"Evie! You better get away from him!"

It's still 7.20 in the morning. But here Erick finds his girlfriend flirting with another guy. To make things worse, she flirts with Edward Beasley, the guy who often bullies him at school.

Evie turns around, and slightly raises her chin. "Why? Since when did I become your slave?"

Erick looks baffled. "I'm your boyfriend! And you know how bad this guy is! You shouldn't get close to him."

Suddenly, his words provoke a huge laughter from his classmates.

"Duude! You are the worse creature God ever created, and you still have the audacity in judging others badly, huh?

"Look at you! It's still morning, and you are already like a hardworking laborer coming back from work!"

Well, he does look so messy and sweaty, with slightly torn and dirty white T-shirt. That's what he got after a small accident with the bike on the way to school.

This is the sole reason why his girlfriend tried to get away from him, feeling so ashamed with his appearance. In fact, they are going to have a field trip to a Metropolitan City this morning.

"Didn't your mom teach you how to dress well? Oh, I forgot! You don't even have a mom, and your irresponsible father has abandoned you."

"Hey, Evie! Remember, fruits don't fall far from the tree. Sooner or later, he will abandon you, just like how his dad abandoned his mom."

Provoked by their insults, Evie finds the need to dump Erick to safe her own reputation. She chases him away in front of so many other students.

"What are you waiting for? Get lost!"

Like a lightning strikes on a clear sunny day, that one really shocks Erick. He can't even utter a word. Everyone is laughing at him now, a testament for their support for Evie's decision.

Edward even finds the chance to snatch Evie from Erick, even though he doesn't have a serious interest in the girl. He grabs Erick's armpits and easily slams him to the ground like a kid.

"She's mine now!" he glares.

It makes Erick looks so pathetic in front of everyone. But no one sympathizes.

A moment later, the teacher appears, excitedly clapping from a distance to invite all the students to get on the bus.

"Erick!" the teacher calls. "What are you doing there? We are going to have a fun trip! Come, come!"

A fun trip she said? In fact, the trip will become Erick's worst experience.

During the school field trip, Edward always heats things up by deliberately grinning at him with one of his arms around Anna's hip.

That guy keeps this on the way home, kissing Evie passionately on the bus, not holding back in rubbing the girl's chest full of lust.

They do it on the bus. It just so happens that their teacher has fallen asleep at the most front seat. But the other students are fully aware of it.

"Nggg! No, Edward! Don't do that!" Evie uncomfortably glances at the others around her.

"Why? Don't you like it?" Edward flirts by licking Evie's right ear.

She keeps her voice down. But it is still can be heard by the others, including Erick who sits not too far from them.

Now Erick has to hold back his rage, witnessing his ex in the lustful touch of the guy he hates the most. If he had a gun in his hand right now, he would have shot those two in the head.

Apparently, Evie's moaning also reaches the driver's ears, and disturbs his concentration. Not to mention they are on a foggy road at a hill at night.

"Whoever it is, you better stop now!" the old driver snaps.

"Just mind your business old man! Keep your eyes on the road!"

"You don't want to get us into an accident, do you?"

"You punks!" the old man grumbles, looking so annoyed while glancing at the sleeping teacher.

While this driver is busy trying to wake up the teacher, he is surprised by the sudden appearance of a truck from behind the corner.

He is shocked, and then swerves in a panic. The bus loses its balance and slides into the hillside until it reaches the bottom of the ravine.

All the passengers are so quiet inside the wrecked bus. It is unclear whether they are still alive or not. There is even one male student whose chest is punctured by a broken tree trunk getting through the window.

Until then…

"Cough, cough!"

Erick wakes up, enduring excruciating pain due to the broken legs, with head bleeding heavily.

"Help! Please! I can't move my legs."

He looks around, and witnesses how gore the view inside the bus is. He tries to remove the amulet away from his face. There he accidentally touches the side of the amulet with his bloody thumb.

Srrnnnk!!!

A blue hologram appears.

[A new player has been identified!]

[Name : Maverick Bowers. Age : 18 years old. Condition : 92% critical!]

[Would you like to visit Serene Den now?]

[Yes/No]

In half conscious, Erick touches the hologram and accidentally accepts the offer.

[Do you want to take the other people around you to come along?]

…

[You are taking too long! We will only transfer you alone for now. Have a happy hunting!]

Erick's body simmers in blue and begins to disintegrate, slowly disappearing into the thin air.

***

Two hours later…

The wrecked bus is now surrounded by so many police and SAR officers. Eight passengers have been confirmed dead. The rest have been rushed to a hospital in Drada.

"Sir! I just got information from Summerfield High School. There were 32 students on this trip, and one teacher."

"Thirty two? Then, we are missing one student here."

The police captain receives a document from the lower rank officer, and examines it. There he finds the name of Maverick Bowers marked in a red circle.

"He is an orphan who lives with his aunt. Actually, his cousin, a girl named Cynthia McNeil, also took part in this field trip. She sat near this guy, and got the chance to see him, inside the bus, with both legs broken."

"Broken legs? Then how did he get out?"