By now, it was evident to me, however ridiculous it seemed, that I must have been transported to this world at my death. I couldn’t tell if it actually was another world or some kind of afterlife.

Not that I would complain about it. I hated my old life, just a horrific series of failures that kept piling up one after another, forcing me into that loathsome NEET lifestyle that I could never leave no matter how hard I tried.

… But why am I not happy? Is it the fear, perhaps? Being thrust into this position means I’ve lost whatever sense of security I might have had in a previous life, and now I’m even more lonely than before. At the very least, I could finally be myself now.

I need to stop this right now. Thinking about my old life will just make me feel miserable. I’ve finally been granted a chance to start afresh. I must make it count.

Thank god I met Leif, though; he was a lifesaver. After the free drinks yesterday, I spent the entire evening grilling him about Ishtar.

He questioned me about how I wasn’t aware of these things, but I quickly brushed it off as amnesia. He made no attempt to disguise his disbelief, but he was remarkably mindful of my boundaries, so he didn’t ask any further.

That said, THIS WORLD IS THE SHIT. I FINALLY HIT THE JACKPOT. They’re capable of fucking magic. All I have to do is spend every day and night mastering magic, and I can finally live off the rest of my life as a sick sorcerer.

The way magic worked in this world was through using something called Mana, just like in those old video games.

It was some kind of energy that could be found wherever on Ishtar and was also thought to be the source of all life. Most magic may be classified into categories such as elemental, healing, boosting, and so on.

And there were plenty more, although they were less well-known or researched.

Some people were born with unique abilities that belonge only to them or their bloodline. They couldn’t be recreated no matter how much research someone undertook.

Leif possessed one himself but preferred not to specify, so I didn’t ask more.

Still, I’d sure love to know what it was.

Who knows, maybe I’m one of them as well. After all, why was I brought here?

I might become a renowned inventor or a wealthy entrepreneur using magic and my knowledge of modern technology. This might be the golden period of my life.

We had planned to go to the church today since priests possessed the ability to assess your innate abilities and affinities, thus helping you focus primarily on studying the kind of magic you could tap upon and use most efficiently.

This did not preclude you from utilising any other area, but you did, however, have to put in extra hours than those who were naturally gifted. It reminded me of how some people in high school were gifted in certain subjects and could breeze through any test with little to no effort.

Putting aside my childish/nerdy side for a moment, it wasn’t that good...

Famine and warfare were unending; for a century, two neighbouring kingdoms across the mountain chain had been at odds over the claim of sovereignty of a sacred tarn.

Apparently, after they split up over a succession dispute, they couldn’t decide who had ownership of a fucking mountain lake.

Since the kingdom we were presently residing in was created just 15 years earlier, riots had been the rule of the day.

Tayma was once just a city-state that had grown so wealthy it decided to conquer the neighbouring city-states. It was common here in Ayla to witness civilians assaulting the royal guards, setting on fire, anything belonging to Tayma’s royalty.

Recently the event that sparked the greatest uproar was when a merchant had set himself on fire in protest of the injustice that the people of Ayla had been subjected to.

On top of all that, of course, there had to be some crazy neet demon lord who declared war against the gods and humanity for no apparent reason.

Why is it that every fantasy world always has a demon lord? Humanity seems quite advanced too. How strong was he for no one to take care of him yet?

But it’s none of my problems. I’m not going to be the world’s hero or any bullshit like that. If that’s why I was sent here, hell no, I’m not exactly brave. I’m not going to change just because I have the ability to blast fire from my hands, especially for a world I don’t care about.

I’ll let that hero story to a more virtuous person. My plans here are straightforward: make some money, learn magic, live a simple life and find happiness here.

Also, move somewhere with a bit fewer wars and riots...