Sweat beaded across Max's brow as he lifted his wrench. It turns out oil changing an F-150 took a lot more effort than he thought. This had to be the fourth or fifth time that he lay under his uncle's truck performing free labor– and the geezer always seemed to find more and more ways to put Max to work.
There was nothing Max hated more than trucks.
Except maybe his uncle's voice shouting commands from the garage office.
"Get back to work! That F-150 isn't going to fix itself!"
As he screwed the oil cap back on, Max had sweat on his brow and prayers on his lips– Not because he's religious, but that goddamn jack stand was starting to creak in a way that sounded dangerous.
"If I die under this piece of junk, I swear to God"
As if to answer his thoughts the jack slipped and metal screeched. Then the weight came crushing.
A loud crash and screech…
Darkness.
Then..
Ding! A loud charm echoed in the darkness.
[Dimensional exchange system initiating…]
[New Host: Max Fen T'anyl]
[Commencing First Trial]
Max's eyes snapped open. Fluorescent light, chalk screeching on a blackboard, and a voice droning on in an unbearable way.
"What the f**k?"
The soft hum of a classroom surrounded him. Teenagers in uniform, scrolling on phones, passing notes, and barely remaining conscious. He was seated upright at a desk with his hands folded, not a single jack or oil cap in sight.
Looking at his hands, there was no grease or dirt, only the soft and smooth skin of a pampered boy. Taking a look in the window beside him, he caught a glimpse of a boy with long black hair and smooth skin. Shocked, he leaned forward and did a double take.
"Is this.. Me?"
Before he could go into panic mode, a wave of pain coursed through his skull.
[Dimensional Exchange Synchronization Complete]
[Welcome host, Max Fen T'anyl.]
[Stats] [Inventory]
"Considering there's only two options, no shit im going to look at my stats"
[Host Name: Max Fen T'anyl]
Strength- 7
Dexterity- 5
Vitality- 9
perception- 5
Endurance- 6
"nah 5 dex cannot be real swear I used to peace kids up fr gng"
Before the jit even had time to cope further his f ahh system made a notifcation
[The first trial will commence in ten minutes]
Max slouched back into his chair. A million thoughts were running through his head, but one stood at the forefront:
"Ten minutes until what?"
Max's heart was racing. He had just died under his uncles pick up truck, and now he woke up in the body of what looked like a pretty boy about to take a quiz on the Treaty Of Versailles.
"Psst. Are you good?"
Max turned around to face a girl with long red hair in a bun, with a scowl on her face. She was wearing a brown hoodie under her uniform, and had airpods in– but it was clear she was paying attention.
"You look like you just saw a ghost. Or got slammed over the head with a wrench"
His mouth opened and closed like a fish. What was he supposed to say? "Hey I just died under my uncle's truck and now i'm your princess lookin ass classmate?" Yeah right.
"Uhh yeah im fine." he muttered
"Yeah, right.." the girl scoffed
Suddenly, a transparent tab appeared above her head displaying her name.
[Kiz maballs]
[Attunement: ???]
[Status: Confused]
"The tab faded in and out, then disappeared.
"Kiz Maballs? fuh shawty you gon piss me off"
A chime rang through the school PA system. Ding Dong
"Everybody remain calm" a voice came through calmly, almost too calmly. "A safety drill will commence in eight minutes. Lock all doors and windows, and await further instructions."
Nobody moved. Silence filled the classroom
"Wait, I totally would have skipped today if I knew about a safety dri–" A boy was cut off at the back of the classroom by a loud crash from the hallway.
No noise followed, but this crash set everyone on edge.
"Remain calm everyone, and we will begin the lockdown procedure" muttered the teacher's assistant unsurely.
Max tuned out the voices of his panicked classmates and looked down to his desk where another line of text appeared.
[7:32 until commencement of the first trial]
[Host Status: Unarmed]
[Recommendations: brotha get strapped]
"Any idea what's going on?"
Max turned back to Kiz, the latter giving him a questioning look.
"I don't know but it can't be good" he muttered
She tilted her head
"I'm sure it's just a lockdown drill, there's no need to panic."
Max glanced over at the screen with the countdown
[4:32 until commencement of the first trial]
Max scanned the room for any potential weaponry, only finding a broomstick.
"Man I know this fooh ahh broomstick aint doin nothing"
[30 seconds until commencement of the first trial]
There were 30 seconds until all hell broke loose… And Max had no idea what the fuck was going on.