A broken white plate lies shattered on the floor, its fragments glinting in the dim light. A young, beautiful woman with long black hair sprawled on the ground, her blue gown a stark contrast against the chaos. Her head rests in the lap of a young boy beside her, crying softly, his tears mingling with the room's stillness. The weight of sorrow hangs in the air, echoing the moment's fragile beauty.
She looked at the young boy with a smile on her face, using her bloody hands to touch his cheek gently.
"I'm sorry I couldn't stay longer. Kenji, be good, leave on," she said gently.
Her hand gradually slipped away from his cheek, the brightness in her deep reddish eyes dimming with each passing moment. She felt her life forcing leaving her, and darkness closing in, bloody tears fell, tracing a path down her cheeks before her world faded into nothingness.
The young boy cried out, his voice piercing the silence, but no one was there to answer his desperate pleas.
When Kenji finally opened his eyes, the world was a blur, but gradually, it sharpened into focus. He realised he was in a hospital room, the oppressive darkness surrounding him broken only by the red LED lights lining the walls. Glancing at his right arm, he noticed a needle inserted into his vein. The placement looked slightly off, as if a novice had handled it, piercing is skin with the needle multiple times, the injuries looking like an assassination attempt.
Kenji struggled to lift his body slightly, the weight of exhaustion pressing down on him, but he summoned the strength to lean against the wall for support. With a shaky hand, he pulled the syringe from his arm and glanced at a student sleeping nearby. The quiet stillness of the room contrasted sharply with his turmoil.
Kenji's memory began to clear after studying the sleeping figure for a while. He recognised him; it was the chubby student he had saved by sacrificing another student.
The boy was dressed in a white uniform shirt, the way his tie hung around his neck betraying a lack of attention to detail. His skin had a slight yellowish tint, and he wore glasses that showed off his nerdy appearance. Standing at about 5'11", with unkempt black hair, he embodied every trait of a devoted gamer.
The boy was sleeping on a chair beside Kenji, keeping watch over Kenji. Kenji was surprised at the sight of someone by his side. It reminded him of the lonely nights in his childhood after losing his mother when he was sick, and no one had been there to watch over him.
"Hey," Kenji said, breaking the silence.
"Immediately, the student woke up and, seeing Kenji's eye, he panicked, screaming like a girl, as if he had just seen a monster.
"Oh, you're awake," he told Kenji, composing himself after his embarrassing reaction."
He kept blabbing about how he only had good intentions and couldn't leave Kenji alone and unwatched. Kenji's expression was plain; he couldn't understand what he was blabbing about.
"How long have I been unconscious?" Kenji asked, rubbing his eyes.
"Oh, let me check," the student replied, glancing at his wristwatch. "About four hours, I think."
"Four hours," Kenji said, shrugging slightly.
He remembered the girl with the fatal wound, but the thought meant nothing. Not even a tremor of pity crossed his mind.
even if he didn't ask, the chubby student still told him
"the girl that got shot,"
The sad look on the student's face gave him his answer.
"What's the situation?" Kenji asked.
"The stars made it," the chubby student said.
Kenji frowned, confused by the term "stars." No names came to mind. The student noticed his expression.
"I mean Akio, Jin, Amaya, Kato, and his sister."
"Oh, Ryu, too," the student said, looking at Kenji.
Kenji looked stupefied, hearing all the names, only Jin was familiar to him
. The chubby student, seeing his confused expression, began to explain,
"The stars are the most wealthy and influential students in Rose High Academy. Each of their parents runs a multi-billion-dollar company. The kings are the wealthiest tho followed by the Amaya family, then Ryu, then Jin, and Akio." The chubby student said, he continued
"There is no adult alive, so it's just us students. They formed a squad made up of students who killed a goblin before getting to the sanctum. They run the entire place."
Kenji noted, beginning to digest the information.
"Considering how many goblins you killed, it'd be easy for you to fit in," The student suggested.
"I don't do well with groups, and please do not tell anyone about me," Kenji said, glancing at him.
"I don't think that will be possible, you saved a lot of people, man, by now your gist would have gone wild," The chubby student replied.
Kenji thought about this, "he has a point".
"Oh, right! My name is Kaga, Kaga Fujii," he said with a smile.
Kenji returned the smile. "Nice to meet you, Kaga. And thanks for carrying me in."
"How did you know?"
Kenji cut him off, pointing at the bloodstain on his clothes. Kaga glanced down, his expression shifting.
"Fair enough," he said, nodding in acknowledgement.
Kenji got up from the bed; his body seemed to have recovered enough. Blood covered his workwear, a lot of blood, they wearn't it but the goblins he had killed.
"I think you should rest a bit more," Kaga suggested gently.
"I'm fine," Kenji replied, approaching the exit door. Kaga followed closely behind him.
"Wait, before you go, you should clean up, and I also picked up a cloth for you."
Kenji turned back, seeing Kage pick up the black cloth, which is his favorite. He walked towards him and grabbed it.
"That's the toilet there. I have filled a bucket with water so you can wash up."
Kenji was surprised by all this; no one apart from his grandfather had done such a thing for him. "he his safe in the bunker, why is he going through all the length to help me"? Kenji thought
As Kenji walked towards the toilet, he glanced back, "Thank you," he said.
Soon, he was done and clean. He pulled on a slightly oversized black T-shirt and black pants. The only thing still his, still the same from before, were the worn white-and-black slippers on his feet.
"Wow, you look kind of cool now," Kaga said with a thumbs up
As Kenji walked towards him, he asked, "Tell me everything about this underground bunker, everything you have found out of the system, tell me about the stars except for Jin."
Kenji moved slowly through the narrow passage while Kaga filled him in on their current situation and how things unfolded. Though Kato was considered the leader, Kenji sensed someone pulling the strings behind the scenes. And the way Kage explained the situation, the name that came to mind was Ryu.
Suddenly, a system alert popped up on his screen.
["You have a friend request from Kaga Fujii."]
Surprised, Kenji glanced back at Kaga, who seemed to be navigating his system effortlessly.
"It's just tech, plus I'm a bit of a nerd," Kaga said with a grin.
"Any other things about the system?" Kenji asked, curiosity evident in his voice.
Kaga began explaining what he knew.
Kenji opened the system with a single thought as he spoke and checked his details.
Player Info
Name: Kenji Mochizuki
Level: 4 Class: Novice
Yin: Locked
Stats/Attributes:
Agility: 13/15
Strength: 7/15
Stamina: 7/15
Intelligence: 13/13
Unique Skills: Adapt, Heightened Senses
Kenji clicked on the details of the Adapt skill. He vividly remembered that skill activating just before he lost consciousness.
"This could be the reason I survived," he thought as he selected the Adapt skill.
Adapt (E-Rank) ( growth type )
Description: This skill enhances the user's physical attributes based on their pain tolerance during combat and poison resistance.
Effects:
Stat Increase: Temporarily boosts vital stats for each point of damage taken.
Retention: Retains 10% of the total increase after the battle as a permanent boost.
Next, Kenji looked at his other skill.
Heightened Senses (E-Rank)
Description: This skill sharpens the user's senses and increases awareness of their surroundings.
Effects:
"Enhanced Perception: Improves the ability to detect nearby movements, sounds, and scents."
Combat Advantage: Enhances reaction time, allowing for better evasion of attacks.
"Wow, you have a unique skill. Most people don't have that," Kaga said from behind, looking at Kenji's details. Kenji closed the system. He wasn't surprised to have a unique skill, and his mind drifted as memories surfaced.