A Strange Trial, Too?

...I'm going to get PTSD from changing ceiling so abruptly, and so often.

Not that I'd like to get used to any of them, but sheesh, I'm done with beds for a while.

...Quite literally.

But well, what can one do about it?

["You're awake, finally!"]

'Finally? How long have I been asleep for, anyway?'

Plot Twist: I've been sleeping for years

It's not something like that, right?

["About 30 minutes and 14 seconds since the 4th Trial has started"]

Well, I guess that's better than nothing.

'Do you have any idea what kind of dream I had?'

I don't know if she was even aware of it, but if she was, she could help me in cracking down the cause behind it.

["I cannot access your dreams, so I don't know. Was there something in particular that troubled you?"]

Yes, of course it did trouble me, but it's not an urgent matter.

What's more important right now is this Trial.

I took a moment to glance around the room. The space was spacious and minimalist, exuding a sleek, modern aesthetic.

The walls were painted a soft, calming grey, adorned with abstract art pieces that added a splash of color without overwhelming the senses. The furniture was clean-lined and functional, with a low platform bed covered in crisp white linens dominating the center of the room.

A large window allowed natural light to flood the space, its sheer curtains billowing slightly from the breeze. On one side of the bed stood a nightstand, upon which rested a sleek, high-tech lamp and a digital clock displaying the current time in glowing blue numbers. I even spotted something resembling a smartphone on a nearby drawer.

There was even a small desk area with what I could recognize being a 'computer' setup, although it looked nowhere similar to the kind of computer I remembered...

Good.

We're in a fairly futuristic era then.

'I see. We'll discuss about this later, though. For now, let's check on the Trial—'

Just when I was about to open the Trial Quest, I was interrupted.

"Bro! Are you still asleep!? We need to hurry for the Entrance Exam!"

The voice, full of complaints, barged into my room, interrupting my thoughts.

'No way.'

Standing in the doorway was a girl, no older than seventeen. She had long, dark hair with bangs, and bright blue eyes that sparkled with frustration.

She wore a green and white outfit with a black tie, delicate snowflake patterns adorning the lower part of her dress. The dress had a high collar and long sleeves, with a green jacket draped over her shoulders.

I just stared at her, lost in my thoughts. Her bright blue eyes widened in surprise as she saw that I was awake but not replying to her.

"Are you even listening? You have to go wash up, quickly! I already prepared a simple breakfast, but if you don't hurry, you'll be forced to eat it on the way to school," she snapped, her voice rising in frustration.

For a moment, I was unsure if this was supposed to be a joke.

Their appearance may be vastly different, but...

Anger flared in my eyes as I sifted through the memories of the identity I was supposed to assume in this Trial, Nakamura Hikari.

["Are you alright? Is something the matter with this identity?"]

I sighed to calm myself down.

There's no point in crying over spilled milk. I need to get my shit together.

'It's related to that dream I had, Yui. I'll tell you about it later. Let's focus on this identity'

["Alright. Whenever you want"]

'Thanks for understanding.'

Now...

'The circumstances of this identity are average, not too good, but not that bad either'

I've been in much worse situations, where I was considered scum by everyone.

Compared to those situations, this identity was a joke.

The World seemed to be [The Irregular at a Magic High School].

["Technology in this world is incredibly advanced. I'm sure we have lots to gain."]

That's right. Given that it's the year 2095, technology is on another level.

More specifically, it's just a few months before enrollment, when Entrance Exams took place.

And in fact...

[New Chain Quest!]

[Time to Shine: I]

[Description: Nakamura Hikari, the talentless kid of the Nakamura Family. Normally, his Entrance Exam score would be among the lowest, and he wouldn't be accepted. But you are different. Show those peasants who the master is!

Task To Complete:

Enroll to the National Magic University as a 1st Course Student(0/1)

On Failure: Your Mana will be permanently restricted

On Success: Level Up(15), [Fundamental Book of Magic], [Psion Understanding] Skill

]

A Chain Quest, huh.

I was missing those.

This seemed like an Identity Quest, rather than a Personal one, which gave much better rewards, but even so, it had unusual rewards.

The Failure penalty was also unnecessarily grave.

What's up with this Trial, really?

'I'll have to complete this quest, of course. But for now, I better understand the current situation'

Our parents named me this way because they thought I'd be the light that would finally aid our family in climbing the ranks, but when this 'trust' was 'betrayed' they kind of lost interest in me.

That's quite average.

An opportunist family is being petty because they thought this identity would've been their golden goose.

To summary: not talented in magic, treated by the family as a joke, with the only person who cared about me being the woman standing in front of me—my 'sister.'

Her character was too similar to my real sister, a crude person but with a heart bigger than anyone.

Normally, I wouldn't have reacted much to this information.

It's natural for similar people to exist, given that I've also been hopping from one world to another.

But after just having that kind of dream, I couldn't simply judge it as one big coincidence.

The System must be toying with me, somewhat. 

But how? The System wasn't supposed to have control over this kind of thing. I assured that when I talked with Luna...

Perhaps, this was something she couldn't tell me.

I still felt like shit, though. "This ain't funny at all." I couldn't help but mutter.

Frustrated as I was, I knew it was better to comply. I had to enter the National Magic University either way, and appearing late would really damage our(my) chances to get in.

My sister was a genius, after all. The National Magic University would accept her either way.

I distanced myself from her. She was too close for comfort, her eyes staring into my soul.

"Fine, Fine. I'll go wash up. I'll be quick."

She seemed slightly appeased by my words, "Finally, you understand. No matter what, even if we both know your chances to enter are slim, we still need to do whatever we can to achieve that."

'...It's so fucking annoying, but what can I do?'

I treated her words as a joke. It was true that the original didn't possess any talent in magic, but me?

There's not even a need to question it.

I just needed some time to adjust, and there would be no problem.

In fact..

[The Authority of Adaptability has recognized an incompatibility with the Magic System of this world]

[The Authority of Adaptability has called forth the Authority of Balance, Mana, and Limits]

[The Authority of Mana has deemed this World's Magic System as stronger than your current Magic System. More specifically, it is exponentially stronger and more refined]

[The Authority of Limits has deemed your Magic System incapable of escaping the Limits imposed upon it. It would waste too many resources to attempt a Limit Break]

[The Authority of Balance, after reviewing the current Magic System, has deemed it as unbalanced. Your Magic System is strict, and does not rely on your other stats to judge a Magician's strength]

[The Authority of Adaptability has listened to the other Authorities' opinion]

[The Authority of Adaptability will now start adapting your Body to welcome the new Magic System]

.

.

.

The dissing here is quite high, huh...

I see now why my Sixth Sense back then advised against trying to create Spells with that Magic System.

It seems like I have to scrap it in its entirety.

To do that...

"By the way, where did we put that old magic book we have in the house?"

Her expression darkened slightly. "Even if you find it, it won't change anything, brother. You know how many times you've tried to understand that book, but to no avail."

'She's completely given up on me, how harsh.'

Not that I can't understand where she's coming from, but it doesn't matter.

Unfortunately, although I had inherited this identity's memories, the contents of the book were not something I could understand through memory alone. It depended on the user's capacity to memorize things, and I couldn't exactly rely on that.

"I just want to do whatever I can, even if it seems useless,"

She pondered for a moment before sighing.

"Alright, I'll look for it. Now go! We don't have much time!"

Getting confirmation from her was all I needed. I nodded and left the room, heading to wash up as quickly as I could.

---

Author's Note:

In the comments, some pic for the sis!

When my last exam in 5 days is done. I will have some free time to write(finally) for a week or so. After that I'll be busy again, but I'll try to write as many chapters as I can.

Oh right, I also posted a lot of polls on discord. It's mainly in the style of: Do you like option A, B, or C? But all of them have a reason. The reason will be explained when the results are out. 

I'm also planning on adding a: choose the best girl for now in the novel.

For those of you who'd say Sword-chan, since there is no canonic confirmation of the sword being a female, I'll exclude 'her' as a character :D.