I wheel Xinxia into Lingyun Middle School's entrance. The campus is of moderate size: there's about 2100 students spread across 3 grades, and Xinxia and I are among the 700 people new to the campus.
The quiet murmurs have died down somewhat since our enrollment a few months ago, but their exclusionary attitudes have remained steadfast. Xinxia is shunned because her wheelchair makes her a freak. I am shunned because my defined nose and relatively thick eyebrows are abnormal in this sea of softer features.
Shunned is a strong word. "Consciously not interacted with" might be more accurate.
[At least my skin is a light tan and not any darker, or else that'd make me stand out even more.]
No matter, Xinxia and I are used to living in the absence of other children; having each other is plenty. I drop her off at her Magic Geography class and proceed to the Magic Star Path class taught by one Su Qingzhi.
As I stroll in, heads swivel to glance at me, quickly swiveling back as I glance at them. Su Qingzhi begins lecturing on the geometry of the Star Path a couple of minutes later, and I doze off in boredom, having learned this when I was 3. Rather young, but my parents recognized my attempts to read at 1 and a half years old, and from then onwards, I swiftly consumed knowledge about the world until… never mind.
Regardless, everything taught at this middle school is extremely basic; it's a wonder how students around me need to ask questions to keep up with the lecture. The Star Path is merely a regular heptagon with 7 vertices, and somehow a few of my peers are unable to follow the logic that establishes angles of 5π/7 radians, or about 128.6 degrees. How on earth will they then learn the vastly more complex Star Pattern composed of 7 Star Paths, let alone the Star Constellation composed of 7 Star Patterns? Ridiculous.
As my eyes begin to glaze over, Su Qingzhi notices my lack of attention and begins to reprimand me. "Young man, it's disrespectful to doze off during my class," he asserts sternly.
"I apologize, but this material is too basic for me. I've known about the Star Path since I was a toddler. It's just boring."
Su Qingzhi's expression changes slightly, showing a hint of concern mixed with firmness. "I understand that you may find the content repetitive, but your behavior does not set a great example for your classmates," he responds calmly.
"What? Why should I care if others take a nap?"
"... Alright, continue resting then."
I put my head down, facing no resistance from Su Qingzhi this time.
…
…
As the day goes on, I quickly wheel Xinxia between her classes before dashing to my own. After I exit Magic History, my final course of the day, I slowly amble towards Xinxia's Magical Beast Knowledge class that's on the opposite end of the campus. I expectantly open the door to wheel her out, but…
The classroom is empty, aside from a single boy asking the female teacher a few questions.
[Where is she?]
Fearing the worst, I dash out, asking passerby if they have seen a girl with a wheelchair. One of them points me towards the fields.
[Fuck me.]
I arrive at the green soccer field, my chest heaving not from the light exertion, but fury. Xinxia's wheelchair lies next to one of the goal posts. She lies in the middle of the field, dirt and grass staining her otherwise pristine clothes.
Encircling her are 8 boys and 3 girls.
My eyes cloud over with rage. I sprint up to one of the 8 boys, not bothering to speak or get his name. Before he has time to swivel around, I seize his throat and launch him meters away. I don't even hear the thud of his body hitting the ground before I land chops on the necks of the two boys next to him.
As they fall to the ground, the rest of the boys finally notice my presence and begin an aggressive onslaught. Of course, it fails miserably. I neatly evade two fists, punishing them with kicks to their solar plexuses. The three remaining all start to launch punches or kicks while the boy I previously tossed comes up behind me to restrain my arms.
I swivel to face him, grab his throat, and toss him into the attacks of the others. They have trouble keeping up with my movements, and this trend continues with my swift incapacitation of the trio with an elbow strike to the stomach, a punch to the jaw, and a blow to the forehead.
The three girls shriek at the sight of the 8 crumpled figures surrounding me, and immediately skitter away. I ignore them and gently scoop up Xinxia, her shivering sending trembles down my skin.
"Please, Jianyu, it's enough. They didn't hurt me. I just want to go home."
[What did she do to deserve this? She's nothing but an angel.]
I've half a mind to show her why teaching them a lesson might be beneficial, but …
"Fine, let's go home."
…
…
Through the window, Mo Jiaxing sees me wheeling a dirt-covered Xinxia, and he rushes to open the door.
"What happened? Is everything alright?"
"She's fine, Uncle Mo."
[Although he signed the adoption papers to make me his foster son, 'Dad' is simply impossible. 'Uncle Mo' is warm enough.]
"That's not what I meant. Clearly, she is unharmed. I'm more concerned about what you might have done to keep her that way."
"Uncle Mo, Jianyu just knocked some boys to the ground, no lasting injuries. He knows how to reserve his strength."
"Good, and I did not receive calls from the school, so it's unlikely the boys pursued the matter with administration. Hopefully, they learned their lesson."
"That they did. By the way, it's still freezing here. Have you figured out why the AC isn't working?" I inquire.
"Apparently, the Lightning magic stone used to power the AC circuit has run out of energy, and the Fire magic stone supplying warmth is no better. Only the Ice magic stone is in passable condition. It's understandable, considering I had the system installed 15 years ago. Unfortunately, I have been short on savings recently, so I can't spare the 10,000 yuan to replace the two magic stones for the time being."
"Uncle Mo, if the both of you are uncomfortable, you can always sleep in my house. Mom hasn't been there for a few days, but the AC still works."
"Xinxia, that's sweet of you. However, it would be an affront to my character to intrude on your house when Chang isn't there. I'll wrap myself up in lots of blankets here, and perhaps Jianyu can take your guest room?"
"Uncle Mo! You can't just suffer the cold here while the two of us are comfortable! I'm staying here with you; Xinxia, I'll drop you off."
"Jianyu, I insist. Consider it a plea. You have suffered enough…" Mo Jiaxing trails off.
"Alright, alright! Sorry Uncle Mo, I'll be staying with Xinxia for a while."
He smiles. "I'm glad to hear it."
"Yay! Jianyu, let's go and play."
"No, we'll be studying and exercising. Ah, I'll be studying and exercising; you'll just be studying."
"Fine. But we play after!"
"Okay." I assent.
She grins in victory while I begin pushing her wheelchair. My mind shifts to the broken AC. I can't just let him deal with the cold…
[How can a 13 year old earn money?]
Considering my skill set, the most viable and profitable course of action is hunting monsters. However, my stone weapons lack effectiveness even against Inferior Soldiers; they are too dull and brittle.
The boar was an Average Soldier, and if I had swiped my spear against its fur, I wouldn't even scratch its skin. If the spear hit one of its joints or protruding bones, it's likely the stone head would have just crumbled. Aiming for its eyes was crucial, and my only chance at killing it was stabbing its eye socket and letting it bleed out. I would've had to snap the bones in my leg into place, ignore the pain when placing my weight on it, and go in for the strike after seeing an opening between its thrashing tusks.
Even then, just two bloody holes might not drain enough blood to ensure a kill on the huge beast, not to mention that the boar is a far better matchup for me than most other monsters. Its agility is low for its level and does not exceed mine by such a margin that I can't even see its blows coming, so I'm able to read its movement and twist my body when it attempts to land a hit. This would not apply to any Average Soldiers focusing on agility, nor to any Soldiers above the Average level. I'd need to tank hits or rely on pure instinct and luck to dodge them while figuring out their patterns, and only then could I hope to injure them, let alone kill them.
If I had weapons capable of damaging Soldier-class monsters, perhaps I would be a match for a fair number of Soldiers. But to acquire those weapons, I'd need to kill Soldier-class monsters and sell their valuable parts. I'm in a Catch 22.
Wait, the Battlemages that saved me were likely aware of the wounds inflicted on the boar, and connected them to the blood on my spearpoint. Perhaps I can convince them to lend me some gear, and they might not turn me away thinking I'm some brave idiot.