The class had ended not long ago, and it was now break time for the students.
The students were currently in the cafeteria taking their lunch. Most sat in groups to enjoy their food together, but Adam — who had no friends to speak of — sat alone in a far corner of the hall.
Adam hadn't taken a bite of his food yet. He sat there quietly, lost in his own thoughts, staring at the system message that had appeared before him.
«User: Adam Cole»
Level: 1
Exp: 0/50
«Level up as soon as possible, or face the consequences.»
He read the message again and again, still trying to make sense of it.
'Level? Exp? Missions?' he thought.
'Is this like those video games I used to play as a kid?'
That was the only logical conclusion he could come up with. First came his improved strength and speed — now, these strange messages that kept popping up. Everything was pointing to a typical video game setup, where characters leveled up once they gained enough experience.
"Hmm, so does that mean once I level up, I'll be able to learn skills and power-ups?" he murmured.
It was a promising theory. However, if this system truly worked like a game… what would happen when his HP hit zero?
The mere thought sent shivers down Adam's spine.
School had ended, and Adam didn't spend a minute longer on campus. He was sprinting home when a notification suddenly popped up before him, causing him to halt in his tracks.
«Host has run 2 km.»
«Host's speed has increased (+1).»
"What? That's quite the surprise," Adam said.
He quickly brought up his status screen. Just by thinking about it, the message appeared in front of him.
Agility — 11
Strength — 10
G-Force — 5
From the looks of it, running that distance had improved his agility stat.
'Wait, so if I lift heavy stuff, that stat would improve as well?' he guessed.
"Hold on, what's this G-Force thing? I almost forgot about that. It doesn't sound familiar though…"
A whirlwind of questions spun through his mind. He was certain that if the old man Sif were still around, he might have the answers Adam was looking for. But for now, he'd have to cope with what he had.
BOOM!
A deafening sound echoed through the air. Pedestrians froze where they stood, worry spreading quickly as everyone turned to where the sound had come from
The ground quaked beneath Adam's feat, sending tremors throughout the street, and causing Some pedestrians to fall over
"What the hell was that?" He said
"Run for your lives!" One man shouted, sprinting past Adam and away from where the danger seemed to have occurred.
Everyone watched the man as he ran across the street like a retard, but then…
BOOM!
Another deafening sound rumbled in the air, this time louder than the first one.
The walls of some of the buildings nearby started to crumble from all the tremors and panic immediately filled the streets
Everyone scattered, but Adam just stood frozen in the middle of the streets, staring up ahead at the giant smoke clowd. He didn't know what had gotten into him all of a sudden, but a lingering thought rang in his head
"Ghost attack"
In this world, there was only one thing he could think of that could cause such destruction.
In the world right now, ghost attacks have been known to be the most common disasters to ever occur.
They were disasters that caused mass destruction, and anyone who found themselves close to such a thing would just flee and wait for the pros to show up and deal with the threat. Nobody wanted to end up as collateral damage right?
While most people fled from the danger, Adam had a different agenda. He sprinted toward the smoke.
As he ran, he felt a sudden shift in his pace — like he had gotten faster. His improved agility might have been minor, but he could already feel the difference in his body.
Up ahead, a crowd had already gathered at the scene. Adam pushed his way through, trying to get a closer look.
"Hey, watch where you're going, kid!" one man snapped, his voice sharp with irritation.
"Sorry!"
"Oops, excuse me."
"Ouch, sorry about that!"
It was a hassle, but Adam finally reached the front of the crowd — and what he saw was indescribable.
About five Pro Reapers were already at the scene, a few of them trying desperately to control the panicking civilians.
To his right, Adam noticed one Reaper conjuring what looked like steel bars to keep the crowd from getting too close to the battle unfolding ahead.
"Please, all of you, get back!" the man shouted. "It's not safe here — move back immediately!"
But the crowd barely listened. Despite the obvious danger of a ghost attack, everyone — including Adam — wanted to watch. After all, it wasn't every day you got to see professional Reapers in action.
The creature's body shifted like twisting shadows. It had no definite shape, but what stood out most were its sadistic yellow eyes. Its mouth was filled with jagged black teeth, and its form emanated a cold aura that sent shivers down everyone's spine.
Standing before it were three Reapers, determined to take down the monster.
"It's unstable! Don't let it phase through you!" Amy shouted, gripping her staff tightly.
"Don't worry. Leave this to me," Kein replied with a confident smirk.
He dashed forward, his claws snapping out like a wild tiger's.
"Don't get cocky, you moron! Just because it's a B-rank ghost doesn't mean you can let your guard down," the Reaper known as John warned.
"The ghost's been weakened, but we still need to stay alert and be ready for anything."
John was the leader of the trio. He looked to be in his early thirties, dressed in a jet-black suit that was light in weight but highlighted his muscles. Finally, he held a massive war hammer as his weapon
They had been fighting the monster for several minutes and had managed to weaken it slightly. John had suggested they attack together, but Kein had his own plan.
As Kein closed in, the ghost screamed and sent a razor-sharp claw at his head.
Kein slid under it at the last second, dodging the attack. Mid-slide, he slashed upward, his claws tearing into the beast's underside.
The monster shrieked in pain, turning toward him in fury. It lashed out again — but Kein was faster. With catlike agility, he darted aside, preparing for his next move.
However, the creature suddenly paused it's attack
"Come on, what's the hold up? Attack me" Kein taunted
The creature slowly turned to look at the crown, it's demonic eyes scaniing the crown onlookers.
One…by…one, almost as if it was looking for something
It darted it's gaze for a few moment, until it directed it's attention to a particular boy in the front, having hair as white as snow
Fear crept into Adam as it locked it's gaze onto the creature.
His body froze, and sweat began to form on his face as he could almost sense the impending danger…
"Crap"
Adam had only flinched for a second, and In a flash, the ghost emerged in front of Adam already swiping it's sharp claws at the boy, preparing to take his life
Adam watch on as his life flashed before his eyes
'Is this…really it?' He thought
In that moment, He started to think about his mom and his little brother, all the time they spent together, and all the ups and downs they'd been through as a family
Everything moved in slow motion, and Adam could see the creature's claws only a few inches from his neck.
"Mom…I'm…sorry"