Rhys suddenly jolted awake, shifting all of his blankets off of his small bed. He was back.
The familiar blue screen floated in front of him, displaying all of his rewards.
[You have completed the mission: Suit and Tie]
[You have received 15 exp]
[You have received +3 all stats]
[You have unlocked new functions: Shop, Inspect]
[You have unlocked a new Archetype: Salaryman]
The mission was a success. Rhys was curious to see what his new ability was. Salaryman? Takahashi was not magical. What if it was useless?
This time, the refreshing feeling was less intense. Rather, it was quite mild.
Rhys commanded a separate screen to appear before him. This time, it showed his new Archetype's ability. It was...a bit lackluster. But what was he expecting?
[ Salaryman:
Origin: Takahashi
Description: Once a tool, always a tool.
Abilities:
[Passive: Overtime]: For every 15 minutes this is activated, you lose 1 [Stamina]. In exchange, you'll receive +5 mana.
[Passive: Worker's Ethic]: The less [Stamina] you have, the more mana you'll receive and regenerate over time.
[Worker's Conscience]: Increases accuracy greatly at the cost of one's sensation of pain.
Equipment:
[Briefcase]: A briefcase that can store items. Items stored within the briefcase will not be lost once dismissed. Food will not spoil.
'At least it is quite versatile...'
Everything had its boons and flaws. Both of his passive's flaws were obvious, but the worker's conscience was more of a blur. While a lack of pain could be useful, it could be also detrimental.
And while the briefcase was helpful, it was mainly only for utility. There were no offensive capabilities. Though, throwing a briefcase at somebody would be better than fighting barehanded.
However, Rhys wasn't too disappointed at all. For the Realm's difficulty, this was beyond a good reward. A great one, even.
Rhys looked out the door, appearing to be pondering something.
'To or to not?'
He wanted to get as strong as possible as quickly as possible and to do that, he needed to practice. However, this was not HIS house. It was his parents.
'Well, now that I have this...'
Rhys shook his head.
'No! You must keep your conscience!'
Rhys pressed on another tab to distract himself.
[ Shop:
Coin Balance: 50c
Minor Mana Potion: 50c
Minor HP Potion: 50c
Spell: Fire Ball: 150c
Skill: Basic Slash: 150c
...]
'So many options...'
Rhys' eyes glimmered with fascination and excitement as he scrolled down the shop's near-endless list. But unfortunately, he only had 50 coins. Upon snapping out of the shop's seemingly magnetic draw, he immediately got to testing out the last function he received from the System.
Rhys looked around his room. His eyes landed on his small desk lamp, sitting on the side of his table.
'Inspect.'
[ Desk Lamp (Small)
A small light for one's desk.
Sell Price: 0c ]
'Hm? Why do they sell for zero coins? Is it because it is an ordinary item, System?'
[Yes]
'That makes sense.'
'Then what does sell?' he asked the system.
[Mana stones, artifacts, etcetera...]
Just thinking about fighting those horrible monsters made him a bit anxious. He breathed in and out slowly. However, he also felt a quiet excitement brew up within him.
He looked at the time. It was 7:45, almost time for his bus to arrive.
'I forgot it was a school day!' he thought wryly.
------------------------------------
"Leave me alone!"
A small boy was being chided in the corner of the class.
"Leave me alone~" Amber mocked. She pulled the student's hair and brought his face to hers. His face was beaten and bruised, with red sores all over.
The boy clenched his teeth and spat out blood into her eyes.
"Ugh, fuck! You're gonna give me an STD!"
She let go of the student and wiped her cheeks and eyes frantically.
"Amber, are you alright?" A large, muscular student asked.
Amber groaned, "No! What makes you think I am alright?" She hissed and eyed him. "Just get rid of him. It won't make a difference."
The muscular student nodded.
A fist slammed down onto the student's head. A trickle of blood ran down his once pristine forehead.
A second hit landed on the student's back, a sharp pain jolting throughout his body.
The muscular student kept hitting the young boy until Amber finally intervened.
"That's enough, my dog. I think he'll die at this rate."
She crouched down and placed two fingers on the boy's wrist.
"No, he's still alive."
"He's lucky," he replied.
"He is," she said.
She looked up at the sky. The sun was rising.
"I think we should go now."
"Okay."
The brief exchange ended, and the dog followed his owner.
-------------------------------------
Rhys arrived at his school as usual. It was notably bright today, which was unusual for his city. However, there was a slight chill in the air. While the clouds left, the wind stayed its unwelcome visit.
Rhys got to his class, sat in his chair, and listened to his lectures. Everything felt...dull. For whatever reason, he could not concentrate on this particular day. He spun his pencil around and fidgeted with his hands.
'Should I go in for a revaluation...maybe today? I don't know when. Maybe after lunch or school— no, I want to go home early. Tomorrow? Perhaps. I feel so tired."
If he got re-evaluated, then he would gain more support from his parents and the school. However, the thought of being placed in the same class as the people who tormented him for years left a bad taste in his mouth.
He knew that those people would still look down on him. He knew how merciless the Powered could be. The proof was etched into his very bones.
Rhy took in a deep breath.
'System'
[Yes?]
'Actually, never mind.'
Rhys looked out the window.
Despite the usual droning of the teacher, the cacophony of pencils on paper, and fingers on keys, he felt something different. He twirled his hair around his finger and stared ahead.
After school, the sky darkened considerably.
Mr.Choi sat in his chair, reading the latest news on his tablet.
"Student hospitalized for severe injuries: Crimes against the Powerless increasing?"
"Mr. Choi."
He looked up from the screen. It was a peculiar face.
"What brings you here, Rhys?"
A deep fire burned in the boy's eyes, a newfound determination birthed from ashes once scattered.
"I want to be re-evaluated."