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2024-10-29 19:42:56"He's quite handsome too."
Ave had been in the bathroom for quite a while, staring at his own reflection in the bathroom mirror—or Elias's face, the guy whose face was duplicated and turned into Ave's new face. Luckily, Ave's grandma was blind, otherwise, she would have had a heart attack seeing her grandson's face change like that.
The young man then turned on the tap at the sink and washed his face using soap—he was too poor to buy special face soap, so he used regular soap for both shampooing and washing his everyday clothes.
Ave rinsed his face with water until it was clean before drying it with a towel and gazing again at his new face in the mirror.
Again and again, Ave was amazed by this new face.
He thought he would get a plain face or even worse, a face older than his own.
Ave’s new face is much smaller than his old face. His hair is still the same black color, but Ave's black pupils have now changed to a golden color like a marble. Moreover, his chin looks slimmer, making Ave's new face more fitting to be called beautiful rather than handsome.
"Is he an idol?" mumbled Ave, wondering. Faces like this are often seen on TV or in dramas. Of course, he did not know much because Ave did not have a TV at home. They were too poor to afford the monthly TV subscription fees.
However, Ave now had a new problem.
He could not just go to school with this face and continue using the name Avery Blythe. People will surely be suspicious, and worst-case scenario, Ave might get caught to be experimented on by crazy researchers in New Orleans who are ambitious to discover new genes and make humans mutate into something more superior.
"I need to create a new identity and transfer to school as a new student," Ave said, thinking of a strategy. He might move to another school as safer option, but only Neogen High School graduates that would get direct recommendations to join the Elite Ranger force, Ave's dream workplace.
"Knock, knock, knock."
"Ave? Are you still inside?"
The young man blinked and spontaneously returned from his daydream. He looked at the bathroom door made of old, rotten wood, with its hinges half-loose.
"I'm done, Gran."
He would think about this later after dinner. For now, Ave had promised to have meat together with his grandma.
The young man stepped out of the bathroom and walked toward the living room, which was not more than a few steps away. His grandma was sitting, peeling oranges she got from the trash bin at the supermarket, a bit far from the 72nd Street area.
Ave himself was sometimes puzzled.
His grandma was completely blind but she could walk without a cane for kilometers.
"Ave, eat these oranges." Grandma handed over the peeled oranges to Ave, and he gladly took them. He sat down and enjoyed the oranges peacefully.
Ave glanced at the kitchen and saw a set of beef lying there, a reward from the previous quest.
"Gran, want to have a barbecue tonight?"
"Bar... bar what? Gran doesn't know what that is."
Hearing his grandma's innocent response, Ave chuckled lightly. Of course, she would not know. Ave, too, could only watch his friends enjoy barbecue during lunch break in the cafeteria, while he just stared, suppressing hunger because he did not have money to buy lunch.
"I'll make it for you, Gran."
"Ave," called Grandma, making Ave, who was about to stand up again, turn to look at her.
"Yes?"
"You... you didn't get this meat the wrong way, did you? I-I don't mean to accuse you... but you know, we don't have money to buy chicken, let alone beef." Grandma's hand trembled in fear, making Ave unable to hold back the trembling tears. Since when had they been living in such misery? If Ave had not misbehaved before, would they have moved to a more decent place and lived much better?
Ave approached his grandma and held her hand tightly. "No, Gran. Don't worry. I have a very good friend. He gave me this meat for free after I taught him material for the daily test."
The young man had to lie because his grandma would not believe it if Ave said he got the meat from the system. Perhaps Ave would be taken to the hospital and considered insane if he revealed the truth.
"Ohhh—so that's how it is. My grandson is indeed very smart and kind. He even teaches his friends for tomorrow's test."
"Of course, because I'm your grandson."
"Hahaha, you're right."
After his grandma believed Ave's lie, he smiled sadly and stood up to cook the meat for barbecue.
The sound of crickets filled the silent night as Ave lay on a thin mattress, feeling the cold floor beneath his back. But Ave did not pay much mind to it as he was busy looking up to read something that floating there.
//
Host Profile
Name: Avery Blythe
Age: 17 Years
Gender: Male
Occupation: Student
Stats:
Resilience: 3 points
Courage: 48 points
Charisma: 11 points
Wealth: 6 points
Skill List:
Mighty Blow Level 1
Item List:
3x Rejuvenation Potion
Balance: 12,000 Gold Coins
//
Ave closely read every piece of information on the hovering hologram page, and what stuck in his eyes was the number of coins he had.
"1 gold coin equals $100, so if I convert all my coins to money, I have about... $1,200,000."
Ave's eyes widened, and he covered his mouth with both hands, as if not believing he had that much money now.
"With that much money, I could buy ten kilograms of meat, then get new clothes for me and grandma. Should I buy my school supplies too? It's been a while since I bought a new bag. Right, grandma often complains about her back hurting at night; maybe I'll get her a new mattress and an electric massager...."
The young man continued mumbling while staring at the hole-ridden and almost collapsing ceiling of the house. He could see the bright moon in the sky. Ave had a bunch of dreams he wanted to fulfill with the money he got. Unconsciously, Ave fell asleep, exhausted from thinking about what he would buy tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and the day after that.
When Ave woke up again, it was already morning.
"Mmmh," Ave mumbled as he sat up and gazed at the sunlight streaming through the cracks in his ramshackle house.
He had to go to school. Today was an important daily test schedule for Ave.
However, before Ave could attend classes like normal, he had to take care of something first.
Yes, Ave had to take care of his new identity.
He would enter school as a new person.
Avery Blythe had died in the dark abyss yesterday, and today he would come back to life as a whole new person.
"Let's do this."
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Rise With Underdog System 08. Averson Blythe
"So, you are … Avery Blythe's distant cousin?"A middle-aged man with glasses stared at Ave suspiciously, examining the young man's registration file. The man's glasses were almost slipping off his long, crooked nose as he continued to scrutinize Ave’s figure from top to bottom. Well, everything did feel so sudden, Ave admitted to himself. Luckily, having been an assistant and frequently visiting the teacher's room, he understood a little about how the school's registration process works.Facing the young man was Dotoevsky Swerzen, commonly known as Mr. Swerzen, the Economics and Business teacher at Neogen High School and the person in charge of sorting through the students applying to the school. One could imagine how stingy and calculating the balding man in front of Ave was.However, Ave was not worried because he already had an answer to this problem."Yes, Mr. Swerzen. We come from the same grandma, but my family lived in Rivera and only recently decided to return to New Orleans
Rise With Underdog System 09. Old Class, Old Friend
"Knock. Knock."Without waiting for a response from inside the room, Mr. Swenzer quickly opened the door and stepped in. Outside the door, Ave could see Mrs. Lenora, the local history teacher, standing and explaining the material as usual when Mr. Swenzer entered and whispered something in Lenora's ear. This made her turn towards the door, locking eyes with Ave.Mrs. Lenora widened her eyes for a moment before nodding briefly. It seemed like Mr. Swenzer had also informed her that Avery was resigning and giving up his achievement scholarship. Mrs. Lenora was one of the few honest teachers at Neogen High School and liked Ave – in an educational context, because Ave always got perfect grades and excelled in mastering subjects."You can come in now," said Mr. Swenzer as the balding man came out again. "If you have any problems, you can come directly to my room, don't be afraid, understand?"Tap. Tap.Mr. Swenzer gave Ave a quick pat on the should
Rise With Underdog System 10. A Sign of Enemies
"Hey, hey, are you really the distant cousin of that dork—I mean Avery?" The first lesson had ended, and break time had arrived. Ave was sitting on a bench when a group of girls from the class approached him, trying to interrogate him and simultaneously capture the attention of the handsome new student in their class. Ave closed his book, put it in his bag, and responded with a tone that seemed annoyed. "If it's true, then what?" The girls were immediately surprised by Ave's sour expression and shook their heads quickly. "Ah, that's not what I meant. We're just a little curious...." "Really, we're just wondering why Avery never told us he had a cousin as handsome as you, right?" "Yeah, yeah, that's right." "You should have joined this school from the beginning." "True... you'd be famous in no time." Ave let out a short laugh and stared sharply at the four fox-wicked girls. He had been in the same class with them for a year, and he knew all too well their hypocritical nature. N
Rise With Underdog System 11. The Power Within
At Neogen High School, there are two kinds of classes provided for their students: the regular one and the special class. Of course, there were some differences between those two classes. The regular class was a class with common school subjects like math, language, or art subjects that were also being taught at other common schools. However, what made Neogen so special was its special class. In this class, students with talents were being trained and developed according to each of their talents.Their unique talents led to their future careers.Students with combat talents might become rangers and fight monsters on the war zone, meanwhile, students with supporting talents like healing, mapping, or strategy become a support role for the students with combat talents.Yeah, even in Neogen, a student’s social status was determined by their talent. Sometimes a student with combat talents felt so superior to other students because teachers considered them the best and strongest talent. It
Rise With Underdog System 01. The Loser
"Fraser, h-help me."A hand reached out while another hand tried to grip tightly at cliff’s edge, keeping himself from falling into the deep abyss below. The young man's eyes were filled with mix of hope and fear as he pleaded for help from his friend who sat on the cliff's edge after accidentally pushing him."Fraser, I can't hold on much longer. Quickly, help me up! Class is about to start in a moment!" The black-haired man repeated, this time with a somewhat loud voice. It was because his legs were starting to ache as he struggled to climb and step on the fragile rocks, he almost falling several times. He did not know how long he could endure this position.However, Fraser, his one and only friend, did not respond to the young man's words and only stared at him in horror gaze."S-sorry, Ave.""Fraser?"Clap. Clap. Clap.From behind Fraser, applause sound echoed, followed by the footsteps of many people approaching the edge of the cliff right behind their school, Neogen High School.
Rise With Underdog System 02. Ave Had Died
A strange sound appeared out of nowhere, making Ave tried his hardest to look around, but he found nothing except red mist in his bloody eyes and a growing pain in his body.[Undergo System has been activated][The host 'Avery Blythe' has earned 100 points of resilience from facing bullies, and the points will be converted into the special effect 'Extreme Healing Effect'][The 'Extreme Healing Effect' will begin]'...huh? What's happening?'Ave did not know anything about the monotonous voice and gold-colored notifications that kept popping up right in front of him. Those notifications contained the exact words that the strange voice said in Ave's head.Is Ave going crazy?Or does everyone who dies falling into this abyss see crazy things like this?However, Ave pushed aside all his questions when a bright light suddenly appeared from his chest area, spreading throughout his body like vines wrapping around him.'W-what kind of light is this?'Ave wanted to move and run away from the p
Rise With Underdog System 03. Dark Cave
Throughout Ave's life, he never ate beef or pork. At most, he would have chicken head stew or discarded chicken wings from the butchers that were not sell well.Also, he never had his own room.Ave slept with his old and blind grandmother. Every day, Ave had to change his grandma's diaper using old cloth and wash the soiled cloth diaper with water before heading to school.Ave never changed his school uniform either. He only had one black bag with various stitches all around, and who knows how many times the zipper broke, he just replaced it with safety pins to keep it closed.However, Ave never complained. He thought it was normal in New Orleans. In this dystopian country, poverty was a common thing, and almost 75% of New Orleans' population were poor, with a high crime rate.The gap between the poor and the rich was huge, from everyday clothes to shopping places, to their residential living areas. New Orleans truly classified and differentiated their citizens based on money and clas
Rise With Underdog System 04. Golden Pool
"Sigh … is still far away?" Ave pouted a bit as he kept following the floating holographic map in front of him towards the big circle, but he had not reached it yet. The narrow path was getting even narrower, so Ave had to tilt his body to squeeze through the gaps.However, all of Ave's questions were answered when he saw a tiny bright light at the end of this narrow path. The young man blinked his hopeful shining eyes and quickened his pace."Gold, gold, gold, gold, gold," Ave repeated continuously as if he were chanting a spell to make sure he found a mountain of gold behind that light.Just a little more, and Ave would arrive there. He did not even care how many times he bumped into rocks on the cave wall because he was too focused on getting there quickly."Gold—!"The young man was about to leap forward before he hurriedly grabbed onto one of the rocks, and then stepped back with a terrified yet amazed expression. Ave's eyes widened.Right below Ave was a pool filled with thousan
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- Rise With Underdog System
11. The Power Within
At Neogen High School, there are two kinds of classes provided for their students: the regular one and the special class. Of course, there were some differences between those two classes. The regular class was a class with common school subjects like math, language, or art subjects that were also being taught at other common schools. However, what made Neogen so special was its special class. In this class, students with talents were being trained and developed according to each of their talents.Their unique talents led to their future careers.Students with combat talents might become rangers and fight monsters on the war zone, meanwhile, students with supporting talents like healing, mapping, or strategy become a support role for the students with combat talents.Yeah, even in Neogen, a student’s social status was determined by their talent. Sometimes a student with combat talents felt so superior to other students because teachers considered them the best and strongest talent. It
- Rise With Underdog System
10. A Sign of Enemies
"Hey, hey, are you really the distant cousin of that dork—I mean Avery?" The first lesson had ended, and break time had arrived. Ave was sitting on a bench when a group of girls from the class approached him, trying to interrogate him and simultaneously capture the attention of the handsome new student in their class. Ave closed his book, put it in his bag, and responded with a tone that seemed annoyed. "If it's true, then what?" The girls were immediately surprised by Ave's sour expression and shook their heads quickly. "Ah, that's not what I meant. We're just a little curious...." "Really, we're just wondering why Avery never told us he had a cousin as handsome as you, right?" "Yeah, yeah, that's right." "You should have joined this school from the beginning." "True... you'd be famous in no time." Ave let out a short laugh and stared sharply at the four fox-wicked girls. He had been in the same class with them for a year, and he knew all too well their hypocritical nature. N
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09. Old Class, Old Friend
"Knock. Knock."Without waiting for a response from inside the room, Mr. Swenzer quickly opened the door and stepped in. Outside the door, Ave could see Mrs. Lenora, the local history teacher, standing and explaining the material as usual when Mr. Swenzer entered and whispered something in Lenora's ear. This made her turn towards the door, locking eyes with Ave.Mrs. Lenora widened her eyes for a moment before nodding briefly. It seemed like Mr. Swenzer had also informed her that Avery was resigning and giving up his achievement scholarship. Mrs. Lenora was one of the few honest teachers at Neogen High School and liked Ave – in an educational context, because Ave always got perfect grades and excelled in mastering subjects."You can come in now," said Mr. Swenzer as the balding man came out again. "If you have any problems, you can come directly to my room, don't be afraid, understand?"Tap. Tap.Mr. Swenzer gave Ave a quick pat on the should
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08. Averson Blythe
"So, you are … Avery Blythe's distant cousin?"A middle-aged man with glasses stared at Ave suspiciously, examining the young man's registration file. The man's glasses were almost slipping off his long, crooked nose as he continued to scrutinize Ave’s figure from top to bottom. Well, everything did feel so sudden, Ave admitted to himself. Luckily, having been an assistant and frequently visiting the teacher's room, he understood a little about how the school's registration process works.Facing the young man was Dotoevsky Swerzen, commonly known as Mr. Swerzen, the Economics and Business teacher at Neogen High School and the person in charge of sorting through the students applying to the school. One could imagine how stingy and calculating the balding man in front of Ave was.However, Ave was not worried because he already had an answer to this problem."Yes, Mr. Swerzen. We come from the same grandma, but my family lived in Rivera and only recently decided to return to New Orleans
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07. New Face, New Life
"He's quite handsome too."Ave had been in the bathroom for quite a while, staring at his own reflection in the bathroom mirror—or Elias's face, the guy whose face was duplicated and turned into Ave's new face. Luckily, Ave's grandma was blind, otherwise, she would have had a heart attack seeing her grandson's face change like that.The young man then turned on the tap at the sink and washed his face using soap—he was too poor to buy special face soap, so he used regular soap for both shampooing and washing his everyday clothes.Ave rinsed his face with water until it was clean before drying it with a towel and gazing again at his new face in the mirror.Again and again, Ave was amazed by this new face.He thought he would get a plain face or even worse, a face older than his own.Ave’s new face is much smaller than his old face. His hair is still the same black color, but Ave's black pupils have now changed to a golden color like a marble. Moreover, his chin looks slimmer, making Ave
- Rise With Underdog System
06. Elite Class
"Welcome home, Lady Rosalind."A tall and lean butler bowed after opening the car door and greeted a beautiful girl who was stepping out of the car with a calm expression, there was almost no expression on her face."Is Father home?" the girl asked coldly."The Master is busy at the president's office. He'll be back when dinner time comes."Upon hearing the butler's answer, the girl showed no reaction and walked up the stairs to her house. Although called a house, her place looked more like a giant mansion with Greek architecture and a touch of futuristic style, adapting to the surroundings in their Apocalypse world—in which Earth had been destroyed by the emergence of monsters, and the surviving human groups built a new civilization by adapting to a world full of monsters and dangerous territories."How was your day at school, Lady Rosalind?" The male butler took Rosalind's blazer and walked beside her.Rosalind sighed. "You're so noisy, Armand. I don't want to be bothered today."Ar
- Rise With Underdog System
05. Come Back Home
"I've told you many times, I don't want to give you anything anymore! You dirty beggar!"A half-old man with a tall figure glared fiercely at a hunched elderly woman standing in front of his shop. The old woman wore a worn-out pink dress and both of her shoes had holes in various places."P-please, Sir. Tomorrow, my grandson will have an exam, and I want to give him bone soup to keep him motivated to study—""I don't care if your grandson has an exam or not. Old lady, just go away from my store! Your terrible appearance is scaring away my customers!" scolded the meat shop owner. He wore a blood-stained apron, and underneath it, his belly bulged due to his stingy and calculating nature."B-but...""Tch, go away!" Running out of patience, the meat shop owner stepped out of the store and pushed the old woman hard."Ahhh!"The old woman fell onto the street and winced in pain as her entire aged body ached. The shop owner then spat to the side."Go away and never come back here!" The butch
- Rise With Underdog System
04. Golden Pool
"Sigh … is still far away?" Ave pouted a bit as he kept following the floating holographic map in front of him towards the big circle, but he had not reached it yet. The narrow path was getting even narrower, so Ave had to tilt his body to squeeze through the gaps.However, all of Ave's questions were answered when he saw a tiny bright light at the end of this narrow path. The young man blinked his hopeful shining eyes and quickened his pace."Gold, gold, gold, gold, gold," Ave repeated continuously as if he were chanting a spell to make sure he found a mountain of gold behind that light.Just a little more, and Ave would arrive there. He did not even care how many times he bumped into rocks on the cave wall because he was too focused on getting there quickly."Gold—!"The young man was about to leap forward before he hurriedly grabbed onto one of the rocks, and then stepped back with a terrified yet amazed expression. Ave's eyes widened.Right below Ave was a pool filled with thousan
- Rise With Underdog System
03. Dark Cave
Throughout Ave's life, he never ate beef or pork. At most, he would have chicken head stew or discarded chicken wings from the butchers that were not sell well.Also, he never had his own room.Ave slept with his old and blind grandmother. Every day, Ave had to change his grandma's diaper using old cloth and wash the soiled cloth diaper with water before heading to school.Ave never changed his school uniform either. He only had one black bag with various stitches all around, and who knows how many times the zipper broke, he just replaced it with safety pins to keep it closed.However, Ave never complained. He thought it was normal in New Orleans. In this dystopian country, poverty was a common thing, and almost 75% of New Orleans' population were poor, with a high crime rate.The gap between the poor and the rich was huge, from everyday clothes to shopping places, to their residential living areas. New Orleans truly classified and differentiated their citizens based on money and clas
