When that awful bully was finally gone from the room, all the students seemed to exhale the collective breath they had been holding. The tension in the room immediately dissipated.
Schmendrick slouched over his desk and turned his head toward his companion. "I'm feeling sleepy. Wake me up when that prick comes back," he requested.
Malkus patted him on the back. "You got it. I'll go mingle and see if there's anyone else worth joining our group."
"Good idea, Malkus," Schmendrick replied and closed his eyes.
#
He was walking home from school when he came across a shell game on the street. Some fast-talking dude had set up a piece of cardboard over two empty milk crates stacked on the side. He watched intently as the street hustler shuffled three peanut half-shells quickly.
A passerby took a Grant from his wallet. He picked up the left shell and it was empty. The guy offered a string of cuss words as he dropped the fifty-dollar bill on the cardboard. The money was quickly scooped up by the hustler.
The observer quickly turned around. He walked down the block and entered the corner deli store he had passed by. He paid a buck for a small bag of peanuts and opened it while standing in front of the store counter. He cracked open a peanut and took out the two peanuts. While holding the nuts firmly in his fingers, he put the bag of peanuts inside his book bag. Then he left the store.
The shell game had started to attract a crowd. He observed the game from directly across the street. People were playing the game but losing more often than they won. Finally, he decided it was time to join the game. He took out a Hamilton from his back pant pocket and put the bill in his shirt pocket. He then palmed a peanut between his ring and pinky fingers inside each hand. He closed his hands as he crossed the street and approached the table.
There was a group of kids watching and he stood behind a shorter kid. He observed the game for a few more minutes and then joined in when the shuffling stopped.
The hustler said, "Put your bet on the table first."
He complied and dropped the ten-dollar bill. He then chose the peanut shell on the right, knowing that it was empty. As he slowly picked up the shell, he released the peanut was he palming between his two fingers.
The crowd saw the peanut on the table. They started clapping and cheering. Someone said, "Pay up!" Others quickly joined the chant, "Pay up! Pay up! Pay up!"
The hustler stared in shock at the peanut on the cardboard. There was no way the peanut should have been there. How could he have lost track? Finally, he noticed what the crowd was saying. He reached into his pocket and dropped the ten. However, before the bet was taken off the cardboard, the hustler said, "I'll double it on the next game." He dropped a Benjamin on the table and shuffled the peanut shells again. This time he shuffled longer than usual and then stopped.
The left shell was picked and again the peanut appeared on the table.
The hustler knew something was wrong and immediately picked up the other shells. All three had peanuts! "You cheated, little runt!" he yelled.
The boy grabbed the bills on the table and ran.
#
Schmendrick awoke with a hint of a smile on his face.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
"The class is starting again," Malkus said while patting his arm.
Schmendrick wondered if the dream was a memory of his forgotten past. He pushed it aside when the instructor appeared on the stage again.
The instructor looked around the classroom. He was glad that everyone was attentive to him now. "Okay, the last lesson we learned a bit about the geography of the Sanctum. This next lesson will entirely focus on you." He started pointing fingers at the students. And then he tapped his skull. "Mentally think of the word, 'Menu.'" He posted another hologram. "You should see a screen like this in front of your face."
The instructor waited until every student had a screen in front of him and then continued. "For some fucking reason I can't understand, this world treats us as if we're playing a game. And the screen in front of you is proof of that."
Schmendrick looked at his player screen and it read:
Name: Schmendrick
Physical: 100
Mental: 100
Vitality: 100
Aether: 100
Level: 1
Experience: 0/1,000
Class:
Skills:
Power:
"Each player starts at 100 points in Physical, Mental, Vitality, and Aether. Here's a quick rundown of each attribute. Physical represents your physical self--your strength, your stamina, your hardiness, your agility, etc. Mental represents your intelligence, your knowledge, your wisdom, your ability to learn, etc. Vitality is your lifespan; it represents how much damage you can absorb before dying and how quickly you can recover from damage. Aether is your ability to use magic. Before you shitheads mouth off again, yes I just said the word, 'magic.' Magic exists in this world and it is fueled by the amount of Aether that your body can generate. We'll talk about magic another time."
"You may be stronger or weaker than the kid sitting next to you. That's not what the 100 points in Physical measures. It's not an absolute measurement of your personal strength against that of another person. Instead, think of the 100 points as a percentage of your natural abilities. It's a baseline. When you earn enough experience to reach the next level, you will receive 20 points to split among those attributes. Let's say you put those 20 points in Physical and your new total is 120 points. That means you are now 20% stronger than you were before. This may be enough for you to surpass someone who was originally stronger than you. Or it may not, depending on the original strength that you possess relative to the other person."
"When you reach Level 5, you will be permitted to visit the Testing Center. At this location, you will be granted your Class and its accompanying Skills. If you're fortunate, you will also receive a Power. Those who receive a Power will move into the upper crust of our society. They will receive a game title called, 'The Gifted.' Those who don't receive a Power will continue to work toward reaching Level 10. At that time, you will be granted a second opportunity to visit the Testing Center. If you don't receive a Power at this time, you will be considered a Powerless and asked to live in the outer sectors of the city, in the Recovered Land."
Schmendrick barely paid attention to the lecture. He was busy staring at the profile shot of his head; the picture was on the player screen, to the left of the stats. It was as if he was seeing himself for the first time: Black hair, smooth white skin, an average looking nose bordering two light blue colored eyes. He looked YOUNG, perhaps late-teens or early twenties. He couldn't tell because his buried memories included his age and birthday. He could only hope that more memories of his past life will return when he sleeps.
"Now you dipshits are probably wondering how you will get experience," the instructor continued. "After all, you got nothing but the uniform that you're wearing and a tiny dagger that you don't know how to use. Fortunately, the forefathers who built this city want to provide you with every opportunity to succeed--and survive. The Noob Academy will provide you with training, food, and shelter until you reach Level 5. At that point, you will graduate from the academy and, based on your Class, be assigned your proper role in our society. The Gifted will be gathered and provided a different path to walk." He paused for a moment to let his words sink in.
"However, you shouldn't be in a rush to break through Level 5 because your room and board will be discontinued upon graduation. At that time, you will need to make your own arrangements. But rest assured that the system will help you make this transition."
"Now, until you graduate from the Noob Academy, you're stuck with me. In addition to being your instructor, I will be your trainer and your quest giver. If you want to be a smartass and disobey me, that's fine. You'll land on my shit-list and get the shittiest quests I can offer. Believe me, there are assignments within the system that literally involve shit. So don't press your luck and piss me off," he warned.
Malkus whistled softly.
"Okay, you sat on your candy asses long enough. I want you to line up, in single file, in front of me. We're going to the gym," he announced.