Grastel interrupted my storytelling to laugh his ass off, pounding his fists loudly on the table. The other two followed suit.

「Grastel: Hahaha, really? You summoned an illusion of Vallachio… smashing a goblin head and having a laugh?!」

He snorted.

「Grastel: Allen, you’re killing me!」

I had invited the trio over to dinner. Obviously, they wanted to know about the tests, so I obliged. I tried to gloss over the illusionary blunder, but the little devils probed and prodded until I gave up.

「Allen: Stop laughing!」

I said with irritation. They only laughed harder.

「Allen: Okay, be that way.」

I said crossing my arms, wearing a scowl.

They kept giggling. Damned brats.

My lips curled upwards. I know just the thing.

I made illusory abominations sprout from their drinks, they took the forms of fleshy pale tentacles with pumping veins. My friends yelped and shielded themselves. I had startled them good. Hehe.

「Ellin: Eeek!」

Ellin waved her hands frantically in panic. I calmly sipped from my glass while Namrick and Grastel were trying to fend off the illusions with their forks.

「Allen: Ah-ha! Who’s laughing now?」

I said, turning my smug to full power.

「Ellin: Gross!」

Everyone looked at me with angry faces. Even the other patrons who were wondering what the ruckus was about. I simply shrugged with a smile.

Namrick smiled suddenly and tried to destroy my shoulder with a punch. But I knew it was coming. I nullified the damage and faced him with a defiant smile. I trained for this.

「Namrick: Allen, you really have a knack for manifesting illusory abominations.」

He said, stealing a suspicious glance towards his glass. At least there was something I could do with my illusions.

What I really wanted from illusory magic was to materialize lewd stuff, but anything above geometric shapes had a bad habit of degenerating into eldritch horrors. So unfair.

Grastel grumbled something under his breath, putting down his fork. He seemed to have lost his appetite.

I concluded telling my friends about how I aced the test. Then I changed the topic.

「Allen: Very well. I need to figure out what new classes to take. I’m already kinda booked on that magical constructs course by Grohm, that Violet’s acquaintance I talked you about. But aside from that, I’m not sure.」

I said, crossing my hands behind my head. I really had no idea what to prioritize next. I could attend all the classes for free if I had the prerequisites.

Ellin cleaned her mouth from the dessert leftovers and spoke.

「Ellin: Since you learned Freeze and Burn spells you might try Telekinesis. You’ll need it as a prerequisite for many advanced attack spells.」

I remembered that recruit who could launch fireballs. Fireballs are cool.

「Allen: Good idea, I read that mixing temperature magics and telekinesis you can cast ice spikes and fireballs. That would be cool… what else? Intermediate illusions… no, I’m barely good enough for beginner level…」

Grastel cleared his throat, catching my attention.

「Grastel: Well, you’ve cleared beginner Alchemy, you might as well go for the next level. So you can make us potions for free.」

He said with a wicked smile.

「Allen: Maybe. My original plan was to learn alchemy to secure the funding for my studies. I no longer need to do so, but I could spend it on gear and stuff. I need to practice, though. Even when following the recipes to the letter, my potions are much less effective than the commercial ones. It’s about the magic part of the process, I think. I just need more experience.」

I sighed. Another round of boring Alchemy lessons.

「Ellin: If you need real practice, you might try joining the Alchemists’ Guild.」

I stared wide-eyed.

「Allen: What? There’s an Alchemists’ Guild here in Valarest? Where is it?!」

I asked, wondering how I had managed to miss it during my walks across the city.

「Ellin: It’s located to the right of the royal palace. It has a potion emblem and a blue door, you can’t miss it.」

Ellin replied with her usual smile.

I always saw the royal palace and the surrounding castle walls in the distance from the Academy’s gardens, but I had never dared to venture close.

「Allen: Hmmm, I’ll pay it a visit. Anyway, I still have a slot free for the classes… maybe I could learn a little Healing too?」

Ellin shot me down.

「Ellin: Healing is a serious discipline, it’s not just magic but also about anatomy, how the body works and more. Inexperience can be dangerous! I think you should leave it to when your schedule is less demanding.」

She said, waving her finger in the air. So it’s probably as fun as Alchemy classes. Well, she’s the expert.

「Allen: Ah… you might be right, I already have alchemy that is just so much fun… what else then?」

I looked at my friends in askance.

「Namrick: Well, you learned hallucinations right? In the same school, there’s a spell to project emotions and other stuff to confuse the enemy. They require some finesse but they can make a big difference.」

Surprisingly, it was Namrick to answer.

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「Namrick: My mentor told me that, during his adventuring days, one of his friends could scare away enemies or turn bad situations for the better by subtly manipulating the mood.」

Playing mind games, it could be fun. I started scratching my chin, deep in thought.

「Allen: Right, I could use it for bluffing my way through things and debuffing the foe!」ù

I clapped my hands.

「Allen: Okay, it’s decided then… Magical Constructs, Telekinesis, intermediate Alchemy and projecting emotion. I’ll go check the schedules and enroll. Thank you guys, I don’t know what I’d be doing without you.」

「Grastel: Expanding your pizza empire, most likely.」

Grastel shrugged with a grinning face.

I seriously doubted that. I can stand that kind of work only for so long before I start getting homicidal urges.

In this world, I’m missing all the conventional outlets to relieve stress.

But I did have plans that I wanted to see to fruition sooner or later.

「Allen: I do have plans for my culinary enterprise, but I’m holding off for when I can enter the upper-class market. I don’t want Lord Radenrouge stealing all my cool ideas and reselling them at higher prices to the nobility.」

I scowled.

「Ellin: Lord Radenrouge… I heard he began introducing pizza in other cities.」

I scowled harder. Damn him! He’s like the Steve Jobs of this world.

「Allen: You see? I need a plan if I want to come out on top.」

I shifted grumpily in my chair.

Grastel brought his hands to his mouth and said.

「Grastel: Culinary conspiracy!」

Namrick laughed and Ellin grinned.

While I was distracted by Grastel, Namrick took the opportunity to surprise shoulder-punch me.

Ouch! I didn’t see that coming.

「Namrick: Haha, I’m sure you’ll find a way, Allen.」

I refused to show any sign of pain. My training proved lacking.

He never abused Ellin’s shoulders. I’m a delicate magician too, you know?

I shifted my anger on Radenrouge.

Sure, I might just turn him into an ice cube, literally freezing the competition. Then I’d get arrested and executed for killing nobility.

Worth it. Even if just for the pun. That thought brought a smile to my face.

「Allen: Well, I’ll just wait and prepare. I need to track down all the ingredients I’m missing for the best recipes. Once I’m free I’ll consult with Vargas and perhaps accompany him in a quest for food discovery. Then I’ll come back showing you guys the wonders of cocoa, coffee, and more.」

My eyes unfocused, dreamily chasing the memories of better days. I missed a good cup of coffee and the sweet hot chocolate.

「Ellin: Cocoa and coffee? What are they, another kind of food?」

Ellin asked, tilting her head.

Right, I haven’t found the equivalent names for them, I don’t even know if they exist in this world. I began explaining.

「Allen: They’re seeds that are toasted and ground into fine powder, which is then used to make beverages, pastries, sweets and more. I’ll show you if I ever get my hands on some.」

Sadly, Words couldn’t describe the flavors.

「Namrick: Your homeland seems like an interesting place, you should invite us over and show us all the stuff you always talk about.」

He said, looking eager. But alas…

「Allen: I’m afraid that won’t be possible.」

I said, lowering my eyes.

「Grastel: Why not?」

I hadn’t told them yet. Well, if I couldn’t trust them, who else could I trust?

「Allen: Right, I haven’t told you guys…」

I made a serious face. They looked at me with curious eyes.

「Ellin: What?」

I guess I can tell them.

I motioned them to lean closer and whispered.

「Allen: I’m from another world.」

「…」

They stared at me with blank faces and then at each other.

「Allen: I’m serious. Please don’t say that around. I don’t want to be dissected by crazy mages curious to find out if my body works differently. Which it doesn’t, just for the record.」

I added a pleading tone to my whispers.

「Grastel: You’re kidding us, right?」

Grastel was making a doubtful face.

I looked at him in the eyes, unflinching.

「Allen: Nope.」

I said, shaking my head. I don’t think I could be more serious.

Ellin was staring at me with her mouth half-open.

「Namrick: Then how did you get here?」

Namrick asked, a frown forming on his face.

「Allen: I just went to sleep, bored like usual, when a voice claiming to be the Creator asked me if I wanted to try out a new world. I agreed. And here I am.」

I gestured at myself.

「Ellin: Really?!」

Why are you so doubtful? Don’t you guys live in a world of magic?! Has it really never happened before?

「Allen: Yes! I have to admit I struggled at the start, that Creator didn’t seem to have the decency to at least teach me the local language. It was really difficult to communicate with just gestures. But now… I guess I’m managing just fine. Also, my world didn’t have magic so this is an improvement.」

I said with a nod. A world with magic is indeed an improvement.

「Grastel: I’m not sure I’m buying it.」

He shook his head in denial. Good old cynic Grastel.

「Allen: That’s fine. Nothing changes, whether you believe or not. Who knows, maybe I just dreamed it all, invented an unknown language, unknown recipes and devised knowledge that nobody ever grasped before.」

I let the sarcasm flow in.

「Grastel: That doesn’t seem very plausible either…」

He said, scratching his chin. I rolled my eyes.

「Allen: Okay. What if I’m the only survivor of a secret highly-advanced civilization, that one day made a big mistake causing its complete disappearance from the face of the world, and nobody ever noticed or suspected anything?」

I wasn’t serious, obviously.

「Namrick: Well, we heard tales of magic gone wrong wiping out entire civilizations. Maybe you’re the one that made it happen and cast a magic on the whole world to erase everyone memories, even your own. But here’s the catch, it didn’t completely work, leaving part of them intact.」

Namrick said with a faraway look. He too was derailing into spewing bullshit.

「Allen: Ehhh… since you guys know better, I’ll leave it up to you to decide my origin story.」

I raised my hands, giving up.

「Ellin: Hahaha! Allen, it’s fine if you don’t want to tell us your real story, many adventurers decided to travel away and reinvent themselves. We know you’re a good person and our friend. You needn’t worry.」

The others nodded in agreement.

「Allen: …」

I looked at each of them in silence.

「Allen: You don’t believe me… really? I mean… you live in a world that has magic. MAGIC! Anything can happen!」

I made a little Allen appear on the table. The illusion quickly melted down and dissipated.

Grastel looked at the others.

「Grastel: Well, he has a point there.」

He shrugged. They still looked doubtful about my claim.

「Allen: Fine, I’ll tell you what, bring one of those truth crystal things and I’ll let you confirm my tale.」

I said, waving my hand in the air.

「Ellin: What if you have found a way to cheat on them? We know you have a way with magical constructs.」

She said narrowing her eyes.

I brought my face to my hands and sighed.

「Allen: Violet thought the same when she was interrogating me, but I’m still here and alive, am I not?」

A little exasperation was leaking into my voice.

「Namrick: Does that mean… you told her?」

Namrick leaned forward questioningly. I shook my head.

「Allen: No, I remained vague and she didn’t ask for specifics, besides she was more interested to know if I was some kind of foreign spy.」

Ellin raised an eyebrow for a moment and asked me.

「Ellin: Okay, let’s say we believe you. Are you able to go back?」

I looked into her eyes.

「Allen: No. And why would I? My life was dull and boring. I was a mere cog going through the motions, I had even forgotten how to have fun, I was alive but my soul was dead. True, I do miss some things, but here I can compensate with magic. Here, I have good friends, things to reinvent that don’t yet exist. And magic! I can do MAGIC!」

I really hoped I wouldn’t wake from this dream. Magic was the thing I had always longed for but never knew I needed.

The trio stared at me for a few seconds, unsure what to say.

「Grastel: Okay, from my experience of reading people… that sounded genuine.」

Grastel said before leaning back in his chair.

The other two shrugged their shoulders.

「Ellin: Fine, we believe you. Sorry.」

She said, scratching her head.

「Allen: Thanks. I trust you guys and I don’t want to lie to you. So… now you know.」

After that, we kept chatting for a while until we returned to the inn for sleeping.

Along the road, I caught rumors of the escalating war.

The demons had been working on subjugating various monster species like goblins, verklings, and trolls and were warring against human settlements. Other humanoid races like elves and dwarves had been left out of the conflict in an unspoken truce, and they wanted to remain so.

Apparently, humans weren’t too well liked among the other races since we breed too much and violate nature, so no one felt the need to go out of their way to help us.

That’s a little depressing, but they’re probably right. I just need to remember the smog and pollution from my world, we humans are pretty good at fucking things up.

But we’re also as stubborn as cockroaches. We can survive anything. Probably.

Ah well. My days of leisure are numbered. I wonder, how long will I be able to keep going until everything turns to shit?

I can only wait and hope.

Yeah. Because hoping has always served me so well.

My cynical sarcasm left a bitter taste to my mouth.