Tales of the past and present of the reincarnated
Late into the night at a factory, a man toiled away.
Massive machines hummed, creating products with a rhythmic clatter. In this era, labor laws and noise regulations were not as strict. Under the starry midnight sky, the man worked alongside his colleagues.
Heat leaked from the large manufacturing machines, making the factory uncomfortably warm, even in the late hours. Clad in a blue jumpsuit and driven by the urgency of approaching deadlines, the man worked tirelessly, forgoing a return home.
This man was Zeke, in a time before he became Zeke. This is the story of his past life. His colleagues, too, labored with strained breaths. The supervisor, wearing a stern expression, concealed inner anxiety about meeting the deadline while directing the workforce.
The starlight offered no blessings to anyone present.
In Zeke’s past life, he was involved in the production of magical artifacts. Living beings possessed a life force known as magical energy. Products utilizing this life force were called magical artifacts.
Magical energy alone couldn’t produce significant effects, requiring complex rituals to even ignite a small flame. However, using magical energy as a power source for machines proved highly efficient, leading to significant advancements in magical fields alongside technological progress.
Zeke worked for a company specializing in the manufacturing of these magical artifacts. It was an ordinary small-to-medium-sized enterprise, producing magical artifacts and their components based on orders from other companies.
During that time, Zeke was in charge of magical toys for children. The current project involved a magical music box powered by magical energy, a popular item at the time. Previously, the company had produced magical versions of traditional toys like board games and spinning tops.
“This product is going to be a massive hit! You guys are shaping the trends of the era! Work harder!” Zeke’s past-life supervisor continued to motivate the team. Yet, those who heard similar pep talks before wondered if the product would eventually fade in popularity.
What does it mean to shape the trends of an era? People say that work is something that benefits society. Doing something useful for someone else is considered work, resulting in payment or a salary.
But holding the finished music box in his hands, Zeke pondered.
If someone buys this and enjoys it, could he bring joy to that person? In return, payment would be received. However, if the music box is discarded and forgotten within a few days, could it still be considered a job that benefits society?
Would it leave a lasting impact on the flow of time?
Perhaps the production of these magical music boxes wouldn’t last much longer. Eventually, without making much impact on the world, these music boxes would be forgotten by everyone.
Zeke contemplated this, wondering if he was an insignificant existence incapable of leaving a lasting mark.
Such thoughts vanished as he was scolded for slowing down. “Get back to work!” Zeke apologized loudly and returned to his task. Setting aside his contemplation, he worked diligently, aware that pondering alone wouldn’t fill his stomach.
Inspecting the product or not, the sound of the music box echoed through the factory. Amidst the thunderous noise of the machines, a delicate melody filled the air, stepping on Zeke as if trampled by the noise. The thin melody reached Zeke’s ears, tickling them.
The high, gentle, yet seemingly fragile notes of the melody touched Zeke’s heart. The tune was a familiar nursery rhyme from his childhood. A unique melody, both beautiful and melancholic, resonated, and Zeke felt tears welling up.
May this product continue to exist in the world for a long time and bring smiles to many people. With such thoughts lingering in his mind, the ordinary Zeke prayed silently while earnestly operating the factory machines.
Stars shining in the night sky, but that wasn’t apparent inside the factory.
The music box didn’t last long, swept away by the waves of time, and production in the factory came to an end.
Lonely moon floating in the sky as usual.
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A few decades later….
“Take this, you idiot!”
A strangely goofy voice echoed from the classroom. It was close to the end of the school year, just before summer vacation. Reincarnated as Zeke, given the name 15 years ago, it was when Zeke was a first-year high school student.
“What are you doing?”
“Oh, Zeke.”
Zeke was greeted by Paris, a classmate, as he entered the classroom. Paris was a carefree and cheerful guy with many friends. He was the one making weird noises earlier.
“Hey, check this out. This right here.”
“This?”
In the center, where a few classmates gathered, there was a familiar stand.
“…Super Reversi?”
“Yeah, it’s trending lately.”
While saying that, Paris placed a white piece on the stand and flipped the black pieces of his opponent to turn them white. The sound of the pieces hitting the stand echoed lightly. After Paris flipped the opponent’s black piece, a long row turned white. The classmates watched in awe.
Super Reversi was a modified version of an old game called Reversi that came from another country. It turned the pieces and stands from the traditional game into magical tools, giving them special effects.
“Huh…?”
After turning the row black to white, Paris made a small questioning sound. One of the flipped pieces started blinking.
“Oh…!”
Paris’s face tensed, and his opponent smirked.
Right after, the blinking piece made a popping sound, exploding, turning that piece and the surrounding white pieces into black.
It was a trap bomb piece, a type of special piece that activated its effect when flipped by the opponent.
In this way, Super Reversi added special effects to the traditional game, creating a board game. One of its selling points was the ability to customize your deck by changing the combination of special pieces.
“All right!”
With the trap as the decisive move, Paris’s opponent shouted in victory.
“Nooo…! There goes my lunch!”
“What the hell are you guys doing?”
It seemed like Paris and others were betting on their next lunch money.
“…Rather than that, isn’t Super Reversi an old game?.”
“Don’t you know, Zeke? It’s making a comeback now.”
“Moreover, calling it Super Reversi is outdated, Zeke. It’s called Hyper Reversi now.”
“I see.”
Zeke understood that it was trending, but he was still amazed that they brought a stand the size of a table to play this game.
“Do you want to play, Zeke? I’ll lend you my deck.”
“Huh? Yeah, sure, just once.”
“Oh! Zeke’s joining too? Can you beat my trap deck?”
“Heh… challenging the first-place winner of the school tournament, you’re bold.”
“When the hell did we start having a school tournament…?”
Although aware of the trend, Zeke was still bewildered by their enthusiasm for playing with a stand of that size.
At that moment, they hear a voice from the side.
“Zeke, want to challenge me? Behold the power of my quick-attack power deck.”
“Who the hell are you!?”
Suddenly addressed, Paris and others turned to look at the source. Leaning against the entrance wall, holding a piece up to his chest, a man was looking at Paris and others with a sidelong glance.
“What? Who’s this? Math teacher Lorenzo?”
“Hehehe.”
It was the math teacher for this grade, Mr. Lorenzo. He was in his mid-50s, a bit overweight, with wrinkles on his face that showed his age. Stepping away from the wall, Lorenzo leisurely approached the group of students led by Zeke.
“…Why, Mr. Lorenzo?”
Zeke interjected.
“Well, you see, Super Reversi was booming back in our day. The Hyper Reversi craze is making a comeback around us now,” Lorenzo replied.
“…Is that so?”
The Hyper Reversi popular among kids now is a revival of the game Super Reversi, which was popular in the past. The time when Super Reversi was released and became popular was Mr. Lorenzo’s childhood. Nostalgia was welling up among the teachers’ generation.
“Well then, shall we play, my students? Let me fully experience the weight of middle age,” Lorenzo said.
“The weight of middle age?”
Zeke furrowed his brows, but the others unexpectedly got excited about the unexpected participant.
“You’re eager, aren’t you? I’ll give you a run for your money, Mr. Lorenzo!”
“Even if you’re a teacher, can you beat us?”
“Hah… challenging the first place winner of the school tournament, Kevin, is reckless.”
“Why’s everyone so hyped?”
Unable to keep up with everyone’s excitement, Zeke found himself reverting to the innocence of his elementary school days.
“Then, shall we, Mr. Lorenzo? Let’s have you battle the weakest combatant among us first, Zeke.”
“Wa, me? “
Pushed forward by Paris, Zeke stepped up. Having just joined the Hyper Reversi circle, Zeke, who was still a beginner, was chosen as the first emissary.
“Starting with a beginner, huh? Don’t cry if you lose.”
“I won’t cry, I’m not a little kid anymore…”
Zeke was starting to get annoyed with Mr. Lorenzo’s words.
“Then, someone lend me a deck.”
“Sure thing.”
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