The whole class suddenly went quiet.
No one knew why, but for some reason, a dark and heavy atmosphere suddenly shrouded the whole room as Yuuta and his classmates waited for their homeroom teacher to come. It was at this moment that suspicions and conclusions began to arose from the group. They began murmuring at each other as they tried t figure out why they felt a bit panicky. It's like their sixth sense was telling them that something nightmarish happened but they can't just wrap their fingers around it. Just like those times when one would get goosebumps out of nowhere, such was the case for Yuuta and his classmates.
The only difference was, all of them felt it, not just a handful of them.
"Yuuta, any ideas?" Shiki asked for the third time but Yuuta didn't respond. He was just listlessly staring in the air. "Yuuta? Yuuta?"
Meanwhile, Yuuta was trapped in his own little world as he tried to figure out what's going on this time. Once again, he heard the notifications from the Lucid Dream Server in his mind and it granted him the ability to see once again.
Yuuta squinted his eyes as he tried to unravel the mystery behind his mysterious connection with the Lucid Dream Server. He looked around, taking in every face of his classmates before he reverts to being blind again. He knew that his Sight Skill doesn't usually last long enough in the real world.
"Is everything all right, Yuuta?" Shiki asked as he watched his best friend stand up from his seat and walked around, eyeing everyone around him. "Yuuta? What's wrong?" He repeated.
"Nothing." Yuuta simply answered. But Unbeknownst to Shiki, something was definitely wrong.
[Name: Akagi Takeshi
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Class: Fujiwaka High School Student
Level:0
Stats: N/A
Description: The red-haired kid in class three and one of the point guards of the school's basketball team. He is extremely athletic but he gets embarrassed easily, especially when it comes to seeing Uchiyama Kasumi. Ever since he met her five years ago, she has become number one in her heart and no one has replaced her since then. Until now, Akagi Takeshi is still waiting for the opportune moment to confess his feelings to his first love since childhood.]
[Name: Uchiyama Kasumi
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Class: Fujiwaka High School Student
Level:0
Stats: N/A
Description: Brown-haired, brown eyes. Close friends with the recently murdered Eguchi Amaya. She has average grades and average features but somehow, Akagi Takeshi is in love with her. What Akagi Takeshi doesn't know is that Uchiyama Kasumi is also in love with him. They just can't find the right moment to tell the other their feelings. See more details...]
[Name: Onigawara Shiki
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Class: Fujiwaka High School Student
Level:0
Stats: N/A
Description: Sakurai Yuuta's best friend for who knows how long now. He has always felt guilty about his best friend becoming blind because it was wholly his fault such a thing happened. Now, he aims to be the top underground fighter so he could be the one to protect his best friend... even though he's asthmatic and all. Still, he can't beat the number one underground fighter, which he didn't know was his best friend. Until he becomes number one, he knew that he's not strong enough. And as such, he never gets into a fight.]
Seeing Yuuta's pale face actually worsen made Shiki rush towards him, grabbing him by the shoulder for fear that he might collapse. That split-second decision, courtesy of Shiki, brought Yuuta back to reality. However, he still couldn't believe that his skills activated in real life along with his Sight.
"Second— " Yuuta cut himself short. Of course, his best friend, Shiki, went as far as to try to overcome his asthma and weakness by becoming an underground fighter. Deep inside, Yuuta was convinced that his best friend will tell him all about it when the time comes. Right now, he decided to remain oblivious to the fact that his best friend is just like him, an underground fighter.
Furthermore, Yuuta believed that there was someone else who is the second-best fighter in the underground and he knew that it was not Shiki. Therefore, he realized that the System was the one who ranked Shiki as second... probably because it knew that Yuuta is the best fighter in the underground.
<... >
In an instant, Yuuta's Sight Skill was taken from him and he reverted to being blind. The panels in front of him immediately disappeared and his world returned to normal. Dejected, Yuuta returned to his seat as he heaved a sigh of disappointment. In his mind, he made a mental note that he should log in to the Lucid Dream Server as soon as he gets home. "Should I just skip my underground matches scheduled today? Yeah, I guess I'll just do that."
Ding dong!
The bells ringing marked the commencement of class, which made everyone return to their seats. Fortunately, the uneasy feeling they felt a few seconds ago disappeared completely and everyone assumed they were just having a bad day since tomorrow will be the day of exams.
Yuuta was different, however. He knew that an accident had happened... more like, he assumed such was the case. In the worst-case scenario, someone in the city had been murdered once again.
Slide!
While everyone was talking to themselves and trying to explain the heavy feeling they felt earlier, the doors to the entrance of the classroom immediately slid open, and in came the principal along with a new face.
The person beside the principal was a tall person wearing a black suit that matched perfectly with the color of his eyes and hair. He was almost twice as tall as the principal since, well, the principal wasn't tall, to begin with. But those features of him weren't the most noticeable things on his face right now.
That's right, the person behind the principal was making a constipated face. Whether he was nervous or he didn't like to teach in Yuuta's class, one could only wonder. For the remainder of the principal's introduction, he didn't utter a single word.
"Greetings," The principal muttered while adjusting his glasses. "From now on, Osama Shigeo will be your new homeroom teacher."
Gasp!
Everyone was speechless at the sudden announcement. With jaws dropped, the students stared at Osama Shigeo in shock as he replaced the principal in front of the class. After greeting the whole class, Haruki Haru led the greetings as the class representative and the class started.
But one question remained in their minds as the class continued on.
Where was their homeroom teacher, Rie Takanashi? Perhaps she was transferred to another school, or maybe she was fired? But the group could only assume such things. After all, the principal didn't disclose any details regarding her whereabouts.
.....
Meanwhile, the Principal of the school finally got back to his office. A long sigh left his mouth as he sank into his seat. He contemplated on whether he should smoke one stick but he decided not to, he had quit long before and he wanted to continue on with his streak of not smoking since his wife hated the smell... and yet, just for today, something inside him kept on urging him to grab a stick and smoke one.
"Why does this keep happening. Rie Takanashi didn't do anything wrong but why did she have to suffer?" He asked as his hand inadvertently reached out for the pack of cigarettes he kept under his drawer.
In a hasty move, he crumpled the pack in his hand and threw it in the trash. Something in him clicked as he thought about the recent occurrences in the city. "I guess I'll value my life a little bit more." He muttered to himself. This time, he stood up and grabbed a book from one of his shelves.
"I'm still alive, unlike the others. I might as well treasure my life, not only for my sake but for everyone's sake as well."