Death, DEATH! What could I have possibly done to deserve death? Simon's mind raced. Everything's happening so fast I can't even process the situation I'm in. And I don't even know what I did to him, or who I really am—besides sharing the same name I had back on Earth.
The blonde-haired boy stepped closer, his voice sharp with suspicion. "Are you Simon or not?"
"No, absolutely not," Simon replied, trying to sound convincing. "Never heard of the guy. Complete stranger to me."
"Really?" The boy's eyebrow arched dangerously.
"Yes, absolutely," Simon said.
The blonde boy's face twisted with rage. "DO YOU TAKE ME FOR A COMPLETE FOOL?!"
"I heard your friend call you by name, you moron!" he continued, pointing an accusing finger.
"Sorry, didn't realize you were right there," the other boy mumbled sheepishly. "Well, it's been real, Simon."
"What do you mean 'it's been real'?!" Simon's voice cracked with panic.
Think, you idiot! You know these characters—you have to remember them! Simon's thoughts scrambled desperately.
Then it clicked. The blonde hair, the arrogant posture, always lurking behind the duke's son like a loyal attack dog. He was one of the duke's son's infamous lackeys.
"Look, let's all take a breath here, Alvin," Simon said, attempting diplomacy.
"ALVIN?!" The boy's face turned an impressive shade of purple. "My name is ELIAN! Elian! Alvin's my friend, you shithead!"
Oh, fantastic. Just fantastic. Simon winced internally. I always thought of them as Thing one and Thing two. How was I supposed to keep track of which lackey was which? They're always attached to the duke's hip like designer accessories.
"My deepest, most sincere apologies, Alvi— I mean Sir Elian," Simon said, bowing so low he nearly toppled over. "I seem to have confused you with your... equally distinguished friend. Clearly, my eyes have failed me in recognizing your superior... uh... build?"
"That's more like it," Elian preened, his ego momentarily soothed. "Now, if you want to keep breathing, you'll come with me."
Oh great, dialogue straight out of 'Generic Villain Handbook, Chapter 1' Simon thought. Next, he'll probably tell me resistance is futile.
"Of course, Sir Elian the Magnificent," Simon said with exaggerated reverence, deciding that shameless flattery was his best survival strategy. "I am but a complete idiot, unworthy to walk in your radiant shadow. Lead the way, oh golden-haired harbinger of doom."
Elian paused, looking slightly confused by whether he was being mocked or genuinely praised. Simon held his breath, hoping his sarcasm hadn't been too obvious.
However, Elian quickly dismissed any further thoughts as he grabbed Simon's arm and marched him toward the door, leaving the other boy behind.
I still don't even know my roommate's name, Simon realized, glancing back to see the boy giving him a cheerful wave goodbye. Well, at least he looks relieved he doesn't have to get dragged into this mess.
As they started walking down the corridor, Simon ventured, "Where exactly are we headed, Sir Elian?"
"That's none of your damn business," Elian snapped. "In fact, I don't want to hear another word out of you."
Simon barely registered the insult as a familiar chime echoed in his mind and a translucent notification appeared before his eyes.
[Mission 1 (Continued):]
[The duke's son, aka Alexander Pearson, has requested your presence]
[Warning: This is NOT a friendly social call—he intends to kill you]
[Objective: Survive the encounter and, if possible, defeat him while making him look like a fool]
[Bonus: If you DO defeat him, you will be rewarded]
[Reward: The Pearls of Adven]
[Consequence: Death (very likely)]
Seriously, why is death always the punishment? Simon thought with exasperation. What kind of sadistic game system is this?
His mind then shifted to the reward. The Pearls of Adven... if I remember correctly, those were one of the artifacts Liam discovered during a class mission in some dungeon. The artifact was pretty much useless to him since he was already advanced, so he ended up selling it at the magic market. But for someone like me... Simon's eyes widened slightly. The Pearls of Adven are supposed to help you manipulate mana flow and strengthen your mana core when absorbed properly. It's basically the ultimate training tool for beginners.
Simon's mind began to wander, fantasizing about actually using magic—something he'd never dreamed possible back on Earth. This could be my chance to experience real magic.
But reality crashed back down on him quickly. Wait, how the hell am I supposed to fight Alexander?Sure, the guy got his ass handed to him by Liam eventually, but Alexander was still a noble with training and experience.He may be a third-rate bully, but he's still way above my level.
Simon's brain scrambled for solutions like a desperate rat in a maze. Maybe I could set up some conditions to make the fight fairer? Butter him up with his ego, make him agree to some kind of handicap? He's arrogant enough that he might actually go for it if I phrase it right...
Just as he was working through potential strategies, another notification materialized before his eyes—one that changed everything.
[Character File has been finalized!]
The system must have been creating some kind of profile for me ever since I arrived here, Simon thought. Well, it certainly took its sweet time. The notification pulsed in his vision as he mentally accessed the file, and his character sheet materialized before him:
[STATS]
[Name: Simon Crox]
[Age: 17]
[Title: The Poor Baron's Son]
[Strength: F]
[Speed: F]
[Mana: F-]
[Intelligence: D]
[Luck: F]
[Talents: None]
[Overall Rating: F]
[Special Status: CURSED]
[Due to this character's background as a mere extra, he has been cursed to never cause harm to any human being]
Simon scrolled through his pathetic stats, each F-rank staring back at him like a slap in the face. Great, I'm basically a walking disaster waiting to happen. But when his eyes landed on the curse description, his blood ran cold.
'Due to this character's background as a mere extra, he has been cursed to never cause harm to any human being.'
WHAT THE HELL... THIS CAN'T BE REAL! His mind reeled. There's no way I can win against Alexander if I literally can't hurt him. This is—
"We're here," Elian announced, cutting through Simon's spiral of panic.
Simon looked up to find himself at the end of a long, mostly deserted hallway. Late afternoon sunlight streamed through tall windows, casting long shadows across the stone floor—classes had clearly ended hours ago, but curfew hadn't started yet. Before them loomed an imposing wooden door with an ornate arch, flanked by two flickering torches that made the shadows dance ominously along the walls.
Elian knocked on the door, and said "I brought the boy you have been looking for."
The heavy wooden doors slowly creaked open, revealing a dimly lit circular chamber beyond. No windows pierced the dark stone walls—only flickering torches mounted at intervals cast dancing shadows across the room. It was clearly a training arena, spacious enough for combat with weapon racks lining the walls.
Alvin stepped back from the doors he'd just opened, and Simon got his first clear look at him. Dark straight hair, piercing green eyes, and a jagged scar running across the bridge of his nose gave him a more menacing appearance than his blonde companion. He wore the same academy uniform as everyone else, but somehow made it look more threatening.
In the center of the room stood a figure that made Simon freeze. Long crimson hair caught the torchlight like flames, and piercing red eyes fixed on him with unmistakable malice. There was no doubt about it—this was Alexander Pearson, the duke's son.
The gang's all here, Simon thought with bitter resignation as he surveyed the scene. Thing one, Thing two, and their glorious leader.
Then the door was swiftly closed right behind him, and as soon as it was closed, Alexander came right in front of him and grabbed Simon's collar.
"So, you are him. Yes, I recognize you. Apparently, your name is Simon—what a stupid name," Alexander said with a sneer.
Simon looked at him with a blank expression.
He's exactly as I expected, Simon thought. Just like in the game—always with the dumb, generic, and uncreative insults.
"You see, usually I wouldn't fight a nobody like you, but it seems to be your unlucky day. I know you saw what happened earlier, but in order for me to become king, I can't let you tell anyone what you saw," Alexander said.
"Wait—king? You... you becoming king? That doesn't make sense. Are you planning a coup or something?" Simon said with confusion.
Alexander's face flushed with rage. "You really think I'm not capable of becoming king? You don't think I can become number one at the academy? That I'd need to resort to some pathetic coup?"
Then it hit Simon like a lightning bolt. Oh shit. The route this world was following wasn't the canon storyline he remembered, but one of the alternate routes from the game—the King Route.
In this timeline, the number one student at the Academy could become a royal candidate. From a pool of candidates gathered from across the kingdom, the aging King would select his successor every twenty years. These next five years were known as the Golden Years—a period when any noble or royal family member who wasn't a direct heir could attend the Academy and compete for the ultimate prize.
"Wait, wait! I think there's been a misunderstanding," Simon said, raising his hands defensively. "I didn't mean it like that at all. I just assumed you were content with inheriting your father's duchy—it's simply the stupidity of this dumb baron's son to not realize someone of your caliber would obviously aim for the throne itself, Sir Alexander."
"Oh, really? But that still doesn't change the fact that you saw me earlier," Alexander said.
"Then prove it, Sir Alexander," Simon responded.
"What do you mean? I saw you there," Alexander said.
"Yet I don't have any recollection of it at all," Simon shot back.
"Lies. I don't believe any of it," Alexander said with a scowl.
"Then why do you think I came here so willingly without resisting at all?" Simon countered. "It simply doesn't make sense. If I truly saw you doing something compromising, and then when Thing On— I mean when Elian came to my dorm, wouldn't you think I would have tried to fight back or escape?"
"Even if that is the case, that still doesn't change anything," Alexander said.
"I get it—you don't believe me. I wouldn't believe someone I just met either, so that's why you should test me," Simon said.
Alexander responded, "What do you mean by test you?"
"Well, you are the son of a duke. You're supposed to think like a great man, yet you aren't cruel either. You can't simply kill a man who doesn't even think he's a threat, right? So I think a fair test to see if I'm lying or not is simply to check my pulse."
Simon thought to himself, At this point I'm at a clear disadvantage. I can't possibly defeat Alexander—at least not right now—but I can still make it out of this situation, simply because I was never lying to him.
Alexander felt hesitant but then acknowledged Simon's words. "Fine, let's say we check your pulse, but how does that still prove anything?"
"Sir Alexander, I thought you were knowledgeable about detecting lies due to your high standing, but clearly I was mistaken," Simon said. "Well, obviously, if my heart rate is steady, then I'm not lying. But if my heart seems to beat at an abnormal rate, then I'm clearly lying."
"Of course, I knew that" clearing his throat knowing he didn't know that. "I was simple testing to see if someone of your standings would know something about that."
"Then Alvin, can you check his pulse?" Alexander said.
"Of course, Sir Alexander," Alvin replied.
Alvin approached Simon and placed his hand on Simon's chest, feeling for his heartbeat.
This is probably the dumbest thing I've ever done, Simon thought. The thing is, I was mainly just spouting bullshit while playing to their egos. I mean, I just assumed that's how lie detectors worked back on Earth, but who knows if that's even true here. But to think they would actually fall for it.
Then Alexander, without trying to reveal what he had actually done, said, "Did you see me this morning doing anything near hallway B?"
Simon responded, "No, I didn't."
A second went by in complete silence.
Then Alvin said, "He's telling the truth."
Simon felt a wave of relief wash over him.
"Sir, Alexander is it okay if bring up one major point." Alvin said, which startled Simon a bit.
"Sure Alvin" alexander said.
"Even if Simon is currently telling the truth, that still doesn't change the fact that he now knows that you've done something," Alvin pointed out.
Simon thought to himself, I didn't think Thing Two—I mean Alvin—was capable of thinking something like that, but I'm not scared either, because I don't think he wants me dead. I didn't realize this before, but he could've lied, and I would have died.
Simon was about to rebut when he saw Alexander's bruise on his left arm. It was shaped strangely, yet so familiar at the same time.
Then there was silence as he stared at the bruise for what felt like an eternity, but it was only a few seconds.
"Hey, what the hell are you looking at?!" Alexander exclaimed, quickly putting his arm behind his back.
Simon looked at Alexander and then subtly asked, "Why do you want to become king?"
Alexander then said, "Why the hell are you bringing this up now? That doesn't even matter right now, and besides, it's not like I would tell someone like you."
Simon felt something off about Alexander's voice.
What the hell is this world? Is it even a game at this point? Is it a fever dream? What the actual hell is going on?
For a while now, Simon had felt as if this world wasn't real. The dialogue with the characters felt too cliche, the bullies getting too angry—that's how he knew these characters even when he was on Earth. They were one-dimensional idiot bullies that the main character beats up.
Yet he saw them differently at this moment. The bruise, Alexander not giving the reason why he wanted to be king—it felt too familiar to him, as if they were in a similar situation.
They were trapped, forced to act this way.
They were trapped like him.
An empty cage where pressure was at an all-time high.
Simon was confused, yet he understood them—why they acted such a way.
He simply started to pity them.
So he changed up his act and started to beg and grovel, telling them that it would be more worth it for him to be a servant or even a slave to them if needed. They agreed—maybe it was because of their egos, maybe it was because it was the only way for them to live.
Simon started to cry. "Please, I would do anything. Just don't hurt me, just please don't."
"That's more like it. Maybe I will let you live," Alexander said.
Simon wasn't crying because he was afraid of them or thought he was in danger. Things had changed now—he was crying out of pity.
As his head was on the ground and the bullies mocked him, another notification appeared.
[Mission 1 Complete]
[Congratulations on surviving your first mission]
[However, you failed to defeat Alexander Pearson, so you won't receive the reward]
[As such, we are disappointed in you]
[Please try your very best next time, as there won't always be a close call situation such as this]
Simon read through the message. He didn't care, because he knew the system wanted him to go through a different path.
Simon couldn't trust the system anymore.