Chapter 1
Dundee, Scotland, British Isles
Sainz Autumn knew he was different. Not just because he was a time traveler—but because he had something special.
He had superpowers.
He discovered them when he was seven years old. Or at least, that's what the orphanage director told him his age was.
Until then, he'd been just another ordinary transmigrator in a British orphanage, planning to live a lazy, worry-free life in the 1980s and 1990s by taking advantage of his future knowledge. That is, until the day he made an old, dim desk lamp float in the air.
Sainz Autumn was a name he gave himself when he was five, and the dean had allowed it. Before that, everyone just called him "the Chinese boy."
In his previous life, his name had been Min Ke—surname Min, given name Ke. His surname was rare, but his ancestors had once been wealthy.
Min Ke considered himself lucky. Despite being reincarnated in Britain, his face remained the same. Not particularly handsome, but well-proportioned—familiar after more than 20 years of use.
Britain in the 1980s wasn't exactly prosperous. Life was far more modest than he remembered from his past life, and even if there were any advantages to be had, they rarely trickled down to orphans like him.
Among the hundreds of children in the orphanage, he was the only Asian. He assumed he'd either been abandoned or kidnapped. The evidence? According to the director, he was already able to speak when he was brought in—and it took a translator to confirm he was speaking Chinese.
Dean Brulie had made inquiries, and even the police got involved. They searched the local Chinese community thoroughly but couldn't figure out who the boy belonged to.
No one expects a toddler to be able to clearly explain their past, and eventually, the matter was dropped.
Then one day, looking into a mirror, he suddenly remembered: his name was Min Ke.
"Min" means "autumn," and "Ke" means "science." From that, he crafted the name Sainz Autumn.
After adopting the name and persona of "Sainz," his life improved. He had no interest in being the ringleader among the children, but he also refused to be bullied. The other kids quickly noticed that something about the "Chinese boy" had changed—he'd become cool.
Then, one night, just after Halloween when he was seven, Sainz was heading back to his bunk after dinner. As usual, he tried to keep to himself. But that night, he accidentally knocked over a desk lamp—and instead of crashing to the ground, it floated midair. Not because he caught it, but because it hovered on its own.
Surprise! A time traveler's cheat code?!
In that instant, Sainz threw away all his old plans.
He wasn't going to tell anyone. These weren't real children around him, and he certainly wasn't going to blab to the world. Best to keep it secret and train in silence.
That night, he was so excited he barely slept.
The next morning, he tried to make something float again—but failed.
Desk lamp? No.
Toilet paper? No.
He tried different objects, poses, even facial expressions to recreate the magic of the night before. Nothing worked.
It felt like a cruel joke, but he knew he hadn't imagined it.
He had proof—a cookie with a missing corner. The night before, he'd been holding it for too long while practicing, and when he lost concentration, it fell. He hadn't been able to catch it.
The following days were hard. His mood took a hit—so much so that even Dean Brulie noticed. The old man assumed Sainz was being bullied again and called him in for a chat.
"Sainz," the dean said kindly, "I don't claim to understand Eastern cultures well, but you… you've always been the embodiment of what I imagine Eastern wisdom to be. Never arrogant, never impatient—always calm and thoughtful. I don't know what's troubling you lately, but I believe you'll get through it. Or, if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here." He even gave a clumsy little wink.
Looking at the nearly seventy-year-old man doing his best to be funny, Sainz felt his frustration fade. It was like finally accepting he'd missed his chance at a million-dollar lottery.
"Thank you, Dean Brulie. I was stuck on something I couldn't figure out, but now I think I've made peace with it. Sorry to have worried you."
"Oh, my, my! So it's just academics you're struggling with? Goodness, how should I save those other rascals, then?" the old dean joked with mock exasperation, visibly relieved.
Sainz wasn't just saying it to be polite. He really had let go of his expectations.
"Maybe I only got the trial version of my powers—one night of magic, then poof, gone. Still, that's more than most people get. At least I've had powers once."
He smiled, picked up his notebook, and muttered to himself:
"Time to go back to the old plan."
Sometimes life is like chocolate chips—you never know when you'll bite into one.
And just as he resigned himself to giving up on supernatural powers, his one-inch-thick notebook suddenly floated into the air and landed gently in his hands.
"Ahaha, looks like we're rewriting the plan again."
The development of his powers progressed quickly.
Sainz realized what he had wasn't just telekinesis. It was more complex—closer to the Force from Star Wars, or the concept of magical energy in fantasy stories.
His powers showed up in unpredictable ways and varied widely in form.
As a seasoned reader in his past life, Sainz had no shortage of ideas. If he could move objects, he could surely develop techniques like Force Push, Force Pull, even Force Manipulation and Hypnosis.
Force Choke, though? That seemed out of reach.
In the movies, Force Choke was just an advanced form of push-pull. But being able to choke someone across galaxies via a video screen, as shown in Star Wars, still felt too far-fetched.
Then again, there was a logic to it. The Force in that universe pervaded everything. If someone was strong enough, or in harmony with the universe, maybe they really could choke someone across the stars.
Force Jump wasn't very useful at the moment—he simply didn't have the power.
Over time, Sainz also developed weak forms of lightning, ignition, cooling, and wind manipulation. They weren't strong, but they were more than enough to deal with ordinary people.
Still, in a peaceful and civilized society, the most useful skill turned out to be hypnosis—even if it lacked flashy effects.
Some of the plans he'd intended to carry out as an adult… he quietly started putting into motion at the age of eight.
For example: opening a bank account under an adult's name.