When the knights escorting Eric reported their discovery of a plot to assassinate him, the Ostheno family was thrown into an uproar. Melissa, his mother, was deeply worried for Eric upon hearing the news, she even broke down in tears and only stopped crying after Eric, though slightly panicked, assured her that he was fine.
James immediately sentenced the perpetrators—especially those who had directly attacked the carriage—to death. As for the old man Eric had visited in the old building, it turned out he was a member of the Ostheno noble house's branch, the House of Fowler.
James was furious and ordered Eric and Lucas to visit his private chambers after dinner, as the braided man had taken direct charge of the case, coordinating with the city guards and knights.
That night, only four people dined together: Melissa, Laurene, Lucas, and Eric. An awkward atmosphere hung over the dinner, Melissa tried various topics of conversation to lighten the mood.
Upon hearing that James had returned, Eric and Lucas hurried off as per their father's orders. When the door opened, they were met by a man whose face betrayed weariness and irritation.
"Good, come here, you two," James said as he sat down in his chair. Lucas tried to stay calm but occasionally showed his anxiety and nervousness, while Eric was completely relaxed as if nothing had happened.
"Let's get to the point. Lucas, you better control your faction!" James immediately scolded Lucas in a raised voice. Lucas flinched and opened his mouth, then closed it, wanting to say something.
"After some investigation, as you suspected, the real masterminds behind this plan are the people from the Fowler household—especially those who strongly support you as the heir to the Ostheno house!" James didn't give Lucas a chance to respond. "Not only that, but some servants who are your staunch supporters are the ones who leaked Eric's information this morning—such as the number of knights escorting him and his departure from this mansion!"
"I'm sorry, Father..." Lucas bowed and bit his lip, his face filled with remorse. James then released a massive amount of Mana and a terrifying aura of murder into the room, causing both young men to stiffen, especially Lucas.
"Answer truthfully, Lucas. Were you also involved in this assassination plot?" James asked in a cold tone. Lucas answered his father's question, sweating, "I couldn't possibly have done that, Father! Even though I hate Big Brother Eric, I wouldn't want to harm him, especially kill him!"
Eric thoughtfully agreed with him. As far as he could recall, Lucas was a young man who upheld fairness, kindness, and compassion. If anything, he was more suited to be Alex Justitia's or Leon's brother due to their similar traits.
He also remembered that Lucas looked up to James as a role model, mostly because they shared the same Ice affinity. Because of this, Eric grew intensely jealous—Lucas was ultimately better than the former Eric in every way, and James was closer to Lucas than he had been to the former Eric.
"For the Goddess' sake, Lucas. Control your faction once again! I let you form a faction to train your leadership as nobles, not to bring each other down, let alone kill one another!" James roared in frustration.
"I promise, Father. I'll keep a closer eye on them!" Lucas bowed deeply. James sighed heavily, and his anger finally subsided a little. "You'd better do that, son. Our house is already kept busy by bandits, winter supplies, and cultists who are becoming brazen day by day, so don't pile up more problems!"
"Yes, Father. I understand..." Lucas remained bowed with his eyes closed. James continued, "I will remove the servants who leaked Eric's information and ban them from ever setting foot in Ostheno again. Not only that, I will inform all nobles in the Empire not to hire them."
Eric whistled internally upon hearing that. It was tantamount to a death sentence because once a commoner betrayed their place of employment—especially a noble's household—that commoner would be ostracized from society and find it extremely difficult to secure work. Gossip would spread, and they would face immense shame.
Lucas remained silent, and James continued. "As for that middle-aged man from the Fowler household, I've already lodged a strong protest with them. You must know the consequences if someone from a branch family tries to harm someone from the main family."
Eric knew that. That middle-aged man with the terrible acting skills would most likely have his noble status revoked and become a commoner. He would lose all the privileges, benefits, and support he had enjoyed as a noble.
"Nah, knowing this brat's father, those servants and that asshole will most likely end up executed, or even worse, sold into slavery..."
Eric muttered to himself about James's retaliation. The man with the braided hair was still technically a noble, he had surely schemed something and wouldn't just stand by while his first son was harmed.
"…and you, Eric."
"Hm?"
"I didn't ask clearly after that fight. But do you truly accept the outcome of that fight and acknowledge that Lucas is the heir to the Ostheno house?"
Eric thoughtfully prepared an answer for James's question. "If becoming the head of the Ostheno family means I have to handle our territory's taxes, the population census, and all the management of the Ostheno territory, then the answer is hell no. Lucas can take that position."
Eric added with a small smile. "I can't wait to see Lucas's hair start falling out, and his hairline receding and thinning..."
Lucas stared at his older brother strangely and confusedly, while James suddenly touched the top of his head and sighed in relief upon realizing his hair was still there and thick enough.
"Ahem, very good, then. Did you hear that, Lucas? Your brother has acknowledged your position as the heir to the Ostheno house, so don't act recklessly anymore! You too, Eric!"
"Understood, Father."
"Hmm."
James dismissed them, he wanted to have dinner and talk with his wife. Eric returned to his room and sat on the bed. The moonlight shone brightly in the winter sky, and he looked back on the events of the day.
Besides thinking about today's events, on his way home he also pondered the system that had appeared when he woke up as Eric Ostheno in this world. After some deep thought, he knew—or at least partially understood—how the system worked. He took a piece of paper and wrote down all his findings based on how things had progressed around him.
1.The system will grant powers at random, specifically random anime powers. The powers obtained are also random, whether they come from a protagonist, antagonist, supporting character, or others.
2.The duration of the granted powers is also random and not fully known.
3. The system will suddenly display a 1-minute countdown before the powers disappear.
4. There is a 24-hour or 1-day cooldown before the system can grant the next power.
5. The granting and revocation of powers by the system are accompanied by excruciating pain.
6. Occasionally, the personality of the original power's user will seep and manifest into his mind.
He set down his pen and stared, folding his arms.
"Number 1, I used to think I'd receive powers from movies or live-action shows, but now I can safely assume that the granted powers are coming from anime..."
"For number 2, the total time I held Kageyama Shigeo's psychokinesis power was nearly 3 months. There's a possibility I'll hold Mahito's power for longer than that period—or even shorter..."
He sighed, then continued.
"Hmmm... number 3. This means I can only wield one power at a time, but honestly, I don't really mind..."
"Number 4, it's unfortunate, but I can handle it. However, when that happens, I'll revert to this body's original power—a Bronze-rank Fire Mage, which, by this world's standards, is the lowest rank."
"Now this is quite a problem, number 5. Along with that pain, I receive all the information, experiences, feelings, and methods of using that power exactly as the original user experienced them. No matter how tough I am, I'm not used to that pain—it even causes me to faint every time..."
Eric clicked his tongue and rubbed his face upon seeing the last point.
"Number 6... now I know why those random and dangerous thoughts wandered into my mind. When I got Kageyama Shigeo's power, sometimes I yearned for friendship and companionship. Then I got Mahito's power, and suddenly, out of nowhere, I had a killing impulse whenever I saw people..."
He groaned and leaned back in his chair. Of all the points he'd discovered, number 6 was the one that truly troubled him. He'd be fine if the original user of the anime power's personality was kind-hearted, arrogant, tsundere, or something else. But not if it was a criminal, a psychopath, or a mass murderer.
He briefly considered what would happen if he gave in and followed the original user's desires. "If I give in to that impulse, those thoughts, or that desire, can I come back as the usual Eric, or will my personality be rewritten—or worse..."
Eric stood up, walked to the window, and tried to shake off his strange thoughts. "What's clear is number 6—I have to find a temporary way to avoid being influenced by Mahito's true nature for the time being."
Then he remembered something else. After overhearing James and Lucas's conversation earlier, he'd also started thinking about setting a goal for himself in this world.
"I can't keep relying on the system. What if I get attacked by an enemy during the 24-hour cooldown? Sure, I could handle it if the enemy is still at Bronze rank or low Silver rank, but anything higher than that? I'll get my ass kicked."
Eric crossed his arms as he stared at the ceiling of his room. "Lucas has his own faction and followers. Now that I mention it, it's weird this brat doesn't have any followers—oh…"
Facepalming, he knew the reason. The previous Eric was a bundle of trouble—a troublemaker, a racist, an abuser, and scum. Even within the arrogant noble circles, he was shunned because of his unstable and unpredictable nature. He began to wonder why James and Melissa hadn't disowned the previous Eric, but he knew the reason.
"Parental love. The brat was truly spoiled rotten."
He pushed that thought aside and refocused. Which meant that for now, there were two feasible goals for him. Eric returned to the desk to jot down his thoughts.
"First, gathering allies who are loyal and fully support me. Even though I'm not the head of the Ostheno family, I'm still a noble and have certain privileges. I can use them to form my own faction."
He slightly cringed at himself after thinking that. "That means I'm assembling my own Avengers...pfftt." Eric shook his head in disbelief but still acknowledged the valid goal.
"Second, ascend to Silver-rank or Gold-rank. For now, I can't do anything about this body's pathetic magic, but I can start by improving the physical aspects."
The first point brought several people to Eric's mind, such as Rudy, Emilia, and Jeremy. Although they weren't yet close friends, they were still on Eric's list of potential allies.
The second point reminded him of his past life. A musclehead who only excelled physically, but not in terms of intellect or brainpower.
After carefully reading and taking in all the writing on the paper, Eric slowly burned it. He committed every word to the deepest part of his memory and vowed to stick to it.
"Let's begin."