Chapter Two: An evil reward

"What time is it?" I look at my phone, and the time reads nine. Wait, it's tomorrow morning! Crap, I have work in thirty minutes! I ran into the bathroom to grab my uniform that was hanging up, but then I stopped in front of the mirror. What the hell am I wearing? I had on a frilly black dress with yellow accents, a big white bow, long black gloves, and long black socks. The hell, I know I can't afford anything this nice, so why the hell am I wearing it. "Do you like your battle form?" I looked to see where the voice was coming from and saw a creepy stuffed bear next to me. Without thinking, I kick the bear, and it pinballs out of the bathroom and into the main room. Every time it hits the wall, it makes a squeaking noise. Looking into the main room, I see the bear struggling to get back on its feet. "What the hell was that for!?" "Sorry, I thought you were a vengeful spirit." "And your first instinct was to kick it?" "Yup." Two other bears run past us to the bear I might have killed yesterday. The two bears were wearing some medical clothes and gear. "Don't worry about that one. I'm here to talk about your new powers." "Right..." One of the medic bears starts performing CPR while the other preps a defibrillator. "Now, if you open up your menu screen, you will see your skills and points." "Menu screen?" The dead bear gets hit with the defibrillator, which makes a loud electrical noise and a bright flash. "Yes, menu screen. The Evil One made the point system based on a video game. That way, it's a lot easier to understand. It should be in your field of view." Another flash from the defibrillator hits the room.

I looked around, and sure enough, there was a menu icon. How did I not see it earlier? Maybe I have to think about it first? I opened it up, and it listed skills, powers, points, status effects, and a magic bar. "What, no health bar?" "Well, we didn't want to discourage you." The medic bear shakes its head, checks its watch, and then rights something down. I opened the skills menu, and it listed a bunch of skills I could get, such as strength and speed. The powers menu has things like flying and telekinesis. The points needed seem to be based on how powerful a skill or power is. "So, let me get this straight. If I do evil deeds, will you give me points I can use to gain skills and powers?" "Yes. The eviler the deed, the more points you get." I remember that person yesterday said something about getting money from points. Looking over at the menu, I open the points menu, and there is an option to exchange points for money, and the exchange rate seems good. I let out a laugh. Screw those dead-end part-time jobs. Now I can make some real money with half, no a quarter, of the effort.

"I see that you like it. Now, about that battle form." That's the second time it mentions battle. I guess that I might have to fight people. Oh, well, it wouldn't be the first time I had to fight someone. "The battle form can be turned on and off in the menu. While it's on, all of your skills and powers will be available to you as long as you still have magic, and if anyone catches you, they will forget what you look like, so you don't have to worry about going to jail." Again, this all seems too easy and, honestly, pretty stupid. Like, who rewards you for bad behavior? Whatever. Money is money, and having some of these powers sounds like fun. Another bear walks into the room and heads towards the dead one. It looks like some kind of priest, and it starts to pray for the dead bear. I put my hands together and prayed as well. "Sorry, creepy bear, but I will always remember your squeakiness." *ding* A message appears in my vision saying I have gained one point for disturbing the dead. The other creepy bear glares at me. "You know, I think you may fit into the evil role way too well." Wait, I can gain points from little jokes like that. Hmmm... I need some points for rent, so... "I don't like the way you're staring at me..." The bear starts to slowly back away, but he soon realizes he is cornered. "Can't we make a deal... or..." I grab the bat and raise it above my head. *Squeak* *Squeak* *Squeak* The other bears realize what's going on and try to run, but I close and lock the door on them, trapping them in with me. I start taping the bat in my hand. "Time to make rent."

I didn't make a lot of points, but it was enough to pick up a few skills and powers. I could have used the points to pay my rent, but I think investing them into power that I can use to get more points seems like a better option. The skills I picked up were strength and speed, and the powers I got were tracking, storage, and mapping. Strength and speed seem useful in a fight. Tracking will help me track targets so I can do evil things to them, and storage will allow me to store weapons so I don't look suspicious. Mapping well also helps... Okay, look, I have a limited data plan on my phone, so I can't go using all of my data to find places, and free wifi is a scam. If it's free, then your data and information are the product. Great, now I sound like some conspiracy nut. Well, I might as well go scope out some targets; after all, I really don't like the idea of mugging some random person. I leave my apartment and head down the stairs, only to see the landlady waiting for me. She hands out her left hand. "Your rent." "Umm... I will have it by tonight." "Fine! but you have better clean that mess you call a room!" "I have..." Well, it was clean, but it might have teddy bear stuffing everywhere right now. She let out a sigh. "Good, now stay out of trouble!" She pointed at me with her right hand, which was covered in bandages. "What happened to your hand?" She somewhat panics and puts it in her tracksuit pocket. "Don't worry about it!" She then storms off to her room. Okay, sorry I asked.