Now it begins

After the exam, I return to the room at the tavern. I flopped on the bed, staring at the ceiling, while the night sky got really dark. I felt alive but yet hollow, as if this reality hadn’t sunk into me yet. I even mask my emotions by flirting with people. It's not for fun; it's how I keep myself from falling apart.

Well, the motto was "adapt and overcome" back in my world, but how am I supposed to adapt to these changes and discover who I really am? That is a deep thought for another time.

I shut my eyes and fell asleep.

Yikes! I overslept. I grabbed my Kar98k and shut the door, and a surge of energy sparked my step; my hair was in disarray.

I am almost at the academy. As I barely made it, luckily I didn’t sweat or emit an unpleasant odor.

I got stopped by some upperclassmen and their so-called gang.

“Look at this shrimp; this is the same dude from the exam who dropped those other students, though he looks threatening. Guess I was wrong.”

“From his hair to that gun, you're not fooling anyone here, buddy; you don't even have magic.”

I considered acting rashly, but then I remembered this quote:

Those who paint themselves as something they are not speak louder than those who keep their composure—they are the ones who will succeed.

Instead, I just walked past them while I started to hum a song to keep my instincts intact.

“This pitiful, worthless human, such a clown, no faction will want someone who doesn't have magic.”

“You better get ready, because we are going to make this year as worthwhile as possible for you.”

I sighed

then be it.

I’m not afraid of some dude who looks like a wannabe gangster—that's why your parents probably disown you, I mumbled.

They kept bothering me, wanting to pick a fight. All these fellow students were looking at this as if it was a normal thing. No one stopped it, not even the principal.

A certain upperclassman came right at me with his fortified magic from his disk system. I moved out of the way as if he were a raging bull at a circus.

“You got lucky, pipsqueak! Yo guys, help me show this incel who runs the school and why he shouldn’t embarrass us. You are in it now.”

His fist was clenched from his outburst of anger, and his classmates started playing dirty to make it look like this was a fair fight, but everyone knew that it wasn’t.

His goons started to rush in, and my bystanders began insulting me, critiquing my looks, but I lost control.

As he insulted my dead comrades, I recalled he had lost someone important to him.

I hope he lives in hell just like you.

I struggled to hold back; all I saw was red. I took one breath, dropped my weapon, and my whole demeanor changed.

Some of his classmates felt my aura slowly shattering as if it were deep down in a vase.

“You asked for it.”

The moment I heard those words, I felt like the reaper, and I was—just as though I was doing well to mask it, it came out.”

They froze in place at the glance of death, as if I had actually killed people.

"Are you sure this is the fight you want?"

I heard a gulp.

“Or are you afraid to lose to a lowly lowerclassman?”

Then instinct kicked in, my jaw twitching, as if I had been itching for this.

I kicked one of the upperclassmen in his shin so that he would loosen his grip, and I took this chance to flip over my shoulder as his body hit the ground.

I stood on him, broke his hand and shoulder, and grinned, as if I were more alive than when sniping.

I laughed uncontrollably and began my way toward each of the upperclassmen who bullied me. They all tried to run away; some did escape.

I focused on the ringleader and the one who insulted me. The spark of energy shot out of them, screaming for help as I started all of this, but that didn’t stop my madness.

I tackled the ringleader and beat him until he looked like a squashed tomato, whispering to him.

“Do not bother me again, or I will do worse.”

Then all of a sudden, the principal came running out and acted shocked, as if I had started it. Little did he know the security cameras caught it all.

Bystanders were in shock, breathless, as if time stopped.

Rumors started flying:

“Did you hear what happened?

Oh, I heard this kid named Mason beat the upperclassman to a pulp.

Once the word gets out to the other upperclassmen, they will not like the sound of this; his disk system isn’t going to like this.

I entered the classroom, all eyes on me as I smirked. Then the teacher came in and introduced himself.

“Hello class, My name is Riven. I heard there was a fight that broke out; we do not condone bullying or fighting. However, given the circumstances of this situation, going forward will not be tolerated, or you will be thrown out.”

“Can anyone tell me what this disk system is? Please explain it in depth for our new students.”

Anyone at all? ”

“The disk system goes based on the actions of the person, and if it is genuine, it will level you up, but there is a catch: if the system sees it as not genuine, you will be known as an aggressor. Am I right, Mr. Riven?

“You are somewhat correct; this system is complex, like a human. In other terms, for those who can't grasp it, look at it like this: the more genuine good you do, the better chance you have of leveling up. New levels will unlock new upgrades.”

“As for the other class, aggressors, those are the ones who do evil deeds and get the corrupted disk system; however, the more corrupt they become, the shorter life span they have. The disk system is a part of you.”

“Mr. Riven, sir, is it possible to redeem yourself?”

“Yes, but it's not easy either; the more wrong you do, the harder it is to undo it. That is also a complex of humans; you never know someone or even your intentions.”

“Sir, isn't this disk drive basically an executioner? What if you had a breakdown or had a panic attack or were provoked because of bullying?”

Look, I will say this once: the disk system is a gamble. Once you equip it, your life is no longer yours. We all die, right? So what is so wrong about a system that labels us as something we are not? We do it as humans, right?

“But to answer your question, the system is not as black and white as people make it out to be; just like in life, not everything is grey.”

No one panicked, just silence looking at this system. There was a student who was calm and collected, and then he stated out loud

"Hey Mason, I hope your disk makes you become an aggressor. Oh wait, you are one. Ha, the irony is crazy."

Uh, I hate to break it to you, but you just insulted me for no reason. I won’t be shocked at any given moment. Your system marked you as a level one aggressor.ssor.