It was quiet in the Hartford High School classroom. The teacher was absent from class, but there was still work to be done. Chase Stunnner yawned quietly, making sure his hand covered his mouth. He stared at the algebra questions he was solving and cursed under his breath.
"Fucking algebra." He cursed. "The problem of humankind."
The others voiced their own thoughts in the occasional grumbling, mumbling, and cursing. He was no exception. He glanced at the seat beside him and still found it empty. His best friend was still not in school.
"Where the hell are you, Travis?" He muttered, a little worried. He knew that Travis was a notorious absentee, so it was a little strange for him to be so late. The period had started thirty minutes ago and he was still not in school.
Chase wiped the sweat that had already formed on his forehead. His brown hair caught the sunlight while his piercing green eyes bore back into the book. He was light-skinned, with full, wavy brown hair. He had a small scar on his cheek from an accident he barely remembered. He also had two freckles on his right cheek.
Laughter made him turn his head to the back. He watched as Prince Connors, the star quarterback and local bully, kissed Emilia, his ex, on the cheek while she giggled. As she giggled, her eyes caught Chase, and a mocking smirk broke out on her lips. Chase silently ignored her and turned back without a word.
It had been two weeks since she dumped him, and she had moved on immediately. He knew she wasn't interested in the relationship, yet he had tried to save the one month they had spent together, but it was futile.
As soon as she moved on, she began to spread malicious lies that he was unfaithful, impotent, and all the crap she could muster, and it worked very well in bringing down his already declining image in the school. And to add to the list, he was the school's best punching bag.
From being dumped in dustbins to being unconscious in the boy's bathroom, he had crossed all of them off his bucket list. He was tired of it, but was useless in doing anything to stop it. But he endures it like a champion or more of a loser.
He silently reached into his pocket and pulled out a picture. It was his father, cold and serious, staring back at him. Chase missed him very much. But he was gone and he knew he was not coming back. He smiled briefly, remembering small memories of him and the time they spent together. But the memories weren't clear enough to remember accurately.
Chase put the picture back into his pocket and began to solve the questions again.
" I need to finish it." He muttered. 'I definitely don't wanna stay after class.
Suddenly, a deafening chime rang in his head, making him wince in pain. His eyes blurred for a moment before he regained his sight.
'Wh...What the hell just happened to me?' He thought.
A glowing blue screen suddenly materialized, making him flinch backwards.
[COMBAT SYSTEM ACTIVATED]
[WELCOME, CHASE STUNNNER]
Chase stared at the screen, dumbfounded. "What the fuck am I witnessing?"
He stretched his hand and watched it pass through the screen. 'Is this shit really real?"
He stared at it again before he chuckled loudly, making everybody in the class raise their heads and stare at him.
Prince was one of them, staring at ease like he had sprouted another head.
"Shit," he whistled. "Chase has finally gone crazy."
"I know," Emila agreed. "Did you give him painkillers or hemp?"
"Nah," Prince replied. "He'll die in one smoke. I definitely don't want a dead body on my hands."
Chase ignored the remarks and comments from the class and kept staring at the screen. It hadn't gone, and it looked like the others couldn't see it. Only he could.
Chase's eyes widened further when the screen disappeared and another one took its place.
[Status Screen]
Strength: E
Stamina: E
Agility: E
Dexterity: E
Weapon handling: E
Martial Arts prowess: E
[You must train and complete missions to improve your stats.]
"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Chase muttered in shock and anger. "Am I really that fucking weak?"
The answer was staring him in the face so bright. He couldn't believe it. He now had to face that what he was witnessing was real and he wasn't crazy. But the new question was: Why was it he who was given? What was he supposed to do with it? Was it a prank given to him by the fates of the fucking universe?
He had no clue. No clue at all.
'Well,' He thought. 'It looks like I'm stuck with it.'
That was the only possible thought he could muster in his mind. Maybe it was meant to help him to be able to defend himself in the jaws of danger. That did give him a brief moment of excitement before it dissipated like smoke.
He was just about to will it in his head to disappear when the screen suddenly turned red and was glowing.
[EMERGENCY MISSION]
[Mission Description: A school shooter has breached Hartford Hall High and is ready to carry out a school shooting spree. The shooter is armed and dangerous, determined to carry out the shooting with no hesitation.]
[Mission Objectives: Engage and neutralise the shooter before thirty people are killed.]
[Mission Rewards: Newbie gift package.]
[Mission Failure: Death by manhood explosion]
[People killed: 0/30]
Chase stared at the screen blankly before his face transformed into horror and shock.
"Oh, shit." He whispered, eyes still on the screen. "You've got to be fucking kidding me."