"Ah... a Demon." I would have screamed for help instead of mock terror, had it not been the hundredth time I was terrorized by these creatures. The Demon lunged towards me and bit my head off, waking me up from the lucid nightmare I had been having.
Aaaand, sleep paralysis...
What did I do to deserve this? The same demonic figure appeared again, albeit more muted. Of course, I much preferred this type of image. There was that time where the Demon was the figure of my father congratulating me with a fake smile, and the worst part about it was that I couldn't move to punch its face out.
This time the Demon was smiling, unmoving, just staring at my corpse-like figure. As it stood still, it started changing its shape till it resembled myself. Of course, it was a bloodied and paler me, but I had to give it to it, it was good looking.
I mean, I wasn't half bad myself, short dark hair, pajamas that hid a weak and bruised body, brown eyes, tall figure. If I asked my mother to use makeup on me, I could even pass as a model. Not that I had ever asked her... she'd done it herself, and while I was miffed at first, when I looked at the mirror, I was almost jealous of the reflection before remembering it was me.
Taking another look at the demon, it didn't seem to move much, just smiling and waiting for something. Personally, I was waiting for it to get bored and me being able to move. After some time, the Demon seemed to have gone out for shopping and I was able to move again. Creepy, but not more than crappy horror films were and I was already used to worse.
I stood up and looked at the time... six in the morning. I had two hours at least before school started and the second part of my torture begun. I wondered if I should go or just wait it out inside my home... but they would call my parents and then it would get awkward. Not that they had ever called them, but I couldn't risk it.
I lifted my pajamas up and looked at the bruised skin. It still hurt.
The plan in my head was to collect evidence and go directly to the police since teachers and the like seemed to be a bit too blind for my liking. Of course, that required me to get hurt, which wasn't exactly stellar, but it was my best plan thus far. When I fell asleep, I dreamed of the police getting the news out, having the teachers fired and the bullies kicked out of every school in the country.
But different thoughts plagued my mind in the mornings; a mental exhaustion that made me feel more tired than when I'd fallen asleep. What had I done to deserve this?
I shook my head, what haven't I tried doing differently would be a better question.
Frankly, if this plan didn't work out, I was ready to give up. It wasn't so much the suicidal thoughts, as having the news find my suicide note and the attention the school would get for it. A bit of revenge from the grave it would be - plus, it would send a message to the negligent schools and help other bullied kids. Man, I was so nice...
I shook my head again. Suicide was the coward's way out, and they wouldn't find me giving up any time soon.
Yesterday the ingredients for my plan had arrived. I took the small watch, which was just an expensive little camera with a hidden audio recorder. It was expensive but well worth the cost. I turned the watch over and around and could just barely see the hints of a hidden camera. Expensive but well worth the cost.
For the first time since the beginning of my misery, I would prevail against the idiots at the school who seemed to have a personal vendetta against me. Thinking of that, I couldn't help but be giddy, unable to hide my excitement.
I looked at the clock again... time had barely passed. Waiting to go to school to get beaten up, or worse, didn't seem like an exciting prospect. Working on my homework was a useless effort since it would be just torn into pieces...
Sitting alone inside an empty house wasn't fun, and I had too much adrenaline in my blood to go back to sleep again.
Without having anything to do, I just paced around, alternating between looking at the clock, the watch, and the recorder. I shook my head, this would tire me out before even school started.
The clock... said one and a half hours.
I closed my eyes and imagined punching the bullies in the face, dropping them one by one, stepping on them, spitting on their faces, cutting their throats with a knife, bathing in their blood. Whoops, too much.
Somehow like that time passed till I had to go to school, and I thought I would be jittery with excitement or anxiety, but there was nothing of that inside me, just patience and cold-blooded anger. Perhaps waking up early was good for me mentally. I had calmed down and was able to focus on what I had to do.
I wore the watch and threw an empty backpack over my shoulder. Usually, the way to school would be safe, so I didn't put too much thought into if I would be jumped at or whatever.
Lost in my thoughts as I was, I reached the school gates before I knew it and was inside without any problems. So far no one had stopped me and it was going better than most days. Then I saw the three bullies behind me and rushed along the way. No need to seek trouble if I could avoid it and they didn't seem to have noticed me.
The early morning lectures were definitely the most annoying part of the school, but this one was esecially boring, boring on a level I never had experienced. Why couldn't the teacher hurry up, Why do you feel the need to drag this on, no one is even paying attention to you!
Excitement for today's plans made me unable to doze off, yet at the same time unable to concentrate on anything that the teacher was saying. I took a few small breaths to calm myself down and tried to get lost in my thoughts to make the time pass faster.
Would you know, it worked!
Now that I was free... oh yeah, the plan was to get beaten up.
"Mylas, please clear the board before heading out." The teacher called out to me with a smile. Usually, this would have been a welcome relief since it lowered the time I was outside the protection of the classroom and the protection of the teachers... which said a lot considering that was only as far as they were willing to go. That and ignoring my absences, lack of homework and bruises... oh wait, why does that smell like a bunch of bullshit?
They just wanted to get their job done with and go home. Messing with the troublesome kids would ruin their perfect schedule, those poor guys.
I was only barely outside the classroom before the three idiots found me. I considered them as idiots, but all three of them were better students than I was. Not like I was able to get much studying done with these flies ruining my life.
"Were you about to run off to somewhere? Run from the only people that care for you in this place? You know, you should thank us. Your parents barely care for you, let alone other students or even people." I was going to pay them back, one way or another. The kid who spoke then was the largest of them, black hair and badly dressed. Mike was annoying and quite possibly retarded.
"We can't be dealing with you every morning you know." Another of the bullies spoke, a brown-haired, brown piece of shit. Konstantine was their leader, but rarely the worst of them. Still, he was the better student of the three, and I would like to see how that effort would help him find a job if he had a criminal record. At least I hoped he got one.
They begun like usual, barely even caring as to when the bell would ring. They dragged me to a corner and had fun at my expense.
I was trying not to show any emotions in case they got bored and left me alone which worked sometimes, but do one trick one too many times and they start adapting.
The third bully, Paul, could easily tell that a punch or two and a joke on my behalf wasn't doing it, and to satisfy his ego he was full of suggestions, "Hey, how about we go somewhere more private? The toilets are a good place to start." He said with a smile.
I smiled weakly back, but I knew this wasn't anything good. The other two seemed thrilled by his idea and dragged me along. I tried to resist a bit, but one against three offered little leeway. At least my new watch would get some action.
"You know, I have seen this quite often in movies. You know, where the kid is being drowned in shit in the bathroom stalls?" His smile resembled so much of the paralysis Demon, it scared me for a second. I just had to endure. Endure...
My watch was active and recording. I didn't need to worry, after this it would all be over, this much would be enough.
"Don't worry, they usually clean the stalls after the weekend. Ain't you a lucky bastard?" Paul said, laughing at me desperately flailing around.
As they threw me to a recently used bathroom stall, I tried my best to keep calm, but disgust won over me. Fuck these guys! I instantly turned and punched Paul in the face, his nose instantly started to bleed. I hid a smile at my small victory and got ready to run before Paul threw one back at me.
"This is a step too far even for you guys!" I yelled at them. I screamed, asking for help. Konstantine quickly threw a punch to my gut and I shut up, bent over, and started coughing. He then grabbed me by the hair and threw me face-first into a stall. Paul got in front of Konstantine and flushed the toilet while pressing my head downward with his foot. I struggled for breath, unable to lift my head from his foot, all the while Mike was sitting behind and just staring.
It were a few miserable moments where I would genuinely kill them if I got the chance. I pressed against the running water, kicked, and punched Paul's leg and anything I could. After a minute more they let me go.
I started crying and coughing, thinking of how close I was to drowning, trying to ignore the taste in my tongue. I hated them so much, I hated the school, I hated my parents for not being here, I hated myself for being so weak, I hated everything!
Those three left me there after the bell rung and after they were sure I wasn't dead, and went to join their classes. As for me, I opened the water tap and let the water run down my face, trying to scrub it as much as I could with my hands, the skin turning a bit red after a few minutes of tough love.
Outside the male bathrooms stood a girl, her face looking concerned, "Ermm, hi, how can I help you?" I asked her and she looked at me incredulously.
"Help... me? You were the one who screamed for help just a few minutes ago!" She said, her voice not loud enough to get any attention, but loud nonetheless.
"I have the situation under control... I think." I said, dismissing the girl. Had I seen her before? "Or at least, I hope I will have it after today." I didn't want to seem weak, I'd already been humiliated enough for one day.
She didn't stay silent for long, but she thought over my words, "No." she answered to an unasked question. "No you have jack shit under control." She said and grabbed me by the arm. I could barely react to her actions, finding my bearings only after she stopped pulling me around.
Surprisingly, the place she took me to was the principal's office; she must be new to this school. I already knew how helpful going to that guy would be, but I decided to humor her.
We walked a short distance to the principal's office, me still being drenched in water; my shirt mostly, but I was a mess nonetheless. She knocked on the door a few times and waited to hear the principal letting us in.
He looked as scholarly as ever, a cold, indiferent look on his face as he took us in.
"What is the problem students?" He said, the tone of his voice reminding me of why I never bothered to memorise his name.
The girl, whom I had yet to ask the name of, spoke at his prompt, "The student next to me was being bullied by three other kids. I heard him scream for help in the bathrooms, of which three other students came out of soon after." My face reddened a little as she spoke of when I'd called for help. Almost forgot about that moment.
"Did you personally see the kids in the act?" The principal asked, his voice not showing any enthusiasm or interest to what she was saying.
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The girl clearly didn't expect such an answer as she was lost for words, "B-but are you serious?" she asked, not replying to his question.
"If that was all, then please see yourselves out. The student seems fine and silly fights between kids are expected now and then. If I called the parents to discuss this without even having evidence, I would only be wasting everyone's time." He said, his eyes returning back to the form he was filling.
I took that moment to speak up, as the man himself had offered me a great introduction, "So well, hypothetically, if one person, namely the bullied kid, had a very recently recorded video of this silly fight, would you be willing to call in everyone?" I said, trying to figure out how I would get my parents to come home and abandon their work.
The principal suddenly looked up from his desk and glared at me, "In that case the said student will be facing a strict punishment as it is forbidden to record other kids in any way, shape or form." the man practically yelled as he pointed to the door.
Well, I expected indifference, but this was a step even lower. So bullying is fine, but the bullied kid recording it is not. Now, I wonder... did I forget to turn off the watch? Oh yes I did. The thought alone bringing a smile to my face, one I tried very hard to conceal.
I turned for the door, the girl soon following, looking more than just defeated. Well, if she hadn't known about how shitty the school was before this, now she does.
Now outside of the principals office, we walked along the hallway, passing through the classrooms. Once outside the school, on the back of the bulding which was closer to my home, she suddenly spoke up, "I can't believe that bastard! How the heck is that guy even a principal?!" She yelled, her voice trembling. Her eyes were teary and it took her a few long breaths to clam down.
"To be fair, those three kids do have quite the connections. It's not just that asshole that has saved them from expulsion... there were times when he was sick after all and there was simply another person covering up their bullshit." I said, remembering quite well that event.
I had gone through several phases during this time; from anger, to denial, to embarassment, to not wanting to worry my parents... to wanting to deal with this on my own. The last stage seemed promising, even as it was a recent development.
"Can I have your phone for a second?" She said, not waiting to hear my answer, grabbing my phone and quickly typing something in, "Much of help I was, huh?" She said, derision for herself in her voice. She wasn't wrong, but a smile made its way to my face, "Thank you regardless." It felt good having someone take your side.
On the way home, I thought over the events of the day with a heart beating faster than the trainwreck that was my life. She'd cried for me...? She even stood up to the principal, and I knew how intimidating he could be if you didn't have experience dealing with him. How did I even keep my calm amidst all of this even? Chalking it up to emotional exhaustion, I continued walking, somewhat lost in my own thoughts as time fliew by.
Finally home after a long day, I noticed that I still smelled like shit. I washed my hair and brushed my teeth again and again and again... took a shower and washed my face and mouth a few more times after that.
Finally, after two hours of doing the same thing and my arms feeling like they were made out of jelly, I stopped. My gums were full of wounds from how hard I had been brushing my teeth. My eyes were still a bit red and I had a small bump from where I had hit my head in the toilet. That bruise... it would show in the video calls with my parents.
My most immidiate thoughts were to break the camera and say I had an accident as I had no idea how to fix this. I didn't want my parents to get involved with this. It was a problem they didn't know still existed and I would keep it that way.
I took out my phone, seeing that girl's number. The screen had a small crack in it on the edge that wasn't there previously, but considering what had happened today it wasn't too surprising.
"So her name is Aliyah..."
I looked miserable and felt like it too. Mixed feelings honestly, but I did meet a nice girl, so... net positive?
My drained hands went to the watch, somehow finding the strength to grab it and head to my computer to access the video file. I checked to see if I had stopped recording a few times and headed on to my room.
I connected the watch with the cable it came to my computer. I waited for the computer to recognize the new storage device... and waited.
I tried multiple times in the half-hour I was fiddling with the watch, not finding many ways for variety, but making it up with effort. Eventualy the computer showed an error message... everything was corrupted. I fell back in my chair.
"No, this couldn't have all been in vain!" I cried out, pain filling my voice and tears started to leak out of my eyes. This time I couldn't stop crying. Through my tears I searched for a solution, but the files seemed lost for good with little hope of recovery.
I fell in my rage, punching the wall, again, and again, screaming and shouting in anger.
My arm was bleeding and it hurt just to move it. I must have broken my arm, but it was hard to care about it. It wasn't fair, why wouldn't God give me a chance, something to fight back with!
That day I did not eat. I simply went to bed and slept. When I woke up, I looked at the time and slept again, too exhausted to deal with anything and anyone.
I woke up again when my phone rung. It was my parents, but I didn't have the strength to explain to them what had happened. It was late at night and I could barely open my eyes from the exhaustion.
I hesitantly picked up, "Hello Mylas! How are you doing? We miss you so much." My father said in a quick burst of words. It wasn't like him not to start with the subject at hand, especially if it was something as serious as skipping school, so he probably didn't know. That meant that the principal didn't call them for that, which might serve him well, but it served me even better.
"Hi dad... no, I'm fine. If you miss me so much, then when are you coming?" I said exhausted, not even knowing how many hours I'd slept. I looked outside the window and it was fairly dark, so quite a bit.
My tired voice must have hinted him off to something because he paused for a minute before answering. A silent minute, "It was actually one of the reasons I called you now. We were supposed to come back yesterday to surprise you, but something happened, job-related, and we will be late at least another week. I'm sorry." His last words rang hollow. I didn't care about how sorry he was, I just closed the phone and threw it at the wall.
It broke and I went back to sleep, only that sleep immidiately went away when I noticed that it had been a video call. Eyes wide open, I prayed for them to not have noticed it. Seeing as the lights were still out, they mustn't have been able to get a good look of my face. That was close.
Now fully awake, I knew that sleep wouldn't take hold of me no matter how much I tried. I touched my old bruises, feeling the pain. Well, in times like this there is only one solution as I've learned from movies...
I left my bedroom and a minute later returned with a bottle of Vodka. I wouldn't drink much, after all I had seen how hangovers looked like and I wanted none of that. That said, I wanted to see if it was possible to drink your pains away.
The first sip went down like fire on a dry summer. I teared up a bit and started coughing. People like to drink this poison?
The second sip went a little better as I was much better prepared.
I don't know how much time had passed, but I was at the school and everyone was avoiding me. The principal suddenly appeared in front of me, many times larger than he was in real life, demonic. He was scary, he yelled at me, he cursed at me. He gripped me and I could feel pain from his touch.
I yelled as the pain intensified and suddenly woke up to lying next to my bed too drained to do anything. I had fallen on top of my broken arm and it hurt, but the pain was muted. I stumbled up, the world shaking, turning and twisting as I tried to find my balance.
I called my parents... I didn't care what they would say, didn't know if they even knew of what had happened... I just wanted to hear their voices. Thankfully we still had a landline telephone.
"Mylas! My sweet little baby, how are you doing?" My mom responded. Her voice was too cheery to bother her with my problems and I didn't want to ruin those happy emotions.
I couldn't not cry any longer... my words were slurred, but I managed to say what I wanted, "I... can we... can I change schools?" I asked her, hoping to Gods above that she listened to me.
"What happened Mylas?! Are you drunk?" She instantly grew concerned and angry. Her voice changed and she berrated me over the phone. Tears flowed down my cheeks, but I didn't make a sound.
I wanted to break the house's phone as well, but I barely held myself from doing so, calmly ending the call.
I collapsed, unable to find the strength to keep myself upright. Tears continued to roll down my face as I started laughing. Somehow everything was blurry. My speach barely comprehensible as I tried to say something out. The Vodka bottle was lying empty a few feet away from me, but it was half empty when I'd gotten it, right?
Trying to stand up, I found myself unable to move.
I couldn't see anyone that would love me, not now, especially now, not in the future and certainly I didn't give a damn about my parents who saw fit to ignore me until they had something to yell me about. They were all bullies, and my slurred voice also called out angrily, "Bullies!"
I didn't look at the phone, barely even glanced at the time. I just put more effort and stood on my legs, the ground feeling like a puddy as I headed up the floors of our apartment building.
In the blink of an eye, I was on the edge of the rooftop, the old lock already broken since a few years ago, but no one had noticed and none had changed it. I didn't really think of it much, I just walked over the edge and fell forward as I would do when falling to my bed going to sleep. I would sleep, wake up and everything would all be alright.
My feet left the building and a gust of cold air hit my face immidiately. I suddenly woke up, feeling a sense of terror as I saw below me what was almost a hundred feet of free fall.
The moment after I realized what I had just done. I turned back to see the edge of the roof further and further away as I fell to my death.
I desperately wanted to claw back, to take back what I had just done, to fight more, to live to see the day those three bastards would suffer just as much as I had! To live to see my mother's face one more time, to hug someone I loved, to find happiness...
But it all happened far too fast. One moment I was heading up the building, the next I was on the rooftop and the next I was mere seconds from my death.
Just then, a blue message appeared at the edge of my vision and everything went black.
...
System Announcement
The system is integrating with your world, magic, dungeons, and mythical creatures will follow.
Fight, thrive, and survive!
In this murky darkness, I couldn't see anything. My consciousness was drifting, yet the mere fact that I could still think was weird.
[Error] System Achievement: First Death {[\iNValliddd}¿)]>
A red box appeared at the edge of my vision, painfully nagging at my head to notice it.
[Error] Achievement Null...
More red boxes... system messages.
[Error] System Correction
I'm starting to think that seeing so much red isn't a good thing, nor normal.
Title Awarded: First Death
Congratulations on being the first living, sentient being on your planet to die. You're getting a second chance to stop the pesky errors.
Erm, thanks?
Race change: Undead
Know what, screw you too! Oh wait, does this mean I am still alive...ish?
Without prompting, another screen appeared in front of me,
Undead Race Description
Your body is aligned to corruption,
Your body is weak to the light element,
Your body is weak to the darkness element,
Your body is weak to the fire element,
Your body is weak to the ice element,
Your body is weak to physical forces,
Your body is weak to magical forces,
Categorization changed to Monster,
System level access reduced to Monster class,
Your experience gain is negatively affected by 66.6%
Strength status is 50% more effective,
Agility status is 20% less effective,
Vitality status is null,
Health status is null,
Mana status is null,
Intelligence, Wisdom, and Perception are unaffected
Somehow I doubted it could get worse...
Mylas Cohen's Skill Description
Infectious Bite: lvl 0
Living beings bitten by you will be infected.
Infected Blood: lvl 0
Your blood is infectious - synergizes with Infectious Bite.
Unending Hunger: lvl 0
Your hunger prevails all emotions, yet fills you with strength and endurance!
Pain Resistance: lvl 0
Resist the effects of pain on your mental corruption.
Corruption Resistance: lvl 1
Resist the effects of mental corrupting skills.
But life can always make you wonder...