Norman woke up in the middle of the night, drenched in sweat.
"Urgh, what a headache."
The last thing he remembered was staying up late playing games. Norman was a 30-year-old unemployed man. After graduating from college, he had been in an accident that caused him to lose both of his legs. The incident left Norman depressed and completely changed his life.
As an only child, Norman became a shut-in, spending his days consumed by games, novels, and anime in his room. He lived with his mother, Jane, who worked as a nurse at a hospital. His father had long since divorced and started a new life with another family. Feeling guilty after the accident, Jane never scolded Norman.
After years of isolation, one night, Norman suffered a heart attack. His body, weakened by lack of exercise and an unhealthy lifestyle, couldn't handle it.
"Ahh, what a sad life—dying alone, huh?"
Even though he could've called his mom for help, Norman let it all happen. There was nothing left in life that he wanted to do.
"I'm sorry… Mom."
Suddenly, Norman woke up with a splitting headache. "What happened? Why am I still alive?" He walked to the water dispenser and poured himself a glass of water.
"Wait, why do I look younger? I'm walking right now!"
Norman looked in the mirror in his room and saw a much younger version of himself. Confused, he searched for his phone.
"Wait a minute… That's my old phone. The date is… How is it February 3, 2020? My head hurts so bad."
New memories began to flood his mind. It was still February 3, 2020—tomorrow would be his 17th birthday. And in these memories, tomorrow was a special day: the day of his talent awakening.
This world was similar to the one he remembered, but with one key difference—it had a natural energy flowing through it. Some called it chakra, qi, or mana. But after thousands of years of modernization, most people agreed to call it mana.
At the age of 17, mana would begin to flow through a person's body, awakening a unique talent within them. With this talent, young people could begin the journey of condensing mana within their bodies.
There were levels for mana users in this world:
The first tier was called Mana Apprentice
Second tier: Mana Adept
Third: Mana Disciple
Fourth: Mana Knight
Fifth: Mana Champion
Sixth: Mana Master
Seventh: Mana Sage
Eighth: Mana Archon
And the final tier: Mana God
At this point, Norman had not yet awakened his talent and didn't even qualify as an Apprentice.
"Hahahahaha… This—how could this be? There's no way… What's with this fantasy nonsense in my mind? There's no way I died and regressed to my 17-year-old self. Wait… since this is an entirely new world, it's more into reincarnation than regression, hahaha."
Sitting on his bed, Norman muttered to himself and pinched his hand to make sure it wasn't a dream.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Norman, darling, what's going on in there? Shouldn't you be sleeping and waiting for your talent awakening tomorrow?" Jane, still awake, had heard the noise from Norman's room and came to check on him.
"Yes, Mom. I just woke up from a nightmare. I'll go back to sleep now," Norman replied.
It was 11 p.m. Even though he wanted to sleep, he couldn't. Adrenaline from this new experience surged through him. He reached down and touched his legs—still there. Smiling, he whispered to himself,
"It's good that I still have my legs. Since I've been given another chance, I need to set an objective."
The old, crippled Norman had never found a purpose in life. Even during college, he had no real goals—just to graduate and get a job. But living without purpose is futile. Just look at the old Norman—without goals, after the accident, he saw his life as a failure.
"In this life, I, Norman, will work hard to reach the ninth tier."
He vowed to himself.