'Why… Just why am I suffering?'
'Was I born to live and suffer?'
'What is the purpose of my existence?'
'Whatever it is, I don't care anymore.'
'There are seven billion people in my race, even if I die, none of them would care.'
'I would only be part of the death statistics. Just a statistic.'
'I guess that's the purpose of my existence? Just to fill in the numbers.'
Thoughts filled the mind of a teenage student, as his brown-colored hair fluttered through the air. His brown eyes were lifelessly gazing at the scene below.
'I hate to admit it, but I am afraid. Not by death, but the pain of death.'
The brown-haired boy contemplated whether he should jump or not. He also feared whether he would mess up in dying. After all, if he failed the process of dying, he would be in the hospital, which his parents couldn't afford to pay for.
This… was the darkness of society.
It wasn't uncommon for this to occur. Where students who lost hope in life, decided to end their suffering.
After all, living was also a kind of suffering. While death was liberation from all of the suffering that they have experienced while living.
More often than not, the root of all of this was bullying. Especially when the bullied students already had a lot of shit in their life, yet someone made it worst.
The brown-haired boy couldn't even consult a psychiatrist. He didn't have the money to pay for the consultation fee.
And it is not guaranteed for his depression to be alleviated if he consulted a psychiatrist, especially if the psychiatrist he met didn't care about his feelings and situation but just his money.
The brown-haired boy was none other than Derick Smith.
When the bullies were hospitalized, the parents of those bullies pinned the blame on Derick and his parents. The one who bullied the bullies was none other than Keith but since the parents of the bullies found out that Keith's background was beyond theirs, they targeted Derick instead.
The parents of those bullies' logic were: "If you didn't exist, then my child wouldn't have bullied you. And if my child didn't bully you, then he wouldn't have been bullied by that monster."
Outrageous, isn't it?
Due to overstimulation from exasperation, Derick's father coughed out blood and fell into a coma. His mother was stressed by the absurd hospital payment that the parents of the bullied had blackmailed her with.
It just so happened that one of the parents of those bullies owned the company where his father and mother had worked at. Because of that, they were fired.
The victim was Derick but the parents of the bullies fabricated it as if the victims were their children. They even threatened his mother that if they didn't pay the hospital bills, they would sue his family.
Some of the parents of the bullies were lawyers and politicians, and some were even from the police department. It was corruption at its finest.
Otherwise, why would those bullies dare to bully weak students lawlessly if not for their strong backgrounds?
Derick was well aware that if not for him being alive as well as his father being comatose, his mother would have already committed suicide from too much stress.
The poor people were killed and used as fertilizer for the growth of the rich people's money tree. The poor get poorer, the rich get richer. This was one of the laws of society.
Derick didn't want to add more stress to his mother. His part-time jobs couldn't even cover the cost of the hospital bills of those bullies even if he worked for a year.
So, he had already decided that if he couldn't help his mother in that way, then he might as well help his mother by not being a burden to her.
After a few minutes worth of contemplation, Derick had already decided what his choice would be.
With that in mind, he walked toward the edge of the rooftop.
But before he could take another step and jump, a blue system screen appeared in front of him.
[Do you want to die?]
[Is life too difficult for you to live?]
[Don't worry, because I am here!]
[I will give you another chance in life. If you want revenge, I will give you the path to revenge. If you want money, then I'll give you the means of earning money.]
[I will be the guide of your life, but, as a guide, I will not interfere in your life that often. So it depends on your effort if you want to succeed in life.]
[For another chance in life, tap the 'Yes' button. If not, tap the 'No' button.]
[Yes] | [No]
Derick was stunned by what appeared in front of him.
To relieve his depression, he often watched anime or read fantasy novels. It was his form of escapism. So of course, he knew what the 'thing' that appeared in front of him was.
Looking back at his life, Derick couldn't help but let out a self-deprecating laugh. His life was too miserable, worthy of being a protagonist background.
'No wonder I received a system. Is this cheat skill I can use that will be the turning point of my life?'
'I don't know the origin of this system or the purpose of its creator.'
'But, for someone like me who had lost everything, I have nothing to lose.'
'So be it! As long as this system can help me achieve my goals and fulfill my revenge, I don't mind helping its creator.'
After he made up his mind, Derick tapped the [Yes] button.
-Ding!
[Training System has been integrated into the host's soul!]
[Don't worry, as long as you train and work hard, you will achieve your goal!]
For the first time in his life, a genuine smile adorned his face.
***
But Derick didn't know, that someone was also smiling along with him. As his jade-green eyes peered through the walls and observed Derick's condition.
-Ding!
[Training System has acquired a new host- Derick Smith!]
[Memories of Derick's life can be viewed for reference and background check.]
-Ding!
[Second Task- Grant the system to any living being. (Completed)]
[Third Task- The first system evolves to version 2. (New)]
[Two rewards have been received! Derick's memories and Secrets of the World (Minor).]
It went according to Keith's plan.
He was not only entertained, but he also completed the system tasks and received rewards.
'System, if I view Derick's memories, will it affect my personality?'
[No, viewing Derick's memories will not be in immersion mode but in movie mode. So you will receive knowledge of his memories in the form of a movie.]
It seemed that his worries weren't needed.
After receiving the system's answer, Keith used his reward and viewed Derick's memories.
A second had passed in the real world but Keith had viewed all of Derick's relevant memories. Because of that, Keith knew Derick more than Derick knew about himself.
"Sigh. Derick has suffered too much."
"I don't know which twisted god had taken fancy on entertaining himself by making Derick suffer. Schadenfreude at its finest."
"I hate to admit it, but even my emotions are riled up from watching Derick's life."
Keith shook his head as he recollected the events that happened in Derick's life.
"To think that it is indirectly my fault that Derick had suffered this much."
A serious glint flashed in Keith's eyes after he muttered that sentence.
Fishing his phone from his pockets, Keith dialed a certain contact number.
-Ring! -Ring!
The phone rang for a few seconds before it was picked up by the receiver.
"Boss, what's your command?"
A deep voice that came from an adult was heard on Keith's phone. The voice was filled with respect, awe, and seriousness as if fulfilling Keith's command was his life's purpose.
"Do a background check on Raymond Beach and all of his accomplices."
"What happens after I do that?"
Despite asking his boss, the subordinate's tone was unruly and filled with expectation, as if he already knew what was going to happen next.
"Do you even need to ask? You already know what's your job."
"Just call the mafia and tell them that the fishes in Tokyo Bay are too thin. The fishes need to be fattened."
Without waiting for his subordinate's reply, Keith hung up the call.
Returning his phone to his pocket, Keith acted as if what he did was not a big deal but just his usual routine.
"Since you have become my system user, I won't allow anyone to let you suffer. Only I can let you suffer for my sake."
"Although I want to give you motivation for becoming stronger through the sake of revenge, I am not that heartless to let you walk on the path of self-destruction."
"The road to revenge is filled with thorns, and upon reaching the destination, you will only feel nothing but emptiness and regret for the ones you have lost along the way."
"Instead of becoming stronger for the sake of revenge, become stronger to protect the ones you love, Derick."
After muttering those words, Keith walked the hallways and headed back to his class.