Schools serve education, learning, and occasional entertainment. But Hobin's school was different. It had a grading system, but it ranked you by how well you could fight rather than by your level of intelligence. The whole sudden change began after a new leadership took over. They revoked the laws and changed the system.
Tattalia's new principle came from a mysterious leader. This led to the A-F ranking of classes. The A-ranked were at the top leadership, whereas the F at the bottom. The rule implemented that everyone, new or old, high or low, had ranking using numeric value. Each class also had a strong-willed bully or class mate, who dominated his class.
This was Tattalia's principle; Fight, win, dominate. Tattalia became famous for producing the very best of school bullies and fighters. Not possible to remove the adverb.
The bathroom always locked up Hobin. Not of his own will, but because a bully dipped his head in the toilet. This was normal for him, especially since he was a dweeb. Weak yet intelligent. He was in rank E, and their bully favored beating him the most.
Pa Kong was his name; he would beat up Hobin and the other classmates in his class. Take their stuffs and force them to do his class work. Due to the rule in Tattalia, the teachers had zero say, as even their lives could be in danger for saying a single word.
The 18-year-old, Hobin was finally let free thanks to the Janitor opening the door for him. He breathes a sigh of relief, even though he knew he wasn't out the pickle yet. Hobin was an amazing student, but lack a few things. He lacked the qualities that would make him attractive or appealing to anyone. He was chubby, a picky eater, wore a pair of cracked glasses, and struggled to fit into anything. The girls hated him for being fat and he got pushed around a lot. The only thing that made a few people converse with him was his knowledge. He had a high IQ and grasped concepts with ease. But this only made him a target for bullies likes Pa Kong.
Like usual, Pa Kong had beaten him up. He forced him to finish his midterm assignments. If he didn't, Pa Kong threatened to scar him for life. The frightened Hobin made his way home, wondering out he could couple with a pile of home work he had to do. Pa Kong asked him to do his friend's work and a few tasks for his fan girls, intending to impress others.
The bell dinged as he made his way into the store. He stared at each pair of glasses, feeling uncomfortable, as he wanted to repair his broken one. He let out a low exhausting sigh and finally made for the counter.
"Hobin, how are you doing? The store man asked. He raised an eye brow and made a face expressing frustration and tiredness. He heard the old man laugh and say; "Hang in there, Hobin. The school year is almost over". He laughed again, yet no response from Hobin.
"Got any spare for these? Hobin asked and put his broken lens on the table. The old man took a hard look at it, analyzing it before rubbing his chin.
"I'm afraid I haven't gone into the market yet. I will see your lens there. But these are pretty old, you know". He paused and looked at the expressionless face of Hobin. "I'll get new loads on Monday, how about you come then. I am sure a pair would be open for you to buy". He said and handed the lens back.
"Thanks, Old man. I hope it would something I can afford". Hobin muttered and turned to leave.
He wasn't the richest student in school, nor was he the best dressed or most luxurious. He lived in a dump at the black zone of town. His father left his mother right after he was born. Then, his mother got sick and couldn't pay the bills. They relocated to the black zone with nothing but their dreams.
As Hobin stepped out the store, he bumped into a man in a black cloak jacket. He stumbled backward and looked up at the man, who walked passed him with nothing but a disgusted glare. He wanted to say 'Sorry' but felt too empty to release a word.
Hobin got home, emptied his bag, tidied up the garbage of a room and took a bath. As he laid lifeless on the floor, he heard a sound from his work desk. He rose from his bed, pondering to himself, "When did I get a phone or a computer?"
Hobin rose from his bed with deliberate movements. He stood, staring in surprise at the sight of a pair of round eye glass. He reached out an arm, but paused for a thought.
"When…What is this? I don't remember purchasing an eye glass. How did you get here?
He finally took it up, admiring the craftsmanship and round shaped lens. He pulled it closer to his eyes for a fit and immediately got soaked in. Everything went dark. His mind shut down, like it re-booting. His mind, body and eyes ached. He screamed in pain and attempted to pull the glasses off but it won't burgle. The next thing he heard was;
"SYSTEM ACTIVATED! COMMENCING SYNCHRONIZATION—BODY TO MIND".
He screamed as the pain intensified. He felt his bone crackled and his veins attach itself to something. His blood rushed faster and his head felt over flooded with ideas. Shortly the voice came again.
"IDENTITY ENCODING- DECODING. MATERIALIZATION. IDENTITY: NAME: HOBIN ITOSHI
AGE: 18
RELATIONSHIP: OBVIOUSLY SINGLE
STATUS: TERRIBLY WEAK
TRAIT: HIGH IQ
COMMENCING FAMILIARIZATION. ACCESS GRANTED.
SYSTEM REBOOTING".
Before he could even say a word. Hobin crashed to the floor, and immediately went unconscious.
Hobin woke up after an hour, his eyes gradually adjusting to reality. He groaned and touched his head as he lifted his aching body up to the edge of the wall. He groaned again, but even louder and sighed his nose. Staring at his chubby body at the mirror in the bathroom. He muttered to himself;
"What happened to me? He asked, still having the strange glasses on his eyes.
"Hello Hobin. I am XL. Your combat system. I will teach to be the predator and not the prey".