Kyoku opened his eyes to the noise of his alarm and a blanket moving. At first he was confused by the unknown ceiling above him, but quickly remembered the events of the previous day, and together with his memories came a notification he was readily waiting for.
What do all games have in common?
Congratulations on completing the Tutorial!
Rewards:
¥100
10x Stat Points
Kyoku felt a bit mad when he saw that he only got 100¥ for a full day quest, but getting 10 SP which was equivalent to skipping two entire levels. Before he could even think of allocating those points thought, a few pop-ups appeared in front of him.
Life is not for Solo Players
Join a Faction
Rewards:
20x Stat Points
¥10,000
- Learning Life is not for Solo Players
Create a Faction
Rewards:
20x Stat Points
¥1,000,000
- Teaching
The Tutorial never really ends
Reach Level 10
Rewards:
¥10,000
2x Skill Points
10x Stat Points
Realizing that both quests weren't doable at the moment, Kyoku decided to think about it later. Joining a Faction and Creating one had very similar rewards, but he could understand why there were differences among each other. After all, you don't learn things as much as you teach them when you are a leader, and you don't need so many resources when you are a part of the body, rather than the brain that moves it.
'So annoying... I might as well try to reach Level 10 later' - Kyoku thought before sighing. Mentally, he was focusing more on the classes he was about to have, which he thought was the best thing to do at the moment. After all, even if he didn't end up joinin the JRA, he would learn as much as he could from them.
*
Walking all the way to the lobby where Chifuyu had left them the previous day, Kyoku found himself in Hitagi's 'company' once again. It wasn't much different from being alone, though, so he did exactly what she wanted and pretended she wasn't there. At least that way, she wouldn't go off with that sharp tongue of hers. A few minutes after their arrival, exactly at half past six, Chifuyu appeared in the room.
"I see you can at least respect timetables..." - she said before turning around and walking towards a hallway. - "What are you waiting for? Follow me"
Without any words, both teenagers did as told. The fact that they walked for fifteen minutes before they reached a different hall with many doors was just another reminder of how massive the place was. In Kyoku's eyes, he was walking through his own real-life version of Hogwarts, just a tad bit darker in nature.
"This one here will be your classroom for the rest of the year" - Chifuyu said as she stopped in front of one of the many doors. That one in particular read 2-A, probably signifying they were in Class A of the second year. - "And you're in luck, since I'm the teacher for this class"
'Great' - Kyoku thought when the teacher opened the door and entered the classroom. As it was the norm for transfer students, they waited for the teacher to call them in. - 'I guess it is time to go through another round of introductions...'
Teenagers naturally dread introductions, even the outgoing, extroverted ones. There are two main reasons why, so long as you ignore the tiny bits of unique that each person has.
The first and most common reason is anxiety. Nerves, insecurity, shyness. Thoughts like 'Will I give a good first impression?' or 'What if they don't like me?' plague people's minds, always. Even that person that looks extremely confident and secure about herself suffers from this, they just hide it well on the outside.
The second and less common reason is a lot less complex, but still as hard to understand. People who just don't like being social. Kyoku himself, being one of the best people he had ever seen at socializing, considered himself to be in this category. After all, he could socialize because he understood how the process worked, not because he liked doing it. Act cool and nonchalant about stuff, move around the people who belong in your 'circle' and isolate those without a circle.
Kyoku had acted like that for many years, and he had gotten good at it. Alas, he didn't agree with the commonplace analogy of social 'circles'. To Kyoku, social life had always been more like constellations. The reason why he thought of it like that was quite simple. In his mind, that is.
You just had to see things from a different angle. People who gathered in a social group were never so orderly and similar to form a perfect circle. There were always weak links in them and people came and went as easily as clouds drifted in the sky. If social groups were 'circles', as people seemed to think, then you would still see the circle when a person left. But social groups, when you miss a person, can't be seen. Just like constellations when you can't find one of its stars.
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"Ok class, today we have two new transfer students!" - he heard Chifuyu say from the desk in front of the class. - "Come on you two, get inside and introduce yourselves"
Kyoku gave himself a check before entering the classroom. He was wearing a simple techy style outfit that he had gotten at the beginning of the year. He hadn't had much chance to use it, but in a new environment, it probably was the best option. Easy to move in, comfortable to the touch, not suffocating, but good enough for the cold and still fashionable. Sighing, he took his first step into the classroom.
"Introduce yourselves, please" - Chifuyu said, analyzing Kyoku's and Hitagi's demeanors. - 'He seems cold, non-caring. Clearly going for the 'cool kid' vibe'
In the split second Kyoku saw his classmates, he already identified those he would move around more likely than not. A guy with shoulder length strawberry blonde hair, strong features, fawn tanned skin and bright blue eyes. Almost ten centimeters taller than him, wide shoulders and an overall strong build. The classes usual handsome guy. Now he had competition.
A girl with bright red eyes, silvery white hair and skin almost as pale as her hair. She had a good figure with a bountiful chest and shapely hips, but the most shocking thing about her were definitely her eyes. She had a funky air to herself, in spite of how refined her appearance was.
And last but not least, a guy that looked like the laid-back, chill and borderline lazy dude in class. He looked not a day older than everyone else, but had a goatee growing on his chin. He had the strongest facial features out of everyone in the class and, if it weren't for the fact that he had an 'I don't care' vibe going on, Kyoku might've confused him for the class bully.
"I'm Izumi Kyoku, it's a pleasure to meet you" - Kyoku said, looking particularly at the people he had singled out with his eyes. - "I hope you take care of me from now on"
The class was about to explode, just like it usually did when someone even slightly handsome transferred schools, but Chifuyu called Hitagi in before they could. She entered, looked at everyone and spoke in the coldest way possible.
"I'm Senjougahara Hitagi. Stay away from me and we won't have problems"
Right after saying that, she went to one of the empty seats in the front row and sat down, showing no signs of caring about the people present. Chifuyu and Kyoku both sighed, both coming to the realization that Hitagi would remain like that forever, unless someone put some work into whatever her issue was.
"Ok class, if you have any questions for Izumi-kun, ask them now" - Chifuyu said, committing the worst mistake she had ever made.
"Izumi-san, do you have a girlfriend?!" - asked a girl at the top of her lungs.
Kyoku looked at her with the same facial expression he had before and answered. - "Single"
The first three questions were as normal as he had expected. They all came from girls and were related to his personal life or likes and disliked. If only he could say that he disliked their behaviour without becoming a social pariah, he surely would've. Alas, the normalcy of the situation ended there.
"Hey twerp, don't think too much of yourself for being handsome" - said a burly guy from the back of the classroom. Seeing how Chifuyu said nothing about it, Kyoku understood where the difference between Aoi'mizumi and regular schools began. "I'm sure you are as weak as they come, barely awakened and everything"
Before acting, Kyoku decided to do what all gamers did before a duel. Check their opponent's stats and gear.
Name: Ryoma Terasaka
Alias: Uncivilized Monkey
Level: 2
Guild: Second Year Bullies
Guild Rank: Aniki
General Information:
A teenager with a shitty personality that solves problems through violence. He thinks he is above most people since awakening his powers and his personality has only gotten worse, provoking him to bully most of the class. HP: 100/100
MP: 50/50
MP Regen: 1.5/m Stats:
STR: 12
VIT: 15
AGI: 9
INT: 8
WIS: 6
CHA: 6 Equipment:
Head: -
Chest: Track Jacket
L. Hand: -
R. Hand: -
Legs: Track Pants
Feet: Running Shoes Total XP: 250
XP to next Level: 3/225
Stat Points: 0
Skill Points: 0
Kyoku had two options. Sure, there were more in reality, but his personality allowed him to pick between only two. The first one was to remain low-key and act like the small fish in the pond, which he hated. The second one might or might not put a target on his back, but he had already decided. As for what the second option was...
"Chifuyu-sensei, I can act without consequences, right?" - Kyoku asked, showing both his lack of respect towards her by calling her by her name and how little he cared about the idiot by ignoring him. - 'I'm done going with everyone elses wishes but my own'
"Sur..." - Chifuyu managed to say before Kyoku moved. For her it was easy to follow his movement, but she was sure that barely anyone in the classroom could see what he did. - 'I can't believe he awakened his powers yesterday... some people can't do what he does even after a month'
Using Hastened Steps, Kyoku appeared right in front of Terasaka. He only heard the first half of Chifuyu's answer, but it was more than enough. Terasaka was taller than him by a few centimeters, though not as tall as the other handsome guy, yet Kyoku was looking down on him.
The moment he appeared in front of him, Terasaka was so shocked in fright that he fell on his butt. Kyoku stomped right beside his head, careful of not hitting the idiot and looked straight into his eyes.
"You should think twice before talking if you're not that strong yourself" - Kyoku said, walking to the only other empty seat in the classroom, besides the white-haired girl. As soon as he sat, he spoke once again. - "What I said to Terasaka applies to any other stupid guy in class. I don't need to hear names, I already know them all"
Of course, the only reason Kyoku said that was because he had used Observe on everyone. Thus, his new school-life began.
'What a way to start the first day at your new school, Kyoku' - he thought with a sigh, ignoring the white-haired girl that stared at him, clearly amused by his situation.