Ben grabbed his stomach in pain, leaning against the walls to not fall due to his limp.
People looked at him full of wounds and bruises, but no one cared.
This was something completely normal to see, and many of these people had suffered or even still suffered from this type of treatment.
Since he didn't have money for transportation, Ben had to walk home all injured.
Upon entering his house, he found the same indifference he had received on the street, neither his mother nor his father bothered to look at him in his pitiful state.
His younger sister, who was lying on the sofa in the living room watching TV, looked at him for a few seconds before rolling her eyes in exasperation.
Her look was full of disdain and she looked at him as if he were an insect. Ben was already accustomed to this kind of look, but it was still very painful to receive it from someone who was supposed to be one of his most beloved.
As he passed through the kitchen, Ben felt a sudden blow to the left side of his face; when he looked down, he saw that it was an apple. Looking up furiously, he saw that it was Charly, his sister's boyfriend, who grinned and raised his middle finger as he mocked him as if it were the most hilarious thing in the world.
Ben clenched his teeth furiously, trying to contain the immense rage inside him. He knew he couldn't start a fight with Charly, he had tried before and it hadn't gone well. Something that made him even angrier was that after Charlie beat him up, his parents and sisters sided with him, which was the kind of society they lived in, a society in which the strong and bullies were privileged and the weak and sensitive were left behind.
Charly had awakened the fire element in his awakening ceremony and was already an elemental mage, while Ben hadn't even been able to awaken in his ceremony, making him a normie.
Normies were garbage in society, no one wanted them, no one supported them.
That's why Ben was bullied at school and treated so badly in his own family. No one really loved him, no one had ever helped him.
Maybe for other people this could be normal since this society had been running for a long time. But for Ben, this was crap, he came from a world where everyone was treated equally, even those who were special or disabled, a world that sought equality even at the cost of taking away the privileges of some people.
He had always dreamed of reviving or reincarnating into another world with magic and fantasy. But now that his dream had come true, he no longer wanted it.
This world might have a lot of magic, yes, but it wasn't fantastic at all, and the mistreatment, the discrimination, the humiliations, the laughter, the bad comments - it all hurt in his mind, not everyone could endure so much suffering without breaking.
Ben longed for his life on Earth, no one knows what they have until the day they lose it.
Ben climbed up to his room and opened the door, throwing himself onto his bed and lying down. There wasn't much in the room, just an old table, a bed with a very thin mattress, and a few clothes hanging from the walls.
His parents really didn't want to spend money on him; they hadn't bought him a TV or even a phone. They didn't give him money for transportation or even for snacks.
Even without taking off his uniform, Ben fell asleep from exhaustion, only waking up in the afternoon night when his stomach growled with hunger.
Upon going down the stairs, he could hear the laughter and cheerful chatter coming from the dining room. Ben stayed there watching as his parents, sisters, and Charly ate together, smiling and chatting.
Seen from there, they seemed like a very happy and united family.
Everything until the moment he sat down.
Everyone looked at him immediately, only to ignore him and continue their cheerful conversation. His parents praised Charly and commented on how happy they were that he was dating Susan.
Ben searched everywhere but couldn't find his food. When he asked his mother about it, she replied coldly, "Your food was given to Charly. Apparently, he was very hungry after training." She added with a smile while looking at Charly.
"And what am I supposed to eat?" Ben asked furiously, unable to hide his anger.
"Nothing." His father responded sternly, while looking at Ben with a cold expression. "You should be grateful we let you sleep in this house." He said with nonchalance, as if it were a fact, and they were being the good people for not giving him food.
"Ugh, please!" Charly jumped up dramatically. "I don't want to cause a scene or deprive someone of their food."
"It's no bother." James responded with a softer expression.
"No!" Charly shook his head very quickly while taking his plate from the table. "If you want your food so much... Here it is."
Charly made the food fall from his plate to the floor of the dining room and looked at Ben with a sadistic grin.
"Here you go, you get your food!"
Ben looked at him with wide-open eyes and ragged breathing. He couldn't believe the actions of this guy in his own home, but what really left him white was the reaction of his family.
His little sister watched him with interest, waiting to see what Ben's reaction would be. Susan fared even worse, looking at him with the same smile as her stupid boyfriend.
His parents, on the other hand, just looked at him with indifference.
Ben breathed very agitatedly with clenched teeth.
"Why are you picking on me? Why do you treat me like a dog?" He asked, full of anger, and turned halfway around to leave.
But Charly grabbed him from behind and held him in a chokehold.
"You're not a dog." Charly squeezed his throat, making him bend over. "You're a fucking dog!"
Without any words or intervention from his family, Ben's face was slammed into the floor, right where his food was spilled.
Charly held his head and rubbed his face against the floor with a cruel smile.
"Eat your food like a good dog!"
The humiliation, pain, and looks of disgust and mockery from his family broke something inside Ben.
[EVIL SYSTEM activated]