Adam sat at his desk in homeroom. He slouched over the top of the desk with his arms extended, chin resting between them. For not the first time he sighed.

It wasn’t that Adam was lazy, he just didn’t see the point in most things. Everyone mistook his calm and apathy as disinterest. Sure, he didn’t care much about his grades, he was a solid B and C student. Nor did he care about school sports, sticking to playing backyard ball with friends. According to his best friend Nick, who was in the advanced classes and a leader on the soccer and basketball teams, Adam was the least competitive person he had met. He treated everyone the same, with calm and standoffish friendliness.

Adam was just spending his homeroom clicking around with his phone. Suddenly he gasped and sat up, staring intently. A screen had just popped up in his view.

“Could this even be possible?” He asked in wonder. “Is what I’m seeing reality?”

Basketball highlights were playing on his phone as he waited for the school day to start. An incredible move took place, as a point guard drove down the court, spun past three defenders and teased the ball into the basket with a tricky layup. Absolutely superhuman! How is it possible for people to be this strong and agile?

Even while watching the sports highlights, Adam was occasionally asked a question by his classmates, and he would respond politely but with the least amount of effort. None of it really mattered to Adam, even if they had known each other for years. In a year all these classmates would be out of his life, going to college, and he would have to figure out what to do with his own life. Listening to what felt like boring lectures with boring tests at school just didn’t allow him to decide what to do after high school.

With a father that was middle management in a large company and a mother that worked and got involved with every cause under the sun, they were always pressuring Adam to be more. To do more. To experience and push himself. He met it all with calm apathy, and a lack of ambition, which just caused the pressure to increase. Even his younger sister got better grades and involved herself in clubs. But none of that mattered right now to Adam, because sports highlights were at least interesting. He enjoyed seeing other people succeed in ways he never would or could, even if he tried.

Homeroom continued on like every day. Every few minutes Adam would check the time to make sure his phone was put away before the bell rang. When it was finally time, he slipped the phone into his desk and turned his head to look outside.

The regular view greeted him, three school buildings surrounded by a gate. A large parking area was in between them. Finally, there was an alleyway with five bullies picking on Brandon, his classmate.

A sigh escaped Adam at that. Every day. Every day those guys picked on Brandon, trying to get money out of him, making him do embarrassing thing, or just trying to make him late and stressed. Adam sometimes wondered if he should get involved, but they never physically attacked him, that he saw, and everyone knew it was going on.

Brandon was a short guy, younger looking than his actual age. He wore baggy clothes that could have been bought in a consignment show from the 70s. His black hair was always on the edge of disheveled, as if it had been cut and combed by himself in a dimly lit bathroom.

He was one of those kids that never did anything wrong, but he still annoyed everyone. He was meek to the point of offensiveness, mumbling but aggressively needy, never talked to people about what they cared about, and tried to push himself into every group as their friend. Most people humored him and tried to just get him to go somewhere else, while the five bullies outside actively caused him trouble.

The five bullies were led by a guy who should have starred on the football team, Lucas, but he was always causing trouble and missed as many games as he played in. He looked like he was from the pacific islands, taller than anyone else in school and more muscular than a teenager should be without steroids. Adam was sure he had been held back a grade at least twice.

Three of the rest, Tom, Joseph, and Randall, were just delinquents that followed around Lucas, knowing just how much they could get away with before teachers got involved. Of the three, Randall was the tallest, gangly but had some muscle from doing physical work. He hadn’t grown into his body yet.

Joseph was on the shorter size, skinny and slouched, looking like the majority of his exercise came from whipping eggs at houses or taking baseball bats to mailboxes when no one was looking. He had a perpetual scowl and never looked like he was paying attention, with face length scraggly hair often covering his eyes.

Tom tended to dress preppy, looking out of place with the other two. His hair was short and styled like a lawyer, his face clean and expressive. His blue eyes always held some mirth or mischief in them while he regularly smiled as if he was having the best time.

The final one, Elias, was actually smart and good looking, frequently seen reading books. His hair and clothes were neat, though not always up to date. Circular glasses had a tint to him, as if they were keeping out the world. He rarely spoke or took part in the bullying but was always there with the others. When he did speak there was always vitriol in his words. Adam didn’t get him at all.

Briiiiiiiiiing. The homeroom bell went off. Adam saw Brandon disengage from the others and rush towards the classroom building scared, as if this was any different than any other day. The teacher, Mr. Stern, entered the room and waited while students took their seats or arrived from where they had been hanging out before.

Adam went to sit up from his slouch on the desk. However, it was at this point that the day veered off from every other day and took Adam by surprise. Something flickered in his vision but didn’t appear all the way. He couldn’t make out what it was as it wavered like a heat induced mirage. At the same time the edges of his vision grew white and foggy, and a pain began to build in his chest and head.

The pain was a hot burning, not sharp. Fear started to grip Adam, but he could barely focus on anything as the pain became hotter and hotter. The heat built up, spreading through his heart, chest, and limbs. A brief thought about whether he was having a heart attack flowed through his head, and he didn’t even feel himself fall off his chair and desk, landing heavily on the floor.

His vision, thoughts, even his heart were all consumed by heat. It increased and pounded, radiating out as if it was trying to set his very essence on fire. His conscious thoughts ran away from him and into the heat, as if he was just a mindless conduit of burning. Time held no meaning as Adam forgot even who or where he was. The intense heat becoming all that existed.

Images flickered through the haze and heat only to vanish, long forgotten. Stopped moments in time that felt like memories lived in the past, foreseen from the future, lost to the now. A shield was held before him to hold back attacks that were paused in their movements, spreading to surround the people behind him from a barrage of colors, lights, and sounds. There was no shield, just his hand held forward while he fired bolts, arrows, and beams of all colors; blues, greens, reds, and whites.

Daggers were thrust from the darkness where no one could see them coming. Swords were swung with the force of hurricanes. His fist was able to punch through a person, a tree, a building, a mountain. Power raged out of him able to cut down, incinerate, and freeze the world around him.

The warm corpses of his family were held close to his chest, sorrow engulfing him, right after they died. His family’s bodies were found long since gone cold across the road, in their house, on top of buildings. In front of him, then behind, then to the sides were enemies, allies, the dead, the hopeful. He was powerful, weak, stabbed, cut, burned, running, hiding, fighting back, reading, standing in a rain of blood, killing, and killing, and killing in every way possible.

These images flashed and vanished. Remembered lessons were learned, settled into his very being over severe experiences, and then never happened. Something tried to overlay on top of him, to impart knowledge, to replace him, or merge with him, but all crumbled upon touching him. Adam’s mind was so scrambled he couldn’t feel whether it stayed with him or left. He couldn’t reflect on them for his thoughts wouldn’t even touch what he was experiencing.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Then a cooling came. It started in the front of his head. It pushed back the heat, gently calming it and letting it flow from his head into his heart. The center of Adam’s vision began to clear, spreading to the outsides, removing the haze and fog. His head started to hold on to its own thoughts as the coolness stretched through his brain and escorted the heat towards his heart until that was where it all gathered. His heart rate sped up, heating his blood and forcing it through the rest of his body. The coolness stayed in his head, as if guarding his brain from the heat that burned away even his thoughts. Adam had no idea what happened or what sickness could have caused this. It didn’t sound like any heart attack he had heard of.

However, Adam quickly became aware of something else, the silence. His classroom was dead silent. He was sure that when he fell there were some screams and gasps, but now everyone was staring in front of them, not even turned towards him. Every single person was staring silently into the air. There wasn’t even any noise in the hallway or from the other classrooms.

Adam went to scramble to his feet, unsure of what happened. He only got to his hands and knees before a different kind of vision popped into his eyes.

Greetings people of Earth!

Your planet will soon be under attack from numerous invaders. To help reduce the loss of life and aid your chance of survival, the [System] has been activated to bring you the strength to fight back. You will be able to learn Skills and Classes to make you stronger and more capable. You will begin with basic Classes and can evolve them into stronger ones. For the next ten days you may change your starter Class, however after that time it will be locked in and you will need to advance it to evolve into stronger Classes.

The [System] will do everything it can for you and hopes for your success!

While Adam was still reading the message, the murmuring started from his classmates. People were speaking in hushed voices to their friends. Then the quiet was smashed when someone shouted, “I’m a MAGE! We can level up!” All hell broke loose as everyone exclaimed in excitement and groups of friends formed to discuss what was happening.

Adam looked around at the chaos, noticed the teacher slip out of the room with a shocked look on his face, and then he sat back in his chair. When Adam had swiped the message out of his view another had appeared.

Welcome to the [System]! You will now be given the ability to choose a starter class. New skills will be given to you as you gain experience in your class and level up. The more you grow your class the stronger you will become.

Good luck and may you survive!

That message seemed a bit basic and lacked details, not to mention cryptic. Adam wanted to see these starter classes so he could decide which to choose. He once more swiped the message away.

You are now ready to choose a class. Please read the descriptions below and choose the class that fits you best. Different classes might lead to similar roles, but their attribute focus will remain different.

[Warrior]

All strength-based classes begin with this class. Those who want to hit harder or damage with more hits than the other guy are recommended this class.

[Scout]

All agility-based classes begin with this class. Those who want to move faster, dodge easier, or use movement-oriented skills are recommended this class.

[Protector]

All vitality-based classes begin with this class. Those who want to take hits and survive easier are recommended this class.

[Mage]

All intelligence-based classes begin with this class. Those who want to use attack magic or other knowledge-based skills are recommended this class.

[Support]

All wisdom-based classes begin with this class. Those who want to use magic, healing, or items to empower those around them are recommended this class.

“Well that certainly is basic,” Adam muttered to himself. It lacked description and direction, but Adam still felt the excitement building in him just like everyone else around him. It didn’t help that his insides felt amplified with the heat still pounding through his body. His classmates were a little ahead of him and were fist bumping each other and discussing how they were going to level up. Adam knew exactly which class he would take. Taking hits seemed the best way to survive to him. He reached forward, put his finger where he saw the [Protector] class and pressed through it, causing the message to be replaced.

[Protector] class selected. Please wait while it is assimilated…

After a minute Adam looked around awkwardly. No one else seemed like they were stuck on a loading screen. After another minute with the same message Adam tried to press it or swipe it but it wouldn’t change. Worry crept into Adam. His forehead furrowed as time passed and a frown formed on him. He looked around and saw that students from other classes had come in and some from his classroom had left. It seemed like this was a time spent with friends and that school no longer mattered. Every single student was excited about the system, while Adam’s screen was stuck.

[Protector] class will not fit into user’s soul.

Checking… Soul space at capacity.

Error… Soul Corruption found.

[System] use unavailable.

No solutions found. Apologies, Adam Clemens.

Even with all the noise around him, Adam could hear nothing. Shock settled on him as he sat motionless. An aura of disappointment and grief surrounded him. Fellow classmates would look over at him and they knew that something was wrong, but no one felt comfortable to approach him. At least until his best friend Nick came rushing in the room.

“Adam! What did you take? I took Scout! Got a skill called [Light Steps]. We get to level and fight aliens! This is so exciting. Obviously I’ll go with a hunter or stealth build as I level…” Nick rambled on, not waiting for any answers, his words too quick to take back before he noticed the mood surrounding Adam. When Adam blankly turned and looked at him, eyes empty and expression painful, Nick finally stopped talking. The silence hung between them until Nick cautiously asked, “What’s wrong?”

“I have no class. It said my soul is corrupt or something. Then told me there was nothing it could do. I don’t even get it!”

“That’s not fair,” Nick exclaimed, the excitement leaving his voice.

The words echoed around Adam. He took a large breath and then felt the heat he had been ignoring pulse in his heart, carrying with it more anger than Adam had felt before. Suddenly he felt anger and hate towards the system, towards the invaders, and towards the other students who got something he didn’t. The heat pulsed again and Adam could swear it pushed towards his head. The coolness that had been there was burned by the heat and receded, hiding from the burn. Adam felt his brain heating up. He was breathing deeper and more rapidly. Blood pounded in his ears and his eyes became hazy… until a hand landed on his shoulder and a voice called him back.

“Adam!” Nick was trying to get his attention. “Don’t mope. I said, did you check your status. Maybe that will show something on it.”

As Adam focused on his friend, the hot pulsing receded once more. Adam looked up at Nick hopefully. “What status?”

“If you say or think ‘status’ really hard then you can see your class and stats. Mine says that I have a strength of 4, agility of 8, vitality of 7, intelligence of 8, and wisdom of 5. Maybe you will have some too.”

In response, Adam said “Status” out loud, and a new screen appeared before him.

Name: █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █

Age: ██

Race: Human

Class: █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █

Strength: N/A

Agility: N/A

Vitality: N/A

Intelligence: N/A

Wisdom: N/A

Core Skills:

█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █

█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █

█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █

Skills:

█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █

█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █

█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █

…

“That’s…weird…” Adam slowly mumbled.

“What is?”

“A status screen came up, but the class and skills are all blacked out, as if they were redacted in a spy movie. Even my name is. The stats are all listed as not available, and there are a lot of blacked rows under Core Skills and Skills. The [System] said there were no solutions.” Adam’s frustration was rising. Another hot pulse rode from his heart to his head, and anger rode along with it.

“Well,” Nick started helplessly. “Maybe you will get something later. I don’t know. Can you see the tags over everyone’s head?”

Adam looked up and for the first time noticed that everyone had words floating over their head. Nick’s read “Scout [0]”. Everyone else also had their class and what he presumed to be their level listed where people could see. Adam couldn’t see that as anything but a terrible idea. What if the invaders could see that too? They’d know exactly who to attack first. Another frown flicked onto Adam’s face.

“I guess you can see them,” Nick continued. “The weird thing is that you don’t have one. Everyone else does.” A big sigh came out of Nick. “Listen, I don’t want to just dump you here in this state but I want to check with a few other people. I’ll check more classrooms and see if anyone else is tagless like you.”

Another hot pulse went through Adam. Another wave of anger, this time towards Nick. Adam had to try to calm himself, tell himself that Nick wasn’t abandoning him, that it will take a few more days before everything settles and Adam would know more by then. He felt like it was akin to when an athlete is injured, and the rest of the team finds reasons to be away from him. Adam knew it wasn’t Nick’s fault, or reasonable to be angry at him, but he felt it anyway.

Since Adam hadn’t said anything, Nick put another hand on his shoulder before he turned and slipped out of the classroom.

Adam tried to stay calm and get his emotions under control, but it felt like a failure. The hot pulses continued and an uncharacteristic anger flowed through him drowning out his surroundings. He barely heard or registered when the rest of the day proceeded with announcements that everyone was to go straight home, that classes were cancelled tomorrow, and for everyone to stay calm while the authorities figured everything out. There was no chance of people paying attention to teachers or lessons as students were too busy trying to figure out who to group with and how to earn XP. Not a single person spoke with or approached Adam as the school day ended and he walked home in isolation.