Chapter 4: Tingle of Information

Half a year after the invasion, humanity was just barely hanging on. There are fewer and fewer survivors left in the wider Kanto Region, let alone resistance groups. Even the resistance groups that were left are not even fighting the Magistoids in direct skirmishes, they're just only protecting survivors to get away into safe zones that they managed to secure and to secure supplies. These resistance groups are remnants of any military force that was left after the chain of command was obliterated.

Well, it was in one of these groups that my father joined in, not to fight the Magistoids but just to protect us and everyone else that survived. He forbade me to hold any weapons at first, but the situation was dire. He let me train with other members of the resistance in using weapons and grenades to use as a distraction for fleeing with survivors.

One day, while we were out hunting for supplies in the desolate city, we saw them. Magistoids were fighting each other. Magic fired in each direction, rubbles being blasted off from buildings, it was a nightmare there. But one magic fireball ricocheted from the magic shield of one of the mech and it was hurling towards us. We've been using the commotion to snake our way from the battlefield but timing wasn't on our side. As soon as we are in the open running as fast as we can, that happens.

But something happened. One of the Magistoids spotted the fire and us and did the unthinkable: he blocked it with his shield to protect us. It was when we met Ardugo and his resistance fighters. They saved us from the ensuing fight as they retreated along with us. Being blanketed by a magical smokescreen became a lifesaver for us in escaping that fight. They introduce themselves to us as fighting the good fight against the Rex Reguluses. Doubts came in at first, but they ensure to us that they're not enemies but allies to fight with and they did deliver on that promise, they made our shelters protected with magic and managed to expand them for other facilities to be used and they equipped us with magical enhancements on our weapons. Sure and sure many in our group started to trust, go near to them and all of us are grateful, except... for me ... but I am grateful to them. I was happy that they've helped us in this war, in the many things that they've given us to have an advantage in this war. But why am I not getting close to them? Why I'm not opening myself to them when I try. They are comrades.

My chest..... My head hurts...............

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Makino realized the scope of the things that he have done on those moments and it's dire consequences that wrought upon to his situation now. He was in the past, in the planet of the Magistoids, as one of them and he didn't a single thing about their history leading to the war. This is a horrible situation to be in.

"What an idiot am I!!!!"

Thud!!! He bellowed out to himself as he punch the metal street with his bare hand.

He did sure messed it up. Now what is he gonna do now on this situation. Not long after his shouts and thuds of anger, some lights are starting to light up in some of the buildings. They must've heard Makino's outrage. He didn't want to draw unwanted attention for now so he runs away from the area.

"That was a close one" he said.

"If I'm really here, then there must be a lot of Magistoids in the area. They must be in their rest periods, kinda same like humans." He surmised.

"Now, I'm in a deep trouble, what am I gonna do now? Everyone, I'm sorry. "

"Wait, in the fanfiction, the protagonist kinda faced a problem on this vein and the first that he do was to get a place to live in and a job? There's no way am I gonna rely it all to a fanfiction but those first ideas maybe a start and to think of what to do next. Hope so they do have those things exist here or else I'm screwed. Wait a second. Did they even use money here?" Makino worryingly thought on the situation at hand.

"Hmm?"

Something tingled inside of his head.

"What? Is that-"

That being an idea. No. An information on where to go.

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He walked a while until he reached a building starting to open as dawn is starting. The building wasn't too dilapidated as the other buildings that he saw but still wasn't the what you called a five star hotel. It could be an apartment complex. The sign did say "Autelius Apprtments".

'Wait! The sign was not written in Japanese, let alone English. I recognized it as the alphabet of the Magistoids and I can read it!?' Makino exclaimed in his thoughts.

He didn't dwell in that thought for now as he entered the building. He looked around on the lobby and he saw a counter with a Magistoid manning it. It must be the staff or the owner. The mech there is of a typical size and its frame was just normal looking for a Magistoid, with its head having no much particular design aside from the eyes(?), nose(?), and mouthpiece that acts like a normal mouth would do. It's looking something on a some sort of a magical hologram screen.

Thuk! Thuk! Thuk! He tapped his fingers on the metal counter.

"Um, hello? Can I speak to the staff in charge?" Makino said in a quite deep voice and in a flat monotone, he was still surprised as hearing his own voice so different than what he has then.

The clerk mech look up and upon seeing Makino, he was shocked to see him. Way too shocked for someone being cut off when you're in a middle of something.

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Makino was puzzled to this reaction.

"Nnnn- Noble sir!!! What business you have here on this humble establishment of ours that hopefully was on your prime tastes? What can I do for you?" The clerk almost stutteringly asked him as if he was seeing a ghost.

Makino, quite still puzzled to this kind of reaction, immediately cut to the chase and told him his objective.

"I want to rent a room here....." Makino sounded a bit gloomy and deep. Dang his deep voice.

"You- you wanted to rent a room here?" The clerk puzzlingly asked on his inquiry.

"Yes.. I wanted to rent a room to here live in." He said.

"Y-Yes. At once!! We will give our best accommodations we have!!" The clerk flusteredly told him.

'Uh... What in the?'

After a bit of a tour as we walked around the complex, we arrived at the room. As the clerk opened the sliding door with a push of a button, he showed me to my room. It was a nice room on it's own. Well, nice on it's own way, I guess.

It was a metallic-gilded room with a metal furniture affixed to the floor and a bed(?) that has a soft cushion on it and with pillows(????).

"Is this room is in your liking, sir?" The clerk nervously asked him, hoping that he would not incur even the slightest dissatisfaction from him.

"Yes. Yes! It is perfect." Makino bit off mindedly said.

"So... um, about the rent.... no! No no no!!! If you wanted not pay it immediately, it can be arranged. I just need to tell the manager." He nervously tried to placate Makino so that the apartment didn't get a bad reputation, let alone he get his neck chopped off.

"Wait! Rent!? Uh...-" Makino said, still flat monotone, but on the inside-

'Rent!? Wait, they do have money here!? What the heck!? Gah! Of course, they have, I think? What am I gonna do now!? I don't have their money-'

"Ah!" Something again entered in his mind, important.

Mindlessly putting his hand on the side of his metallic belt, he pressed a button and a mini compartment opened itself and inside, have some stocks of money, coins of different colors to be exact.

'They're like the coins that we used. Although they also looked different.' Makino thought while he reached out to the compartment, taking out the coins. All gold coins. He handed the coins to the clerk. The clerk seems to get a positive reaction to this.

"Oh! This is quite enough to cover the rent for five months. Thank you very much for your patronage!!! We are very much enjoyed in your presence, noble sir!!!" The clerk happily bowed to him as the result of the transaction.

Makino didn't asked on what the heck is this treatment because the clerk immediately leaves, leaving him puzzled. He entered his new room and sited on his new bed. It was so soft, makino was surprised to it. He doesn't have time to admire it, though. He focused his mind on what happened earlier, on where did that money come from. It was totally strange as he was just became a Magistoid since last night and also that strange sensation.

That tingle on my mind that happened earlier that lead me to the money within my side and also it happened much earlier that lead mo to this place.

'It was like a, how do I put it, a tidbit of knowledge that just pop up in my mind, my brain and the money that I gave, it's like I know their monetary value is high. What in the world is really happening to me?' Makino hold his head between hands, starting to have a headache on his situation.

He then lay on his bed after a bit, still deep on his thoughts but now reorganizing his thoughts.

'I'm here in Regulus and in the past and I'm a Magistoid. That is happening now. I feel I should hope that this is just a bad dream- No!!!' Makino hit his head with his fist.

'This is a perfect chance for me to change everything so earth and everyone would not endure that hell, but I don't know what I'm gonna do because I didn't listened to Ardugo! Argghhh!!!!' Makino repeatedly hit his head several times as a mark of shame and guilt.

'I should have listened to them back then. I'm such an stupid idiot!! I'm such a- I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry.' Makino almost sobbingly thought on himself as he laments on the consequences of the things that he had done.

A little while of laying and with some clarity on his mind, he gained at least some new resolve. Even that he didn't know what to do now, he will make a way for himself to amend for it. He will learn as hard as he can to know what he needed to change for the future that he wanted. But he can't draw unnecessary attention to himself as he didn't know how he would navigate such a situation on regards on his identity yet. He had to inquire much information to navigate this world and change it.

Altor

"?" "I needed a new name for this mission. My name may stand out. Ardugo and the crews' names are also quite different from our normal naming convention." Makino thought.

"Altor, huh? Would that work? This is from a fanfiction."

A feeling again entered his head, signalling a positive connotation.

"The name's doable? Ok then. I don't know what is this entering my mind, but it helped me three times now, so I would look on this for now."

He get up from his bed and looked is window, overlooking the the bottom part of the skyline of the high buildings and looking the top skyline for this area's buildings, with a new resolve now burning inside him.

"Altor."