Dark sugary cola dripped from the edge of the desk, pooling across the open notebook before soaking into the collar of his faded shirt.
"Look at this pathetic loser," Mark sneered, tossing the crumpled aluminium can straight into the wastebasket by the chalkboard.
"Did you really waste fifty cents just to give me a shower?"
"I can waste whatever I want on garbage like you," the bully barked, taking a menacing step closer.
"Your breath smells worse than a rotting sewer pipe," the dark-haired youth replied, slowly raising his chin to meet the hostile glare.
The entire classroom went quiet, dozens of students turning in their plastic chairs with eager grins while waiting for the inevitable beating.
"What did you just say to me, trash?"
"You heard every single syllable loud and clear," the youth answered, resting his forearms flat against the ruined paper.
The tall athlete stepped forward, slamming both palms down on the desk so hard the legs shrieked against the linoleum.
"Get on your knees and apologize before I break your jaw!"
"Try it and see how fast you choke on your teeth," the youth replied without blinking.
"Both of you stop this right now!" Miss Joy snapped from the teacher podium, adjusting her thick spectacles with a frown.
She glared directly across the rows, completely ignoring the sticky puddle spreading across the ruined desk.
"You are disrupting my lecture again, so pack your things and go straight to the administrative office!"
"He dumped an entire can of soda on my notes," the youth pointed out, gesturing toward the sodden pages.
"I do not care about your petty excuses," she barked, tapping a ruler against her clipboard. "Leave my room this instant!"
"Of course," he muttered, leaning back with a mocking grin. "The teacher protects the wealthy athlete every single time."
"Do you want detention for the rest of the year?"
"Detention from you sounds like a peaceful vacation," the youth shot back, folding his arms across his damp chest.
The bully grabbed the youth by the collar, hauling him upward with enough force to tear the worn cotton fabric.
"You are going out into the hallway right now, garbage!"
"Take your filthy hands off me before you lose them," he said, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper.
The athlete raised his fist to strike, but his knuckles froze in midair as the entire universe snapped into absolute silence.
The ticking classroom wall clock ceased its rhythm, suspended dust hung motionless in the air, and vibrant color drained from the walls.
[ System Selection Initiated ]
[ Calculating global willpower thresholds across 20,000,000,000 mortal consciousness streams... ]
[ Anomaly detected: Subject 'Nox' demonstrates absolute psychological resistance and ruthless survival instinct. ]
[ Congratulations! You have been designated as the World's First Player! ]
[ Unique Starter Perk Generated: Personal Armory Manifestation. ]
A sudden solid weight materialized inside his right hand, cold checkered polymer grips pressing firmly against his palm.
[ Item Acquired: Standard 9mm Service Pistol (Rank F) | Ammunition: 8/8 Loaded ]
[ Passive Trait Unlocked: First Player Authority (Level 1) ]
The frozen reality shattered with a deafening crack that shook the foundational bedrock beneath the school building.
Seismic tremors tore through the floor, splitting the tiles open as purple lightning surged across the acoustic ceiling.
Screams erupted from every corner of the room as students tumbled over overturned desks, clutching their heads in sheer terror.
"Earthquake!" a boy shrieked near the windows. "The entire city is collapsing into the ground!"
Beyond the shattered glass, massive jagged spires thrust into the clouds while the sky tore open in violent violet fractures.
[ The Great Merge has commenced. Earth population expanded to 20,000,000,000. Mana saturation reaching threshold. ]
[ Local Territory Designated: Zone 004 Dungeon — High School Campus. ]
[ Subzone Quest Generated: Purge the East Wing | Hostile Signatures: 63 | Gate Warden: Rexar's Avatar ]
[ Quest Clear Reward: 1,000 EXP | 1x Skill Scroll | 5x Free Stat Points ]
The classroom door exploded inward, splintering into jagged wooden shards that rained across the front row of desks.
A feral predator lunged through the drifting dust, snapping jaws lined with triple rows of jagged yellow fangs.
The beast stood on four muscular limbs, covered in mottled grey hide with spines jutting along its crooked spine.
"Monster!" a terrified girl screamed, scrambling backward into the corner. "Somebody help us right now!"
"Is that a wild demon?" another student shouted from behind a metal locker. "Look at those razor teeth!"
The teacher stumbled back against the chalkboard, dropping her wooden clipboard as her face turned completely pale.
"Do something, please!" she shrieked in desperation. "You are on the football team, protect your teacher!"
The athlete shook uncontrollably, his bladder letting go as warm liquid soaked down his designer denim trousers.
"Stay back... please!" the boy wailed, his voice cracking into a high pitch. "Get away from me—!"
"I can't move my legs!" the athlete shrieked, tears streaming down his flushed cheeks. "It is going to eat me alive!"
The hound lowered its snout, releasing a wet growl that vibrated through the floorboards as saliva dripped onto the floor.
It fixed its hungry gaze directly on the trembling athlete, tensing its muscular hind legs to leap across the narrow aisle.
The boy turned around in a blind panic, catching sight of the youth standing calmly beside the broken window frame.
"Die for me, trash!" the athlete screamed, lunging forward with both arms outstretched to shove the youth into the beast.
The armed youth stood his ground without yielding a single inch, raising the weapon with steady and lethal focus.
"Wrong choice, idiot," the dark-haired youth said.
His index finger smoothly squeezed the trigger mechanism, dropping the mechanical hammer in one clean and decisive motion.
The gunshot roared through the enclosed classroom like a thunderclap, spitting a bright muzzle flash into the dim air.
The high-velocity lead bullet struck the charging bully square in the sternum, punching through flesh and bone with crushing power.
The athlete gasped, his forward momentum instantly halted as his pupils dilated in utter disbelief and shock.
"Y-you... shot me..." the dying boy choked out, crimson froth bubbling past his trembling lips.
"I told you not to touch me," the youth replied, watching without a trace of pity as the bully collapsed.
The body hit the linoleum with a dull thud, limbs twitching once before going completely still in a widening crimson pool.
The classroom fell into petrified silence, the surrounding students frozen in sheer horror at the sudden and brutal execution.
[ Player Kill Confirmed: Mark | Experience Value: 0 EXP (Non-Hostile Human Target) ]
[ Ammunition Remaining: 7/8 Rounds ]
The teacher pressed both hands over her trembling mouth, her eyes wide with terror as she stared at the smoking muzzle.
"Y-you murdered him!" she shrieked, pointing a shaking finger across the room. "You are an absolute monster!"
"The real monster is standing three feet away from your podium," he replied coldly, shifting his aim toward the predator.
"Help me—!" she wailed, stumbling backward into the chalkboard. "Someone grab his weapon!"
"Are you insane?" a student yelled from under a desk. "He just shot the biggest guy in school!"
"Listen to me!" she screamed, her voice cracking with pure hysterics. "Shoot that beast right now!"
"Why would I waste valuable ammunition on your behalf?"
"I am your teacher!" she cried out desperately. "It is your civic duty to obey me and protect this class!"
"Your school rules died the second the sky split open," he answered, taking a deliberate step toward the window.
"You watched Mark torment people for months without saying a single word," he added coldly.
"That was different!" she sobbed, burying her face in her hands. "We were afraid of him!"
"Now you can be afraid of the monsters," the youth answered, adjusting his grip on the polymer handle.
The hound ripped a chunk of flesh from the fallen corpse, crunching through bone with sickening and wet sounds.
"Please... don't leave us!" another student sobbed from the back corner. "We don't know how to fight!"
"Then you should start learning very quickly," he replied, resting his left palm against the cracked frame.
"You coward!" the teacher shrieked, tears smearing her makeup. "God will punish you for abandoning your classmates!"
"If your god cared about this room, he would not have sent hungry beasts to eat you," he answered with a smirk.
"Wait... take me with you!" a girl cried out from behind an overturned table. "I have money in my locker!"
"Paper money is completely worthless in a dungeon zone," the youth answered, looking down at the courtyard below.
"What if we starve?" another boy shouted from the back row. "Where are we supposed to get food?"
"Start scavenging before someone else takes it," the First Player answered calmly.
[ System Notice: Zone 004 Campus holds 214 total hostile signatures. Clear East Wing to claim initial refuge. ]
He glanced down at the glowing blue interface floating in the corner of his vision, memorizing the tactical coordinates.
Outside in the courtyard, civil defense sirens wailed across the metropolis as rising plumes of smoke rose from distant towers.
Distant explosions echoed through the avenues, accompanied by the screeching howls of thousands of newly spawned dimensional horrors.
"What are we supposed to do?" the teacher whimpered, sinking down onto her knees behind the podium.
"Pick up a chair leg and fight for your own survival," he said, turning his back to the room.
"You can't just jump!" a boy shouted. "That is the second floor!"
"Watch me," the First Player whispered, stepping backward over the shattered ledge into the open air of the new world.