Reincarnated With the World Domination System

After bidding farewell to the "lucky" orphan, everyone went their separate ways.

By the look on Sister Sophia's face, Rael suspected she would either pray alone in her room or speak with her fellow sisters.

He hoped she wouldn't be too hard on herself and then headed to his room.

It was a spacious room with six bunk beds, three on each side.

A large window in the middle overlooked every bed and was always shaded before bedtime because it let in too much sunshine.

A young voice called out to Rael.

"You want to go to the military too, Rael?"

"Eh, not sure yet," Rael replied.

He turned toward the source of the voice and saw his roommate, Ali, lounging on his bed while tapping a screen floating in front of him.

Ali had been checking social media but paused when he noticed Rael come in.

In this futuristic era, people no longer used phones but wore watches that projected a screen in front of their eyes, along with a small mic near their lips and an earpiece.

Rael was impressed by that technology, but he was even more amazed that he didn't feel his usual social anxiety around orphans or the sisters.

It was normal for him not to feel pressured by kids, but the sisters were adults, and in his previous life, talking to them would have been challenging.

In this new life, though, he had no such symptoms, only a few lingering mental blocks from eighteen years of social anxiety, which he was steadily overcoming.

"You'd do well in the military," Ali said.

"Why do you think so?" Rael tilted his head.

"When we ran away from the normies, you were the fastest and never got tired."

"Normies" referred to kids with families.

Orphans often clashed with them at a nearby junkyard, playing hide and seek and other games.

They were recently scolded by the sisters for quarreling with the normies, so they resorted to taunting them and then running off.

No one said they couldn't insult them.

"I need an ability too, you know?" Rael said with a faint smile.

"Yep… Everyone else already went to the junkyard," Ali added. "You going too?"

"Yeah," Rael nodded.

"I don't want to go there anymore," Ali said. "My big brother told me that anyone who goes there gets scouted by military officials. I don't wanna leave this place."

Rael guessed Ali was afraid of going somewhere unfamiliar, and maybe older orphans had warned him for reasons he didn't fully understand.

Rael smiled. "Sure. We can always play hide and seek here, and then the sisters will play tag with us."

"Why would they play tag with us?" Ali asked, curious.

"When they find out we're goofing off at home, they'll get mad and chase us," Rael laughed.

Ali laughed too, finally understanding him.

It felt good to make Ali smile, a genuine smile fit for a kid who shouldn't have so many worries.

Rael felt obliged to help all the orphans in any way he could since, in truth, he was much older inside.

He put on his jacket (it was autumn) and left the room for the junkyard.

On his way out, he slipped past the sisters' watchful eyes, climbed through a window, and ran off.

If older orphans warned Ali about the junkyard, there has to be a way for military officials to discover an orphan's abilities there.

[Indeed. You have gathered the first clue, Lord Rael.]

Rael stopped at a bus stop and sat on a bench.

Even in this future, buses still existed, although they no longer harmed Earth thanks to a clean energy called "eletricium" mined on Earth and in other places.

Flying cars and aerial highways were around too, but they were mostly for wealthy people in large cities.

Rael hadn't seen one up close yet.

He paused because he wanted to awaken his ability in private, without anyone watching.

At this hour, everyone was at school or work, and Rael's classes wouldn't start for another two months, so he had time to explore.

Okay, Dominica. I've learned a lot about this world. The first quest is done, so give me my reward.

[As you wish, Lord Rael.]

[I shall begin the process of Lord Rael's first innate ability awakening.]

The moment Dominica's voice sounded in Rael's head, his entire body felt as though it were heating up, like an engine revving to life.

He believed this sensation came from his bloodline responding to his first ability awakening.

He gritted his teeth and held his breath, closing his eyes to endure the intensity.

A few minutes later, all that warmth gathered in his right hand.

He opened his eyes to see a floating screen at his eye level.

[You have successfully awakened your first innate ability, Lord Rael.]

[Gauntlet Of The Maker (F)]

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

Rael's joyful exclamation interrupted Dominica's explanation of the skill.

He already knew its importance from reading about Milford's epic journey.

Raising his right hand, he willed the skill to activate, and it coated his hand in lustrous steel.

His nails turned black, and his joints took on a mechanical look, yet he could feel everything as though it were still his normal hand.

I see a machnoid's hand in flesh and blood!

He groaned happily.

[Lord Rael, to be precise, this is your own hand.]

Machnoid…

He whispered the word like a love struck fool, even though he had never been in love.

If anyone asked him to play Romeo at the orphanage, he could pull it off easily.

[…]

Dominica stayed silent, allowing him to revel in his new power.

After a moment, Rael gathered himself and stretched his metallic hand forward.

At this level, I should be able to do this much!

He fixed his gaze on a trash bin and focused on an empty can inside it.

It twitched under his influence, then flew into his open palm.

He crushed it into a small metal lump, flattening it more efficiently than a hydraulic press.

No one would have believed a six year old could wield such strength.

I LOVE IT!

[I am glad, Lord Rael. At its current rank, your Gauntlet Of The Maker can pull any metal or steel to your hand and crush whatever you hold with the strength of a D plus individual. By my estimate, an average adult human with a typical ability has about that level of power.]

I should be fine against kids my age, but some of them have crazy abilities. I can't even imagine how they move or fight. Is this how older folks felt when smartphones first showed up?

[Possibly. Children are also less constrained by social norms and more open about their true nature, so they often act on raw impulse. One or two remarks from their parents regarding orphans is enough for normies to dismiss you.]

I'll manage against kids, but I need more combat experience for older opponents. I doubt Sister Sophia would let me learn martial arts. She'd rather see us play games than anything dangerous.

[I have a suggestion.]

Which is?

[Lord Rael may spend ten thousand EXP to create his own virtual reality training room.]

Dominica! You should have told me sooner!

[My apologies, Lord Rael. I am your servant, not your teacher. I exist to support your choices, and it is your needs and imagination that bring features like a virtual reality training room to life.]

I get it. Sorry for snapping at you. It's not like I wasted my time all these years, but having a training room would be awesome…

[No need to apologize, Lord Rael. However, you should remember that even though you will enter the training room in your mind, your mental projection will reflect your current body. Training as a toddler would have been quite difficult.]

Makes sense… We'll set it up when I'm back at the orphanage. For now, I'll check out the junkyard and look for anything suspicious. We orphans know a few hidden routes.

Rael smirked and hopped off the bench.

Armed with new knowledge and his freshly awakened skill, he headed straight for the junkyard.