Zero stared at Vask in fear of what had happened earlier between them. Why the hell was he in the same room with this guy? He wasn't going to survive the next two weeks if he decided to bully him.
"Hey. Why are you standing there? Get in, or are you waiting for a triumphant song before you get in?" he asked rhetorically.
"Uh...mm...okay..." Zero mumbled as he walked in nervously.
Vask walked over to him and patted him on the shoulders.
"That was a hell of a punch. You are strong for a Level 1. Wonder what sort of ability you have? You know, you and I can be friends," Vask said with a light laugh.
"You can't be serious. This guy... why is he acting like I hadn't stepped on his toes? It's strange considering that every high level I've met acts all cocky, with the exception of Becky."
Zero thought to himself.
"Okay..." Zero muttered and walked over to his bunk.
All he had to do was unpack the important things he came with.
He began by packing in his body lotion and other toiletries. Then he kept his parents' diary inside his bag and the knife he had used to kill Tansle.
Upon seeing the knife, he had flashbacks to the moment he killed Tansle.
It was hard to fathom what his cousins would be doing by now. He knew traces would fall on him, but they couldn't find him until they were able to trace the facility of this school.
That would buy him time to grow stronger and get above the law.
He then climbed up to his bed and sat down.
For now, he didn't understand what kind of system he had.
A Murdering System?
Was that supposed to be an ability? Or was it something different from an ability?
If the Murdering System was indeed his ability, it was something strange, and no one had ever given a testimony to an ability that required him to kill to level up.
It was strangely odd.
Even at that, he still had an edge, as no one could give an account of his ability, making him a formidable threat.
But that too gave him concern.
If he was an ability-less person—a Lamer—then if he eventually grew stronger, what ability would he register as?
He didn't think much about that as he knew that it wasn't close by.
For now, all he had to do was complete all its quests and level up fast.
Then he remembered that he was given a daily quest.
He pulled his system up and stared at the quests.
[Daily Quests:]
[Sleep for at least 6 hours]
[100 metres run]
He could easily do the run while going to the refectory to eat, though he didn't know how long that would be.
As for his sleep, he would definitely sleep at night.
For now, the quest wasn't a neck-breaking one.
He was about to come down from the bed when one of his roommates called him over.
"Could you give me a hand over here?"
Zero turned and noticed that Vask wasn't in the room, neither was the last roommate.
"Okay," Zero said and got down from the bed.
Then he walked over to him.
The boy's level was displayed as Level 2.
"I just need you to help me drop this shoe on top of the cabinet," the boy said as his face flushed red with embarrassment.
Zero then noticed that the boy was short and had dark green hair.
"Yeah. I can do that," Zero said freely, not wanting to hurt the poor boy's feelings.
He picked up the shoe and stretched over to neatly place it on the cabinet.
"Sorry to say, but don't you think it's better to drop it somewhere around your reach? Sorry if my words hurt you," Zero said and noticed that the boy looked even more timid.
"No. It's not a problem, actually. That isn't the shoe I'll be using for now. I just wanted it up there so as not to inconvenience you guys," he explained.
Zero stared at him.
He felt awkward.
This boy seemed to be psychologically murdered. He could not even face up to a common Level 1 despite his upper rank as a Level 2.
"Are you okay?" Zero asked politely.
The boy stared at him for a while before looking away.
Zero felt something was wrong, so he came closer to him, and the boy shivered lightly, which was odd.
"Hey! Look at me. Are you okay? You seem disturbed," Zero asked again.
The boy didn't look at him now. He just stared at the ground nervously.
This guy was more nervous than he could have imagined.
Zero thought that probably he had one of those genetic issues where a male possessed feminine characteristics. He didn't know why he was acting like a girl who was speaking to her first lover.
"Uhm... I just wanted to know. You were one of the students who cleared the entrance exam?" he asked nervously.
Zero arched an eyebrow.
"Yes."
"Oh. Okay. Just wanted to know. Because I kind of feel like you two would bully the rest of us in here."
Wait, was this guy for real?
He was afraid of him? Despite the fact that he was a Level 2 and Zero was a Level 1.
Zero nearly laughed, but he decided that if he was that nervous, he had to give him a good impression.
"Look, I'm not strong. I only survived by a thread of fate. You don't have to be scared of me or anyone. You are a man and, for heaven's sake, act like one. If not, you will end up being bullied more. I can sense you have been bullied all your life, but if you don't stand up for yourself, no one will," Zero said, and the boy lifted his head slowly.
It was the first time he had been spoken to in such a manner.
All his life, he had been treated as a rag and toy. This was the first person who had spoken words of encouragement to him.
For that reason, he seemed to want him as a friend.
"Hey. My name is Zero, and you are?"
"Ben," he said timidly, but after Zero kept on looking at him, he increased his voice.
"I'm Ben Shane. I would love to be your friend," he said and stretched out his hand for a handshake.
Zero stared at him for a while before taking his hand.
"Okay then."
He hadn't spent up to 24 hours in here, and he had three friend requests already.
This sure was the opposite of his previous school life.
A smile tugged on his lips as he could feel himself being free for once in his life.
But that feeling wasn't going to last so long.
---
Inside a room, a man sat on his maxi-sized bed, holding onto his cheek.
His hair was dark green, and his face was lined with a scar.
He was Kenny, one of the officers in the school. He wasn't really an officer; he was simply acting as one.
He was actually one of the Year One teachers in the school.
He was the person who Zero had punched on the podium.
He was still finding it hard to believe that such a force could be released by a Level 1.
"Damn. That was a hell of a boy. His punch was probably as strong as a Level 6. Just how the hell did he survive till the last seconds?" Kenny said to himself.
A grin appeared on his face as a thought cut across his mind.
"Probably he's a Gashen."
He stood up from his bed and walked over to get his sword.
On it was inscribed a strange handwriting.
"Got some business to take care of," he said and walked off quietly.