CHAPTER 6: Change Your Class

Adam was so bored. He tried checking his phone for sport highlights, but all sporting events had been canceled due to the [System]. He was sitting in class, but that was even more boring than usual. They were clearly only here to keep the students watched. The teacher was barely going through the motions as people chatted and talked about their status and the [System]. It was still big news, and no one knew how to handle it, however nothing had been reported by the authorities.

Class after class had gone past and Adam just played lame games on his phone or stretched out on his desk. Whenever he would look up, he found people staring at him. A quick glare from him to let them know he saw them, and then they’d jump and look away, as if realizing they just woke from a nightmare, unaware they had been looking to begin with. The reaction of people who had been around him for years was disappointing. They all kept their distance. At least until the school bell rang and the teacher rushed out. Most of the students meandered out too, so Adam grabbed his bag to go.

His path was quickly blocked by Brandon staring up at his black eye and three scratches.

“I-I-I’m so s-s-sorry they did that to you,” Brandon stuttered out, looking miserable. “I knew they were up to no good but I just can’t stop them. I’m so sorry you were beaten instead of me.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Adam shook his head. “Also, quit being a masochist. Stand up for yourself.”

“I can’t do that. They just always find me when I’m alone.”

“Well, guess it’s up to you that you are ok with it,” shrugged Adam. Then he looked at Brandon’s tag, thought for a minute, and stared Brandon in the face. “They were right about one thing though. You aren’t a warrior. Change your class.”

“W-what?!” Brandon was surprised. “I want to be a warrior. A hero. I want to level and help save the world.”

“Yeah, that’s fine to want it, but you have to be realistic. You don’t have the toughness for it.”

“N-no! I will be a hero!” Brandon insisted, without a bit of believability about it.

“What hero? This will be a war. Wars are fought by soldiers. This isn’t an RPG game where one person makes all the difference through luck and strength and plot holes. You won’t make it as a hero and you definitely won’t make it as a soldier,” Adam insisted. The longer this went on the more he frowned at Brandon.

“I-I-I can be a h-h-hero…” Brandon’s stuttering was getting worse, making Adam scowl at him even more.

“You can’t even talk to me without stuttering. How are you going to fight with your, and other people’s, life on the line. Killing. Murdering. Slaughtering. That is what will be required. Will you be able to walk through the paths with corpses strewn about? To keep your sanity when friends and family die? Continue to fight while coated in blood and guts?”

The longer Adam talked the more Brandon winced. Almost every word of Adam’s was a weight placed on top of him. Brandon’s eyes grew teary as he stared at the floor. The only response he could manage was more wordless stuttering. Feeling that his point was made, Adam once more gave a command.

“Change your class.”

Another person rushed in and threw herself between Adam and Brandon, hands on hips.

Are you bullying Brandon now too, Adam?” Brittney glared hard at him. Brittney was a touch shorter than Brandon, a hair over five feet tall. She had straw colored hair that could use a bit of conditioning and frumpy clothes that made her seem like she belonged in a library. She had “Support [0]” above her head. She would be good looking if she didn’t spend all her time lecturing people or mothering Brandon. She always got on people when it came to Brandon, yet that didn’t stop him from being so pathetic.

“Not bullying. However, he does need to change his class.”

“It’s always been his dream to be a hero. Who are you to stop that now that he has a chance? Who are you to kill his dream?” Brittney demanded.

“Fine. Then he’ll die,” Adam stated matter-of-factly and turned to leave, done with the conversation. Brittney froze.

“I took the support class so I can heal and protect him. What do you mean he’ll die?” Brittney asked naively, but still bossily. As if this thought hadn’t occurred to her and she needed time to explore it.

“He has had his whole life to toughen up. His whole life to train something. Lift some weights, do some exercise, learn some fighting techniques. You think level and stats will be enough that he won’t freak out when scary monsters come at him? When aliens shoot at him? When other people with the same or greater strength start ordering him around? “

“Well…” Brittney had her finger on her lips in thought.

“Yesterday he walked into an alley with the bullies who TOLD HIM they were going to beat him. He didn’t struggle at all. What do you think will happen when it’s his life on the line. Death can’t be healed as far as I know. Your support will only lead to you causing his death.”

“When you put it like that I’m not sure how to argue it.”

Brandon’s teary eyes shot up from the floor and stared at Brittney. “You don’t think I can do it?” He wailed.

“It isn’t that I don’t think you can…I just...well…think you…er…might…uh…excel…in other roles…” Brittney trailed off as she rambled.

“Like what?” demanded Brandon staring at her, obviously scared to look at Adam.

“Well…” Brittney’s reaction was laughable, Adam thought. She was always so busy fighting FOR Brandon that she couldn’t even think of his strengths. She looked to Adam, and he sighed.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Brandon needs to go support. He would be a terrible healer, but he would be good at managing buffs and debuffs, or going the crafting route.”

“That’s right,” conviction filling Brittney’s words. “Support! Brandon, change your class now!”

“Do I have to?” he whined. Adam could only sigh. It was like taking care of clueless kids.

“Yes, Brandon. I think this is best for you and it will make you happiest.”

“Fine,” he whined. It only took a moment for the tag that read “Warrior [0]” to change to “Support [0]”.

Brittney watched it and then let out a relieved sigh. She turned to Adam with glittery eyes.

“Then I don’t need to be a healer now, right? What should I be?” She demanded.

Adam didn’t even need to think about it. “Warrior or protector. You are fierce and confrontational. You also genuinely want to protect Brandon.”

After a few minutes of thought Brittney’s tag changed too. “Protector [0]” now floated above her head.

“By the way, Adam. What is your class? I can’t see a tag.” Brittney inquired.

“Oh, the [System] didn’t give me one.”

“You don’t have a class?”

“I didn’t say that, just that the [System] didn’t give me one.”

“Then how could you have a class,” demanded Brandon, suddenly realizing how wrong things sounded. That was when laughter burst out.

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! OMG that is the funniest thing!”

There were three girls called the Triple As. Andrea and Allisa were both boisterous. Alissa was tall, with long legs, and could have been a model. Her dyed blonde hair reached down her back and was always stylish, as if she had just come from a salon. Both she and Andrea accessorized a lot, looking like they spent copious amounts on their outfits.

Andrea’s black hair only came down to her shoulders, but was also well styled, combining with her pepping and forceful attitude to give of a fun aura. They seemed like they should be goth and mopey, wearing dark and black, but then would usually be cheery and had colorful accessories on them. Andrea’s outfits weren’t as revealing as Alissa’s, but neither seemed to dress inappropriately, staying fashionable.

They were loud and direct, though usually not mean. The third of their group, Abbey, was way more reserved and seemed prissy. She was a few inches taller than Andrea but not nearly Alissa’s height. Her clothes looked expensive and conservative at the same time, quite the contrast to the others’ clothes. She always wore tasteful makeup and could be described as picturesque. No one knew why she followed them around, but she had for years. In this case it was Andrea speaking up.

“The classless one is forcing people to take a class using his scary face.”

“Scary face?” Adam asked. “You mean the scratches?”

“Not the scratches, Adam, though those are way more than scratches. It’s the way you look at people. You didn’t used to do it but today whenever you glare it makes a scary vibe come out of you, as if the look would kill. I’ve been watching all day and Brittney is the only one who resisted it. She should definitely be a warrior. Even the teachers got scared when they looked at you. Haha!” Another forced giggling fit took over Andrea.

Adam looked at the three of them. Andrea and Allisa were both mages, and Abbey was a support. He shrugged, thinking those classes seemed appropriate. “Your classes seem appropriate. No need for a scary face your way.”

“Haha, glad we meet your approval, tagless.” Andrea was still amused, and Allisa was giggling quite a bit. Abbey just stood behind them watching.

Lifting his bag onto his back, Adam walked past everyone and to the stairs. His school classes were on the third floor. When he arrived at the second floor, he looked behind him and saw the group following him. Brandon seemed to want to get closer but was clearly intimidated while Brittney followed next to Brandon with a slight smile on her lips. The Triple As were several feet back but clearly watching him while whispering quietly and laughing.

Pulling out his phone, he sent a text to Nick. “Need scout. Skip bus. Meet @ gate.”

The courtyard leading to the school was surprisingly empty. With all that was going on and how empty the streets had been yesterday; Adam figured a lot of people must be bunking down to wait things out, either waiting for the other shoe to drop or just trying to get some time while so much is in chaos. The news feeds talked about the crowded hospitals and the constant police calls. So many people were having to wait. It wasn’t just happening in Jackson either. All police were running themselves around and all military were being deployed as peacekeepers as an emergency measure. Larger cities had rioting and increase in gang violence, but somehow there was no mention of invaders yet. Adam knew better.

As he approached the front gate that connected the eight-foot-tall brick walls that surrounded the school, several familiar faces came inside. Adam’s entourage suddenly stopped, except for Brittney who stood in front of Brandon protectively. Brandon whispered, “Oh no! Not again!”

“Well, well, well, looking good with those scratches, Adam-o. You wouldn’t believe what we had to do to get treated. Hospitals full. We had to call ambulances and wait half the night. Then spent most of today waiting for docs to be available. They stuck things up my nose to reset it. It was horrible. I still have the drugs in me. Those’re less horrible.” Tom led those approaching, boisterous as always, with an added whistling from his nose whenever he spoke. His face was practically all black and blue, with bandages taped around it, not just the nose.

Randall and Joseph followed a few feet behind, Randall’s arm wrapped in gauze. Lucas’s arm was in a cast and a sling. His face was a bit puffy, and Adam couldn’t remember if he had gotten hit in it or if something else happened. Elias was looking around, surprisingly without a book.

When Tom reached them, he put an arm around Adam, and those following Adam pulled back, concerned about what was about to happen. “So, you know how it goes after yesterday right? That kind of beating doesn’t end it. We’ll be going again today.”

Adam looked at Lucas who smirked at him and asked, “You ready for this?”

Surprise took everyone when Brandon determinedly pushed past Brittney and grabbed Tom’s arm. “No! No beatings! Leave Adam alone!”

Even with all the bandages Tom’s face showed his surprise as he looked down. He took his arm back from Adam. “Oi, oi. The boy sudden grew some? Ha! But look at this,” Tom looked back at the bully group. “He changed classes. No more warrior. No more hero. Hahahahahaha….”

Turned to the laughing Tom, Adam addressed him, “I got him to change it with what Andrea calls my Scary Face, and apparently adopted him and his guardian. Better be nice because as a support you might need him to save your life. Wouldn’t want old animosity to prevent that.”

Tom’s face turned still. He positioned himself directly in front of Brandon. Placing his hands on Brandon’s shoulders he lowered his face to the same height and spoke with more sincerity than anyone had heard from Tom before. “Brandon, we apologize for bullying you and hope that we can put it in the past. We will diligently work to make up for all the hardships we caused. Welcome to the team.”

The other four bullies approached and each one nodded and patted Brandon on the shoulder. Brandon was stunned.

“I-I thought you were going to beat up Adam.”

All the bullies laughed at that.

“No, no, no. We would never fight the boss. He spanked our asses yesterday and sent us home to mommy,” Tom smiled grandly then winced in pain from his face. Quite a few people gasped at the absurdity.

“Is that how you all got injured?” Brandon asked.

“He definitely did this to my face, but I now know he went easy on us. He even saved our lives,” Tom said seriously.

Around that time Nick came hurrying over with two people behind him. He had a concerned look as he eyed the bullies.

“Great! You’re here, Nick. Now we can go,” Adam smiled and started walking.

The bullies all followed. Brandon and Brittney scrambled to follow. Even the Triple As got closer, making themselves part of the group.

Nick got close to Adam and whispered, “What’s going on? What would you need scouts for? And why are you with them?”

Tom ignored that it had been a whisper. “We’re going hunting,” he exclaimed with exuberance.

“Hunting?” Brandon questioned. “What are we hunting?”

Lucas turned back casually as he walked in the front. “Goblins.”

Andrea and Allisa burst out laughing.