Chapter 2: The "Cheat"

7:20 AM.

The rays of sunlight penetrating your windows are one of the things that I came to appreciate during my adult life.

I carefully undid my little brother's hug before sitting cross-legged in the bed. I placed my elbow on top of my thigh before I held my chin. This is my daily dose of life contemplation, the thing that I learned after staring at the ceiling for hours during my first two years. I had a lot of time to think about myself and my future, which is something that I did not have in my past life.

When the alarm clock in my smartphone rings, I will instantly wake up. I do not have the word "snooze" in my dictionary. I could abruptly stand up from my bed even if I feel dizzy for a short while.

This has the same effect as washing your face with cold water in the morning. It is totally effective!

I blankly stare at the floor as I recalled the events from a few days ago. It was at that time did I discover that I, a cheat-less reincarnator, actually have a cheat!

It might be a time manipulation ability of sorts. It can also be similar to the enhanced growth abilities that I recall from some anime that I watched when I was dead tired.

Still, what is important is that…

I. HAVE. CHEATS.

That's why it was called as such in the first place. It makes anything convenient. It pushed me, someone who is a total noob with investments, to become a professional who spent ten years in the industry. I did not know if the "me" ten years later succeeded in his life, but I know that my future self's experiences would help me achieve even more now.

"How could I use it again..?"

I rubbed my chin as I thought about this. I tried to use it again in the past few days after that event. However, no matter how I try, it does not appear. I made a few conjectures since then. I tried a few and it didn't work, which is why I will try the rest today.

If anything still does not work, I'll have to leave it to my future self to find the answer.

I got out of bed and went to one of Ryuu's toys. They are all battery-powered.

Taking out the battery inside a phone toy, I brought it closer to me.

Energy is one of the fundamental things in the universe… or at least how the science subject phrased it. This is what I've learned in high school along with Mitochondria which is the powerhouse of the cell.

My teachers told us that what we learn in school helps in real life… is pretty much a half-truth. You would benefit from the learned knowledge, yes, but you would not use all of them.

"AA Battery. 1.5 volts?"

Before my cheat manifested, I did not do anything. I just sat down, read books, and lay down. Now, energy is the only thing present during those times. Whenever I eat, I replenish it. The same goes when I am inert. I do nothing which resulted in the gathering of energy at a faster rate. If my cheat follows the science that I have learned, it should need energy.

'Absorb… Absorb… Refill… Refill..!' I recited these words like a mantra.

My full attention was on it as I desperately thought of refilling my cheat's energy.

"Eh?"

My tense body soon relaxed as a light feeling enveloped me. It is a relaxing feeling you would get after you get out of a massage chair. I did not feel any changes in my body, though. It's more spiritual or mental. Since I relaxed my mind, my body felt it too.

"Yes!"

I pumped my fist before I enthusiastically robbed my little brother of three toys' worth of batteries. When I placed them back, I tried to use the toys but it didn't work.

This verifies my conjecture. Rejoice, my future self. You shall suffer no more!

"Ah–"

My eyes went toward the bed. There, I saw Ryuu staring at me innocently. Knowing that I ruined his toys, I could not bear to look any further at his pure and innocent eyes.

"Sorry, Ryuu. This is for our future!"

"Eh?"

My low mumble left him confused.

*****

"Tou-san. Can we walk outside starting today?"

"Walk outside? Sure."

A few days passed when I verified my conjecture. After scavenging for batteries–the stock for Ryuu's toys–I decided to use the electricity outside. This is my decision after finding out that I have a limit when it comes to "absorbing" those energies. I reached it after absorbing thirty-three AA batteries which equates to nearly fifty volts.

It is a meager amount for the electricity-based devices outside, but it consumed more than half of Ryuu's batteries.

His cries only made me more guilty. Luckily for me, my parents thought that the batteries were defective. I mean, no parents would think that their son can absorb electricity, right?

After checking the trends, tou-san brought us outside our home. Just when we got out, I was already greeted by more than a dozen passersby.

As expected of Shimogyo Ward…

Since the place we are in is the center of Kyoto's urban development, people are mostly concentrated here. There are many high-rise buildings as well as department stores. Of course, those are a few minutes worth of walks from where we reside.

My parents liked urban places due to their convenience, but they did not like densely populated areas that much.

"Woah…"

We only strolled in the less populated area. We are only be a few minutes away from our home. Tou-san does not want to bring me into a populated place as he is rather focused on Ryuu. Even so, I could see from afar the bright spots of light in Nakahara Ward's center. All of it came from the billboards and the high-rise buildings, I suppose.

I also saw the usual sight of our neighborhood. No graffiti can be seen here as it is subjected to legal sanctions. There are also other kids either together with their parents or playing with their friends. They are all taller than me, so they should be around ten years old.

Soon, we passed over a playground. The holy land of Children. The place where they could feel their freedom and do anything. Whether using the slide headfirst or "parkouring" from one place to another, every 'dumb' thing can be done. Other children were playing here, too.

"Ice… cream?"

"Nobu-kun, you want one?"

I swiftly nodded. To an eight-year-old who has never tasted it in this life, I sought it. Ice cream is easily one of my favorite desserts.

"Wait for me here, alright?"

"Yes, tou-san."

Tou-san walked over to the ice cream shop while I sat on the bench.

"Hehe, you're it, Shin!"

"Not fair!"

"You can't catch us~"

Seeing the children happily playing, I inadvertently thought the cold-hard truth.

'Look at these children. I do wonder if they would also turn into adults who got slapped by reality in the future..?'

I shook my head.

'I will not let that happen to me. I will have a better life, that's for sure..!'

In my peripheral vision, I saw another kid doing the same thing as me. She was shaking her head whilst looking at the group of kids innocently playing tag. Her hands are trembling lightly.

Scratch that, she is not doing the same thing as me.

"Hey. Are you alright?"

I saw the girl freeze and shiver before mechanically looking at me.

"Y-y-y-y-y-y-y-yes..!"

'You do not look alright!'

Just her expression alone told everyone that she is anxious–her stuttering emphasized it further. Her blue pupils erratically looked around me in seconds, avoiding my gaze.

"Are you really alright?"

"T-t-t-that's r-right!"

"Sigh… Do I look that scary?"

"E-eh?"

My words made her stop trembling for a moment before she hastily said:

"T-t-that's not it! You are not s-scary..!"

Seeing her react like that, I laughed.

"Sorry… I'm just joking!"

"A-ah?!"

I saw her face change from tense to embarrassed. A light blush appeared on her ears as if showcasing her current emotions.

"Do you have any problems?" I asked her. "Do you want to join that group of kids over there?"

"H-how? How did you know?!"

She slammed the bench with both of her hands as she faced my direction.

"Isn't this obvious? Your face is giving it away."

Upon hearing it, she froze. I do not know what is going on inside her head, but my best guess is her constructing some kind of drastic reaction to what I have said.

"After all these times… All of them know it..?"

"Ahem." I lightly coughed while crossing both of my arms together. "Seeing you react like this, I think you should fix your problem first. I don't know if this is just from interacting with strangers but if the same thing happens every day, it's a huge problem."

I gave out my honest advice to her. My recollection told me how horrible society is and at the same time, it taught me the beauty of it. If her anxiety did continue in her later years, she would experience worse and not see the beauty around her.

"..."

Her pink hair covered her eyes as she seriously stared at the ground. Her feet swayed in the air as she became more preoccupied with her thoughts.

'Tou-san already bought it.'

"Looks like I have to leave. Can I have your name? Mine's Nobu."

She was snapped back to reality with my words.

"I-it's Hitori."

"Hitori… bocchi? (Loner)" I subconsciously mumbled before I covered it up with the fear of the little girl being hurt. "Nice name!"

"Really..?"

I could hear her murmur as I ran to my tou-san.

*****

"Fuu…"

I made a deep breath as I calmed down my anxious heart. We are going back to our home and the time to verify my guess came. It would be more difficult to explain if my source of energy is those batteries, so I thought of another one: street lamps.

They are all connected via the electrical cables in the sky which makes them another alternative source of energy. Fifty volts is nothing for the government, more so when we pay our taxes well.

My hand made contact with the metallic touch of the pole. I recalled the sensation that I had while I stole my brother's batteries.

'Absorb… Absorb…'

That feeling soon emerged as it sent me into a relaxing state. My mind was cleared of worries while my entire body slightly shook–a result of my tension disappearing.

"I could make this my everyday massage…" I blankly murmured. "I'm full in one go?"

Just like the absorption and utilization of my cheat, a random thought appeared in my head. It dictates the state of the "energy tank", telling me when I could use it again.

Right now, I had a vague feeling that it was refilled again. It has not reached one percent yet, but the progress left me satisfied nevertheless. Not only that, I found out that my mental chant became shorter, and invoking the absorption of my cheat became slightly easier than yesterday.

It could be the result of my first usage or its continued usage, perhaps.

"It worked. I could now rest easy with this."

With that thought, I went back home with lesser worry than before.