Chapter 2: Money and Mind Subspace (1)

POV of Mathew Patel.

It has been a few days since I separated from Gideon. Now, I can say without a doubt that I am not in a dream.

"Damn it," I couldn't help but swear during my morning jog.

The original Mathew had good physical abilities, but he wasn't the best among Ramona's other ex-boyfriends, and I don't know exactly which version of the Scott Pilgrim franchise I'm in.

I can only do my best not to end up humiliated, but also to get revenge on Ramona.

Although I'm not the real Mathew Patel, I can't help but burn with rage when remembering Ramona's behavior.

"I know she was very young back then, but I just want to pay her back for that humiliation so I can move on," I muttered, slowing down.

I had finished my morning jog, and I had to get ready to go to my part-time job.

During my free time, I not only deepened my knowledge of Mathew's occult powers, but I also researched him.

My current memories of him are slightly hazy, so I had to learn more about him, and that led me to make some unpleasant discoveries about him.

One of them is the reason why Mathew is the least appreciated among Ramona's ex-boyfriends in the league, which is that...

"Good morning Mathew, are you ready for another day of work?" asked a middle-aged man.

"Yes, as always," I said with a professional smile on my lips.

The reason why Mathew is least appreciated by the other members of the league is that he is the least well-off financially and owes money to most of them.

"At least, my situation is better than Scott's," I muttered as I put on my work uniform before heading to the convenience store cash register to start my shift.

Once at the cash register, I opened Mathew's grimoire since there were no customers.

It was a book that contained basic knowledge about the occult, specifically knowledge about beings from other dimensions, mystical objects, but also some strange knowledge.

"Most of the things here are too difficult to obtain to perform a summoning ritual, or they're simply not suitable for me," I muttered as I read.

"I'm starting to understand why Mathew limited himself to low-ranking demons who provided him with basic fire magic, but also astral abilities," I concluded mentally as I read the content.

After flipping through the pages of the book, I eventually came across a very interesting subject that could be used by me.

"The subspace is a thing that Ramona uses to enter Scott's head in order to take a shortcut."

I couldn't help but laugh a little when remembering that.

But it could be a practical ability to have. I could save time like Ramona by moving around or keeping my belongings with me almost all the time.

"Unfortunately, there's no method for me to use it the same way Ramona does in this Grimoire, just a method to access my Mind Subspace," I said in a low voice, frowning.

"Excuse me, sir, I've been waiting for a while now," declared a woman who crossed her arms in front of the cash register.

"Oh, sorry," I said hurriedly as I took her purchases.

...

"It was a long day, I hope Gideon gives me some news soon," I said slightly tired as I walked.

*Bing* the sound of the phone.

"Speak of the devil," I declared as I answered the phone.

[Hello my dear Mathew, how are you?]

"I'm fine, thanks for your concern," I replied dryly.

"I do wonder why you're so friendly today," I said, trying to hold back my sarcasm.

[Maybe I just want to be more sympathetic with you], Gideon replied on the phone.

"Or you've just confirmed the value of the movie scripts I'm giving you," I simply declared.

[I see you've developed other talents besides that of a screenwriter], Gideon declared with a falsely jovial tone.

[And yes, I have indeed had confirmation that your scripts have tremendous potential], Gideon calmly explained.

"Excellent, we'll talk more about it tomorrow morning," I said before hanging up.

Things were working out for me. I just had to study and learn to better manage Mathew's occult powers.

The problem is that many of these abilities are of the destructive type or would be better not to be used in an apartment, like pyrokinesis and levitation.

After finding a quiet spot in a park, I got into a meditation position to better concentrate.

"Mathew"

I could hear several female voices calling me, and I had a small idea of the identity of these beings.

"Come on, girls," I said reflexively to summon the demons under contract with Mathew.

"Mathew needs us"

I found myself surrounded by several women who were levitating around me in Gothic-style cheerleader outfits.

"Um... I don't really need you girls," I said a little nervously.

Although I was aware of their existence, knowing about demons is quite different from seeing them.

"How's that?"

They all answered me at the same time in a synchronized way, and with their similar appearance, it confused me a bit.

"I just needed to see you girls since it's been a long time. Don't take this summoning too seriously," I explained myself to calm their confusion.

"Oh... Mathew is interested in us"

According to the way the Scott Pilgrim universe works, it would be better to let them stay in their misunderstanding. I could also see that they cared a lot about Mathew, but he was just too obsessed with Ramona to notice.

Now, I know the reason why these demons wanted to contract with Mathew.

"I'd like to keep you here longer, but I have other things to try, so see you later, girls," I said, trying to be friendlier with them than the old Mathew.

"Goodbye and next time, invite us to go shopping," they said.

I didn't quite catch the last part of their sentence, but my instinct tells me that's not good news.

After this "special" encounter, I used my powers next to a small pond in the park, out of sight.

"This idiot Mathew has never really trained these abilities," I said as I floated on the water.

The striking power of my flames is good, but I feel like I can improve it, and the same goes for my levitation. I can say that I can move faster with it if I practice.

"Now let's move on to something new. If that idiot Scott can do it, then I can," I said, taking on a new meditation position.

It didn't take me long before I found myself in a cold place.

There was snow everywhere, but nothing on the horizon. I was alone.

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Author's Note: Yes, the story will start soon. Mathew has begun to understand how his powers work and has already sorted out his financial problems.