[Chapter 2 - Episode 3] When a Reincarnated Programmer Debugs Magic, He Gets Monitored by the World OS - A 6-Year-Old Toddler Starts Hacking the Specifications of Another World
The protagonist's magic experiment aimed at reducing mana consumption by 10%.
His theory was perfect, but he made a rookie bug: an input error by one decimal place.
As a result, the light orb went out of control, the room was dyed in rainbow colors, and it caused a small fire.
This incident brings back memories of a past tragedy in his kind mother's heart.
Chapter 2, Episode 3
Bug Occurred: Fire and Tears
Introduction
“Ah.”
The light orb—expanded.
My room is dyed in rainbow colors.
(Oh no, it won't stop!)
Main Story
Three days since then.
I had been secretly continuing my efficiency experiments on the light orb.
Ariel-san's homework—reduce mana consumption by 10%.
Theoretically, it's perfect.
Eliminate wasted mana concentration, minimize probability manipulation, and keep only the stabilization.
“Alright... let's do this.”
My parents are out shopping.
Martha-san is doing laundry on the first floor.
Now is my chance.
I hold my hands out in front of me.
“Light Orb.”
Pop.
A blue light orb floats up.
(Okay, next is multiple at once.)
If I could make it efficient, I should be able to control multiple ones too.
“One more.”
Pop.
A second one floats up.
“Another one.”
Pop.
Three—
“Ah.”
The third one suddenly started to expand.
(Huh? Why?)
The light orb becomes huge.
From palm-sized—to both-hands-sized—
“Wait!”
I try to control it, but my hands are shaking.
(Damn it, a two-year-old's hands can't do fine control!)
The light orb expands even further.
The color starts to change.
From blue to green, green to red, red to purple—
It shines in rainbow colors.
“Stop!”
But it won't stop.
The whole room is dyed in rainbow colors.
The curtains, the walls, the ceiling—
(Oh no, if this keeps up—)
The light orb exploded.
Boom!
Fire Breaks Out
“Kyaaaa!”
Martha-san's scream from the first floor.
I'm collapsed on the floor.
My head is spinning.
(What... happened?)
The smell of smoke.
Looking up—the curtains are burning.
“Ah...”
The fire is about to spread from the curtains to the wall.
(Bad, bad, bad!)
I try to stand up—but my legs are wobbly.
“Help!”
My voice won't come out.
My throat is trembling.
At that moment, the door opened.
“What's going on!?”
Martha-san rushed in.
She understood the situation in an instant and cast water magic.
“Extinguish!”
A stream of water hit the curtains directly.
Hiss.
Smoke rises.
The fire is out—but the room is full of smoke.
“Are you okay!?”
Martha-san picks me up.
“...Yeah.”
I'm shaking.
Scary.
Really, really scary.
“What did you do!?”
“...Light orb.”
“A fire from a light orb!?”
Martha-san has an incredulous look on her face.
At that moment, the sound of the front door opening.
“I'm home—”
Mother's voice.
“What is this smoke!?”
Mother runs up the stairs.
“Lady Ellis! The young master used magic—”
The moment Mother entered the room, she stopped moving.
Burnt curtains.
Blackened walls.
The lingering scent of smoke.
And me, collapsed on the floor.
“...”
Mother's face turned pale.
Physical Lecture
“Explain yourself.”
Mother's voice is low.
I'm being made to sit properly.
In the living room.
Father is sitting next to me too.
His expression is stern.
“...I tried to increase the light orbs...”
“Multiple?”
“Yeah... because I made them efficient...”
“Efficient?”
Mother frowns.
“Ariel-san's homework.”
“The homework was to make one light orb efficient, right!? I didn't say anything about multiple!”
“...”
I look down.
“So? What happened?”
“The third one, it got big...”
“Big?”
“Yeah... it wouldn't stop...”
“It wouldn't stop?”
Mother grabs my shoulders.
“You used magic you couldn't control!?”
“...I'm sorry.”
I'm about to cry.
I hold it back—but it won't stop.
“I'm sorry, Mama...”
“...”
Mother takes a deep breath.
“You know,”
Mother's voice is trembling.
“A long time ago, a senior of mine died in a magic accident.”
“...Huh?”
“They used magic they couldn't control, and the mana went out of control—”
Mother's eyes are watering.
“My senior... their whole body was burned...”
Mother's voice chokes up.
“They were conscious until the very end. Saying it hurts, it hurts...”
“...”
“That's why I'm scared of magic. I told you to understand it before you use it, didn't I!?”
“...Yeah.”
“And yet! You!”
Mother's voice gets louder.
“Experimenting on your own! Starting a fire! What if no one was here!?”
“...”
“The house could have burned down! You could have died!”
Mother hugs me.
Tightly.
“Stop it... please...”
Mother is crying.
“I was so scared...”
“...I'm sorry.”
I cry too.
Instinctively, I'm crying.
I can't hold it back.
“I'm sorry, Mama... I'm sorry... I'm a bad boy...”
“You're not a bad boy.”
Mother strokes my head.
“It's just... you're too reckless.”
“...”
“Don't ever do this again.”
“Yeah...”
I bury my face in Mother's chest.
Warm.
I feel safe.
But the guilt won't go away.
Cause Analysis
That night, in Father's study.
I'm drawing a diagram on parchment.
“...This is where I made a mistake.”
Father is watching from the side.
“What do you mean?”
“The number... I made a mistake.”
I point to the number with a trembling hand.
“Radius: 0.5... but I put 5.0...”
“You got the decimal place wrong?”
“Yeah...”
(As a programmer, this is the worst kind of mistake.)
A decimal error.
A tenfold error.
That's what made the light orb go out of control.
“So that's why the light orb became huge.”
“Yeah... I couldn't control it...”
“...”
Father sighs deeply.
“You're smart, but your body hasn't caught up yet.”
“...Yeah.”
“So, don't rush.”
Father strokes my head.
“You should just take it slow, at your own pace.”
“But...”
“But?”
“I want to be strong... quickly...”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah... I want to protect my family.”
Father smiled.
“Thank you. But for now, it's fine to be the one being protected.”
“...”
“The most important thing is that you stay healthy.”
Father hugs me.
“So, don't push yourself.”
“...Yeah.”
New Rules
The next day, a family meeting.
Everyone gathered in the living room.
Father, Mother, Martha-san, and me.
“Following this incident, we are making new rules.”
Father declares.
“One. Magic experiments must always be conducted under adult supervision.”
“...Yeah.”
“Two. The content of the experiment must be reported in advance.”
“...Yeah.”
“Three. Experiments judged to be dangerous will be stopped.”
“...Yeah.”
I nod honestly.
There's no room for argument.
“And,”
Mother says.
“We're going to build an experiment room in the basement.”
“Huh?”
“A safe room for magic experiments.”
“...Is that okay?”
“Even if I say no, you'll just do it anyway, right?”
Mother gives a wry smile.
“If so, I'll make a place where you can do it safely.”
“Mama...”
“However, you must follow the rules.”
“Yeah!”
I'm so happy, I hug Mother.
“Thank you, Mama!”
“Oh, this child...”
Mother hugs me while laughing.
But her eyes are a little watery.
Hiring Garm
That afternoon.
Father brought a beastman man.
“This is Garm-san. He was the one I asked to guard the warehouse.”
“Nice to meet you.”
Garm bows politely.
“From now on, he will also help with your training.”
“Huh?”
“His role is to physically stop magic from going out of control.”
Father explains.
“To protect you in case of an emergency.”
“...”
I look up at Garm.
He has kind-looking eyes.
“Nice to meet you, Young Master.”
“...Nice to meet you.”
I bow my head slightly.
(I've caused them to worry again.)
That Night
Before bed, Mother reads me a book.
“Were you scared today?”
“Yeah...”
“I was scared too.”
“I'm sorry.”
“You don't have to apologize anymore.”
Mother smiles.
“Just be careful from now on, okay?”
“Yeah.”
“You are special, so there are many dangers.”
“Special...”
“But that's not a bad thing.”
Mother touches my cheek.
“Because Mother and Father believe in you.”
“...”
“So, believe in yourself too. It's okay to take it slow.”
“Yeah.”
Mother leaves the room.
I look up at the ceiling.
(A decimal error, huh.)
As a programmer, it's an embarrassing mistake.
But I learned from this.
Theory alone isn't enough.
The body, control, everything is important.
(Next time, I'll do it right.)
Before I fall asleep, I make a vow.
(I won't make Mother cry again.)
Epilogue
That night, the Demon Monitoring System.
New data was added.
```
[Anomalous Individual: Tracking Record]
Age: 2 years old
Event: Fire caused by magic runaway
Result: Successfully controlled by family
Evaluation: Danger level Medium -> High
Monitoring frequency: Monthly -> Weekly
Remarks: Possibility of reducing runaway risk by installing an experimental room
Action: Continue observation
```
The crystal ball pulsates.
The system continues to record silently.
And then—
In the distance, another entity awakened.
A place even deeper than the Demon System.
"An interesting child."
A low voice.
"Only 2 years old, and this much runaway. I look forward to their growth."
The shadow smiles faintly.
"Bugs that disrupt the world—are best left to grow."
I don't know yet.
That in this world—there exists something even more terrifying than the Demon System.
And that this entity—has started to take an interest in me.
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Episode 3 End
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Magic runaway and fire caused by a digit error.
Receiving his mother's tears and deep sorrow, the protagonist turns his experiments into a set of rules and wins the right to an "underground experimental room" during a family meeting.
Meanwhile, his abnormal growth begins to attract the attention of the Demon System, the world's monitoring system, and even entities in even deeper places.
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#LightNovel #IsekaiReincarnation #Fantasy #MagicAccident #FamilyLove #GrowthStory #AnimeIllustration #Illustration