossed, eyebrows raised. "I know, I know," I said quickly. "But… I feel sick. My stomach's been off since morning."
She narrowed her eyes at me. "You can go to a vailhouse if you'd like."
"Vailhouse?" I asked, blinking. "What's that?"
"Healers," she said, placing a hand on her hip. "They'll patch you up in five minutes. You'll be good as new."
I offered a weak smile. "I'd rather just rest today. Didn't get much sleep last night. Please… just make an exception. Just this once."
Phoebe stared at me for a long moment, exhaling through her nose as she rubbed her forehead like I was giving her a migraine. Then she pointed at me with a stern look, her finger hovering close to my face.
"Do not leave the room until four," she said firmly. "Got it?"
"Got it," I replied quickly, nodding like a child caught sneaking cookies.
"If anyone asks, I didn't see you. You broke the law on your own."
"I didn't see you either," I said, managing a small grin.
She gave one last glance over her shoulder, then stepped out, quietly shutting the door behind her.
As soon as she was gone, I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding and sank back down on the bed. That was way too close. The last thing I wanted was to sit through some school I didn't understand, surrounded by people who knew way more about this world than I did.
I stared down at the floor, fingers loosely interlaced in front of me. I needed to find a way home, but nothing about this place made sense. The one clue I had was that massive, grotesque eye I saw… It had to mean something. Something important.
Outside the door, I heard voices again.
"How are you doing, Zeny?" someone asked casually.
"I'm good," a man replied. "Couldn't sleep. Got up at… what, four? Five? Ended up reading a book."
Curious, I crept to the door and crouched beside the keyhole, peering through it.
The man speaking—he was the guy that had red skin and two short, curved horns poking out of his head. He was talking to a woman who looked—well, human. Normal, by my world's standards.
They laughed softly together. Then, just as naturally, he leaned down and kissed her. She smiled up at him, and they walked off hand in hand, headed toward the counter—probably for breakfast. I blinked, still crouched, surprised a little.
"Red skin, horns…" I murmured. "Is that… another race? Like elves and such?"
I leaned back from the door, my thoughts spinning again. This world had layers—races, laws, customs, systems. And I was still at the surface, completely out of my depth.
But one thing was for sure: I needed to learn fast… or get swallowed whole.
"I should focus on this weird translucent box I hav—"
╔═══════════════╗
- Kinowa: Mulda District
╚═══════════════╝
- Memory Fragments: [□□□□]
- Side Activities: [□□□□□□]
===================
- Spend 10 gold at once
- Track Down Lost Items
- Complete 6 side quests
- Discover all '?' in the area.
╚════════════════════╝
As if it had read my thoughts, the translucent box responded before I could even finish my sentence. It popped up right in front of me, pulsing faintly, like it had been waiting. Memory fragments… side activities… So many questions, barely any answers.
"Discover all '?' in the area?"
Before I could respond, the interface shifted. The box faded and was replaced by a map. It showed a detailed layout of the immediate area around me. A small yellow arrow marked my position. Nearby, street names and shop labels filled the screen. A few '?' icons floated around, beckoning me to investigate. Mortan's blacksmith was marked with a hammer-and-flame icon. The northern gate had its own marker—two massive doors etched on the map.
And then there were the 𖤓 icons.
I hovered a finger over the nearest one, and a small text bubble popped up:
Memory Fragment
"Wow," I breathed, leaning in. "That's… actually useful. Wonder what that even means."
The closest memory fragment was just a few meters from The Diamond Eyes—the tavern I was hiding out in. The marker sat neatly between two buildings: one a tailor shop, the other a blacksmith shop. I made a mental note of the spot. Definitely worth checking out when it was safe.
The rest of the map was half-covered in a dark, cloudy fog. Only the areas I'd already been to were revealed. The forest road leading into Kinowa was fully explored, and I could make out little animal icons dotting the path—deer, crocodiles, even wild horses. Like some kind of wildlife tracker built into the interface.
╔════════════════════╗
- Level 1: Axel Millo
===================
- HP: [███████████] 98/100
- MP: [▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒] -1/0
- STA: [███████▒▒▒▒] 75/100
- Options: [Inv | Skills | Quests]
╚════════════════════╝
Curious, I tapped Inv and watched as a new screen popped up. On the left, a black outline of my body appeared, showing the armor I was currently wearing—everything I'd gotten from Phoebe. Each piece was represented by small, square boxes next to the relevant part of my body. The chestpiece showed a simple icon of dark leather armor, the texture faintly visible even in its small form. The shoulder piece was represented by a similar box, with a tiny image of the padded leather strap and the flowing cape draped over it. It looked almost like a miniaturized version of my gear.
As for the boots, there were two small boxes at the bottom, one for each boot, showing a simple image of dark, worn leather boots. It was strange seeing all my equipment so clearly represented on the screen, but I couldn't help but feel it was efficient.
Deciding to test something, I removed one of my boots. Instantly, the icon for that boot disappeared from the outline and the boot itself vanished from view. After a moment, I put the boot back on, and the icon reappeared, filling the empty slot next to my leg. It was almost like the system was perfectly in sync with my actions, tracking everything in real-time.
"…What even is this system?" I mumbled, shaking my head. "It tracks everything… like it's alive."
I stared at the screen, completely absorbed. It was surreal—but also… kind of cool.
"Damn… if only I could cast some kind of spell. Maybe then, this world would feel a little less cruel."
On the left side of my gear screen, there were five inventory slots—basic, but functional. Each one was empty except for one. In the top-left slot, a small silver coin icon shimmered faintly, and just beneath it, the text read x50.
Fifty silver. My reward for the goblin quest. Well—technically Mortan was the one who did the actual slaying, but the system gave me the credit, so I wasn't about to argue with it. I had the reward in my pocket, and that's what counted.
I leaned on the window frame, peering out again. The street below was still buzzing, though quieter than earlier. A boy walked by, holding out his hand. Water began to swirl and crackle from his palm, snaking up his arm like a ribbon of liquid glass.
"Hey, I cast it!" he shouted, grinning as he turned to his friend. "Finally! Or Ms. Canley would've skinned me alive."
"Finally indeed," his friend laughed. "You're just now casting it?"
"Not everyone's got spare time like you, jerk," the boy shot back, letting the spell dissolve into mist. "I work the damn farm."
"Right, right, don't cry now."
I pulled away from the window, my jaw tightening.
Minus one mana. That was me. Always unlucky. My whole life had been a long, slow drip of bad dice rolls, but this? This world had taken that curse and cranked it up to eleven. Everyone else was born with mana flowing through their veins. Me? I had nothing. Zero. Nada. Not even a spark.
It wasn't just unfair—it was exhausting.
I plopped face-first onto the bed, burying my face into the covers and groaning like a man twice my age. Just as my eyes started to drift shut, insomnia kicked the door down and dragged in every unwanted thought it could find. My mind wouldn't shut up. Pointless memories, random flashes of my old life, little anxieties about the future—they all decided now was a good time to hang out.
"I miss my pills," I muttered into the blanket. "Sleeping without them sucks."
After two minutes of mentally wrestling my own brain, I gave up and rolled over with a sigh. Sleep wasn't an option.
I stood and shuffled toward the table, eyeing the school uniform draped across it. It was stiff with dried mud, the collar still damp from yesterday's sprint through the forest.
"No way I'm putting that on…" I grumbled, lifting the sleeve with two fingers like it was toxic. "Not unless I can figure out a cleaning spell or something."
But of course—I couldn't. Minus one mana.
I exhaled and sat on the edge of the bed again, elbows on my knees, hands clasped.
"I guess I'm stuck here until the last lesson ends in Redwood…"
I leaned back, staring at the ceiling.
"And then what?"
❂❂❂