It's funny how little does it take to turn the social order on its head.
Regretfully for me, I was the one that had to pay for how much fun the others had in this earth two point zero.
"He couldn't escape that far!"
"Chase him down!"
"This time we will get him!"
Calmly observing the group of my three former peers from my elevated position, I took a mental note that yet another road home from school got compromised. Day by day, the number of available ways for me to safely return without ending up in the hands of my former admirers was decreasing. Day by day, I was getting closer to being beaten up.
"Just where the hell did he go?!"
A young, tall blonde. Named Hyke, called Hitte from how eager he was to hit others. Known from being kicked off the karate and kungfu classes, I could vaguely recall him being beaten up when he got close to the systema class that I secretly attended.
"I will cut off and fry his balls!"
Rylas, no nickname. Formerly a good kid, under the influence of his newfound power he realised that bullying others was - after all - fun. What was even worse, right now I could only regret those few sneaky lessons at real-life fighting that I gave him.
"..."
Lastly, the worst of them all, Bart. I once defeated him in one of the races, right before I decided to stop my running career. Ever since that time back in the first class of the high school, he held a grudge against me, not eased even after he bested my top times. For some reason, he wanted to defeat me personally on the track, and with how the things stood now, he finally found a way to exact his revenge without any major consequences.
But what was absolutely the worst, was that this is how this new earth looked like.
A bit over a year ago, something changed. Some scientists found a really smart way to describe it... Yet even though I wasn't a bad student at all, just looking at the names they were using made my head hurt. To put it in short and easy terms, magic has appeared.
Magic like in the movies? - one might ask. Thankfully, no. I couldn't imagine how fucked I would be if I would be forced to run from wizards on brooms chasing me while throwing fireballs in my general direction.
Despite still attending the last year of high school, I wasn't naive enough to believe in the official version of the events. After all, one would have to be really dumb to not understand what happened in reality.
One by one, governments of the world fell. While instantly replaced by the new ones, no one had any doubts that it was all an act. Yet, how could the relatively stable order of the world change so quickly and thoroughly? The answer came from a rather unexpected way.
About two weeks after the mess with the governments, some of the old fighting schools and martial arts communities experienced the greatest miracle that could ever happen to them. They officially discovered the way to use this newly found energy. Apparently, those with great physical foundation had it easier to reach the levels required to make this new energy usable.
From that point onwards, no one had any doubts. With the secret services taking over the ruling class of the world, the focus of the entire earth was now all aimed at a single task - to get stronger.
Some, just like those bullies that wanted to make up for all the time they lived in my shadow before, got lucky. With their physical abilities already up to par, they needed only a small push to reach the levels unimaginable to normal humans from before the change. Sadly, even though being an athlete and active martial artists guaranteed my physical foundation, for some reason I was unable to harness this new energy at all.
And just like that, what seemed like a miracle to others, was nothing but the end of the happy times for me. Most of the friends that latched to me while I was successful quickly disappeared, while those who actually cared about me… I cut ties with them myself. One might call it pride, but I was simply self-aware enough to understand that I would be putting them down just by hanging around them.
At least, that was the official version of my current situation that I didn't spare any efforts to 'accidentally' spread.
"I guess its time…"
With another objective already in my mind, I reached to my pocket. Tightening my fingers around a strange bracelet, I quickly moved it on my wrist. In one instant, it disappeared from the view, as if absorbed by my skin. And at the same time, nearly the entirety of my strength disappeared alongside with it.
Only after confirming that I was no longer any different from the mortals before the earth's change, I carefully jumped down from the small balcony of an abandoned house where I was hiding. Just in time for my bullies to notice my appearance.
"BEHIND! HE IS BEHIND!"
Turning on my feet, I jumped in the opposite direction to the group of bullies, pretending to make my shot at running away. How silly. If I wanted to run, I would have done so already. But today, my objective was slightly different from avoiding those idiots. Today, I wanted to turn my face into a mess.
"I GOT HIM!"
A sudden pull on my backpack that I pretended to be stupid enough not to drop announced the end of my escape. Pinned to the ground in the very next moment, I initially attempted to defend my face, only to give up as soon as the trio noticed it.
Good, now their attacks focused on my head.
Hit, slam, slap and another hit.
Bit by bit, every inch of my skin was turning from just a piece of meat to nothing else but a physical manifestation of pain. In just a few moments, the trio managed to beat me up so hard that my consciousness started to waver.
"What the hell is going out here?!"
Before long, a new voice entered the fray. Great! Just in time to save me from actually sustaining some serious injuries anywhere else but on my pride as a man!
"Fuck! It's one of those heroes! Let's ditch!"
Not even bothering to analyse their chances against the newly appearing person, the trio quickly dropped me where they pinned me before, disappearing into the dense labyrinth of the streets.
Hero my ass. The fact that someone who was blessed with a good talent while not losing his humanity didn't automatically give him the right to call himself a hero. But well, being on the absolutely lowest level of the new social ladder of the changed earth, I was as far away from deciding who could use what name as one could humanly be.
"Hey, are you okay?"
Oh? So this is one of those people that would actually try to help? I guess I judged him too harshly. Opening my eyes as far as my bruises would allow, I could barely make out the figure of the man that saved me.
"Not really… Thanks for saving me."
Given how the other person acted like a hero, this was what I had to give them in return for their help. Not money. Their moral codex wouldn't allow them to accept it. The gratitude, respect and awe was what they were usually looking for.
"Stop with this bullshit. I can tell that you are on the verge of collapsing already. Tell me, where do you live? It's safer to recover in your own house than trusting your health and life with those felchers in the hospitals…"
Once again, my saviour managed to take me by a surprise. Not seeing anything wrong with relying on his help a little bit more, I gave him my address while wondering just how much did he know about the truth of this world.
Did I mention that the earth has changed? Obviously, with all kinds of people suddenly gaining incredible powers, no one dared to introduce drastic changes. Cinemas still showed movies, cars were still the main source of transportation and logistics, malls and shops were still operating. It was only the places like hospital or detention centre where one could seriously fear for their life.
"Here we are. I have no idea why you allowed them to beat you up like that, but I guess you have your own reasons. Just keep in mind, I won't help you next time."
Hearing those words, my entire body froze. Was it the way in which I cleverly - or so I thought - avoided the most dangerous attacks by changing the position of my body and tensing the muscles in the perfectly timed manner? Or maybe he saw me basically giving my position away?
"Sir, if I may ask.. What is your name?"
Still keeping my act of the innocent victim of bullying, I forced my eyes to open a little bit wider just so that I could see the face of the man.
And it was obviously masked.
"It doesn't matter. I won't pry into your business, so do not pry into mine. Well, I can tell that while we will meet each other again, it won't happen anytime soon. Good luck with your adventures."
Finally allowing me to stand on the ground after carrying me around like some kind of princess, the man smiled before quickly disappearing in the street. Leaving just like that, he made sure that the only question I would have about him, would be a huge 'what the fuck' crashing around in my head.
Sigh…
Taking a moment to throw this encounter out of my mind, I pushed the doors open and entered my home. While getting beaten up was something that I hoped for, it didn't mean I wanted my parents to see me in such a sorry state. Not now, not yet.
"I'm home! I will get changed and clean myself then go get the groceries, okay?"
Shouting into the depths of the house, I didn't bother to wait for the answer. My mother was too weak to speak at all, and I could tell that my father wouldn't care enough to answer me. Ever since we were struck by my mother's illness, the life in my father's eyes seemed to disappear fade away with each passing day.
Just the thought of the current situation of my family was enough for my fists to tighten. Thankfully, the doors that would separate me from all those sad feelings were pretty close.
Step by step, I descended down the stairs only to push the doors to the basement open. Ever since the earth has changed, ever since I lost my position at the top of the social hierarchy in the school, ever since I lost the contact with the only girl that ever managed to pull the strings of my heart, ever since my mother fell sick… Ever since all of that, this place turned to my kingdom.
And it happened for a reason.
"System activate!"
Not even bothering to shout, I simply murmured those words.
[Basement system online]
[Welcome back to the basement!]
[Do you wish to continue with the mission?]
Throwing my backpack to the corner of this underground room, I quickly pulled myself out of all the clothes that I had on me, before moving towards the most ordinary wardrobe that one could imagine. Only after I pulled out a strangely outdated set of clothes, akin to what one would wear for the masquerade rather than outside in a normal day, did I respond to my system's inquiry.
"Yeah."
[Locking the conquered worlds]
[Opening the gate to :BY24NT1: world]
[Emergency exit: active]
[Standard exit: active]
[Time remaining: four days before the freeze ends]
Reaching towards my wrist, I started to rub it as if I was trying to make it hotter. After a moment, this strange bracelet of mine appeared once again, allowing me to finally take it off.
In a single moment, a surge of power entered my body, indicating that my cultivation was now restored. With all the advantages that I had as a former athlete and experienced martial artist when the wave of mana washed through the earth, I nearly instantly obtained the middle level of the body cleansing stage. What others in my class had to work for over two months to achieve, I got right off the bat. Sadly, along with the foundation of my power, a hard cap came.
In other words, I was unable to improve my cultivation, even if it was the purely physical part of it, at all!
That is before I encountered this strange system in my damned basement on the day when I finally decided to give up and end my sorry life with your usual rope!
Shaking my head, I pushed all those idle memories aside. Attaching a small sheathed sword to the side of my belt, I moved forward and pushed the doors of my basement open.
But instead of a dark staircase, a vast, open plain appeared before my eyes.
[System reminder: Current mission - deliver the letter to the Kingdom of Galancia]
[System reminder: Rewards for conquering the world will wary depending on the host's performance!]
And here lied the secret of my masochistic drive from before. Given how I already read said letter several times by now, appearing gravely wounded was the easiest way not only to make everyone trust me but also to spark their drive to reward me for my dedication!
After all, how would one treat a messenger who brought the news of the important victory in a huge battle while risking his very own life to do so?