As the two of us approached the large, three-story high school building, the rest of the students followed closely behind, some casting dark glances at both me and Aiden.
Most of them were directed at Aiden.
Well, Aiden was somewhat of a delinquent, but I knew my brother... he wasn't a malicious person at heart.
…I don't know what this place is or what is happening, but I'm going to fix everything while I'm here.
I won't let Aiden make the same mistakes… and I'm not going to let our father work himself to death.
"What is he doing here?"
"No idea, but it would be better if both he and his rat brother and up like their vegetable mom."
"Are you stupid? Be careful or he'll hear us."
I clenched my fists as I heard their talk. I knew they were just stupid kids, but what they said still pissed me off.
But not just me—Aiden rushed forward, and I couldn't even call out to him before he appeared in front of the two guys, who soon paid for their conversation with their front teeth.
One of the guys he latched onto had his face covered with freckles and wore round glasses, which Aiden tore off and threw aside.
I rushed forward, but someone stood in front of me, holding me back from intervening.
"Get out of my way!"
He didn't move. I couldn't see his face, only the back of his uniform—the one that neither Aiden nor I had.
He was tall, even taller than me, with medium-length blond hair framing his face, which he revealed only after I saw my brother beating the living hell out of one of the guys.
"Sorry, Liam, but it was better for you not to intervene. You know how Aiden is; you would have gotten punched as well."
The one in front of me was tall and handsome—not as handsome as me, but still good-looking. I couldn't quite remember his name, but I knew he was one of my brother's delinquent friends from high school.
I just nodded slowly, trying to avoid a conversation. No one could know that I didn't remember most of their names.
This is more troublesome than I originally thought.
"If you don't mind, I'm going to get my brother, and we're on our way to Science class."
I tried to sound nonchalant, but my voice came out dry and cracked. My throat hurt immensely.
Why the hell is it this painful to speak?
My vision blurred, and I felt the world spinning, but I remained firm on my feet. I started to think that leaving school for the day was the best idea.
But I knew this system. Even though it wasn't working as intended, I knew how the improvement phase worked... or at least I hoped so.
I needed to join one of the clubs. The theater club, or the choir, would be best, depending on whether I wanted to debut as an actor or a singer.
"Liam, is everything alright?"
I nodded again with a dismissive wave of my hand as I made my way to my brother. I needed to sit down as fast as I could and couldn't show that I wasn't fine.
Leaving the guy behind, I stepped up to Aiden, who was still on the ground, grasping the other guy by the collar and staring at him with an almost murderous look.
"Aiden, get up. We are leaving."
I didn't even let him get up; I just grasped him by the shoulder.
"What the hell, let go of me!"
"Calm down."
The scuffle between my brother and the two guys, who now lay on the ground with bleeding noses, had gathered a large crowd trying to get a glimpse of the fight.
But even then, the teachers did not seem to come. I hope he won't get into more trouble for this.
The closer we got to the entrance, the more uneasy I felt. The hallways, lockers, and even the faint smell of cleaning supplies were eerily familiar, yet something was undeniably off.
This only felt like a replica of my past… but not a perfect replica.
Aiden walked ahead, indifferent to the stares and whispers that trailed behind us, but he ignored the attention that he gathered from the fight in the morning.
I felt my body tense up as we walked through the school and headed into the building. The screen followed behind me, never leaving my side for a single second.
It's quite bothersome… dismiss?
As I thought of it, once again, it worked just like how I hoped it would, but this is the part that worries me, something is up with my code…
I have to look after it but without my office, I can only test out functions.
Summon.
The screen shifted in front of me once again, in the same, mostly vacant main menu appeared in front of me.
[User: Liam White]
[Current Quest: The Door]
Then, the text started to morph at the bottom of the quest… it was loading.
[Main Menu(s) window is not yet fully implemented.]
[0.5%]
It was a bit more than the attributes window, and as I quickly switched to the not-yet-implemented window, it had grown as well.
Okay, at least that means I don't have to worry about the time it takes for this crap to load.
That was a relief, one that almost made me heave a sigh of contentment.
The school halls were exactly as I remembered them from years ago: narrow, with dull beige walls lined with metal lockers that were chipped and dented from years of use.
Posters and announcements were haphazardly taped to the walls, advertising everything from the upcoming school dance to reminders about club meetings.
After the first class, I planned to visit both clubs but still needed to decide which one to go to first.
According to the system, my highest statistic was charisma, likely due to my Greek god-like physique. Acting might be a better start, and I can always improve my singing skills with some practice.
Yeah, acting it is.
Aiden and I made our way down the hall, weaving through groups of students who seemed to part naturally around us.
We reached the staircase at the end of the hallway, a narrow, concrete structure with metal railings that clanged loudly when touched.
As we ascended to the second floor, the noise from the ground floor gradually faded, not a lot of students held their classes on the second floor, mostly the seniors or the ones before them.
The two of us arrived in front of the door marked with '204,' the classroom where our Science class was held.
My brother looked back at me once again. I could sense his worry, but I just nodded nonchalantly before he opened the door to our Science class.
School...
I didn't think I'd be back here, in a high school of all places...