Following my daily routine I went for my workout.

Only to find the air was colder than usual.

It didn’t matter.

I practiced my magic skills as usual. But today was different. It was time to test Hell’s Fire properly.

I cast it.

The air twisted.

For a split second, everything went silent like the world itself was holding its breath.

Then it appeared.

A flame.

Blue but not the kind of blue I had ever seen. It burned deeper. Darker. Like the color of something that didn’t belong to this world.

The space around it warped, heat radiating in slow, suffocating waves. The ground beneath it blackened instantly, cracks spreading outward as if the earth itself was trying to escape.

Yeah.

Hell’s Fire burned blue.

And it felt wrong.

Then the pain hit.

Suddenly. Total.

I collapsed onto one knee, both hands pressed against my chest. Something came up before I could stop it.

Blood. A mouthful.

The system flickered.

My vision blurred.

[ERROR] [Body mana fully depleted.] [Emergency recovery mode activated.]

I opened my eyes.

Dirt. Blood. Both on my clothes.

I pushed myself upright on one knee.

Idiot, I thought. High rank magic on a Bronze-grade mana heart.

I sat down in the lotus position and started pulling mana back in.

But something felt different this time.

The mana was coming faster. Deeper. Filling places it hadn’t reached before like new channels had cracked open inside me.

Mana veins, I realized. They just woke up.

"System."

[STATUS WINDOW]

Name: Kael Ardyn

Title: Trash of the Family

Level: 3

Class: [NONE]

Stat

Strength: E

Dexterity: E+

Agility: E

Endurance: E

Magic: F+ → E

Active Abilities: Fireball / Wind Blade / Basic Mana Pulse / Hell’s Fire 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Passive Abilities: Infinity Mana Breathing

Traits: Mana Veins (Newly Awakened)

Mana Heart: Bronze → Silver

A smile appeared on my face. A genuine one.

Silver rank mana heart before the academy entrance. That was not nothing.

It meant I could aim for the A-Class. The Hero’s Classroom. The class of geniuses that the original Kael had never even been considered for.

And the plot?

I’d stopped worrying about the plot.

Honestly transmigrators who spend all their time trying to avoid main characters and heroines are idiots. I don’t care how many novels they’ve read. Did none of them pay attention in school? Did none of them hear about The Butterfly Effect?

The moment I arrived in this body, the plot started changing. My existence changed it. You can’t step into a story and leave it untouched that’s not how anything works. Not in fiction. Not in science. Not in anything.

The plot was already different.

Might as well make it different my way.

After finishing the workout I headed back.

The system pinged while I was in the bath.

[REWARD AVAILABLE] [Staring Down the Dragon]

I clicked it.

[Congratulations. You have received 200 PS.]

"...Huh."

I stared at the ceiling.

So they enjoyed watching me puke blood.

Of course they did.

I checked my balance.

234 PS.

Well. I leaned back. At least it paid well.

While changing back to my clothes another notification appeared.

[Odin, God of War and Wisdom, wishes to invest in you.] [Accept?] [Y / N]

I stopped walking.

Odin. THE Odin. That Odin wants to invest in me.

"Are you kidding me?"

[No.]

"How does he invest exactly?"

[Think of it as a super chat, Host.]

A super chat. The gods invented a super chat system for watching people suffer in other worlds.

"Okay. What’s the catch?"

[You really are smart, Host.]

[A mission will be assigned. Complete it and receive a reward. Fail it and receive a penalty.]

"Can I see the reward first?"

[No.]

"Can I see the penalty?"

[No.]

"Then how am I supposed to decide?"

[Host. You are here to entertain us.] [We make the rules.]

I exhaled.

"Fine. Let’s gamble."

[Accepted.]

[Host just so you’re aware. You are currently living.]

"...What."

I looked down at myself. Dirt. Dried blood. No shirt.

"Do gods enjoy watching someone like this? Are you guys gay?"

[Host, there are female viewers as well.]

"...Huh."

"Then why haven’t any of them invested? I’d give them a good show."

[Goddess of Envy has shown interest.]

[Goddess of Love has shown interest.]

[God of Thunder has shown disinterest.]

[....]

[Host. Please be mindful of your words.]

"What Thor can’t handle competition?"

[....]

"Okay. I’ll stop."

"Now tell me the mission."

[QUEST] [Drop at least of your blood in the north corner of the cave. Every day. For 21 days.]

"...Huh."

I was genuinely shocked.

"Why would I waste my blood?"

[....] [You have no right to ask.]

I felt a very strong urge to kill someone.

I nodded anyway.

[Mission Accepted.] [Reward: ????] [Penalty: Ball Burst.]

In the evening I went deeper into the forest.

There were reports of mutated beasts there. I wanted to see one. More accurately wanted to kill one.

I spotted a One-Horned Wolf. Alone. Good.

I cast Fireball toward its back and mixed in basic water magic to create mist. Then Wind Blade at its legs.

The legs buckled. The wolf stumbled.

I closed the distance fast, sword already moving. One clean cut.

The head came off.

The wolf’s body stayed standing for a full second headless, blood spraying before it dropped.

After that I hunted some slimes, a few more wolves and three One-Horned Rabbits. By the end I was covered in blood that wasn’t mine. Mostly.

I heard water nearby.

Following the sound I found a pond. Clean. Still. Tucked between the trees like it had been there forever.

It looked normal at first glance.

It wasn’t. The mana density coming off it was ridiculous like the cave but concentrated into water.

I stripped down and got in.

The warmth hit immediately. Like a hot spring. My cuts started closing on their own. The exhaustion in my muscles loosened.

Can I drink this?

I looked at it for a moment.

Then thought the system exists for a reason.

I drank some.

Mana potion. It tasted exactly like a mana potion.

I filled my bottle and headed back.

The next morning I woke up early.

Mission first.

I went to the cave, found the north corner and made a small cut on my hand. Let it bleed. Stood there for fifteen minutes while it dripped onto the cave floor.

By the time I wrapped my hand the dizziness had already set in. I drank some of the pond water immediately. The weakness stayed but the worst of it passed.

Then I looked down at the floor.

My blood was gone.

Not dried. Not soaked into the stone.

Gone.

The cave floor was completely clean like nothing had ever touched it.

I stared at that for a long moment.

"...What are you planning, old man?" I muttered.

Nobody answered.