A new chapter? Not even I suspected this. The excitement starts after this so please bear with the character build up.

I learned that salty pancakes are pretty good.

Please comment and be as critical as you want. I want to improve so it would be good to know how I can make my writing better.

Thanks for reading. Please enjoy.

Chapter 3: Hero of Justice

Frost cried out as his foot slipped and he fell into a pile of junk in an alley. A system message popped up telling him he had taken damage but he ignored it and made his way onto the street. He had been playing as a child for a week now. The first thing he had done was test out his body’s abilities. Then, he gathered supplies and began to train. He ran until he was exhausted then, he quietly followed people, shadowing them so that they wouldn’t notice him, until his stamina recovered and he could run again. He devoted every moment of his game time to training.

He created two skills within the first three days.

You have gained a skill: Stalking Level 1With quiet footsteps and lurking in the shadows, you have learned to follow your target without being seen. It is said that a true master of stalking could follow its prey for days on end in an open plain without ever being noticed.

Skill Mastery: 6%

You have gained a skill: Running Level 1  Constant running allows you to run faster and longer without becoming tired.

Skill mastery: 34%

In this way, the first week of his life in a new world passed.

Reid once again put on the strange virtual reality helmet and entered the game world. When Frost awoke he was in his early teens, probably thirteen or fourteen. This would be the time that the others left the town, off to hunt monsters and strengthen their characters through normal means. The gates were open and most of the players left. Only a few casual players and Frost stayed in the town, still waiting for the day when they too could begin to raise their characters through combat.

For a world that was supposed to be ravaged by war and monsters, this place was awfully peaceful. The people always seemed happy and calm while problems were small and could be easily handled. The people here survived easily enough, despite the hard ground and the few crops that could actually grow here. This cold northern city was full of warm people and had pleasantly few players. It seemed that people didn’t like the cold all that much.

It was time to start planning his next move, which was to gain skills he would need in the future. Cooking, tailoring, and repairing were all skills that he would need if he were to be efficient and victorious. He needed to be self-sufficient as he could only rely on himself in this world. Cooking would be first. He was very skilled at it in real life and it was one of the few things that he truly enjoyed. It should be easy enough to learn it since his actual skill was so high.

He started early, running around town searching for someone who would be willing to teach him. It seemed everyone who could teach him how to cook was either unwilling to do so for free or was too busy to help him out. Frustrated, he returned to his home in the afternoon for some food. After eating, he was about to run out again when he started laughing, realizing how foolish he had been. He walked up to his mother and asked if she could teach him the cooking skill. Of course, she agreed and they spent the rest of the day talking about the different foods and preparation methods of the world. Frost learned a lot of important information and soon had the cooking skill as well.

The next day, Frost ran to the store that his parents owned and operated. There, they bought and sold items that adventurers would find in the wild. They handled everything from furs, to japtem, to magical items and weapons. This time, he would find a way to learn tailoring. He burst into the shop, startling a merchant who was looking around. He found his father moving things around, towards the back of the store. It seemed he recently sold some materials and was replenishing stock from the back stores.

His father saw him and laughed. “Haha, Frost, what are you doing here?”

“I need a tailor.”

“What? Why do you need a tailor?”

“I need someone who can teach me how to sew hides and fix clothes. Do you sell to someone, maybe a friend that would be willing to teach me?”

“What do you need to learn all of that for?”

“It’s for when I become an adventurer. I’ll need some survival skills if I want to live in the wild.” His father looked surprised and concerned for a moment, clearly surprised by this unexpected declaration. ‘Oh shit. He didn’t realize that I would become an adventurer? He probably thought I would take over the shop. As far as he knows, I’m his son and he wouldn’t want me to risk my life becoming an adventurer.

“What…what are you talking about, son? Adventurer?” ‘Yeah, it seems I was right on the mark. This could be bad. Might as well roll with it I guess.’

“Yeah, sorry. I might take over the shop one day, but not before becoming an adventurer and travelling the world. I’ll be a famous for finding the place where the god’s tears are gathered. I’ll find the Lake of Tears one day and be a hero who saves the world.”

“Son…”

“Oh yeah. I also promise to not die.”

His father smirked, “Who would have guessed that I would have such a son. All right, Frost. I’ll send you to a friend of mine. When you get home, we’re going to have a talk with your mother about all this.” He gave Frost directions and sent him off.

The woman his father sent him to easily accepted him as an apprentice and he learned how to make and fix clothing. This was another skill he had spent time learning in real life, as he felt it would be useful for Dead World.

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He returned home late in the day to his parents worriedly trying to convince him that if he were an adventurer, he would die. They stood just inside the house, waiting for him.

“Frost,” his mother spoke softly, “please reconsider.”

“Mother. Father.” This was all real to them. They didn’t know they were programs so he had to treat them like real people. A shiver of excitement ran down his spine. This game was just too amazing. How could this only be a beta test?

“I feel it calling to me. I feel the world tugging on my body, pulling me forward. I can’t stay here forever. I’ll go get training if you want, but I have to go, sorry. I won’t die.” His parents looked sad but couldn’t find the words to stop him. They knew in their hearts that he would become an adventurer and they believed he would grow into a great hero one day. They nodded and watched as he walked past them and up the stairs to his bed.

Reid took off his helmet and stood up. Everything was going according to plan, he thought as he wandered through the empty house. His parents would be at work for a while yet and he needed a break from the game. He went for a jog around the neighborhood. He ignored everyone around him as he ran, still thinking about the game. Everything was going just as he had expected, but something still felt wrong. Was there some flaw in his strategy or maybe something he was missing? What was this feeling?

Reid stopped and turned to his right. He stared at the school and forgot about the game for just a moment. ‘I wonder if it’s a school day. I guess this is the school I would have gone to if I were going to high school. School is so inefficient and slow and there are so many worthless ass holes just waiting to make someone miserable so that they can forget about their own shitty situation for one moment. Of course, trying to be the hero of justice had gotten him kicked out of school, so where was the justice anyway? When the bullied are faced with the same threat of punishment as the bullies if they fight back, what can they do? It was a broken system and Reid was glad that he wasn’t a part of it.

Reid turned away and continued his run, thinking back to those days a long time ago.

Reid had gone to a very good middle school, the best in the area. It was the sixth grade, back in middle school at lunchtime and everyone was supposed to be in the lunchroom. Reid was on his way back from the bathroom when he heard a whimper followed by laughs. He followed the sound to one of the stairwells and saw a girl surrounded by three boys as they pulled her hair and occasional hit her. He was shocked. This was so strange to him, why would anyone do that? Where were the teachers, where was the hero to come save the day?

Reid was always taught that he should protect others. That everyone deserves to be given a chance or even a second chance. However, it was those that weren’t able to defend themselves that needed protecting the most. These were the teachings that his father often repeated, and Reid held those words close to his heart. He wanted to be a super hero when he was younger, flying in to save the day and protecting everyone. As he grew older, he woke up to the cruel reality that he would only ever be normal. He could never be a super hero because heroes didn't exist.

If he had thought about it, he would have screamed for help or run to get a teacher. They would have stopped and perhaps that would have been the end of it. He had never done any martial arts, or shown violent tendencies before. Heroes weren't real, so you had to fix your problems yourself, had to be strong. They were all older than him, so what could he do anyway? However, he didn’t care, didn't think, and he ran at them full speed. They saw him coming but he still managed to tackle one of them into the wall.

He couldn’t stand to watch this unfair, cruel treatment of this girl. How could she have done something to deserve such actions? So he attacked the boys and fought with all his heart. He attacked them like a wild animal, roaring at them as he attacked. He didn’t know what do in a fight so he let his instincts take over and wildly flailed about. The boys beat him down but he stood up again and charged forward. In that moment, he felt something strange, like he knew what to do, and how to move. He began to flow, redirecting one punch and dodging another as he went for the one in the middle. His body was guiding him, his hand moving as he palmed the face of the boy and slammed his head into the wall. That was the intention at least, but the boy’s own movement changed the trajectory of his head and he slammed it into the corner of the wall.

There was a loud crack sound and everyone froze. The two boys ran in the direction of the cafeteria, probably going to get a teacher. Reid just stood there staring at the boy on the ground in shock. He was about to start crying and break down out of fear when he felt a touch on his arm. He turned and saw that the girl had stood up and was staring at the ground, ashamed.

“Thank you. Please don’t tell anyone that I was part of this. I can’t stay after school. My parents can’t pick me up” She looked up at him and he could see she was scared that would happen. “If they have to come get me…” She sniffled and looked like she was going to cry again.

“Run!” He urged quietly as he gave her a light push towards the stairs. “Quickly.” Just like that, she was gone.

When they went to the principle’s office, none of the boys involved said anything about the girl. Both sides claimed that the other attacked first unwilling to bring the girl into it. The boys were afraid they would be caught having bullied someone and Reid believed that he should protect her. He didn’t know the details, but he wasn’t someone that would betray others, even if he didn’t really know them. Reid was expelled for hurting the one boy so badly and the others were suspended for fighting. Justice. He would have been expelled anyway so why bother betraying the girl? It wouldn’t have made anything better. That was the moment he was most proud of. That was the moment he felt like a true hero.

He never did tell anyone about the girl, so everyone just thought he was an angry teenage boy. His parents decided to have him learn martial arts as well as be home schooled from then on. Reid didn’t regret anything he did that day, and he swore to himself that he never would. Reid’s thoughts turned back to the game and to that thing he was missing. He still couldn’t think of it as he returned home and once again returned to a dead world.