In a cheap apartment in Misaki Town's Shopping district, he gazed at that thin tourist visa card for a long time, as if it were a treasure. It was not merely a proof of identity, but also his first tool to pry open the world. Now, it was time to fulfill the promise he'd made to a reticent teenager.
The following evening, as usual, Steve waited outside the fast-food restaurant where Soujuurou worked. But this time, he didn't bring a suitcase full of cash. Instead, they went to the bank together, checked the account balance, and withdrew a single-digit sum representing 1% of the total—an amount huge enough to move any ordinary high school student or family. When the ATM spat out a stack of crisp Fukuzawa Yukichi bills, for the first time, confusion and overwhelm clearly appeared on Soujuurou's face.
"Steve-kun, this is..." He watched in puzzlement as Steve stuffed the thick wad of cash into a paper bag and handed it over.
"This is the reward we agreed upon, Soujuurou-kun," Steve said in an unprecedentedly solemn tone. "Thank you for your help this month. Without you, it wouldn't have gone so smoothly. From today, our financial cooperation is officially at an end."
"I can manage the rest myself."
Soujuurou stood helplessly with the heavy paper bag. To him, this money felt less like wealth and more like some incomprehensible, burdensome 'thing'. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end simply nodded, silently accepting the end of their 'agreement'.
Steve treated him to a meal for the last time; the two spoke less than ever before. Steve knew from this moment on, their paths in life might diverge completely. Yet, the friendship built on pure trust only grew stronger.
After saying goodbye, Steve used his tourist status to open a personal savings account at the national bank. Over two days, he transferred all his cash, finally saying farewell to the days of dragging around a suitcase. Looking at the long list of numbers in his bankbook, Steve didn't slacken—he knew it still wasn't enough. His next target, Tokyo, was the epicenter of the bubble economy era.
This time, Steve entered an ordinary casino with elegant decor and a quiet atmosphere. The rules here were much stricter than at the pachinko parlor, and the security was tight. Yet to him, this was just a more complex 'program' to change. Instead of killing with a gambler's flair like in the movies, Steve chose a more stable, stealthy approach. Disguised as a lucky, wealthy businessman, he used his [Astonishing Wisdom] to precisely analyze games, roulette, and even the casino's entire operating model.
Every time he won an amount at the upper limit of the house's tolerance, he'd stop, exchange his chips politely, and vanish into the crowd. Like a meticulous woodpecker, he pecked away at the 'bubble economy' for just the nutrients he needed.
When Steve's deposit finally exceeded 30 million yen, he washed his hands of it entirely and left this drunken world of gold. While this sum wasn't earth-shattering in 1990s Tokyo, it was more than enough as a startup fund to solve further identity issues and access the upper class in the future.
Next, Steve began the most incredible 'counterattack' in this world—conquering academia.
With minimal funds and through legal procedures, he enrolled at the University of Tokyo as an 'adult candidate'. For Steve, this was just a dimensionality-reduction strike. While other candidates struggled with complex math formulas and obscure classics, his [Astonishing Wisdom] broke down and absorbed all knowledge, reconstructing the most perfect answers.
Steve scored nearly full marks, unexpectedly passing the University of Tokyo's entrance exam and becoming an older 'freshman'. But this was only the beginning.
Upon enrollment, he didn't follow the usual steps. Instead, he applied for grade-skipping and credit exemptions one after another. At first, everyone thought he was a megalomaniac. But as Steve repeatedly astonished professors with perfect answers and shook the campus with his exam results, he seemed like a black hole, desperately devouring the essence of mankind's accumulated knowledge over centuries.
The library became his home, the laboratory his bedroom. In a single month, Steve achieved feats that would take ordinary people ten years. The first field he conquered was the medical department, the school's most valuable one. At his doctoral dissertation defense, Steve eloquently presented advanced theories on neural cell regeneration to a panel of white-haired masters. His arguments were flawless, his data models impeccable.
And it didn't stop there. After obtaining his medical doctorate, Steve 'extended his claws' into foundational sciences like physics, chemistry, and biology, breaking through academic walls and collecting doctorates at an overwhelming pace.
For a time, the name [Steve Weis] became the hottest legend in Japanese academia. No longer an unknown transfer student, he was hailed as the 'genius of all fields'—a rising academic star. His immense social influence brought unexpected conveniences: he gained access to elite academic salons and prestigious clubs, meeting many famous figures in politics and business.
He used these opportunities to lay the final foundations for his ultimate goal—legitimate citizenship. At the right time, Steve half-jokingly, half-seriously told his story to a senior official in the Ministry of Justice, who was also a University of Tokyo alumnus. The story itself, full of legends and backed by Steve's unwavering academic achievements, seemed realistic and credible.
The final step was the publication of several papers. Using his memories from 2025, Steve carefully selected a few research projects that had stagnated in 1990, and wrote 'just right' papers that were five or six years ahead of their time. As soon as these papers were published, they caused a sensation in the international academic community, praised as 'beacons pointing to the future'.
At this point, everything clicked into place. Thanks to the continued efforts and guarantees of alumni, the Japanese government accelerated the introduction of special talent. Weeks later, he received a coveted letter.
…
Standing in the hallway of the Tokyo Immigration Bureau, receiving a new residency certificate bearing his real name, Steve felt more at peace than ever. Gazing at the bright sunlight outside, he realized that from this moment on, he was no longer a 'ghost' in this world, but a legitimate citizen with blood and status. He had taken the hardest and most crucial step in the world and finally transcended his past.
But this was not the end.
In his personal research room at the University of Tokyo, overlooking the campus, Steve spent several months in calm, productive work. He completely established his social status in the 'frontside' world, enjoying wealth, status, and undeniable academic fame. But at midnight, gazing at the bright city lights outside the window, a deep sense of powerlessness quietly welled up.
He knew all too well that beneath this jungle of reinforced concrete, in those unknown corners, the real forces deciding the world's direction were quietly at work. And he could do nothing.
Steve often wondered: If he went back to Misaki Town and tried to intervene in the upcoming 'Mahoutsukai no Yoru', what could he do? The answer was cruel: nothing.
Faced with Aozaki Touko's carefully prepared magic workshop, the god-fantasy species Beowulf capable of tearing apart fairy tale monsters, Steve's academic wisdom was as fragile as paper. He didn't have Aoko Aozaki's unconventional magic, the ancient witchcraft passed down for millennia, or the abnormal physique of someone like Soujuurou Shizuki, who could solve mysteries. At best, he'd be a distraction, a burden to be protected. At worst, he'd die meaninglessly.
"This is already weak enough..." Leaning back in his chair, Steve laughed self-deprecatingly. If all he could do was cause trouble, there was no need to force it. Let the story of Misaki Town unfold along its original path. Those people had their own destinies and encounters. His battlefield wasn't here.
At this moment, Steve made the choice that would completely determine his future path. He turned his gaze away from the tangled grudges of the magus below and looked higher and farther—to the deep, endless starry sky. In his heart, the absolute truth hidden deep within the moon's worldview began to surface.
He knew better than anyone in this era: so-called 'magic', so-called 'ether', was nothing more than an energy product filtered and downgraded from the true higher-dimensional energy of the universe by the will of the planet Gaia, the will of Earth, to protect life.
In this cosmic vacuum of a moon-like world, there exists everywhere the cosmic dust known as [SIN]. It is pure, highly toxic, high-risk energy—a deadly light that modern primates like humans cannot bear directly.
In the age of the gods, when the Earth had not yet accepted the laws of human prosperity, it transformed SIN into high concentrations of [True Ether], supporting the era of ancient gods and fantasy species. Now, with mysteries fading, the former first magicians do their best to barely degrade the remaining mysteries into 'ether'—the greatest falsehood of planetary maintenance and the last dignity of the magicians.
All this is the law of the [Stellar Principle], the law belonging to Earth's cradle.
But humanity will eventually leave the cradle.
In some observed futures, humanity chooses to adapt to the laws of the universe and embark on interstellar voyages. They become [New Primates] able to use SIN as energy directly. They abandon the [Stellar Principle], embrace the [World Principle], and embark on a new path of evolution. That path is too far, too cruel. But it reveals the core: exploring the universe is the ultimate escape route for human civilization.
And now, Steve saw a shortcut. There was no need to contact the underground Mage's Association or seek out the ancient magical crests. Mankind had already challenged the universe by its own means; Armstrong had proved humans could leave footprints on other planets. All Steve had to do was accelerate this path infinitely!
Realizing all this, he was more relaxed and determined than ever. His long-term goal—'to protect humanity and the Earth, and prevent future tragedies'—finally had a clear and actionable roadmap.
So, without hesitation, he acted immediately.
Steve leveraged every social connection and ounce of academic influence, applying for vast scientific research grants under the guise of 'forward-looking studies on humanity's future development'. He then published a series of disruptive papers in top journals like Nature and Science at an astonishing pace. These works were no longer confined to his previous fields, but now pointed to the cutting edge of aerospace science and technology:
"On the Feasibility of Gravity Propulsion Without Working Fluid Under Plasma Magnetic Confinement"
"Applications of Room-Temperature Superconducting Materials in Constructing Interplanetary Magnetic Field Shields"
"Predictions of Faster-than-Light Communication Based on Quantum Bubble Theory"
Each paper detonated like a bomb, causing seismic shocks in the international physics and aerospace engineering communities. Steve's theories were so advanced that some conservatives dismissed them as 'science fantasy', but his mathematical models were too perfect—no scholar could even begin to refute them.
His name rapidly changed in Japan from 'the genius of all fields' to 'prophet of the future', and he attracted global attention.
Soon, an invitation from across the ocean arrived on Steve's desk. The sender was the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), inviting Steve to America for a public lecture to the world's top scientists based on his latest theories.
Steve accepted the invitation with a smile—he knew his 'bait' had been taken. He specifically instructed his Japanese contacts to ensure NASA's relevant departments sent him invitations as well.
…
A month later, in an old and solemn lecture hall at MIT, Steve stood before the world's gaze. The audience was filled with some of the planet's sharpest minds, including several directors from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Johnson Space Center—he identified them from the data. He wasn't nervous at all, and began speaking fluent English.
During this lecture, Steve did not present complicated equations but used visually striking concept diagrams created by his [Astonishing Wisdom], depicting spaceships built on his theories, breaking free from Earth's gravity, and sailing toward Mars, Jupiter, and even distant galaxies.
At the end of the lecture, the audience was silent at first, then erupted in endless applause.
Backstage in the lounge, a group of middle-aged men in suits and leather shoes, exuding calm authority, knocked on the door. The leader extended his hand.
"Dr. Steve Weis, I'm Daniel Golding, Deputy Director of NASA. Your speech... was the most shocking and insane I've ever heard." His eagle-sharp eyes stared straight at Steve. "Just one question: how likely is what you describe?"
Steve met his gaze calmly. "Mr. Golding, by my calculations, with sufficient support, we can send a probe to Alpha Centauri within ten years. In twenty years, manned landings on Mars will be as routine as transatlantic flights. As for the possibility... to me, it's not a possibility—it's a planned timeline."
There was an unquestionable power in Steve's words, born of absolute confidence. Golding and his colleagues exchanged looks, their faces showing shock and a hint of fanaticism. In the aftermath of the Cold War, nothing drove them more than overwhelming technological superiority.
After that meeting, everything proceeded naturally. The US government processed the highest-level talent visa for him with maximum efficiency. Steve resigned all his positions at the University of Tokyo, declined all lucrative offers from other institutions, and boarded a plane to California.
Watching Japan's coastline disappear beneath the clouds from the cabin window, he felt no nostalgia. The Mahoutsukai no Yoru in Misaki Town became a distant prologue in his life, only worth remembering by chance. His future lay in the sea of stars.
…
Now, Steve stood on the grounds of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), the bright California sun on his shoulders. He was given the unprecedented title of 'Chief Scientist of Future Technologies' and put in charge of the top-secret 'Prometheus Project', with almost unlimited research funding and top priority.
From here, a new chapter of Steve's life began. He would write an epic belonging to the mortal technology that challenged the gods.
…