While Kael started to cultivate mana, he came to notice something strange.
The strange part?
He seemed capable of cultivating mana as both a magician and an aura user at the same time—universally deemed impossible, as transcendents could only choose one method to form a mana core. After all, there could only be one mana circuit connecting to one mana core in a living being: a Mana Heart for mages and an Aura Core for aura masters.
After discovering this anomaly, Kael assumed it was due to having absorbed the soul of the body's original owner. He didn't dwell on it and chose to keep it buried. The last thing he wanted was to end up dissected, studied, or locked in a lab because he possessed dual mana circuits.
For a moment, Kael felt genuine excitement—this duality could be his key to becoming a true protagonist of this new era, or at least one of the top transcendents in Orbis.
But that joy didn't last. The drawback was brutal.
To reach the same level of strength as others, Kael had to work twice as hard.
Every breakthrough demanded double the effort, double the time, and no shortcuts. He needed to accumulate and refine mana in both his Mana Heart and Aura Core independently if he wished to advance them simultaneously.
Fortunately Kael was quite talented, which would shorten the time needed to advance further. He also knew there were elixirs and items that helped one to advance quicker and breakthrough easier. But Kael had no way to acquire such things right now, as he was only a broke orphan.
Ultimately, Kael decided to focus more on Aura mastery, since he wanted to reach the 1st stage in at least one of them quickly. But he didn't stop cultivating his mana heart. Still after two years of secret cultivation he had yet to achieve a breakthrough to achieve initial phrase of aura mastery, as he was not able to cultivate most of the time. Kael felt that he needed to keep it as a secret as much as possible.
[Two years passed by]
After finishing his usual daily routine, Kael paused in front of the mirror before heading to bed. His short black hair—an echo of his father's Nepali roots—fell slightly tousled over piercing blue eyes inherited from his mother. His lean, athletic build, the clear result of working out every day, shifted with each slow breath. For a moment, he simply studied himself, letting a faint, knowing smile form on his lips.
But physical progress was only part of it. He had already reached the 1st Stage of Aura Mastery, and he could feel he was close to breaking through to the 1st Stage as a mage as well. With Kael's hard work and discipline, everything was beginning to align towards his goal.
"I want to leave the orphanage and live on my own. If I do, I'll be able to refine my mana at least twice as much as I can now." Kael thought, his gaze hardening as determination settled in his chest.
"But to do that, I need a way to earn money… and I can't even work legally because of my age."
Kael's brows furrowed as he leaned closer to the mirror, his thoughts racing faster than his heartbeat.
"And working a normal job won't even cover my living expenses… not with how high the cost of living became after that Gate opened north of Kathmandu," he thought, his expression darkening. That incident had reshaped the entire region—and his life.
His chest tightened as the memory surfaced. The Gate that appeared just before he was born… the chaos… the tragedy. He had lost both of his parents in that very event.
For a moment, the room felt colder.
But Kael drew in a slow breath, forcing the sorrow back down. Beneath the lingering sadness, a fierce resolve ignited—one that had grown with him over the years.
If a Gate ever appeared again… if another disaster struck… he refused to be weak, helpless, or dependent on luck.
He would gain strength. Faster than anyone expected.
Strong enough to defend himself—strong enough to survive whatever the world threw at him next.
Then something clicked inside him.
"Should I write some of the books I remember from Earth? The ones that haven't been published on Orbis yet?"
The idea flickered in his mind—half desperate, half brilliant. If he could pull it off, it might just be the breakthrough he needed to be independent.
"Yeah… this might actually work. Then I'll publish the best books I remember from my past life."
With that decision solidifying, Kael straightened his posture. Determination washed over him, sweeping away the earlier hesitation.He sat down, preparing himself to write—because from tonight onward, his livelihood depended on it.
[Three more years passed by]
Since deciding to write the books and novels he remembered from Earth, Kael had worked relentlessly. Night after night, he poured his memories onto the page, recreating story after story with meticulous care. Once he had enough manuscripts, he began uploading them to the internet—always under a pen name to keep his true identity hidden from the world.
Readers from all over Orbis flocked to his works. The Lord of the Rings, The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Jurassic Park, I Am Legend… each release drew in an even larger wave of excitement. His mysterious pen name spread rapidly—whispered through forums, shared across social feeds, and praised endlessly within online communities.
Before he realized it, Kael had amassed a massive global fanbase.
He even managed to find a trustworthy publisher—one who honored contracts, paid fairly, and understood the enormous potential of his writing. With their help, each manuscript was printed and released as a physical book, further boosting his reputation and earnings.
Kael's life, once limited by circumstance, was finally beginning to open up.
Within three years, he had earned tens of millions of dollars.
He had already moved out of the orphanage within the first year of uploading the books. The moment his online earnings became stable, he rented a small apartment—nothing extravagant, but quiet, private, and perfect for both writing and cultivation. It was the first space he could truly call his own.
Freed from the cramped rooms and constant noise of the orphanage, his productivity soared. His writing improved, his cultivation progressed faster, and his independence solidified. Every chapter he uploaded, every book he published, pushed him further from the life he once knew and closer to the future he envisioned.
But even after moving out, Kael never forgot the orphanage that had taken care of him. No matter how busy he became, he always made sure to donate generously. It was the least he could do for the place that had given him food, shelter, and—most importantly—a peaceful childhood without bullying or abuse.
They hadn't been able to offer him much, but they had protected him, treated him kindly, and allowed him to grow. For Kael, that kindness was worth far more than money.