"The results are in," the teacher announced, pulling his glasses down slightly. The room quieted down. "The total sum of your guesses was exactly 1,562. Divided by forty students, the class average is 39.05."
Albert stared blankly at the whiteboard. By changing his answer from 26 to 50, he had intentionally shifted the total sum by 24 points.
"Two-thirds of 39.05 is 26.03," Hirano-sensei said, scanning the room. "The closest whole number is 26. Let's see who got it."
The room was silent. Students looked around at each other.
"No one?" Hirano-sensei asked, looking at his spreadsheet with a disappointed sigh. "The closest I have here is a 22 and a 33. It seems no one managed to hit the exact blind spot."
Albert kept his eyes locked straight ahead, completely satisfied. The math had been flawless.
Even after artificially inflating the class average with his fake answer of 50, the statistical weight of the other 37 students kept the target anchored exactly where he had predicted.
Suddenly, he felt a sharp poke against his right arm.
Maya bumped her elbow against him. Albert glanced to his side. Maya was looking straight ahead at the teacher, but she was smiling. It was a teasing, knowing smile. She knew exactly what he had done. She knew he had calculated the exact number and then deliberately threw the game to avoid attention.
Date: April 7, 2026 (Tuesday) | Time: 5:45 PM | Location: Shoe Locker
The school day ended. The sun was dipping below the horizon, setting the Zenith Academy campus on fire with deep orange light.
Albert changed his shoes slowly. He tied his laces with unnecessary precision, stalling. He watched Leo and Maya standing by the gate through the glass doors. They were bathed in the golden "Magic Hour" light.
Leo was leaning against the brick archway, laughing at something on his phone. Maya was standing close—too close for just a friend—looking at his screen, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. They looked like a movie poster. They looked like an ending.
They looked perfect. They looked complete.
Look at them. Perfect composition. Perfect lighting. If I wasn't here, they could walk home together. Just the two of them. They would walk home, shoulder to shoulder or they could stop by a cafe. They could talk about things that aren't me. If I simply turned around and walked out the back exit, this would be their reality. The silence would get comfortable. Maybe their hands would brush while walking. Maybe today would be the day. They could finally start the romance that everyone knows is supposed to happen.
Albert slammed his locker shut. Clang.
He grabbed his bag. The handle dug into his palm. He couldn't just leave. If he vanished, they would worry. He had to make them choose to leave him.
He walked up to them, gripping his bag strap.
"Hey," Albert said, keeping his voice dry.
"Finally!" Leo pushed off the wall, grinning. "I'm starving. Convenience store run? I need that fried chicken."
"Fried chicken?" Maya crossed her arms, stepping right into his personal space. "Absolutely not.
You have track tryouts this week, Leo. You can't be eating greasy convenience store food."
Leo groaned, throwing his head back dramatically, but he didn't step away. "Come on, Maya. Just one piece. I ran a million miles today."
"Zero pieces," she said. She reached out and lightly poked him in the chest. "You told me you wanted to break your personal sprint record this year. You need lean protein and clean carbs, not deep-fried oil."
Leo looked down at her. His loud, energetic grin softened into a quiet smile. "You're really going to hold me to that, aren't you?"
"Someone has to make sure you don't ruin your own goals," she smiled back. Her voice dropped to a softer volume, meant only for him. She didn't pull her hand back right away. Her fingers just lingered against his school shirt for a second.
"Yeah. Okay. You're right. Sorry," Leo said softly.
The physical space between them seemed to shrink. They were locked in their own private bubble, looking at each other with an unspoken understanding that lasted a beat too long for normal friends. They had completely forgotten they weren't alone.
Albert stood exactly two feet away. He watched her hand on his chest. He heard the way Leo's voice changed exclusively for her. It wasn't just friendly banter. It was intimate. It was the kind of natural, effortless chemistry that two people have when the rest of the world ceases to exist.
And right now, Albert was the rest of the world.
He looked down at his own hand gripping his bag strap. His knuckles were white. The sharp ache in his chest wasn't something he could calculate or turn into a math problem to make it hurt less. It was just raw, humiliating reality. He was a pathetic third wheel.
He was just a piece of background scenery standing entirely forgotten on the sidewalk while the main characters had their romantic moment. If he vanished into thin air right now, it would take them minutes to even realize he was gone.
"Actually," Albert interrupted. He kept his voice flat. "I need to go to the bookstore on the North Side. It's in the opposite direction. It's going to take a while. It'll be boring."
Albert looked them in the eye. "You guys go ahead."
It was a clumsy lie. It was the best he could do. He offered them an out. He offered them boredom versus freedom. This is their chance to spend time together alone without Albert.
Take it. Please. Just say 'Okay, see you tomorrow.' Be selfish for once. Don't wait for me. Walk home together in the sunset. Leave the extra baggage behind.
Maya didn't even blink.
"The North Side?" she chirped, hiking her bag up her shoulder. "That sounds fun! I actually wanted to check out some new stationery. My mechanical pencil is jamming."
"Wait," Albert started, his chest tightening. "It's really out of the way—"
"I'll come too," Leo said, already turning toward the North Side . "I can read the new issue of the sports magazine while you guys browse. Let's move."
They didn't look at each other. They didn't hesitate. The concept of separating the group didn't even process in their brains..
Albert stood frozen for a moment.
Zero hesitation. It's not that they want to come; it's that the option of leaving me behind doesn't exist in their source code. It's like they are programmed to be 'The Three of Us.' Even if it's boring, even if it's out of the way, they will drag this friendship over broken glass before they let it break.
"Albert?" Maya smiled, waiting for him. "Coming?"
"Yeah," Albert whispered. "Coming."
He walked fast to catch up. He tried to lag behind, but they naturally slowed down until he was slotted right back into the middle.
The walk was a slow, suffocating torture.
The sunset stretched their shadows long across the pavement—two tall, confident figures, and one shorter, hunched shape interrupting the space between them.
"So, did you see the training menu for the track team?" Leo asked, looking to his left.
"I did!" Maya answered from Albert's right. She leaned forward, craning her neck to see past Albert's face. "It looks brutal. Are you going to be okay?"
"Easy," Leo laughed, leaning forward too, his eyes locked on hers. "I need the challenge."
They were talking through him. Albert was physically there, walking in the middle, but he felt like a ghost. Their conversation flowed over him, around him, connecting them perfectly while he just occupied space.
They were talking through him. Albert was walking between them, but he was nothing more than air. Their conversation passed over his head like a tennis match. He could feel the connection zipping back and forth—the eye contact, the shared history, the chemistry. He was the net. He didn't catch anything; he just stood there, ensuring they stayed on opposite sides of the court.
Albert looked down at his feet.
This is my punishment. I tried to push them away, and their loyalty just pulled me closer. I'm physically here, but I'm haunting them. I'm the barrier preventing their shoulders from touching. I'm the noise canceling out their silence."
Maya bumped his shoulder playfully, pulling him back from the edge of the sidewalk.
"Earth to Albert!" she teased, her eyes crinkling. "Why so quiet? Are you calculating the optimal walking speed again?"
"Leave him be, Maya. He's probably mentally rewriting the textbook he's about to buy."
They beamed at him. It was genuine. They loved him. They loved their weird, quiet, smart friend. They would never abandon him. And that was the tragedy. Albert forced the corners of his mouth up. It felt like cracking plaster.
"Something like that," Albert said.
I'm not calculating speed. I'm calculating how much longer I can pretend I don't see the way you look at him, Maya. And how much longer I can stand being the only thing keeping you two apart. Your kindness is suffocating me. And the worst part is... you have no idea you're doing it.
They walked on, the three of them inseparable, bound by a golden chain of childhood loyalty that locked Albert in the center, slowly strangling the romance he was desperate to set free.
---
MILESTONE GOALS: THE ISEKAI PROTOCOL
Phase One: Earth is just the beginning.
Long before a dimensional displacement forces him to introduce modern ballistics to a world of swords and magic, Albert is just a highly logical observer trapped in the closed system of Zenith Academy. This is a slow-burn, systemic breakdown of his baseline life.
Watch as he treats social dynamics as an unsolved equation, proving that even romance is just a matter of calculating the correct variables. Using behavioral psychology, statistical probability, and rigid data science, he attempts his most volatile calculation yet: engineering a romance with the academy's most statistically improbable, S-tier heroine.
But Earth is just the tutorial.
---
The Power Stone Targets:
*500 Power Stones / Week: We will release the "Interlude: The Transition".
*1,000 Power Stones / Week: Chapter 1 of the Isekai Arc officially unlocks.
To give you an idea of what we are building toward, here is a glimpse into the future data logs.
---
What is Isekai Arc?
The Isekai Arc marks the exact point of Albert's reincarnation from Earth into a reality governed by swords and magic.
Narratively, the Pre-Isekai Arc and the Isekai Arc are strictly isolated variables. They do not overlap, nor do they directly influence each other's plot progression. The two storylines are completely independent, meaning the Pre-Isekai Arc can be read entirely on its own, and the Isekai Arc can be started directly without any prior context.
The Pre-Isekai Arc functions purely as a baseline data set, establishing Albert's psychological and intellectual profile. Albert will maintain his memory on Earth.
Once the Isekai Arc begins, the narrative rules shift. All magical phenomena and metrics are strictly quantified and grounded by scientific laws.
Within this new world, the human population is divided by a strict biological divergence.
Baseline Humans (Non-Mana Users): These individuals possess a genetic structure (DNA) entirely identical to standard humans from Earth. They completely lack the biological or etheric pathways required to interact with mana.
Variant Humans (Mana Users): These individuals possess a distinctly mutated genetic sequence. This specific genetic variance provides the physical internal "valves" and pathways necessary to generate, activate, and manipulate mana.
Albert will scientifically isolate and discover this genetic mutation through physical evidence during the events of Arc 8.
---
THE ISEKAI ARC ROADMAP
Albert wakes up in a world devoid of math and science. He remembers his life on Earth. The primary economy runs on magic crystals. Geological treasures like lead, palladium, and uranium are treated as useless dirt. The locals do not know their value, but Albert does.
Arc 1: The Village. The reincarnation begins in a primitive settlement. There is no standard unit of measurement; people measure distance in footsteps and time by counting heartbeats. Albert will introduce absolute truth. He establishes the metric system. He builds a 1-meter pendulum to prove the exact length of a single second. He crafts a beam balance, proving that one cubic centimeter of water equals exactly one gram. The foundation is laid.
Arc 2: The Conscription. Drafted by imperial law, Albert is forced to be a soldier in the front lines. With zero magic and average physical strength, he survives by becoming a shadow military strategist. His flawless tactical logic catches the eye of an ambitious princess aiming for the throne. She offers a cold, purely political marriage—a contract on paper only, devoid of romance—in exchange for his mind. Albert accepts, gaining the political power necessary to mine the geological resources he needs for his technological revolution. Her first order? A suicide mission to secure the military merit she needs to become Emperor.
Arc 3: The Fortress Paradox. Albert is deployed to an isolated, magically advanced kingdom that has terrified the continent for centuries. Every army sent to conquer it has been slaughtered. Every spy sent to infiltrate it has vanished. The kingdom's security scans for mana; anyone strong is immediately arrested. Allied nations tried sending weak, magicless spies, but they all died to the harsh environment or were exposed. Albert steps through the gates successfully. Why? Because he has zero mana, and he uses advanced behavioral psychology to perfectly blend into their society as an average, invisible citizen. His infiltration begins not in the shadows, but by enrolling in their prestigious Magic Academy. Upon enrolling in the prestigious Magic Academy, Albert is placed in the lowest-ranked class alongside students possessing what the instructors deem entirely 'weak and useless magic'. These students are relentlessly mocked by the academy's elite prodigies, who measure worth strictly by massive mana pools and high-yield destructive talent. However, during the yearly Academy War Game, watch as Albert scientifically weaponizes those exact low-tier magic abilities to systematically dismantle the arrogant high-talent classes.
Arc 10: Science Kingdom vs. Demon Lord. A slow-burn payoff. By this point, Albert has successfully secured uranium, gunpowder, and modern metallurgy. The Demon Lord's army has wiped out half the continent. The legendary Female Hero and her elite party are losing. When the surrounding nations collapse, the survivors are drawn to the edge of the map. There, standing defiant against the magical apocalypse, is a strange, towering country built of modern steel and concrete.
The ultimate calculation: The Demon Lord's army versus Albert's modern military warfare. The Demon Lord expects a glorious clash of heroic auras and demonic aura by using ancient magic and legendary swords. Instead, Albert delivers the overwhelming, deafening kinetic supremacy of a modernized industrial military, systematically annihilating elite spellcasters and armored dragons with the cold, calculated physics of high-explosive artillery and rapid-fire ballistics.
Disclaimer: Road map might change slightly.