The room became completely quiet after Minato left.
Shinazu wandered slowly between the crowded shelves, carefully examining the countless books and strange artifacts scattered throughout the room.
Everything utterly fascinated him as back in the small town where he had grown up, books themselves had been an extreme rarity, here, hundreds of them surrounded him at once.
Ancient tomes, research journals, spell manuals, advanced magical studies.
His hand twitched.
The temptation to reach out and touch one was overwhelming.
Fortunately, he managed to remember Minato’s warning, but barely.
“Just looking,” he muttered, “Looking isn’t touching.” nodding reassuringly to himself.
He began looking around, trying to take in everything at once with uncontrollable curiosity but he kept his hands tucked away, terrified of touching anything aware and unaware at the same time, but his mind raced with questions about the glowing stones, artifacts and ancient tomes lining the room.
Then his gaze snagged on a crystal resting high on a wooden shelf.
It pulsed with a soft, steady radiance.
Even from across the floor, he could feel a faint hum of power drifting from the stone.
His chest tightened with wonder.
Does it have some special power?
His eyes widened, shining like a child staring at a wondrous toy trapped behind a shop window.
He leaned in, peering intently at the crystal to catch every detail of its glow.
But after a moment, the eager spark in his expression faded, his shoulders slumped and face fell.
If I only had a way to know what it actually does.
And suddenly a translucent, glowing window suddenly manifested out of thin air right before his vision.
[ Mana Stone ]
Grade: Third Mana Quantity: 3084 Purity: 88% | Monster Energies: 12% Usage: Provides raw, unrefined mana.
Shinazu jumped backward.
“What?!”
The glowing blue crystal itself remained completely unchanged, but the floating informational window stayed anchored in his vision.
His mouth slowly opened in sheer shock.
Wanting to test it, he quickly shifted his gaze to another object nearby, a sleek silver knife resting on a cluttered desk.
Another window instantly popped into existence.
[ Enchanted Utility Knife ]
Grade: Second Durability: Good Effect: Minor Sharpness Enhancement.
Shinazu stared blankly.
He then forced himself to look at a dense leather book buried under a pile of papers.
[ Principles of Wind Magic ]
Author: Selma Kazehaya Category: Educational Difficulty: Archmage
His eyes widened to the size of saucers.
One object, then another, then another.
Every item he focused on displayed a concise window of information.
Books, artifacts, tools, and crystals all revealed their hidden details.
The ability was real.
Whatever he looked at, he could understand.
“What is happening to me?
How can I see this all?” his voice whispered, echoing softly through the quiet office. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
The floating windows continued to manifest seamlessly wherever he focused his gaze.
The more he tested it, the more impossible the reality became.
Books, artifacts, tools, and crystals, everything revealed its secrets to him.
Suddenly, his frantic gaze stopped at a polished glass mirror hanging on a nearby wall.
He looked at his own reflection and gasped.
His ordinary black eyes, usually dark, were now glowing.
A mesmerizing silver light shimmered deeply within them, resembling countless brilliant stars scattered across a vast night sky.
The sight was absolutely beautiful, yet deeply alarming.
“What happened to my eyes…?”
A brand-new translucent window manifested, hovering directly above his own reflection.
[ Character Status ]
Name: Shinazu Tsukuyomi Mana Levels: 121 (Grade 1) Magic Attributes: Dark Magic(Concealed), Fire Magic Innate Abilities: Celestial Moon Eyes Possessions: Celestial Silver Shroud Bracelet
“Celestial Moon Eyes…” he gasped out loud as another detailed window opened right beside the status screen.
[ Celestial Moon Eyes ]
Class: Celestial Ocular Art Status: Active Abilities: Stage 1: Star Sight
Shinazu stared at the glowing text, then re-read it.
Celestial Moon Eyes.
He read it again.
Star Sight.
then again but his brain completely refused to process what his vision was presenting.
A celestial-class ocular art?
He kept blinking profusely in utter confusion.
His attention shifted to his right wrist, where the bracelet rested.
The class matched perfectly, both were legendary Celestial-class assets.
Shinazu’s mind vaguely recalled that fateful night beneath the roaring waterfall when the brilliant silver light approached his drowning form in the freezing depths.
Is it really her doing?
The moment the thought crossed his mind, a sudden, sharp ache throbbed in his temples.
The shimmering stars inside his pupils began to fade, reverting his eyes back to their normal black color.
For several moments, he simply held his head in profound confusion, completely frozen by the weight of it all.
He sat down directly on the floor for a few minutes, keeping a hand pressed to his forehead to let the headache subside.
But as the pain faded, a wave of pure, unadulterated joy washed over him.
He suddenly began rolling over on the floor, shifting left and right like an ecstatic child who had just discovered a legendary treasure buried right beneath his bed.
“An ocular art!” he cheered in a hushed, excited whisper.
“A celestial ocular art!
And a celestial artifact!”
He quickly brought his right arm up, holding the silver bracelet tightly against his chest.
His excitement continued to grow exponentially as he had completely relinquished any lingering thoughts of stressing over who exactly had saved him or why they had bestowed these mythical gifts upon him because his memories of the encounter were far too vague and beyond mortal comprehension anyway.
So being immensely grateful, he chose to focus on the reality of what he now possessed.
and at this rate, he felt like he might actually explode from sheer excitement.
Eventually, his frantic movements slowed, and a few silent tears began to fall from his eyes, dripping onto the floor.
Everyone who had ever looked at him had only offered expressions of pure disgust, treating him like literal filth.
And now, his entire life had suddenly turned upside down, all because a mysterious lady had pulled him from the brink of absolute death and bestowed upon him such legendary gifts.
He came to the heartfelt conclusion that it must be a direct blessing from the Goddess, giving him a true second chance at life.
He clenched his right fist tightly, bringing it close to his chest as a profound resolve settled over him.
“I won’t let you down.
I promise!” his words came out firm and unyielding.
For a few seconds, he sat quietly in that solemn pose.
Then, his expression instantly became serious.
Very serious.
He looked around the empty office cautiously, making absolutely sure he was alone before lowering his voice to a bare whisper.
“I cannot let anyone find out about this.
Not at any cost.” His previous excitement vanished entirely, replaced by cold survival instincts.
Dark Magic.
A Celestial artifact.
A Celestial ocular art.
If even one of these world ending secrets gets out, it will not take long before these very gifts turn into a disaster and the whole world starts hunting me down, he thought.
“Cause I have seen exactly how the world works..” he muttered to himself, his eyes narrowing.
“on greed and fear.
They silence what they fear, and they will go to any horrific lengths for their greed.”
He vividly remembered the townspeople and guards who had hunted him through the streets and the dark forest.
He remembered the hatred, and the sickening greed he had seen in the eyes of the adults.
People in this world were brutally killed for far less than what he now carried.
“I have to become stronger to protect myself,” he resolved, staring intently at his hands.
“But as the saying goes…
the more good things you possess, the more enemies you naturally attract.”
He began contemplating holding his chin and an airtight plan formed instantly within his mind.
The only way I can grow stronger safely is to by pretending to be completely average or maybe weak on the surface while secretly training and collecting resources.
That way, I can prevent any envious eyes from blocking my path before I am ready to protect myself.
He tilted his head back, his eyes staring at the ceiling as he filled himself with absolute determination.
He stretched his right arm high toward the ceiling, clenching his fist as if grasping the heavens.
“I will become the strongest of them all.”
“Hmm.
That is exactly the kind of motivation a kid should have.”
Shinazu gasped in absolute shock.
Minato had suddenly appeared right beside him, leaning down over him with an amused look while the boy was still sprawled flat on the floor.
“When did you come back?!” Shinazu scrambled back, immediately sitting upright as his eyes darted toward the open door as he hadn’t heard a single sound of it opening.
“Why exactly were you lying on the floor?” Minato asked.
Shinazu quickly calmed down and looked around the messy, cluttered office, gesturing vaguely to the fact that there was literally no open chair or clear place to sit.
Minato followed his gaze and realized the room was indeed a chaotic mess and realizing he was technically at fault for the lack of hospitality, the professor spoke up quickly before the boy could complaint.
“Anyways, come with me now.”
Shinazu got up from the floor and followed him out of the private office.