The Successor System

Gaining an ally

After the system flooded him with all that information he didn't want to experience again, he ended up falling to the ground and hadn't gotten up since then, so he couldn't see the person who just came into his room because of the big bed which obstructed his vision.  

But the person walked around as both of their gazes fell on each other.

He could recognize the girl in front of him even though this was actually his first time meeting her.

She was about his age or a little older with short bright blue hair and azure eyes, which were filled with worry. She was very beautiful, several times more than his ex-fiancé in all aspects.   

According to the information and memory he had received, unlike his former world, people here possessed varieties of eye and hair colour which he appreciated. Even he had golden eyes.   

The girl in front of him was dressed in a special maid outfit which was just a little bit above her knee with knee-length socks, and according to what he remembers, she was the one tasked with taking care of him.

She was the closest person to the former body owner and he thought of her as a caring sister

“Why are you staring at me like that? I remember telling you not to move around recklessly. Now look what happened!” she scolded trying to put on a strict tone and face but failing miserably.

‘She really cares about him. Hmmm! Too bad he's gone.’ Art thought in pity.

She walked towards him and helped him to get up before taking him to the bed.

Art hated this.

Although the idea of someone caring for you this much wasn’t bad, he wasn't someone to depend on others, much less for something as simple as walking. Also, he didn't like how easily she lifted him up. 

He couldn't help but remember all the care he was given from a certain someone, which all turned out to be lies, so even though his memories compelled him to, he couldn't bring himself to trust anyone. But he tried not to make that noticeable. 

After laying him on the bed, she proceeded to sit beside him and stare into his eyes. There was something strange about it.

When he normally looks at her, there was always happiness and gratefulness in his eyes but now there was nothing like that in his gaze.  

It was completely neutral and if anything, he seemed to be studying her. Which made her feel uncomfortable.

“What made you go out on your own, Art? You almost died! Didn't you think of how I would feel if you did? I know better than anyone that you've been through a lot, but don't you ever give up on life. Even though you can't be like the rest, there are still many ways to live your life happily. You don't have to be a powerful mage!”  

Now she was really angry while saying this, accompanied by sadness, she even had tears in her eyes.

If anything, Art believed that she had feelings for him or better put, the former owner of this body, but he was blinded by how pathetic he was and failed to see this.

Unfortunately for her, he was already gone, and the current Art was nothing like the former and he couldn't imagine himself falling in love after what he had just experienced.

He realized that the fact of their different personalities would become a problem.

Even though he manages to act like the former Art according to what he received from his memories they would slowly come to realize, which would become a problem.

By 'they’, he meant the only three people who have spent a lot of time with the previous Art to immediately notice a change with him and get suspicious.

The first was the girl in front of him and it seemed like she has already begun to notice.

The second was his little sister and the third, being the man who was meant to train him.

After giving it some thought he concluded that trying to pretend to still be the same person would do more harm that good, so he went with the second option.  

Show a significant amount of change and blame it on his encounter with death. When they begin to get used to this he would then slowly let out his full personality.

“Racheal,” he called her name in a tone that she hasn't heard for a long time, surprising her.  

"I'm very sorry about yesterday. I imagine you must’ve gone through a lot of worrying. But I don't regret what I did. The girl I saved would've lost her life if I wasn't there and I realized something. I need to get stronger to protect the people and things I care about, especially you.”

Her face turned red with her heart racing. She never expected him to say something like this out of the blue.

She knew that he cared about her but this was the first time he voiced it out.

‘You cheesy little boy.’

Art heard her voice in his head which meant that she was watching this all, making him feel quite embarrassed. But his expression which was filled with determination didn't waver as he continued the task at hand.

“I've been such a wimp and sissy all this time. I wasn't truly determined and lacked the true conviction of getting stronger,” he gritted his teeth while folding his frail hands.

Anyone who saw this would take him for a clown, damn, even he would laugh at himself. But Racheal didn't have such a reaction.

She was glad to see him show this type of emotion rather than being depressed and dejected but she was also worried that he would have his heart broken once more.

“You think I'll end up disappointed again right?”

Rachael's eyes widened. "T-That’s……”

“I understand,” he cut her short causing her head to lower. "Even I, am not sure that I'll recover from this sickness. But I know that I'll give it my all and I won't lose sight of my vision ever again. I'll keep on trying and trying until I go beyond everyone's expectations.

From now on, I won't be the same person everyone knows. This is the moment of my rebirth.

So, Rachel, I ask this. Would you help me accomplish my goals?”

He stretched out his hand which she stared at with complex emotions. 

She had taken care of many people with different problems. Not just the Silvers, but other families.

She had begun this when she was 8, at that time only helping out her mother, who died some years after, when she was 15, leaving her alone.

She was heartbroken, not knowing who to turn to and at that moment, some people who she attended to found it fit to abuse her but she somehow managed to avoid this. Such an experience left her in shambles but this all slowly came to a stop after she met Art.

Someone who was in an even worse state than her but always put on a smile and tried his best to become what he wanted for himself.

He was kind, caring and always helping anyone he could, despite him slowly dying and all the mockery he received.

But his determination began to dwindle until he seemed to have no hope for himself any longer, something which saddened her as she didn't know when she had began falling in love with him and she couldn't blame him.

So seeing him now with a burst of determination was something that made her very happy and even though it was an almost impossible dream she was still glad that he had asked her something like this which meant a lot.

She swore to use this moment to the fullest.

“Uh-huh! Of course, I would,” she said with tears in her eyes while grabbing his hand.

Unknown to her that she was in for a big shock.