It was nighttime. The puddles of water and the chilly atmosphere betrayed the previous rain that had battered the outside.
A young man walked through the streets of Takido.
His gaze seemed lost in the immensity of the illuminated street. Where the puddles of water reflected the light bouncing off his face.
His wet hair let drops fall, brushing his cheek softly.
His expression looked lost, while the slow, tired steps he took revealed his mental state.
"I was blind," he whispered.
An expression of annoyance formed on his face.
"I was lucky not to have been a victim of some other faction. I was lucky not to have met any noble demon to be turned into a member of their peerage."
His expression darkened even more.
"When I acquired the Rationality skill, I thought I was becoming smarter, but I only became more stubborn."
'Having a clearer mind doesn't automatically make you acquire the right way of thinking. My thought process was still there. My ideology was still there.'
Shinka's mind was a mess. He had barely read a history book that Raymond had given him and couldn't help but think badly of himself.
The boy remembered one of the few times he felt like someone intelligent.
The memory was of him talking with Tomo and Hiro.
It was when Shinka told his two friends that even though his family was part of that 1% Christian population of all Japan, he was sure God didn't exist, and therefore, he considered himself an atheist.
Of course, a thought someone would classify as something productive for the child's mind. It was better if the little ones kept away from the imposition of beliefs, the anxiety or guilt of doing certain things considered bad in religions.
But when an adult acquires this thought, it's less dangerous because they can take many more things into account before deciding whether, for them, God exists or not.
Because for a child, someone young, in most cases, their reasoning to reach such a conclusion is usually "If I don't see it, it doesn't exist."
Shinka, as a child with average intelligence, understood that concept and adopted it as his natural ideology.
Something he dragged from the age of 11, he brought to the point where he is now. At the midpoint of his 14 years, he still thought that way, and it's not wrong; at least that would be something that wouldn't affect Shinka if his world were free of magic.
But he had bad luck.
His thought of "if there isn't something that confirms its existence to me, then it doesn't exist" only led him to make questionable decisions the moment he obtained the system.
He took his precautions, yes. But he simply didn't worry enough.
In the end, he was nothing more than another child playing with his powers, based on a childish excuse disguised as pragmatic.
"Since I obtained this power, I didn't stop to think about what I believed," he whispered, but after a few moments, he clenched his jaw in annoyance.
"No, I'm just trying to justify myself... I could have done it. Since I awakened the system, I could have trained my body, my mind, and my way of thinking, but I was short-sighted with my ability. I was very lucky not to have encountered a higher-category enemy from the beginning."
'Rationality allows me to think, evaluate, and act according to certain principles you have ingrained. That's why despite having something so powerful, I wasted it.'
"Ideology characterizes a person's thinking."
Shinka continued walking while thinking.
"I mustn't abandon what has built my thinking until this moment; I only have to leave certain ideas within it and learn others."
"I lived deceived about the world for 14 years of my existence, but I can't allow this period to lengthen. And with this power..." Shinka watched as his status window opened before him.
"I have no right to waste it." The system closed again.
"There are gods who do and undo as they please. There are also beings who only want to cause evil in the world."
He raised his head; drops of the drizzle entered his eyes, but he didn't blink.
"Beings that are beyond what I understand, but what I do understand is that I am very low on the food chain, and I was a foolish and inexperienced person when I obtained the system."
A self-mocking smile formed on his face.
"From this moment on, no matter how low the probability of something is, I must get to the root of the problem. Only in that way did great minds arrive at great solutions."
"Because if everyone had been like me, then fire would still be a miracle." The boy closed his eyes while the wind waved his hair.
Suddenly, beside him, an amorphous form of flesh began to form until it finally transformed into Shinka "Id."
Only he could see it.
Shinka's expression relaxed again.
"Even the id is quite useful when you want to be rational. I mustn't close my mind to new ideas."
If someone analyzed Shinka "Id," they would realize that it is truly a human being created in the image and likeness of Shinka "Ego."
Before, it was only a vague representation composed of energy to separate the primitive part of the subconscious and Shinka, but now it is truly a complex life form, the only thing that unites this and Shinka is existing in the subconscious world of Shinka "Ego."
And also that they share the system as well as the mana they both store.
Now Shinka was clear about his next training.
Thorough self-knowledge of his own form of existence. He had already made it clear.
He needed to make a change.
Shinka understood at the moment he read the books that everything about knowledge of the world's history was very hidden, and he no longer wanted to have his eyes closed, to not be blinded to a counterproductive method of thinking.
The only way to obtain answers was by seeking them and not leaving any stone unturned.
And the first stone he would turn over would be himself.
Since he understood the concept of the different dimensions of the universe, he asked himself many questions.
The Underworld, Heaven, Asgard, Olympus, and mythological places exist, so, could Limbo, Purgatory, and a place that reigns over all other dimensions exist?
And if all mythologies have things that really exist, then, does the spirit exist? Are consciousness and spirit linked to each other or are they different things?
Someone who had never read or investigated the thoughts about the soul of the ancient great thinkers now couldn't help but look to the past and find some answers.
Shinka asked himself an infinity of questions, but differently from before; he no longer expected to have answers miraculously.
In one way or another, he himself would find his answer, but he had to start investigating at that instant and not postpone it.
This time, he had no excuse.
"It's time that I truly start to make the system's name a reality."
A slight migraine came to his head.
"It's about time I hurry up." He whispered before his feet quickened their pace.