Chapter 1
"And last but not least… Max, three points."
Mr. Eric announced. The class erupted in laughter upon hearing Max's test results, and all heads turned to stare at the dark-haired, fail-looking boy at the back of the class.
Max kept his head buried in his open book, trying to hide from all the embarrassment.
"Ugh, pathetic. He seriously got only three points out of a hundred?" a boy sitting next to him said.
"Oh, come on, it's Max we're talking about here. Don't tell me you actually expected him to do better. He's been at the bottom of the class for centuries," another girl replied.
"All right, that's enough, everyone. It's not nice to mock your classmates like that," Mr. Eric chimed in.
"You all want to become Pro Reapers, yet half of you still scream at the sight of basic-tier ghost"
Laughter rippled through the classroom
"when you face one on the field, jokes won't save you"
The teacher's right arm then started to stretch unnaturally, extending over everyone in the classroom and straight to Max's desk as he dropped the test sheet on his desk before retracting back.
"You know what, Mr. Eric, I've always wondered something about your curse factor, "one student couldn't help but ask
"Is it only your arms that can extend, or you can do the same with your fingers too"
The student held two fingers up, glaring at it with a sadistic smirk on his face. Only heavens knew what kind of thoughts were going on in his head
"George, you pervert!" a female student at the back yelled
"Alright everyone that's enough. More importantly, You should all go over your tests to see your mistakes. I've had enough of this class for today"
Mr. Eric then packed his belongings from the table and left the classroom
As max sat there with his test sheet, he glanced at the big red 3 circled on the page, and the massive F next to it. he couldn't help but feel…ashamed of himself
***
About 50 years ago, the world had nearly fallen. From out of the blue, the sky tore open, and malevolent Ghosts started to pour into the world.
Their bodies radiated an unnatural aura, with some even possessing supernatural abilities like teleportation, manipulating elements, and many more.
With these abilities , they reeked havoc , leveling cities, and destroying mountains
Mankind tried to fight back, but all their efforts were in vain. Bullets, tanks, and all the weapons mankind could offer couldn't affect them, as each attack would completely phase through their bodies like it was nothing.
Sadly, things only got worse from there
Governments collapsed, Nations fell, and mankind's population was crumbling.
Even with Everything thrown at them, nothing was working
For a long time, it seemed like all hope was lost, and humanity had met it's end
Until…They appeared
Miraculously, a number of people began to manifest strange supernatural abilities. Flight, matter manipulation, pyrokinesis, and more. The possibilities were endless, just like the ones the ghosts possessed.
Within a year, over eighty percent of the human population had awakened some form of ability, later known as Curse Factors.
Nobody knew what had triggered this phenomenon. Some believed it was a gift from the gods, others thought it was evolution, humanity's desperate attempt to survive.
But one truth soon became clear
Only those with Curse Factors could harm ghosts.
Weapons, technology, prayers, nothing else worked. Only cursed energy, drawn from one's very soul, could touch what was already dead.
It didn't matter whether your curse factor was strong or not, everyone was fighting. After all, they were now humanities last hope at stopping these malevolent monsters.
Even though many lives were lost, mankind was still able to hold its own amidst the chaos
Soon, the heroes that helped battle these monsters were given the name…
Reapers
Overtime, various schools were established specifically for those who had awakened their curse factors. They were taught, trained, and groomed on how to utilize their abilities and how to fight ghosts on the field
And till this very day, humanity and ghosts are still at war
***
Riiiinng!!
There's nothing more amusing to a student than the sound of the school bell ringing through the halls, signaling the end of the school day.
Some students went home in groups, chatting and laughing, whereas a certain someone who never really had any friends walked home, all by himself.
Max had always been titled the loser of the class. Al his classmates had Curse Factors of their own
But unfortunately for him, he was the only one who hadn't manifested any.
Usually, people manifested their Curse Factors between the ages of nine and twelve, with some rare cases, thirteen. Unfortunately for Max after he crossed that age, all hope of him ever awakening one was washed down the drain, and his dreams were crushed.
Every time students played sports during break, nobody wanted Max on their team. They all saw him as a liability or someone who would only bring bad luck to their team.
Once, he had helped a girl pick up some books she had accidentally dropped, only for her to refuse to take them back because Max had touched them.
"What I'd give to be normal…" Max sighed as he walked along the sidewalk.
As he walked through the neighborhood, some people intentionally avoided Max, not wanting to get anywhere near him , almost as if he was infected with a disease.
He didn't mind, though. He had gotten used to it. It's always been like this
Not having a curse factor in this era wasn't something new, but with nearly 90 percent of making possessing one, it was extremely rare for someone to not have a curse factor.
most people believed it as a bad omen, and being around Adam would only bring danger and bad luck
His school wasn't that far from where he lived so It didn't take long for Max to get home. He lived in a small, two-story apartment with only his mom and little brother, Jimmy
His mom worked as a cleaner in a local restaurant and Jimmy attended a primary school not far from their moms workplace. Because of that, his mom would usually pick him up from school after work
The paint on the walls were cracked, revealing the bricks underneath. It wasn't much, but it was home
Opening the door, Max was startled as a little boy jumped on him with a big hug.
"BIG BROOO!" the boy yelled enthusiastically.
"Oh, hey Jimmy. How was school?" Max asked, his lips curling into a small smile as he ruffled the boy's hair.
"It was awesome. Miss Carla said I drew the best ghost in class today!" Jimmy said proudly, waving a crumpled drawing in his hand.
Max chuckled. "Oh yeah? Let me see that later."
Before he could say more, his mother's voice called from the kitchen.
"Oh, welcome home, son! You hungry? Dinner will be ready in a few minutes!"
Max stepped into the small living room, the smell of boiling soup filling the air. He saw his mother by the stove, a beautiful woman with soft features, though the exhaustion was clear on her face.
Her eyes looked tired, as faint dark circles could be seen beneath them, and her hair was tied back in a messy bun that had clearly seen better days.
Still, when she turned and smiled at him, it was warm the kind of smile that made their run-down apartment feel like home.
"Hey, Mom," Max greeted softly, setting his bag on the couch. "You've been cooking again? You should rest a little, you know. You've been working all day, and just got back from work"
"I'll rest when this stew doesn't burn," she joked lightly, stirring the pot. "Besides, it's your favorite soup. Jimmy wouldn't stop begging me to make it."
Jimmy grinned. "Cause it's so good!"
Max smiled at them both, but the warmth in his chest was weighed down by guilt. He could see how thin her wrists looked when she moved, how she winced every now and then when she bent over the stove.
Deep down, he wanted to say something, that she didn't have to push herself this much.
But he remained quiet, and just nodded quietly and said, "Alright, I'll go change first. Be right back."
He slipped into his small room, closing the door gently behind him. The moment he was alone, the weight he'd been carrying all day settled over him again.
From his pocket, he pulled out his phone.
It was a small, battered thing with half the keypad missing. It was a miracle it still worked, but it was his only link to the outside world, to opportunities that might one day get them out of this place.
He sat on the edge of his bed, staring at the text message glowing faintly on the cracked screen
"1 A.M. Don't be late."
Max sighed, staring at the message in silence and immediately knew who it was from.
They had already made plans to meet up
"He better show up"
Adam had made up his mind already. He was going to make things better
'Dont worry mom, I'm going to change everything soon'