Yosh, time to face whatever nightmare awaits me outside this room.
I need to figure out how this whole family situation works and maybe grab some food because apparently dying and getting reincarnated really works up an appetite.
He walks over to the door, his hand hovering over the handle for a second. Deep breath. Just act normal.
How hard can it be to pretend to be a regular seventeen-year-old?
He twists the handle and pulls the door open.
"AHHHHHHHHHH!"
"WHAT THE HELL—" he screamed back, jumping about three feet in the air and slamming my back against the doorframe.
Standing right outside his door is a girl with shoulder-length brown hair, bright green eyes, and what can only be described as the most annoyed expression he's ever seen on a human face.
She's got her hands on her hips and looks like she's been waiting there for hours just to yell at someone.
"FINALLY!" she shouts, throwing her arms up dramatically.
"Do you have ANY idea how long I've been standing here?"
"Why were you screaming?!" He shouts back, my heart still trying to escape through his throat.
"Because your room is freaking soundproof, you idiot!
"I've been calling your name for like two minutes!"
She crosses her arms and glares at him. "I was bored out of my mind, and you were just sitting in there doing... whatever weird thing you do!"
Oh. Right. This must be Lyralei. My sister. The prodigy.
She looks exactly like what I'd expect from someone who's supposedly gifted with light magic—pretty, energetic, and absolutely full of herself.
"Where are Mom and Dad?" I ask, trying to get my bearings.
"They went out a while ago," she says with a shrug.
"Something about restocking the shop or whatever. They said they'd be back for dinner."
He nods, processing this information while his brain starts working on something else entirely.
Wait a minute.
If I've got this system thing, can I see other people's stats too? That could be incredibly useful for figuring out how strong everyone is around here.
Hey, system, I think, can I view other people's stats?
[Understood, bastard host.]
Immediately, a translucent screen appears in front of him, but it's focused on Lyralei.
Name: Lyralei Jerick
Class: [CLASSIFIED]
Age: 15
Strength: [HIDDEN]
Speed: [HIDDEN]
Agility: [HIDDEN]
Stamina: [HIDDEN]
Body Toughness: [HIDDEN]
Endurance: [HIDDEN]
Mana: [HIDDEN]
Intelligence: [HIDDEN]
Magic Power: [HIDDEN]
Senses: [HIDDEN]
Mental Resistance: [HIDDEN]
"What the hell?" he mutters under his breath.
"What?" Lyralei asks, raising an eyebrow.
System, you bastard! Why can't I see any of her numbers? And why does she have Intelligence and Magic Power stats that I don't have?
[Intelligence is wasted on a fool bastard host like you.]
Oh, you piece of—
"Earth to brother!" Lyralei waves her hand in front of his face.
"You're doing that weird spacing-out thing again."
"I'm not spacing out," he lies, refocusing on her.
"What were you saying?"
Her whole demeanor suddenly shifts, and this smug little smile spreads across her face.
"Oh, I was just talking about the special training program I got invited to."
"Special training program?"
"Yep!" She practically bounces on her toes.
"It's for early bloomers like me. You know, the extremely gifted individuals who awaken their powers before the standard age."
She flips her hair dramatically. "Apparently, I'm part of the one percent. Pretty amazing, right?"
Early bloomers. Right, that rings a bell from all the information that got crammed into my skull.
They're incredibly rare—like, finding-a-unicorn-in-your-backyard rare. Most people awaken their abilities at seventeen and slower ones at eighteen.
but early bloomers can manifest their powers anywhere from fourteen to fifteen. The fact that she awakened at fifteen is actually pretty impressive.
But I'm about to act like this.
"Oh wow," he says with the most sarcastic tone he can muster, crossing his arms and giving her a smug look.
"Look at you, awakening early by basically doing nothing. That totally guarantees you'll be the strongest, right, brat?"
Her eyes immediately narrow, and she steps closer to me.
Even though I'm taller now—looking down at her from my new and improved height—her glare is fierce enough to melt steel.
"Excuse me?" she says, her voice dripping with indignation.
"I'll have you know that awakening early is a sign of incredible talent and potential!"
"Sure it is," he says, leaning down slightly to emphasize the height difference.
"And I'm sure you'll ride that early awakening all the way to the top without any actual effort."
"Oh, you want to talk about effort?" She jabs her finger up at his chest.
"I awakened one of the most powerful classes possible—Celestial Light Weaver! It's an epic-tier class, you moron! I can manipulate light itself, create healing auras, and even generate light-based attacks that can purify evil!"
She's practically glowing with pride as she continues, "I'm going to become the strongest light mage in the entire city, maybe even the kingdom!
Meanwhile, you haven't even awakened yet, so get ready to be taken care of by your brilliant genius little sister!"
The sheer cockiness radiating from her is almost impressive. Almost.
"Actually," I say, his own smug grin spreading across his face, "I awakened just now."
Her confident expression falters for just a second. "What? No, you didn't. You're just trying to—"
"Twin Demons Manifestation," he says quietly.
The world shimmers for a moment, and then there are two of him standing in the hallway.
Well, not exactly him—these clones have this slightly ethereal quality to them,
like they're made of shadows and malice given form. They're identical to him in every way, but their eyes glow with a faint red light.
Lyralei's jaw drops. Her eyes go wide, darting between me and my two demonic doubles.
"What... what the hell is that?!" she shrieks, stumbling backward.
"Oh, this?" he gestures casually to his clones, trying to look like summoning demonic versions of himself is the most natural thing in the world.
"Just a little ability from my unique-class awakening. No big deal."
The clones mirror my casual shrug perfectly, and I have to admit, the effect is pretty intimidating.
Lyralei stares at us—all three of us—with a mixture of shock, confusion, and what might be the first hint of actual respect I've seen from her.
"You... you actually awakened?" she whispers.
"Yep," he says, dismissing the clones with a thought.
They fade away like smoke. "So maybe hold off on that whole 'taking care of your big brother ' speech for now."
For the first time since I opened the door, my annoying little sister is completely speechless.