What?
What the hell?
Reincarnator?
I blinked. Once. Twice. The screen was still there, floating in the air like something out of a video game. Blue and glowing and very much not supposed to exist in real life.
Wait. I'd read something like this before. In manga. Light novels. Those Chinese web novels where the protagonist gets some kind of cheat code or golden finger after dying and getting reincarnated.
But I wasn't a reincarnator. I had no memories of a past life. I was just... Adam Maxwell. Kansas kid who moved to New York. That was it.
Or was it?
I thought about it for a second. Tried to dig through my memories, see if there was something I'd forgotten. Some hidden life before this one.
Nope. Nothing.
I shook my head. This had to be wrong. Maybe the screen was glitching. Maybe it mistook me for someone else.
But still... was I hallucinating? Did I hit my head that hard? Or did I actually die back there and this was some weird afterlife dream?
I reached out to touch the screen.
My finger went right through it. No solid surface. Just light and... something else. Energy? Magic? I didn't even know anymore.
"Okay," I muttered to myself. "Either I'm going insane, or this is real."
The screen didn't respond. It just kept floating there, waiting.
[Daily Login System Activated]
Welcome, lucky reincarnator! You have unlocked your Daily Login System! Log in every day for rewards.
First Login Reward:
Grand Chariot [Akame ga Kill]
Lucky reincarnator. Right. Because getting smacked into a wall by a giant lizard on my first day of school was so lucky.
But if this was real... if this system thing was actually happening...
Then what the hell did "Grand Chariot" mean?
There was a "Redeem" button glowing at the bottom of the screen. My hand moved toward it, curiosity overriding common sense, but before I could touch it, the door burst open.
I jumped, nearly falling off the bed. Pain shot through my ribs and I winced.
"Adam!"
Oh god.
It was Mom.
She rushed over, her face pale and streaked with tears. Her eyes were red and puffy like she'd been crying the whole way here. She grabbed my hand, squeezing it tight.
"Oh my god, Adam. Oh my god." Her voice cracked. "When they called me, I thought... I thought..."
She couldn't finish. She just pulled me into a hug, like she was afraid I'd disappear if she let go.
"I'm okay, Mom," I said, even though everything hurt. "I'm okay."
She pulled back, checking my face, my arms, looking for injuries. "The school said there was an attack. Some kind of... they said a creature. I don't understand what happened, but when I heard you were hurt..." Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks.
I glanced at the blue screen still floating beside my bed.
Mom didn't react to it. At all. She was looking right past it, focused entirely on me.
Wait.
"Mom," I said carefully. "Do you... do you see anything weird? Like, floating in the air?"
She blinked, confusion replacing the worry for a moment. "What? Floating?" She looked around the room, then back at me. "Sweetie, does your head hurt? Are you hallucinating? Should I call the nurse?"
"No, no, I just..." I shook my head. "Never mind. I'm fine."
She didn't see it. The screen was right there, glowing blue, impossible to miss, and she didn't see it at all.
So either I really was hallucinating, or this thing was only visible to me.
Mom sat down in the chair beside my bed, still holding my hand. "The doctor said you have a concussion. Bruised ribs. You're lucky nothing was broken." Her voice wavered. "Adam, what happened? They're saying it was some kind of animal attack, but that doesn't make sense. At a school?"
I didn't know what to tell her. But lying felt wrong.
"There was... a lizard," I said.
Mom blinked. "A lizard?"
"Not like, a normal one. It was huge. Like, eight feet tall. Humanoid. It broke through the bathroom wall and..." I trailed off, realizing how insane this sounded.
She stared at me for a long moment. I could see the doubt flickering across her face, the worry that maybe I really did hit my head too hard.
"Adam, sweetie, are you sure—"
"I know how it sounds, Mom. I know. But I'm not making it up. There was a giant lizard monster in the school. It smashed through the wall, looked at me, then its tail... it just flicked me into the wall like I was nothing."
Mom's grip on my hand tightened. She studied my face, searching for something. Signs of delirium, maybe. Or a concussion-induced hallucination.
But then her expression shifted. Softened.
"Okay," she said quietly. "Okay. I believe you."
"You... you do?"
"Adam, look at you. Look at this hospital. Something happened at that school. Multiple students injured, part of the building destroyed." She took a shaky breath. "And you've never lied to me. Not about the important things. So if you say there was a giant lizard, then... then I believe you."
Relief washed over me. I didn't realize how much I needed her to believe me until she said it.
"Thank you," I whispered.
She reached up and brushed my hair back, the way she used to when I was little. "This world is getting stranger every day. First those people in costumes flying around New York, and now... giant lizards." She shook her head. "I just want you safe. That's all that matters."
I nodded.
Mom squeezed my hand again. "The doctor wants to keep you overnight for observation. Just to make sure everything's okay. I'll stay here with you."
"You don't have to—"
"I'm staying," she said firmly. "End of discussion."
I smiled a little. "Okay."
She settled back in the chair, not letting go of my hand.
The blue screen was still there, floating beside my bed. Still invisible to her. Still waiting for me to do something about it.
[Daily Login System Activated]
Welcome, lucky reincarnator! You have unlocked your Daily Login System! Log in every day for rewards.
First Login Reward:
Grand Chariot [Akame ga Kill]
I glanced at Mom. She was looking at her phone now, probably texting someone to let them know I was okay.
Whatever this system thing was, I'd deal with it later.
For now, I just needed to rest.
And figure out what the hell was happening to my life.