(Not) A Vanilla Levelling System

13

"You're saying you can't help?"

"We'd love to help, Mr. McKane. After all, you are our most valuable partner. But, eliminating an outstanding student that many people care about is much more difficult than destroying a colony of cockroaches like yesterday."

That cockroach colony also had children in it, dammit. 

"And as a professional institution, we hope to minimise the collateral damage that could be caused, for both of our convenience."

I clucked and said again. "I never asked you to hurt him, or anything more cruel than that. I just want you to teach him a lesson, or simply scare him would be fine. Make him a deterrent."

"And that's after you've caused her trouble? He'll wonder. People will wonder. One random loose knot could be traced and put us all in danger."

I sighed. I thought, my life has gotten a lot easier.

"However, you don't have to worry. We can give you the information you need. Where he lives, his family background, even the dirty secrets he's trying to hide. I know you can make good use of that kind of thing, agreed?"

"Yes," I said resignedly, after all, what choice do I have left? That's the way a coward fights. However, I also value any information that can be gained. 

"We'll catch you up later."

The phone was switched off and I could only scowl.

What now?

There's still 1 hour and 40 minutes left until the lesson ends. Am I just going to sit here and do nothing?

I hated waiting, and the realisation that people like Phil were sitting there quietly listening while I was partially losing knowledge made me even more annoyed.

Wait. This was strange. I'm a person who's usually level-headed and tends to give in. However, something as trivial as this was frustrating me.

The old me should have succumbed and apologised to Phil, while hoping that my school life wouldn't get any more chaotic.

But the old me didn't have the strength to fight back. I guess it started after I managed to silence Carl.

No, it was before that. Long long before that. Maybe since those thugs attacked Liz. Does being strong make one's ego grow?

Or is it not because of that new Skill that sounds evil?

"Well, well. Look at this, the new big boy in town."

I turned around, and (as expected), found one of the people I didn't want to be there. David waved at me with his trademark lopsided smile. "Hello~"

"Hello." What was he doing here, anyway?

"Hello, and?" David frowned and sighed. "Doing great things lately has made you big-headed and forget your manners, huh. As your friend, it makes me sad."

I'm not your friend! However, I didn't say that.

Jason chose his 'closest' goon was not without calculation. Apart from Phil who could improve his image in front of teachers and Carl who gave him exclusive access to people in the basketball club, David benefited him in a similar way.

David may not have any achievements, but his parents are influential figures in the city. Aside from having an above-average total wealth, his donations to the school also gave David the 'cute' to be treated as he pleased.

Of course, he was smart enough not to piss everyone off. Compared to Phil, I think he's more dangerous. With his flamboyant speaking skills (typical of rich people's speaking style), the sympathy he gets is not only from the teachers, but almost everyone.

Okay. I take back what I said earlier. There is nothing more dangerous. All three of them are monsters in the form of teenage boys. I began to wonder, was Mum's decision to move here and get me into this school was right?

"Hey, I'm still here, you know." David shrugged. "I heard you were having trouble with Phil."

I gulped. "So, does it have anything to do with you??" Oh my! I really did it! Am I really this brave?

David even froze, before finally flashing a smile. "Not really, anyway. I understand, though, that bastard Phil can be troublesome sometimes."

"Huh?"

"Right? A snitching mama's boy who only dares to curse under his father's armpits," David said with a half-mocking chuckle.

I just frowned. "A-aren't you guys close?"

"Oh, sure. Like brothers. And like any other brothers on earth, we also secretly intend to kill each other," David said in a meaningful tone, "Just kidding. Of course I'm annoyed at how you treated him, but yeah... what I said is also true." David suddenly grabbed my shoulder. "First Wilson, then Phil, are you after me next, buddy?"

The grip on his shoulder wasn't as strong as Jason's, but the witty tone he used made me shrink for a second.

Jason, Phil, or even Carl might not hesitate to beat me up when I upset them.

However, David won't get his hands dirty. He would get an expert to torture me, while he sat watching and eating popcorn.

I gulped, and made no reply.

"Your silence confuses me," David said as he stepped away, then shrugged again. "But that doesn't mean you'd do that, though. After all, we're good friends, right?"

I couldn't help but grin nervously when David grinned and invited me to high-five.

"And good friends usually share. For now, I have something interesting to share with you, McKane."

"Interesting thing?"

*#*

I almost bumped into a few people as I rushed through the hallway. A library girl carrying a stack of books grumbled from behind when I bumped into her and sent her books scattering on the floor.

I screeched an apology, turned around, and ran again.

How could that David call this interesting?

Those three guys were all psychopaths.

When I got to the door, I caught my breath first.There were two flights of circular stairs that I had to climb to get to the roof.

When I opened it and saw that curve soaring up there, I was already queasy.

However, she wasn't going to wait. Gathering my resolve, I climbed the stairs one by one. I stopped several times due to exhaustion, but eventually picked myself up faster.

I'm here!

I opened the door, and immediately shouted. "STOP!"

"Hm?"

It wasn't what I expected.

David said that on his way to class, he saw Richards with a grim face heading for the roof. "Dead, dead, dead, that's what he said," David explained at the time.

Instead, Richards was full of life. Just look at how he devoured the lunch he was holding. 

"Is eating lunch on the roof against the rules now?" Richards asks, chewing again.

I gasped, gulped, and chuckled nervously. "Ah, no. I mean..., are you okay?"

Richards asked back. "What am I in trouble for? Wait, the teachers started looking for me, huh?"

Ah, yes. That's right. It was still class time and I had to be out of class because I was involved in a silly incident. 

However, at that time, Phil only reported me. "First of all, what are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here?" Richards asked back, again, much to my annoyance. However, that tired sigh made my anger dissipate. "Oh, yeah, right. Grayson. For that matter, I apologise, and thank you, though I hope you don't do it again."

I closed the door, walking over to him. "Are you afraid he'll treat you worse?"

"Afraid? Treat me worse? Are you kidding?" Richads said, which surprised me. I should have asked that question. "It looks like you're falling for what people are saying. Hey, you can't just judge someone in one look.. Grayson isn't as hasty as you think."

"If making someone an object to sit on isn't mistreatment, I guess you come from a world with different moral concepts than me."

Richars frowned. "Huh? Oh, are you still talking about that? Geez, it was just... a joke. Yes, a joke." I could hear the hesitation in his last words. "Well, he can be a bit annoying and over the top, but it's not that serious."

Seeing that I wasn't budging, Richards chuckled. "If it's any consolation, Grayson's the one who helped me make the grade."

"What?"

"Of course no one's going to believe it, but that's the truth. Look, McKane, I'm not as smart as you, even for a school in this remote place. My dad almost gave up and told me to just help him work in the factory, but here's the thing: I want to go to college. I want to go to the capital. I want to explore the world.

"Phil Grayson does look scary and the way he makes himself look familiar. But, when you do what he wants, he can be kind, and even a little generous. He doesn't even stop until I fully understand, even if it means I don't get a full night's sleep." Richards shrugged and chuckled.

That put me in a tricky situation. But still, "You were never considered a friend, you know. You're just there so he can brag about himself."

Richards chuckled. "Well doesn't everyone?" The tall man cleaned up his half-eaten lunch, stood up, and tapped me on the shoulder. "Hey, McKane, I know what you inted to, and I knew from the start that you were a good person with good intentions. But, I mean it, this is all okay."

*#*

"We've sent the information to your front door. I'm sorry, Mr McKane, we had to use conventional means. Digital traces are much easier to track these days, and we don't want our efforts so far to be exposed because of a slip-up or two."

"Allright, I understand." I held the full brown parcel that was still sealed. From its proportional length and width, it seemed to contain a stack of documents. 

"Did the goods arrive?"

"Yeah and I'll start opening it."

"We're glad to hear that. Hope it helps, and when it's all done, we expect good progress."

Elena hung up. Meanwhile, I gazed longingly at my awaited gift, before finally stepping into the house.

When I unpacked it on the sofa, as expected, it was indeed about detailed information about Phil, even to the most private level.

From there I knew that Phil was the son of a concubine. Tom Grayson, his father is a well-known businessman and one of the richest men around.

So that's why David recognised his relationship with Phil as almost brotherly. I guess he meant that they experienced the same set of life circumstances.

However, the most important piece of information is Phil's history with drugs. Back when he was still living with his mum, Phil seemed to have gotten into the wrong crowd and became a heroine addict at a very early age: 14 years old.

I was dumbfounded. I thought it was made up. After all, a media company like SIREN is typically the most experienced in twisting facts.

However, this rehabilitation document looked so genuine. And from the same hospital that treated Mum!

I wanted to confirm it myself, but like Elena said, people would definitely ask questions. So, I thought it was stupid, and cancelled it.

Even with these two pieces of information, I could make Phil lose face. No, lose his life. No Olympic organisation would accept an ex-addict as a participant.

His championships would probably be stripped as well.

But after hearing Richards' words, it made me wonder once again, was this the right decision?

What's more, after researching, it says here that Phil's mum has passed away.

Maybe what Richards said was true. Maybe Phil wasn't that bad. Maybe he was just so competitive that he didn't know how to make friends. Maybe something really great changed his way of thinking to the point where he's as rude as he is now.

[Cunning ON]

Maybe, maybe, and maybe.

There's no end to it if it's left like that. A cruel past is no justification for one's bad behaviour.

Richards might not mind too much, but what about his other victims?

After all, so far, the mission given by the System has never gone wrong!

I'll keep doing this.