New Changed World

Chapter 1: Summer Cicadas

The cicadas chirped from outside the classroom window.

They lazily clung to the trees, playing their intrinsic, yet undoubtedly annoying summertime songs. But no matter how hard they tried, no matter how hard they screeched, shrilled or squeaked, they couldn’t break through the chaos and noise that engulfed this classroom.

I sighed dejectedly, the obvious annoyance rising from deep within my throat.

While I originally wanted to zone out using their particularly persistent insect anthem, it was becoming clearer and clearer that the noise this damn class made was overpowering their quiet melody.

Well, although I complain, it was natural to be this noisy, after all, it was currently a free period, more so, it was the last class of the day, or rather, the last class of the school year. It was quite normal for there to be so much excitement and anticipation looming within a room filled with high schoolers.

It was just that...I was seriously regretting the fact that I forgot my headphones today.

Normally, on days like today or in my case, every day, I’d sit back, at the rear of the classroom, on that one spot in the corner between the back wall and the windows, and wait out the time, hiding my excitement through a stoic facade. I wouldn’t pay attention to anybody around me, and fortunately, the rest of the class would comply, ignoring my existence like I ignored theirs.

It’s not like I was bullied or anything, actually, I liked this particular arrangement.

I was the type that stayed out of everyone’s way. The shadow at the back of the room. I was the background character to a protagonist’s story.

If you said such remarks, they wouldn’t necessarily be false. After all, my own story isn’t really anything to write home about. I was a normal, boring, utterly boring person.

And I was okay with that.

Well, usually.

Right now, I can’t help but chide myself for my lack of friends. I had to spend the rest of the class - a whole 45 minutes - alone, with nothing to do but twiddle my thumbs in idle boredom. The alone part I was fine with, it was the boredom that was killing me.

I would have tried sleeping if it wasn’t for the fact that every noise that exited everyone’s orifices, from their talking, farting, to their loud nose breathing, reverberated through the room like a deafening orchestra. I could hear everything, and that seriously annoyed me.

Also, truth be told, I was as excited as any other high schooler at the prospects of the coming summer. As the clock continually counted down the seconds and minutes until the bell rang, the tension that sprouted in my stomach increasingly intensified. At this point, it would be next to impossible to knock myself unconscious in my current overly hyped state of mind.

Once again I seriously regretted forgetting my precious equipment.

Usually, I brought headphones to school.

I had particularly sensitive ears, so I often used them to block out much of the constant noise that flitted throughout the room.

Today, I couldn’t do that, and naturally, my ears drifted to the most rambunctious space of the classroom. To the group of friends who made the most noise, and frankly, to the individuals who annoyed me the most.

At the center, was Kido. I never knew his last name, I didn’t think it was important. Actually, the only reason I remembered his first name, was because he was a seriously annoying guy. A seriously annoying guy indeed…

….whoops. Without noticing, I unconsciously began scowling.

I can’t just let my anger (jealousy) control me that easily. Restraint was important, especially during times of peace. In actuality, I doubt he was a bad guy, it’s just that...

...If I was a background character, then undoubtedly, Kido was the protagonist of this story.

A guy with average grades, average physical fitness… above average face… well, to make things short, he was average, so average it was almost unbearable. I hate to say this, but he was kind of a lot like me.

What made this guy special though was the type of company he hanged around with. Rather than friends, I’d say this annoying type of fellow hanged out with what could easily be labeled as a ‘harem’.

Actually, right now he was with his harem.

A group of three girls, all who flocked towards Kido like lost sheep while he acted as their shepherd.

One of the girls was a childhood friend type of character. A woman with indiscriminately large breasts and a model like figure. She always had on a rather loveable expression on her beautiful face and always doted on Kido like an overprotective mother.

So archetype one check.

The other girls were quite the characters as well. One of them was a bad mouthing, bipolar type of person, who could best be labeled as shy and volatile all at the same time. She was pretty childish, and by childish, I mean her appearance. A rather flat chested and petite person who gave off a cute and cuddly vibe.

Archetype two check.

And lastly, there was the transfer student. Ever since she transferred here 2 months ago, she gave off a sort of ‘mysterious’ vibe, which I interpreted as someone trying a bit too hard. But despite that, she was just as beautiful (and popular) as the other girls. She had long locks of black hair, and was somewhat intelligent.

Archetype three check.

….Really, this guy. He had all three of these girls firmly within his grasps, and I was pretty sure that the new female teacher from across the hall had the hots for him too… they all just naturally flocked to him like cats to catnip.

Really, just how the hell does he do it?

“Ne, ne, ne, Kido! Kido!”

While I was thinking such thoughts, the childish looking girl next to Kido suddenly blurted out with an annoyingly loud voice.

“Hmm? What is it Ami?” Kido nonchalantly asked, his mouth forming a slight smile as his eyes gently narrowed.

[Hoo~, so her name was Ami], I casually nodded to myself as I silently noted.

“What are you doing during the break?” She asked, looking up at him with anxious eyes. The slight flush in her cheeks did not go unnoticed.

Before he could reply, the transfer student who sat idly on the desk suddenly chimed in while simultaneously groping Kido’s innocent arm.

“Obviously Kido’s going to hang out with me. ...Isn’t that right, Kido~?”

She asked in sultry voice uncommon in regular high schoolers.

“A-ah, S-Saya, your c-ch-che….”

Kido’s cheeks were flushed red as he apathetically struggled in her grasps. His lips frantically trembled while the words he wanted to say refused to properly form a coherent sentence. All the while Saya (apparently that was her name) continued to press her breasts rather obscenely against his arm, oblivious of the other party’s apparent distress.

“Hmm~? What was that, K-I-D-O~?” She whispered into his ear, emphasizing each letter of his name.

Seeing this, the childish girl, er-- Ami, pouted, as she desperately struggled to match her competition. She grabbed Kido’s other arm, imitating the transfer student -- I mean, Saya -- as she began pressing his arm against her own chest. Unfortunately, this course of action didn’t have as much of an impact, especially since her chest was rather lacking, more so when compared with her overly developed competition.

A rather lofty giggle escaped from Transfer student (ah, whatever) as Childish girl looked on with a mix of jealousy and embarrassment.

Kido, who stood there dumbstruck, like he always does, did nothing, although, I bet he was secretly enjoying the female contact, that scum, trash, piece of-- oops, control, control.

Anyway, before things could escalate any further, his Childhood friend stepped in and stopped everyone.

She silently hugged Kido from behind while ruffling his head with a delicate looking hand. She had on a contented smile, as she knowingly or unknowingly pressed her mounds against the back of his neck.

“Now, now, girls~” She gently spoke. From the way she started her conversation to the way she took command of the whole situation, it seemed as if she was used to this type of commotion. Her slim neck tilted slightly to the side as she turned her narrowed eyes over to the other girls. With such a domineering presence, it was clear that she was here to remedy the argument.

“There’s no need to fight, after all, I’m afraid Kido’s going to be spending his entire summer with me~.”

Oops, I spoke too soon.

She stuck out her tongue, riling up the other girls even further.

“O-oi, Mindy!”

“I won’t lose to you and your monster breasts!”

The other two girls retorted as their eyes blazed with unnatural passion.

Like this, this particular group of people enjoyed their lives like they always did, carefree and with no regard to the others around them.

The girls began horsing around, playfully squabbling over various topics, mostly revolving around Kido, while the man in question himself, being the guy he was, stood there with a weary smile and watched on as they continued to make even more noise.

Things escalated even more when Transfer student suddenly pulled out a crumpled envelope from within Childish girl’s bag.

“Oho~ What’s this~?” She playfully goaded as she flapped the envelope around the air.

“...Uuuu….” Childish girl’s face turned beet red, while her two scrunched up eyes glared reproachfully at both the envelope and Transfer student.

“Ami, you...oh my….” Childhood friend gasped, fully understanding the situation.

The envelope was crumpled, and heavily stained with pencil scratches and eraser marks. What made it stand out the most was the pink heart sticker that sealed the letter tightly closed.

In short, it was a love letter.

“G-g-give it back…” Childish girl stated weakly while her voice cracked numerous times.

“....”

Transfer student stopped and thought for a moment. She shifted her eyes from Childish girl to the letter in her hand. Looking at the letter, it was obvious that it was written fairly long ago, indicating that either Childish girl had no intention of ever giving it to the person she liked, or she lacked the confidence to do such a bold deed.

Realizing this, an impish smile formed on Transfer student’s face..

She lightly touched the crease of the letter, showing Childish girl that she had the power to open it at any time she wanted.

Childish girl’s eyes opened in understanding before she bolted forward and ran towards Transfer student. Transfer student laughed heartily, as she too ran around the classroom, leading Childish girl in a chaotic chase around the cramped room.

Unfortunately for me, this brought the pair near where I sat. Childish girl, who was apparently winded from that thirty second marathon, didn’t have as good a control on her limbs as usual, and accidentally bumped into my desk.

The impact caused the only thing I had on my table, an old mechanical pencil, to drop. I promptly picked it up, while a slight hint of annoyance flashed across my face.

“Oh..” Childish girl, who was the owner of the butt that knocked my desk around turned with an apologetic expression.

“S-sorry about that!” She declared while humbly bowing down. Her twin tailed hair bobbed up and down as her face flushed red, and whether that was from overexertion or embarrassment, I had no way of knowing.

“Um..um…” She struggled as she made a complicated face towards my direction.

The transfer student who noticed the commotion (and was actually the one that pushed Childish girl onto my desk), walked over, and began whispering ‘discreetly’ with Childish girl, all the while she directed inconspicuous glances towards me.

“What’s the matter Ami?” She whispered.

“U-um, I accidentally bumped into his desk, so I wanted to apologize.” Childish girl replied, also whispering.

“Then apologize, I don’t get what’s the problem.”

“I-I was going to apologize but…” She shot a glance in my direction.

“But what?”

“I-I don’t know his name….” She whispered at an even more hushed volume, probably thinking I couldn’t hear her.

Unfortunately I could, and no matter how cynical I was, it was still a bit embarrassing to find out a classmate didn't know your name, especially after a whole school year together… although granted, I hardly knew anyone else’s name myself, but still...

“EH~, What’s with that?” The transfer student’s tone of voice returned to its usual octave.

She turned to me, while speaking, “That’s easy, this is...um, this is….uh...”

Hearing her stumbling words, my face unconsciously cramped. When she looked at my face, she made an equally as awkward expression. It seemed like she didn’t know who I was either...

[Damn it, this exchange is just so…]

I could feel my face visibly flush. No matter how hard I fought it, my face couldn’t help but flush at the end of their awkward stares. I wanted so bad to just lay my head down and ignore these two, but I had an inkling that that would just be even more embarrassing.

Before my face could get any redder, Both Kido and his childhood friend walked over.

The childhood friend strutted to the front of my desk, while chiding the other two girls.

“What’s with you guys, you’re acting rude. You’re embarrassing--” She turned to look at me before her face turned rigid..

[Don’t tell me….]

Childhood friend turned to look over at her other two companions, who shared a knowing nod.

While this silent exchange was happening, Kido approached and apologized earnestly.

“S-sorry about that Hide...these girls can be…” He looked over to his harem- group of friends, who all bowed their heads down in apology.

Really, rather than how embarrassing this whole situation was, especially considering the fact that they drew everyone else’s attention, I was more pissed off at the fact that Kido was the only one who knew my name.

Seriously, that was quite a blow to my almost non-existent self esteem. And it only confirmed my growing theory that I wasn’t really all that popular with women...

Anyways, after a few minutes of them ardently apologizing, and me just casting awkward downward glances, they finally left, back to their usual spot in the front of the room.

I sighed and formed a relieved smile. Short term relief washed over me.

“““.....”””

“....”

Cold sweat dripped down my back.

Although the situation had ended, I could still feel the heat of everyone’s penetrating stares.

Under the pressure of their constant glares, and together with my overactive imagination, my stoic face which I tried my damndest to maintain began to crumble and twitch.

Despite this, I fought the urge to run away or put my head down, or anything that remotely showed signs of defeat.

[I-it completely doesn’t matter that they don’t know my name...]

I struggled against the growing urge of embarrassment while I stared long and hard at the empty whiteboard in front of me. My face was a stiff as a board, while inside my head, a silent mantra repeated.

[It doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter…]

“““......”””

“...”

“““....”””

“...”

Unfortunately, my fragile hormone induced psyche wasn’t as steadfast as I imagined.

I got up as quietly as possible, and while trying to not attract any more unwanted attention, I made my way to the doorway, hall pass in hand and with the restroom as my destination.

Chapter 2: Hand to Toilet Combat

I half sprinted across the empty hallway, making a beeline to the restroom.

Contrary to my haste, I really didn’t need to use the bathroom, it was just… I needed an escape. Back there, that was a seriously embarrassing moment, and I wouldn’t doubt I made it even worse by running way.

I sighed dejectedly as I turned the next corner.

Shortly after, I arrived at the nearest restroom, a place located on the western edge of the third floor of the older section of the school building. It was a rarely used restroom, and more so now during class, when the majority of the students were all stuck in their respective classrooms, all anticipating the last remaining minutes of the school year.

Honestly, I considered myself to be a lot more excited than many other people. While most had plans revolving their social lives, hanging out with friends or family, maybe going on a trip... I made the quick decision, all the way back in winter, that I would spend the whole summer alone, away from people. Unlike the others, who could all meet and hang out with each other all year long, I really only had this one break to spend my time in absolute isolation.

To me, this time was more precious than anything else.

If something were to happen before I could enjoy my time in solitude, well, let’s just hope that doesn’t happen.

I thought such useless things as I quickly entered the restroom.

The place was empty, void of any life save for my own.

I shifted my gaze from left to right, briefly noting the two stalls with their doors closed and the row of urinals that stood beside them along the wall.

Opposite of them, was a row of sinks situated across the tiled room.

I moved over to the farthest urinal from the doorway and took care of what I needed to do in a rather slow manner.

I wasn’t really rushing, rather, I wanted to postpone my return to class as long as possible.

After I finished, I walked across the room and leisurely looked at myself in one of the bathroom mirrors.

I made a brief attempt to fix my messy, black hair, creasing it this way, or that, in a vain attempt to make myself look somewhat presentable. Eventually, I gave up with a loud and frustrated sigh.

I lamented over my rather disheveled hair, and at the dark circles around my eyes, which indicated my lack of sleep. I gave off a rather glum and tired atmosphere, which I didn’t really think was all bad, but probably wasn’t any good either.

[Well, at least, I’m not completely pathetic looking]

I commented inwardly in a half self deprecating tone.

I took martial arts as a kid, and while I’ve forgotten most of everything, I did still retain some of the movements that years of training ingrained in me. With some prior, almost all faded remnants of knowledge, I also retain a good, well, somewhat decent physique.

I wasn’t overly muscular, just, I wasn’t fat or skinny either.

I guess the best word to describe it would be… normal?

Breaking my stare, which had quickly grown into a glare, with the mirror, I washed my hands rather half heartedly and began to make my way out of the room. I was in a much better mood than before, the embarrassment from prior almost all gone now, when an unexpected flushing noise reverberated within the room.

I flinched, rising a good centimeter or two above the air, before I slowly turned towards the noise.

The restroom was deathly quiet, showing no indication that the noise from before even existed. Yet, despite that, I couldn’t help but shiver as a sense of uneases slowly settled within me.

Maybe it was the fact that I was currently alone right now, or maybe it was the fact that I had such an overactive imagination, who knows. But right now, I felt...scared.

I gulped. Before I noticed, the room had developed quite an ominous atmosphere as I briefly noted that there was nobody in here besides myself.

I squatted down, hoping to see a pair of feet from within the stalls, unfortunately, like I said earlier, there was nobody in here besides myself.

“M-maybe that was just my imagination.” I tried reasoning with my imaginative mind.

Struggling with my growing fear and with my innate human curiosity, I stood on the same spot rather rigidly, conflicted as to whether I should go and investigate the stalls or run like hell out of the restroom.

I contemplated such things when I heard a second wet squelching sound plop onto the tiled floor.

[O-okay… now I definitely know I wasn’t hearing things…]

The fear winning out, I slowly shuffled to the back of the restroom, maximizing as much distance as possible between me and the stalls.

Unfortunately, this particular restroom was rather small in size, so I’m afraid there wasn’t much of a place to run to.

Squelch Squelch

The spine tingling noise continued, and before long, I could make out what looked to be feet on the tile floors. Unfortunately, these weren’t the mind relieving pair of sneakers common in most teenage males. There were a few things that were a bit unusual about this particular pair of feet; they weren’t here before, they were very small, and they were green.

The annoying noise continued before another flushing sound rang out from the same stall. Shortly after, the door squeaked open.

Goblin (???)

A vibrantly green tiny person came out.

Er, that might not have been much of an accurate description, but it was the first thing that popped into my mind when I saw the little abomination.

It was green, and had the body of a small child, except its muscles were all thin and wirey. An ugly smirk and a fresh set of canines adnored the creature’s face. For clothing, the thing had a thin piece of loincloth which loosely wrapped itself around the creatures groin.

Unfortunately, the loincloth was rather...wet, so it stuck closely to things I would have rather not seen.

Despite its out of this world appearance, the oddest thing that immediately caught my attention though was the pale blue rectangle that floated freely above the creature’s head. It resembled the status screens you’d usually see in an rpg. Conveniently it also displayed similar information.

Although this time around, it was a bit lacking, as it only showed me the name of the creature.

“G-goblin….” I unconsciously whispered as I read aloud the contents of the status screen.

The Goblin’s ears immediately perked up as the word escaped through the cracks of my lips. Drawn by the sound, it hastily turned its head towards me, before its smirk turned into a full blown crescent grin, revealing its frighteningly terrifying canines.

“AH, AH!” It uttered, as it reached around its back, and brandished a short sword.

Well, a goblin sized short sword. If it were used by a human, then it would have been at most a dagger.

Nevertheless, the appearance of such a dangerous object immediately turned on the warning signs in my brain.

I vaguely remembered a lesson on fighting an armed opponent back when I practiced martial arts, although I doubt they anticipated my opponent to be a .5 meter tall savage.

The goblin reared the sword in front of him, pointing it threateningly at me as it walked closer, its steps emphasized by the familiar squelching noise.

[Come to think of it, did this thing come out of the toilet?]

A pointless question popped into my head just as the Goblin lunged forward with an unexpected speed.

Its sword narrowly missed me, as I reflexively lunged to the left. I’d later realize this, but just now, I had narrowly avoided the jaws of death.

The sword struck a mirror behind me, shattering the glass. In my haste, I accidentally put too much pressure into my dodge, and banged my head against an inconveniently placed wall. My legs buckled from the impact, and I fell onto the tiled surface.

The goblin quickly reared its head towards me, its sword at the ready.

Before it could strike out though, I reflexively kicked out, hitting the creature directly in its jugular.

My kick was angled up into the air, and whether it be due to the surprising amount of power my strike had or because the goblin was just so light, the kick sent him flying a good 2 meters up into the air.

As it fell down, it landed heavily with a thud onto the sink, inadvertently activating the motion sensor faucets.

-15 hp

Another blue status screen emerged from above the Goblin’s head before it quickly faded away. I would have taken more notice had I not been struggling to crawl out of this wretched bathroom.

I crawled along the floor, panic overtaking my rational mind. My goal was the exit, and I desperately made my great escape, fully aware of the threat that loomed behind me.

I casted a quick glance backwards, only to see the green creature, dripping wet, and angry. Somehow, during our brief encounter, it had lost that flimsy piece of loincloth.

I’d rather not comment on the dangling pair of somethings though…

It (the goblin, not the goblin’s balls) glared reproachfully at me before it jumped of the sink, only to land on a puddle on the tile floor and slip.

-3 hp

It crashed down onto the ground, and amazingly lost some hp.

[Is it an idiot or something?]

I couldn’t help but comment in my head.

Although, the goblin quickly got up on its feet and began a careful stride in my direction. While its speed was slower than before, mostly since it was now aware of the danger of wet floors, it was still progressing at me faster than I could crawl away.

It brandished its sword threateningly up in the air, and for an instant I thought the thing was going to through it or something.

I was right.

SWISH!

The blade whistled through the air, before its movement was abruptly stopped by my left leg. The sword lodged itself deep into my thigh, as a piercing scream leaked out of my throat.

“Gihihihi!” The goblin in return smirked at the sight of my suffering, before it gleefully began hopping carelessly in my direction.

-2 hp

I couldn’t even properly enjoy seeing the stupid shit slip and fall. The pain was currently wrecking my nervous system with dols of torture I was not accustomed to.

While I was still wriggling, and after it had recovered, the creature continued to approach closer and closer.

When it reached my foot, it sunk sharp claws into my ankle, opting instead to use its natural weapons seeing as it had discarded its original.

The claws ushered in another round of screaming from me.

The Goblin once again laughed gleefully at my reaction.

Mr. Goblin over here seemed to rather enjoy the torture he was currently giving me. From his happily twisted expression, he loved playing with his food (which I quickly came to believe was my position).

For some reason I felt annoyed by this thing’s enjoyment.

I wasn’t really about to get KIA (Killed in Action) by some short, fantasy-styled midget, was I? That really didn’t make much sense, especially in a civilized world like this. Goblins don’t exist, so my death won’t exist either!

With weird determination swelling up within me, my left hand flashed towards the embedded blade on my thigh. Gripping the small handle with as much strength as I could muster, I yanked the beast out, as if it symbolized my will to survive.

In retrospect, such an action would have been disastrous. Had that sword struck a major artery or something, I’d be dying, bleeding out on this dirty restroom floor. But right now the excess dopamine running through my system both clouded my judgement, and increased my will to survive.

Imitating what the goblin had done, I threw the blade towards his direction, infusing the object with as much will and desperate determination as I could muster.

Unfortunately, determination doesn’t really work in the real world.

The tiny short sword sailed past his head, a good 5 centimeters off. The creature reflexively trailed the blade with its eyes, before it turned to me with a smirk.

I had completely missed and the Goblin knew it!

Too bad for the green abomination, the throw was merely a distraction!

...Actually, that was a lie, I really wanted that thing to die through my fantastic knife throwing skills...But luckily, I was unexpectedly fast on my feet.

In the next instant, its yellow eyes widened in surprise as the life began to fade from its face.

< Critical Hit!

Due to landing a fatal blow, the effect [instant death] has been activated.

[Instant Death] = Loss of all remaining HP. >

I grimaced, at my now bloody hand, as I watched the goblin writhe and spasm.

I dazedly looked at my injured hand while recounting what just happened:

At the moment the goblin looked away to follow the blade with its eyes, my body moved into gear.

My other hand rocketed forward, groping at the large pieces of glass fragments that scattered the floor. Finding a good enough size, my hand grasped it without hesitation. I ignored the wound it opened up on my palm, as I desperately stabbed the jagged edge into the most vulnerable spot I could see; its neck.

The goblin’s neck, like much of its body, was unnaturally thin, so when the glass pierced itself into the goblin’s neck, it didn’t just cut skin. It tore through some veins, arteries, and maybe even bone.

In the end, I left the glass fragment embedded in the creature’s neck, opting to cradle my injured palm with the other hand as I looked at my bloody handiwork.

Really, it was quite a lucky win. Had that bastard been more careful and hadn't underestimated me, I would be the one lifeless and laying fish eyed on the floor.

Luckily, everything ended up like this, and he was the one dead, and not me.

A million thoughts filled my head while I absentmindedly stated at the gruesome scene. They jumbled up, mixing my curiosity, fear, anxiety, and dissipating excitement into one cohesive ball of confusion.

[What the heck was that?]

[It smelled like shit!]

[Why did it attack me!]

[What were those blue screens on top of its head?]

[It smelled like shit!]

[Will I get infected if I get goblin blood in my open wound? Goblin AIDs?!]

I caressed my open wound rather carefully, as thoughts like that roamed my mind, but before I could verbally express any of these thoughts, a ding reverberated in my skull. A moment later, another blue screen conveniently popped itself up right in front of me.

ding!

<

Conquest! : Special Kill Confirmed.

Calculating bonuses…………...

>

“......”

“....The hell is this?”

I stared with narrow eyes, as I waited for my “bonuses” to calculate.

Chapter 3: Status

<

Conquest! : Special Kill Confirmed.

Calculating bonuses…………...

>

“.....*yawn*”

It was taking an exceedingly long time for the calculations to calculate.

I sat there, dumbly, on the blood soaked bathroom floor, waiting, half expecting something to happen. I had calmed down considerably, and now I was back to my normal state of mind. I fully realized this situation was pretty insane.

Not only did this floating panel symbolize that I might be half crazy, the constant corpse of the goblin that lay a mere centimeters from me reminded me that I was very much sane and that I had quite a frightening brush with death quite recently. It reminded me of how close I was to getting killed and eaten, and how likely that thing would have enjoyed eating me… but I pushed such depressing thoughts away, and looked from a new perspective.

Going by what had happened recently, it was clear that these floating blue screens were important.

They acted as information boxes, like the type I’m familiar with in mmorpgs and the like. They displayed various bits of information, ranging in quality, and quantity.

But the most important part was that it wasn’t normal. Like the goblin that attacked me, the existence of such a novel like mechanism was out of the ordinary, and were grounds for worry and concern.

While I contemplated such things, my train of thought was interrupted by another ding.

ding!

<Calculations Confirmed!

Now displaying reward bonuses: >

Despite the obvious oddity of the situation, I couldn’t help but fester a bit of anticipation.

I mean, after all, the goblin did just try to kill me, and it took quite a great deal of effort on my part to subdue it! I think I have the right to some form of compensation.

“Now, Let’s see…” I spoke earnestly as I waited with bated breath.

< Congratulations! You have defeated [Goblin Scout] Lv. 6 >

ding!

< Level Up! >

ding!

< Achievement: You are the first person to slay a monster!

Reward(s):

Unique Skill: [Equip]

*Unique Skills: One of a kind skills obtainable by completing varying tasks or quests.* >

ding!

< New title earned!

Pioneer

You are the first person to experience the new change that has yet to come, may you pave a path for others to follow.

Effects:

+10 all stats

New stat created: Leadership >

I silently read the boxes of information as they popped up in front of me.

I confirmed a few things while doing so;

One, the status screen that had floated above the goblin’s head previously was definitely lacking information.

Unlike this current pop up, it hadn’t displayed it’s level, and only gave a vague description as [goblin], and not [goblin scout].

Now, I didn’t know whether this discrepancy in information was on purpose, or whether there were means of increasing the amount of info I could see, but I at least believed in the simple equation that, more information = good.

Also, there was another thing I confirmed, this whole situation was exceedingly similar to a game.

From the fantasy like monster, to the pop up telling me I leveled up… there’s even a thing here about skills.

It really was a bit overwhelming.

Speaking of skills…

I leaned in closer to stare at the most recent panel in front of me.

[Unique skills…]

Reading the little tidbit about Unique skills, I had the impression that they were...amazing. If I weren’t so goddamn confused, and if this was an actual video game instead of reality, I’d be whooping for joy right now.

Unfortunately, this was reality, and I did just kill an UMA (unidentified mysterious animal), so I was a bit apprehensive to the whole situation.

But still... the unique skill caught my interest.

“Equip, huh...?” I unconsciously stated the name, while thinking of the newly acquired skill out loud to myself.

ding!

Suddenly, as if reacting to my voice, another blue panel popped up.

<

Skill Name: Skill Rank: Skill Level: Skill Experience:

Equip Unique Beginner Level 1 0.00%

Effects:

Enables user to equip items.

(???)

(???)

Available Sub-skills:

(???)

Demerits:

You cannot use mana.

>

“Does it react through my voice..?” I muttered as I read through the new panel.

It was supposed to display information regarding my new ability, but, like before, the information was severely lacking. Question marks dominated the spots where relevant info was supposed to be at.

I sighed dejectedly. The effects section was very vague too, so I was lost as to what exactly it all meant.

“What does it mean by equipping items?”

As I continued to scan through the panel, my eyes focused in on the last line under demerits.

“‘You cannot use mana?’” I read it aloud as if in a daze.

[Mana? As in magic? That type of mana?]

It wasn’t hard to believe magic might exist, especially after seeing a real goblin in action.

But if it did mean mana existed, didn’t that also mean I couldn’t use it?

This realization only caused my shoulders to droop lower in disappointment. I was in a rut, but the section on mana did give me slight hope.

Usually, if something has that major of a demerit, it means the rewards would be even greater. Maybe this [Equip] skill was better than I first thought?

Lost in thought as to the possibilities of my new skill, I stared absentmindedly at the glowing blue panel in front of me. It reminded me of the status screens found in almost every rpg. The type which displayed a player’s information like their stats, levels, etc.

“Wait a minute….” I muttered to myself.

[If this whole situation is just like a game, then maybe it’s like that too….]

With haste, and a bit of excitement mixed within my hoarse throat, I excitedly yelled,

“Status!”

My voice resonated within the room, reminding me just how good the acoustics in this restroom really was.

… Actually, it makes me wonder how my previous screams haven’t attracted any attention so far.

Not a second later, just like I had assumed another blue panel appeared in front of me.

<

Status Window

Name Hide Mayo

Age 17 Race Human

Level 2 Gender Male

Titles Pioneer

Health 67/110(10) Health Regen. 0.005 / Sec

Mana

(unavailable) 110(10) Mana Regen. 0.01 / Sec

Stamina 100(10) Stamina Regen. 0.05 / Sec

-

Strength 8(10) Agility 12(10)

Vitality 7(10) Dexterity 10(10)

Intelligence 11(10) Wisdom 11(10)

Leadership 0(10) Luck 0(10)

-

Skills

Equip (Active)

Current Status Effect(s) Bleeding

Bleeding

Stops health regeneration while active. Eventual decline of health, until wound is remedied.

Current health decline rate:

0.01 per second.

Unallocated Points 5

>

By looking at the panel in front of me, I discovered my current level was level 2. And, from my experience with rpg’s, Aside from the title bonus, I had what you’d call an average stat distribution for a starting player, albeit with a good boost in agility, but a demerit in vitality and strength.

Also, there was a label below the mana column which only confirmed the information I found on [Equip]. While I still had the points, it seems like I wouldn’t be able to properly use them.

Brushing aside this disheartening fact, I quickly scanned through the rest of the panel.

“I’m guessing I got these extra points from leveling up just now…”

I came across the near bottom section of the panel, and quick to realize the connection between my gaming experience with the reality in front of me, I came to this logical conclusion.

As a casual gamer, I would have liked to distribute the unallocated points, but there was the issue of how.

Rather, could I even interact with the blue panels?

I tried touching the panel with my free hand, but unsurprisingly, my hand passed through the air, completely ignoring the panels.

“hmm… 2 points to agility!” I called out, hoping that, just like earlier, the thing would comply with my voice.

Unfortunately, it didn’t do anything, and I was left looking at an unchanging panel which displayed my “stats’.

“....”

I crossed my arms, and thought for a moment.

[If it wasn’t activated by voice...then maybe…]

“...”

[2 points to agility!]

I thought outloud in my mind. Pleasantly, the information on screen complied with my request, and quickly, the displayed information showed my agility at 14, while my unallocated points at 3.

Satisfied with my little experiment, I quickly distributed the rest of the points to agility, and attempted to close the panel with my mind.

[Close!]

ding!

The status screen closed just like I expected, and I was left to look at the previous blue panel which I had almost forgotten about.

<

New title earned!

Pioneer

You are the first person to experience the new change that has yet to come, may you pave a path for others to follow.

Effects:

+10 all stats

New stat created: Leadership

>

It glowed menacingly, lighting up the dimly lit bathroom floor.

“...”

The title sounded innocent enough, but the information it gave...it had a foreboding ring to it. I couldn’t help but get cold shivers after rereading the whole panel.

[New change...it’s definitely talking about these panels… or…]

Rather, than the panels, maybe it meant the goblins? Maybe there were other monsters besides goblins? If were, talking about monsters, there’s a bunch, like trolls, slimes, ogres, dragons…

I shuddered thinking a dragon might really exist. Unlike a tiny goblin, my death was more than guaranteed.

Also, wasn’t the goblin I killed labeled as a scout? If it’s a scout, that implies there’s more of them, more than one of those abominations….

I shook away those thoughts, thinking about things that I couldn’t do anything about wouldn’t do me any good, rather, it would just cause me more problems.

To get rid of this worry, I forcibly closed the remaining boxes with a thought.

ding!

With a ring, the blue panel blinked out of existence, and I was left alone, in the blood soaked bathroom floor once more with nothing but the corpse of a dead goblin scout to keep me company.

“....”

With nothing else to do in here, I absentmindedly looked at the corpse for a while before deciding to finally get up.

I brushed myself up, and as I prepared to leave, I saw the disheveled appearance that stared back at me from an unbroken mirror.

My hair was relatively the same, but the rest of me wasn’t. I was caked in blood, mostly congregated on my still bleeding hand, as well as on my thigh.

Now that I recall, the status did say something about a bleeding effect.

I looked down at my leg and was finally fully aware of the rhythmic thump thump, that I felt from the wound. I grimaced as I pulled up my shorts to view the open injury in all its glory.

While it was too early for the thing to start getting infected, which was good, the wound itself looked pretty gruesome… although that may have just been due to the abnormally large blood flowing out of it. In actuality it didn’t hurt as much as I first thought.

“...According to my status, I’ll eventually lose hp if I keep this untreated thanks to that bleeding effect...what happens when I lose all my hp?” I thought out loud before I reflexively shuddered at the unknown possibility.

I didn’t want to test the limits as to how game like this situation was, whether I simply respawned or died for good… I sincerely hoped such a time never comes.

Fueled by such a sense of foreboding, I quickly brought my injured leg onto the sink, and allowed the natural flow of water to wash away much of the blood. After enduring through the stinging pain, I ripped up a bit of my sleeve, and did a quick, impromptu bandage onto the open wound.

I’d get the injury checked out at the infirmary after I figure out what to do about my appearance.

Right now, I was currently a disheveled mess, with blood all over myself, and frantic eyes that occupied my face. If I didn’t know any better, I’d assume I was a serial killer. I can’t have people thinking I’m a serial killer.

As I was thinking such thoughts, another panel popped up in front of me, giving me quite a fright.

I assumed this panel was a bit special, considering unlike before, the panel wasn’t blue, but an ominous black with white letters texted onto it.

And while the wording was a bit happy go lucky, for someone like, who’s already experienced some of what the message had to offer, well, it was more than just worrisome.

<

Welcome!

The fun is upon us! Rejoice, as your normal lives comes to a crumble! Don’t despair though, because what replaces such a boring thing will be a game filled with excitement, and more excitement!

Are you ready?

... Smile, cause it doesn’t matter if you aren't.

Countdown until something extremely fun happens: 005:46 minutes.

>

Chapter 4: Countdown

In a haze of dreary confusion and utter anxiety, I stared, glaze eyed at the new pop up that flashed in front of me.

“5:45...5:44...5:43…..” I counted out loud in sync with the timer. What the end of this timer entailed… made me very nervous.

I broke my glare with the panel and willed it to disappear like I had with the others. To my disappointment, the panel did disappear, but the timer remained. It counted down rather ceremoniously, making me even more jittery and anxious.

5:37…36...35...

Every second that passed by only made my condition worse, and the constant reminder didn’t really help. It was like whatever did this, wanted me to feel every second of my ordinary life vanish away.

[Well, it’s not like my time on earth was anything great]

I lamented, getting a bit whimsical I reminisced about my life up until this point.

You know, things weren't always like this. I wasn’t always the background character whom nobody noticed. Believe it or not, I did have a point in my life where I was a little bit popular; Elementary school.

Well, to be honest, it’s hard to stay isolated in Elementary. I mean, back then, everyone’s just a bit more friendly and open. Everyone was everyone’s friend. I guess for me, that time was what you could call a pseudo springtime of youth.

I lived as rambunctiously as any other kid. And...I probably enjoyed such a life style.

I was when I got to middle school when everything change and things got worse. I was someone who constantly moved and transferred schools often due to the whim of my parents, who really couldn’t settle in one place for two long.

Eventually, whether it was through my own actions or something, when my family did eventually settle down, I had developed this isolationist type personality.

It’s not like I hated it, having this type of weird disposition… but at the same time, I don’t particularly like it.

In fact, if were talking all truths now, being lonely… isn’t nice.

Sometimes…

S-sometimes, I wish I had a friend.

Unexpectedly, tears began to gather in my eyes.

I know, I know, its a bit lame, especially since at this point, I’m basically crying at nothing. I mean, aside from the panels and the goblin that tried to kill me, nothing really tear worthy happened, right?

The realization that I might die is just something I conjured up in my mind right? I mean, surely things won’t be that bad. I’m just overreacting. Rather, its just stress. That’s right, it’s just stress that’s causing me to feel all these uncomfortable feelings and causing me to sweat out of my eyelids…

...Right?

Well, despite all that arduous self-convincing, I couldn’t help it, and no matter how hard I sniffled, renegade droplets still managed to squeeze themselves out of my tear ducts. Mixed with my coming hysteria and the prospect that maybe more of the goblins, or even worse creatures, might start pouring in about 5 minutes, shook me to the point of tears.

Not really manly, but I can live with that.

*sniff*

Surprisingly, the tears that fell across my face somewhat helped me to calm down. It was as if a little bit of my anxiety was mixed into those flecks of liquid.

After what felt like hours I snapped myself back into shape. I slapped my face a couple times, flaring up my tear stained cheeks in exchange for a little bit of focus.

I once again checked the on screen countdown to get a grasp on the current situation.

2:45...2:44… 2:43…

Unexpectedly, I wasted a lot of precious time feeling sorry for myself, and crying, and being just a general pussy.

I couldn’t afford to do that anymore.

Whatever’s about to happen, will happen, and I need to be prepared for that. If it’s anything like the goblin, then it won’t be a simple walk in the park.

I dashed out the doorway, unexpected determination welling up inside me. I tried running, but I had forgotten about my currently injured thigh, so at best I could maintain a somewhat fast hobble.

I didn’t really have a plan, I mean, I was a bit too nervous, and I’m not exactly a super human who can recover from near emotional and mental break down in the span of 2 minutes… but I atleast wanted to do something.

Right now, I determined I would at least warn somebody.

Really, anybody would do; A passerby student, a teacher, the principal, heck even Kido and his onboard harem would suffice.

I moved through the hallway, no particular destination in mind, but still vigilant for anybody I could call out to.

Unsurprisingly, I didn’t meet anybody for a long time. This didn’t come as much of a shock, considering this part of the building was old, and many of the classes were held in the newer sections of the school.

My class was just unfortunate enough to find itself situated here, away from almost everyone else.

Wait...my class?

“My class!”

I chided myself for completely forgetting.

If I was going to warn somebody, I might as well warn my class. They were the closest group of people to my current location, and, even if my warning might not do much, I would still make an effort.

That way, if I die, I can safely pat myself in the back while saying congratulatory words such as “good job!” or “you sure did try your hardest, didn’t you?”

With any luck, I could pass the pearly gates with flying colors.

I stopped in the middle of the long stretch of hallway, before I turned around, and ran off once more, this time, in the direction of my classroom.

[I’m going to warn them!]

[Whatever happens, I’ll get to that room and warn them!]

[Warn them!]

I pumped myself up as I continued to hobble, closing my distance as fast as possible.

When I got to the familiar corner which would bring me in front of the classroom, I briefly checked the countdown to see how much I had left.

...1:39...38…..36….

“Tch!” I grimaced and realized how close I was cutting it.

I began to worry that I might not make it in time, when I finally realized something odd was happening.

...why wasn’t anybody else outside, like I don’t know, panicking?

I mean, shouldn’t they be at least somewhat curious? Plus, I was screaming particularly loudly back in the bathroom. Even if it is so far from anybody else, you’d think at least one person would notice.

Dread crept into my still fragile psyche.

Maybe I was the only one who saw the floating panel?

My frantic hobbles unwinded.

[Maybe I was the only one who saw these things… Maybe I was just hallucinating… M-maybe, none of this was real… ]

As thoughts of self doubt ensnared my mind, I finally bumped into someone.

It was a teacher, one I often saw passing the hallways but never really interacted to. She was walking down, from the opposite end of the hallway, with a haggard look on her face. Her face was sweaty, and she oozed tiredness.

She was looking down as she walked to it took a while for her to notice me. When she finally got closer, and looked up, she raised her eyes in surprise.

“What are you doing out of class?!” She asked as if the question was merely reflex.

I looked at her hollow eyed, the possibility that I might be insane took a huge toll on my mental state.

After 5 seconds, I managed to utter out a weak, “...count down…”

The teacher was going for my collar, obviously ready to take me to the principal’s office, when she stops me and looks at me weird.

“You…” She hesitates for a moment.

“...Y-you see it too?”

“?...!” I widened my eyes in realization. He was referring to the timer! The floating blue panel that was the origin of my anxiety.

“Wait, it’s not surprising you can see it too.” The teacher chided herself. “Everyone in class can see the countdown too, so it makes sense that you could see it too.”

How I translated those slew of words; ‘I wasn’t the only one who sees it!’

Vigor and relief filled my once fish eyed eyes. It was a serious weight of my shoulder to find out I wasn’t insane.

“What are you doing here...what’s that all over your shirt?” The teacher whom I didn’t know began to question with a hint of shock and gentleness in her voice.

“I-I…”

I choked up as a wave of bitter relief washed over me. Seeing a role model like figure in the middle of my current breakdown was a huge lifesaver.

My face began to cramp out a smile as my legs buckled from sheer joy.

[Wait! It’s not time for that!]

I controlled myself before another full blown mental breakdown could occur. There were more pressing issues at the moment.

My mind jumbled and anxious, finally managed to spit out after much deliberation. “T-teacher, the time- no, why isn’t anybody else outside?” I asked, curiosity winning out in my scatterbrain train of thought.

“Why? Well…” The teacher sighed as she scratched the crease in her hairline.

“Well, I guess, they're all a bit hung up on what’s going on outside.”

“Huh? Outside?” I asked, confused.

“Yeah outside. The sky.”

“?” I tilted my head in confusion.

“You don’t know? My...where exactly have you been these last few minutes…” She chided me as she led me to an empty classroom with windows.

In the bathroom and at the hallway, there were no windows, well, no windows low enough for me to peer out on, so I was completely lost when she referred to the outside. I did not fully grasp the unknown element that was the outside.

I followed her anxiously, fully aware that time was ticking downwards. Right now, it was down to less than 30…In comparison to this, the teacher was unexpectedly calm.

I guess you could call this the charm of age?

When we finally arrived, and I finally had a full view, I momentarily forgot all that worry and anxiety, and merely gasped in both utter fear and utter amazement.

The sky right now was… it was a mess.

The sky was scarlet red and the clouds lost their original white sheen only to be replaced by a menacing black. Scattered across the sky and the clouds, were various cracks that glowed a faint white light. The cloud themselves, covered by said cracks, were swirling around in one epicenter. It looked like somewhat familiar to a hurricane, or a tornado, well, with the exception of looking a lot more frightening.

At the center, the eye of this raging black and red storm, was a light. Unlike the white cracks, it pulsated a hue of green, as it rhythmically synced itself with the air that was physically vibrating.

I was mesmerized by this scene, as if it had induced a trance like state on my psyche.

I was finally brought back to cold reality by a faint beeping noise, which signaled that the countdown had finally entered the ten second mark.

10…

...9…

I quickly turned to the teacher, who was currently silently looking at me. I filled my voice with as much desperation and worried bravado as I could muster.

“M-more importantly! T-the timer! It’s drawing closer!”

“?” She tilted her head, confused. I was also confused; why was she confused?

“What’s wrong with the countdown?” She asked innocently.

….5..

...4…

“What do you mean what’s wrong! It’s all wrong!”

...3…

She laughed, which I found really annoying, especially during a time like this.

“There’s nothing to worry about. I mean, it’s just a count down.”

...2…

...1…

“What are you expecting? An apocalypse?”

...0...

Ding!

****

Hello, Hello again!

Unfortunately, preparation time’s over, so you all better have prepared yourself, since, after all, what comes next is a simple apocalypse.

****

With this new panel, came a roaring crash, as my ears filled with screeching screams, and my vision was blocked by a giant shadow.

I felt a huge force lift me off my feet. I soared and crashed against a pile of stacked chairs.

“....”

“....”

It would take me a few minutes to realize I had passed out, and the teacher I had been talking to, was dead, half eaten by a giant Minotaur.

Chapter 5: Dungeon

I groggily regained consciousness.

I was vaguely aware of the metallic taste in my mouth as well as the pressure which pinned me down.

Eyes still closed, I felt my way around my surroundings with shaky hands. I met fierce resistance, as a weight kept me down on the ground and my body hardly able to move. After a bit of elbow grease though, I properly felt the structures around me, and I could now vaguely make out the familiar anatomy of a chair. Actually, scratch that, there were several chairs, and a few desks mixed in.

I was stuck under a pile of chairs. How very inconvenient.

I finally opened my eyes, and the first thing they met was once again another pop up, surprisingly this time, it revealed very useful information.

Although, it was mostly bad news, but still, it was valuable information.

<New Dungeon Discovered!

You are among the first to discover the new dungeon, [OakWood High School].

Experience gain will be doubled for a period of one week.>

<You have entered the Dungeon - OakWood High School!

OakWood High School

An old highschool with a long history. Currently, it is monster infested.

Dungeon Specific Effects

Experience gain is 1.25 times greater than normal. Monsters drop rate is 75% lower.

All players in the dungeon are temporarily registered as monsters.

Killing a player gives a temporary buff to a random stat for a duration of one hour. Player kills earn three times the exp.

While in this dungeon, parties cannot be formed.>

[Dungeon?]

In typical rpgs, dungeons are usually more dangerous and filled with far stronger monsters than regular areas....

Did this just say my school is a dungeon?

Well, while it's true that sometimes school did feel like a place of torture, but still, actually labeling it a dungeon? I doubt even this hellhole is bad enough to warrant such a dangerous tag…

Ingesting this new, information, I payed particular attention to the last bit under “Dungeon Specific Effects”.

“....”

Reading it over, there seems to be a lot of emphasis on pvp action. Rather, it seems like this [system] is trying to goad players into killing each other….

With such rewards, anybody who had an inkling on what’s going on, and realized how important levels are would probably be more than just inclined to kill a couple people…

...Of course I’d never do that. I mean, no matter how messed up this situation might seem, I doubt I’d have the guts to kill a person. Actually, this just meant more bad news for me. Not only will I have to worry about the monsters, but now other people have more than just an incentive to hunt me down…

Really, quite a troublesome situation, but for now I can’t focus on that. That issue can be dealt with in the future, for now, I need to look at the immediate situation.

Through the various cracks formed by the oddly placed chairs strewn on top of me, I could see a bit of the room, albeit with much obstruction. What I saw was a gruesome scene.

The carefree teacher who I had been talking to only a few minutes ago was dead. Her corpse lay cold and unmoving on the classroom floor. Blood flowed in various directions, covering up half the classroom floor in a foreboding shade of red. If that wasn’t bad enough, the teacher in question was half eaten.

While her arms and limbs were bent in odd positions, indicating that something with an amazing strength had knocked her around, huge bite marks and gashes riddled her body. The marks didn’t sink into her flesh, like a carnivore’s, but rather, they crushed and mangled her muscle and much of her bone.

Something a herbivore might do, well, except herbivores don’t really eat meat or people for that matter.

Forcing myself to look away, I examined the rest of the room.

Unpleasantly, aside from the corpse, there were other large bodies of flesh in the area.

A huge hulking creature, probably about 2 meters in height stood on a pair of hooved hind legs. It had the physique of a well worked lumberjack, even sporting a rustic axe to match. This thing could have passed of perfectly for a friendly tree cutter, had he not have the face he had.

The face was, in short, a cow’s. Or would calling it a bull be more accurate? Well, either way, the creature had two protruding horns, and a snout face that looked like it was stuck in a perpetual scowl.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, there were two of these creatures.

I focused in on one of them, and noticed the blue screen that was also present on top of their heads. While, it was a bit far, I endeavored to read the information.

<Minotaur - Level 15>

I sighed dejectedly.

Like its appearance suggested, it really was a Minotaur...what's more, it was level 15!

That’s a whooping 13 levels higher than me! And what makes that worse is there’s two of them! Two level 15 monsters…

I barely survived fighting a tiny goblin, what can I possibly do against two minotaurs.

While I began to despair, I noticed an odd event taking place.

In the middle of the wrecked classroom, what I can only describe as a slight distortion in space occurred. The air rippled, as the space ripped itself apart, and a moment later, another hulking beast blinked into life.

It was another minotaur.

[What just….]

I grew anxious, the beast just appeared out of nowhere! It was like this whole room birthed a monster before my eyes!

I continued observing before another odd thing occured.

Once the new minotaur appeared, the other two roared (well, more mooo than anything else), before they, along with the new one in tow, left the classroom rather excitedly.

I lay there stock still. My feelings were very mixed. At first there was the obvious set of confusion. Why did they leave this place? How did that minotaur suddenly appear?

After that, came a sense of realization. Right now I was alone, with no minotaurs guarding the room. If there were any better time to escape, it would be now!

Filled with excitement at this reasoning, I began to shake and shimmy the structure in front of me, all in a vain attempt to knock the chairs out from above me. I ignored much of the muscle fatigue I felt and the throbbing pain in my thigh and mustered as much strength as I could manage. The loose structure gave some leeway, as a bundle of chairs loosened and clattered on to the floor.

As I was about to continue this course of actions with a renewed vigor, something interrupted me. The room once again distorted, and in an instant a new minotaur stood imposingly in the center of the room.

Its eyes darted back and forth, as if looking for its opponents or allies. Seeing none, its tense muscles loosened as it went to stand in a corner opposite to me.

I stopped anymore reckless actions after that, afraid that the creature might notice. Instead, I decided to just sit and wait and go back to quietly observing the room.

Truth be told, the current events gave off a hint as to what was happening in this particular room. I just needed to confirm it.

A few minutes later, another minotaur blinked into life. It roared at its waiting companion and moved over into another corner of the room. Shortly after the second one’s sudden appearance, a third minotaur came. It roared mightily at its two predecessors.

Before I could finish my incomplete thoughts, the minotaurs moved. Much like the first group, they left the classroom in droves of three.

And once again, I was left alone in a quiet classroom.

Unlike last time, I decided to wait, counting out silently each second that past by. Once I reached the one minute and thirty second mark, another minotaur blinked into life.

From here on out, I observed the situation quietly from my hiding spot. I kept track of all my findings within my head and came to the conclusion that, there was indeed a pattern.

Minotaurs would blink into life within this room, and once three had gathered, they’d all set out into the hallways together, leaving the room empty for a short period of time. This time span was about 1 minute 30 seconds (give or take).

Once the allotted time passed, another minotaur would be blinked into life.

In short, I could call this room a spawn point, an area where monsters typically come to life. In a typical rpg dungeon, spawn points aren’t all that rare, rather, it makes sense to have spawn points. While the whole concept of a creature just appearing into existence was weird, it kinda fit the whole context of the situation.

It was at least very rpg-esque if that’s any consolation.

Probably, the bathroom I was previously in was also a spawn point. One for goblins instead of minotaurs. Actually, if you think about it, I might have been lucky that the restroom spawned goblins. If it pooped something as huge and dangerous as a minotaur, I’d be undoubtedly screwed.

Another thing to, was the movement of the minotaurs. They either moved in groups of three due to an order from a higher up or it’s just in their nature. I’m not really too sure, but for me, this was actually an advantage.

I had 1 minute and 30 second intervals to do what I pleased and I would make sure to utilize that time appropriately.

There was no way I was going to die in a place like this.

Like that, my pseudo plan moved into gear.

At each time when there would be nobody but me in the room, I did my damnedest to thin the stack of chairs that pinned me to the ground. Luckily the structure was already very unstable, so it only took about 5 intervals to thin the mound considerably.

Although I did stop after the 5th interval, since I was afraid that any less and I’d be visible to the creatures.

Still, while I toiled, and inbetween the dreaded period of waiting, where I sat anxiously, I lamented over how unlucky this situation was. To find myself in a spawn point… in an rpg, that would have certainly spelled doom.

Actually, I did have the misfortune of finding myself in two spawn points… are those ten points in luck even working?

rather, how useful will the luck stat be anyway?

My thoughts idled, as I sat there and waited. I had decided to move into action during the next interval. and I needed to utilize all my time wisely. Laying here for long extended periods of time had caused the adrenaline in my system to wear off. I could now feel each throbbing pulse of pain in my leg, and I had to fight through every moment to not scream out in agony.

On the plus side though, the bleeding status did end, so I wasn’t continuously losing health anymore. Rather, I was actually gaining some, which is a good thing since I was down to 12 hit points after I was sent flying by that first minotaur.

During the 7th interval is when I finally decided to move. With preplanned haste, I pushed off the flimsy layer of chairs and desks from above me, and finally freed myself. It was a relief not having that weight pin me down anymore, but I couldn’t really enjoy it right now.

First, I moved through the window. When I got there, my face turned pale at the site before me.

The view outside was a city of flames. Smoking and fire rose from the streets and people were screaming out. It really was a horrid scene, but I kind of figured it was better than staying in this building.

I banged, and banged on the thin glass, desperation leaking through everyone of my blows. I almost broke through when something annoying stopped me.

ding!

<Stop!

Oakwood High School is a special dungeon. Leaving through incorrect means will result in severe penalties.

These penalties include but are not limited to:

Death

Go the proper way.

Players are only allowed to leave once they find the correct exit and slay the boss of the dungeon.>

“Tch!”

Seeing this, I swelled up with frustration and anger. I held in bitter tears as I turned around from this false hope.

Grimacing through the pain, I hobbled to the doorway.

I counted down each second as it passed, right now I was down to 45 seconds.

When I reached the smashed doorway, I halted. I was at 36 seconds.

Grunting, I managed to peer out into the hallway, carefully making sure that the minotaurs hadn’t stayed near their spawn point, after all, if they did all just congregate in the hallway, my plan would have failed.

Fortunately, they weren’t here. Rather the hallway was pretty empty, save for a random corpse here and there.

The sight was disgusting but I couldn’t really nit pick on those unpleasantries.

Right now I was at 15 seconds.

I hobbled off into the hallway, turning right, I moved as fast as one can move with an injured thigh.

8 seconds.

I half ran, passing the restroom I was at before.

3 seconds.

I didn’t know where I was going, just, the fear of a minotaur was pushing me farther and farther away from this place.

1.5 seconds

I was almost there just turn this upcoming corner and--

BAM!

0 seconds.

I could now hear the roars of the new minotaur as I toppled over somebody… or something.

Chapter 6: Person

--I bumped into someone just as I was making my escape.

The initial impact caused a small joint of pain to rocket up my wound. Luckily, I was able to grit through the pain and just barely control my voice from leaking out.

As I wobbly tried to stop myself from falling, I looked on at the thing I had bumped into.

It was a girl.

Probably a student from this school, although, no surprise, I didn’t recognize her. She was rather plain looking, with normal proportions, or at least that’s what I first thought. Truth be told, I couldn’t really tell, much of her face was covered by a haggard amount of hair, and she was wearing an exceptionally large sweater, which hid most of her figure.

I looked through her curtain of hair, and saw the initial surprise on her face. She didn’t look scared, rather startled, and from the expression she was showing, it looked as if she was about to scream out due to pure reflex.

I was fully aware that the bull nosed giant in the previous room was well within earshot. Although it might not have noticed me yet, a scream would definitely attract its attention. Not to mention there was also the possibility that any sudden noise might attract other monsters.

Going by how things have turned out so far, it was a safe bet to assume there was more than just minotaurs and goblins that roamed these hallways.

Frantically, I covered the girl’s mouth. I ignored the spit that touched my hand, as I kept it in place, blocking out any sound that may or may not come out.

I put my free hand up to my own, making a ‘shh’ gesture.

Naturally, she struggled at first, but soon calmed down. She briefly expressed a knowing glance, before her attention shifted and her eyes vigilantly began to scan from left to right.

It looked like she had enough experience with monsters to know their real danger. Her alertness was a good feature.

I slowly removed my hand from her mouth, and nodded. She nodded back, and motioned to a nearby stairwell, indicating her original goal.

Without words, I understood her intention, which I found odd at first. I’ve never really been this in sync with someone. Maybe it was the situation? Who knows, but this feeling of connectedness was pretty… nice.

I glanced over, before I made a worried expression. I looked down at my thigh, it was still as bruised and painful as ever. I don’t really think I could go down a flight of stairs without reflexively screaming out in pain.

With a hint of bitter regret, I shook my head. Motioning fruitlessly to my injured thigh. The girl followed my indication, and grimaced at the injury. She thought long and hard, a mask of indecision overtaking her face.

After some forethought, it seems like she finally came to a decision. She nodded once more to me, and this time indicated at the corner from which she just came from.

Wordlessly, without waiting for a response, she moved on.

I more than eagerly followed, fully aware that we might have spent a bit too much time out in the open.

She led me to a nearby classroom. Next to the classroom, were a pile of dead corpses. They looked fresh, and most of them were students. I shivered at the scene. Although I had several brushes with death since this whole mess started, it was my first time being so up close.

It was rather unnerving.

Sparing only a quick glance at the mound, the girl didn’t quite have such an impactful response as I did. She entered the classroom, making sure to open the door as noiselessly as possible.

I followed her in, closing the door just as quietly as she had opened it.

Once I got in, the first thing I noticed was the destruction.

From the looks of things, this room was once an art classroom. Broken canvases littered the walls, while chairs and tables were frantically strewn around everywhere.

What was odd was that, despite the condition of the room, it had no corpses. I’d expect that if something rampaged in here, there’d be at least a body or two.

Unless….

[Ah...now it makes sense…]

I had a brief moment of insight.

Somebody had moved all the bodies outside the classroom. That would explain the dead that guarded the door outside. But as to why someone would do such a fruitless thing, I don’t know. I mean, it was pretty meaningless, not like a corpse-less room would save anyone in this situation.

After I finished looking around, I turned back to the person who led me here.

Now that I was away from the oppressing sense of danger I faced out in the hallway, I more leisurely took a closer look at the girl.

Night black hair curtained her face so I really couldn’t get a good luck at her.

Actually, a lot of her was covered up by either hair or baggy clothing. What was left exposed were pieces of pale white skin which looked as frail as a newborn. She was the type of girl who you couldn’t help but think she’d break under her own weight.

She also had a naturally slouched posture, which she maintained as she looked out through a window that opened up into the hallway.

After she had confirmed we were relatively safe for the time being, she turned back to face the room.

I half expected her to start talking, but contrary to my belief, she wordlessly moved deeper into the room.

It may have just been my imagination, but I felt that her movements had a pretty depression gait to it.

She walked over and reached the area behind the teacher’s desk. The desk itself was half destroyed, littered by giant holes on its surface. It was propped over, blocking the view of whatever lay behind it.

After a second of hesitation, I followed her.

“hah,hah,hah…” As I drew closer I was now keenly aware of the heavy panting noise that came from behind.

As I got within eyesight, I first thought I was looking at another corpse. Luckily, the slight rise and fall of the chest revealed otherwise.

The body that lay broken and injured, was that of a female’s. From her figure, and her relatively clean, albeit pale, face, she was probably really pretty. Probably, she was one of the popular types.

Rather than her cute face, what shocked me most was the amount of blood that pooled beside her. For now, the blood showed no indication of growing, but her body, littered in various scratches and wounds, was more than just a cause for concern.

I looked silently at her, a dark expression masking my face.

[She looks like she’s dying….]

The girl who brought me here, kneeled down, and caressed the bleeding girl’s forehead. Although the girl showed no signs of being conscious, her face did visibly loosen up upon the contact of flesh.

I waited a while, but the only noise in the room was the soft groans of the dying girl who laid in a pool of blood..

Breaking the long silence, I decided to talk first.

“What happened to her?” I asked.

After a minute of no response, she finally talked back. Her voice was frail, and soft, barely audible.

“...I don’t know.”

She looked up, and seeing the expression on my face, she began to explain further.

“This isn’t my classroom.” She looked around the room as if to indicate.

“I was a few halls down, when… you know, the countdown went zero. I managed to survive when the first monsters did come to my classroom. I hide in a supply closet, and...and I waited until everyone was dead and the monsters had left.”

A look of deep regret was plastered on her otherwise stoic face. She quickly shook that expression off though, and continued to explain.

“After it left, I went out and came here… for her.” She looked down gently onto the poor girl.

“She’s my sister.”

She spoke simply, as if such an explanation was enough.

I nodded, I got her situation. Family bonds were pretty strong I guess, even in a time like this.

Although, I couldn’t help but quirp in a hint of bitter reality to her one sided conversation.

“She’d dying.” I said.

Hearing these words, she bit down on her own lip, before slowly nodding.

It seems like she realizes it as well.

“....”

“....”

In this silence, I had an idea, but I was afraid to speak out. I was afraid that I might be wrong.

There were too many variable I didn’t know about, and the mechanics to this crazy reality were still knew to me, so I hesitated to voice out my opinion. If I, on some of chance, ended up being wrong, that would only bring more grief to the person in front of me.

“...”

After some time, I decided to screw it. I’ll trust in my instincts for the time being.

“...She… she might not die.”

The girl looked up at me. She was startled at my sudden declaration, but her eyes glowed with a bit of faint hope.

I scratched my head, trying to gather my thoughts for what I was about to say next.

“I’m sure you’ve realized this but… the world has changed.”

Remembering the floating countdown from earlier, the girl nodded with eager eyes.

I nodded in response as well.

“...then, I’m not sure if you realized this or not, but, I,no, probably we… we have changed as well.”

Hearing this, the girl flashed a confused and doubtful frown.

Seeing this expression, I thought for a moment before I said, “..Try saying “status” out loud while thinking of...um, yourself.”

It was better to show her than to explain such a ridiculous thing.

She looked blankly at me for a second before she opened her mouth. She hesitated for a moment, only gaping with her mouth slightly open but with no sound coming out. Eventually, she finally did speak

“Status.”

What came next was that the girl jumped in surprise. Her eyes widened as she looked at what I presumed was her own status screen. Of course, like I half expected, I couldn’t see her status window. It seems like things like that are personal.

After a minute of quietly looking, she turned back to me, and spoke, a tone of astonishment still lingering in her voice.

“It… it says here I’m level 1.”

I nodded. “Hm, I’m level 2.”

“How?”

“Well, somethings happened.” I answered awkwardly before I scratched my head.

Her eyes moved over to the injury in my leg, before she nodded.

“So, what was that about saving her?” She spoke, her voice now louder and filled with more hope than before.

[I never said I could save her…]

Ah well, what’s done is done.

I began to explain the gist of my logic.

“Ah, you know how in things like rpgs and mmos, your life is determined by your HP, right?”

She nodded. Such information was common sense after all.

“Then… if we just bring her hp backup, I don’t think she’ll die.”

It was simple. Logic based on rpg experience. Even the most grievous of wounds could be healed by a simple healing spell. As long as the hp never reached zero, then it was basically impossible to die. And if it ever did reach zero, then I guess you’d need to look into revive spells and such… although, I have my doubts as to their existence…

Upon hearing this, the girl frowned. It looked like she wasn’t convinced by such simple logic.

As if to word out her doubt, she asked, “But what about her wounds?”

I accepted this question a little too eagerly. In fact, it was something related to this that I actually came to my conclusion in the first place.

In response I pointed to my leg.

“Actually…”

I began to explain.

In short, my leg was healing.

I didn’t notice while trapped in that classroom, but once I started moving about through the hallway, I noticed that my leg didn’t hurt as much. It became easier to move, and the pain lessened considerably. It was healing considerably faster than normal. I connected this to my hp, which was also now steadily regenerating health.

As long as there was no detrimental effects like [bleeding status] in place, I was convinced that I could basically heal from almost any injury, given the right amount of time.

After my explanation, the girl was still frowning, but now her eyes glowed with a bit of understanding.

“Of course, we could always test this theory.” I said. “We simply have to wait until my hp bar reaches max. At that time, it’ll be obvious whether I’m right or not.”

Although from how slow my health regeneration was, it would take at most a few hours for me to completely heal.

The girl was quiet for a moment. She looked down, and from the quiet mumblings (which were a little creepy) that leaked out, I assumed she was deep in thought.

After a while, she looked back up.

“It makes sense.” She affirmed. “Although, I’d like to test it out, just to be sure.”

“That’s why I said we should just wait until I fully recover, it might take a while but--”

She interrupted me with a shake of her head and said.

“Don’t worry. There’s no need to wait.”

Without a shred of hesitation, she took a pencil from on top of the desk, and jabbed it deep into her arm.

“Tch!”

With a wince, the leaded weapon sunk deeper into her flesh, and with another wince, she pulled it out just as easily as she had stabbed it in.

“...!”

I stood there, aghast, not knowing how to respond. The girl also did nothing. She dropped the pencil and watched it roll through the floor as she just quietly sat there, with a deep look of concentration on her face.

“....”

“....”

“...”

“... I lost 5 hit points.” She broke the silence and stated.

“D-did you check your status window?” I asked.

“Yes. and since I have an hp regeneration of 0.005 per second…”

After a bit of mental calculating she said, “...We’ll only need to wait 17 minutes for my hp to fill back up.”

“Ah, um, okay.” I spoke dumbly, still a bit shocked that she had just stabbed her hand for such a reason.

And so we waited. Our attention completely focused on the bleeding wound on her left hand.

As time passed by, it was a pleasant discovery to know that my theory was correct. Slowly, ever so slowly, the wound closed up, and at 16.666 whatever minutes, her hand was as good as new.

She moved her hand around cautiously. She flexed it left and right, opened and closer her palm, she did all sorts of things in order to confirm how her hand had healed.

After a minute or so of doing this, in a tone of wonderment, she awed, “Y-you were right…”

I smiled a bit at her words.

“Well, this is good then.” I replied.

She nodded.

“If… If it’s like this, then my sister can be…” Her words choked up in the middle, as tears quietly rolled down her hair matted cheeks.

She hiccuped and sniveled while trying to restrain her budding emotions.

For a while, she just sat there, whimpering as tears continued to gather in a pool before her. After five minutes or so, she finally stopped.

She rubbed her reddened eyes, while looking at me through a familiar curtain of hair.

“M-my name’s Cielle…”

It was a little late for introduction, but at least I could stop referencing her as ‘girl’ now.

“Ah, I’m Hide.”

With a small bow, I likewise, introduced myself to Cielle.