NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1: Inheritance
I, Ethan Carter, struggled to catch my breath in front of an apartment building located about an hour away from my house by car.
'Calm down! The preparations are perfect!'
'Isla's emotions have already been manipulated by mental magic, and I've perfected my lewd crest magic on her as well!'
'It's okay. Today is the day I'm graduating from virginity! And I'll make Isla my sex slave!
I struggle to control my heart, which is raging with excitement, and I start walking toward the entrance of the apartment, believing that my future will bring tremendous changes.
***
When I was in fifth grade, an old relative who lived nearby passed away. He was an elderly man known as a freak and disliked by his family.
Even from my perspective, he was an old man with many secrets that I didn't fully understand, but for some reason, he got along well with me and was very affectionate toward me.
He was surprisingly well-financed and often gave me pocket money, so I took advantage of this and continued visiting his house, where he lived alone.
A few days before he died, he handed me a sealed paper bag when I left his house. He instructed me to open it after his death.
A few days later, when I came home from elementary school, my mother told me that he had collapsed and passed away. I thought back to what had happened a few days prior and was surprised to realize that he seemed to know when he was going to die.
Various other things were being processed and disposed of, as if he knew he was going to die; and the adults in the extended family felt creeped out.
While my adult relatives were occupied with the funeral, I, as a child, was free. I decided to open the paper bag that the old man had given me. When I looked inside, it appeared to contain books.
When I took everything out, I found several old notebooks, about ten old books, and an ordinary envelope. First, I checked the envelope and discovered a letter addressed to me from the deceased man.
When I read it, I found it amusing. The old books were supposedly magic, and the notebooks contained the parts of the magic books already deciphered by the old man.
The old man had mastered the art of precognition magic from a particular book, and it appeared that he used this skill to make money through gambling. Unfortunately, he was already in his later years when he acquired the magic book, and he didn't have enough time to analyze it thoroughly, leaving the rest of the work to me.
While I was reading, I thought the old man might mock me with his claims. In the end, he mentioned that I probably wouldn't believe him, so he decided to address my doubts. He presented a method that he had written down. This method focused on gambling, specifically detailing the winners of all the horse races that took place over the weekend.
I initially thought it might be a joke and that the authenticity would depend on the weekend. However, when I checked the newspaper results, I was surprised to find that every race listed was correct. Realizing this might be genuine, I began to study the magic books and notebooks more seriously.
The old man had already interpreted the subtitles of those books, so I focused on the items that interested me first. Using his notebooks as a guide, I began searching for magic that would help improve my grades in school.
Over the course of several months, I successfully deciphered the magic that temporarily enhanced my brain speed and memory, making it my own. While applying this magic to myself, I worked to understand it further, and ultimately, I mastered the magic that allowed my brain and memory to grow.
The first option shows a significant increase but returns to normal once the magic fades. The second option, however, has a minimal rise, but that increase remains constant.
As I used them, I improved my ability to decipher and continued to master new forms of magic. Some spells enhanced physical abilities, magic that allowed me to understand other people's emotions and even techniques that could subtly influence how others felt, along with many other types of magic.
While deciphering the magic book, I became a junior high school student, and my interest in girls began to grow. I also learned and utilized magical abilities to become more attractive as a man, such as increasing my height and releasing male pheromones.
In my second year of junior high school, my grades improved remarkably, which I attributed to a newfound ability to enhance my brain and memory. As a result, I was recommended to pursue a special advanced course at the prestigious private high school affiliated with X University in my area. My parents were supportive of this idea, and one day, they decided to hire a tutor to help me prepare.
Isla Bennett is a first-year student in the Literature Department at X University. She graduated from the special advanced course associated with the private X University High School to which I was recommended.
At first glance, she didn't seem like a college student. Instead, she appeared to be a cute, slender girl, likely no taller than 150 cm, resembling a junior high school student.
Her face was undoubtedly beautiful, but it lacked expressiveness, and she regarded me with cold eyes. When I discreetly employed emotion-detecting magic, I concluded that she harboured a strong dislike for men, evident in her particularly negative feelings toward both me and my father.
Ultimately, she was asked to work two days a week during my first semester. I didn't struggle with any particular subjects, so I felt she was looking at them overall.
I was captivated by her beauty, and while she was my tutor, I used magic to enhance her feelings of love and affection for me. Fortunately, the other students Isla's in charge of decided to withdraw from X University, leaving me as her sole remaining student. This allowed me to continue my lessons with her into the second semester.
By the time I was promoted to the third year of junior high school, she had become much softer, likely due to the magic I continued to use on her. When I asked Isla about her high school experience, she mentioned that the Special Advancement Course was a place where her only focus was studying, which left her with few good memories.
There were two additional classes available: a regular course and a performing arts course. Both were joint classes, and they seemed like a lot of fun from her perspective. She informed me that attending a good college was possible through the regular course, based on what she had observed over the past year. Therefore, pursuing a regular course is also an option.
Before the entrance exam, Isla gave me a big smile and made homemade sweets to thank me for my hard work. In the end, I decided to take the high school entrance exam for the regular course at a private high school affiliated with X University because I wanted to be in the same class as the performing arts course.
My parents and junior high school teachers strongly encouraged me to take the special entrance exam, but I refused because I dreamed of being in the same class as the cute idols in the performing arts department. After all, I am a man.
Since I was expected to pass the examination by performing as I usually do, I succeeded without any issues. This was all thanks to the mysterious magic book.
Isla was especially pleased. According to her story, the tutor of the student who passed the extremely difficult high school entrance exam will receive a gold medal.
Perhaps because of this, she agreed to treat me to a home-cooked meal, just the two of us, to celebrate my passing the entrance exam. However, since our schedules conflicted, we ended up celebrating on a Sunday in early April, just before the entrance ceremony. As a result, it became a celebration for both my graduation from junior high school and my entrance into high school.
***
Let's return to the beginning.
Currently, I am standing in front of Isla's house, preparing to ring the intercom. In thinking about my future, I couldn't calm my excitement, so I used sedative magic on myself to manage my nerves.
When I pressed the button to ring the chime, a cute voice came from the intercom.
"Hello? Could I ask who is calling?"
"Good morning! It's Ethan."
"I was waiting. I'll open it right away."
The front door opened with the sound of a key being turned. Isla stepped out and greeted me with a bright smile.
Recently, my height has exceeded 170 cm, and she is short at 148 cm. As a result, I'm facing her while looking down.
"Welcome, Ethan."
"...Thank you for inviting me today."
"It's because Ethan is the main character today."
"Is that so?"
"Then hurry up and come in."
"Yes. Excuse me."
Isla invited me into the room, her straight black hair swinging down to her shoulder blades. I tried to hide my intense feelings as I stepped into the room, which was filled with the scent of her everyday life.
After I entered, Isla locked the door from the inside and moved toward the back of the room. My breathing became slightly uneven, knowing we were alone in that closed space, and I followed her, drawn to her presence.