{ A NEW BEGINNING}I gently stood up with my face bruised as blood oozed out of my mouth. I tried to support myself with my hands and looked at Titus, who couldn't believe I could withstand all the blows that he had melted out of me. I staggered gently and looked at the spectators as they kept chanting my name. "Should we?" I said it from the gaming system with a smile on my face. [LET'S SHOW HIM WHAT WE ARE MADE OF] Shadow Blade said he was rushing towards Titus at full speed. The students all gasped as they saw how fast I was. The camera shutters were visibly heard as many of the students began to wonder how I was able to move fast. Mr. Dickson couldn't believe his eyes as Titus was being beaten all over the place. I looked around with my hands in the air as they kept chanting my name, "Fred! Fred! Fred!!!!!" Part of me felt relieved to see that I wasn't going to die after all. I looked at Titus as his eye turned before the shadow blade delivered the final blow, and he landed on

{ A NEW SYSTEM WITH SUPER BENEFITS}"What do you know about the stolen funds? Did you do this?" Diana asked with anger. "What are you talking about? What fund?" I looked back at her, trying to feign my ignorance. I have been with you the whole time, not to mention the fact that I was fighting with Titus. Have you heard anything about him? And what fund are you talking about?" I looked at her, dropping the pen on the table. I dipped my phone back into my pocket and decided to check the message later. My heart is still racing. I knew that since I wasn't dead, I must have passed the test. "I need to go. My father wants to see me." Diana looked at me, picking up her hand. "Do you want me to tag along?" I asked, trying to show that I cared.She looked at me. "Don't worry, I can handle myself." I watched as Diana zoomed out of the restaurant. I heaved a sigh of relief and smiled. We had managed to kill two birds with one stone. I won my match, and we were also able to get the slush fund f

{ DAVINA WANTS ME BACK }I felt a hand over my face, and I called Rosetta's name gently. She was all I could think about. The hand slowly crawled away from my eyes, and I saw Davina standing right in front of me. I looked at my phone, and Diana's call came in. I picked it up and lashed out at her. "I thought you were in the garden! Where the hell are you?" I shouted over the phone. Davina looked at me and wondered why I was yelling. "Did you do this? Do you still think of me as the same low-esteem guy I have always been?" I stood up and kicked away the plastic chair that I sat on. Davina walked closer to me and tried to reach for my hand. "Don't you dare!" I shouted and looked at her. I would have had a normal life as a teenager, but she dragged me into knowing all about the horrors of life on campus. I was going to forgive her for it. "I am sorry, Fred. I am being sincere with you right now. We can start all over again, forgetting what has happened between us. I am ready to be with

{ ALONE ONCE AGAIN}I looked at Mr. Dickson and laughed. "I should work for you? As what? security?" I asked, looking at him from the corner of my eyes. "What should I offer you?" I asked, walking towards the wine cellar. "Anything is fine." Mr. Dickson replied, acting nice. I knew he wasn't, and I smiled. It was just a scheme to get the funds he came for. As I walked to the wine cellar, I couldn't place my hand on what I wanted from him. I wanted to know a lot about his work, and infiltrating his inner circle would be a good idea. My relationship with Rosetta was on the brink of coming to an end, and I might have to choose between her and Diana. I knew I was developing feelings for Diana, but I love Rosetta. What do I do?" I looked at all the wine and thought of what Mr. Dickson would prefer. I decided to go for champagne. I remembered that the tradition of making sparkling wine dates back to ancient times, with the oldest recorded production of sparkling wine being in Georgia and

{ AN UNKNOWN GAMING WORLD }I woke up the next day, humming to myself. I danced around my room at the thought of seeing Diana at school. A part of me wishes I could forget my revenge and just focus on the love that was blossoming between me and Diana. My phone buzzed, and I saw a message appear on the screen. My mind raced a bit, and I wondered what the message was about. It has been weeks now since the system reached out to me. Another upgrade, maybe? I wasn't just a beginner anymore, but I was rising in the ranks. I looked at the message and saw it was from Diana. "See you at school." She blew me kisses, and I smiled. I went through the other message and saw Thomas's message. "Has he bitten the bait?" I typed back, telling him Mr. Dickson had promised to close the underground. I knew it was more like I was destroying all evidence to nail him. The thought of how to get everything that happened on a video camera never crossed my mind. "I just need to find Flora. She would serve as ev