“How well do you think you did on English, Princess?” a slight trace of laughter in his voice. Ugg I hated that nickname, I received that nickname when I pulled a splinter out and started screaming. Hey! It was a big splinter. “Dad you know I hate that nickname, and yes I think I went well.”
My dad put on a frown “you think? Do you think about your future?” he yelled here we go again. My dad is one of those people that care too much about their son’s futures and signs him up to all sorts of extracurricular activities.
Music, sports, culture, language my dad signed me up for all of them to get some ‘life skills.’ “Dad, okay I’ll try harder next time,” I said with a sigh. “You damn will.” He said. I slunk back into my seat and found comfort in the outside world. I always admired our ever-changing and evolving world. But it saddens me for this cost, climate change and pollution are a more serious concern than it was before. I was excited about today it was Monday and the last week of school. We usually do nothing but chill and play games, but we still did the usual work. I wondered about my future, my dad wants me to be a doctor or a high paying job, but I wanted to be a vet.
I love working with animals all the different variations of a single species some tall, some short, some with wings, some with tails, and some with stronger senses than others. I look out my window to see we just past the roundabout to enter Daford street. We lived in a cosy part of town and I went to a pretty good state-run primary school, I’m turning 12 this year and I’m in grade 6. I see shops on all side’s cafes, sports shops, news agencies, and a mall. I see my school in the distance as my dad turned around another intersection, my dad parked in the drop and go area or the get out and come in quick area as I liked to call it. I grabbed my bag and reached for the door to open it. Then my dad bombarded with the usual “have a great day and learn heaps” responded with an “I will.” And closed the door and walked down the concrete path. The path led to the hall where the school meets up on Friday.
I continued down the path looking at the trees and other people on the path. When I reached the main eating area, I see my friends sitting on one of the tables reserved for the VIP year sixes. I walk over to them and we discuss our grades year seven and anything important to us one thing catches my attention though “Guys, did you know on the news that in the USA there were 47 entire states that vanished!” Jack my friend says with enough enthusiasm that it must be real, we all look at him wide-eyed, I included. “Th-that can’t be real Jack," Lucie says a trace of fear in her voice Jack blurts out “it is, it was the main story for all the news channels, and everyone is saying its aliens or a government cover-up.” I was wide-eyed at the whole news, forty-seven, FORTY-SEVEN states worth of people just gone… I didn’t know how I felt about that. Should I feel sad? Confused? Angry? But I felt nothing. It felt weird, odd I felt like something was coming, then something clicked. Well, multiple things clicked the sky got darker, people around me vanished then green. Green covered my entire vision green flooded every cell every fiber. I wanted to scream but I couldn’t my entire body wasn’t responding, Then I panicked I didn’t know how long this went for seconds? Hours? Years? Centuries? I didn’t know why but the green went away, then I fell I saw dozens of different colours on my way there some I didn’t understand then I stopped then I was gone from the infinite colour fall.
I appeared in a completely white room, a man was sitting at a desk with papers and a pen. A chair appeared out of the blue, “sit” a voice came out of the man that made my entire body obey. I tried to turn or back away, but it was useless I couldn’t I obediently sat down at the chair like a house pet. “Your world is technologically advanced isn’t it?” curiosity twisted into his words. “yes?” I said unsure. “Did your world have any magical or supernatural mutations or evolutions?” “Well there are people with more or different body parts and others that have more strength or higher reaction speed, than others but none with absolutely science breaking effects. So kinda?” I was starting to think this was a massive Q&A. He asked similar questions about our world and system, but only one question was surprising. “Do you use mana or any other type of energy?” He asked. “Wh-what like magic and physic powers?” I said confused. “Yes” he stated. “well not only in movies and books.” We went into a whole new alley with him asking about our books and movies. Then the last question, “have you ever heard of the System?” he asked in his usual cold tone. “System? No doesn’t ring a bell, well except computer systems and the type.” I said quizzically. “Hmm say show status then.” “Show status?” The next part confused me to my inner soul
Race: Human
Tier: 0
Level: 1 (100/0)
Class: Nothing
Active: Nothing
Passive:
Stamina: 60/60
Mana: 10/10
Attributes
Stat Points Available: 10
Strength: 7
Intelligence: 5
Stamina: 6
Endurance: 3
Affinity: 2
Luck: 5
Mana: 1
Recovery: 6
Titles:
Gifts: The System
“Hmmm, pretty pathetic stats.” The man said a slight laugh after the end, he pointed to me and said, “This is the System it tells you everything and lets you learn everything.” I was just looking baffled I managed to cough up a half put together sentence, “what is all this?!” I sounded like a crazy person. “Heh, that’s the system and for the transfer, I can tell you all about it and where you’re going.” “Yes, please tell,” I said before he changed his mind. “I’ll start from what the system is and work my way down.” His plain wooden chair changed into a lavish decorative chair. I wanted to gasp but held it in for this crazy dream to continue. “The system has been here for billions of years, I won’t tell you how it started, but the system with its status brought abilities and spells anyone can learn across the entirety of the multiverse. Abilities use stamina while spells use mana, they recover 1 by every second. There is no health because we can’t quantify that effect properly you really can’t quantify the other two either but if you push past your maximum value you will severely damage your body its worse with mana though.” He read the last part like an open book when I was going to ask a question about it.
“Tier and level are completely different. Tier is an evolution of sort from your previous self when all your attributes rise and, has a chance a skill will evolve but getting to the next tier isn’t the only way but if you don’t want your skill to evolve cause you compared it to your unevolved skill just say ‘stop’ and the evolution will cease. Just a helpful piece of advice you may need in the future.” He chuckled, and I thought wow wonderful kidnap customer service. “Also, to evolve your tier you will need treasures or meet requirements that anyone can find at most information vendors.” “Level is a different story, to level up you need to kill things or craft things then you get exp points which you can use too ‘level up.’ Each level without a class you get 2 points to put in your status screen, with a class you receive more the most I heard was 100 for each level but higher-ranked classes cost more to rank up. You can also receive exp points for crafting items and buying them from others for money.”
He had a distant face for a moment, I didn’t know why but then it hit me he was looking at his status. “Next is titles and gifts.” He snapped out of his distant state and continued onwards. As you see you have no titles but one gift it’s called the System isn’t it? To open it look at it for ten seconds.” He waved his hands showing a universal go-go sign, I open my status and focus on the gift for ten seconds another notification appeared.
The System: You have been rewarded the System from the System.
“huh neat,” I said in barely a whisper, “it is neat isn’t it?” The man said somehow hearing me. “Anyways gifts are special occurrences that you are rewarded for by the System which adds something for your status screen. Titles can give you spells or abilities or improve your stats, you receive them for doing something or being somewhere. Two titles I can tell you are butcher which you need to kill 100,000 living entities stationary entities don’t count and after you will receive 10+ to all stats, another one is reaching another universe which you will receive teleporter which you can teleport between already discovered worlds for 1000 mana.”
“Finally, stats.” “Your stats are pathetic the only one that’s average is strength, all the others are below average.” He looked at me with a sad face then changed his facade to his original not happy nor cold neutral face. “But there must be kids that have fewer stats than me!” “Yeah there are but you are still pathetic for your age.” I let a grunt but dejectedly slumped down as I got up to yell at the man. “Anyway, let’s move onto what all these stats mean. Strength is how much you can lift and how hard you can punch, intelligence is your processing speed and your small-term and long term memory, Stamina relates to your stamina capacity one stamina equals ten stamina you also use stamina with abilities and actions that you would usually require them like running and punching, endurance is how much you can take before you die, pass out, receive food poisoning to sleep and toilet breaks, affinity is how you unlock spells all spells have an affinity requirement from one to infinite, luck affects everything, mana is how much mana capacity you have it’s the same as stamina and can be used for spells and thinking, and recovery is how fast you heal from wounds. That’s all about your status screen the other things on the status screen are self-explanatory. “Now to where you are being transferred too.”
I looked at him in confusion, “transfer I thought I was transferred here?” The man quizzically looked at me. “You were transferred here now you are being transferred to the Academy!” So many questions were spiraling around in my head like an endless cyclone or tornado. “What academy? Is this school why would my dream have school in it?” The man lets out a small laugh. “A dream you say hehe, this is no dream this is all real.” He takes my right arm and squeezes me. “Oww,” I said. “If this was a dream would you feel pain?” I froze up my body went stiff.
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If this wasn’t a dream, then is this like an isekai thing but I didn’t want to get teleported I’m bloody twelve for god sake. “BUT MY FAMILY WHAT ABOUT THEM,” I screamed. The man said in a nonchalant voice. “they got transported somewhere in the multiverse I don’t have the right to view their statues.” I turned into a sobbing mess I muttered things under my breath about the terrible situation this has turned into. I sat there crying on the ground for hours while the man silently observed. After hours of crying, I finally managed to get a hold of myself.
I asked through gnashing teeth. “I want to go to the academy now.” “Do you want to know what the academy is first?” I thought over it and my better judgement pulled through “yes.” I said with a dejected sigh.
The man spoke up with pride in his voice. “The academy is an institution where everyone that is 17 and younger come too, there you learn about the system, culture, customs, machines and everything else about the multiverse. You don’t learn everything only basic things you also get combat training and fight real monsters. You can attack and kill anyone in the PvP zone and if you die in there you lose everything but you come back to life if you die again in there than you receive a harsh penalty of negative one hundred exp points every time you die again that multiplies by ten. When everyone turns 18 you will all be teleported at the same time to different parts of the multiverse.” I held up a wobbling hand to stop the man. “But you said that my parents were teleported?” I say hope in my voice. But the man crushes that hope into oblivion. “Your parents have already been transported but the academy times moves much slower than the outside world so 18 years is like 0.2 seconds, so that’s how everyone will nearly be transported at the same time.”
“Oh.” Tears start pouring out of my eyes again I don’t hold back or restrain myself I just let the tears flow. “Now the last step,” the man says not caring for me at all like an ant underneath his foot. “now you unlock your first skill, ability passive or not passive.” He waved his hands like he was in a show about to tell the audience the next amazing event. “You can either spin the wheel or roll the nearly infinite sided dice.” I looked at him incredulously but realized everything that happened today has been crazy and disappointing. “dice I said.” He gave me a six-sided dice that kept changing the letters on all sides. I rolled the dice and hoped for the best.
Nothing (Spell)
You harness the power of nothing
Able to evolve (Note: all starter abilities can evolve.)
Use: 10 mana per cast able to be used once per day
0%
Effect: does nothing…
I look at the man in confusion at what I have been given. “Welp you’re going to die.” I stare at him wide-eyed. “Well you can use it you know” he gives me a shit-eating grin and a mask of pure innocence. I try to use (I’ve got nothing better to do) but nothing happens. “You need to think about it to use it.” He lets at a small laugh. Asshole I think damn the system to oblivion I just want my parents back! I think hard about the spell and… nothing happens. I let out a sigh looking over the system message
You used a spell: Nothing
“Well, I think I’m ready to head over to the academy.” “Well okay bye.” Then I was gone.
The infinite fall welcomed me with open arms yet again. When I appeared at the Academy I was greeted by white walls and a room that the door keeps stretching out and back again. “Hello?” I say expecting a reply from out of the ever-moving door. A lady wanders in “come with me.” Rude I think in my mind she could have said hello or please follow me, I look downwards my parents are gone… As the lady opened the door I saw kids and ladies with red vests walking this way and that not caring about the pleads of the children and teens behind demanding to know this was all a joke not an abduction or mass kidnapping.
I went wide-eyed when a lady turned around and slapped their child, the slap doesn’t resound around the room as the noise from all the bickering angry kids block the sound. My lady grabbed my arm and said, “quickly now.” I hurry along not wanting to slow down and let that happens to me next. I can’t see very far because of the insane amount of kids piling in and around the room to my knowledge there are 2 billion kids in the world. How could they fit this many kids into a single place? My lady holds onto my hand and drags me around my hand starts hurting because of the death grip she is holding onto me with. I bash into kids as I pass but I manage to keep my footing and didn’t trip.
My lady stops and looks back to me, her face is shrouded by a cloth. (Like the rest of her.) “Sit” how she said it would make a king kneel before her, I sat down like the rest of the kids. A voice appeared out of nowhere but resounded around the room as if 1000 people were chanting in an opera. “Hello children,” screams rang out through the hall some higher-pitched than the others (mostly boys.) Some of the older looking kids demanded to see their boss or hushed voices, some blank-faced, and others calm as a sea with no wind.
I screamed too at the sudden thunderous roar that came out. I just couldn’t take it everything was so weird and happening too fast, “stop this useless crying and screaming ill explain everything.” Noone stopped, then my body disobeyed me not listening to me, I was in a standstill. It felt weird I could still feel and breathe but my body was frozen like everyone else’s, the entire hall was silent a pin could drop, and we would all hear it as the saying goes. “Now your all well behaved we can tell you why you are here and what we will do with you.” The godish voice said in an ominous tone, I tried to look around, but my body was still frozen. “This is all probably new to you except the two people who got the time travel ability, lucky bastards.” A slight chuckle came out, I was frozen at this realization, ‘time travel?’ I thought (my mind still worked,) how unfair of a skill would time travel be? As you can just die and come back or is the time travel which you can choose to go back to a certain point in time? I didn’t have the answers or the power to voice them. “I’ll show you two people who are way above all the rest of you soon to be deceased pieces of crap.” It spat, de- deceased!? No, no no no, I didn’t want to die I was going to have a panic attack, but I couldn’t do anything with my body as I was frozen. “These people if you haven’t guessed are the two time travellers, they go back to when they were born but retain all memories and their statuses say they have done this process 2941 times already. they both get transported back when all the time travellers die so they start at the same footing.” One person was lifted off the ground but was miles away, and I could just see but I couldn’t even spot a hint of the second one.
“I’m not even going into any of your other abilities, there are 601 of them and I don’t have the time.” It replied, “so all of you have been transported to the academy, a place to learn about the wonders of the multiverse and get a jump on the poor adults who will mostly get killed or live a terrible life, but you will all learn how to survive on your own but you will be put through a time which you will learn or do nothing!” I had a mental collapse again and again terrible things keep on happening and now I know that my parents and older sister may die… Well, I just burst I couldn’t do anything, but my head kept having panic attacks after panic attacks.
Through extensive mental pain and endurance of no effects occurring on your body, you gain +1 endurance
‘Even the system is mocking me I’ thought. “Now onto the second last thing, you will all be put through 3 tests.” “Test 1 will be about endurance” “Test 2 will be about intelligence and test 3 will be about strength and teamwork,” It said. He didn’t tell us what the tests will be about I mentally screamed. “Well good luck.” It said and the third time today I was whisked away with very little information on where I’m going.
I found myself in a large spacious mall where hundreds of people were piling in and out. The mall had various shops selling candy to alcohol and various restaurants. My parents stood by me and my sisters were looking at the newly opened mall probing my parents to buy this and that. “Hey, guys where do you want to go for lunch?” My dad asked. “Choppers” “no Burger Town” “CHOPPERS!” My sisters continued carrying on “anything will do.” I said. “Ok” my dad grabbed a coin flipped it and it landed on tails, Charlie groaned whereas Isabelle clapped for joy as we were going to Choppers.
As we arrived there a friendly receptionist waved to us and plopped us in our seats. As I looked around there were brightly coloured walls where some paintings depicting lush forests and vibrant oceans. I looked down at the menu thinking about what I should pick. There was a large range of burrito options to choose from. Its been about a week since we last ate out, but it’s the third day the new mall was opened and our first time coming. I finished scanning the menu and asked my mum and dad to order me a burrito with cheese and ham and a lemonade. I sat there and wiggled my thumb from side to side, as I patiently waited for my lunch. My sisters also ordered their meals, but I didn’t pay any attention to what they ordered. Another ten minutes and my meal came out we ate in silence except for the chatter of the others at the restaurant. After we all finished up our meals we went into a clothes store. As we looked around, I saw the teens section and waddled over towards it as I entered the area, I looked around trying to see anything I wanted. I found nothing suitable for my tastes and waited on the side as my parents and sisters wandered around scouting for things to wear. Our shopping spree continued, and we continued looking at the new mall with interest.
As our trip came to end, we grabbed all our supplies and headed for the exit, as I stepped out everything disappeared, and then memories flowed into me. Then that infernal voice appeared again. “You have failed this test and have been granted the rank F, as you have failed you have been granted nothing.” As the voice said this, I bellowed out questions as tears fell down my face at being pulled out of that comfortable space and being dragged back here. The voice spoke again “You were within the 89 million that have failed this test.” The voice showed no remorse as I huddled up into a ball as I’ve done countless times before when I was sad, or something wrong happened. “Do you wish to see the top 3?” the voice asked, I looked up as I presumed he was up there and nodded my head slowly anything to keep my mind of this situation, even if it's part of this situation. Words flashed before me as I peered at the words, I saw the first two were the time travellers, as it says their ability but not their name or anything else about them called enhanced illusion resistance.
As I lay there wondering how great and terribly a time travel ability would be, I forgot to check where I was the room was completely white all the other rooms I’ve seen thus far have also been white, well all but that massive area where I couldn’t move that was grey. As I thought about all these weird phenomenon’s and having no idea how to solve it, I realized this entire experience has been out of a game but I’m one of the millions of other side characters. As I was in thought the voice spoke again “time for your second test,” and I was whisked away again I’m starting to see a trend.
I appeared in a white room… As I picked myself up I saw a table a few metres away, I approached the table then I saw I saw a pencil and paper on its surface on the paper were questions with a dash pointing to the answers. There was a variety of different questions about the earth and how our world is set up and dates and activities of different things that have occurred and happened. I had no idea about most of the questions and guessed quite a few, as it came down to the last few pages there were questions about other activities in the multiverse that I had no idea how to answer so I probably scored none of them correct. As I wrote my final answer the table vanished, and I was replaced with a metal cube. A timer appeared overhead with numbers that said 30 then 29:59 then so on, I realized quickly that was the time I had to solve the cube. I twisted, turned, and smashed but none of my futile attempts did anything to impact the cube. I lay there with the cube in my hands still twisting and waiting for something to occur, but the timer reached its end and the final 0 rolled over to a close. The cube vanished then a chess board appeared in my view I let out a small gasp not expecting it to appear so close. I stared peculiarly at the chessboard I’ve played chess before with my dad and friends, but I’ve never been good at the game. I moved over to the white side and moved my rook to the right side of the king left then as I expected black side moved but instead, he moved his pawn. Then I had an idea for my turn I hit the opponents king of the board down to the white floor. The game vanished and this time there was a knife on the floor with 3 pictures of people one young one old and one adult. The young one was a girl with a pink dress and leather pants, the adult was a man in a business suit with glasses and the old was a woman who was lying in bed with just her face showing. The strangest part was their faces and any parts of their body were black or clothed. I had to think about a while until I realized the knife wasn’t a decoration, I stared in horror at what I needed to do. I thought what if these are real people and if I stab one of the photos, I kill the person in real life?! I grabbed the knife and chucked the diabolic thing. I didn’t want to test it, so I laid there on the ground not wanting to think about murder or any other atrocity. I managed to fall asleep in the white room as sleep took hold.
As I woke up, I was still in the white room alone and an option to kill, well kill photos that could kill real people. I found a thirst and a mild hunger then the voice appeared in my head, “they really are just photos.” Then the voice was gone, as I heard this I got up and slowly made my way over to the knife I bet down and picked it up I walked over to the photos and stabbed the old lady’s photo. I chose her as she had less life in her than the others and has probably experienced more too. The pictures and the knife disappeared, and the voice spoke again “This has ended test two you have achieved a D, you have been awarded 2 stat points.” I didn’t know what stat points were, but I heard them from the person who teleported me here. “Now onto your last test.” “The violence test.”