It was ten in the morning. Silas, after making the biggest mistake of his life, was sleeping soundly, perhaps lost in dreams about conquering the world of manalogy. It was then that a sudden loud thump jolted him awake. Before he could realize what had happened, a familiar figure entered his vision.
"How long do you plan to sleep?" The voice belonged to the woman who had just entered Silas's room.
She was none other than Silas's mother. The tall, blonde-haired woman, who had a face that could not be read and exuded an aura of mystery, was staring at Silas, who had just woken up.
It was as if she was observing her pathetic child; however, there was no way of telling what her actual thoughts were.
"I woke up before but inevitably fell asleep again." Apart from the details regarding the summoning of massive rings of fire, Silas had said everything truthfully.
He did not dare lie to her face, for he couldn't. There was no way she would not see through his lies. This was because of the corresponding information that surfaced in his mind.
Sofia Velor, Silas's mother, was a psychology aficionado, a professional psychiatrist, and a consultant. Yet, this remained merely her hobby. She served as the assistant and counselor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of a multinational conglomerate, the preeminent artificial intelligence enterprise intent on revolutionizing the world with next-generation AI technologies; Hypersonia.
Maybe she is the reason why Silas is so fond of psychology. However the memories don't have any conversations with his mother about the same.
"Whatever, today is your birthday. Go wash up, get ready, and maybe get out for once. I will be back early, so we will go out for dinner," Sofia said, heading out of the room. In no time, the sound of the outside gate opening and closing could be heard.
Silas was still lost in thought, thinking about the woman who now was his mother. The thought that scared him the most was how there was no way he could pretend to be her son. Someone so adept at reading humans would easily see through the facade.
However, before he could get any more worried about this, the thought of having messed up a few hours ago came to his mind. Compared to that, the problem of not being able to pretend as Silas was not even significant.
Seeing that he was getting more and more worried, Silas decided to take a bath to cool off his thoughts. He stood up and walked out of his room.
His house had a ground floor and a first floor. For a place that housed only two people, it was quite spacious. There were four different bedrooms, two on each floor, two bathrooms, one on each floor, and a kitchen on the ground floor. For the regular cleaning and chores, they had a maid who would come at fixed hours during mornings and evenings.
It could be said that Silas was living a well-off life. However, as a school dropout who was not involved in any form of education or training, his future was unconfirmed.
The spacious bathroom on the first floor was right beside his room. Silas removed his clothes and went inside. There, he turned on the shower and stood under the cold water that poured over his head. He found it easier to bathe now that he did not have long hair, but the thought also reminded him of his homeland and his sister, Cally.
After a long and leisurely bath, Silas was back in his room. He was thinking about how to get back to his world.
As for now, I have to assume that my previous body met with an accident and, by some baffling coincidence, I was transmigrated into this world. If this is true, then I can possibly re-transmigrate back to my world. I just need to figure out how this happened or what exactly triggered it.
From my understanding, there is a small gap in my and Silas's memories right at the time I was transmigrated. I remember looking up at the sky, but the exact moment I transmigrated I do not quite recall. Silas was on his phone at that time, but the memories of that very moment do not exist.
After thinking for some time, Silas decided to head outside. He wanted to learn more about his surroundings. He had already considered the dangers and had come to the conclusion that, in the brief moment when the burning rings of death were visible in the sky, it was not possible for anyone to pinpoint the location.
But as Silas was heading out, his manacule perception was triggered by something strong. He already understood that Earth had very low manacule density. The only reason he was still able to sense manacules was because his body, being at the septa-wielder level, was extremely sensitive to them.
Just now, he had sensed something again; however, this time the feeling was different and heavier. This could only mean one thing: there were wielders around him. Having realized this, Silas quickly decided not to head out and went back to his room.
Anything that can manipulate manacules creates a depression in the mana fields. This causes manacules to gather around, increasing the manacule density. The rise in density is very insignificant and can easily be missed, but this body is very sensitive to them. I must say, I really am blessed.
Since Silas was now stuck in his house, he decided to go on the internet to watch some documentaries related to science and the history of the world. He could have gone out, hoping that the wielders around him were weak and would not be able to sense him, but he decided it was best not to take risks.
...
It was already evening, and the atmosphere was getting dark. Silas had completed watching more than seven hours worth of documentaries on various topics. He now had a good understanding of science and some knowledge of world history.
Sophia was also back and had already asked Silas to get ready. They were to head out to celebrate his birthday. It was only then that Silas made the connection between his birthday in his world and Silas's birthday in this world overlapping. He was also very intrigued by how the 365-day calendar with a leap year and the 24-hour time clock were identical to his world.
While going through his clothes, he soon figured out that he did not have anything decent to wear. Silas barely ever went out, so he did not have any good wearable clothes. He could only go with a full-sleeved white T-shirt and blue jeans. On his way down, he made a mental note to get new clothes for himself.
Sophia was in her room getting ready. Hearing the footsteps of Silas approaching, she said in a loud voice,
"Go sit in the car."
Hearing his mother, Silas made his way outside the house, where the white car was parked. A driver was already sitting inside. He opened the door and sat down without making any small talk with the driver. The only thing he understood about the previous body owner was that he was, in a way, introverted and not fond of talking to people.
Ten awkward minutes of silence had passed, but Silas could not understand the awkwardness in the atmosphere. All he could think about was,
In every world, women take too long to get ready.
After five more minutes, Sophia finally made it outside. She was wearing a beautiful yellow dress that matched her blonde hair. It wasn't anything too special but was far better than a bland white t-shirt and jeans.
She sat inside the car, and they took off. Silas did not say anything on their way. He quietly watched the world outside the car window. It was only then that he truly believed he had transmigrated to another world, one that was very different from his own and far more advanced.
The crowded roads, the passing buildings, everything had a different feel from what Silas was familiar with. After some time, they finally arrived at a big building that was shining with lights. The large letters that hung on top and glowed with gold read: Restaurant Fantasia.
Entering the restaurant, Sophia and Silas were greeted by the receptionist. The inside hall was hotter compared to the outside temperature.
"Sophia Velor," as she told her name to the receptionist, a waiter immediately came to take them to their booked table.
The elevator stopped at the third floor, where they passed through another door into another hall, which was cooler. Inside, there were several tables, a few occupied and a few empty. The waiter walked them to a table in the corner, positioned near the window, which offered a beautiful outside view.
Sophia and Silas sat down. As Silas admired the view, the waiter returned with a cake—a marvelous-looking delicacy, a chocolate cake. Silas loved chocolate cakes.
"Happy Birthday, Silas," Sophia said, gesturing for him to cut the cake. The cake wasn't big; it was just the right size for two people.
Silas held the wooden knife in his hands. He looked at the cake in front of him, feeling a little lost and clueless. He pressed the knife against the surface of the cake and pushed gently. The knife sank into the cake easily, revealing layers of chocolate frosting and the fluffy crumb.
He easily cut out a small portion, picking it up in his other hand and extending it towards his mother. Sophia bent forward slightly and took a small bite of the cake portion, then she cut a small piece herself and fed it to Silas.
In the meantime, a few waiters had gathered around, clapping and singing the birthday song.
After the waiters dispersed and Silas had already finished eating his portion of the cake, Sophia looked him in the eyes and said,
"There is a secret I've been hiding from you for a long time. I wish to tell you about it today."