Nox walked into class, his shoulders already slumped. It was just another day, which meant it was going to be bad.
His uniform, once a standard blue, was now a mess of faded patches and old, stubborn stains. He washed it every night, scrubbing until his knuckles were raw, but it never looked clean. It was like the dirt was part of the fabric now, a permanent reminder of everything.
Over years of this, something inside him had just… stopped. He didn't feel much anymore. It was easier that way.
He sat at his usual desk in the back, trying to make himself small. Ms. Joy was at the front, droning on about something he couldn't bring himself to care about. He could feel their eyes on him, though. He always could. Whispers followed him like shadows.
"Look at him," someone snickered from a few rows over. "Smells like he sleeps in a dumpster."
"Probably does," another voice added, louder this time.
Nox just stared at his textbook, the words blurring. He had heard it all before.
Then, Mark, one of the main reasons his life was a living hell, swaggered past his desk. Mark always had a smirk on his face.
"Oops," he said, not even trying to sound accidental, as a full cup of bright orange juice tipped over, splashing all down the front of Nox's already ruined shirt.
The cold liquid soaked through instantly.
Laughter erupted around the room. It was loud, clear, and mocking.
Nox slowly looked up. His eyes landed on Ms. Joy, who was watching the whole thing. She had seen Mark deliberately pour the juice on him.
He raised his hand, a small, tired gesture. "Ms. Joy," he said, his voice flat. "He just poured juice on me. Are you just going to ignore it? Again?."
Ms. Joy looked at him, then at Mark, who was now theatrically wiping his hands. A small smile played on her lips. Then she chuckled. Just a little airy laugh.
"Oh, Nox, don't be so dramatic. Boys will be boys, right Mark?"
Mark puffed out his chest. "Yeah, Ms. Joy. He's just sensitive."
The class laughed even harder at that. Ms. Joy joined in, her laughter ringing out with theirs.
Hearing them all, hearing her laugh, something in him finally snapped. It wasn't a loud break, more like a quiet, final click.
He realized it then, with a cold, hard clarity. No one was coming to save him. No teachers, no police, no parents he never had. No one cared. If he wanted this to stop, he would have to be the one to stop it. He was the only one who could.
His face remained blank, but his mind was suddenly very clear. He reached down slowly, his hand going into his worn-out school bag. The laughter died down a little as a few students noticed his deliberate movement, a strange stillness about him.
He pulled out a gun.
The classroom went silent. Utterly, completely silent. Mark's smirk vanished, replaced by wide, terrified eyes. Even Ms. Joy stopped laughing, her face paling.
"What… Nox, what are you doing?" she stammered, her voice suddenly shaky.
He didn't answer. He looked around at their faces, one by one. Fear. He saw fear now. Good. He was ready. He was going to make them all pay. He was going to end it, all of it.
Just as he was about to raise the gun properly, a bright blue screen appeared right in front of his face. It was translucent, and only he seemed to see it.
[Congratulations! You have met the requirements!]
[1st Player Chosen!]
[You have won the System!]
He blinked. What the hell was this? He was still holding the gun, his finger near the trigger, but his mind was thrown into confusion. A system? Requirements? Won what?
He just stood there, staring at the floating blue words. The gun felt a little less steady in his hand.
The other students and Ms. Joy were staring at him, their fear now mixed with bewilderment. They couldn't see the screen. They just saw Nox, armed and dangerous, suddenly freeze and stare at empty air.
No one dared to move or make a sound. They wondered what was going on in his head. Had he finally lost it completely?
Then, the ground began to shake. It wasn't a small tremor; it was violent, like the whole world was being ripped apart. Desks toppled. Bookshelves crashed. Students screamed, scrambling, trying to run but mostly just falling over each other in panic.
Ms. Joy shrieked and dived under her desk.
Nox, caught off guard, stumbled but managed to grab onto the window sill, finding a good grip. He watched the chaos unfold around him, the blue screen still patiently hovering in his vision. The shaking went on and on, a relentless, deafening roar as the building groaned and protested. It felt like it lasted forever, but it was probably closer to an hour.
When it finally stopped, an eerie silence fell, broken only by whimpers and the distant sounds of destruction. The classroom was a wreck.
Then, new text appeared on the blue screen in front of him.
[Merge complete.]
[Current world population: 20 billion.]
He frowned. Twenty billion? Earth only had around eight billion people. What merge? What was going on?
The screen continued.
[Dungeons have been placed throughout the world.]
[Mana has been injected into the atmosphere.]
[Good luck, Player Nox.]
The blue screen then winked out of existence.
He was left standing there, gun still in hand, utterly confused, in the ruins of his classroom, on what was apparently a very different Earth. Player Nox? He had no idea what any of it meant.
Ms. Joy finally crawled out from under her desk, her hair a mess and her face streaked with dirt.
"Is… is everyone okay?" she asked, her voice trembling. "What in the world was that? An earthquake?"
No one answered her. They were too busy staring at the devastation or at Nox, who still hadn't moved, the gun a silent threat.
Mark, who had scrambled furthest away from Nox, pointed a shaking finger. "It's... it's gotta be him! He did something!"
"Don't be ridiculous, Mark," Ms. Joy snapped, though she looked nervously at Nox too. "How could he cause an earthquake?"
"I don't know! But he pulled out that... that thing right before it happened!" He insisted, his voice cracking.
Nox ignored them. His mind was reeling. Twenty billion people? Merge complete? Dungeons? Mana? Player Nox? It sounded like some kind of video game, but the shaking, the wrecked room, the genuine fear on everyone's faces – that was all too real.
He glanced at the gun in his hand. His earlier plan to kill everyone felt… distant now, overshadowed by this massive, insane change.
Suddenly, a high-pitched, terrified scream echoed from the hallway outside the classroom. It was sharp and cut off abruptly.
Everyone froze.
"What was that?" a girl near the door whispered, her eyes wide.
"Someone's out there!" another student cried.
Ms. Joy wrung her hands. "Nobody go out there! Stay in the classroom! It's not safe!"
Despite her warning, a couple of the braver, or maybe just more panicked, students cautiously edged towards the doorway, trying to peek out. The hallway was dark and filled with debris.
"I can't see anything," one of them muttered, craning his neck.
As the others were distracted by the scream and the mystery in the hallway, a new blue screen popped up in front of Nox.
[New Mission Issued!]
[First Dungeon Alert: A dungeon has been placed in your school.]
[Objective: Clear the dungeon.]
[Rewards: 1,000 EXP, 1x Random Skill, +5 Stat Points.]
[Accept? Y/N]
He stared at the screen. A dungeon? In the school? And rewards… EXP, skills, stats. It really was like a game.
He thought about it. Just moments ago, he was ready to end everyone because there was no other way out. Now, this… 'system' was offering him a different path. A path with power, if these rewards were anything to go by.
He still felt that cold deadness inside, but there was a flash of something else now. Not hope, exactly. More like… curiosity. And a small sense of purpose.
He looked at the gun in his hand. Maybe it wasn't for them anymore. Maybe it was for whatever was in that hallway.
The students by the door were still hesitating.
"I think I saw something move down there," one whispered, backing away a little.
Ms. Joy was trying to rally them. "We need to stay together! We need to call for help!" But her voice lacked any real authority.
Nox looked at the [Accept? Y/N] prompt.
He didn't have parents, teachers didn't help, the police were useless. The system, whatever it was, had chosen him. It was talking to him.
He pressed on 'Y'.
[Mission Accepted: Clear the Dungeon.]
The screen vanished.