Encounter

The person on the phone frowned and couldn't believe his ears.

"Hey, did you double check or are you just messing with me?"

"Why would I be messing with you in the first place? You know that I suck at making jokes. And saying stuff like what I just said is not even something funny so what makes you say that? I am serious. I checked the results after he left and before he cleaned the area. All of the bowls that he used for the testing and awakening aptitudes are all showing the signs of mana and traces of all elements that a Malkuth trainee can awaken. I am not mistaking it and if you say maybe he rigged it, he didn't. I saw everything from start to finish and I know what procedure he has done. All are good and correct so there is no way this is just some fluke or maybe he has done something."

The person on the phone frowned and looked at the past records and shake his head.

"Looks like we have a unique and particular new Malkuth on sight. For now, keep on observing him. Report anything unusual he has done to us that is connected to magic. Other than that, be sure to keep yourself hidden in the meantime."

"So my surveillance will not end just yet?"

"Not yet. Until a decisive decision has been given, he will remain as a Malkuth trainee for now. Dismissed."

After that, the call ended. The observer sighed. Looks like the job given will not end just yet.

...

...

...

A day has passed since the incident. For Kazuma, it seems everything that happened before was just a dream. But it seems it's not really one as he can feel the strange power flowing through his body. Not only that but every time he snaps his fingers, flames appear in his fingertips like he was a human lighter producing fire for smokers.

Still, knowing that he has some powers that he only has seen in fantasy books, movies, and especially in video games, he is excited about what this might bring to him. Perhaps life won't be so dull anymore with this new power of his.

There are still a few days before the beginning of the class and without much to do in the meantime, he decided to look for something to do. As much as he wanted to check on the magical group chat he joined the other day, he wanted to lift his thoughts from it and return to reality. He looked into the supplies he have and realized that he has a lot of missing stuff for daily necessities plus with the diminishing amount of food left on the refrigerator, Kazuma finally found something to do.

He doesn't have much money right now but he plans to find a good part-time job earn money and sustain himself. Of course, he plans to have a part-time job that is not troublesome and annoying for his school life and he will still get enough rest and time for himself and his hobbies.

To ensure he doesn't have to buy an excessive amount of stuff that he actually needs, he wrote a list and left to shop in the nearby supermarket.

...

...

...

Boarding the train, he still couldn't get used to the crowd all around him. He lived here before but he barely remembers anything from that time. Still, for Kazuma, it seems to be a nice change of surroundings for him. Since it will take a while for the train to arrive in Shibuya, Kazuma decided to plug his earphones into his phone and listen to some music while waiting for his stop to arrive.

He closes his eyes and decided to just forget about the surroundings and just relax with the music. He liked to listen to multiple genres of music due to how many openings and endings of anime OST he listens to that seem to vibe with him and so his phone is packed with different songs that are perfect for any kind of atmosphere.

But that time, Kazuma felt different. The vibe of the music should be calm, upbeat yet chill, relaxing, and soothing to the ears. However, for some reason, he felt dread all of a sudden. Kazuma listened to the music multiple times, perhaps even hundreds of times already but never he once felt the feeling of dread listening to it. It was like... something is amiss.

Kazuma thought perhaps he chose the wrong song but it was actually correct so what was happening? He still has no idea but he decided to continue listening. As he continues to do so, he slowly finds himself uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable. There was nothing wrong with the people that were sitting beside him. But for some reason, there is an uncomfortable feeling that something else was currently in that area.

This is not good anymore. Kazuma opens his eyes and the feeling of dread is still there. It was like the whole train is filled with it for some unknown reason.

"Is this a side effect from awakening from magic?" he asked himself as he still couldn't explain the feeling.

But then, all of a sudden, Kazuma suddenly felt a sudden strong feeling wash him. Before, it was just some uncomfortable feeling, but now, something else is there. Someone is currently watching him. One thing is for sure and that is not human. Just as Kazuma seems to be ready to pinpoint the main reason for the dread he was feeling, the announcer of the train echoes in his ears.

"Shibuya. The next stop is Shibuya. Please..."

It seems his stop is up next. He stood up from his seat to prepare to disembark to the train but as soon as he did, he suddenly felt a sharp and strong gaze directed to him. Kazuma turned in the direction he felt the stares... but no one is there.

"Am I just seeing things?"

Soon enough, the train arrived at the Shibuya stop. As soon as the door opens, he pushed his way into the crowd and went out of the train but then he felt something odd all of a sudden. Something is strange.

The train station should be packed with people and the place should be very busy but the moment he step out of the train, the station is empty, and it felt like it was being abandoned for some reason.  Kazuma also noticed that out of all passengers that were on the same train as him, he is the only one who is going out of that stop despite seeing a few of them preparing to board off as well.

Because of this, Kazuma turned around to see the passengers as the door has yet to close but perhaps the scene he has witnessed might have scarred him for the rest of his life when he saw the faces of the people inside the train all covered in black and the only thing present in their face is the eyes that are staring at him with some of them are elongated and no longer something a man can possess and use.

"F*ck?!" Kazuma was forced to step back seeing the faces of the passengers all of a sudden.

As he was stepping back, the shadows in the surroundings started to grow eyes and all of them are staring at him. It was like he stepped into a realm of nightmares.

Just as he was about to escape, the passengers on the train started to grab his legs and he fell to the floor as he tried to scramble around. He even kicked a few of them in the faces but it seems like they were just not affected by it.

He was desperate as he was being dragged by the weirdos until he remembered his ability. He ignited his hands in flames and hurl multiple fireballs in the direction of the people dragging him.

"KIKIKIKIKIKIKIKIKI!"

The sound of people that got hit by his flames started to run in panic as the flames burn them. This was enough time for Kazuma to stand back up and run away.

"Just what the f*ck is going on here?!"