Kael stared at the egg.
The egg stared back.
Technically, it only had one visible eye.
That somehow made the situation even stranger.
“…You’re small.”
The creature inside the cracked shell blinked.
Kael crouched down.
“So, what exactly are you?”
The little creature made a strange sound.
“Pi.”
Kael frowned.
“Pi?”
“Pi.”
“…That’s your entire vocabulary?”
The creature tilted its head.
Kael sighed.
“Fine.
I’ll call you Pi.”
The moment the words left his mouth, the system appeared.
[Ding!]
[A temporary name has been assigned.]
[Companion Name: Pi.]
[Naming complete.]
Kael stared.
“You accepted that?”
[The System detected that the Host possesses limited naming creativity.]
Kael’s eyebrow twitched.
“What’s wrong with Pi?”
[Nothing.]
“Then stop judging me.”
[The System has made no judgment.]
“You absolutely did.”
Pi crawled out of the broken shell.
Kael’s expression immediately changed.
The creature was strange.
It had a tiny body covered in black scales, four short legs, a pair of underdeveloped wings, and two small horns protruding from its head.
Its tail was surprisingly long.
But the strangest thing was its eyes.
One was golden.
The other was completely black.
Kael reached out.
Pi sniffed his finger.
Then it bit him.
“Ouch!”
Kael immediately pulled his hand back.
A tiny red mark appeared on his finger.
“You little bastard!”
Pi stared at him innocently.
“Pi.”
“You bit me!”
“Pi.”
“Don’t ‘Pi’ me!”
The creature blinked.
Kael sighed.
For some reason, he couldn’t stay angry.
He reached out again.
This time, Pi allowed him to touch its head.
Its scales were warmer than he expected.
Soft.
Almost like a living piece of polished stone.
Then—
[Ding!]
[Companion bonding detected.]
[Bond with Pi has increased to 1%.]
Kael looked at the notification.
“One percent?”
[Correct.]
“How do I increase it?”
[Spend time together.]
“That’s it?”
[There are additional methods.]
“Such as?”
The system paused.
[Feeding.]
Kael looked at Pi.
Then at the empty shell.
“What does it eat?”
[Unknown.]
Kael stared at the system.
“You gave me an unknown creature and don’t know what it eats?”
[Correct.]
“You really are useless.”
[The System has heard this statement before.]
Kael picked Pi up.
The creature immediately wrapped its tail around his wrist.
“You’re lucky you’re cute.”
Pi opened its mouth.
“Pi.”
“Yes, yes.
Pi.”
Kael stood.
Then suddenly remembered something.
The academy.
He had wasted enough time.
Tomorrow was the entrance examination.
He needed to prepare.
Unfortunately, there was one major problem.
He was weak.
Very weak.
The original Kael had possessed an affinity for mana, but he had never bothered training properly.
His physical attributes were mediocre.
His swordsmanship was practically nonexistent.
His only advantage was his knowledge of the original story.
And even that advantage was becoming less reliable.
Because the moment Kael had entered this world, the timeline had already begun changing.
He needed power.
Immediately.
“System.”
[Yes?]
“Open my status.”
The familiar blue interface appeared.
[Status]
Name: Kael Veyron
Age: 17
Race: Human
Class: None
Level: 1
Strength: 7
Agility: 8
Vitality: 7
Intelligence: 12
Mana: 14
Luck: 4
Karma: 1
Skills: None
Titles: None
Companion: Pi — Unknown
Kael stared at the numbers.
“…That’s pathetic.”
[The System agrees.]
“I wasn’t asking you.”
[The System merely provided confirmation.]
Kael rubbed his forehead.
“What’s considered average?”
[For an ordinary seventeen-year-old human: approximately 10 in each basic physical attribute.]
“So I’m below average physically.”
[Correct.]
“Wonderful.”
He looked at his intelligence.
At least that was decent.
His mana wasn’t terrible either.
But none of it mattered if he couldn’t actually use it.
Kael remembered something from the novel.
Aetheris Academy didn’t simply test magical power.
The entrance examination was divided into three stages.
Physical assessment.
Mana assessment.
And combat evaluation.
The final stage was the most important.
Candidates were placed inside a controlled magical arena and required to defeat summoned monsters.
The original protagonist had displayed overwhelming talent.
Kael, meanwhile—
Had been humiliated.
He had barely managed to survive.
And that humiliation had started the chain of events leading to his death.
Kael clenched his fist.
“Not this time.”
He looked at the system.
“Can I purchase something?”
[Karma Shop available.]
The interface appeared.
“Karma Shop”
Basic Strength Elixir — 100 Karma
Basic Agility Elixir — 100 Karma
Basic Vitality Elixir — 100 Karma
Random Skill Chest — 300 Karma
Iron Body — 500 Karma
Beginner Swordsmanship — 750 Karma
Beginner Mana Manipulation — 1,000 Karma
Kael stared.
“I only have one Karma.”
[Correct.]
“How am I supposed to buy anything?”
[Earn Karma.]
“How?”
[Influence Karma.]
“That’s still vague.”
[The System enjoys being vague.]
Kael sighed.
“Give me a mission.”
[Ding!]
His eyes immediately brightened.
[New Mission.]
[Mission: The Weakling’s First Step.]
Objective: Increase one physical attribute by at least 3 points.
Time Limit: 12 hours.
Reward: 100 Karma.
Failure Penalty: None.
Kael looked at the mission.
Then at his status.
“Increase an attribute by three points?”
[Correct.]
“Without using the shop?”
[Correct.]
“How?”
[Training.]
Kael stared.
“You want me to train?”
[Yes.]
“Now?”
[Yes.]
“It’s almost midnight.”
[Time is irrelevant.]
Kael looked toward the window.
The moon was high in the sky.
He looked at Pi.
Pi was already curled up on his shoulder.
Then he looked back at the system.
“…Fine.”
The Veyron training grounds were located behind the mansion.
Kael had never used them.
That fact became obvious the moment he stepped onto the field.
The training grounds were enormous.
A circular stone arena occupied the center.
Training dummies stood along the eastern wall.
Weapon racks filled the western side.
Several magical formations had been carved into the ground.
Kael walked toward the weapon rack.
Swords.
Spears.
Axes.
Daggers.
He picked up a sword.
It was heavier than expected.
Kael nearly dropped it.
Pi stared at him.
“Don’t look at me like that.”
“Pi.”
“I know.”
Kael adjusted his grip.
He raised the sword.
Then swung.
The movement was terrible.
Slow.
Unbalanced.
His shoulders immediately began hurting.
He swung again.
And again.
Ten minutes passed.
His arms were already trembling.
Thirty minutes.
His palms were burning.
One hour.
His breathing became heavier.
Kael refused to stop.
He swung the sword again.
And again.
The sword felt heavier with every movement.
His muscles screamed.
His body begged him to stop.
But Kael remembered his death.
He remembered opening his eyes in this unfamiliar world.
He remembered seeing the face of the original Kael.
He remembered the forty-seven-day countdown.
He remembered how helpless he had felt.
Kael tightened his grip.
“No.”
Another swing.
“I won’t die like that.”
Another.
“I won’t become some disposable villain.”
Another.
“I’ll survive.”
The sword struck the training dummy.
THUD!
Kael’s arms shook.
Then—
[Ding!]
[Training progress detected.]
[Strength +1.]
Kael froze.
He stared at his status.
“Strength: 8”
His eyes widened.
“It works.”
A smile appeared.
He swung again.
[Strength +1.]
“Again!”
He swung.
[Strength +1.]
Kael dropped the sword.
His arms were shaking violently.
But his eyes were bright.
[Mission Complete.]
[Reward: 100 Karma.]
[Current Karma: 101.]
Kael laughed.
It wasn’t a dignified laugh.
It was the laugh of someone who had just discovered the possibility of becoming powerful.
He immediately opened the shop.
“Strength Elixir.”
[Purchase confirmed.]
A small red vial appeared in his hand.
Kael looked at it suspiciously.
“Any side effects?”
[Mild muscle soreness.]
“That’s it?”
[Correct.]
Kael drank it.
Warmth spread through his body.
His muscles tightened.
The exhaustion he’d accumulated seemed to vanish.
Kael’s eyes widened.
“That is amazing.”
[Strength +2.]
[Current Strength: 11.]
Kael clenched his fists.
His body felt completely different.
Not overwhelmingly powerful.
But stronger.
More stable.
More capable.
He looked at the sword lying on the ground.
Then picked it up.
This time, it felt much lighter.
Kael smiled.
“Tomorrow.”
He looked toward the distant horizon.
“Tomorrow, I’ll enter Aetheris Academy.”
Pi suddenly climbed onto his shoulder.
Kael looked at it.
“You coming?”
“Pi.”
“Good.”
Kael turned toward the mansion.
But before he could take another step—
A strange sensation crawled across his skin.
He stopped.
The night suddenly felt colder.
The magical lamps surrounding the training grounds flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then all of them went out.
Kael’s expression became serious.
“System?”
No response.
“System?”
Silence.
Pi’s golden eye narrowed.
Kael slowly turned.
Something stood beyond the training grounds.
A shadow.
Too tall.
Too thin.
It disappeared behind the trees before Kael could identify it.
Kael’s heartbeat accelerated.
“Who was that?”
The system finally appeared.
But this time, its interface was different.
The usual blue screen had turned crimson.
[WARNING.]
[Unknown entity detected.]
Kael’s expression hardened.
“Enemy?”
[Unknown.]
“Can you identify it?”
[No.]
“Then why are you warning me?”
The system paused.
Then—
[Because it has been observing the Host since his arrival.]
Kael’s blood ran cold.
“What?”
[Correction.]
[The entity was observing the original Kael Veyron before the Host arrived.]
Kael stared into the darkness.
“So it knew him?”
[Affirmative.]
“And now it’s watching me?”
[Affirmative.]
Kael’s fingers tightened around his sword.
A terrifying thought entered his mind.
If someone had been observing the original Kael—
Then perhaps they already knew something had changed.
Perhaps his reincarnation wasn’t a secret.
Perhaps this world wasn’t following the novel’s script because someone else had already interfered.
And perhaps—
The System itself wasn’t the only unknown thing in this world.
Kael slowly looked toward Pi.
The tiny creature was staring into the darkness.
Its black eye had begun glowing faintly.
Kael’s expression changed.
“Pi?”
The creature’s tiny body trembled.
Then it made a sound he’d never heard before.
Not playful.
Not cute.
A low, threatening growl.
Kael tightened his grip.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Then the system displayed one final notification.
[Hidden Information Unlocked.]
[Companion: Pi]
[Species: Unknown.]
[Potential: Unknown.]
[Origin: Unknown.]
[Relationship to the Host: Unknown.]
Kael’s face went blank.
“Everything is unknown.”
[Correct.]
“…You really need to work on your explanations.”
No response.
Kael looked back toward the forest.
The shadow was gone.
But he could still feel it.
Watching.
Waiting.
He slowly lowered his sword.
“Tomorrow is supposed to be the academy entrance examination.”
His eyes narrowed.
“But apparently…”
He smiled.
“…I’ve got bigger problems.”
Above the Veyron estate, hidden among the clouds, a pair of crimson eyes briefly opened.
Then vanished.
And somewhere deep beneath the kingdom, something ancient stirred for the first time in centuries.
[Main Quest Updated.]
[Enter Aetheris Academy.]
[Survive the Entrance Examination.]
[Discover the identity of the Unknown Observer.]
[Time Remaining: 46 days.]
Kael looked at the notification.
Then at the moon.
His smile slowly returned.
“Let’s see what kind of world I’ve been reincarnated into.”
The night gave him no answer.
But somewhere in the darkness—
something laughed.
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