Chapter 6 — A New Beginning
The police magic car disappeared down the street.
Ren and his parents entered the apartment.
The moment the door closed behind them, the atmosphere changed.
His father's face twisted with anger.
"Today, you have really shamed us!" he roared. "If you had just told us what was happening, we could have handled it ourselves!"
His mother wasn't any calmer.
"I gave birth to you, fed you, clothed you, and raised you all these years," she said bitterly. "And this is how you repay us? By humiliating me in front of everyone?"
Ren looked at them calmly.
Then he scoffed.
"Oh, shut up."
His parents froze.
"Don't act like you didn't see the bruises on me."
Ren's voice remained completely calm.
"Even when I told you about them, you kept saying you'd tell the teachers."
He stared at his parents.
"And what did those teachers do?"
"Nothing."
"And what did you two do?"
"Nothing."
Ren's expression became colder.
"You two were just too scared to confront them yourselves. If you had actually handled the situation properly, I wouldn't have needed to create such a huge mess."
His father's face reddened.
"You... you dare talk back to me?"
He reached down and began taking off his belt.
His mother grabbed a hanger.
"I raised you for this day," she said angrily. "And now you dare speak to us like this?"
Ren didn't move.
"Don't you two dare lay a hand on me."
His voice was calm.
Almost unnaturally calm for a five-year-old.
He immediately pulled out his magic phone.
Click.
He took a picture of his father holding the belt.
Click.
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Then another of his mother holding the hanger.
His parents stared at him.
"If you so much as touch me," Ren said, "I'll make another scene."
His father's expression changed.
"I'll show these pictures to the police and tell them that you tried to attack me after everything that happened today."
"You..."
His father gritted his teeth.
"You wouldn't."
"I would."
Ren looked directly at him.
"I certainly will."
His mother hesitated.
"But what about after that?" she asked. "How will you live without us?"
Ren almost laughed.
"Why wouldn't I?"
He raised his magic phone.
"I have 75,000 Astra."
"I can live quite well with that."
His mother fell silent.
Ren continued.
"And if I need another family, I can always get adopted."
He gave them a faint smile.
"Maybe I'll even get adopted by a mage family."
His parents' expressions became ugly.
"Then you two can rot in prison."
The room fell silent.
Their anger remained.
But neither of them dared to move.
Slowly, his father lowered the belt.
His mother lowered the hanger.
Ren watched them.
'Just as I thought.'
They were all bark and no bite.
"Remember this," Ren said.
"I have your future in my hands."
His parents looked at him.
"I've already told the officers about how you treat me."
That was a complete lie.
But they didn't know that.
"If you try to kill me or even seriously hurt me, you two will definitely end up in prison."
His parents remained silent.
Ren turned around.
"Now go cook something for me."
He walked toward his room.
His mother stood there for a moment before reluctantly heading toward the kitchen.
His father sat down in silence.
Neither of them said anything.
---
Inside his room, Ren closed the door.
He sat on his bed.
Then he looked around.
"System?"
Nothing happened.
"Ghost grandpa?"
Silence.
"Grandma?"
Nothing.
"Hidden expert?"
Still nothing.
"Hello?"
There was no response.
Ren waited for a while.
Nothing.
He couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.
'Whatever.'
'Even if I don't have a cheat, I'll work hard and become the strongest myself.'
His eyes became firm.
'I'll explore everything this universe has to offer.'
That was his goal.
He had been given a second life.
He wasn't going to waste it.
'But first, I need to learn more about this world.'
Ren picked up his magic phone and opened the magic net.
He began searching for information about mages.
The more he read, the more surprised he became.
'So each rank of a mage is divided into three levels.'
He continued reading.
Soon, his expression changed.
'Damn.'
'Mages in this world are really strong.'
According to the information available on the magic net, a single spell from a Level 1, Rank 1 Apprentice Mage could destroy a room.
A Level 2 Apprentice Mage could destroy an entire one-story house with a single spell.
And a Level 3 Apprentice Mage could destroy an area roughly comparable to a tennis court from his previous life.
Ren stared at the screen.
'And that's only the destructive power of a single spell.'
The real problem was their mana regeneration.
Mages in this world could recover mana extremely quickly.
That meant they weren't limited to casting one or two powerful spells.
They could continuously attack.
'They can throw thousands of spells like that.'
Ren's eyes narrowed.
'That's insane.'
He searched for information about Rank 2 mages and above.
But there wasn't much publicly available information.
Most of it was restricted.
The information he could find stated that a Level 1, Rank 2 Adept Mage could destroy an area of roughly one square kilometer with a single spell.
Ren stared at the screen for several seconds.
'So that's the power of Rank 2...'
He continued browsing.
This time, he searched for information about the planet.
After a while, he gained a basic understanding of the world he lived in.
Humanity was ruled by a single massive federation and a single empire.
The nations within them were enormous, more like giant provinces compared to the countries of his previous world.
Humanity had already conquered the entire solar system.
Several planets were under human control.
Ren was currently living on Aurelia Planet, within the Elarion Federation, in Nova City.
He leaned back against his bed.
'A civilization that controls an entire solar system...'
'And magic is a part of everyday life.'
Ren found the world increasingly interesting.
He continued browsing for a while.
Then—
Knock. Knock.
Someone knocked on his door.
"Ren, come eat."
It was his mother.
Ren put his phone down.
"Coming."
He opened the door and walked into the dining area.
He sat down.
At first, everyone ate quietly.
The atmosphere was awkward.
The only sounds were their utensils against the plates.
After a while, his mother finally spoke.
"Ren... we're sorry about earlier."
Ren continued eating.
"We didn't know you were suffering so much."
"We wanted to help you."
"We were just busy..."
His mother continued explaining herself.
Ren didn't bother responding.
After a while, she changed the subject.
"Ren, how about you give the money to me?"
Ren glanced at her.
"I can keep it safe for you until you become an adult."
She continued talking.
She mentioned how dangerous it was for a child to have so much money.
She talked about protecting it.
She kept giving one excuse after another.
Ren simply continued eating.
He already understood what they wanted.
They wanted his money.
He didn't care.
They weren't his parents.
And he wasn't truly their son.
He was simply the occupant of this body.
This was a new life.
And he already had a goal.
He would become stronger.
He would explore this world.
And eventually, he would explore everything the universe had to offer.
After finishing his meal, Ren stood up.
He looked at his parents.
Their expressions appeared calm.
But their eyes were different.
There was greed hidden beneath them.
They were trying to coax him into giving them the money.
Ren didn't care.
"We'll talk about this tomorrow."
He turned around and walked back to his room.
Once inside, he continued browsing the magic net for a while.
He read more about the world and the magic system.
Eventually, he put his phone aside and lay down.
It had been a long day.
Ren closed his eyes.
Soon, he fell asleep.