Adam flexed his hands. He opened and closed them.
He felt a profound sense of lightness and strength. It was a level of physical power he had never experienced in his life.
He felt as if his body was no longer made of flesh and bone but of sothing stronger more efficient.
The feeling was intoxicating a stark contrast to the cold emptiness that had settled in his mind.
He then rembered the other notification the one about the skill he had acquired from Locks.
As he thought about it a new system window appeared. It glowed with its familiar blue light.
[NEW SKILL]
Na: Hand-to-Hand Combat
Level: diocre
Description: Grants the host a foundational understanding of unard fighting techniques including basic strikes blocks and dodges.
So he had a combat skill now Adam thought. He realized the system was direct.
The skill ca from Locks the first thug he had attacked. That man had likely possessed so fighting ability but Adam’s sudden overwhelming attack had ended the fight before it began.
It was pure luck. If he had hesitated for even a mont if he had tried to fight them both at once he would never have been able to neutralize them before being killed himself.
His strategy of trading his own life had been the correct one.
Now a new kind of knowledge settled into his subconscious mind.
He didn’t see flashing images or hear a voice in his head.
He just knew. He knew instinctively how to position his feet for better balance.
He knew how to dodge an incoming attack. He felt an unusual sense of coordination as if his limbs were now perfectly in tune with his mind.
He was certain that if he tried he could even perform a backflip. The knowledge was there a part of him now.
As he processed this new information his thoughts drifted back to the last loop.
He rembered the look on Philips’s face. The fear the apology the desperate tears.
Philips was not like Jas or the thugs. He was a piece of the puzzle but a different kind of piece.
Adam decided he needed to confront his class monitor to understand his part in all this. He needed to know why a model student would agree to beco an accomplice to murder.
He knew classes were about to end. The final period of the day was Japanese language class taught by Miss Maya.
It should be in session right now. He walked down the hall to his classroom. His steps were silent a product of his enhanced agility.
He reached the door a standard sliding classroom door. He slid it open and stepped inside.
The room was almost empty. The other students were gone.
The bell must have rung while he was in the hallway receiving his rewards. A single girl sat at her desk near the window her back to him. Her desk was covered in thick black marker.
Vulgar words and cruel phrases were scrawled all over the wooden surface. It was a chaotic ss of ink a brutal attack made visible.
The graffiti targeted the girl and her family with deeply offensive and abusive comnts.
The girl just sat there staring down at the defaced desk.
She seed small and broken. Her shoulders were slumped in defeat. She was so absorbed in her misery that she hadn’t even heard him enter.
The air in the room was heavy with her silent despair.
Adam recognized her. He spoke her na. His voice was a quiet whisper a sound that was surprisingly gentle. "Sofia."
Hearing her na Sofia flinched as if struck. Her entire body tensed. She looked up her eyes wide and red brimming with unshed tears.
When she saw Adam standing there a look of panic crossed her face.
She quickly wiped her face with the back of her hand trying to hide her emotions.
She scrambled to gather her belongings which were scattered on the floor around her desk.
It seed her bag had been emptied as part of the harassnt.
Stuffing everything haphazardly into her bag she stood up. She walked past Adam her head down completely ignoring him as she hurried out of the classroom.
She fled as if he was another one of her torntors.
Adam watched her go. He heard her footsteps running down the hall.
Then he turned and walked over to her empty desk. He looked down at the words written in black marker.
The graffiti was crude and vicious. It attacked her appearance her family’s financial status even her deceased mother.
It was a calculated campaign of psychological torture.
Adam is feeling very bad after seeing all this, he is wondering how soone can write such words without thinking or understanding anything.
He was shocked.
He had been so wrapped up in his own nightmare that he had been blind to the one happening right next to him every day. I always thought Sofia was just a quiet girl he thought. The kind of person who fades into the background. I had no idea she was being bullied this badly.
He ran a finger over one of the words.
The ink was still fresh slightly tacky to the touch. This had happened today during the last class.
While he was dying and being reborn his classmate was enduring her own private hell.
The thought filled him with a strange cold anger an anger that was not for himself but for her. He looked at the empty classroom.
He looked at the defaced desk. He looked at the door Sofia had fled through. He had his own enemies to deal with. But this this was sothing he couldn’t just ignore.
----------------------------------------------
Hey everyone!
A huge thank you for reading my novel! I hope you’re enjoying the ride.
If you are, please smash that Power Stone button to show your support! Also, jump into the comnts section and tell what you think. I love reading all of your feedback and theories.
Keep being aweso!
Alphaboss
----------------------------------------------
Reviews
All reviews (0)