"Hmm... I'd intended to start by drilling some basic theory into you to help you master those eyes, but... Reo, you're a natural-born genius, aren't you?" Logan noja.
"I mean... isn't this all just common sense, Logan-sensei?" I asked.
From my perspective as a player, anyway. All I did was answer Logan's questions with things that were basic forum-fodder back home-elemental affinities, color-coding, counter-strategies... that kind of stuff. But to him...
"Ho-ho-ho! Honestly, I'd have my other students take a page out of your book if I thought they could even read it. Continuing like this would be like trying to teach a fish how to swim or a monkey how to climb," Logan said with a laugh noja.
The scenario writer for this game must have been a real fan of proverbs, because they show up everywhere.
Speaking of monkeys and Kappas¹, they're actually monsters in this world. Kappas jump you the second you try to ford a river, and monkeys are your standard low-level trash mobs in temperate forests. The Kappas are a pain with their water magic, but the monkeys? They have a long-range physical "Banana Attack"². I know how that sounds, but I'm serious. They literally pluck bananas off the trees and hurl them at you.
They do almost zero damage, so it's basically just pure harassment. However, if you get hit by ten bananas in a single fight, there's a one-time special illustration and a short story of the party eating the bananas after the battle. I used to spend way too much time grinding those out. The party usually has the Big Four (or five, if an NPC joins), and I swapped members constantly just to see how their different personalities played out in those scenes. It was great.
"Well, this certainly lets us skip the boring parts. Shall we spend the rest of our time learning to control the output of your Evil Eye³?" Logan asked.
"!!"
"Right now, your Evil Eye is essentially 'always on.' Usually, an Evil Eye is a massive drain. It eats Mana at such a rate that even a high-tier sorcerer would be sucked dry in an hour," the old man explained.
"Professor Todo mentioned that my F-rank magic rating made sense because I'm constantly burning Mana... but that's not the whole story, is it?" I muttered ssu.
"Indeed. That's true, but it's not accurate."
"?"
What's the difference? It's true, but not accurate? Taking him literally, it means my Mana is low because I'm always using the eye, resulting in the F-rank. But Logan looked like he was holding back a bigger secret.
"Let me put it this way... fundamentally speaking, it's a miracle you even register on a magic evaluation at all," Logan said noja.
"Wait, what?"
"Think about it. I told you that you're using the Evil Eye 24/7. By all rights, your Mana tank should be bone-dry. No matter how much Mana a person has, the Evil Eye is a bottomless pit. Even I-who can spam high-thaumaturgy without breaking a sweat-couldn't keep it active for more than an hour."
"!?"
I never thought about it like that. If the consumption is really that insane, how have I been using it every single day of my life?
"The answer isn't your Mana capacity, Reo. It's your Mana regen⁴," Logan stated.
"My... regen rate!?"
I suddenly remembered the game mechanics. When you were in a dungeon, you'd recover 1 MP for every ten steps you took. It was the only way to keep your skills topped off while grinding levels.
"Your maximum Mana pool is likely quite small. However, your natural recovery rate is astronomical. You're essentially living your life on a razor's edge, regenerating Mana just as fast as the eye can eat it," the sage explained noja.
"I see... that makes sense..."
"And that constant drain has been putting a hellish physical load on your body. It's like you've been living every second with heavy lead weights strapped to your soul. Your freakish physical prowess? That's just the result of your body adapting to the strain."
Everything clicked. Things that used to be exhausting were now easy. I could sprint for miles without even getting winded. If the Evil Eye was basically a 24/7 full-body magical workout... then I'd been "training" every single day for over a decade.
"Which means, once you learn to toggle that power on and off at will... with your regeneration rate, you could sling spells on par with me-perhaps even surpass me..."
"Oh, no thanks. I'm good," I replied instantly.
"Come again!?"
No. Absolutely not. That is not how this goes. I know exactly who I am. I'm not a protagonist, I'm not a lead sub-character, and I'm not even a named NPC. There was never a character named Sakaki Reo in Brave Fantasy.
That's why... I have no interest in becoming some powerhouse who steals the spotlight from the real heroes. My role is to be the background-the little touch of greenery that makes the main flowers pop. That's my purpose.
"Logan-sensei. All I want is to be useful. I want to be able to protect the people I care about. But that doesn't mean I need to be the one doing the heavy lifting..."
I struggled to find the right words. Logan just watched me for a moment before breaking into a soft smile.
"I see. You really are a 'good kid,' aren't you?"
"Eh?"
"Fair enough. But listen-if you're stronger, it means your friends don't have to spend as much time worrying about keeping you alive, right?"
"Well... when you put it that way..."
I can't let a situation happen where Rekka and the others have to put themselves in danger to bail me out. I could never live with myself. It's fine if I take the hit for them. Even if the worst happens and I die... as long as the heroes of this world keep breathing, the world will be saved.
"Hmm... Well, I'll hold my tongue for now. But Reo, I'm going to add a little 'shackle'⁵ to you."
"A shackle?"
"Umu. Normally, an Evil Eye changes color when activated. But because you've used yours since birth, your eyes look perfectly normal. That's why no one ever noticed them."
I remembered the Demon King. When he used his Evil Eye, his eyes turned a terrifying crimson. Immediately after, his Mana would explode, and he'd start spamming screen-clearing magic. We only survived that fight because Rekka had the Holy Sword Masamune⁶-a cheat weapon that can literally slice through magic and reflect it back.
"So, from now on, I've fixed it so that whenever your Evil Eye is active, your eyes will glow."
"!?"
Wait, what? You mean as long as I'm using my power, my eyes are going to be... glowing? Like, I'm going to have high-intensity searchlights coming out of my face 24/7!?
"Wait! Logan-sensei! That's... that's too much! Isn't that a bit much!?"
"Indeed. My heart bleeds for you. I might even accidentally laugh at you, so please, forgive your poor teacher."
"Wait! You're already laughing! Don't come any closer while you're holding back a wheeze!"
"They say a lion pushes its cubs into the ravine to make them strong! It hurts me more than it hurts you, but this is for your own good...!"
"No! Stop! I don't want to look like some budget superhero with tactical flashlights for eyes-nooooooo!!"
"I won't let you escape, Reo! Yoink! Gotcha," Logan said, catching me.
"You old geezer!! Some Great Sage you are!!"
"Oh, stop! Flattery will get you everywhere! ☆"
"Aaaaaghhhhh!! ...Oh."
"There. All done," Logan said.
I blinked. Two beams of light shot out from my vision, illuminating the floor.
"Pfft... Bwahaha!"
The culprit, Logan, finally lost it. He was doubled over. I've been tainted. My dignity is officially gone.
"Now, Reo. Use that as your guide to practice turning the Eye off. It's all about feel, so I can't really teach you the 'how.' Just know that when the light dims, you're gaining control."
"!!"
I-I see! So that's what it was about! He wasn't just using me as a comedy prop! I'm sorry for doubting you, sensei!
"By the way, Logan-sensei... this wears off, right?"
"Umu. In about three days."
"...So you're saying if I can't figure out how to turn it off, I have to walk home like this?"
"Good luck with the toggle! ☆"
YOU ABSOLUTE DEMON!!
I spent the next several hours-right up until the final bell-trying to wrestle control over my eyes. The light didn't dim even a little bit. By the time I reached my locker, I was the laughingstock of the school. "Sakaki's doing something weird again," they said. (What do they mean, "again"?)
Naturally, Rekka and the group lost their minds when they saw me.
"Bwahahahaha! Reo! What the hell is that!?" Rekka shouted, pointing.
"Pfft... Reo... I have to hand it to you... you always find a way to make me laugh...!" another friend added.
"Reo-san, that state is... fufu... please, don't look directly at me right now... fufu!" Liesha giggled, shielding her eyes.
"Ahahaha! Reo, what kind of freak accident results in glow-in-the-dark eyes!?"
I was teased mercilessly. The only silver lining was that I didn't run into Professor Todo or Liesha later, but the dread of seeing them tomorrow was already eating at me. And before that... I had to go home and face Saki and Taku.
"Ahahahahaha! Big bro, what's with the headlights!?" Saki yelled.
"Pfft! Bro, did you finally unlock a monster move or something?" Taku laughed.
WOULD SOMEONE PLEASE JUST BE WORRIED ABOUT ME!?
Dammit. Just you wait. I'm going to master this toggle if it's the last thing I do!!
Summary:
Reo demonstrates his 'game knowledge' to Logan, who realizes Reo's magic rating is F because his 'Evil Eye' is constantly draining his Mana, offset only by his insane regeneration rate. To help him learn to toggle the power, Logan places a 'shackle' on Reo that makes his eyes glow like searchlights. Reo ends the chapter being comically mocked by his friends and family for his glowing eyes.
Trivia:
- The monkey monsters (Saru) throw bananas as a real attack mechanic.
- Reo's physical strength isn't a separate cheat; it's a byproduct of his body adapting to constant magical strain.
- Reo's refusal to be powerful is a meta-choice to avoid breaking the game's original narrative.
- The 'shackle' will only wear off naturally in three days.
- The Holy Sword Masamune can reflect all magic, which is how the party originally beat the Demon King
Character Insight:
Reo's commitment to being a 'mob' is almost pathological; he fears 'interpretation divergence' more than being weak. Logan's eccentric exterior masks a teacher who truly understands the physical toll Reo's power has taken on him.
Behind the Scenes:
The author uses classic RPG mechanics (MP recovery per step) as the logical basis for Reo's hidden power, grounding the fantasy tropes in familiar gamer logic.
TL Notes:
1 ↩ Kappa: A turtle-like water imp from Japanese folklore, often depicted with a plate of water on its head.
2 ↩ Banana Attack: A comedic enemy skill referenced in several JRPGs where monkeys throw fruit to annoy the player.
3 ↩ Evil Eye (Magan): A common trope in Japanese media where a character possesses magical powers within their eyes, often associated with overwhelming power or curses.
4 ↩ Mana Regen: Short for Mana Regeneration, the rate at which a character's magical energy restores over time.
5 ↩ Shackle (Kase): A binding or constraint. In this context, it refers to a magical restriction used for training purposes.
6 ↩ Masamune: Named after Japan's most famous swordsmith, Goro Nyudo Masamune. In games, it is almost always one of the strongest swords available.
Notes:
• Reo - Reincarnated HS dude who grinded 'Brave Fantasy' 100+ times, now a bland mob in the game world—black hair, Class E #6 by the back door, F-rank stats but plot meta-knowledge + magic flow reading to sideline-support heroes. Lil' bro to Saki & Taku, survives as background bro.
• Saki - Reo's younger sister, two years his junior. Handles housework and cooking. Has a kind but slightly blunt personality toward her brother. Highly concerned for her brother's safety. A middle schooler with Sage-level magic power who has been scouted by Valhalla.
• Taku - Reo's younger brother. Protective and prone to outbursts of anger against those who hurt his family. A middle schooler. Over 180cm (6 feet) tall with a massive, intimidating build. Skilled in sewing and housework.