"Come here and show me how you do it." The teacher continued, pointing toward the whiteboard.
'Ah, damn it.'
I got up from my seat, and with a sigh, made my way to the front of the class, my face flushed with embarrassment.
And when I took a closer look at the problem written on the whiteboard,
'What the hell?'
It was an unsolvable question.
There was no solution.
Because it was mathematics. The one and only thing I hated in this world.
"Well, are you not going to answer the question?" The teacher asked, crossing her arms across her chest.
I could feel the weight of the gaze of the rest of the students on me, and my heart started beating faster.
I had always hated being put on the spot like this, and now I was being asked to solve an unsolvable problem.
'F*cking math!'
OK, I have to calm down.
I need to take a deep breath.
One.
Two.
Three.
I got a system, so maybe, just maybe, it could help me with this problem.
'System, are you there?'
...
...
...
No response.
'Damn it.'
'Fine, I will try to solve it then.'
I grabbed the marker and stared at the whiteboard. The problem seemed simple enough, but the longer I stared at it, the more impossible it became.
"Well, are you going to stand there all day?" The teacher's impatient voice echoed in the classroom.
"If you didn't know how to solve it then why did you stand up when I asked who would solve this question? Just sit down and be quiet," the teacher said as she shook her head and sighed.
'Well, f*ck.'
"You're a complete waste of time. I am not asking you any questions from now on."
'Damn, that hurt a lot.'
The teacher took her first step and started to walk toward me.
But before she could reach me, the system replied, [The answer is x + 1,] the voice instructed, its words flowing smoothly.
Yes!
"Wait a minute, teach," I said, holding up my hand.
"Huh?" The teacher froze, staring at me in confusion.
I turned to the board, and quickly started solving the question...
[Why are you trying to solve it? Just write the answer down, and no one will question it.]
'Just don't worry about it. As long as I know the answer I can solve every problem.'
'I will show you my greatness, system.'
"Well, the answer is x + 1," I said, pointing to the board.
"W-what?" The teacher's jaw dropped, and she stared at me, disbelief written all over her face.
The rest of the students were also shocked, their eyes wide and mouths agape.
I stood there, grinning smugly, confident in my answer.
"Teach, can I go home? I don't think I am feeling better," I said, holding my stomach and feigning sickness.
'F*cking math. Let me go already.'
The teacher nodded, her expression still frozen in shock.
With a quick wave of my hand, I walked out of the classroom, leaving behind the stunned faces of my classmates, and my bag.
'F*cking hell, I thought I was going to die again.'
'Thanks system. If you hadn't told me the answer then I wouldn't have been able to solve the question and that would have been embarrassing.'
[Huh, did you seriously thought you were going to die? Even though I was right beside you the whole time. How stupid are you?]
'Hah, what are you saying? Even I know that math is a dangerous subject. And I think you don't know everything about me.'
[What is it that I don't know? Other than you being stupid and not being able to solve such a simple question and panicking when I regressed you some hours before your death and you not believing it too and—]
'Shut up! I can't even keep up with your speed.'
The system went silent.
I heaved a sigh of relief and stepped outside of school.
'And it seems you really don't know. Maybe I should show you.'
[What?]
'Wait and watch....'
'STATUS WINDOW!' I shouted in my mind.
But...
.
.
.
Nothing happened.
'Huh, why?'
"Status window," I muttered under my breath.
...
...
...
Still, nothing happened.
Why isn't it working? Something should have happened just like in the manga and novels I have read.
'Maybe, I should ask the system?'
'Hey, System. Why is the status window not showing up? Shouldn't I see some sort of stats page or something?'
Silence.
'Don't ignore me. Are you there, system?'
After a few more minutes of silence, the system replied,
[Are you kidding me? You expect to see the status screen when I had to nerf it by 99.99% just to make it compatible with you?]
'Wait, what?'
'What do you mean by nerf it? You are saying you had to weaken yourself to be compatible with me?' I said, a hint of disbelief in my voice.
'So, I am not even compatible with a full power system?' I murmured under my breath.
'Well, there is no point crying over spilled milk.'
I let out a sigh and took my phone out of my pocket and started typing in.
Jake you and your whole family are invited to my house for dinner. Be there before 8,
I pressed the send button.
Ding!
Not sent!
Oh great, the system said I was brought back some hours before my death, and as much as I remember at that time I didn't have balance, so now my message couldn't be sent.
'Well, whatever. I will just load my sim and send it again.' I thought as the system spoke up,
[Why do you want to invite him over?]
'Oh, about that. When I found myself in the classroom after my death which you said was real. I didn't want to believe that my father had died and also that I just let the goblin kill me without me even trying anything.'
[It is understandable. I have seen many people who didn't believe their own death. Some even went as far as to kill themselves to test the reality of their death.]
'That's crazy.'
[That's right. It is crazy.]
'Anyway, from what I have seen before my death. The goblin with his weapon coming in from the door and those spider-like legs which destroyed the roof. I don't think it was only our house that was attacked. There must be a lot of casualties.'
[So that is why?]
'Yeah, I can't save everyone but I can still protect those who are important to me.' I said as I walked to a mobile shop located near the school.
"Hi, how are you?" I greeted the shopkeeper.
"Fine, young man. What are you looking for?"
"Can I load 500 bucks in my SIM card?"
"Sure, young man."
After I got my balance, I called Jake's mother.
"Hello, is this Mrs. Jake's mother? My name is Rael."
"Oh, yes dear. What's the matter?"
"Ma'am, my mother has invited your family over for dinner. We have prepared some food, and we will be waiting for you."
"Is it fine? I would not want to trouble you."
"It's no trouble at all, ma'am. Please don't mind. It would be our pleasure to have you over."
"Then we will be there, dear."
"That's great, ma'am. Thank you."
"Ok, bye."
I cut the call.
'Jake's mother is a bit weird. She is always worried about troubling others even when someone is inviting her over. She is so kind.'
I opened the message window and started typing,
Jake, you and your whole family are invited to my house for dinner. Be there before 8,
I pressed the send button and the message went through successfully.
As the message was sent, the system spoke up,
[I understand everything but I still don't get how you believe me now when I have said the same thing earlier too, and even gave you a proof.]
'Huh, are you talking about that "not a dream" thing?'
'As I said before it was my first time witnessing someone's head being blown off like that. I couldn't take it. So, I didn't want to believe the reality, but after a while, I couldn't ignore the fact that my dad was killed and the monster was still in the house.'
'So, when you showed me the proof, I finally realized that what had happened was not a dream.'
'But, now that I know that this is a reality, I need a way to defend myself and protect my family and friends.'
'And, I am sure that you will help me, right?'
'You are a system after all.'
[Of course, I will help you. But, you should know that there are two kinds of systems. One who is bound by rules and the other who is free and does anything.]
'And, you are the latter, right?'
[You have great intuition. Yeah, you are correct.]
'Great, we will talk more later first I have to meet someone.' I informed the system as I stopped in front of a hotel.
[Someone?]
'Yeah, Someone special.'