It was early in the morning. Mathew and Bear had already gone for work—somewhere Leon didn't know. Lisa and Mira were heading to a nearby laundry shop, and they had taken Roan with them, leaving Leon alone just as he wanted.
Of course, it wasn't easy. Lisa had been firmly against taking Roan and leaving Leon behind. But Leon had convinced her with a lot of effort and smooth talk.
And now, it was time.
Last night after dinner, Leon had whispered "Ready" to the system—and had successfully completed the transfer.
Leon now stood in the middle of the room, his eyes fixed on a dented metal pot placed on the floor in front of him.
He muttered softly, "Nature's Touch."
A gentle hum followed, and Leon's right hand began to glow with a faint blue light. At the same time, he felt a warmth stir deep within his core.
Pointing his glowing hand toward the dented pot, Leon willed it upward—and the pot rose from the floor, a soft blue glow surrounding it, matching the hue of his hand.
His heartbeat quickened as the metal pot floated in the air.
He swiped his hand to the right. The pot drifted right.
He gestured downward—Clang!The pot slammed into the floor, earning yet another dent.
Leaning back against the wall, Leon stared at his hands, eyes wide with disbelief.
"I'm a mage…"He chuckled. Then burst out laughing.
"Haha… shit—I'm a MAGE!"
He couldn't believe his eyes.
It took a lot of effort to calm himself down.
Leon immediately ran outside—now he wanted to test the most classic spell, also his favorite one. But it was too much to be done indoors.
He locked the door from the outside using a small padlock Mathew had bought beforehand, slipping the key into his pocket. Then, he dashed down the stairs.
Navigating between buildings and narrow alleys, Leon followed the path until a familiar, overwhelming stench of dirty water assaulted his nose.
He had reached the edge of Blackwater River.
But Leon didn't stop there. He walked further downstream, continuing until he was sure no one was nearby.
Stepping closer to the river's edge, Leon raised his right hand.
"Fireball."
Just like earlier, he felt the warmth stir deep within his core.
Whoosh—
The air in front of his palm erupted into flames, forming a burning red fireball, slightly smaller than a football. It hovered just inches from his hand, radiating a scorching heat he could feel on his face and arm.
Leon willed it forward.The fireball shot out, flying a few meters ahead before exploding—Boom!The blast sent small waves rippling across the dark, oily surface of Blackwater River.
Without pause, Leon bent down, picked up a nearby stone, and hurled it.
"Swift!"
The small stone flew with such force that it created a sharp shockwave in the air.Whomp!
It crashed into the water—just a little more power and it might've made it all the way across the wide stretch of the river.
Leon stood there for a moment, breathing hard, a crooked grin slowly forming on his face.
Magic was real.
And it was his .
It felt like just yesterday when Leon had been reading stories where main characters destroyed entire mountains with a flick of their fingers, summoned natural disasters on a whim…And now—maybe, just maybe—he could do the same.
But right now, a more pressing question occupied his mind.
How many spells could he actually cast before running out of mana?
He had already used three different spells earlier, and strangely, he didn't feel any different. So, he kept casting Fireball.
Once.Twice.Thrice.
And then more.
When he finally cast his tenth fireball, a dull ache bloomed deep within his core. It wasn't pain exactly—more like an empty throb. A warning.
Thirteen spells in total.
So that was his limit... for now.
Leon sat in silence, letting that sink in. But it raised more questions than it answered.Did this limit apply to all his spells?Was each spell using the same amount of mana?The system hadn't provided any numeric values for mana cost—or how much mana he had in total. No bars. No percentages. Just trial and error.
He would have to test them all, one by one.He also didn't know how long it would take for his mana to regenerate. Another variable.
Without wasting more time, Leon began heading back.
As he made his way through the alleys and streets, he couldn't help but observe the bleak world around him—the suffocating life of the workers.
The documentary he had once watched in his previous life flashed in his mind—how thousands of workers had died from overwork or contact with toxic substances like lead. And it seemed nothing had changed. Not even here, in this new world.
Men coughed into rags stained red, women dragged water buckets with trembling arms, and even children moved with dead eyes.
The world was broken.
Spotting the familiar, crumbling form of Dormitory 6, Leon walked up and unlocked the rusted padlock. He stepped inside, closed the door behind him, and let the silence of the room settle over him.
He sat down in the corner, leaning back against the cold, cracked wall. With nothing else to do, his thoughts wandered.
He remembered how meaningless his death had been in his past life.No one mourned.No name left behind.Just one more quiet exit from a world that didn't care.
He knew death was inevitable. Everyone dies eventually.But to die like a nobody—to vanish without a trace, no legacy, no memory—was the most terrifying thing of all.
He now had magic. Power. But was that enough to become someone?Someone important?
Probably not.
The old man—the mage who died in front of him—was strong too. Yet he died alone, forgotten.Maybe Leon was the only one who even remembered him.And that man's final wish... to be remembered... to leave behind a legacy.
Leon clenched his fists.
But how?
How does someone ensure the world remembers their name?
Then a thought lit up in his head like a bulb flashing to life.
"The Workers' Revolution."
It was bound to happen eventually, considering the inhuman conditions these people lived in.But what if he played a part in it?What if he helped lead it?
Wouldn't his name be etched in history forever?
A slow grin formed on Leon's face.
Maybe he couldn't destroy mountains yet.
But history?
He could shake that.