I THOUGHT MY MAGIC WAS THE WEAKEST?

Chapter 1: A Life Cut Short

Michael Cruz was an ordinary IT professional, living a mundane life filled with routine and predictability. Day in and day out, he found himself staring at the glow of his computer screen, solving problems that never seemed to end, feeling trapped in the monotony of his existence. Each day blurred into the next, a never-ending cycle of coding, coffee, and sleepless nights. His only escape was his love for fantasy novels and video games, where he often imagined himself as a hero in a world full of magic and adventure.

"Michael, my website isn’t working. Can you take a look at it?" a female coworker asked, her voice tinged with urgency.

Michael sighed, feeling the weight of exhaustion pressing down on him. "Yeah, I’ll be right there," he replied, his voice heavy with fatigue.

He trudged over to her desk, his mind still half-lost in the realm of his daydreams. After a few clicks and some quick troubleshooting, he managed to fix the issue.

"Okay, it’s all set now," he said, trying to muster a smile.

"Thank you so much," she responded, visibly relieved.

As Michael walked back to his own office, his thoughts drifted once again to the fantasy worlds he loved so much. He imagined himself wielding a sword, casting spells, and embarking on epic quests. Anything, he thought, to break free from this monotonous reality.

One evening, after another long and exhausting day at the office, Michael decided to take a different route home. He needed a change, something—anything—to break the tedium. But as fate would have it, this simple decision led him straight into the path of danger. A mugger appeared from the shadows, demanding his wallet. Something in Michael snapped; he refused to give in, his pride and pent-up frustration finally boiling over. The confrontation was brief and brutal.

"Don't move! Give me your wallet!" the mugger snarled, thrusting a knife toward Michael.

"Come on, man... I've had a hell of a day," Michael shot back, his voice trembling with frustration. "Go rob someone else."

The mugger's face twisted in anger. He lunged forward, grabbing Michael's bag, which contained his most valuable belongings. Instinctively, Michael tried to resist, his hands clutching the strap of the bag, a surge of defiance coursing through him.

"Let go!" the mugger hissed, yanking harder.

Michael's grip tightened. He wasn’t going to let this thug take everything from him. But then, in a flash, the mugger's knife plunged into his stomach. A sharp, searing pain radiated through his body, and Michael staggered back, his hands instinctively moving to the wound as blood began to seep through his fingers.

The mugger grabbed the bag and ran off, disappearing into the night. Michael collapsed onto the cold pavement, his vision blurring as he lay there, alone and bleeding. His thoughts began to drift.

"So this is it," he thought, a strange calm settling over him. "I didn't expect my life to end this way... never even had a girlfriend to make me smile...”

As his consciousness began to fade, he couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of regret. His mundane life flashed before his eyes—a life he had never truly lived.
Michael felt his life slipping away, the world around him fading into darkness. "Is this really it?" he thought, the pain in his stomach dulling as everything went black. But instead of the eternal nothingness he expected, he suddenly felt a strange, squeezing sensation, like being pushed through a very narrow tunnel. There was a blinding light, and then... he cried out. A loud, shrill cry he didn't recognize as his own.

"Congratulations! It’s a boy!" a voice cheered, followed by a chorus of relieved sighs and joyful exclamations.

Michael tried to speak, but all that came out was a series of garbled baby noises. Panic surged through him. "What the heck is going on?" he tried to ask, but again, it came out as nothing more than an infant's cry.