Back in the city

At exactly seven in the morning the next day, Tamashi opened his eyes, his mind and body fully rested. Not wasting any time, he immediately got up and changed into some nicer-looking clothes. He went downstairs to make breakfast for himself and his mom, then quietly sat down at the dining table and dug into his toast with bacon and eggs, all prepared in a pan.

Besides the eggs, all the other ingredients had been purchased in the system store.

Just as he took the last bite, his mother, Himawari Ume, came into the room.

“Oh? You’re up early today. What’s the occasion?”

Tamashi took a sip of his mint tea, which he had sweetened with a tablespoon of honey, and responded with a satisfied smile.

“I’m going to the city for some business. While I’m there, I’ll also visit Mika and Kengo to check up on them.”

“That’s wonderful! Ask them when they would like to visit. It’s been so long since I’ve seen my babies.”

“Sure, I’ll do that,” agreed Tamashi with a nod.

It had been only about a month since Tamashi moved to this house with his mother, bringing her away from the city to keep her safe from the chaos that was sure to descend upon humanity when the System was introduced. The reason Tamashi was going to the city today was exactly because of that. He was going to rescue both of his siblings and bring them here.

Tamashi had built the house between Narusawa village, which was located southwest of Tokyo, and the Misaka Mountains, only a few kilometers away from Lake Sai.

It was a somewhat strategic location, protected from the north and west by the mountain range and being close to a large lake, which would be really useful to Tamashi in the future. The main reason he chose this location specifically was because his grandparents from his father’s side had lived in Narusawa, so it was a place full of memories for his family.

“Well, I’ll be going now,” announced Tamashi after finishing his tea. “I’ll let you know when I’ll be back.”

“Alright, honey, be safe!”

After hugging his mother goodbye, he stepped outside the house and activated the System.

“Use Fast travel.”

After saying those two words, a giant 3D map of Earth appeared in front of him.

“Tokyo, Japan.”

The map zoomed in, showcasing a satellite-like view of Tokyo. From there, he controlled the map until he found his usual spot in Nerima City—a dark alley without any surveillance cameras where almost no one ever went.

This feature was actually his own recommendation to the Guide, since the previous teleportation system had been super buggy, even causing him to glitch into a wall and almost die once.

It was also only possible to teleport a hundred kilometers from one’s current location, so Tamashi couldn’t teleport directly to his siblings’ side, since they lived outside that range.

After confirming the exact spot, Tamashi said, “Teleport,” and vanished into thin air.

After ninety-nine seconds—it took exactly one second to fast travel one kilometer—Tamashi reappeared in the alley just as suddenly as he had disappeared.

Glancing at his watch, he nodded to himself, then went to the nearest train station.

***

Inside a small two-bedroom apartment, an adolescent young man was lying on a bench, lifting weights and listening to some workout music when he heard a knock on the door.

Before he could even set down his weights, the front door was unlocked and opened.

“Hello? Anyone home?” called a young male voice.

“Tamashi? Is that you?”

Tamashi stepped inside, took off his shoes, and closed the door behind him before turning around again and facing the muscular man in front of him.

“Kengo, good to see you!”

It was Kengo Ume, his younger brother. Although he was the older one, Tamashi was a few centimeters shorter and much skinnier than his brother, who regularly worked out.

Kengo’s hair was straight and black, the same as Tamashi’s, but his eyes were brown, inherited from their father.

“Yeah, bro, good to see you too. Why didn’t you let me know you were coming?” asked Kengo curiously.

“Sorry, it was kind of last minute. Hey, um, is Mika here?” Tamashi answered awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck.

“Nah, she’s playing at her friend’s house. And before you ask, don’t worry—both of the girl’s parents are there, and no, there aren’t any boys,” responded Kengo, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

“You scared me there for a second,” sighed Tamashi in relief.

“So, why are you here? Is Mom okay?” questioned Kengo.

Tamashi’s smile was suddenly replaced by a heavy expression.

“That’s actually why I’m here.”

Kengo’s face instantly went pale, but before he could ask further, Tamashi continued.

“Don’t worry, nothing happened to her. It’s just... I think her mental state has been worsening again. She’s trying not to show it, but I still think it would be a nice surprise if you and Mika both came to visit. You know, to cheer her up.”

After a second of silence, Kengo punched Tamashi hard on the shoulder.

“Ouch! What the hell?” yelped Tamashi, pretending to be hurt.

“Don’t you what the hell me! You just scared the crap out of me, man!”

Rubbing his shoulder with his other arm, Tamashi apologized, “Sorry, guess I could have phrased it better. Anyway, do you think you could go get Mika? I’m thinking of leaving right away, so we can make it for lunch, and I have some work to do here, so you’d be helping me out big time.”

“I mean, I can, but... What about Do you have any plans? or, Is it cool with you if we leave for the entire day? "

Tamashi stared at his brother for a while, then let out an exaggerated sigh.

“Let’s be real here. You were just gonna work out all day or go play basketball with your friends.”

Kengo stared back, then hung his head in defeat.

“Fine, just let me shower first. I don’t want to go to a stranger’s house drenched in sweat,” snorted Kengo before heading to the bathroom.

“Please,” laughed Tamashi, “you just want to smell good so you can flirt with the hot moms.”

“Oh, shut up!” shouted Kengo, slamming the bathroom door behind him.

Tamashi chuckled, then went over to the fridge to grab a snack, only to find there was basically nothing but chicken.

Is that moron trying to get our little sister to grow muscles like his? She needs a proper diet, damn it!

Closing the fridge again, he just bought an onigiri from the System store and bit down on it with satisfaction.

Even though he mostly hated the System and the Guide, he couldn’t deny that it was simply incredible.

In actuality, the real problem wasn’t the system, but humans. Let’s say you gave the system to only a select few. Those chosen ones would then either battle each other, or team up, but the result would be the same in the end: a complete dictatorship over the whole world. Once a person reached a high enough level, mundane weapons like guns became completely useless.

But what if that potential, that power, were to be given to every single human alive—from little children as young as six years old, to pensioners in wheelchairs? Then, the situation would be very different. Before anyone could rise to absolute power over the people, there would already be no people left to rule over. By that point, humanity would have wiped itself out from the face of existence.

No matter how much the world’s governments tried to keep everything under control, they couldn’t put chains on every single unhappy human at once, and people were bound to rebel if given even the slightest chance.

“Anyway, let’s get to work,” declared Tamashi after finishing his snack.

It was time to do some cheating.