Ryan's eyes fluttered open.
The abandoned building looked the same... cracked walls, ash on the floor, faint smell of old smoke... but something was wrong. The pain that had been screaming through his ribs and hand was... gone.
Not dulled. Gone.
He touched the back of his left hand where Lila had pressed the cigarette. Smooth skin. No burn mark. No redness. Nothing.
He sat up fast. His body moved easily. He pressed his fingers to his ribs. There were no cracks. He touched his face, the cut above his eyebrow, the swollen lip. All healed.
He blinked hard. "This isn't real," he whispered. "I must be dreaming. Or dead. Or hallucinating from the beating."
He pinched his arm. Hard. It hurt.
Then the blue panel appeared again, floating right in front of his eyes like a hologram only he could see.
DING!
[Reincarnation System – 100th Life]
Host: Ryan Hayes
Rank: F
Humiliation Coins: 0
Sealed Skills: 99
Unlocked Skills: One Hundred
Stats:
Strength: F
Agility: F
Intelligence: C
Charisma: F
Endurance: D
Perception: C
Ryan stared. "What the...?"
He waved his hand through it. The panel stayed perfectly in place.
"This is like a game," he muttered. "Like those system novels I read online."
He hesitated, then said quietly, "Status."
The panel refreshed instantly, same as before.
"Status window," he tried.
Nothing changed. It was already open.
"Stats."
Still there.
He swallowed. "Okay. This is actually happening."
He leaned closer and read every line twice. Rank F. Zero coins. Ninety-nine sealed skills. Stats that looked pathetic except for Intelligence and Perception, which were C.
"Humiliation Coins?" he asked out loud, feeling stupid. "What does that even mean?"
The system responded in that same cold, mechanical voice inside his head.
DING!
[Humiliation Coins (H Coins) are the currency of this system.]
[Earned exclusively through genuine public or personal humiliation directed at the host.]
[Emotional intensity determines the amount gained. Higher shame = higher yield.]
[Coins are used to unlock sealed skills from your 99 past lives.]
Ryan's mouth went dry. "So... I get stronger by getting humiliated?"
[Correct.]
[Endure shame. Convert it to power. Reclaim what was yours.]
He sat there for a long minute, heart pounding. "What can I do with the coins right now? At Rank F?"
A new sub-panel opened below the main one.
[Available Shop – Rank F Access Only]
[Perfect Recall – 150 H Coins]
[Enhanced Reflexes – 250 H Coins]
[Basic Endurance Boost – 200 H Coins]
[All other skills locked until rank increase or higher coin threshold met.]
Ryan stared at the list. The cheapest was 150. He had zero.
He looked down at his hands again. No pain. He stood up slowly and stretched.
He took off his broken glasses. The room snapped into perfect focus. There was no blur which normally caused him a headache. He could read the tiny faded warning sign on the far wall as clear as day.
"I guess I don't need these anymore," he said softly.
But he couldn't just throw them away. Not yet. People would notice if the "blind loser" suddenly had perfect vision. He slipped the cracked glasses back on. The world dimmed again through the lenses.
He grabbed his torn bag and limped out of the abandoned building, just in case anyone was watching.
It was better to act hurt.
.
.
After school, the walk home felt different. He had a bunch of questions in his head. He wanted answers.
By the time he reached the mansion, the sky was dark. He slipped through the side entrance as always.
In the dining room, his mother Clara was setting the table, wearing a faded apron over her old dress. She moved quietly, with her head down, placing plates in front of Elena, Lila, and Marcus. The sight of that apron, his mother serving the woman who treated her like dirt, made something hot twist in Ryan's chest. His hands clenched at his sides.
He couldn't do anything yet. He was still weak. Still Rank F. Still zero coins.
Clara looked up and saw him. Her eyes widened at his face. She was a bit happy that there were no visible injuries for the first time in a while, but she still looked worried.
"Ryan, you're home. Go shower before dinner. You look tired."
Elena turned in her chair, wine glass in hand. She looked him up and down with disgust.
"Look at him. I despise the way he walks in like he owns the place. Did you even wash your face today, or did you spend all day rolling in the gutter again?"
Lila laughed. "Probably both. He always looks like trash."
Marcus smirked. "Hey, runt. Why don't you go sit at the kids' table tonight? Oh wait... You don't even rate that."
They all burst into laughter at the table.
Ryan kept his head down. "Sorry. I'll go shower."
But inside, he was watching the panel.
[DING]
Humiliation Registered.
Emotional Intensity: Moderate
Source: Family Verbal Assault
H Coins Gained: +78
Then another quick one from Lila's laugh.
[DING]
Humiliation Registered.
Emotional Intensity: Low-Moderate
Source: Sibling Mockery
H Coins Gained: +41
Total: Humiliation Coins: 119
Ryan's eyes widened behind his glasses. It worked. The numbers were real.
He froze for a second in the hallway, heart racing. "I'm not seeing things," he whispered. "This is actually happening."
Elena snapped from the dining room. "What are you standing there for? Move! Your stench is affecting my appetite!"
Ryan hurried to his room without another word.
He shut the door, leaned against it, and pulled up the system.
Humiliation Coins: 119
He was still short. Perfect Recall needed 150. He was 31 coins away.
He sat on the bed and stared at the wall.
The system was real. The healing was real. The coins were real.
And humiliation was the key.
He needed more. A lot more.
And now he knew exactly how to get it.
School. Home. Bullies. Family. Every insult, every laugh at his expense.
He would take it all.
Ryan took off his glasses again and looked at his reflection in the small cracked mirror on the wall.
He whispered to himself.
"Soon. I'll make those people bow before me and make them pay a hundredfold."