The blue screen pulsed in the dim light of Reth's bedroom.
[Tutorial Quest: The First Look — COMPLETED]
[Reward: $10]
[Note: Host can directly transfer System funds to his bank account; the transaction will appear natural to the bank.]
[Current Balance: $10]
Reth sat on the edge of his bed, staring at his hands. They were smaller, his grip weaker, but his mind was a fortress built from 730 days of bitterness. He wasn't the broken 18-year-old high school 3rd year anymore. He was a 16-year-old freshman.
It was September 15, 2024. He had been a high school freshman for exactly one month. In his "past" memory, this was the month he had completely surrendered his dignity to Sarah, becoming her shadow just to feel close to her.
"One month in," Reth whispered. "The foundation of my misery was built right about now."
His phone—the older model—vibrated on the desk.
Sarah (7:45 AM):Hey Reth!! 💖 Are you coming to school early? I'm totally stuck on that History worksheet... you're so much better at this than me! 😭 Meet me at our usual spot by the gym? xoxo
Reth looked at the "usual spot." For the last three weeks, he'd been meeting her there like a loyal dog, doing her homework while she talked about how "cool" the older football players were.
"The usual spot," Reth repeated, the words tasting like ash.
In the timeline that led to his death, he would have replied to that text within seconds: 'On my way, Sarah! Don't worry, I've got the answers.' He would have run to the gym, sweating in his stiff school uniform, just to see her smile for a fleeting second before she ignored him for the rest of the day.
This time, Reth didn't even touch the keyboard. He set the phone back on the desk, face down.
[System Notification: Host has ignored a 'Submissive Trigger'.]
[Reward: +$5]
He stood up and walked to the mirror. The Northwood High uniform—the white shirt, the striped tie, and the navy blazer—felt restrictive, like a costume for a character he no longer wanted to play.
He didn't fasten the top button. He didn't tighten the tie into the neat, pathetic knot his mother had taught him. Instead, he left the collar open and the tie loose, draped with a calculated carelessness. He ran a hand through his dark hair, pushing the fringe away from his eyes.
[Skill Activated: Truth Eye]
[Name: Reth Anchor]
[Level: 1]
[Strength: 8]
[Stamina: 45]
[Charm: 12]
[Current Balance: $15]
"System, increase Charm by 10."
[Increasing Charm by 10 will cost $10. Do you wish to make the purchase?]
"Yes. And add 5 points to my Stamina too."
[Charm: 12 à 22]
[Stamina: 45 à 50]
He looked at his stats again.
[Name: Reth Anchor]
[Level: 1]
[Strength: 8]
[Stamina: 50]
[Charm: 22]
[Current Balance: $0]
So that's how it works, he thought.
His reflection didn't look like a fifteen-year-old boy. The eyes were too deep, too cold. They were the eyes of a man who had felt his own bones shatter under a truck's tires.
"No more homework, Sarah," he whispered to the empty room. "From now on, you're the one who's going to have to learn."
He grabbed his satchel, but he didn't pack the extra notebooks he usually carried for her. He left them rotting on his desk.
"Reth! Breakfast is on the table! You're going to be late for the bus!"
The voice drifted up from the kitchen—Claire Anchor. She had been his mother's best friend, but to Reth, she was simply Mom. She had taken him in when he was barely a year old, clutching a stuffed bear and crying for parents who would never come back. She hadn't just "adopted" him; she had claimed him.
In his past life, he had always felt he owed her a debt he could never repay. He had been the "perfect, quiet boy" just to make her life easier.
He walked downstairs, his footsteps heavy and deliberate.
Claire was at the stove, while her daughter, Marie, was already at the table, scrolling through her phone in her own junior high uniform. Marie was like a younger sister to him—or at least, that's how he had forced himself to see her in the past to avoid the awkwardness of their living situation.
Claire turned around to hand him a plate and froze. She didn't put the eggs down. She just stared.
Reth hadn't fastened his top button. His tie was loose, and he had shed that "please don't notice me" slouch. He looked taller. Not physically, but his presence filled the kitchen in a way it never had before.
"Reth?" Claire asked, her brow furrowing. "You... you look different today. Did you finally get some sleep? You look much better. Stronger, somehow. More... settled."
Marie looked up from her phone, her eyes widening as she scanned him. "Whoa. Since when do you wear your uniform like a rebel? You look like one of those 'cool' upperclassmen in the dramas."
Reth took the plate, his expression unreadable. He looked at Claire—the woman who had sacrificed so much for a son that wasn't hers—and felt a pang of genuine warmth. "I just realized that playing by everyone else's rules hasn't gotten me anywhere, Mom. I'm trying something new."
Marie squinted at him. "Whatever it is, it's working. You don't look like a doormat anymore."
[Ding! Interaction Bonus: Family Perception Shift]
[Reward: +$10]
He finished his meal in silence, gave Claire a respectful nod that felt more like that of an equal than a dependent, and headed out.
The walk to the bus stop felt different. Usually, he'd be frantically checking his phone to see if Sarah had texted. Now, his phone stayed in his pocket. He didn't head toward the gym when he arrived at Northwood High. He walked straight into the main building, his shoes clicking with a rhythmic, heavy thud against the linoleum.
He reached the freshman locker wing. Mark Sterling was there, holding a smaller kid's glasses high in the air, mocking him.
And then, there was Sarah.
She was leaning against the lockers, her pleated uniform skirt swaying. She looked annoyed—like a princess whose favorite servant was late. When she finally spotted Reth walking from the opposite direction, her expression shifted from annoyance to total shock.
"Reth?" she called out. "Where were you? I texted you twenty minutes ago! I've been waiting by the gym and—"
She stopped. Her eyes traveled over his loose tie and the cold, predatory stillness in his posture.
"Reth... what's with the look? And where's my History worksheet?"
Reth stopped three feet away from her. He didn't smile.
"I didn't do it," Reth said.
Sarah's jaw dropped, her perfectly applied lip gloss glistening in the fluorescent hallway lights. She looked at Mark, then back at Reth, waiting for the "just kidding" that usually followed his rare moments of backbone.
But the joke didn't come.
Reth's eyes remained as cold and steady as a winter sea. Behind him, the blue semi-transparent screen flickered, unnoticed by the crowd.
[Warning: Target 'Sarah Jenkins' is experiencing 'High Confusion' and 'Social Panic'.]
[Warning: Target 'Mark Sterling' is entering 'Aggressive State'.]
[New Quest Objective: Crush the Hierarchy.]
Reth didn't wait for them to speak. He shifted his bag on his shoulder and started to walk past them, his shoulder brushing Mark's with enough force to make the athlete stumble back an inch.
In the old life, Reth was a spectator. In this one, he was the storm.