Alex’s a teen that only has his uncle left in his family. He moves to Washington with him but on his first night gets bitten by some strange creature. The next day Alex began to notice some strange things around him and thing happening to his body. Join Alex on his journey through the supernatural.

One evening Alice is walking through town when she is shoved from behind and falls. The last thing she remembers was the feeling of being shoved and someone reaching out to save her before being hit by the light of a truck. She finds herself in a new world full of questions and wonder.

Not too long after the surprising courteous visit of Malfoy, someone knocks on the door. Surprised by the sudden noise, Alex raised his head.
"Enter."
 
Behind the door was a redhead, little girl. Judging by her black robe, she, like them was a first-year to be sorted. When he sees those red hairs of similar color that he, Alex immediately know who she was.
"Hello, can I sit here?" Say the girl looking at Hermione, who look at Alex in the corner of her eyes, she capt a barely perceptible nod from him.

Sitting a little farther from Alex, and directly facing Hermione, she gives her a rapid look over.
"I'm Susan Bones." Say her, smiling sweetly at the brunette, who responds in kind.
"I'm Hermione Granger."
"Are you perhaps a muggle-born?" Hearing the two, Alex couldn't help but cringe a little, it was evident was the little girl wanted but didn't know how to bring up the topic, fidgeting uncomfortably. If she sees it, Hermione didn't say anything and respond.
"Yes." Trying to smile, making him shake his head at the shyness of the little girl while keeping an eye on the redhead on his side. Even if she was just a little girl, she was raised by a witch who was familiar with the political arena. He could only think of a reason why it is her that came.

"I came from a wizard family and some friends have been going to the other first-year muggle born to explain to them something, do you want to come?" When she heard that only she was invited, she turns her head to Alex.

"Can he come to?" Still keeping an eye on her while reading his book, he sees the sour expressions that mare the little girl face when she hears her, the message was clear, she was told to not take him in, confirming that she was of this sorry excuse of political gameplay by adults through their children.
"Don't mind me, I prefer to read my book, I don't have time to lost whit minions and morons." I blunt words and insult clearly didn't please the little girl, seeing her furious face, but she says nothing and drag Hermione out of there.

Since she lost her scratching slave, Skadi jump of the seat and return to her companion, making her way in his hood and fall asleep not too long after.
"Those kids are so easy that boring."
-Well, they are eleven years old, what did you expect?-
"I know, but still, not older year other than this asshole? And it's only because I knock off the little bitch and her butt plugs."
-It's me or your language became worst every passing hour?-
"We will live for the few next years with those little shit, I prefer to start now that slowly build up."
-True.-

While the two were complaining about the incoming headache, a little bell resound on the outside of his door. Raising for his seat, he came opening it and see the trail lady coming from the same way of Draco before. Before she could speak, the lady was slightly perturbed by the crazy glint and the maniacal smile slowly making his way on his face, that would have made a certain grey and blue cat ( I prefer this version that of the pink and purple one of Cheshire cat.), worrying her greatly. He returns to his trunk and opens it before taking a purse with him to her.
"Lady, how much for the entire trail minus the pumpkin juice." She froze a second before looking worryingly at him.
"Are you sure sweety, it won't be cheap, don't you want to keep some money for the year?"
"It alright Lady, I have some tens of Galleon left from the Alley, and this way you can rest until we arrive." Say him with a sincere bright smile.

At first, she was worried that he would spend all his money but seeing the amount of gold coin in the purse, she smiles warmly at him, even more, when he was taking from her the burden to go to the rest of the train to sell her goods.

"Alright, sweety." With a decade of experience, she rapidly goes through her entire stock of good, unloading them at the same time on the nearest seat while counting.

Four minutes later, the door closed as the lady turn around and his purse lighter of ten Galleon and three sickle. A second later, everything vanishes and organizes itself in his storage, leaving him with three fudge flies pack and two sherbet lemon, while reading his book.

As the hour's pass, Hermione returns only half an hour before they arrive to change in her robe. seeing her sour face, he sees that she didn't like what she heard.
"So, how was it?"
"I can't believe it! Did they take us for morons?!"

Hearing her outburn, he was surprised, until she rent how about they have to say that they need to be united again the old family because they wanted to control them and only them could protect them. At first, it wasn't extravagant but the more she goes on the more he frown. The entire reunion has turned on a single subject, that James Potter was the champion of Muggle-Born, that they must follow him because he was the Boy-Who-Lived and they were only safe because he rid the world of the evil and when he would be Lord, give them the best place. He, who didn't have knowledge of the mundane world, even with a mother coming from this site, says that he understands them and will protect them for their worship. When she was done, fifteen minutes later, he exits the compartment to let her cool down and chang herself.

"So let me see if I'm right. The git wants your pledge in order to protect you, and the more you worship him the better the place he would give you in the wizarding world?" Seeing he nod he couldn't help but facepalm.
"How his he different that Voldemort when he recruits for minions and promises power for those who follow him? At least, Moldyshort was magically powerful. How much have seen through Hitler in making?"
"None, they were here even before I and they seem to have told them stories of the old war to make them see them at the good guys."
"Definitely a prepared speech, I can't see him think of something like that. Did he say something of me?"
"Yes, that you are a Slytherin and I shouldn't listen to you, that you are a dark wizard."
"How he says that good. Did they say something about sweets?"
"Yes, they were complaining that the Lady hadn't still past, apparently he had promised them some. How did you know?"
He cackles madly at this, under her shocked gaze until she thinks of something and shakes her head, strangely already used to his strange behavior.
"Serve them right!"
Event CS sweatdrop at the childish attitude of him. 

The rest of the ride was peaceful at no one came to fetch Hermione, only proving her that they don't care for them, only what they could bring them. When the train stop, the night have already fallen. Shrinking his trunk and sliding it in his pocket, he tells her to leave it there, that it will be taking care of. When appear, few gazes turn to him, in particular, the cat on his shoulder. Like his trunk, he wouldn't let any of the house-elf to take her from him, more so when it wasn't his elves that were in charge of the baggage.
Like in the books and films, they were taken by Hagrid by the scenic view, and as responsible adults they were, leaving children to cross a freezing lake in the dark with dangerous creatures in it. Obliviously, none of them knowing it other than Alex.

He equally turns off the old witch and her bullshit for house unity and family when we all know that the school was a cesspool of bigotry, harassment, and magical aggression while deluded adults look the other side.

Once they were lead inside the hall proper, silence fall as she came to the stool were the poor excuse of a hat was sitting and singing an equally poor song. When you know that he had an entire year to think of something it was rather depressing that it was it best. Taking her scroll open, she finally calls the first name.
"Abbot, Hannah!"
The little blond head wasn't one of the ring leaders, from Hermione's story, she seems more from the sheep mentality that anything else. The second the hat was on her head, he confirms her trough.
-"Hufflepuff!" Not that he had something against them, but other than their house the would follow the majority, so...
"Bones, Susan!"
-"Gryffindor!"
'Okay, that new.'

Other than her, the following were the same, except that Lavender Brown ends in the badger table rather than the lion one. Following the order, he knows he wouldn't be far. When she was about to call the next name, the entire all see McGonagall frown before a surprised and lost expression appear. Turning her head to the teacher table, she cast a rapid glance toward one of them before retaking her initial position, under the perplexed crowd. The reason wasn't long to know.
"Evans, Alexander."
Under the shocked face of Lily Potter, Severus Snape and an Albus Dumbledor who suddenly stood straighter on his throne, a crimson redhead green-eyed made his way to the stool, the white cat on his shoulder only adding to the surreal situation.

Before the hat was put on his head by a somewhat distract McGonagall, he feels his Ocllumancy barrier being triggered, clamping on them hard, the entity was rebound to the limit of his mind.
'I don't think I give you permission to invade my mind.'
'What, How?! No one had ever bloc me out before. Godric and Rowena enchantment was to allow me a free pass, how could you defend against their enchantment?'
'Those two where far from being the best enchanter in their time, You will not be the first to breach them.'
The hat was miffed that his creator wasn't put in the young face but couldn't say anything as he was indeed unable to enter is mind. The reason was simple, first, his soul was fused with a greater artifact that protects his through and it was only strength by his racial change, his mind was nothing human, thus the hat couldn't enter.
'How can I sort you if I can't see your mind?'
'Simple made me in the House I want.'
'Why?'
'Simple, I want to mess with them all.'
Sighing, the hat couldn't help but to go for it and announce.
-"..."

When power far above you decide that they want to wrench the canon, by bringing you in the game, sometimes the wisest thing to do it just to tag along and just try to make this encounter end the most rapidly possible.

who knows, maybe something great will come out of it? After all, what could be worst than being taken out without your consent out of your world, only to be thrown in the darkness?

Alex was walking to the library. He had a strong love for thriller books. He always find time to read, even under hectic workdays. The library was just one block away from his office. So, he visited it on a daily basis and borrowed books often. As usual, he entered the library to greet the librarian, who was a very friendly man. But, he was nowhere to be seen today. Instead a young lady occupies the librarian's chair. 
Alex felt awkward, because he waved to the seat as usual, but today, the person on the seat was a lady that he didn't know. Catherine was at first surprised to see a stranger waving at her like he knew her well. Then, she understood what happened, by the look on Alex's face. He had a sheepish look on his face. Anyway, he walked up to the lady and asked "Is Martin on leave today? ". "No, he was transferred from here. It was unexpected. And, I'm the new librarian ", she replied with charm. "Oh, I didn't knew that! Why would he be transferred, all of a sudden? ", Alex questioned politely. "Well, this is a government library. They do such things more often here. Only god knows, what is in their minds" she chuckled. Alex smiled and extended his hands to her "I'm Alex, one of your daily faces". "I'm Catherine. Pleasure meeting you", she replied.
Alex was impressed by her. A good-looking and charming young lady. He went on to his world of thriller books. As usual, he started choosing a book. Presently, he was into Dan Brown books. Such a classy writer! Alex always thought about the work, the writer should've done, inorder to complete the book. And he felt Dan Brown outruns most of the authors in that aspect. He took out Digital Fortress from the collection and went over to his usual seat, near the glass window.
After spending an hour on the book, he went to the librarian to request a borrowal, before leaving. Catherine grinned at him. "Where are you from? ", Alex asked her. "I live nearby, just 5 blocks from here", she replied. "Oh, I thought you were transferred from a long way to here", Alex said. "No, I'm new to the profession. And I was lucky enough to grab an opportunity in this library", she answered his doubt. "Ok. I would like to borrow this book...", Alex continued and took a few minutes to leave the library. He discovered a newfound liking for Catherine. He found her extremely beautiful and charming. Alex walked back home, thinking about Digital Fortress, but with intervening thoughts of Catherine from time to time.

A working man tackling some twisting situations that unfold in front of him, when he discovers that his wife is in an affair with someone. 
Alex works as the senior hacker in one of the most famous private intelligence agency. His wife Catherine seems to have an affair with a random guy, Steve. Or, that is what it seems to be happening. Alex is a brilliant guy, who faces his problems wisely. He finds that Steve targeted him, by using his wife as a bait. 
Why is Steve targeting Alex? Who is Steve? What about the affair? Find out the answers by diving into this thriller- pool!?

Ch.3 - A Second Chance
The first thing he heard was the ringing of an old alarm clock. He opened his eyes and was surprised at the brightness that greeted him. As his eyes start to focus, he jumped up when he realized where he was.
    Why was he there? Was it a trick, he thought.
    Alex had woken up in his old bedroom at his grandfather's house. Furthermore, his body has shrunk down to when he was a child.
    It couldn't be, he thought. He was a child. He was in disbelief as he looked at his reflection in the mirror.
    He took off his shirt to examine his body. What has surprised him the most was the lack of scars that he accumulated over the years on his body.
    He put his clothes back on and ran out of the room. He descended the stairs and heard the sound of someone cooking in the kitchen. There he saw his grandfather preparing a simple breakfast.
    He noticed the newspaper and picked it up. It was dated 'Saturday, 24th of July, 1982'. He remembered that specific date. It was the day he got his Hogwarts letters. Meaning, if he really was back in the past, someone should be visiting them to deliver his invitation to Hogwarts.
    "What has gotten into you, boy? Go and change your clothes, then you can eat," said the old man standing by the stove.
    "Nothing, Grandpa Joe. I was just – I'll get changed right away," Alex said.
    Joseph Grey was a hard man. He fought in the Second World War and continued to serve in the military after the war until his retirement with the rank of Sergeant. He lived a quiet life alone, until, he got custody of his grandson after the sudden loss of the boy's parents.
    Alex did not have many fond memories of his grandfather. He remembered the old man as a strict disciplinarian with little patience for children. It was only in his adulthood that he appreciated what the man had done for him.
    After going back to his room, he finally allowed himself to slow down and analyze his situation. He stood in front of the mirror still in wonder seeing his younger self.
    If he was really back, how exactly did it happen? The last thing he remembered was fighting with all he had against the Death Eaters in the Forbidden Forest.
    Did Hagrid successfully escaped with Harry? He must have died that night. Then, he woke up as if everything was a dream.
    But it couldn't be a dream. He remembered them so vividly. He remembered things and people he wouldn't have known about had it never really happened.
    And finally, he could feel the magic inside him. It was wild and excitable, just like a child's. And yet, it was also more powerful and pliant, like the magic of a trained wizard. Even if it was some complex illusion, he had to act as if it was real, and live his life accordingly.
    But that was the biggest question. What exactly was his life? Was he reliving his old life or was he living a new life?
    No… he couldn't possibly act like the past didn't happen. His existence was merely the continuation of his journey.
    His past was just a portion of his life that he lived in a different timeline. Yes… That was what it was, just a different timeline, and not a different life. He could take whatever he learned from that past, and use it to create a different future this time.
    He had to do things differently. After all, only an idiot would do the same thing and expect a different result.
×××
After he had his breakfast, the doorbell rang. It was the visit that he was expecting. Alex hurried up and opened the door. There, standing by the doorway, was Prof. McGonagall.
    She was wearing a long green dress and carrying an old looking leather purse. She looked like a lady in her 50's. However, Alex knew she was much older than that.
    "Hello, ma'am. Can I help you?" asked Alex, even though, he knew exactly what her reason for visiting.
    " Good morn. My name is Prof. Minerva McGonagall. May I speak to your guardian?" she said. She maintained a respectful tone while being frank.
    "Please come inside, professor. Let me just call my grandfather," Alex said before running to the living room where the old man was reading the papers.
    "Grandpa, a lady is here to speak to you. Said she was a professor."
    The old man stood up and greeted the professor. They went to the living room to discussed what she came for. She told them quite simply about the existence of magic and how Alex was a wizard, someone capable of magic. His grandfather only nodded in agreement, he certainly had witnessed some odd things happening around his grandson. This magic seemed to explain it all.
    Then, the professor explained what Hogwarts is and that the boy is expected to learn how to use his magic according to the laws of their world. Alex was sitting by the side as he listened to a conversation that he had heard long before. McGonagall was doing a really good job explaining things simply to a muggle. Obviously, she had done this a thousand times before.
    "Well, if it would help him how to properly use his gifts, then I would be glad to send him to, um, Hogwarts, was it?" said his grandfather.
    "Very well Mr Grey, take this paper with the address for the Leaky Cauldron, let us meet in front of the tavern at 9 am next Saturday. From there we will go to Diagon Alley where we can acquire all the things required for the young lad to attend Hogwarts. Just keep in mind that we will be going with other families to do our shopping," said the professor.
    And after that, the professor said her goodbyes and left. Alex was thankful that they lived in London. He didn't know how his grandfather would react if he had to travel a long way just to help him shop for his school things. He wondered how other muggleborn families who lived in Ireland or Scotland managed in their first visit to Diagon Alley.
 ×××
A week had gone by and they arrived at Charing Cross as written in the piece of parchment that McGonagall gave them. He had to point out where the tavern was exactly before his grandfather could see it as it was hidden with a muggle repelling charm. It seemed that McGonagall was already there along with a family of three.
    Alex recognized the boy with them. It was Matthew Nichols that ended up in Gryffindor house. Although, there was little else he could remember about him. He introduced himself to the boy and decided that he would be paying more attention to the other muggleborn students this time around.
    They waited for three more families to show up before finally entering the tavern. Prof. McGonagall greeted the proprietor of the Leaky Cauldron, Tom. She, then, led everyone to the back area of the tavern where she used her wand to tap some particular set of bricks on the rear wall of the yard.
    The wall folded unto itself and everyone, except, the professor gasp in amazement. Alex even played along with the other kids, saying things like 'wow' and 'wicked'.
    The professor first led them to the Gringotts Bank, explaining that they would have to exchange their monies as they only accept wizarding currency in Diagon Alley. They, once again, were stunned in amazement and wonder as they saw the goblins managing the bank.
    Just as he remembered, a wizard Galleon was equivalent to around 20 British Pounds. The rate only seemed to increase as inflation in the muggle world happens. The wizarding world, however, do not have inflation. While the things on the market could come up and down in price, the value of the currency was the same.
    The goblins control the production and storage of wizard currencies, and, they kept its value up by limiting production. Every muggleborn had probably wondered at the mineral value of the coins, however, they soon learned that attempting to melt them would only result in the coin reverting to tin. The goblins had simply enchanted them to appear as gold, silver, or copper. It was similar to how muggle currency was made of paper regardless of its monetary value.
    Buying their school supplies was done quickly as the shops were located in proximity to one another. The last stop they visited was Ollivander's Wands.
    Just as in the other timeline, the wand that eventually chose him was a 10 ½ inches long red oak wand, with a unicorn hair as its core. As he recalled from his knowledge of wand lore, red oak wands were pretty rare and compatible with those who are quick thinkers, a great wand wood for duelers. As for unicorn hair, one of Ollivander's three superior wand core, it was known for its loyalty and dependability which made it ideal for charms, despite not being as powerful as dragon heartstring. Alex was glad to be reunited with the wand that saw him through until the end.
    After all the shopping was done, the total money they spent was around 40 galleons. Grandpa Joe gave him the remaining 10 galleons that he had left and told him that it was for him to use when he was in school.
    Spending around 1,000 pounds for the whole school year was not that bad, especially considering it included boarding and meals. Hogwarts was a state-run school, so, all the students and parents only have to spend to buy school supplies and uniforms for each year.
    Grandpa Joe had a good impression of the wizarding world. After all, few governments in the world can offer free tuition to all their children. It was one of the reasons why Alex couldn't be honest about his hardships with him in the other timeline.
    The school term would start on the 1st of September as always. Alex only had a month to prepare for Hogwarts. He still had to make a trip to Diagon Alley, so, he politely asked his grandfather's permission to go. Since Grandpa Joe always encouraged him to be more independent, he gave his permission readily.
    When he got to the Leaky Cauldron, he went to the back area straight away. He checked his surroundings before using a disguise charm that he learned in his years working as a smuggler on himself. Since he knew that he didn't have the Trace yet, the few weeks he had left was probably the only chance he had to get started on how he was planning on changing the wizarding world.
    He justified to himself that that was the reason why he was given his second chance, to avoid the future he experienced in the other timeline. He knew exactly what kind of future was waiting for him if he chose to do nothing. Whatever he would have to do to accomplish his goals would be justified by its end results.
    He looked like an adult man by the time he entered Diagon Alley. His clothes were transfigured into a long robe. There was nothing noteworthy about his face. He had learned that using a bland appearance was more practical when trying not to stick out.
    Unlike a Polyjuice transformation, his disguise was only an illusion. However, unless he entered certain places that had wards that can detect disguises like Gringotts, no one should be able to see through his disguise. The place he was heading to was surely not that kind of place.
    He turned into a small passage called Knocturn Alley and found the shop that he wanted to visit. Borgin & Burkes was the one-stop-shop for any shady wizards or witches. Therefore, it didn't have any wards that would screen their customers to maintain their discretion. That was also the reason why they managed to stay in business.
    He went there to buy a book about the Mind Arts. He figured that the most important thing he could not risk being revealed was his knowledge of the most likely future. He already had a rudimentary grasp of Occlumency from the few things he heard from others. He had already formed some basic defences of his mind, and, he could detect any attempt to invade his memories unless it was done by someone with very advance skills in Legilimency.
    He found a book that met his need on a dusty shelf, 'Mind Arts: A Guide to its Practices and Ethics' by Eldred Worple. The shop keeper did not ask him any questions. Alex paid 4 galleons for the book. He knew it was not a book that was openly distributed, so, he did not comment about its price.
    When he got back to his home, he immediately reviewed everything he knew about the mind arts. Occlumency and Legilimency required a person to be in control of his or her feelings. That was something he would never be able to do the first time he went to Hogwarts. But with the mind of an adult and the experiences of someone who lived in the world of secrecy and lies, he was confident that he can be great with this particular branch of magic.
×××
The following week, aside from practising the mind arts, he had also done some research in the local library about the criminal groups in London. One night, he sneaked out of the house after he was sure his grandfather has fallen asleep. He used 'Apparition' to go to Camden where his first target was located.
    After popping out in the middle of a park, he cast a muggle repelling charm on his clothes. A few minutes of walking and he arrived in front of a warehouse building.
    "Homenum Revelio,"  he said waving his wand at the direction of the building. As a result, he was able to locate all the people inside the building.
    While still under the repelling charm, he approached the entry door. "'Alohomora'," he cast at the doorknob.
    It opened without complication. He found two armed guards who barely had the time to react.
    "Stupefy!" Both guards were knocked unconscious.
    Alex approached them fired severing charms at their throats. Just because they were muggles did not mean that he would be careless.
    He did the same to five other people on the ground floor before heading to the upper level. After dispatching two more thugs, he finally went into the office room where the leader of the criminal group was sitting on a leather couch watching late-night television.
    "Petrificus Totalus!" he fired at the man.
    He wanted to make sure that the man was conscious. Then he walked in front of the unmoving man and pointed his wand on the man's head.
    "'Legilimens'!" he said, louder than any spells he cast that day.
    It was the first time that he was using that spell on a person. He wanted to be thorough.
    "Where are you keeping the money?" he asked. 
    The man did not reply as he was completely paralyzed by the spell. However, using questions like that was enough to bring up the answer to the surface of the man's mind. This was the extent of Alex's skills with Legilimency at the moment.
    After getting the information that he wanted, he killed the man with the same method as he did the others.
    Alex took out a brush that he brought and write on the coffee table using the blood of the dead man. It said, 'We are everywhere,' followed by a circle. He was hoping that this would make the police suspect a rival criminal group instead widening their search for the killer.
    He found the safe and open it with a spell. There he found about 150,000 pounds in cash. He quickly put them all in his bottom-less pouch. He wiped his fingerprints on the safe and then made the brush disappear with simple household charms.
    Alex repeated the same operation several times, that week. He only stopped when the news was beginning to sensationalize his raids, calling it the works of a new criminal syndicate called 'The Circle'.
    He had around 750,000 pounds which he divided among several accounts in multiple banks throughout the city using a false name and a disguise, only keeping 50,000 pounds for himself to carry. He made sure no suspicion was raised with a discrete Confundus charm on the bank personnel that he talked to. He used a number of P.O. boxes he paid for in adjacent neighbourhoods, not from where his grandfather's house was.
    After that, he went to several stockbrokers and invested his money in some computer and automobile companies. He had also taken the advice of the brokers that he talked to and used a portion of his funds in buying more stable stocks.
    Alex just had to remember which names and disguises he used on which particular case. With the memory retention ability that came with 'occlumency', it was easily done. Either way, he made sure that his financial agents were agreeable to receiving instructions from him via mail. This way, he was reasonably assured that he would always have an income in the muggle world.
    He made a last trip that summer to Diagon Alley and exchanged more galleons with the goblin bank. He requested a private office where they conducted the exchange, that way, no one was privy to the fact that he was carrying more than a thousand galleons in his pouch.
    He went around Diagon Alley and bought whatever he thought was useful to him. He purchased a travelling trunk complete with expansion, feather-weight, shrinking, and security charms. He bought a complete set of wizard outfit, so he wouldn't stick out too much every time he decided to go out in the wizarding world. He also purchased all the books required for the 7-year curriculum of Hogwarts and some more advance reference books.
    Only after all that, he felt prepared that he could make the most of his time in Hogwarts.
END OF CHAPTER
Author's Note:
    About returning to the past, I'm just suggesting that this was a miraculous accident when he was burned by Fiendfyre while possessing the resurrection stone. Supposing that, if the fire was strong enough to destroy Horcruxes, it might also be strong enough to destroy the deathly hallows. The MC would never be able to see this reason anyhow, as he didn't know that the stone he had was the resurrection stone.
    I changed the currency trade value from the canon and made it into 1 Galleon equals 20 GBP, instead of 5. I also changed the value of the items in my calculations.
    About the change in the value of the currency, I'm basing it on the price of the wand. Usually, it cost 7 galleons from Ollivander's. Multiply it by 20 and it cost 140 GBP. I think that is a reasonable price for a wand that you might possibly use for the rest of your life which is made with precious and rare materials like dragon heartstring. Then, I reduced the cost of the other items such as all first-year books being priced about 5 Galleons (100), a set of uniforms, robes and all, would sell for about 20 Galleons (400).
    I also added the enchanted currency bit to stop the idea of the MC abusing the loophole by melting galleons into gold.
    As for the Trace, it is applied in Hogwarts Express according to the wiki. As for detecting magic, I figured that only powerful spells were detectable by the ministry sensors as we can see Harry and the gang use magic while they were in hiding in Deathly Hallows.
    Also, there would be more original spells from this point on. As we see from the movies, Hermione, Snape, and Fred/George were able to create their own spells while still in Hogwarts. In my interpretation, the difficulty of spell creation is more fluid, depending on the complexity of each spell. Wizards and witches are just more private about their own spells. Only the truly commonly known spells made it in the Hogwarts curriculum. Spell ownership also looks like a serious thing in the wizarding world as it seems like they need to have the permission of its inventor and give proper acknowledgements in the publications, like a copyright law.
    This was a long note. I'll try to minimize them in the next chapters.
Disclaimer:
    This work is not for profit. No copyright infringement intended. All recognizable characters, plot, setting, etc. are the property of J.K.Rowling and/or Warner Bros.

Synopsis:
Alexander Grey is a muggleborn wizard who finds himself fighting against Death Eaters during the Battle of Hogwarts. Due to circumstances beyond his understanding, he gets sent back in time. He wakes up as a child who is about to go to Hogwarts for the very first time. Given a second chance to live his life, he vows to create a different world for himself and many others.

The cover art was made by me.
You can check out my other sketches at https://discord.gg/Vwsd2dB

Disclaimer:
This work is not for profit. No copyright infringement intended. All recognizable characters, plot, setting, etc. are the property of J.K.Rowling and/or Warner Bros.

[I honestly think religion is a waste of time, it makes us stupid, foolish, fanatic and incapable of seeing clearly. We can't judge objectively and correctly because we hold so strongly to our beliefs. However! I'll be too much of a hypocrite if I say religion is fully bad! Growth, prosperity, change, advancement of the human race had come about because of religion, because of belief.

Our attempt to understand and reach the gods have led to our growth and evolution. It has made us what we are today and what we will be tomorrow. Religion is good, it's inherently good even though sometimes it makes you want to pull your hair out and scream! It has given direction, it has given purpose, it has given faith! And it has given love. Just as I think it's a waste of time, I also think I'm strong today because I believe in someone or something bigger than myself and the world I live in.

So maybe he doesn't exist and I'm kidding myself in believing a God exists! However nothing changes that this life that doesn't make sense, seems more sensible when I blame everything that goes wrong on God and The Devil 😅😅😅 but it also makes sense when I say thank you for all of the good things in my life. And thank you so much for the Angel I know (I believe) watches over me]

ANONE

"Before you anything young Master Alex, please tell me you've flown and Airship before? Because I don't think we both would want a repeat of what happened last time." Louis asked, as he took his place on the co-pilot seat, whilst Devonte and Cross sat behind them, Khan was busy chasing the Wraiths all through the massive ship.

Before this, normal Airship were built in the same manner as sailing ship's,  which is to say that you had to be standing to fly them, and they had wheels like Aircars or just normal cars. Morgana was different, truly the first of her kind, her controls were actually two handles with comfortable grips that floated in the air.

There were formations glowing on the handles themselves, enabling Alex to fly the airship with a lot more ease that just using wheels. Though there was a bit of resistance, like the handles themselves had a gravitational field of their own. 
Either way it was all a new experience for Alex, but as opposed to Louis who had no idea what he was doing the first time they all went for a joyride, Alex had actually read a few flight manuals in his spare time. But it wouldn't hurt to tease Louis a little. 

"So you're saying my sailing is going to suck, and we're going to end up in a city that's about to be invaded by demons?" Louis had his eyes and mouth open, and then he closed them and then opened them again trying to figure out what to say to Alex.

"All of that except for the demon invasion.....did I just jinx us? Damn!"
Alex raised an eyebrow, and then shrugged, he was not in the mood to speculate or be superstitious. But if truly Louis just Jinxed them, then fate was truly out of enemies from them to face and was probably experiencing writer's block.

Alex took a deep breath as his spirit energy sunk into the handles, his seat felt warm, and the controls of the ship out up brightly as the ship itself began to hum. Alex could feel every square inch of this baby, her primary engines lit up, diverting power to the numerous mini exhaust Chambers lining the ship. It slowly picked itself off the ground as a few dozen people watched below.

Then the main exhaust Chambers began to light up with a fiery orange glow and low pitched whine started picking up, until it was a soothing droning hum. And then the ship lurched forward, over the edge of the floating platform, and then just dropped to the ground.

"arghhhhhhh! What are you doing! What are you doing!" Louis's terrified voice could be heard, even through the soundproof ship. It was such a surprising turn of events that the people watching had no words to say, but Alex got the ship under control before they smashed into the ground and went up in a ball of flames.

The beautiful ship shot up into the sky, her midnight blue form flashing last with a hint of gold as she rapidly became a dot in the distance, the sun hanging over head every made her seem like a precious gem that had developed wings and learnt how to fly, and fly it did, all the way up, until it was lost in the deepness of the horizon.

<<<<<||>>>>>

"So the ship doesn't have a cloaking formation, looks like the one they had previously used was just temporary, now we're parking it in few view of everyone to admire and maybe scavenge, awesome." Louis spoke out sarcastically as he moved away from the Morgana.

"The Vatican city is a sovereign theocracy, everyone here is pretty religious and quite frankly no one in their right minds would come over and steal in broad daylight. Plus the Wraiths are on the ship! Master Alex said they'll keep it safe." Cross explained as they walked into an open plaza.

Devonte was keeping his eyes open, and so was Alex as he took in the sights of the city and everything in it. They needed a clue, his dad had said that there was a cathedral as the edge of the city, but he's not noticed it yet, besides he didn't really know much about the city.

In front of them was an obelisk, it looked a little out of place in the city, but it was quite a sight and seemed to be quite the tourist attraction. At first glance it seemed normal, but Alex felt weird vibes from it, but he just couldn't place his finger on it.

"I don't know if this is important Tower Master, but there used to be a necropolis near by. Last I heard a church was built on top of it, lots of people were buried there, plus the worship of pagan gods was also carried out until it was excavated a few centuries ago." Cross explained as they came to a stop.

The living might not know much, but the dead could. Alex hadn't gotten to the point where y could properly talk to the spirits of the dead that had not moved in to the next life, or to a spirit world, but it was as a good a place to start. Besides, wasn't a cathedral a church, this might be the place they were actually looking for.

"Alright Cross, lead the way. Louis scout the city, see if there's anything more you can find. Khan go with him, Devonte you're with me. Stay safe and stay discreet."

After Alex gave his orders, they all separated as he and Cross made their way for the Cathedral that was built on the grounds of a former Necropolis. The Vatican city was a holy Land for Christians, though religion has been mostly left alone, it was still rampant with even some cultivators believing in it. The Albion empire was a devout Christian empire, the empire of heaven was aligned to Buddhism, but not everyone was all too willing to be religious, it was a choice.

But religious or not, it didn't matter much to Alex, the goal was to find out what this holy spirit was, and maybe find the source, to know it it's true that an angel had descended and was being held captive. Religion was a weird subject, the kingdoms of the middle East were not under any empires but they were Muslims, and last Alex heard they were quite capable Warriors. But religion didn't decided whether a person was strong or weak, but it had a lot of say, especially since Alex knew that Legendary religious figures might actually be Spirits right now.

"This place was a circus built by the Roman Emperor Caligula for his mother's gardens and completed by Nero. A lot of Christians lost their lives here, including the blessed Saint Peter. Of course the Roman empire didn't last long, it was the Albion Empire using native hands to improve and expand. Very much like Macao, the Vatican city is a sovereign state, they govern themselves away from the control of their respective empires, but unlike Macau that's a place of entertainment, the Vatican city is a place of worship. So please be careful Tower Master, wrong words might set off people with small minds." Cross explained to him as they ended up in front of a church.

"It's Alright Minerva, I understand what you're trying to say. I'll keep my temper under control and watch what I say, but we....."

In that moment a man with flowing white beard, sunken bloodshot eyes and prominent cheekbones as a result of starvation, a thin frame, rage for clothes and holes in his hand, walked through Cross and stood in front of Alex. Obviously this man was very much dead, he was Spirit, or a ghost. But even with that he seemed very alert and aware of where he was and what he was doing.

"You're the new Spirit King aren't you? Good! I sense that your heart is pure and bright, there's great love in it. I am an Apostle of the Lord, the world today call me Saint Peter, but you can call me Simon Peter. I have been waiting for you Alexander, Son of Benjamin. I have a task and prophecy for you; will you lend me your ears an your heart, the darkness draws near."



The Earth has changed, having a different history than we know. Two massive empires hold sway over her destiny. The Empire of Heaven and the Albion Empire;
It is an era of great technological advancements, and the mysterious power of Qi. The six great powers of the heavens empire lead and pioneer advancement in martial arts the likes which has never been seen. Bringing about great prosperity and peace as the world thrived under the shadow of the great knights and mages of Albion, and the protection given by

The Shaolin temple, the Emei sect, the Beggars sect, The Tang sect, the Imperial guards, and the Wudang sect. 

A young man prepares to live his destiny and find his path in this world of cultivation. The halls and temples of the wudang sect call to him as he goes there in search of power and for his future. But war and darkness hangs on the Horizon, threatening everything he has come to love and cherish, and even though he tries to be strong, there's always something or someone aiming to bring him down.

Amro walked with Eliza to show her the stage she will be performing in starting today.

"Eliza, I hope Henry isn't too uncomfortable. Are you sure you can perform with him?" asked Amro.

Eliza had just changed into a long evening gown. She flicked the dressed, revealing her porcelain-like thighs through the dress' high-cut slit. Henry was strapped tight to her leg. "It's alright! I won't be obstructed by this."

"Glad to hear." Amro smiled as he gave nod to a muscular man with a crew cut and a few scars on his face. 

"Let me introduce you. This is DJ, Discord's Head of Security." Amro waved DJ over.

"Sir Amro! Surprised to see you here. And who might this lady be? DJ, DJ "The Tracker"." DJ stretched his hand out, waiting for Eliza to shake it.

"Head of Security, eh? A bouncer then?" mocked Eliza as she gave DJ a condescending look.

"Bitch!" DJ flicked his suit, revealing two Silver Desert Eagles, one with the letter "F" and the other "Z".

Amro stepped in between the two and blocked DJ from advancing. "Now, now DJ! Let's leave Ms Eliza for now. She's new here. Do forgive her. Keep Fang and Zhao in check. Treat this as a favor on me."

DJ straightened his suit and hid his guns. "My apologies Sir Amro! I almost crossed a line."

"Atta boy!" Amro patted DJ on the shoulders. 

"Shall we, Miss Eliza?" invited Amro.

"Ugly…" whispered Eliza as she walked in Discord.

"Keep it together, DJ! Eliza's a firecracker!"

"Yes, boss!"

Amro and Eliza walked in. The sun was still up. Naturally, that meant that there were still a few patrons inside Discord. "Welcome to Discord Bar! Your stage is before you! Performance starts in 7:00pm!" declared Amro.

"The band?"

"They'll be here."

"They better be!"

"Right… I'll show you the back stage and your dressing room. Come! Come!" invited Amro.

------------------------

An hour later, outside Discord.

DJ stood guard at the entrance as a few patrons started to line up and enter.

"Mr Dawn! Welcome back! It's been a while since I last saw you!" greeted DJ.

A thin man with shaggy hair walked over wearing jeans and a plain white shirt. "Illis is fine, DJ! No need for formalities. What's new, DJ?!" asked Illis.

"We have a new singer tonight."

"What happened to Leonore?! Where's Lion?!" Illis worriedly asked while grabbing DJ's arms.

DJ moved Illis' hands away. "Don't worry! She's fine! She's just semi-retired from Discord, needs to work on a regular life now."

"Tsk… Why didn't she say anything to me?!"

"You're just a fan, not family." 

"Still her Number 1 fan." Declared Illis.

"You guys of the LLFC always say that!"

Illis rubbed his nose and chuckled. "Hehe! The Lone Lion's Fan Club will climb any mountain or swim any sea just to hear our nightingale Leonore! No obstacle will be hard to have hear voice reach our ears."

DJ covered Illis' face. "Alright! Go inside and just watch the new girl! You are holding up the line. The others will get impatient!"

"Fine! Fine!" Illis waved with the back of his hand. "I'll see what this new girl is capable of."

"Sir Amro picked her, so she should be up to standard."

"My ears will decide that! I'm a connoisseur of this establishment."

"Yeah! Yeah! In you go!" DJ gently kicked Illis through Discord's doors. "NEXT!"

A medium built man with neatly groomed hair walked over. He had a sword strapped on each side of his waist, hung from his belt. "Alex the Cataclysm! Feeling dry tonight?" asked DJ.

Alex unsheathed his sword and aimed for DJ's neck. "Who said you could be friendly with me? Want to see how I teach noobs?" Alex threatened as he leaned closer.

Unbeknownst to him, DJ had already pulled one of his guns and aimed it straight for his navel. "Who's faster? Your sword or my gun?" 
 
"YOU DARE?! I'll show you why they call me Cataclysm!" screamed Alex.

The door of Discord swung open. "Mr Alexander Williams! To what to I owe the pleasure of showing me the scene before me."

Alex quickly sheathe his sword and stood respectfully before Amro. "Nothing, Mr Stark! Just some play fighting!"

"DJ?" asked Amro.

"Nothing to worry about Sir Amro." Declared DJ.

"Good! Let's keep it that way!" Amro walked a little past Alex and tapped him on the shoulder, giving him one final warning. "Be on your best behavior. You don't want to be breaking my rules now, would you?"

Alex worriedly shook his head. "No! No! I wouldn't even dream of it!"

"Good! Good! Bar's already open. Show stars in an hour! Our new nightingale has big shoes to fill!" Amro let the whole crowd in front of Discord hear. Since he was here, might as well promote Eliza a little.

DJ pulled the doors open. "In you go… Alex!" 

"You!" Alex huffed and stomped but no longer said  another word and just charged in.

Alex walked straight to the bar where Illis was already seated, along with a man that had long flowing silver hair. His tall and imposing figure looked as if he was looking down on Illis, even when he was already seated.

A few minutes of being stared down by this man caused Illis to blow up in fury! "JOHN! What's your problem?!"

John simply sat and supported his head with his hand that was resting on the bar. Illis got no response.

"PEGAZ! Are you listening? I said, what's your problem?" Illis eyes started change color. They appeared to change into a scarlet hue.

Illis' shouting attracted the attention of the few patrons that Discord had at the moment.

"Oh, shit! It's the Heartless Berserker! He's going to fight with The Idler!"

"A fight? Did they forget the rules?

"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!"

Various murmurs and cheers erupted from the crowd, but Illis and John paid it no mind.

Illis pushed his chair out and stood up, veins bulging with breath now steaming. He was reaching his fighting form.

The heat emanating from Illis' body caused John to finally take notice and look up. His bright silver eyes measuring how much of a threat Illis actually posed to him now. He smiled after estimating the likelihood of his success.

John remained unmoving even with Illis moving closer. The moment Illis pulled back his fist and tightened his muscles and shout came from the bar.

"STOP!"

---------------------------------

Trackpad's Novel (On-Hold for Rewrite)
https://www.webnovel.com/book/10872560105195205

Truedawn's Novel 
https://www.webnovel.com/book/10574177705065305/Great-Tyrannical-Deity

Noobelist's Novel (Hiatus for 30days for Research and Rewrite Work)
https://www.webnovel.com/book/10630425606081705

Pegaz's Novel
https://www.webnovel.com/book/10515487306054105

INDEFINITELY PUT ON HOLD. Busy with work. Really sorry but I can't juggle this, work and my main novel at this time. I am not dropping this, but I need to focus on what can pay this bills first. Hope you guys understand. Thank you.
-------------
This book was created from interactions with fellow Original Authors. Thus, with a bit of imagination, I thought it would be a fun idea to work with and do an Inkstone Tower Story Book, as a parody of the Continental in John Wick Movies.
The focus being the "hotel" run by a boss and how it operates. 
I hope the readers might find the appeal in this novel.
There won't be any regular updates for this as the stories that will be written need to be based off actual interactions with authors, but given a twist to change it up.
I will give best effort to obtain all parties used in the story to prevent any misunderstanding as this work done for the fun creative idea that was nurtured in Inkstone Discord.

It was the lunch break. This was the time when the noise in the classroom was at it's peak due to a cacophony of sounds. Studying at this time was nearly impossible unless you listen to some music to drown out the noise or buy those overpriced noise cancelling ear-plugs. Alex was choosing the first option with his legs spread out on his table, a book in his lap and a headphone covering his ears which was blasting at maximum volume possible.


That would have been enough normally, but for Alex, a person who recently awakened to his previous life memories, it was anything but easy to concentrate on the book on his lap. Why? Well I don't know. It may be due to a group of boys at one corner surrounding two people who were playing something which resembled chess. Only that the chessboard like thing was floating in the air and the pieces on it seemed to be alive. And mind you not alive like robots or little pieces of machinery, but really alive. Or it may be due to a group of girls surrounding another girl who had a ethereal purple color cat with sparks on it's body floating around her. Alex used to live on Earth, just like you and I. But the scene he was seeing definitely, could not be found on Earth. Because he no longer was on earth. This was Gran city on a planet called Manlore.


Alex lived a pretty mediocre life on Earth until at the age of 25, he passed away due to an unfortunate car accident. That should have been the end. But on the sixteenth birthday of the Alex of this world, he suddenly remembered all that happened in his previous life. He was still not sure if he transmigrated and the souls merged or that the life from the planet called earth was really his previous life, all he knew was that he had two sets of memories and they both seemed like his own. But Alex always felt as if he was a person from Earth rather than a person from this world. This could have been due to the age difference of the two lives, which caused one portion of memories to exert significantly more influence on his personality than the other or it could simply be that he had occupied the body of this poor boy called Alex and inherited his memories. Alex sub-consciously leaned towards the previous theory.




Possessing the new set of memories as if they were his own, Alex still had problems adjusting to this phenomenon at the beginning. Why? Obviously because as cliche as it sounds, he was transported to a fantastical alternate universe or timeline or some other distant planet, he had no idea which. This discovery did not let him sleep properly at night for the last couple of days since his birthday. Having lived a very boring life previously, initially there was excitement, then there was curiosity, then came the wariness... The multitude of emotions almost drowned him. Magic, cultivation, witchcraft, whatever you want to call it was something entirely new for both the Alex despite it being present in his everyday life. As it was on his sixteenth birthday only, that Alex finally awakened his soul spirit.


"Hey Alex! We will be hanging out with Leo and the bunch after school. Will you be coming?"


A green haired boy shook Alex's shoulders and pulled him out from his book. Alex looked up to find a tall bulky boy with a height of more than 6 feet and bulging muscles looking at him with a smile. His hair was wavy and neatly swept to the side in contrast to his square face which looked a bit crude. But his green hair still gave him an air of nobility not seen commonly on Earth. Of course, the guy did not have any special background and this was due to the nature of how genes would carry some of the characteristics of the abilities of you and your ancestors on this planet. His name was Larry and he just turned 17 a month ago.


Alex pulled the headphones down to his neck. The music was still blasting through the speakers of the headphones and now it could be faintly heard outside.


"Sorry. Come again."


Larry shook his head with a smile.


"I said that me, Ruth and Sarah will be hanging out with Leo and his group after the school. Will you be coming? Lucy will be there too, you know."


Larry took the seat next to Alex and elbowed him with a smirk while sneaking a glance to the book he was reading. The book was titled "A preliminary study on the characteristics of Spiritual Energy" and wasn't a book that a high school boy would normally read. It was generally in the college curriculum.


"Sorry, but I will pass. I have to finish this book."


Alex replied in an indifferent tone while his eyes veered back towards his book. Larry pouted at Alex's reply.


"Come on. The holidays are starting from tomorrow for the college exams preparation. Today is the last day. Also, why are you studying so hard? You are already the top scorer in our city, do you want to skip another grade in University too? "


Alex shook his head on hearing Larry. On this world too, Alex was quite smart and had skipped a grade. Hence he was a year younger than most of the other students in the class but was still the city wide top scorer in the previous city-wide mock exams . Of course this caused a small problem...


"Don't pout. You would scare even the ghosts away with that expression. And you know too, that I just awakened my soul spirit. I have only these two months to prepare and all the Spirit Universities put more emphasis on the development and abilities of the soul spirit than college entrance examination scores."


Alex didn't even look at Larry and replied in a strict tone. Source spirits were one of the popular ways on this planet to gain abilities and magical powers on this planet. Of course there were other ways too like martial arts, body cultivation, spiritual energy cultivation and so on. But soul spirit being something innate to the soul allowed the person to also pursue other paths and hence was much more popular as an entry path.


Education was still considered important here and researchers were as valued here as on planet Earth. But in a world where individual power can rival collective power, gaining power either literally or metaphorically was much more important and considered a much brighter path than just pursuing plain education. Also, researchers were no longer the same and they also used various magical powers obtained through various paths to aid them and hence a normal researcher would always be at a disadvantage against such people. As a result, all the top universities also had a metaphysical section as part of their entry requirements and examination. Among these universities, spirit universities which focused on soul spirits and spiritual energy cultivation were considered the cream of the crop.


Soul spirits and spiritual energy cultivation are quite similar due to the fact that they both use spiritual energy to develop and empower their paths. The difference between them is that spiritual energy cultivation center around something called spiritual roots while soul spirit cultivation rely on, obviously the soul spirit. The spiritual roots are an ethereal formation of acupoints and meridians and are fixed at birth and rely heavily on genetics. They have grades and variations among them, which can lead to some cultivators being significantly stronger than others or some cultivators being significantly weaker than others.


Soul spirits on the other hand are outward manifestation of the potential and properties of the soul and are generally random with the exception of a special group of soul spirits which can be inherited. Soul spirits also have bad soul spirits and good soul spirits but there does not exist a proper grading system for them yet. But in contrast with spiritual energy cultivation path, a person with a weaker soul spirit may still become quite strong by developing his soul spirit in the right direction and complimenting it with the right spells. Both have their own unique set of advantages and disadvantages. Thankfully a new path may be pursued after the cultivation in a particular path reaches a stage where it has transformed into a core. But people generally developed their soul spirits first as spiritual energy cultivation was generally quite a bit slower than soul spirit cultivation despite being just marginally stronger. But on the other hand they have more all round development than soul spirit development.


Unfortunately Alex skipped a grade and soul spirits can only be awakened after 16 causing him a significant disadvantage while sitting for the university entrance exams. He had one year less than others to develop his soul spirit and considering he had just roused his soul spirit, that was a significant time gap.


"But they also lower the requirements , don't they?"


Larry questioned while rubbing his non-existent beard.


"They lower the requirements but it's not proportional and in some ways it is even harder to get into a good university when you are younger. That's why I am finishing all the theory as soon as possible, so that I can focus on practicing and improving my soul spirit."


Larry nodded on hearing Alex's words. Alex had skipped a grade last year. At that time, most of the senior year students were turning 16 and Alex was just turning 15. People were beginning to awaken their soul spirits and having their first taste of power. At that time, Alex being a year younger, with no powers to speak of and being a favorite of the teachers was the target of many bullies. But during that period, Larry, Ruth and Sarah suddenly approached Alex. They were people who had strong abilities but were a bit weaker in academics than others. They belonged at the top of the hierarchy of the school and had formed somewhat of a school gang. They worked out a deal in which they protected Alex from the bullies while Alex helped them with their academics and homework. Of course, the arrangement seemed like another form of bullying, but they managed to hit it off and became good friends much to the dismay of other students. Since then, no one even dared to provoke Alex.
"But isn't what you reading part of the university curriculum."


"Well contrary to the popular beliefs that the all the syllabus is contained in the school curriculum, the harder parts of the theory exams come from these books which are not part of the school curriculum. I can't be like a certain someone who is planning to just barely make it through theory exams and depend on the metaphysical scores, right?"


Alex leered at Larry who could only give an awkward laugh while rubbing his head. Ignoring him Alex looked back towards his book, but Larry suddenly changes his expression to a mischievous one and poked Alex on his ribs.


"Well then, that's that I guess. But are you sure you don't want to come? I did mention that your old flame Lucy will be there, right?"


Larry gave a smirk to Alex to which he could only roll his eyes. Alex's dominant personality was of from the Earth but he still had the memories of this lifetime and they even felt as if they had merged with him. So, though there was a sense of distance with others for him, others could not easily detect that. Like with Larry, Alex currently thought of him as just an acquaintance albeit a closer one and not a close friend as previously. But he was still able to maintain a conversation with him as if they were close friends, because he knew how that worked from his memories. It was as if he was acting but he was also not acting.


"You should know by now that I am long over her."


Lucy was an insignificant character from Alex's past. They were neighbors and were of the same age. They were also previously classmates. Lucy being the cheerful and bubbly girl she was, attracted Alex's attention which resulted him to confess to her when he was just 14. But Lucy apparently didn't think much of the stoic Alex and ruthlessly turned him down. Alex decided that he no longer wanted to be around her and directly skipped a grade, surprising quite a few as city wide mock tests are held only in the senior year. Alex had topped the class before this and the teachers knew he was intelligent but they didn't know he was that intelligent. This resulted his standing to increase in the teachers' eyes by quite a few places and as a direct consequence quite a number of recommendation letters fell into his lap as well.


"Who knows? Somewhere deep inside the embers from that old flame may still be smoldering."


Larry spoke while still elbowing Alex on his ribs. Alex narrowed his eyes at Larry while tearing his gaze off from the book.


"You poke me one more time and I swear you can forget about borrowing my notes. You also better find an excuse for Ruth and Sarah as well as to why they won't be receiving them either."


Larry was instantly covered in cold sweat and hastily apologized while Alex kept reading his book. Soon after, a musical tone could be heard in the class signalling the end of the break.

Whom do I trust? I don't know.
What does he think about me? I don't know.
Where did she go? I don't know.
Why did that happen? I don't know.
How do I live? I don't know.
My previous life has been full of "I don't know"s. And when I asked those same questions in this life, the answers were still ...... I don't know.
My thirst for the answers led me to questions which I never wanted to ask. I finally know one thing, ignorance indeed is bliss.

"…Suit yourself, dumb fairy." Professor Frances replied as she sneered at Asteria. "Are you sure you sure that you can just command us like this? It seems like you are forgetting your role already…"

"H-hey! I know that I am a Guide!" Asteria replied angrily as she glared at the professor. "Of course I know that I must help you two out, especially when Alex told me to do so."

"Then why are you acting like this?" The professor shot back. "Why are you still acting like a brat?"
 "I-I just want more honey!"
 "If you want honey, then you can get it by yourself." Professor Frances said as she sneered at the fairy again. "Don't tell me someone like you can't do it by yourself?"

"Y-you're just bullying me like Alex!"

"…Now I understand why Alex left you here with us. You're just too irritating." Professor Frances slowly said as she let out a sigh.

"What did you say?"

"Queen Mother, can you provide this little s**t with some honey?" The professor said with exasperation as she stared at Queen Mother. "We need to make this midget shut up."
 "Hey!"
***********************
MINUTES LATER.

"Now that's some good stuff." Asteria, whose face was wearing an expression of contentment, said as she let out a burp. Some stains of golden honey could be seen on her lips, showing that she had a honey feast earlier.

"Hey, now that you are filled up, maybe you can already give the 'help' that you promised us." Professor Frances muttered as she picked up the fairy.

"Hey! I am about to give it to you two, so don't pick me up like this!" The fairy complained as she squirmed out of the professor's grasp.
 "…Just give it to us."
 "Hmph, fine." Asteria muttered as she crossed her arms. 
"…"

After making the two women wait for her to talk for a few more seconds, Asteria scratched her legs as she said, 

"Alex gave me 2 Items, which I should give to you two." As Asteria said these words, her hands could be seen fiddling on a small satchel hanging on her waist.
Once the satchel was opened, the fairy placed her hand inside the satchel.

After a few seconds of moving, Asteria let out a shout as she pulled out two objects from the satchel.

These two objects floated slowly towards Queen Mother and Professor Frances, who both stared at the objects with fascination.

"Alina gave me a special pouch that has enough space to keep those two items." Asteria said as she touched the two items. "Now that you two are awake, these two items will be yours to keep and use."
"…Are there any more items?" The professor commented as she saw Asteria not pulling out more items from her satchel.
"Hah? This is the only Items that are left to you two." Asteria replied as she gave the professor a narrow look. "What? Did you expect more?"
 "…So it's just these two items? Where are my equipment and chemicals?" Professor Frances complained as she crossed her arms. "This is all that he left to us? Really?"
"This is it, hooman." Asteria replied as she brushed off the professor's complaints. "If you want to get more, then you should go and say it to Alex, although that will be hard for you to do now…"

"…Argh fine, maybe this is just one of his plans…" Professor Frances said as she shook her head wearily.

"Yeah! I think this is part of Alex's plans, so you don't need to complain at all!" Asteria said as she smiled widely. "Just accept these Items, and you can have your fun!"

"…" Professor Frances did not give any reply to that, as she only stared at the two floating items.

The professor can recognize one of the floating items, as she had already seen it earlier.
 This item was the Tome of Divine Might, which is an Item that was meant to be used by Queen Mother.

As for the second item, Professor Frances was not sure on what to make of it, as this is the first time that she saw it.
 This second item has the appearance of a book, although its thickness was too much, even in the standards of thick books.

Its cover page was lined with gold, with its pages looking extremely old.

The words written in the cover was blurry, which made it impossible for the professor to discern it.
"Since the first item was the Tome of Divine Might, it is obviously intended for Queen Mother. In that case, this second item must have been intended for me!" Professor Frances thought to herself as she stared at the second item.

"Oi dumb fairy, what is this item?" Professor Frances said as she pointed towards the second item. "This is for me, right?"

"Hmph hooman, that Item right there is indeed for you." Asteria replied as she kicked the second item towards Professor Frances.
As Professor Frances caught the book, Asteria continued talking.

"That book that you are holding right now is the Divine Life Manuscript. When you lost consciousness three months ago, Alex bought this item with his Lifespan and he made me hide it. He told me to give it to you once you wake up." Asteria said as the professor started to observe her new Item.

"This is the Divine Life Manuscript?" Professor Frances muttered as she observed the book. "Huh, with this kind of title, this book must be related to life creation."
 
"Hah! Alex thought so too!" Asteria shouted out as she sat on Professor Frances' head. "Alex thought that maybe with your skills and the contents of this manuscript, your power as a Bio-Shaper will experience a massive upgrade!"

"…That will depend on what this book contains." Professor Frances replied as she felt a sudden urge to open the book.

The professor was unable to resist this urge, which led to her opening the book completely.
"Creak…"
 The manuscript let out some creaking sounds as it was being opened, as if it has not been opened for a very long time.

"Hong~" 
Melodious hymns rang out as the first page of the book got revealed. These hymns were the kind that sounded soothing, making even the professor feel contented after hearing them. 
"This book makes me feel secure." Queen Mother commented as she swayed along with the hymn. "It was as if I am safe with that book around…" 
Aside from Queen Mother, Asteria was also swaying with the hymn, with her face closed shut. The fairy was also humming to herself, showing that her mood was affected by the book too.

Out of the three of them, it was only Professor Frances who was least affected by the book.
With her thirst for knowledge, the professor was more interested on the contents of this book rather than on its special effects.
After she opened the book, the professor did not waste any time as she stared reading the manuscript.
"…."  Surprisingly, even with the enhancements that the professor had on increasing her reading speed, it took her 30 minutes just to finish the first page!
"Wonderful. Just wonderful." These were the words that the professor said as she flipped the page. "The things that were mentioned in that page… it was so profound that even now I still could not understand some of them! This… this book is the real deal!"

With Professor Frances' long life and advanced knowledge, she found it hard to believe that she will meet something in the universe that will make her question her ability as a Bio-Shaper. 
After all, she already knew everything about creating life. Is there something more that she should learn?
 Even when Professor Frances had joined with Alex, that belief still remained, as she continued believing on her own skills.
But that belief of hers got shattered after she read the first page of the Divine Life Manuscript!  What was written in just the first page was so profound, so thought-provoking, that Professor Frances' confidence in her abilities started to shatter!

"If the first page was already like this, then what about the other pages? Do they also contain knowledge about life that will astound me?" Professor Frances thought to herself as her fingers started to tremble.

Her eyes, which held a sense of despondency earlier, was now glowing in excitement. 
After all, she just discovered that her pursuit of knowledge has not yet ended!
 This manuscript that she is holding right now is the key for her to improve!

"Asteria, why did Alex give me this manuscript?" Professor Frances asked Asteria as the former resisted the urge to continue reading. "Is there something that he needed me to do which requires the help of the Divine Life Manuscript?"

"Oh right. Alex also has some instructions for you two..." This was Asteria's reply to Professor Frances' question. "The answer to your question lies in the instructions…"

"Then what are you waiting for? Give the instructions to us already!" Professor Frances shouted out as she hugged the manuscript closer to her body. "I don't want to waste any more time! I want to continue reading this manuscript!"

Professor Frances badly wanted to read the manuscript now, as all the knowledge inside it were something that the professor wanted to know already!

As such, the professor hated to delay her time any more.
 "Faster, give us the instructions already!"

"…Fine hooman. You seem to be in a rush after all." Asteria commented after seeing the professor's wide-eyed look. 

"Ehem. So Alex told me that the intrusion of the TimeMasters 3 Months ago allowed him to create a new plan that will help us succeed on our Main Mission." Asteria then let out a cough as she continued talking. "Ehem. So for the new plan to succeed, you two are required to stay with the exiled members of the Covenant of Immortals, which is in this place. Now, once Professor Frances regains her consciousness, I am supposed to give you and Queen Mother the Tome of Divine Might and the Divine Life Manuscript."

"Asteria, all of that happened already. Just tell us what we are supposed to do next!"

"Ehem. So once you get those two Items, you and Queen Mother will have to gather all the members of the Covenant of Immortals in this place." Asteria said as she raised her arms. "Once you gather them all, you two must use your abilities to make these people much stronger than before! Make them strong, to the point where they can threaten even the TimeMasters!"

"…"
"…" 
"…"
"…So Alex wants us to create a powerful army." Professor  Frances commented as her crazed smile returned. "An army… an army… hehehe…"
As she muttered these words,  Professor Frances started to recall the memories of her biological army back on her home planet.
Her eyes widened as she remembered the power of her own creations, and the terror and destruction that they made under her rule.
"Oh… those were the good times…" Professor Frances muttered as her face started to get red from excitement.
Queen Mother and Asteria, who saw the sudden change in Professor Frances, could only look at the latter with the confusion as the professor started to look more and more crazy.
"Hah… That army of mine was the greatest creation that I ever had…." Professor Frances said as her eyes started to glaze. 
 The professor then started to pant as her body trembled in ecstasy. "Ooh… they really made my life delightful on my home planet..."

"Frances are you okay?"
 
"Oi hooman, snap out of it!"


"Hah….'' Professor Frances ignored Queen Mother and Asteria's worried looks as she continued fantasizing to herself.

"Alex wants me to create a powerful army with my biological knowledge and Queen Mother's power? Hehehe… this is gonna be great! Hah…. A powerful army under my command… Ah! This is the best thing ever!"

After all the things that he had done in his life, Alex realized that it was already his time to die. 

But a sudden encounter with a weird person will turn his whole life around.

The formerly about-to-die teen shall now be a Traveler of different worlds!



"You are an Esper? Then come and taste my saber!"
"You are a Daoist? Then come and taste my fist!"
"You are a Genie? Well, can you grant me infinite wishes?"

Everyone shall witness Alex's rise on his endless journey!


Disclaimer: (((Don't make me credit to einlion. His novel, Endless Paths: Infinite Cosmos, from the reception of his readers, is obviously good,  but its an accident that my title is similar to his. Really.)))

When Alex opened the door her nose was flooded with a vile stench of dried blood and gore, like that of a deer carcass left out in the sun for two weeks. The small stone chamber in front of her had two large rectangular iron cages on the left and right. The entire stone floor of the room was caked in layers of dried blood and what she could only assume was flesh. The most eye catching thing however, was the altar directly in front of her. It appeared to be constructed of humanoid bones.... Worst of all the skulls stacked to from the support of the table were not all adult sized. A few of the skulls appeared to be the size of infants and young kids. Shuddering at the sight before her Alexandria could only remind herself that Slate was a game. 

Walking to the altar she heard a small wimper of pain from a corner of the cage on her left. Turning to look at where the noise came from, the light from her candle revealed a young girl who looked no older than 12 shackled in the corner of the cage.  The young girl appeared to be malnourished and was missing locks of hair from her scalp. She was freshly scarred all over her arms and legs, with what looked like blood letting marks. Around her ankle was a large iron chain pinning her to the floor inside the cage. Alexandria immediately knew this girl must be William's daughter Margaret. She immediately said, "Don't worry Margaret your dad Williams sent me to save you. Hang on tight and I will find a way to get you out of here." Hearing this, Margaret nodded with tears in her eyes as she pointed towards the altar. 

Heading to the altar, Alexandra noticed an odd book resting on it along with what she assumed was the keys to the iron cages and shackles. She quickly grabbed the keys to free Margaret, at the same time she placed the book in her inventory to use as evidence. Hurrying back to the iron cage she fiddled around with the keys for a minute before finding the correct one to the cage. Looking at the interior of the cage she was disgusted. Besides the blood that coated nearly everything, there was also bits of flesh and fecal matter. Whomever was kept in these cages must have suffered terribly just staying in this environment, let whatever happened to them to cause the blood and gore.

Unshackling Margaret she picked her up and left the room. Margaret was malnourished and wounded everywhere, it would be a miracle for her to properly recover let alone walk. Bringing her back up the stone stairs, Alex made it back into the Count's office. Thankfully it seemed like the Count had still yet to finish his work and hasn't made it back to his office. Peeking out of the office's door she checked the hallway and stairs to see if anyone was around. Seeing that the coast was clear she made a break for it, sprinting through the hallway and down the stairs back to the manor's front doors. She ran out the door carrying Margaret the whole way. As she was running she shouted towards the two guards, "Out of the way the Count needs to save this girl's life by getting her to the local physician!" Before the guards could even process what was happening, Alex dashed by them continuing to sprint towards the town forging center.

Arriving before the forging center she didn't stand on ceremony and immediately made her way towards Williams. Several apprentices shouted at her "Watch where you are going, people are working here!" One older smith suddenly shouted, "That woman is carrying William's daughter!" Hearing this nearly every npc in the forging center turned to look at Alexandria. She didn't have time for this however and she ran towards Williams. 

Looking to see what the commotion around him was, Williams looked up from his anvil and saw Margaret in Alexandria's arms as Alex ran towards him. Astonished and joyful he stood up running to meet Alexandria, he soon noticed Margaret's condition however and that joy turned into a seething rage. He swore in his heart that he literally crush whomever was responsible for his daughter's condition.

Handing Margaret to her father to carry, Alex said, "Before I explain anything we need to get your daughter to a physician." Surprisingly Williams said, "No need." Running back to his private forging station he placed Margaret on a chair, then reached down to open a large locked metal chest. He proceeded to pull out a glistening blood red glass vial. He quickly pulled out the bottle's cork and fed its contents to the barely conscious Margaret. Looking back up he said, "This is a high end healing elixir I received as a gift from a passing Duke whose plate armor I forged. Apparently the armor saved his life during a battle and he wanted to repay the favor. The elixir is better than anything our local small town's physician or apothecary could produce." 

At this point every single player and npc had crowded around the forging center to see what was going on. Every single smith in the workshop was boiling with anger seeing their master's daughter in such a condition. After feeding her the elixir however, Margaret's open wounds started closing at a rate visible to the naked eye. While she was still scarred everywhere and her scalp was maimed, her condition was not life threatening anymore. 

Stepping forward Alexandria began to explain her story of finding Margaret to Williams. After Alexandria finished speaking Margaret finally spoke up. She explained how she had snuck out to meet Christen outside the count's manor. She ran into the count however, and she was dragged away by two hooded individuals after being knocked unconscious. When she woke up she was chained inside of the chamber Alexandria found. The was tortured daily and they filled bowls with her blood. After a few days she saw the man in the cage across from her be sacrificed on the bloody altar by the count and two hooded strangers. She wasn't fed anything and only given water once every two days. All of these things resulted in her current condition.

Burning with hatred, William's cursed 9 generations of Count Mumu's family and vowed to obtain justice. Hearing that the count was responsible every single nearby npc was sent into a frenzy as everyone started attributing all the disappearances in the last few years to the count. Seeing this was a chance at completing her quest she turned to Williams and spoke.

"Everyone here has heard myself and Margaret's testimony as to the crimes Count Mumu has committed. Not only has he killed, tortured, and kidnapped the Celestial Empire's own citizens, he has also betrayed his faith and betrayed the god's of humanity. As an Apostle of Light of the Dominion of Light I have the chance to bring him to justice but I need all of your help. Spread the word of the Count's crimes to every single person you know and have the town meet outside of the Count's manor. I will head to the cathedral and report the count's heresy to the local priests and bring them to arrest the count."

Hearing her speech the crowd of npc's growled in assent and everyone soon split up to gather friends and neighbors to spread the word. William's also stood up and said, "Over the years I have made friends and contacts with most of the local town leaders. After all everyone needs a good blacksmith. I will inform every craftsmen in town and bring them over to the count's manor." Standing up William's held his daughter and started heading next door to the local apothecary. 

Seeing that everything was going her way she started running to the cathedral to inform the priests of the Count's crimes. After over an hour of running she finally made it the cathedral. Running to a nearby priest she asked where she could find the highest ranked priest. She was informed she could High Priest Claus inside the cathedral's garden. Hearing this she ran over to the courtyard and saw a white robed old man bent over trimming flowers. 

Rushing over she immediately yelled to Claus saying, "Apologies to bother you father, but I have evidence of Count Mumu's heresy and treason against the Celestial Empire and the Church of the Iron Cross." Startled Claus stood up and turned to her expecting good evidence to back up such an accusation against the long time count and mayor of CIani. Recanting her tale of what transpired, as well as Margaret's testimony High Priest Claus's eyes slowly grew wider and wider with disbelief. After finishing her explanation she pulled out the book she took from the secret chamber and handed it to Claus.

Gasping, Claus quickly snatched the book and said a silent prayer. Examining the book he slowly shook his head and his eyes flashed with anger. "This is indeed an unholy book of heretic faith. The Count has been practicing an ancient beastmen ritual involving human sacrifice. I believe everything you have said, I will assemble the priests and church guards to bring in front of the count's manor.

Hearing the High Priest's words Alex grew excited. She had a shot at actually completing her hidden quest in time and obtaining a world's first! Almost as if to rain on her parade, she suddenly heard another notification sound as another world's first class was obtained by someone else. Knowing she was about to run out of time she started sprinting back to the Count's manor. 

Arriving back before the Count's manor she saw a crowd of thousands of npc's and even more players. Since the players had been following npcs for quests it was only natural for them to follow the crowd of thousands that was building up in front of the Count's manor. Making her way through the crowd she heard many players talking. "Hey man you think this is some kind of special event?" "Naw, didn't you hear the npcs talking? Apparently the count committed some kind of crime." Conversations like this were happening all over as nearly all 100,000 players that started in Ciani town gathered around the assembly of npcs. Ciani town only had about 10,000 npcs judging by its size, and nearly all of them were assembled in front of the Count's manor.

Inside of the manor, looking through a window down at the gathering mob was a nervous Count Mumu. He was shaking at the thought of what might happen to him. He had long since discovered that his sacrificial chamber had been discovered. When inquiring his guards and servants about who had been seen, he found out a young white robed woman was admitted entrance to the manor. His first thoughts were of the Dominion of Light, the secret inquisitorial force of the Church of the Iron Cross. The thought of this made him nearly piss himself. He knew just how horrible heretics were treated by the Dominion and he did not want that fate to befall him. Originally he had been planning to flee with his personal guards after he discovered he had been caught, but before he could make preparations a mob was already assembling all around his manor, blocking his way out. He only had a few dozen personal guards, in the face of thousands it was completely impossible to try to force his way out. The only option he had was just to wait out the mob praying they would dissipate.

Finally making her way to the front of the crowd she found Williams, and a circle of people she assumed were the other influential local town figures. Approaching Williams she said, "I managed to get High Priest Claus convinced of Count Mumu's crimes, he should be arriving shortly with the church priests and guards in tow." Hearing this William's said, "They better get here quickly or else I am going to drag the count out here myself to answer for what he has done to my daughter."

As another notification rang in her ear, Alexandria could only pray that High Priest Claus got here fast enough to let her finish her mission, and obtain the world's first hidden class.

The year is 2278, the pinnacle of virtual reality technology Slate has been released. This VRRPG has enthralled the world and tens of billions play on its servers everyday. At the same time a downtrodden young outcast is on the verge of homelessness. Forsaken by family, lacking friends, social connections, and even a mattress to sleep on there are seemingly no outs for this young woman. However with the advent of Slate, an entirely new market has been created where soon trillions of credits will be exchanged in an ever changing game that anyone can enter. Can Alexandria succeed in this new world, or will everything come tumbling down? See as the Arch-Angel, Hand of God, Divine Light Alexandria rises from humble beginnings to soon dominate the world of Slate.

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