So it's Monday...
The worst day of the week. And of course I have to go to school.
This is supposed to be my first day at school after I come back to life. Honestly, I'm quite nervous. In my previous life, I hated my elementary school. I hope it will be better now and I won't have to transfer to another school. It would be a useless solution.
With a sigh, I slung my backpack over my shoulder and set off on my journey.
The morning air was pleasantly cool and I was enjoying every minute. The last few days had been so crazy that a normal commute to school almost felt like a vacation.
After all, in just one weekend, I died, reincarnated, awakened two quirks, acquired the system, acquired the dungeon key, and finally the grimoire. Hearing it out loud like that… My life is pretty broken.
[Host's current mental state: stable.]
"I don't believe that either."
[Host's current mental state: stable.]
"The system."
[Yes, host.]
"Stop analyzing me."
[Rejected.]
"Why?"
[Because it's fun.]
I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk.
"Wait..."
[... ]
"Are you really kidding me?"
[The host does not have sufficient permission to obtain this information.]
"That's right."
The system didn't respond. I take that as a confession. After a few minutes of walking, I finally arrived in front of the school. And I immediately regretted it. The kids. There were so many kids. And most of them were looking my way.
Some whispered. Others pointed. One girl even pulled her friend's sleeve and pointed directly at my horns. "Yeah, yeah, look."
I couldn't blame them. After all, it's not every day you see a child with red eyes, white hair, and black horns. "I'd look at myself too," I noted to myself.
At that moment, a shout of "MEPHISTO!" came from behind me.
I turned around just in time. Mark was coming at me at full speed. "Hi!" he greeted me.
"You almost killed me." I shouted, "But you didn't." Karel answered me, who appeared behind Mark.
"So what?" Mark asked. "Are you looking forward to school?"
I looked at him. Then at the school. Then at him again. "Mark."
„No?"
"It's Monday morning."
He looked at me for a moment. Then he thought. "Yeah, actually."
"Exactly." And so we headed to class together.
As soon as we entered the classroom, I immediately noticed one thing.
Everyone was staring, not a little. They were really staring. Some at my horns, some at my eyes. And a few girls even whispered something about my white hair looking "like something out of an anime." Which was ironic considering where I was at the time.
"I told you you'd be popular," Mark whispered. "Shut up." I immediately responded to his provocation.
"I take that as approval." Fortunately, the bell saved the situation. The teacher entered the classroom and the lesson began. The first two lessons went surprisingly normally.
I even managed to answer a few questions. The advantage of reincarnation was that the curriculum wasn't particularly difficult for the children. The disadvantage was that I had to pretend to think about the answers.
Otherwise, everyone would think I was a genius. And I certainly didn't want to attract any more attention than I already was.
During the big break we went out into the hallway. Karel was talking about a new game he had received. Mark wasn't even listening to him. And I was trying not to kill the system.
Then a voice came.
"Hey, demon."
I stopped, so did Karel. Mark rolled his eyes, "Oh no."
"What?" I asked. "Tomáš." The name spoke to me. I searched my memory for a while, then it hit me. An older boy, two years older and a local idiot.
I turned around. At the end of the hallway stood a tall blond guy with two friends. Tomáš. Exactly the type of person you recognize at first glance. The one who feels more important than he is.
"So what, devil?" he smiled mockingly.
"Are those horns real?"
"Because."
"And won't it hurt?"
"No."
"Can I touch it?"
"No." to which Mark laughed.
Tomas's smile disappeared. "You're being a bit cheeky."
"And you pay attention." Honestly, I didn't feel like going through all that again, and besides, I'm at least quirky now, which is a benefit. Karel next to me made a choking sound. He tried not to laugh. Unsuccessfully.
Tomas took a step forward. "Do you know who you're talking to?"
"With Tomas?" This time Mark laughed too. Tomas's face started to twitch.
"Do you think you're thick because you have a quirk?"
"No."
"Then why are you acting like this?"
"Because you came to insult me and you haven't said anything interesting yet," I replied, and the hallway went completely silent. Several kids stopped and watched us.
Tomas came very close to me. "You should apologize."
"What for?"
"For that tone."
"No." At that moment he grabbed my shoulder, not hard. He wanted to show that he was bigger, stronger, that he had the upper hand, but... that was a mistake.
Instinctively I felt a flow of energy, the Etheric Core vibrated slightly
I didn't know what was happening, the surge of energy throughout my body was stronger than before, I felt like it was leaking out through my pores, I wanted to stop it, but my emotions, my anger reacted faster.
For a moment. Just for a single moment. My eyes changed, the pupils dilated and turned redder, as if they had turned into fire itself.
And behind my back, huge eyes formed of pink flames appeared. It barely lasted a second, maybe less, but Tomas saw it. And most importantly… he felt it, that aura. The same one that scared Marek and Karel in the bunker when I was in wolf form.
Tomas turned pale. He immediately let go of my shoulder and took two steps back. "What the hell was that...?"
I blinked, the aura disappeared, everything was normal again, most of the kids didn't even notice anything. Only Tomáš and his two friends. "I don't know," I answered calmly. "Maybe you were imagining something."
Tomas stared at me for a few seconds. Then he swallowed. "Yeah... maybe." He turned and his friends followed him. As soon as they disappeared around the corner, Mark's eyes widened at me. "Dude."
„Co?"
"Did you do that on purpose?"
"No."
"Fact?"
"Fact."
[System notification.]
[Bloodthirst skill activated.]
Oh, so it wasn't a wolf form, it was something else entirely. "Damn."
[Host's current mental state: happy.]
"Mr."
[Yes, host.]
Exactly three seconds.
[Host's current mental state: irritable.]
"STOP."