Ch 1 : Cade North

A slanted bank with lushly grown grass….

When he came to it, there was only the sound of grass scraping against one another and the scent of plantation gathering around him.

Lying down at such a place as his hand was reaching to the sun, the little boy was attacked by a violent throbbing.

Under the violent throbbing, the boy was sweating a lot.

However, he wasn't' sweating because of the sun's warmth. It was a cold sweat that wouldn't' stop.

""Uhkkk…""

There was a pulsing pain in his body, but fortunately, the pain didn't last that long. Just like how it suddenly appeared out of nowhere, the pain also suddenly go away without any warning, leaving the poor boy alone and confused.

He just has a very bizarre dream. A dream where he is not him, and he seemed to live in a very different world from what he knew here. There, the world was peaceful, but somehow the boy always felt the world was boring, and there was not much entertainment for him.

The dream ended when he was hit by something like a giant wagon, and when he woke up, he had only realized that it was just a dream.

""W, what was that just now?""

He sat up in a panic, trying to find some clue about what had just happened. But because he sat up in a panic, some of the grass that got caught on his clothes fell onto the ground. As the wind blew, the blades of grass drifted away.

As he thought it was only a strong wind, a giant shadow passed through above him, blocking the sun with its large body.

The boy was clearly shocked. He had never seen anything like this.

Under the shadow which blocked the sun, the boy could clearly see the thing that was flying above him.

This flying thing was revealed to be something like a bird. ​​It was like a mix of a phoenix and a peacock. Its feathers are predominantly gold and white, with wings that spanned dozens of meters.

For some reason, the boy who usually looks at everything nonchalantly now couldn't' hide his eyes wide open in astonishment.

It feels as if he was seeing something from the legend.

Clutching his chest, his heart was still pounding fiercely. He didn't' know why, but the excitement was currently brewing inside him.

"What the heck is this feeling…"

. . . . . . .

Years later -

"Everyone gives way; the School's number one is about to pass through. You don't' really want to get on the bad side of the School's number one, right? "A boy shouted down the hallway.

However, everyone who heard him didn't' give way like what the boy shouted. Instead, they were snickering with a face full of mockery.

A boy with black hair and dead-fish eyes carried on walking down the school corridor.

His name is Cade, Harassment had become a daily occurrence for him, and things like this were just like breakfast to him.

All he wanted was to quickly leave this place and return back home, where no one would harass him anymore.

Ten years have passed since that day.

The boy who was previously still a little kid has now grown into a teenager.

He had moved from elementary School into High School. However, when he reached high School, everything changed for him.

Cade was a transmigrator from our earth but different from other transmigrators; his fate could be said as pretty depressing.

In the beginning, he thought that he could live a new fulfilling life on his second try, but everything changed a few years ago. His parents suddenly went missing, leaving him only with a five years old sister and money that was barely enough for them to survive for three years.

It was said that his parents went missing because their company went on bankrupt, but Cade knew that things weren't that simple. There must be someone pulling the string behind all of this, but he had no strength nor the power to find and execute the truth.

And to make things worse, during the awakening process in which people age fifteen would awaken their Arcane Card, the boy had awakened a Rank (I) Arcane Card, the weakest among its peers.

If there was something that kept him sane enough, it was the existence of a countdown timer that had been accompanying him since he came to this world.

The countdown timer itself was a very mysterious existence, but Cade's hunch told him that there must be something good hidden beneath it, and it would be one that helped him turn his life around.

But just when Cade thought things would finally get better, fate seemed to play around with him.

A few months ago, after reaching the 00.00.00, the countdown stopped working, and there has yet no change to come.

[ 0 Hours, 0 minutes, 0 seconds left.]

'Not today huh…...'

Yet another day where the countdown timer reached zero, but there was nothing significant happened. Cade could only shake his head helplessly at this realization.

Cade was just about to leave the school gate, but he was suddenly stopped by a group of boys with delinquent clothes.

'*Sigh* another bad day…'

Looking at the group of delinquents, Cade already knew what was on the mind of the delinquents. Still, it's' not like he could do anything about it.

"Hey, bastard. Do you think you could get away safely after not paying the monthly fees? I'll let you know what happens if you disobey me. Summon Arcane Card!!"

"Ugh…."

Seeing this scene, Cade didn't' have any unusual expression. This had become such a habit that he just let the bullies do anything they wanted. Either way, trying to resist was futile. It would only make the delinquent happy, and his beating would become even more severe.

He had been through this countless times, and there's no harm in going it another time. He just closed his eyes and hoped that everything would be over soon.

And immediately, a shocking scene happened.

One of the delinquent's bodies glowed, and a Humongous Tiger was summoned right next to him.

ROARRR!!!!!

Sounds of beating resounded in front of the school gates.

But strangely, even after witnessing these kinds of scenes, there was no one who stepped up to help. The students look at this as if this was a common occurrence, while the teacher turned their head away as if they didn't see anything.

Only Cade, who has been beaten up, could curse everyone secretly in his heart, vowing that he would get his revenge later.

About half an hour later, Cade was left with very tattered clothes and body, and the delinquents spitted at him before leaving.

"This is your last chance, boy! Remember to pay the next month's fees on time!"

"….. "

After the delinquent left, no one was bothered to play with the boy anymore. Cade had become like this, and it was useless to play with such a broken toy.

Dragging his tattered body, Cade slowly and steadily limped out of the alleyway like a dog running between his tail. If other transmigrators were to know his fate, then they would definitely laugh at him.

"Ouch… they are really merciless, aren't' they…"

The boy started walking back to his house, not even bothering to take another look at the School where he was currently supposed to be studying.

This School, this society….

Everything felt like a prison to him, only confining him or dragging him down.

The boy dragged his bruised body all the way to his small and cramped apartment, which was about a few blocks away from the School. Though it hurt like hell, the moment he entered the apartment blocks, the boy forced himself to smile.

As he opened the apartment door, a familiar figure peeked her head out.

"Brother, you are late!"

"Sorry I'm' late. There was some accident on the road."

His words came out with a wide smile on his face as he patted his little sister, who had a pouting face.

There was only one reason that he kept smiling until now, and that was to not make his little sister worried. Even if the world was to be ruined, as long as he and his sister could stay alive and well, everything didn't' really matter to him.

Cade might be a transmigrator, but it didn't' mean he didn't' love his new family. Rather, he who had been transmigrated to this world had earned the true meaning of family and cherished his little happiness more than anything.

After his parents left them, the two little siblings only had each other. Therefore, the last thing the boy wanted to do was to make his sister be worried.

The boy then realized that even if he tried to hide it, the bruises on his body were too evident.

He told her little sister to go back inside first while he would be taking a bath as he felt a bit dirty after coming up from School. But of course, it was just an excuse.

The boy then went to the bathroom and closed the dull, rusted door behind him. It was only him in the bathroom, and he could stop pretending now.

The smile that he had on his face disappeared, and a tired look re-emerged on Cade's face.

"Damn!!! Why me….."

"Those bastards… One day.. Just wait for me!"

Cries of despair and hatred were let out from the boy's mouth.

Outside, he always pretended that he didn't' care. But no matter what, he was still a human. All the beatings and insults, he might act like he gave no shit about them, but the boy was actually hiding all the scars that slowly accumulated inside of him.

Under the cold shower, the boy let out all of his rages.

He knew life was unfair, but to be this far, just what did he do in his previous life to deserve this?

One full minute later, Cade had just finished letting out his frustration.

He was about to finish his shower when he suddenly heard a voice coming from the side.

"Kyuu?"

Turning his head around, the boy saw A blue figure that looked like a collection of ectoplasm. With a small wizard hat on its head and shining red eyes. Normal people from earth would definitely be terrified when they saw this. However, Cade seemed to be unsurprised by the sudden appearance of this strange thing.

"No, Spectre, it is not your fault. It is my fault to be this weak."