“Hey you!” Someone pops up. “Do you think I'll just let you talk about my girlfriend?”
It's Brett, the bully in David's homeroom. He has two other people next to him. David recognizes them. They also bully him from time to time. David knows things are about to get complicated.
David casually said, “If you don't want people to talk about your girlfriend's breath, then you shouldn't let her eat decaying animals on the side of the road. Tell her to eat more people food.”
The cafeteria right now is quiet. No one would dare make fun of them. They are the top bullies in the school. Even the seniors stay clear of them. They have no qualms about breaking every bone in your body. "You've done it now." one of Brett's henchman laughs out.
“Kick his ass baby!” Brett's girlfriend yells out.
They start to surround him. David is still leisurely reading like he's not about to get into a brawl.
Brett swipes David's book away and throws it in the garbage. David gets up leisurely, stretches, and shrugs. He then says, “Now that was uncalled for. Just because you don't know how to read doesn't mean you should take it out on books."
One of Brett's henchmen, having enough of David yells, "I'm gonna shut that smart mouth of yours!" and starts rushing towards him. David's look then changes into one of a person that's about to squash a bug.
Henchman #1 throws a punch at David. David blocks with his forearm. He throws more punches at him, but David is dodging swatting the blows away like they are annoying flies. David gets bored of him and elbows him in the face. He had just preformed a muay thai move. Henchman #1 lands against the wall and holds his face. He is bleeding profusely.
David looks at him. 'Looks like he's out.'
The other henchman comes out. “Looks like you know some muay thai. Let me show you why everyone here fears us.” Henchmen #2 gets into a boxing stance. The guy practices boxing and is fairly good at it. He does his bob and weave and starts trying to pressure David. David then immediately changes his stance and does low kicks on his leg. Every time he tries to pressure David, he does a low kick on his legs.
The guy frustratingly says, “How many styles do you know?”
David calmly says, “I took bits and pieces from different styles that I thought suited me and made my own style.”
“Enough going easy. I'm going to finish this now.”
He tries to confuse David, then attempts to finish him with an uppercut, but David saw all his moves coming. He completely dodged all his faints, and when he moved in to uppercut David, he had dodged it while performing a spinning back kick to his chest. He flew out the door and landed outside in a puddle.
Brett finally shows up. “I'm the third strongest person in this school. Aside from Rory and Luciana, no one here can beat me!” Brett gets in a judo stance and tries to grab David. He towers over David by a good 5 inches. He then starts charging at David.
'Time for a physics lesson. What happens when the center of gravity is not above the base of support? It collapses. It's too bad. You all might have won if you all had attacked me at the same time, you fucking idiots.'
The arm that he used to try and grab David was put in a hold. He couldn't force himself out without risking injury. David then kicked his knee in so that he became unbalanced. What happened next shocked everyone. David had preformed a shoulder flip on someone much bigger than him, and made Brett land on the table. He had landed in some unfortunate person's food. “EEEEEEP!” was what David heard from the person whose lunch he just ruined.
David sighs and looks around. His work was done. He went to the garbage can, got his book out of it, then went to the bathroom to clean up. When security arrived, they saw the three in different positions on the ground and table. The guards asked around to see what was going on, and had reviewed the tapes and witnesses. It was confirmed that David was only defending himself so he didn't get suspended. The other three didn't get off so lucky.
There were discussions going on from what David did. “Who is he? Is he a new student?” “Um he sort of looks familiar. Anyway that was awesome!” “He fought the three of them by himself!”
At a certain table, there existed what was called the popular clique. They didn't purposely try to become the popular clique. It happened when Rory Pierce tried to make friends with Luciana Leavitt. She liked how Rory didn't try to suck up to her or hit on her. They recognized that they both have the same problems of people sucking up to them. Other popular kids joined in with them.
A girl made a statement about David saying, “Geez, I never understood that weird kid. He is quiet most of the time not wanting to talk to anybody, yet he randomly starts talking shit to people.”
Rory sitting at the table interjects. “No, its not random. Haven't you noticed the situations in which he starts talking shit? They all have one thing in common.”
The others are surprised. No one had really paid any attention to David, yet he had figured out a pattern with him. Another boy at the table was now curious.
“What is it?”
“All of the people he insulted were bullying someone. He made it so the people would start bullying him instead.”
The girl who had called him weird had a change of heart. “Wow. I didn't know he was so selfless. I heard from someone that he hated people.”
“He does hate people. I still don't know why he does the things that he does, but from the looks of it, the person that he hates the most is probably himself.”
Luciana nods. She had always been curious about David. Just today in homeroom, David put up with abuse from Brett without ever fighting back, yet he dispatched him so easily. He so strong, yet he never strikes first even with verbal abuse. He saves people from being bullied, yet he hates them. Why?
********************
The next day, a bully tries their luck with David at lunch. It's still raining so he once again is sitting at a table by himself. He starts talking bad about David for everyone to see. People were waiting to see David destroy him, yet he completely ignored the guy. That bully knows. He knows that David never strikes first, so he pushes his buttons short of hitting him. This happens repeatedly with different people. The people around are disappointed in David and they then go back to ignoring his existence.
On Friday, David is on his way to Chemistry when someone walks up to him. 'Oh. It's the girl that was bullied the other day. The fuck does she want?'
The girl speaks to him.“Um, excuse me.”
“What?”
“I just wanted to thank you.”
“For what? I didn't do that to help you. I did it because they were too loud.”
“But still, ever since that incident, those girls have left me alone. It's all thanks to you. I'll do everything within my power to pay you back.”
“You can pay me back right now if you want.”
She gets excited. “What is it?”
“Never talk to me again.”
The excitement didn't last long. “Huh? Bu- But why? My friends and I wanted you to be our friend! You're always alone so we wanted you to sit with us at lunch! Maybe we could even become friends!”
David looks at her face and gets a little upset. Those eyes are the eyes of pity. “Look. I'm a loner. I choose not to make friends. It's a huge difference from the lonely. Now if you want to pay me back, just forget about me and we'll be even.”
“*sigh* Well if that's the way you want me to pay back my debt then I'll do it. Sorry for bothering you.” She walks away.
David balls up his fist. Ironically, he's more upset with her pitying him than he was at the bullies that fought him.
*****************
The day is Saturday. He decides not to go to the gym today. He hasn't been going as much as he used to anyway. He's going to the store that sells New Reality, called Paradigm Shift. Paradigm Shift is the name of the collaboration of entire nations' virtual reality researchers. There are many people here getting pods so that they can play New Reality. David goes up to someone and purchases a pod for his home. It comes with delivery and installation. The installer and David go inside the truck, and it drives them to David's address. They make it to their home and once again his parents are giving him a hard time.
The mother says, “Donovan. What is this? Why are you setting this up without our permission?”
The father says, “This is what I get for having such a worthless and lazy son!”
The installer is confused. David just says ignore them and tells him to get the pod from the back. The installer puts on an exoskeleton designed to lift up up to 10x his own body weight. He grabs the pod and puts it in his room. After the installation is complete, David checks that everything is working the way its supposed to work. After the installer is done, he pays him and the guy leaves. While David was out, he had bought new locks and put them on his door. He definitely would not be disturbed. He looks at the instruction manual.
David eats, drinks, and empty his bowels. He's not going to go on any bathroom breaks. David steps into the pod. The pod automatically connects with his brain, heart, and the rest of his vitals. It monitors them to see if he's okay. If there are any complications he will immediately be ejected. He presses a switch and falls into a deep sleep.
When David opens his eyes, he ends up in a room. He looks at his hands. There's no difference. He jumps up and down, punches, and kicks. It's exactly the same as his body in real life. “The realism is amazing!” While he is admiring the system, a see through person comes walking in, and he looks like one of those stereotypical androids. He speaks to David. “Welcome to New Reality. My name is Ptah, and I am the AI that designed this game. We hope you enjoy our system that took years in the making.”
“Wait. You made this game by yourself? What about the scientists who help build you?”
“They only helped build my systems. They agreed on what type of world I should create, and from then on I was the one that took off from there. Even the scientists and engineers that helped build me know about as much in this world as the average person. Are there any more questions?”
“Is there a reason that the governments of the world decided to get together just to create a virtual reality game? This system costs quite a bit of money. You're also the most advanced AI ever created, even more advanced than the AI's that run our governments, and to create you just to make a game seems pretty suspicious.”
“That's classified.”
“Of course it is.”
“Would you like a tutorial on how to play the game?”
“Just give me a basic rundown.”
“Very well. Your health and mana will be on the top of your vision. Open your menu with the command 'Open Menu'. Open your inventory by saying 'inventory screen'. See your status by saying 'status screen'. You can call up specific options by using this pattern.”
“Sounds simple enough.”
“Also, everyone of the same race as you starts with the same stats.”
“...What do you mean by that you racist?”
Ptah gave him an astonished look. “...I mean the different races like elves, demi humans and the like.”
“Well say that the first time.”
“...What race would you like to be? You can currently choose from 23 different-”
“Human.” 'All the races share the traits that make humanity disgusting, so might as well pick the most generic race to remain unnoticed.
“Would you like to change your appearance?”
David ponders this. 'Do I want to change it? It would certainly help that people won't notice me. No, fuck them. Why do I have to change just for them?' “No.”
“What will the name of your character be?”
“Name of my character?” David thought long and hard about this. What's his dream? Not fame, fortune, or adventure. He wishes for solitude. He doesn't want to make ripples. He doesn't want attention. He wants everything he touches to remain as it was like he wasn't even there. Something that doesn't have any value in this world.
“Null. I want my name to be Null.”
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“Very good. There will be others that have the same name, but to differentiate, everyone has different ID numbers associated with their avatar. To locate your ID number just say 'Get ID'. In this way you can make frien-”
“Hell no. I will not get any friends. Not now. Not ever.”
“Okay. Everyone has the-”
“Ever.”
“...Where would you like to start? Your starting position is limited to the north western region of the world.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Classified.”
“Okay now that sounds fucking ominous. Not only did the governments of the world create this, but it sounds like we're also limited based on where we stay in real life. If I didn't know any better, I would think the governments are using New Reality as some sort of proxy war. Well, I don't care about that as long as you guys leave me alone.”
“...Where would you like to start?”
Null picks a town called Holdendale. It's located in Penzance Kingdom, which itself is part of the Goldcrest Empire. The town has a population of around 20000. It's not too big where it would be swamped with people like the major cities that number in the millions, and it's not too small where he won't be able to get a good class. He really had to fight his instincts not to go to the smallest towns, because he knows that's counterproductive.
Ptah then says, “That ends the brief tutorial. Have a fun adventure.”
A message appears in front of Null.
Would you like to start New Reality?
Null says yes and starts to disappear. When Null leaves, Ptah then frowns and says, “Nosy prick.”
Null starts to disintegrate and materializes in Holdendale. He looks around and notices something feels, wrong. 'Oh my god, why do I feel so weak and stupid? I feel even worse than when I used to be obese!' He looks around. 'So I guess I'll look around? Get stronger? Why do I feel so weak? Why do I feel, dumberer? Wait...' “Status Screen!”
Status WindowNameNullFame0Level1Infamy0RaceHumanSatiety100%GenderMaleEndurance10/10Main ClassNoneSub ClassesNoneTitlesNoneHealth100/100Health Regen0.028 /
secMana100/100Mana Regen0.028 / secStrength10Dexterity10Vitality10Charisma5Intelligence10Wisdom10Luck5Attack5Defense0Magic DefenseNone
'Well that explains it. Guess this is why I'm so weak. Well I guess I'll take a look around town.' Null looks in his inventory while walking. There was a rusted dagger, a water sack, 10 bread rolls, a small inventory sack, and ten copper coins. He checked the inscriptions on each of his items.
Water SackCan hold up to 5 gallons water in a separate dimension at a much higher volume than it appears.
'Neat.'
Bread RollsEat food to recover satiety and recover stamina faster.
'Also neat.'
Small inventory bag.Able to hold things in a separate dimension, but still adds weight.
To retrieve items, just open the inventory menu to pull it out.
'Good. I don't have to hold anything. And 10 copper coins? I'm rich!'
Worn Rusty DaggerCan't really cut very well, but you could probably give someone
Tetanus with it.
Attack:2-4 Durability 3/8
0% chance of actually inflicting someone with Tetanus..
'Smartass system.'
He heads towards the guards and asks them if they know of a place where he can get a map. He goes to a map making guild. Maps for the town you start in are free. Maps in New Reality are pretty neat. When you put the map in its inventory, it pops up at the bottom left corner of your vision if you are currently at a place the map shows. He marks the areas that he thinks will be important to him later on. He marks the basic training hall, library, several restaurants, job boards, and the water fountains. He feels he's all set. 'Now I just need to get a class then get out of town. Time flows 5x faster than real life, so I'll have plenty of time to get away from everyone. I'll spend the rest of my time in this game in isolation and finally achieve my dream of solitude. I would prefer to be a monk, since I already know hand to hand combat, or maybe a swordsman. If not those I'll be an assassin so that I can become invisible to everyone. As soon as I get my class I am leaving to never see another human face. Yeah, things are looking up.'
Someone was eyeing Null and following him in the shadows. He had found Null while he was talking to a guard. After stalking him for a while, he gathered two other people.
“Heheheh, those are noob clothes.”
“Why did he wait so long to play? Oh well, that's not important. The only thing that matters is that this is a good opportunity isn't it?”
“He has terrible luck to start in the town controlled by the Red Serpent Guild. It's time we repay him back for the humiliation he showed us.”
The three mysterious people, who I am pretty sure you've already figured out, went to the guild to contact someone.
********************************
“So Brett, you say that the person who has been bullying you and your friends in school just started the game?”
“Yes. We were minding our own business, then he just attacked us out of nowhere. Says we were sitting at his favorite spot. The worst part is that he threatened the security guard who watched the fight, so he didn't get suspended like us.”
“Yeah boss, our wounds from that day still haven't healed.”
The boss starts to get mad. He remembered his little brother, Brett, coming home with bruises.
“As guild leader of Red Serpent, I will NOT allow this act to go unpunished. To go after my little brother and my subordinates... I will make this game a very difficult place for him.”
Everyone in the room gives an evil smirk.
The guild leader yells out, “Get a notice out to everyone. That guy doesn't leave this town until his debt gets paid back with interest.”
“Heheheh. Even if he could leave town, where would he go? The closest town is a week and a half walk away, and filled with monsters and bandits no level 1 person could fight. Besides, beginners can't leave the town until 4 weeks have past.”
“I know, but I still want all my bases covered. We will make it so he doesn't have the slightest hope.”
**************************************
Null is walking and ponders his next move. 'Hmmm... maybe I should head straight to the warriors guild. I'll work on getting my class and then go to the library to read up on the state of this world. I'll then go to the basic training hall to boost my stats. Maybe I'll also work a little first for money as long as there is not too much human contact.'
While he's walking, four people block his path. They're all wearing the same colors. Different shades of black, gray, and red with a bright red serpent on the front. Null doesn't want any trouble, so he tries to go around them only to be stopped by someone's sword.
Null is clearly agitated. He says, “Can I help you?” He then gets a good look at them. They are the people he fought in school along with one other person.
'Shit. Of course. I should've known. My luck has never been that good.'
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author's note:
Hello all, and thanks for looking at my story. First, I have to say I am not nor will ever be a pro writer, no matter how popular or unpopular this story gets, so if you see any mistakes, please tell me. Also, the numbers for stats may change along the way, so if you see its different, you are not crazy. Probably.
PS Fuck harems.
PPS, FUCK HAREMS!