Chapter 6: Chūnibyō, Mental Illness, Or Awakening of Visual Prowess?

"Mortals cannot touch the gate…"

A distant sound, ethereal and beautiful, yet eerie and looming.

Like the echo off a cliff. A sound above sentient beings while all encompassing.

After several seconds, the slack consciousness of Isaac Jellal gathered slowly.

With the reawakening of vision, vivid and vibrant colors scattered from the sunlight pouring through the windows brought him to his senses.

The once familiar sight became…unfamiliar.

A strange world that couldn't be described in words. As if he lost a part of him.

Transcending human senses, peering into the nature of existence, and spying on the secrets of the world.

A new vision composed of lines fabricating an elaborate geometric world.

As if his eyes could measure all things.

What…what was this?

Isaac Jellal didn't have clue himself either

He felt that he himself was sinking into a dark murky water. 

The suffocating squeeze on the chest and the palpating heart.

The world was trying to kill him!

The information contained in the microscopic world perceived by him was a domain in which only gods could touch.

Mortal trespasser…Kill!

Memories were fragmenting like broken glass, the sound of static like a broken television filled the ears, and his vision was receding like the tide

Isaac Jellal groaned in pain…Who was he again?

"Hello? Hello…you okay? Wake up! You're having a nightmare!"

After several seconds, Isaac Jellesl's slack consciousness gradually reawakened.

The ear piercing buzzing noise slowly faded away, and the familiar bright sunlight without distortion filled his eyes again.

Memory fragments flashed in his mind as the neurons in his brains desperately fired to restart his consciousness.

I..I am…I am the Great King Zeno! The rebellion of the sun!

Who?

No, no I'm Jellal…Isaac Jellel..and my dream is to be able to eat a full meal and have the strength to protect myself…

I pro….I promised my mother I would take her out of the slums…

Images and scenes of his mother flashes across his mind.

The times where she said she had "already eaten" just so he could have a full meal. 

He knew she had lied.

He could still remember that time when he saw her secretly gathering grass and tree bark to eat after his mother thought he was asleep.

And the moments when she groveled at the feet of people begging, just so that they could have the right to survive, while he could only powerlessly peek out from a corner.

Every rare occasion where there would be an actual meal, his mother would always become "picky".

Or the times when she took off her own clothes just to sew a patch for him.

Back then he was still young and couldnt understand. Now he just wanted to become an acclaimed magic caster and earn the wealth ordinary people could never touch.

His mother's love was the reason he didn't become a bitter pile of flesh.

Was it wrong? Was it wrong for him to have dreams?

In a split instant multiple thoughts raced through his mind like a flashback to the past.

A passing magic caster  had come to the village  looking for an attendant to his experiments.

With the promise of being recruited as an apprentice he lured many young children in.

Of course as an aspiring young man Issac Jellall went up to volunteer.

Even through the cruelty and the mind numbing experiments he pressed on. Even if there was the slightest change to take his mother out of the slums he had to grasp that hope.

When his flesh was shaved from his bones,  when horrific flesh eating diseases were injected into him, and even through the pain inducing liquids he was forced to drink…he persisted.

In the end, he survived along with another colleague. They were the only two who had lasted until the end. As for the others…

Cruely though, even after enduring trials upon death wishing pain, the magic caster brought horrifying news.

He only needed those with magic talents.

Fortunately he had a talent for magic…

As for the other colleague who didn't have talent…Isaac Jellal didn't know what happened to her. All he could recall were frightening screams on a cold windy night.

Like a pig being slaughtered…He was only a young boy at that time and he witnessed the cruelty behind those "magic casters".

In the end through sheer luck one fateful day he killed for the first time. He assisted in  turning his teacher into the very thing he had always turned other people…into a pile of bones, blood, and flesh.

When the nightmare was all over he just wanted to go back home but unfortunately at that time he had no idea where he was.

Wandering about for a while the young boy stumbled upon the recruitment exam of Kongwu Kingdoms first academy of magic.

Until the last scene of him being surrounded by three rogue students.

Ahh

I remember now…

He was Isaac Jellel..a weakling who desperately wanted to change his fate…

Not some rebellion of the sun.

Isaac Jellel reawakened with a groan and twisted his stiff neck to gauge his surroundings.

The white bed…the large windows ..and the medical cabinets. Could it be?

"Your operation was successful"

Hearing this… Isaac Jellal's heart skipped a beat…

"You're finally awake. You were trembling so hard in bed now. Must be a pretty terrible nightmare.

I treated your wounds now..here sign this."

Isaac Jellal stared blankly as a  voluptuous red eye white haired nurse suddenly shoved a piece of paper in his hand along with a pen.

Suddenly the situation occurred to him…he was in the school infirmary and the nurse in front of him was the rumored "Miss. Devil!" 

A crazy truthseeker taking advantage of her school position to trick vigorous young men into being her potion testers! Known for taking advantage of drowsy patients and using their lack of unpreparedness to sign away their souls! Using her charm to make young men in a daze sign away their rights!

Could his previous vision be caused by her?

  "Umm sorry, i don't need any additional services." Isaac Jellal murmured as he awkwardly pushed the papers back to the long legged nurse, (|||❛︵❛.)

"Tch, the students are getting smarter now." （（●´∧｀●））

"Well the medicine is on the desk by your bed. I've cast recovery magic on you. You should be all good to go. Just watch your diet as your body recovers. Young men need extra nutrition. The person who brought you here paid for the medical fees already.

The beautiful nurse gave a sigh and  grabbed her papers with bold striking letters "Agreement to test effects of unknown potions, compensation included" back. And

She  prepared to leave not intending to deal with this boring person anymore

"The newbies were getting smarter and smarter, '' she whispered under her breath.

"No, I have a backlog of several potions needing to be tested..should i change my tactics?" "Hmph,  Goddamn truthseekers ruining my reputation…now everyones scared. It's not like i leave them with disabilities or any noticeable injuries..I even pay them.."

The nurse huffed out in a hurry before Isacc Jellel had a chance to ask any questions.

"wait.."

Issac Jellal  awkwardly retracted his raised arms.

He shook his head helplessly…right now he just wanted to figure out what was going on..how he ended up here and the visions occurring to him.

And it appears from frustration of the nurse that it seemed like she really wasn't responsible for his visions.

Isaac jellal rubbed his chin in thought.

Who was the person who brought him here?

What happened to the three?

Before his consciousness completely faded, he felt himself being carried and was able to catch a blurry glance.

But because of his injuries he couldn't get a proper look at his whoever it was.

He scratched his head in frustration.

In the end the medicine on the table caught his eyes.

Oh right…the nurse did tell him to take medicine. (NOOOO, my boiii dont die (つ﹏<.) )(jkjk its alr)< p>

The young man hesitated..but in the end he trusted the reputation of the magic academy.. 

Isaac jellal got out of bed intending to reach for the medicine but at this moment his eyes started itching again, and a faint buzzing static like tinnitus rang in his ear. 

The familiar feeling was back!

But why does it feel...different this time?

Peaceful..and as if embracing an old friend that he lost…

"Ba-doom"

There was a heavy roar in Isacc Jellal's mind.

Like the chanting of thousands of gods and demons.

Isaac jellal felt something being slowly stuffed in his head. It felt thick, warm, and oppressive.

A sticky and viscous sensation was constantly wrapping around his body.

This feeling was followed by a sudden sting on his eyes like sand getting in.

Isaac Jellal instinctively closed his eyes..

One minute…Two minutes…

The clock on the wall, fueled by magic , ticked and tock.

The large hard moved indicating five minutes had passed.

Suddenly Isaac Jellal opened his eyes again.

His otherwise sapphire blue eyes had a mysterious azure sparkle.

This time they were no longer the weak and submissive eyes in the past.

But they were sharp like a soldier ..no..a ruler..and had a domineering air.

He suddenly understood.

Isaac Jellal now knew that he would no longer be the same him. 

These eyes...they held the law of the physical world!

Peering into the microscope world, they perceived the world in basic mathematical models decoding everything in precise calculations to wield the power of physics and see through the truth of all nature!

For example. The length, width, and height of a banana makes up its three dimensional presence.. 

Add in the sensory feedback which brings characteristics to it.

The smell, color from the light reflections, and the taste…All these data were gathered through his vision and presented in his renewed mind in a 3d model.

Being able to capture information data and present it in 3d mathematical models means that from now on…no magic caster would be able to deceive his senses with illusions spells.

When a piece of shit feels like a banana, smells like a banana, and tastes like a banana, then you think it's a banana! But its actually a piece of shit

But now his senses could never be confused.

And to a certain extent with his now superspeed caption he could even fairly predict the future for a few seconds using calculations!

Just like how math could predict the motion of particles, his eyes could do it on a larger, better, and more efficient scale…capturing the traces of objects and predicting their future movements based on probability..

A modern supercomputer! 

Calculating spell models was also no longer difficult for him.

I, Isaac Jellal, was now reborn!

He recalled those dark memories lying deep within his mind like a bottomless sea creature's jaws…

All the mockeries and scorn…

And most importantly…his mother.

He frowned and clenched his fist.

But strangely at this moment, although his emotions were turbulent, his mind was calm…

Like a logistician using absolute rationality to perceive the world.

His spirit was like two sides of the same coin.

On one side agitated and resentful, and the other half like an indifferent bystander.

Isaac Jellal took a deep breath and patted his face.

His perspective was now different. Now his vision should be aimed at the grander wilder world.

What do magic caster pursue? The truth of the magical side of the world to enhance their status.

Now finding the truth with these eyes was as simple as drinking water. He knew instinctively that one day he would and will inevitably surpass the magic casters of legends and step into the domain of gods and demons. This wasn't arrogance but an undeniable objective fact.

People like him were truly pitiful…easily becoming a target for people to bully.

In fact, he could now get revenge at any time…but was it worth it?

Stopping to the level of the bullies as a higher being just to bring myself a false sense of superiority?

His answer was not worth it…his focus was now the limits of reality and no one could stop him.

The malice of some children could sometimes be more cruel than adults.

Having come from the slums, Isaac Jellal had to face the cruel society with no one but himself to rely on.

But that doesn't mean he had a kind heart. 

He just chose to set himself free and let go of his past…Forgiving his enemies doesn't mean he forgot their actions. It just meant that he chose not to be bound by their actions or hatred, an illogical emotion.

But if people dare to cross his line…Heh.

It was his turn to be the elder to teach those brats a lesson in the place of their fathers.

In a cruel world no one would seek justice for someone unrelated…unless they had a few screws missing.

But…

Isaac Jellal reached into the crevices of his clothes and pulled out a sachet and a rolled piece of parchment. 

It was hidden in a clever way that unless the nurse decided to strip even his underwear, it wouldn't be found. (wont explain details but feel free to use imagination here ;p)

Of course with his visual capacities to see through everything, he could easily find it.

He opened up the parchet and carefully read its contents.

Then he closed his eyes and smiled. (＊๑˘◡˘)

'Yes…it seems there are still foolish individuals that still chose to make sure the fire called 'grace' never dies..'

(what did he write?) :3