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You have heard this story before.

A young man down on his luck, someone who had been orphaned since a young age, school practically passed in a blur, long hours working a job he hates, never had a girlfriend, thoughts of suicide the only thing to keep him company, a love for all things fiction, and a want for a better life. 

Then, as if the Gods of fate heard his wishes, they caused a young boy who just happens to say ‘screw it’ to survival instincts and jumps into a busy street to retrieve his bouncy ball that subverts all the laws of physics just to guide the boy to his demise.

Next, The young man who for most of his life has been constantly pushed down the stairs, set on fire, and kicked in the nuts by something called ‘Reality’, suddenly finds energy for the first time in years.

In the spur of the moment decision, he races into the street, pushes the child away, and turns just in time to see a truck barreling toward him at unavoidable speeds.

Said truck, for some odd reason, has tinted windows so he could not even see the driver who would reap his life. The first thought that graced the young man’s mind was fear, then questions of an afterlife, and finally a small brief wonder if the truck was sent by a mysterious being to snuff out his pathetic life.

Then, the newly appointed hero closes his eyes, accepts his fate, and finds that he is not completely adverse to the idea of dying right here, right now.

What comes next is all too familiar. 

Darkness.

And only after a full year of floating in the abyss, alone with his thoughts, did things change. Ideas of an afterlife were thrown out the window because instead of a God appearing as a world shaking beauty with jade skin or the sweet embrace of nothingness, the young man wakes up as a baby. 

Reborn, and after gathering context clues from his new parents, the world around him, and the foreign language spoken it becomes all too obvious which world he has been reborn into.

A novel, one he had read days before he died, and fortunately his ticket to a second chance to live as he pleased.

To chase his dreams, to have a loving family, to make meaningful memories, and to fix all his past mistakes.

Also, surprisingly enough, he didn’t want to put a bullet right between his eyes every minute of the day.

A true and tried drive to want to live righteously, and this time, not for someone else.

Such a story, no matter how generic it was, was my origin.

I had been the suicidal pathetic piece of trash who never took initiative for anything I wanted. I had been that lone wolf which always fled from blossoming relationships, the guy who opted to hide the pain in his heart behind a fake smile, a person who found comfort in depression daily, and the same man who found his only happiness in works of fiction.

Thankfully, that version of me was from sixteen years ago.

I now had a family I loved dearly, a goal for the things I want to do and be, made amends with all my past mistakes, and tried my hardest to improve upon myself.

Plus, I had long shed my arrogance, lost my scorn for most everything, dropped my rude behavior, no longer was quick to anger, and came to understand the true power of kindness. 

I was content, but I had also been too naive, wrapped up in living my new life and focusing so hard on myself that the years had seemingly passed so quickly without stopping.

 I had forgotten exactly where such a life was taking place in, but as my first year of high school came around, I had to face the music one way or another.

‘A Cursed Blessing’, a romantic comedy novel in a world much different from Earth.

Firstly, and the most bizarre of all things, was that land masses floated in the sky. Secondly, and a core part of the story, was that a scant few people living in the world of Kyriake were sometimes born with something called a Gift.

Weak abilities with so much variety no two were alike. Fortunately though, these Gifts were easily sorted into two categories, a Blessing or a Curse.

It had little to do with the names thankfully, and more so for what they could do.

A Blessing was a Gift that affected one’s self. The possibilities were practically endless in this regard, such as the ability to make oneself feel better, skip two steps on the stairs with ease, a Godly intellect in math, or simply to keep their temperature stable no matter what the weather around them happens to be.

A Curse was the opposite, and was a Gift that affected others. The ability to convince someone to want to smile, tell exactly what someone wanted to eat, perfectly give haircuts without touching others, or to make someone an inch taller for an hour a day.

They weren't very powerful, and at most times they were negligible or outright worthless, but to have one had always been seen as one being chosen by God. In a sense, it was true, because most Gifted did go on to create things that bettered the world.

It was in the latter line of thinking that the story took place. A vacant floating small island was turned into an academy twenty years ago, one where only those with Gifts could attend.

Golden Crown Academy.

The first school to gather the scattered extraordinary across the world to one place where they could live amongst others like them in a little world all too themselves. An academy where they did not always have to worry about people clinging to them just because they were Gifted or wanting to use them for one reason or another. A sense of freedom, surrounded by like minded people, and a place to challenge themselves to be better.

Of course, Golden Crown Academy was the location where the main character would go to cause havoc. Because he did not have a Blessing or a Curse, but both.

I always hated saying it because of how on the nose it was, but he had something called a Cursed Blessing.

I would say more, but there was little point, seeing as I refused to be a part of the plot long ago. Not out of fear, vindication, spite, or anything like that.

It just sounds… exhausting.

To have future knowledge about the girls that would eventually join the main characters' harem and how not all of them would have happy endings since unfortunately, a Cursed Blessing had the MC pick a single girl at the end. Not following the unrealistic route of picking all of them.

As a result, four unlucky ladies would be left heartbroken, and that was just the main heroines, as other girls at the school had not even gotten the chance to follow up on their crush with the MC because of the author and his love for drama made them unable too, most as a result of their Gifts or circumstances.

If I went, being reborn as a new man who hoped to be kind and good instead of my old narcissistic and cynical self, I would undoubtedly cause a splash trying to mend all their trauma.

So, with a heavy heart, I had long shut the idea of the plot away in the back of my mind.

Which leads me to now, looking into the bathroom mirror as I fixed my cobalt blue hair, met my golden colored eyes for a moment, and studied my defined chin and muscular neck.

Truly, being reborn as someone handsome had its plus sides, but I had already gone through the surprise and nuances of being in a new body.

The panic attacks, regrets, problems, excitement, and unrelenting anger had already played their part and I had long come to accept my situation in its entirety.

I was normal now, living in the world of Kyriake as a simple person, nothing more and nothing less.

Especially so as I looked down at my school uniform, which was as plain as can be. Black blazer buttoned up, white collared shirt, and an insignia of a white rose stitched above my heart.

The first year of high school was soon to start, and I would not be attending Golden Crown Academy, but Rose High. A mid tier school close enough I could regularly visit family.

It was perfect, and it seemed there were no strings of fate that would force me to attend due to bizarre circumstances. I was sincerely thankful for that part.

 “Cade!”

I blinked my thoughts away, realizing the voice that called my name belonged to someone very dear to me, someone I had long come to see as my actual family.

My little sister Citrus.

“Hurry up or we are gonna be late.”

Right, We had to catch the sky train at seven since the next one only arrived an hour later at eight.

I took one more look in the mirror, nodded to myself to assure my resolve to live in this world as a simple mob and pave my own future, and left the bathroom. Outside, I saw my lovable sister who was only a year younger than me at fifteen.

She had the inverse of my colors, golden hair cut short and deep cobalt eyes filled with anxiety and excitement. Citrus was an extrovert who had a strong love for anything sour or sweet, though despised pickles and anything remotely spicy, and also was a bundle of nervousness who hid it well behind her cuteness.

She was someone who was too caring for her own good.

Proof evident as the first thing she did was hug me, which caused the world to slow for just a moment as my body tensed. My mood suddenly skyrocketed, and I honestly felt like I could run a marathon or two exactly at this moment.

It was due to my sister’s Curse, [Caffeinated Hug].

Anyone she hugged would be given approximately two hundred milligrams of caffeine, a rather cute substitute to coffee I readily enjoyed every day.

I basked in the feeling of the instant kick of energy, since her Curse put the caffeine into effect immediately, not in slow bursts like most energy drinks. Plus, there was no crash later in the day, and I was not sure if it was due to her Curse or the fact a cute girl just happened to hug you every morning.

“Thanks Citrus.” I smiled genuinely as she pulled away. “I always appreciate the pick me up.”

She nodded, a smirk on her face deftly hiding the worry in her eyes, “You just seemed occupied the last few days ya know, I hate when your eyes get all emotionless and empty like that, it’s totally uncool.”

I waved her off as I made my way down the familiar hallway, dozens of pictures depicting my childhood on the right while shelves of plants were hung on the left.

“Yeah yeah, I know Citrus, just got some stuff on my mind.” I responded without turning back to her.

I was sure she was mentioning how when heavy things weighed on my conscience, I started to slip back into the corporate slave mode of my old life, losing all emotion and drive as I anticipated things soon to come that would most likely suck.

Some always say, ‘prepare for the worst and hope for the best,’ but sometimes I just prepared for the absolute worst, and hoped for just plain old worse. I guess some dregs of my old self still lingered, but in a sense, they were still part of who I am.

They were firmly rooted in the foundation of my beliefs, even if they changed, it would take more time for them to fade away completely. Or, at the very least, become scars I could look past to some extent.

“Cade, you are doing it again.” Citrus said from my side, not even cheekily grinning or wiggling her eyebrows like usual, full concern adorning her pale face as she looked me up and down.

“Sorry.” A reflex response when I did not want to talk about it.

My little sister got the memo, as we both settled into letting the rhythm of our footsteps be the only sound as we walked into the living room. The same silence followed us as we grabbed our bags hanging on the door and also as we exited our two story gray brick house.

Once on the street, we started our journey toward Redfield’s Tower, only a ten minute walk away.

As we went I could not help but look at the neighborhood I grew up in, houses closely knit together and most of them opting for longer rather than wider.

The world of Kyriake was very different from Earth in many ways, the key factor being that mana existed, but sadly only in the form of rune making.

The latter was due to the fact that mana was poisonous to the body, so anyone who wanted to sling spells would die in maybe a few days, their lifespan inherently depending on the tier of spell they used. A tenth tier spell would kill you instantly, while a first tier spell would give you perhaps a solid three days.

Because of this, wizards and mages were nothing more than fools and legends, the only thing close to magic being an Enchanter or Mana Specialist.

Of course, coming from a world without mana, I planned to major in Rune making and minor in Mana Observation. 

There was also the fact that things such as cars and phones were replaced by artifacts too, electricity and most other sources of energy also gone and substituted for mana instead. It was a renewable and clean resource, and after the war hundreds of years ago, it was only used for that.

Anyone trying to study weapon forging or combat magic was breaking somewhere upwards of fifty laws with just that, the reason was because it was a way to squander any hopes of rekindling the era where people made weapons of mass destruction like they were a common thing. Canons enchanted to shoot ammunition that spread an incurable plague while also having an explosion rivaling a nuke or more. Light blades that were as hot as the sun, traps placed randomly about that would induce insanity, and artifacts that simply warped reality to create monsters in enemy territory which could wipe out an area spanning the size of Australia back on Earth in a day’s time.

War, no matter the world, seems to never change.

Because of that, my idea of somehow subverting mana poisoning to become an actual wizard was trashed, my childish fantasies be damned.

On another note though, because of mana, modern architecture has been replaced in most parts of the world. To explain it more would be like Roman architecture mixed with the 17th century London look.

It was quite bizarre how sidewalks were still stone and not concrete, how enchanted wood replaced most places where steel would be, and how plastic did not really exist as most things were ceramic or glass, enchantments to grant the consistency of rubber or plastic used instead.

Beautiful was an understatement to describe most cities such as our hometown Horris, and as my sister and I walked down a stone street bustling with people moving about city squares and market places, I couldn't agree more. There were no asphalt streets anywhere, as only trolley carts, bikes, carriages, and sky trains were the people's choices of transportation. The trolley carts and scant few normal trains passed through marble roads snaking through the middle of paths where streets from my old life would be.

A spectacular world where people held on to the idea of beautiful and long lasting more so than cheap and practical.

“We need to go grocery shopping, Mom is still on her trip and dad is spearheading a new project in his company as a manager. Do you want to come with me?” I asked lazily as we continued to wade through the crowded streets, Citrus skillfully following behind me.

“I want to go to the cinema with friends from last year.” She suddenly patted me on the back as if to console me despite me having no outward reaction. “First days we usually go over a syllabus, meet the teachers and get to know our classmates, so we won't have homework which makes it a perfect day to hang out.”

“True.” I said. 

First Days of school were just an entrance ceremony, a cursory glance at future units, and lastly the infamous awkward self introductions in our homeroom class.

“Just be safe and make sure to let me know where you are going.”

“Alright!” Citrus happily said as she skipped next to me. “Hey, how do you think Cider is doing?”

I furrowed my brows at the mention of my other and last sibling of my family, my older sister Cider. 

She matched me in colors, long cobalt blue hair, golden eyes, and a scholarly air about her that she rarely dropped. Only when she was around winged cats or family did she occasionally show a smile or make jokes.

However, her curtness was not the problem, but the fact she was one year older than me and currently attending Golden Crown Academy was.

Cider had a Blessing, Citrus had a Curse, and it was not a secret that most of the time Gifted gave birth to more Gifted. The fact that I was ‘giftless’ would surely bring some suspicion, and the fact that I was not in fact giftless would make it harder to hide.

It was strongly advised that any Gifted attend Golden Crown, because the Queen hoped to instill that they could use their powers to help others. Pretty much, they didn't want someone who had a Curse to persuade others very easily to become a thief for example. Instead, they would hope the person could become a therapist, a manager, or even join the council to better humanity as a whole.

“She should be fine, I have heard great things about Golden Crown Academy, the best school in the world and all that.”

Citrus hummed in response, a distant look on her face as she stared at a moving red trolley that passed us. The silence, despite the constant moving bodies and noise, was stifling.

“Why don’t you go then Cade, with your Gift you could help-”

“No.” I was firm and cut her off, not wanting to go down this rabbit hole of an argument again.

It was just, how do you explain to your younger sister you are technically thirty eight going strictly by years, happen to read a light novel about said Academy where an MC gathers droves of women to him, and then proceeds to break their hearts during the last day of third year, giving hem no time to cope with it before they had to go out into the world and be an adult?

Or, even more troubling, the fact that the ‘fictional ’ novel you read was of this world called Kyriake which you were reborn into since you came from Earth?

In simple terms, you don’t tell her that, and I had long made an ironclad rule to never tell a soul no matter what. I would gain nothing but weird looks if I did it, so I had to use my old reliable excuse to get out of this situation.

“The girl I like goes to Rose High, so if I go anywhere else I will be heartbroken.”

It was stupid, but sometimes stupid beat logic if it was dumb enough. A big rock could squash a library any day of the week, as long as it was big, most preferably the size of a mountain.

The proof was clear on the reddening of Citrus’ cheeks, a normal response as any mention of romance embarrassed her a lot. She had young boys lining up every day to confess to her, thankfully with pure intentions because of their age, but once she stepped in high school it was sure to change. With it, her ideas of love and admiration would too, and maybe she would not become such a ripe tomato at the mention of anything romance.

Ah, to be young…. wait, I’m technically still twenty two at heart.

Damn, isn't that what old people say to feel young, I'm not really that old though… 

Damnit.

“Fair, just, won't you tell me who it is brother? You never mention her or anything, almost like she doesn’t exist, and I know you would never lie to me.”

It was a critical hit, but I had already buffed myself before the boss fight, so I simply shrugged as we came to stand before a huge clock tower reminiscent of Big Ben.

Redfield Tower.

“I like to keep my love life private, sorry sis.” 

A simply perfect counter, seeing as we dropped the topic and exchanged small talk of everyday things with the occasional thoughts on the upcoming semester. We did the previous while we entered the tower, and the expansive hangar-like building felt almost surreal. A huge crystal chandelier of rubies and diamonds, rows of arched windows letting in light, pillars of marble and stone supporting a glass roof, and dozens of silver and copper colored trains magically entering through windows as if they were not even there, also coming to land gracefully on designated areas protected by wards.

They moved through the air like clouds but somehow with even more grace and speed. The power of enchantments truly subverted the impossible like it was nothing, as people stepped off the carts and were completely unaffected by the fact they were flying at impossible speeds.

Signs boards with arrows along with people in deep blue police-like uniforms escorted anyone lost to their wanted destination, but for my sister and I the path was ingrained in us by now. We even saw people we knew, and we simply waved at the fellow students, though they wore different uniforms as they had chosen different schools.

Citrus was giddy as ever, pulling me along with her signature half smile before we finally found the loading dock we were looking for. The station’s sign board displayed it was headed for Mangrove Junior High, the school my little sister was attending at the moment.

She would not head for Golden Crown Academy till next year, and since Rose High did not have a junior high under it, we would be separating here. Citrus‘s eyes met mine, and for a moment, we just stood in silence.

It seemed it was time to be a big brother.

“You will be fine, if anyone can make new friends it will be you.” I instinctively gave her a head pat, which caused her to smile even wider at my touch. “Just don’t be too pushy, understand not everyone is such a social creature like you. Be too pushy and some will run away.”

She frowned, which somehow seemed out of place on her petite face, but once I saw her wiggle her eyebrows I knew she was going to try and tease me.

“Of course Cade, but maybe we should focus on you. When was the last time you even brought a friend home or even went out with one? You know Mother and Father worry about you, same with Cider.”

I chuckled softly and shrugged, “I have friends, three actually.”

“Really?” Citrus gave me a side eye glance. “Who could they possibly be?”

“Yeah, they are awesome.” I started. “Me, myself, and I. You have met them before too, thought you would have noticed by now.”

We shared a small laugh at my snark, the crowd around us smiling at our banter or giving us a look that said ‘it's too early’ and rightfully ignored us.

I patted Citrus’ head one more time for good measure, “I just need a good book and I will be fine, I’m the older brother so worry about yourself, need I remind you about your grades that were less than satisfactory?”

The girl before me visibly flinched, and in the next second spun around and entered the sky train as if she wanted to run away from my previous question. I found her plan to avoid it quite amusing, casually waving at her as I saw her take a seat at one of the benches.

With that out of the way, I made my way to my own sky train, mind elsewhere as I let my instincts take over to guide me into the train and through the sea of moving bodies.

With a cursory glance of the cart’s interior, I found an open seat toward the front, prompting me to head that way. With my satchel backpack set down, I looked at the only person who sat next to me.

She had long stripes of pink hair down to her back, sunglasses that made her stand out, a white blazer trimmed with gold, a crown insignia just above her medium sized chest, and a black skirt that was cut just above the knees.

It was Claire Clutz, the second heroine of ‘A Cursed Blessing’.

She noticed my presence, and I nodded politely while her eyebrows shot up in response. I paid it no thought, head still in the clouds as I patted the cushioned seat and reached into my bag.

I yawned silently, sitting down and getting comfortable as I produced a book from my bag and started to dive back into the heated war story of Pluto overthrowing a tyrannical king. It was quite refreshing to know that a lot of the old fiction stories I loved were missing in this world, which meant I had plenty of new and exciting reading material to wade through. It would take years for me to peruse all the classics of this world, and even more so to go back in history to note the interesting chain of events leading to how Kyriake was today.

However, embarrassingly enough, it took me till halfway down the page to realize what I had just casually said in my head. 

The puzzle pieces fit into place, my heart beat began to beat like a drum roll in my chest, and my forehead grew damp with sweat as I did a double take multiple times in my own mind to confirm the tantalizing suspicions I had.

Slowly, as not to make her notice me, my peripheral gaze settled on the figure only four feet away from me.

Oh no, it really was her, and she was staring right at me.

A Cursed Blessing had been a novel, not a manga where I could have an image to pin the name with, so I was stuck with character descriptions. The only one was the main heroine, as she had been the cover art for the story after all. As a result, unfortunately too, I did not instantly realize the second main love interest named Clair Clutz was sitting right next to me.

Also, if there was a ‘the worst character to meet in person’ list, she was just shy of first, coming in at a close second. Her Curse was one of the hardest to evade in person, and with what just happened when we met eyes, I could accurately guess I had been hit by it.

[Sole Search], a Gift that allowed her to read the thoughts of anyone she met eyes with, a truly diabolical power that had made her wear those generic beach summer sunglasses to hide her eyes.

Usually, she did everything in her power to avoid anyone’s gaze, but just to my luck, we had locked eyes for a single second or so.

Problem was however, and more obvious with her current shell shocked face, was that her Gift did not work for me.

No Gift did, I had the Gift [Black Field], which gave me the ability to temporarily erase other gifts and be immune to their effects when I so choose.

It was natural for me to always have it on, because there were plenty of Curses out there that made one always tell the truth or were bullshit like Claire’s and allowed her to read minds.

I did not want my secrets to be taken from me without my consent, so it came as no surprise her Curse did nothing to me as I had my field up.

So, I was one thousand percent sure Claire was currently being drowned with a wave of confusion and the glaring question on how a random boy she just met on a sky train could not be affected by her power.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, glaring holes into the book in my lap in hopes of her noticing I was occupied and did not want to converse.

I was also silently praying with all my might, hoping that she would just leave me alone.

Please don’t say anything, please don’t say anything, please don’t say anything.

“Hey.”

Fuck.