Man, that was a good pull. Four 5-stars in one.
That's a first.
"Arthur, come down. It's time for dinner."
"Coming.
"
"What's for dinner?"
"Your favorite. Steak."
"Oh geez, thanks, Mom."
Man, I have to say—these past few weeks have been going awfully good.
"Got a free coupon for the new restaurant."
"Got the money I lost a few days ago."
"Even got Rose's number."
"Damn, that's good."
I couldn't stop the grin spreading across my face.
"Uh—"
"Arthur, why are you smiling like a creep?"
"Oh, nothing, Jas. It's just that this week my luck's been through the roof."
"Oh! I see."
"Yeah… don't be too happy," she said.
"You know this is how side characters in movies and anime usually die."
"They act too happy and—boop! They're dead."
"I wouldn't be that happy."
"Yeah, yeah. Just say you're jealous. Now go—don't ruin my mood."
But now that I think about it… it's been awfully good.
Just hope nothing goes wrong.
"Oh, and by the way, Mom. The parent–teacher meeting for both of us is tomorrow, okay?"
"Yeah, I know. Just hope your grades are good. If not… you know what happens."
"Yeah."
(God, if you're listening—my luck is peaking. Either let those grades be perfect, or just... level the building. Bury the evidence. Just make sure nobody gets hurt, okay?" I let out a nervous chuckle, but a strange, cold shiver raced down my spine as if something had just clicked into place.)
Then it was time to sleep.
I drifted off.
The morning sunshine seeped through the curtains.
"Wake up, Arthur. It's time for school."
"Five more minutes, Mom."
"Wake… up…"
"Okay, okay. I'm up."
"Good. Get ready and eat your breakfast."
A few minutes later, I headed downstairs.
"I'm going. And don't forget—12 p.m. sharp."
"Better run, or we won't make it."
A few minutes later—
"Hm… is that Sean?"
"Yo, why aren't you running? We'll be late for class."
"Dude, did you not read the memo? Classes start half an hour late today because of the meeting."
"Damn! When did they say that?"
"Don't just play games. Check your phone once in a while."
"They didn't send anything like that."
(I checked my phone.)
"Oh… it's there. I had DND on during yesterday's game."
"My bad."
"But still, aren't you going a bit slow?"
"Yeah. If I get there early, I'd have to help
out—and I already know I'm getting in trouble with my dad over my grades."
"Man, you're petty."
"Says you. How're your grades?"
"God will handle it."
"Oh… okay."
(Looks like he's done for. At least I can say I scored better than him.)
"What're you thinking?"
"Just thought I scored better than you."
"Aye, aye. Maybe I'm good, maybe I'm bad. We'll see."
"Oh, we're about to reach."
"Anyway, I gotta scoot. Gotta see Rose."
"Okay. See you in class."
I entered the classroom and took my seat.
"So, hey Rose. How's the day going?"
"Um… good. How about you?"
"Nice. Are your parents coming?"
"Yeah. What about yours?"
"My mom's coming. What about your grades?"
"I'm good in everything except chemistry. I
might've lost some points there."
"Not too bad for me, I think—ah—"
"Everybody, sit down. Class is starting."
Looks like we'll have to talk later.
The bell rang. Time for lunch.
"So it's 12, huh? Parents are starting to come now,"
Sean said, glancing around.
"Yeah."
"Either way, let's eat.
"
"Oh, by the way—did your sister make your lunch today? Her food's delicious."
"Nah. It's Mom."
"Oh… okay."
"Why the change of tone? My mom's food is good."
"Yeah, but not as good as your sister's."
Normally I should've been angry, but… yeah. He wasn't wrong.
A few minutes later—
"Oh look, that's your mom. She doesn't look that mad."
"That's probably because of Jas."
"You mean Jasmine? Your sister?"
"Yeah. She's always first in class."
"You've got it rough, huh."
"Yeah. Speaking of rough—there's your dad. Looks like he wants to kill someone."
"Oh God… is there no way out of this hell?"
"Don't worry."
"What do you mean, don't worry?"
"This week's been insanely good. I even prayed a little."
"…For what?"
"You know that game event? The one with four 5-stars?"
"The impossible one?"
"Yep."
"What's so special about it?"
"Yesterday I had enough for ten pulls. I sneezed… hit the wrong banner—and—"
"Let me guess. You got one?"
"Nope."
"…Don't tell me. You got none"
"Nope, all four."
"What?!"
"That's insane luck."
"So what'd you pray for?"
"Either give me good grades… or destroy the building."
"…Come with me."
(We walked to a corner.)
"Now pray for mine too."
"Okay."
Oh God, give both of us good grades… or destroy the building where the grades are kept.
"Is the destruction part really necessary?"
"Just in case."
"Yeah…"
The meeting started.
Parents sat in the back. Students in the front.
"As soon as the grades arrive, we'll begin individual counseling."
CRACK. A sound like a thunderclap ripped through the floorboards, vibrating up through my teeth. The world tilted. Screams erupted as the ceiling groaned and gave way, sending a wave of choking white dust through the hall. I couldn't see my mother. I couldn't see Jasmine. Only the sound of tearing metal filled the air.
Everyone rushed outside.
Part of the school had collapsed.
"Uh… maybe my luck's a little too good," I muttered.
Is it my fault? Did I actually do this? It was just a joke—it was supposed to be a joke
"What the hell, man?!" Sean said to me
Amidst the chaos .Someone screamed.
"Look! There's someone's down there—it looks like a kid!"
"That's not a kid," I said slowly.
"It's holding something… and it looks like a child yes. But it's holding something similar to club and it's skin it's something greenish
" What ever's down there it's not human .It's like those goblin's he told me like the one from those anime's "
"Sean muttered to me that it not time for me to enjoy my fantasies now "
"Sean, look! Stop talking and just look down! You're the expert here—tell me that's a human!"
Sean sighs then leaned in to take closer look
" I will humour you just this once. But instead of indulging in your fantasies we should really call the authorities who know if it's a war or a terror attack"
A few minutes in Sean stopped talking.
He rubbed his eyes to make sure what he was seeing was right
Then Without a word, he ran to the stair gate, grabbed the cleaning key, and locked it.
"Get in. Now. He screamed"
Everyone rushed inside the conference hall
The gate slammed shut.
"What happened i asked?!"
Sean took a deep breath and started speaking
"What you said was right. That thing is a goblin."
Silence.
"I've read enough mythology and manga to know this," he said.
"One of them has the strength of an adult man," he said.
He swallowed.
"And they don't come alone. They come in numbers."
"When I say numbers, I mean tens—maybe hundreds."
"I'm not dying because someone here does something stupid."
"There's no one that dumb. Here right "
Sean looked straight at me.
"Arthur. Look at what just happened."
"I saw the fear and frustration in his eyes!"
"There's always that one idiot," he said.
"I looked away, unable to meet his gaze. Even though he didn't say it out loud, I could feel the coldness of my own breath as it hitched in my throat. It was scary. The way he was looking at me, the way he stayed silent... it was more terrifying than the monsters below."
He tightened his grip on the gate.
"And I'm not dying because of that."
Then something hit the metal from below.
Once.
Twice.
And after that—
screams started to pour in, one after another, until it was impossible to tell where they were coming from anymore.