Shun POV:

For the next 3 days, my routine consisted of waking up, getting beaten to the point of near death, and then passing out. The excruciating pain aside, getting knocked around so much in an underground cell actually helped me to realise just what had happened to me.

I was finally able to recall who Amelia was, as well as what happened on my last day on Earth. I had pushed Amelia out of the way of an incoming truck, suffering from the delusion that I’d be transported to another world—that didn’t happen.

Instead, I woke up in a hospital bed and spent some precious moments with Amelia. It was at that point that I was ready to accept my reality for what it was. However, a truck somehow crashed into me on the 10th floor of a hospital building.

‘...’

Thus, I was transported to a world called Ayadell, which sounded familiar by the way. Lastly, parts of my conversation with Amelia appeared to be blurred out; no matter how hard I tried to recall those parts of the conversation, I couldn’t get rid of the filter blocking the flow of information.

I sucked up all the blood in my mouth and spat it out on the ground, followed by a deep sigh.

‘... I’m in so much pain...’

My whole body trembled as I curled myself up into a ball. They didn’t even need to chain me to the wall, since they overpowered me so easily that I saw no point in trying to escape right now.

‘S-syst...’

Actually, let’s not even rely on that anymore. I was too afraid to check other people’s status windows because I didn’t know if I’d see the truth or not. It was likely that what happened on my first day here was a one-off... But... What if it wasn’t? What if the system could mess with me whenever it chose to?

‘...I’m really screwed now.’

The very thing most characters in isekai novels could rely on was the system or having some sort of prodigious talent; I had neither. An unreliable system and zero talent. To make matters worse, I didn’t even want to leave my own world anymore!

“...DAMN IT MAN!!”

I punched the ground so hard that I broke my fingers by accident. I recoiled backwards, falling onto my bottom while tears pooled at the sides of my eyes.

“Son of a...”

I bit my lip while examining the extent to which I had harmed myself. I shifted my gaze to the dark, dingy walls as I wished I could see my parents. My mental strength had reached its absolute limit after getting tortured for three days straight—I just wanted it all to end.

*Clang clang*

A metal rod slid along the bars to the cell, creating a loud clanging sound that echoed down the pathway. I turned my head to see that twisted little pervert peering down at me with... Gentle eyes?

Her gaze swept over me and seconds later, she opened the cell and stretched out her hands towards me.

“Your hand...”

I looked down at my messed up hand when her arms wrapped around my shoulders. A heavenly smell wafted into my nose as her large breasts pressed against my chest.

‘...Uh....’

“Come with me.”

I stared at her blankly while she stroked my cheek. Before I kick-started my brain again, I had already reached the outside of her room. It suddenly dawned on me that maybe she had a split personality: a really sadistic one and a super gentle one.

‘...Then there’s hope?...’

My gaze rested on the door, only for her foot to smash me through it. I face planted into the floor, bursting open several blood vessels in my nose as warm liquid flowed out of my nostrils.

‘...Sigh...’

I watched her get a long piece of rope and fasten it around my torso, locking my arms in place while forcing me to sit on my knees.

“...Why are you going so far? I already apologised. I already agreed to be your servant, so can’t you just overlook what happened? Please... Just let me go...”

The strength left my voice as she stood a few meters in front of me. The gentle look in her eyes had long vanished; they curved upwards into almost half-crescent moons while a deep shade of red spread over her nose.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

‘!’

She ripped off all of her clothes, revealing her phenomenal figure. Her skin was flawless, and every single part of her body was enchanting to the point my nose started bleeding.

“...Don’t tell me she wants to do it with me...?”

‘Damn it!’

I closed my eyes and turned my head away. I bit my lip, bracing myself for another beating that would be coming my way any second now.

‘?’

I half opened my eyes after a minute or two passed by. Her bare legs remained in the same position as I looked up at her. Chloe peered down at me with a wide smile that made me shiver.

“Why would I do that with a dog?”

Her words speared through my heart, inflicting a wound much deeper than any of the injuries I had suffered over the last few days. The tone of her voice wasn’t even ice cold. It still had the same honeyed texture to it, but it just felt so belittling.

As a man, I had pride. Now, I wasn’t actually expecting to do that with her; it was a slip of the tongue, but to be compared to a dog?... That hurt. That really hurt.

My gaze shifted back down to the floor. A small part of me wished a system notification would pop up with instructions to get out of here, but I knew that wouldn’t happen. Life isn’t as convenient as it is in those games and those light novels.

“You’re going to sit there like that and admire your Master’s beauty like the pet that you are.”

A shadow fell over my face and my arms trembled. I balled my hands into fists as the skin in between my eyebrows compressed. I tried my best to ignore the incoming flood of memories I had buried, but I couldn’t do it. The dam that I had sealed inside of myself burst open and memories of the past washed over me.

***

9 years ago.

“Don’t you dare lower your hands, Shun.”

“Ohh. So, this is uh... Seiza?”

“Yeah and little Shun here is half Japanese.”

A group of boys peered down at me as I sat at the back of the classroom with my legs folded underneath my thighs. My hands were raised above my hand and my back was straight.

“How long has it been?”

“30 minutes, but the teacher won’t be back till next period, so we have time.”

“Hmm... Great. Let’s make it more interesting then.”

I watched Brad take a step forward. He was chubby and had short brown hair. Brad was the leader of the ‘popular boys’ and naturally, I wasn’t a part of that group.

“Heok!”

The corners of his mouth rose as his fist sank into my stomach. I felt the wind leave my lungs while I forced my body and arms to stay straight because I knew... I knew the moment I lowered them; I’d receive a much worse punishment.

“Oh, you’re holding on well today, Shun!”

“Brad, let me have a go!”

Dennis, the second most popular boy in the class, arched his back and launched his knee right into my solar plexus. I flopped forward, gasping for breath as four boys surrounded me.

“Yeah, this is much better, Oliver.”

“Jack, don’t beat him too much. Last time, he snitched to the teacher like a loser.”

“Then... Let’s make sure he gets the message that his kind isn’t wanted here.”

They took turns throwing punches and kicks at me as I curled up into a ball. I had only transferred here 3 months ago, but from the moment I arrived, those 4 guys never liked me.

It first started off with trivial things, like bumping into me in the hallway or pushing me into a group of girls by accident. I wasn’t good at socialising, so I laughed along with them, not realising that the whole time they were laughing at me.

I guess the real trigger was when Marly told me she liked me. Brad had a thing for her and once word got out about her confession, my world changed. The bullying became more physical, and I struggled to understand what I had done so wrong to deserve being embarrassed this way.

It hurt when they made fun of me for being half-Japanese. It hurt when they made my face swell and left bruises scattered along my body. It hurt when I was shunned, and abandoned by my classmates who were once eager to talk to me.

I hated it.

I hated them. No… I couldn’t do that. I wouldn’t.

But most of all, I hated those who watched, acting like it had nothing to do with them as if they were some innocent bystanders. I was raised to always extend a helping hand to those who need it, but when it was me being a target, there were no hands for me to grab hold of.

“The teacher’s coming!”

“Tch. Lucky halfie.”

Brad booted me in the face before dashing back to his desk with the others. I got to my feet and slumped down on the chair behind my desk as I wiped the blood away from my nose and left eye with a tissue.

‘...I’ve had enough.’

The door swung open, and the teacher walked to the front of the classroom. Ms Strong had dark bags underneath her eyes while her outfit was more dishevelled than yesterday’s. She made eye contact with me and her gaze swept over my injuries, followed by a long sigh.

She squeezed the bridge of her nose while furrowing her eyebrows. A minute later, the lesson resumed as normal, and Ms Strong didn’t look in my direction again.

‘...Aren’t teachers supposed to help...? I don’t understand... Why is everything so different here?...’

I balled my hands into fists, snapping the pencil I was holding in half as I glared at this so-called teacher. I had gone to her for help once and all she did was give those little twats a ‘stern’ warning. If she honestly thought I was going to sit down and take all of this, then she was wrong.

Very wrong.

I kicked my desk over and dashed towards Brad. My fist rocked his jaw, launching him out of his seat as I jumped on top of him.

“Gonna snitch?”

I smirked as he glared at me. He pushed me away, and we started brawling with one another in the middle of the classroom. The problem was that... I wasn’t strong.

“Halfie, you’re pretty weak.”

Brad grinned while heavy blows battered my body. Seconds later, Ms Strong jumped in between us and shouted.

“Enough! Both of you outside now!”

“Tch. You’re dead now, Shun.”

We left the classroom and stood with our backs against the wall.

*Clap clap*

I shifted my gaze to Brad, clapping his hands as he stared at me. All of that adrenaline that had been rushing through my body disappeared and I observed his lips spread into a sadistic grin.

You see, it was Rule 50 in How to Stop Being Bullied: Don’t aggravate the bully by fighting back. If you chose to fight, go all out in the most crazy manner possible to let them know that there’s a beast inside of you. Because if you don’t, your life will get 10x worse.

A cold shiver ran down my spine as Brad continued to clap and I immediately knew that once again…

I messed up.