John decided to visit his college first. He wanted to apologize to the Principal and hopefully revoke his expulsion. He knew it was futile, but he wanted to give it a try. He quickly adjusted his attire and walked toward the college.
As he neared the college, his heart started beating wildly. If it had been before, he would have prayed not to encounter any of his ex-classmates. But now, he had nothing to lose. At most, what would happen? Mock me? Let them… I can choose not to give a damn. It's up to me whether I want to be hurt or not.
He swaggered with his head held high toward the Principal's office. Strangely, no one he knew came in his path. He slightly opened the door and asked, "Excuse me, sir, may I come in?"
"Come in," a deep voice replied.
John calmed his heart before entering the cabin and slowly walked in front of the Principal's table. He realized that there was one more person in the room apart from the Principal—it was one of his lecturers, seated on a visitor's chair.
John instinctively said, "Good afternoon, sir," and without waiting for his reply, turned to the Principal and said the same.
The Principal didn't recognize him, but the lecturer seemed to recall. The lecturer suddenly asked in surprise, "Aren't you the one who got suspended for cheating in the exam recently?"
John admitted honestly, "Yes, sir, it was me, and I deeply feel sorry for what I've done. I came to apologize for my misbehavior."
The Principal, who hadn't spoken until now, raised his eyebrows slightly and observed every reaction like a hawk. He said without emotion, "What's the point of apologizing now? I can't revoke my order after it's passed."
John felt slightly disappointed. Since he had already expected the outcome, he reverted to his calm self again and said respectfully, "I know it's pointless, but I don't want to leave this college like a loser who's afraid to face his own mistake. I express my sincere thanks for what I've learned in the past three and a half years and seek forgiveness for my misbehavior. Sir, please accept my deepest apology."
John bowed without hesitation in front of the Principal and the lecturer and turned around to leave. He took a few steps toward the door before he heard the Principal's voice.
"Stop there. Come back."
John's whole body shuddered for a moment. He didn't know why, but he felt nervous all of a sudden. He turned around and saw the strange gazes of the two men. He didn't try to avoid eye contact and calmly returned their gazes.
There were two reasons for his fearlessness. One, he knew that once the experience points turned negative, he would die. Two, he had nothing to lose from being courageous—he had literally lost everything.
Both the Principal and the lecturer admired John's courage in their minds. They looked at each other and nodded. John was clueless; he was just standing there like a robot. After a period of silence, the Principal asked curiously,
"What changed you all of a sudden?"
John thought for a while and answered without holding back, "I experienced some events in the past one and a half months that really opened my eyes. I was running aimlessly in search of marks without knowledge, respect without honesty, and a good life without effort. As a result, I lost my good friends, my part-time job, and the opportunity to study in this college. I even went as far as to take my own life. Fortunately, I encountered a monk on the beach, and he made me realize how important values like honesty, truth, and courage are. I'm just following his teachings."
Both the Principal and the lecturer were shell-shocked. They knew John was just twenty-one, but to go through all that at such a young age! They didn't know what to say for a long time. The Principal seemed to make a hard decision and finally said,
"I'll allow you to attend college one last time and take care of the paperwork. But remember, it's your last chance. You can prepare for the supplementary exams next week."
John felt like he had heard divine words from heaven. He was so happy he wanted to howl like a beast, but he somehow controlled his emotions and clenched his fists tightly. He bowed again to express his sincere thanks.
"I won't disappoint you, Principal."
The Principal nodded with a rare smile. "Hope so."
When John left the cabin, the lecturer, who had watched everything silently, asked curiously, "Old pal, don't you think he might be acting?"
The Principal let go of his serious expression and turned into a normal man. He said with a laugh, "I don't think so. The look on his face can't be faked unless he's gone through a hard time. I always believe in my gut feeling. When I saw his determination, I had a strange feeling that he would achieve great things someday—like a feather reaching heaven along with the bird. Our college might gain a good reputation too. Moreover, our job is to give students opportunities to fly, not shackle them to the earth."
The lecturer nodded in agreement. "I feel the same. He's not shying away from facing his mistakes and asking for forgiveness. As teachers, we also need to face our own foolish egos and learn to forgive. Regardless of his future achievements, I'm glad I've learned something new from this chap."
The Principal smiled while stroking his beard. One day, he would be so glad for his decision that he would brag about his intuition to everyone—and his college's reputation would soar to new heights. But of course, that would be in the future.
John was strolling excitedly around the campus when he suddenly heard a familiar voice in his head.
[Congratulations, user. You have unlocked 'PROACTIVE'. Earned 20 experience points on all four Values. Eva hopes the user continues to work hard.]
John immediately looked at his display:
Name: John (Level-0)
Values:Truth — exp(20/100); Honesty — exp(20/100); Courage — exp(20/100); Proactive — exp(20/100)
Note: If user's experience goes negative, Eva will self-destruct.
John was pleasantly surprised. He now understood how the system really worked. He became more curious about the rewards he would receive upon levelling up. He said to himself, It's not far. A smile crept onto his lips. Somehow, he felt optimistic about his future.
Suddenly, he remembered Jake's face, and his entire body shuddered with fear. He realized he was far from any sort of optimism.
What's the point of having a bright future if I die tomorrow? He thought for a while and decided to take a look at the suggestion panel.
Suggestion Panel:Consistency is the mother of success. One should not be too happy for a small win or too sad for a small failure.
As humans, we face problems the moment we are born. Eating less is one problem (malnutrition), and eating more is another (obesity). Playing little is one problem (tag of loner), but playing too much is another (tag of irresponsible). Getting fewer marks is one problem (tag of stupid), but getting more marks is another (isolation from friends).
Every action we take creates a problem one way or another. Who decides we are right? Society does. But norms are formed to please the majority. What about the minority? They must carve their own norms that earn respect from society; otherwise, they'll be isolated and denied its resources.
The first step to solving any problem is recognizing that there is one. Denying or postponing it adds more variables. Solving it early is the best course of action.
But to solve any problem, we need a reference. We can't blindly follow what everyone in society does. Society recommends shortcuts—tried and tested methods—but it rarely explains the meaning behind them. We are not robots to follow algorithms or conditioned responses.
For example: suppose person 'A' accidentally injures person 'B'. 'A' immediately says sorry to 'B' as a conditioned response, then moves on as if nothing happened. Did 'A' genuinely feel sorry? Surprisingly, 'B' doesn't care—he's just happy to hear a sorry and move on. Unfortunately, the incident doesn't end there. 'A' repeats the same mistake again and again with others. Why? Because of what I call a 'false societal reference'.
Many people don't have real references in their conscience. They repeat mistakes because their values are weak. Values guide our actions and act as a benchmark. A mistake remains just a mistake for those guided by values—but for others, it becomes a way of life.
Reference is created by education and experience. The next step is following your gut feeling. Remember, it's a product of the reference you've built. For 90% of people, their gut won't yield good results because their value system is flawed—their references are flooded with prejudice, fear, and insecurity.
You don't need to worry since your value system is being redefined. All you need to do is trust your heart.
John was enlightened by the insights given by his virtual master. He couldn't help but worship him in his heart. Since I have the Value System, I should trust my heart, he thought. But deep inside, he knew he was still a long way from completely trusting his gut feeling, since he had only four Values. He was far from having a solid foundation.
Since it's already evening, I can rest today and go to the nearby police station tomorrow to seek some guidance.
He wanted to get rid of the hanging knife over his head as soon as possible, as he understood that without life, everything was useless. He took an auto and directly arrived at his former workplace to retrieve his bicycle.
Life is strange… yesterday I was an employee with no future, but now… sigh. He decided to properly apologize to Peter before returning home. He didn't care about what others thought of him any longer.
Uncle Peter helped me a lot. I can't simply destroy a relationship and move on. Let's at least try to resolve it before I give up. As he proceeded to enter the restaurant, his phone started ringing.
"Hello, this is John. Who am I speaking to?"