Author note: Edited. Changed the status panel thing.
----------------------------------------
“*sobs* *sobs*”
Few meters away from the other. A girl was crying.
Every time she sobbed, her purple twin hair swayed back and forth. The boy who was next to her was unable endured seeing her tears and called out to her.
“Gretel, don’t cry. I’m here for you.”
The boy had a same face and hair color with the girl. Same face, hair color, eyes, height, outfit. It was as if the boy was the perfect mirror image of the girl.
“Hansel… But, father, mother, and the other were…”
The girl didn’t stop crying. Instead she cried even more because she was reminded about the fate of her parent and friends.
“D, don’t cry…”
Even if he had said that himself, Hansel also started to accumulating tears on his eyes and tightly held Gretel’s hand.
“Hansel, your words don’t have any persuasive force if you also cry.”
A monotone voice advised Hansel.
“Sorry, Bfort. Even though I’m her older brother. I……”
Hansel wiped his face using his sleeve, and faced the boy with monotone voice.
“You don’t need to blame yourself. It was natural to cry in this situation.”
Unlike Hansel and Gretel, Bfort was more mature and calmer. Even when compared with other children on his age, he was still considered mature.
Because of that early developed personality, he had dull eyes that didn’t show interest in anything and monotone voice as if he was a robot.
Nevertheless he was indifferent in this situation.
“But, as her brother I mustn’t show her my weak side.”
“Then just don’t show it anymore starting now.”
“… Okay.”
The three children were holding each other’s hand to lessen their fear.
Bfort wasn’t scared or anything. However because he was requested by the twin, he also held their hand.
Even when the twin held his hand he didn’t felt anything. Yes, it was as if he was an emotionless doll. Completely unaffected by the situation and won’t be moved no matter what happened to him.
He was that kind of boy.
“Bfort , *sobs* why aren’t you crying? Aren’t you scared?”
The half crying Gretel asked him.
“No. Not really.”
Bfort answered back with his monotone voice.
“Then… You’re strong, unlike me. Even now I can’t hold back my tears…”
Gretel’s voice was weak. Combined with her sobbing, it sounded even weaker.
All she can do was holding her brother, who was also holding back his tears, and Bfort’s hand that was indifferent like a robot.
The current Grete condition was, if she didn’t talk with someone, she would start crying again.
“I’m not strong. I’m a weak and useless human.”
“Uum, you’re not a weak and useless human. After all you saved me and my brother.”
Gretel shook her head to deny his statement. Her twin tails once again moved back and forth in the air.
Bfort did save the twin. It was when the meteor had appeared on the sky, and destroying the world they lived in.
When it was still at the phase when the earth shook. The grade school students were studying at home, so most of them didn’t come to school excepted few who had stuff like Bfort and the twin.
Bfort came alone while the twin came with their parent to take care of administrative stuff. Before the meteor appeared, the twin had to use the restroom so they asked their parent to go first.
After they finished their business the meteor appeared. The earth shook and in panic they searched for their parent.
Bfort who happened to be there after finished his business, took the twin to a locker for safety. He had though it was an earthquake. Although it was stuffy, it was sufficient to kept three children.
Bfort had thought it was strange when he heard scream and a sound of something falling. He never thought that a meteor was falling instead of an earthquake.
The twin, who worried about their parent, suggested on going to look for them. Bfort didn’t object that. However he didn’t plan on going out from there because he thought that it was safer there.
After the twin had decided to go out to search for their parent, they heard someone calling the twin’s name. The parent was searching for them even when the earth shook like crazy.
The twin was overjoyed from hearing that and was about to go out form the locker. Until a piece of the meteor fell right in front of the locker.
The foundation that had already became weak because of the damage, started to fell apart starting from the floor. Bfort, the twin, and their parent fell down to few floors below.
It was an unfortunate timing. However it was a blessing that they hadn’t come out form the locker. The locker absorbed some of the impact making them survived from the fall but still sustain a heavy injury.
They locker’s door wasn’t blocked so they was able to come out from it. They were lucky to survive that and weren’t crushed by the debris. However the twin’s parent was different.
If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
They weren’t lucky enough from both the fall and debris. They died instantly from the falling debris. Moreover their location was right in front of the locker so it was impossible miss corpse.
Obviously they cried from seeing their parent corpse. However soon they were transferred and the surprised feeling won over their sadness.
To Bfort, what he did was not saving them but, separating them from their parent.
“……”
However he didn’t feel bad about it because he was unable to.
“Like I said this’s definitely a fantasy world. Instead of babysitting us we should just explore this world!”
From the combined group Bfort heard Teena’s complain toward the adults.
“Listen here. You were entrusted to us by your parent so we have the responsibility……”
“Responsibility this, responsibility that, don’t you get tired of it?”
They were having a heated discussion while the children were on themselves.
“We adults here you know……”
“AAAAAAAAA!!!!”
However that heated discussion was suddenly interrupted by Mike who was shouting as if he had seen a ghost.
“Hey, you, what’s wrong?”
“A menu had appeared!”
“ Menu? Stop day-dreaming we’re not in a restaurant.”
“No, no, no, not that menu but, the menu with name and status like in the game!”
The adults had a disbelieve face while Teena showed a “How’s that!” face.
“You, so where is this menu you’re talking about? I can’t see it anywhere with my eyes. Is it a menu that only an idiot can see?”
“I’m serious! Try saying Status and you will believe me!”
Mike was desperate convincing the adults. They, half- believing him, tried to do that. The other students also followed.
Bfort who heard that, tried to do the same thing.
“Status.”
Followed by his word certain information flowed to his mind.
[Name: Bfort. Title: Hero. Condition: Normal. Skill: None.]
It was as if it was a game. Everyone thought of the same thing, and there was also something strange about the status. The title which said Hero.
“Hansel, Gretel try saying Status.”
Because they didn’t hear what Mike said before, they tilted their head. However they still said it.
Then an information flowed to their mind.
[Name: Hansel. Title: Hero. Condition: Normal. Skill: None.]
[Name: Gretel. Title: Hero. Condition: Normal. Skill: None.]
“What the heck! Is this a hero bargain sale!?”
Huke retorted from the combined group.
“Hey, what’s your status look like?”
“Normal. Without any skill.”
“Strange. I’m also the same.”
Selia tried to compare her status with Huke’s and it turned out that all of them had the same status except the name.
“Feral, can you punch? Don’t hold back.”
“Have you awakened to masochist? Don’t blame me if you’re hurt.”
Just like request, Feral punched Yuu without holding back. Yuu became all four on the ground, and held the place he was punched.
[Name: Yuu. Title: Hero. Condition: Little damage. Skill: None.]
“It changed.”
Yuu came to that conclusion after tested it with his own body. He did that because he thought that small injury won’t change it.
However, it wasn’t that usefull.
“Then this status was a piece of junk.”
Feral was unimpressed by the discovery and went back to lay on the ground.
“Status! Map! Item! System! Configuration!!!”
While Teena on the other hand, tried to do similar things which ended up in useless effort.
“Why we can make Status bar appeared but not the other?! Where’s the admin, I demand a patch!”
“Well, well, calm down Teena. Maybe we just haven’t known how to do it yet and not the programmer’s fault.”
The high school student and the middle school student were trying things out. They didn’t notice the danger that approaching them.
“What’s wrong Gretel?”
“No, I felt like something was……”
Before Gretel finished her word she saw something on the open field that was supposed to be empty.
Around five meters away from them, a giant figure appeared.
Green skin, fat chubby body, lack of clothing, vicious red eyes, and what left the strongest impression was it pig face and the big wooden club in its hand.
“KYAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!”
Gretel let out a scream from seeing the giant. The other finally directed their sight toward the green skin giant, and noticed the danger they were in.
The children were trying their best to accept reality.