Inside the make's bathroom, Nathan was dragged by the bullies from the cafeteria inside the place.
The presumed leader of the group of five students or gang members exhaled smoke from the cigarette while crouching in front of Nathan who was lying on the floor with blood dripping from his nose.
"Tch. To think that you would resist. Now my hand went numb because of you."
"Hey, dude, come on. We only got 10 minutes left."
"Che. Let's go. I'll see you after school, wuss. Prepare your ass."
Cough, cough.
Nathan tried to get up from the ground while still trembling from the pain he had to endure the entire time.
"Keuk."
He forced his body to sit and lean on the wall as he stayed still in there, feeling regretful.
'Why did I decide to even follow that random thing...'
Nathan was thinking about the window, which he presumed to be a system, that suddenly appeared in front of him, and thus making his situation to get worse.
'Was it even real?'
A moment later, as if to answer his question, the so-called system appeared floating in the air again.
[We meet again, Cadet.]
Nathan moved his head slightly upwards and saw the familiar floating window.
"It's... actually real."
He didn't notice but he made a faint smile. What he just felt was a glimmer of hope to get out of his current situation.
[I sincerely apologized that this got a little later than I thought, but worry not since it was due to certain circumstances.]
"And it has a voice...?"
Like had thought to himself, the system was speaking with a voice. But unlike the ones in some novels, the system in front of him was speaking, not with a mechanical, but with a human's voice, a woman's voice to be precise.
Moreover, the voice had a commanding tone in it. Much like of an official in a military force.
[The rest of the rewards shall be given to you while the rest will be given if the conditions are met.]
[+5 Wisdom]
[+4 Endurance]
[+3 Strength]
[+2 Agility]
[+1 Intelligence]
[+0.5 Charm]
[+0.25 Luck]
In that single instance where the windows multiplied with a different message for each one, Nathan felt a change. It was a noticeable change, but what he felt was unexplainable.
'This is...'
[Congratulations, Cadet!]
[For accomplishing your first mission, a bonus reward shall be given.]
[You can now see your own status by saying 'Status Window' through your mind.]
"..."
Nathan suddenly chuckled after being silent for a while.
"This is just actually just like a system based novel."
Although it sounds ridiculous, he believed it that it was real after it appeared again and much more after he felt the change in his body.
'Status window.'
-
[Status Window]
Basic Info:
— Nathan Blake
— 18 years old
— 174.3 cm
— Possesses a barely healthy body
— A freshman student who is considered a money bag to the bullies.
—Won't or can't stand up for his own self at most times.
Position: Cadet
Strength: 17 (E-)
Endurance: 21 (E-)
Agility: 19 (E-)
Wisdom: 25 (E)
Intelligence: 26 (E)
Charm: 18.5 (E-)
Luck: 13.1 (E-)
Overall Physical Strength: 19 (Has the physical prowess better than that of a male in his adolescence stage.)
Overall Mental Aptitude: 25.5 (Has the mentality slightly better than that of a freshman student.)
-
Nathan was mesmerized the first time he saw this, especially after seeing his stats.
There were things he saw in the status window that was a bit different from what he read.
One, he couldn't see his own level, or it just didn't exist in the system. Two, there was no such absurd content like having a minimap or a shop. Three, in the Basic Info tab, he could see his own condition and situation written in short and direct terms. Lastly, there was a thing called Position and to him, it was 'Cadet'.
Hah.
Out of nowhere, he released a short and soft laugh.
Ignoring all the matters inside it, he thought it was somehow ridiculously accurate.
'The prowess of a male in his adolescence stage... And can't stand up for my own self...'
It was indeed accurate.
"It's just a tiny bit l, but at least, I still improved.]
After resting for a while, Nathan decided to go now. He swept the blood on his nose and the dirt in his close as he stood up.
'If I can increase my physical strength with the help of this system then maybe...'
Just before stepping out of the bathroom, he halted.
"I can get my situation better..."
Suddenly, he grinned.
"By fighting my way out of it."
RING!
Nathan walked inside his classroom and noticed that some of his classmates were looking at him. While he strolled towards his seat, he got surprised and stopped when one of his classmates suddenly spoke out.
"Hey, uh, Nathan, I saw what you did there in the cafeteria..."
It was a guy who he remembered to be also a victim by the bullies.
"P-people normally don't mess with those... What you did there was respectable."
Nathan remembered one of the rewards given by the system when the mission 3 was completed.
[A classmate saying what you did was respectable.]
He silently gasped in surprise as he realized it.
'Did the system knew it coming?'
"And, uh, I'm sure people might do just the same as you did... Maybe I will have to resist too sometimes, haha."
Turning his attention back to his classmate, Nathan smiled as he heard his exclamation. But...
"I appreciate it and I admire that you want to think of beating those guys... But if you actually want to live a normal school life..."
He glanced his classmate before averting his eyes and looked into somewhere else as he continued,
"You shouldn't mess with them..."
His classmate was a bit shocked, not knowing what to reply.
Nathan started to move again, while he whispered to himself so that no one could hear.
"And just wait for me to bring down the entire gang."
Tap.
The sound of chalk screeching into the blackboard continued for almost half an hour with the students inside the class writing at their notebooks as well. Until their professor stopped as she seemed to be trying to find something in the class.
"Ah, yes. Mister Nathan Blake?" Her head stopped turning when her eyes stopped at, Nathan, thinking that he seemed unusual today.
"Ah, yes, professor?" Nathan immediately stood up as soon as he heard his name.
"Can you provide the class with a three-dimensional illustration of a house or something similar."
"Pardon?" Nathan asked indirectly if he somehow just heard it wrong.
Although he chose this course because he was very interested in it, he still needed a lot to learn with outlining and drawing stuff from his mind and imagination.
"Oh, don't worry it's fine even if it turns out vague or even confusing. I just want to have an example. You can use the meter stick if you have to."
Ding.
"Huh?"
The professor narrowed his eyes after hearing Nathan's confused tone when he replied to her.
"Hm? Is there a problem, Mister Blake."
"Ah, it's nothing professor. Something just got in my eye."
Within Nathan's sight, there was a floating something blocking his view.
[We meet again, Cadet.]
[Three new missions were given to you and once again you can only pick one of them.]
[There's still the penalty that I've said to you last time so choose quickly and wisely!]
"U-Uhm."
[Missions]
1. {Be a bastard and ignore your professor.}
Rewards: [Your professor saying that she is disappointed in you], [The entire class silently boo-ing you inside their hearts], [-1 Charm], [-1 Wisdom], [-1 Intelligence], [+1 Endurance]
2. {Be an idiot and say you can't do it.}
Rewards: [Your professor saying that she is disappointed in you], [The entire class silently boo-ing you inside their hearts], [-3 Charm], [-2 Wisdom], [-1 Intelligence], [A classmate saying that you're an idiot.], [Crumpled papers will be thrown to your face.]
3. {Be a model student and accept it.}
Rewards: [Your professor silently praising your willingness and obedience inside her heart], [The favorability of your teacher and classmates towards you will increase slightly], [+3 Charm] [+2 Wisdom], [+1 Intelligence], [+0.25 Luck]
Penalties: [Your professor saying that she is disappointed in you], [You'll lose favorability towards—
"Mister Nathan?"
The windows spread out and the professor appeared in Nathan's sight again.
'This is too long for me too but I'll choose option three even if the system didn't make it as a mission.'
Nathan stepped out of his seat before he spoke.
"I certainly can do it, Professor."
This is just a bonus for me...
He thought as he soon walked towards the front of the classroom. But then–
Ding.
[You chose the wisest mission to accomplish, Cadet.]
[As a reward for being a respectable cadet, I'll give you a temporary but advantageous skills regarding your mission.]
[Depicting Hands and Architectural Vision was activated.]
'Huh?'