Victor stepped through the gate of the Elarion School. As he walked through the corridor, people stared at him, eyes wide with disbelief.
Whispers echoed all around.
"Did he not get exiled?" one of the boys muttered in the crowd.
"Looks like they didn't throw him out yet."
"Did he awaken the System?"
Gasps echoed as they heard it; nobody knew who said it, but it was the only truth.
Victor ignored them all, with only one thought in his mind: these people only want my misery! I knew there was no one whom I could trust.
He reached the blue-colored door with a wooden plaque hanging above the side of the door, written on it was the homeroom teacher. Victor knocked on the door and entered.
As he stepped inside the small office, the smell of coffee hit his nose, and papers were spread all over the desk.
Across the desk, a bald man sat wearing a crumpled sky-blue cotton shirt and scribbling on the papers with a neutral face.
Victor stood across from him and waited for the man to notice him.
"What do you want?" the homeroom teacher asked without even raising his head.
"Ahem, Teacher, I'm here to inform you that I have awakened the System and I want to appear in the Military exam," Victor replied.
The man raised his head, his eyes wide in shock as he noticed who was standing before him.
" Victor! "He exclaimed
Victor nodded with a light smile.
He nodded toward Victor in a daze.
Victor turned and reached toward the door.
He came out of his daze and called, " Wait a minute, Victor."
Victor stopped and turned toward him.
The teacher continued with his calculating eyes, " You should know that the system is one requirement, another requirement is to at least reach …the level 5".
Victor's eyes widened, he froze, and stammered, asking, "But..but..I.. just awakened the System."
The teacher gave a menacing smile as he leaned back in his chair. " You should go to Swamp Forest if you want to get enrolled in the Military Academy."
Victor clenched his fists. The Swamp Forest! It's connected to the black sea; only corrupted monsters reside inside. It's a death sentence to go there, or worse, you will get corrupted by the Chaos Origin Magic.
Victor glared at the smiling bald old man and stormed out.
He ran into the restroom.
He washed his face in anger with cold water, calming him a little. He exhaled and raised his head, looking at the hazy mirror right above the wash basin.
Startled, he stepped back.
He muttered with wide eyes, "Who is that?" Then, after a second, he came back and looked in the mirror again.
He stared at the person standing in the mirror. He brought his hands toward his face, felt around, confirming if he was looking at himself.
His eyes widened in disbelief.
He checked his face closely; it looked completely pale, his eyes that shone with a light golden hue, and his black hair had become longer, falling below his ears.
"Maybe it's because I have awakened the System that's why I have changed a little?" he muttered to himself.
He heard footsteps, approaching him from behind. Three hazy figures appeared in the mirror.
He turned and looked at the three boys.
His face scowled deeply as his eyes fell on the three boys.
Zack, a blond-haired boy, with his two partners, Mozu and Moosa, standing beside him like bodyguards, like an oversized gorilla.
"Hello, my friend, you seem to have changed?" Zack's menacing smile appeared on a girl like a tender face.
Victor looked at the two twins standing beside Zack, huge bulls, towering over the blonde boy, who was only reaching their shoulders.
Victor's back was drenched in sweat as his eyes fell on the trio; the fear of years of torment was deeply ingrained in his bones.
"Moosa and Mozu, you are still following that blonde bimbo!" Victor replied defiantly with a snicker. Even though his heart raced in fear, he never bowed to anyone, and he is not going to start that even now.
Two bulls standing beside Zack scowled their faces, but the pretty boy became much more furious and moved swiftly, reaching Victor in a blink.
Zack's fist came hurling down at Victor's stomach.
Victor's eyes widened; he could see the punch now, and he brought his two hands to shield the blow.
Boom!
Victor slid back, punch blocked, shock rippled through his bones, and his arms went numb. But he didn't fall.
Zack stared with confused eyes at his hand, then at Victor.
Then he smiled, a smile filled with fury. "You have become a little stronger, you can handle more punches now, but don't be mistaken, when I'm done with you, you'll be crawling out of here". Zack said in a smug voice.
Zack looked back at his lackies, who smiled, stepping toward Victor, who was clenching his right arm in his left hand.
Zack moved now way faster than before, Victor wasn't even able to see the punch as it came, aimed at the same place.
Boom!
Punch connected to Victor's stomach.
"Kuukk" saliva flew out from his mouth.
Thud!
As he slid back and fell on the floor, curling, clutching his stomach.
Iron taste filled Victor's mouth, mixed with bile.
Zack stood above him and kicked his ribs.
Thud!
A muffled groan came out from Victor's mouth, and stars filled his vision.
Zack looked at the Moosa and Mozu, his two loyal henchmen, " Beat him up! Make him understand the difference between levels. Even though he awakened, he is still our punching bag."
Then a barrage of heavy kicks sounded in the empty restroom.
Victor lay there and took the beating.
Pain wasn't able to stop his thoughts. I need to get stronger. I have to…no… I must go to Swamp Forest. I cannot remain weak forever. I have to become stronger. So strong that I don't have to feel this pain and humiliation again.
…
I will take revenge for every small grievance.
[ Alert: HP blew 29%, pain tolerance has been activated]
Small, Crimson panel hovered in Victor's hazy vision, invisible to his tormenters.
" Stop!" Zack shouted, and his two lackies stopped at that instant.
Zack looked at them with a smile, and they both nodded in understanding.
As they stepped out of the restroom, their faces had wide smirks, like they had achieved something bigger.
Victor lay there with blood trickling from his mouth and nose, with his body marked with black and blue bruises.
He turned on his back, from a side-lying position, and looked at the familiar chipped white ceiling of the restroom.
It reminded him that even though he awakened the System, nothing had changed, and nothing would if he didn't become strong.
A soothing energy circulated in his body, flowing from his liver into his veins.
The pain decreased a little, but the injuries didn't go away just the pain faded a little.
Victor stood up with the support of the wash basin.
He looked at himself in the mirror, his clothes a little wet from the floor, and his face red from the blood.
His eyes glowed more, fury seething beneath them.
His hair wet, he washed his face first and muttered, "Let's go to the library, get some information about Swamp Forest and Lunar Empire too."
Ding…
[ Unique Quest!]
[Survive the Swamp forest!]
[Duration: 1 month]
[Reward:???]
[Punishment: None]
He stopped in his tracks as he noticed another notification from the system.
He sighed after reading it and muttered, " Yes, I'm going there, you don't have to force me, too."