2 Apocalypse now

When Addison opened his eyes he found himself sitting in a classroom as students silently copied down a math problem that was written on the whiteboard.

Despite being mentally prepared he was still shocked that he was indeed in the past.

Everything looked exactly as he remembered it.

The dusty classroom, the dated furniture and the students dressed neatly in their school uniforms.

It was both peaceful and nostalgic.

That was of course until the blue floating window appeared and sent everyone into a frenzy.

"Holy Fucking Hell!" One boy, whom Addison failed to remember, jumped up from his seat and reigned down a torrent of expletives.

Whether it was because of the boys cursing or the unexpected blue screen the class was deathly silent for a moment before nearly everyone spoke out simultaneously.

Most students expressed their fear and disbelief, others were excited. While there were only two who remained quiet.

The first was Addison who had already experienced this before and was naturally much calmer.

The second person was Mr Kim the poor math teacher who was silently having a mental breakdown as reality seemed to crumble around him.

His lips were trembling as he read the blue screen over and over again.

'System User Interface is now operational.'

'The Apocalypse will now begin.'

Addison watched the commotion quietly and tapped the blue screen once to make it disappear. He then started to ponder on what he should do.

The fact that he wasn't the only person sent back to the past made things a bit difficult. If he stood out or changed too many things then he would draw the attention of both Garret and Emanuel.

It would be better if both of them remained ignorant about his presence for now. Both of them were troublesome and Addison wasn't sure how they would react if they discovered him.

But then again, it might be safe to change some things since Emanuel might blame any discrepancies on Garret, while Garret might become suspicious of Emanuel. Or maybe he would just blame it on the butterfly effect? Who could say how much would change because a single person went back to the past, let alone multiple people.

Which was good because it meant he could make changes to the timeline with a lower chance of being discovered.

It was a small blessing because there was no way he could go through this life again without trying to save as many people as he possibly could.

Even if it meant exposing the truth he would still choose to save a person's life. It was just what a healer should do.

His only hope was to be strong enough so that the other two wouldn't want to attack him.

With his heart feeling a lot calmer Addison turned his attention back to the classroom only to find the students panicking and gathered around Mr Kim demanding answers.

Mr Kim however wasn't responding. He didn't seem to be the type of person who did well in emergencies.

Addison sighed as he remembered the past. Because of Mr Kim's stupor some students eventually decided to leave on their own.

However they didn't the get far before they were all killed by Level 1 Monstrous Dogs.

The dogs then followed their scent back to the classroom and a massacre soon followed. Addison had only survived because he sat at the back of the class and he escaped out a window while the dogs were occupied.

Addison couldn't let the same thing happen again so he stood up and prepared to make a move.

"I'm leaving." Addison said calmly as he walked to the door.

There were only thirteen students in their math class but all of them stopped when they heard him and considered his words carefully.

"Hey, that's not a good idea Addison." A girl with brunette hair and glasses spoke up. Her name was June, but Addison didn't know her other than the fact that she was the student president for the entire school.

Addison smiled calmly, "Maybe so, but I'm leaving anyway. Does anyone want to come?"

This was the easiest way Addison could think of that would stop the future massacre. If he simply stood up and shouted at people not to leave then it was unlikely for anyone to listen to him. He wasn't a person with great charm or influence.

He didn't really have any friends in this class and his popularity wasn't the best. Thus if he wanted to save them it would be best if just went outside and killed the dogs himself before they could even reach the class.

"You can't!" June implored. "It could be dangerous, we don't know what's going on. we should stay here, lock the doors and wait for someone to come!"

Addison smiled again at her worry but was still unconcerned. The rest of the class was silent not expressing their opinion. Addison knew that they were waiting for him to test the waters first. No doubt several of them wanted to leave too but we're too scared to go with him. They would wait to see what would happen.

Addison didn't blame them for their caution. It might seem cowardly but they were still children and he was in no place to judge them considering he too was just as scared once.

He supposed this was a difference in maturity between his past self and his current self.

Seeing everyone was silent Addison turned to leave. He had just opened the door when June spoke up from behind him.

"Hold on, I'll come." She said coldly.

Addison turned to see that she was angry at him for leaving but that she was determined to come. Maybe it was because she was the school president and felt she should take the lead that she decided to step forward.

Addison felt some surprise as he was certain that she had stayed behind in the classroom in his previous life, in fact she had been one of the first to die.

So why did things change so much? Was it all because of him? Addison was amazed by how much had changed just because of one decision he made.

He suddenly realised that it would be impossible to predict the future accurately from now on.

Nodding in acceptance Addison walked out the door, not bothering to see if she was following.

Outside the classroom he was greeted by a long hallway lined with lockers. Intermittently spaced along the hallway were doors that led to other classrooms, currently they were unoccupied.

Behind him the door closed and the hallway fell into an eerie silence. Not a sound was heard from the classroom they just left or from any other part of the school.

Addison wasn't bothered by it but June immediately felt something wasn't right.

He didn't give her time to think about it though as after a brief search he spotted what he was looking for and headed towards a door marked as the Janitors Closet.

Behind the door he found an assortment of items and cleaning supplies which he largely ignored. Instead picking out a sturdy broom with a wooden handle. He then proceeded to snap the brush off the broom by slamming it over his knee. It took a couple tries but soon he was left with a simple wooden stick.

"What are you doing?!" June half whispered and half shouted at him.

"I made a staff." Addison said proudly but realised she didn't seem impressed. He supposed she didn't really understand the severity of the situation.

But soon true terror dawned on her as growling and snarling sounds errupted from the end of the hallway.

Addison turned to see three medium sized dogs charge down the hallway as fast as they could.

The dogs weren't big but they were nonetheless intimidating. They were completely furless and had brown and reddish skin. As if they had just crawled out of a firey hell. Their jaws seemed to be twice as wide as normal dogs and their teeth far larger.

After catching sight of two humans in the hallway their visage twisted into rabid madness and they charged forward with undisguised hostility.

June backed away quickly in panic but it was futile as the dogs moved far faster than she could run.

Addison on the other hand calmly stepped forward and waited for the dogs to arrive.

The dogs were excited by this and focused all their attention on him. It was one of the things that made the dogs so easy to kill, they would always attack the person closest to them. ignoring others no matter how much damage they dealt.

Realistically his broom handle wasn't a great weapon for fighting. It had almost no weight behind it and it would be impossible to pierce the monsters skin.

Thankfully though the world was no longer the same as it used to be. Now the system ruled the world.

That meant that just like a game, life and death was now determined by something much more measurable. It was determined by health points.

Thus when the dogs arrived within striking range Addison swung his staff in an almost lazy manner and swept low.

His strike caused almost no visable damage but it didn't stop him from seeing multiple numbers appear above the monsters just like in some RPG game.

His strike had also managed to trip all three dogs and send them skidding across the ground before finally stopping at his feet.

Addison moved promptly and stepped away creating some distance. while simultaneously attacking one dog swiftly and as fast as possible. Before any of the other dogs could regain their feet he had already struck seven times and killed one of the dogs.

His attacks hadn't been impressive, in fact he was only dealing one or two damage with each strike. But these dogs were just too weak. As beginner monsters they had only about ten health points making them really easy to kill as long as you had the courage to fight back.

A short moment later Addison had interchanged between attacking the other two dogs and keeping them away from him and June who hid behind him.

Addison weilded the staff expertly with an efficiency that was impossible without years of practice. A short minute later both the other two dogs died and the fight finally ended.

At the same time another blue screen flashed before him.

'Congratulations! You have slain a Monstrous Wild Dog.'

'Player Interface has been unlocked.'

'Your level has increased.'

'Please select a class.'