"Alex?" a faint call floated through the air.
"Hey, wake up, sleepyhead."
"Alex? AAAAAAALLEEEXXXXXXX!!!!"
The girl's screech slammed into his ears like someone lit fireworks inside his skull. Alex's eyes snapped open so fast it was like he'd just realized he'd—well, let's just say his ass regretted waking up this morning.
He glanced to the side. A young woman stood there, arms crossed, looking way too satisfied with herself.
What in the hell is she yelling about? he thought.
And how the hell does she know my name? He checked her out from head to toe. Nope. Never met her before.
"Hey," Alex said, voice sharp, "who are you?"
"What?" she replied, perfectly calm.
"I said—who are you—"
Before he could finish, she yanked his ears like he owed her money.
"Uwahhh!? Ack! Let me go! Ackkkk!! I'll slice you in two if you don't!"
"That's no way to talk to your sister, you rude little brother," she said, smirking like this was the most normal thing in the world.
Alex froze.
"…Sister?"
His brain short-circuited.
The fuck does that even mean!?
"What the hell happened?" Alex groaned, pressing his throbbing head. His brain felt like it had been put through a meat grinder and then left in a foggy desert. Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
"Are you feeling alright?" his sister asked.
"What?" Alex squinted, still trying to scrape together coherent thought.
"Jeez." She pinched his cheeks and shook his head like she was punishing him with words. "I. Said. Are. You. Feeling. Alright?" Each syllable slammed into his skull like tiny wrecking balls.
She slumped into the chair with a sigh. "You were struck by a massive lightning two weeks ago. Not once. Not twice. Five times."
Alex blinked. "Five times? I knew those bitch-ass gods hated me, but hitting me five times in the same damn spot? That's not natural… that's personal. That's borderline evil. I swear, when I get my strength back, I'm going to cleanse their hair and beards first—and then draw massive poops on their shiny bald heads for good measure."
He noticed his hands. Small. Smooth. Calluses? Bruises from years of training? Gone. Replaced by skin so soft it could make a baby jealous. Even his viewpoint felt… different. Lower. Smaller.
"Wait…" Alex rushed to the mirror. That woman kept yelling his name…
He froze.
A young face stared back. Smooth black hair. Jewel-like blue eyes.
"Is this… reincarnation?" Alex muttered, voice cracking a little from disbelief.
If that's true… then what the hell happened before I died?
He raised a hand. Nervous, excited, and slightly terrified. Even if he hated the gods, he had to know what it felt like to actually have a blessing—just once. Even scum got one.
"Status."
He sighed, already bitter. "Of course… talentless stays talentless. What did I expect? Luck? Blessings? HA!"
Ding!
A panel appeared:
Name: Alex Luxtrous
Age: 12
Path: None
Lvl: 1
As he scanned his status, one thing immediately caught his eye: his title—Jack of All.
Does this mean anything from his past life? There were no titles for ordinary people back then. Or does it even matter today? Alex didn't want to think too hard—every time he did, his head felt like it was about to explode.
Beep.
A message box appeared in front of him:
"As a master dual-wielder—not just one, not just two, but everything—you have acquired the skill to store and summon all weapons kept in your spatial bag."
[Spatial Bag Acquired]
Need a keyword to activate the skill, the box added.
"Keyword… not now," Alex muttered to himself. "I'll figure it out tomorrow. Maybe."
"You've become weird," his sister said from behind him. "You need to eat if you want to get back in shape." She placed a plate of food on the table, looking both patient and exasperated.
Alex glanced around the house. Wooden chairs and a table, worn from years of use. Plates, cups, and spoons, all modest and chipped. On the table sat a simple meal: bread and herb soup.
He knew this family—his family now—was poor. Very, very poor. If there were an Olympic category for poverty, they'd sweep gold, silver, and bronze.
"This won't do," Alex muttered. "I need to get back in shape, and fast. I don't know how any of this happened, but maybe it means something… maybe not. Doesn't matter. There's an old saying: before you think or do anything, you have to fill your stomach first."
He smirked, fingers tapping on the table. "Ahhh… I am such a genius. Starving, powerless, talentless genius—but a genius nonetheless."
An hour later, Alex sat beneath a tree, his back resting against the trunk while sunlight filtered through the leaves above.
A piece of bread and a bowl of herb soup had been enough to fill him.
"…That's disappointing," he muttered. "This body really needs work."
He lifted his hand, steady this time.
"Status."
"Activate Spatial Bag."
The air in front of him rippled, opening into a floating interface.
Alex stared at it.
The capacity read 9999 / 9999.
Rows upon rows of items filled the display—weapons of unfamiliar shapes, spell tomes, artifacts, materials. The list kept going, scrolling far longer than it should have.
"So that's how it is," Alex said quietly.
Then he noticed the restriction.
From slot 20 all the way to 9999, every entry was locked.
Insufficient level.
Alex exhaled through his nose.
"Figures."
A treasure vault handed to him, but the key was locked behind growth. Typical. Still, the implication was clear—everything was already there. He just had to earn the right to touch it.
"To get stronger, I need levels," he said. "And to use anything here, I need a keyword."
He paused for a moment, then spoke.
"Register keyword: 'Switch.'"
Keyword 'Switch' has been registered, the message box replied.
Alex nodded once.
"Simple enough."
He looked again at the list, eyes narrowing slightly.
"One to nine-nine-nine-nine," he muttered. "Whoever owned this body before me had ridiculous luck."
Not that he planned to waste it.
"Well then," Alex said, pushing himself to his feet, "time to start learning."
He focused on the accessible entries and began studying the spells one by one.
Time passed faster than he expected.
When Alex finally stretched his arms, two hours had already slipped by.
"…That wasn't bad," he said.
Back in his previous life, he had read countless spell theories despite never being able to use them. No mana, no blessing—just knowledge piled on knowledge. At the time, it had felt pointless.
Now, it felt like preparation.
By the time Alex stopped, the difference was clear.
His mana felt steadier than it had been two hours ago—denser, calmer, easier to control. It no longer pooled awkwardly inside him but flowed in a smooth circuit, responding the moment he focused.
"…So that manual wasn't a scam," Alex muttered.
His mana capacity had nearly doubled. Not absurd, not miraculous—but far beyond what someone his age should have. Enough to cast spells repeatedly without immediately collapsing, which already put him well above ordinary children.
"Good," he said quietly. "That'll do for now."
Before he could continue, a voice rang out from the house.
"Alex! Dinner's ready!"
"I'm coming," Alex shouted back, then added without thinking, "And stop screaming so much, you harpy. You're gonna choke one day."
There was a brief pause.
Then—
"The only one getting choked tonight is YOU, you little brat!" his sister screamed back. "I'll shove every spoon and plate straight down your throat!"
"…Right," Alex sighed.
He stood up and brushed the dirt off his clothes.
So this is what a normal family sounds like, he thought.
No killing intent. No gods. No bloodshed. Just loud threats over dinner that meant absolutely nothing.
His chest tightened slightly, his heart fluttering in a way that felt unfamiliar.
"…Disgusting," Alex muttered, as his body shuddered for reasons he refused to acknowledge.
Still, his steps toward the house were lighter than before.
The two ate dinner, ignoring everything that had happened earlier.
"Sister," Alex said, shoving another mouthful into his mouth.
"What now?" his sister replied.
"What's your name?" Alex asked nonchalantly.
"…What?"
A vein bulged on her forehead.
She let out a long sigh.
"It's Jein Luxtrous, you moron," she said. "Did the lightning zap every last brain cell you had, or did your brain just stop working properly?"
She kept eating while talking, her movements fast and relentless.
"…Wow," Alex muttered as he glanced at her. For a second, I thought she was a boar.
Hard to say what kind, he thought. Probably the loud kind. The one that screeches the moment food runs out.
"What?" Jein asked, glaring at him while munching.
Alex smiled.
"I was just thinking," he said, "you're kind of cute when you eat that fast."
"Really?" Jein replied, her expression flipping instantly, eyes sparkling.
"Yep."
"You're like a boar," Alex continued, "and when you don't have food, you look even more like a screeching pig—"
"GROAAAHHH!!!"
Jein roared.
Moments later, loud shouting and the sound of bodies colliding burst out from the small house.