Archie and Jess got to school half an hour before class started. They were a little bit later than usual. This was due to Archie spending time writing his words instead of saying them. The two of them went their separate ways once they reached the school gate, as although they attended the same school, they were in different years.
There were six years in total, but only five if you didn't feel like doing one of them. 1st Year was for people between the ages of 12-13, and they would increase each year as they went to a higher year. Once you got to 4th year, you could go straight into 5th Year. 4th year, otherwise known as Transition Year, was a year where you got to do subjects that you couldn't do in any other year. Jess was in Transition Year while Archie was in 2nd year.
Archie walked into the school building, a large block with over two dozen classrooms. His classroom was classroom 17, and he had a window seat. He placed his school bag beside his table, sitting in his plastic chair with a silent sigh. 'System, pull up the stats menu.' Archie told the system, curious about the stats menu, considering it was given to him for completing the tutorial. The system pulled up a 2d silhouette of his body with the text "HEALTHY" beside it alongside a bunch of stats.
[Total Of Stats: 6 (+5 Status Point Enhancers (SPEs) Ready For Use)]
[Strength: 1 (+1)]
[Endurance: 1]
[Agility (Reaction Time): 1]
[Speed: 1]
[Stamina: 1]
'SPE? What does SPE mean?' Archie asked, forgetting what they meant because he had been unconscious or asleep every time it was explained.
[Status Point Enhancer (SPE)]
[Status Point Enhancers are special non-fungible items that allow The Wordless Warrior to increase their stats, improving their skills beyond what's considered normal.]
[These can be earned through a variety of methods. The easiest one is completing quests given to The Wordless Warrior by The System Of Silence.]
'Huh. So, doing these quests gives me status boosters to make myself stronger? That seems like it's free real estate.' Archie thought to himself. 'How would I use these SPEs?' Archie asked the system.
[To use Status Point Enhancers, you must first will the system to add a certain amount of-]
As the system answered Archie's question, he heard a hand slam on his desk. "Hello, Archie." A pair of strange teenagers told him, devious smiles on their faces. 'God dammit, it's Johann and Michael.' Archie complained in his head while giving a disapproving expression to the pair. "Trying to ignore us, eh?" Michael mused, grabbing Archie by his shirt, trying to intimidate him. "You think you can ignore me when I'm talking to you, huh!?" He yelled at Archie. Archie grabbed his hand in response, tearing it off him as Archie looked at him with a sad, almost disappointed expression as he stood up.
Johann looked shocked at what he had just seen. Archibald Stein standing up to Michael? Surely this must be a dream. "Oh, we've got a tough guy here, don't we? Well, you won't be so confident once I use my system on you, will you?!" Michael yelled in response, walking backwards as he lifted his arm, palm outstretched. His system was known as The Flamewielder's System, which meant he could manipulate flames with reasonable skill. 'System, put one SPE into every stat.' Archie commanded the system, and it immediately did that since Archie had enough SPEs.
[Total Of Stats: 11 (0 Status Point Enhancers (SPEs) Ready For Use)]
[Strength: 2 (+1)]
[Endurance: 2]
[Agility (Reaction Time): 2]
[Speed: 2]
[Stamina: 2]
A bright orange flame erupted from Michael's palm, and to his surprise, Archie could see it coming. He had enough time to duck under the flames and lunge forward, landing a punch in Michael's groin. Every male student in the classroom felt a phantom pain from watching that happen, Archie standing upright as the flames dissipated from Michael's palm. Michael fell over, shivering in pain while being unable to scream due to the shock. He looked over at Johann, who seemed angry on his friend's behalf but was also scared of getting his jewels destroyed. Archie let out another silent sigh before walking over to his desk and grabbing a unique book from his bag. He sat down and started to read the small amount of text on the first page.
'Congratulations, Wordless Warrior! You've successfully obtained The System Of Silence and have lost your voice! This may shock you, but soon enough, you will learn to cope with your new limitations. With the power in this book, you will be able to show those around you that with the necessary materials, you can do anything! Now, with the knowledge in these pages, you will be subject to great torture, but in return, you will gain prizes beyond your wildest imagination. Now, turn the page to start learning new ways to train yourself.' Archie read to himself, noticing that it almost sounded like a person was embedded in this book. He flipped over the page, and The System Of Silence began to place the pages into his vision. It was almost like a text document.
[Training Method One: Night Terror Spawning Regime]
[Difficulty: Nightmare]
[This training method involves willingly summoning a Night Terror to either fight or befriend it. If you fight it, you must deduce how to kill it and successfully perform the act of murder on it to get SPEs and possibly an artefact. If you befriend it, which will take a long time, the Night Terror may not be interested in becoming your ally. If it becomes your ally, you may be able to inherit some of its stats. Small boosts to help you, which then become a part of you. If not, yet it still wishes to befriend you, it will turn into an accessory you can wear. You may only ever have five accessories on at one time. Choose your build wisely.]
[Reward for (Murder): 25% Artefact Drop, 1-10 SPEs.]
[Reward for (Befriend): Limited-Pool Artefact Drop (Limited by the type of Night Terror it was) OR Automatic Status Enhancement (Limited by the type/strength of Night Terror it was) OR Random Amount Of SPEs (Limited by the type/strength of Night Terror it was)]
'Are you kidding me? Have a civilised conversation with those guys?' Archie mentally scoffed in shock. 'I'd be surprised if any of them can talk! However, those SPEs and Automatic Status Enhancement rewards do seem quite enticing. Do you know something? I may be an absolute idiot, but I want to give this a shot. After all, this will help me train to get stronger!' Archie resolved himself before putting the book in his bag, getting ready to breeze through the day in school.
However, his dreams were shortlived as he heard an announcement over the Intercom (PA) System that made him shiver in fear.
"Archibald Stein, to the principal's office immediately."