"Hey man, you've seemed really distracted these past couple of days. Everything okay?"
Hearing his friend's genuine concern, Henry was happy. He hadn't chosen the wrong person after all, but to be honest, he couldn't tell others why he was worried, or they might think he was a fool.
So, after sighing a little, he said: "You know, I'm just thinking about my dream. It's so far, yet so close."
Vicky chuckled and clapped him on the shoulder. "Come on, bro. I've told you, just go for it. Even if you fail, you've got nothing to worry about. I'll make sure you don't starve."
Vicky said this so proudly that if others were hearing, they would say that he was just leading his friend astray, but in fact, Henry wasn't sure if it was true or not. He didn't doubt his friend's words, but there was something deeper.
As for why, it was because of what happened to him two days ago, when he woke up from sleep and suddenly found something in his head called the System.
At first, he thought he was hallucinating, or worse, losing his mind. He even joked to Vicky about it, but his friend had just laughed it off, thinking it was some elaborate prank.
He didn't dare tell anyone after, afraid they'd think he was crazy and lock him in a mental hospital. Just thinking about this was enough to make him shudder.
There was always that status screen that appeared in front of him the moment he thought about it. If he didn't believe it at all before, now, though, Henry couldn't deny it any longer. The System, as it called itself, seemed real:
[Name: Henry Moore]
[Age: 18]
[Current Status: 16, A university student (A representation of a person's current position and influence in life. Status begins at 10 for a normal person. Rising through social ranks, gaining wealth, or achieving success increases Status, while disgrace, significant loss, or failure decreases it.)]
[Future Status: 24, A university teacher, a man who failed to realize his dream. Injured while saving a pregnant woman from being shot by her ex-boyfriend, losing his chance to become a professional football player. (Represents a person's potential but is illusory. If the person dies or decides to abandon studying, they won't become a teacher, but still, it represents the person's most likely destiny without any change.)]
[Luck: 14 (Higher Luck increases the likelihood of serendipitous events that accelerate progress, while Luck lower than 10 creates compounding misfortunes that threaten one's potential. Luck increases according to the realization of the status.)]
[Life Skills (lv10 represents the highest level available. The notation +1, +2, etc., indicates one or more years ahead of the current highest level): Cooking (lv1), Cleaning (lv1), Scheduling (lv1), Active Listening (lv7), etc.]
[Specialized Skills: Football Mastery (lv1), Guitar Mastery (lv1), Academic Proficiency (lv1).]
...
So according to this system, he will most likely become a teacher in the future. What a mess!
He knows that wanting to become a football player is hard, and leading the U.S. to win the World Cup is almost impossible, but still, he didn't even have the chance to start because he was shot in the leg?
Henry couldn't believe he was the kind of man who would save a woman when she was pointed at with a gun.
If at the beginning he didn't believe this so-called System, now, he was gradually believing that it's something some god gave him, and today, he could see if what this System says is true or not. Anyway, he was prepared and even took a gun with him in case he was really unlucky.
Of course, he had to remain composed and not worry his only friend. He replied: "So should I say thanks? Anyway, don't forget me when you become rich in the future."
Vicky didn't see it. He was just happy that his friend really believed he was going to become rich in the future. He couldn't help but let out a laugh that made him look like a fool.
Since he saw his friend's face, Henry doubted the System a little. After all, the future status of Vicky was:
[Future Status: 90, A business mogul who will create a multi-million-dollar tech company within the next ten years.]
Really, who would believe that this man would one day become someone above more than 90% of men in the world in terms of wealth?
Vicky? A tech mogul? But the more he watched his friend obsess over wild inventions and talk about impossible ideas, the more it started to make sense.
It was at the end of school, after saying goodbye to Vicky, that Henry knew the moment of truth had come. He knew he would soon encounter the pregnant woman but didn't know where or the exact moment, so better be safe than sorry.
He took the personally owned gun that he legally inherited from his deceased police officer father. Anyway, he was already over 18 and could take it.
Henry took a deep breath. One wrong move, and not only would his dream be over, but his life might be too. He walked the usual way home, his hands in the pockets of his pants, the gun held firmly, ready to be drawn at any moment.
The neighborhood was quiet as usual, with some younger students and pedestrians walking by. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. There was even a man who seemed to be arguing with his girlfriend, hey, Los Angeles for you.
Henry, whose brain wasn't working properly under stress, stopped. Isn't that the f*cking couple arguing? Is that a seemingly pregnant woman and her boyfriend, a man who looks like he would abuse his wife?
All the people around didn't think there was anything wrong. This wasn't the first, and probably wouldn't be the second, dispute of the same kind you'd see in the streets of Los Angeles.
That was until the man, who seemed to have reached his limit, shouted: "You can't leave me!" and "I won't let you take my child."
Then he took out a gun. The onlookers and some students who were paying attention, most likely for entertainment, didn't expect the sudden change of situation.
The man pointed his gun at the woman and continued shouting, but his words sounded like a man who was about to die. It was full of fury and despair: "You think you can just walk away from me? After everything I've done for you? After everything we've been through?!"
...
Henry's POV
It was the man's self-talk that gave me time to approach him silently. Even though I knew the situation was dangerous, as long as I left, everything would have nothing to do with me. But I just can't let a pregnant woman, whom I could have saved, die.
This was also the reason, at the beginning, I chose to come instead of staying at school, taking a taxi or something. Fortunately, I was prepared for the situation.
The man was still shouting furiously: "You don't get to decide how this ends! I gave up everything for you, and now you want to leave? To take my child? No! I won't let you do this."
At this moment, I was less than five meters away from him. The woman seemed to have seen me but, out of fear, didn't react.
As for me, I hesitated. What if I miss the man and shoot the woman by mistake? Would I be arrested? Even if I successfully shot the man, what if I was arrested? What if someone died by my gun? Would I be able to live with this responsibility for the rest of my life?
My life seemed to flash before my eyes until the moment my father's death was announced two years ago. My mother crying, my younger sister who didn't completely understand crying, seeing my mother cry.
How we came to today after these two years, now finally, they are starting to come out of the shadows of my father's death.
If, by some mistake, I was killed, would they accept it? How sad would they be? Is it really worth it for me to put my life in danger just to save some unknown person?
"If I can't have my family, then...then no one else will. You hear me? No one else w—"
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"