002 Status Open!

"Ugh! Where am I?" Mark groaned as he slowly fluttered open his eyes. 

His golden eyes shone with panic the moment he opened them, as his mind flashed back to what had happened before everything went black. 

He jolted and sat upright while he raised his hands, ready to defend himself from harm. 

THUMP  

THUMP 

His heartbeat pounded loudly against his chest as he checked his surroundings. 

PHEW 

But his mind calmed down, and his body relaxed when he saw the familiar surroundings. 

He was in a modern, luxurious bedroom. With a huge window to the side that was now closed with thick grey velvet curtains. 

To his right was a nightstand with his phone sitting on top of it. 

His golden eyes then darted to the picture beside his mobile—the picture of him and his ex-girlfriend. 

GRIT 

Mark gritted his teeth as he recalled the scene of her kissing a man, a man who was none other than his best friend. 

'Bastard! You were the one who introduced her to me!' Mark cursed inwardly as he gritted his teeth, his fists were tightly clenched, making his skin pale as it drained of blood. 

Just as Mark was about to go on a journey of curses. The door to his room opened and a woman with jet black hair and golden-colored eyes walked into the room. She wore a black dress that matched her hair and looked almost exactly like Mark. 

"Brother, are you alright? I tried to call you after the flash of light in the sky, but you didn't pick up; what happened?" the woman asked as soon as she entered. 

Mark's expression softened as he looked at his big sister, one of the few people who genuinely loved him. 

Little tears formed at the corners of his eyes when he recalled the times when she had warned Mark about his girlfriend, saying that she was acting suspicious. 

'I was too blind!' he muttered to himself while he bit his lip in frustration. His sister would always warn him about his ex-girlfriend, but he paid her no mind and almost had a fight with her. 

She sat beside Mark and placed her hand on his forehead. "Mother said that they found you beside a road, unconscious." She mumbled as she took her hand away from his head. 

Her golden eyes wavered as she looked at him; she could feel it; her brother had experienced something; she could feel the rage and fear in his eyes and the slight tremors in his hands. 

SNIFF 

Mark didn't reply, but he immediately hugged his sister tightly. His entire body trembled as he remembered the bodies of the dead people on the ground. He was too traumatized by it and, as if adding salt to the wound, he discovered that his girlfriend was cheating on him with his best friend. 

Lara didn't ask her little brother what had happened; she knew it wasn't the time, and he would tell her himself when he felt ready. 

Her eyes softened while she raised her hands and rubbed his back gently, "I am here." She whispered, consoling Mark and reassuring him. 

Mark stayed in his sister's embrace for a few minutes before he backed away. "Where's mom?" He asked. 

"Mother is with Father and the rest of the family. Father called for a meeting to discuss the new situation in the world. I am here to take you there with me," Lara answered honestly; she knew that her brother didn't get along well with her other brother and her father. 

"Is that bastard also there!?" Mark asked, anger and fury oozed from his eyes as he looked at his sister. 

"Hey! You cannot call him that! He is your brother!" Lara scolded; she liked her family, although they fought against each other. She wanted her family to get along in the tough times that were coming in the near future. 

"Stepbrother!" Mark corrected; their mother was the official wife of his father, while his stepmother seduced his father and took over their mother's position. 

Lara bit her lip in frustration; she knew that her other brother was a bully and bullied Mark a lot. But she wanted them to get along; they were family! 

SIGH 

In the end, she sighed in defeat and asked, "Are you all right now? Can you move?" She didn't want to poke the hornet's nest and argue with Mark anymore, 'He hugged me after many years!' she mumbled inwardly as she recalled just how long it had been since he had hugged her. 

'Was it because of that?' she recalled their fight when she got married to the one her stepbrother had chosen. Mark was against it; he didn't like the man at all. But her stepbrother convinced their father to let her marry him. 

'I wish I had listen to him then....' She lamented but, what happened has happened. She resigned herself to her life and her only source of love is her mother and her brother. 

"Sis!?" Mark yelled in her ear, startling her. 

"Why are you yelling like that?" Lara asked as she raised her voice at him. 

"It was because you were thinking about something, and I had been telling you that I was ready to go for the last two minutes!" Mark yelled back. 

"Oh!" Lara exclaimed as she looked at him; he wore a light blue shirt and black cotton pants. His hair was neatly combed to the side while his eyes glinted with mischief as he asked, "What? Am I too handsome?" 

"...Yes," 

".....Are you really saying that?" Mark asked as he felt weird; his sister would throw a pillow or just walk out of the room whenever he asked, but never answered. 

Lara's cheeks reddened a little while she hurried out of the room in quick steps. 'Why did I answer that!' She exclaimed to herself, as she didn't know what was going on. 

Her heart pounded against her chest in awkwardness as she recalled the scene. 'Something is wrong with me today!' 

Mark followed her and went out of the room. He entered a hallway that stretched long on either side of him. He then gazed at his sister. 

SILENCE 

They both stared at each other in awkwardness. "So, we aren't going to talk about it?" Mark asked with a grin on his face; he always liked teasing her and would tease her whenever the opportunity arose. 

"No!" Lara yelled while she grabbed his hand and began to pull him to the meeting room, where her family was waiting. 

Mark smirked at his sister's reaction as he let her drag him toward the room. His mind then began to replay the last scene before he lost consciousness. 

'What was it again?' he asked himself as he squinted his eyes. 'Ah right! Did it assign me a class like the ones in the novels?' he questioned himself as he recalled all the novels he had read where it had a class system. 

'Ah, right! Status---" But before Mark could utter those words, his eyes caught a glimpse of his sister opening a door. 

His mind immediately focused on the people who were sitting in the room as they entered the meeting room. 

Five people stared at the entering siblings; one of them stood up from her seat and walked over to Mark. "Mark, are you all right?" a woman with jet-black hair and amethyst eyes asked in worry as she hurried over to him. She immediately hugged him upon reaching him. 

"I am all right, Mom," Mark answered as he hugged her back. The woman was his mom, Mary Wood, mother of Mark Wood and Lara Wood. 

But his mother hugged him for a few more moments before she guided him to his seat beside her and his sister. 

Mark sat in his seat and looked over to the opposite seat. A man in his twenties greeted him back with his stare. He had silver-white hair and golden eyes, making him one of the members of his family. 

"Hello, Mike," Mark greeted as he looked at his stepbrother. Mike raised an eyebrow at him, but then his smile widened as he replied, "Hello, Mark, it has been a long time since I have seen you. How is that girlfriend of yours? I have to say she looks like a really nice girl." 

'This damn bastard, I knew it! He was also involved!' Mark cursed inwardly as he gritted his teeth. He had tested his brother to see if he had anything to do with his ex-girlfriend. 'He is definitely involved! Otherwise, he wouldn't have asked about her!' 

Mike wanted to taunt his stepbrother more, but a cold voice cut him off, almost making him shiver with fear. 

"You can play your games elsewhere; right now, we are here to discuss what concerns the future of your family." A man sitting at the head of the table said. 

He looked like a man in his 40s with a trimmed beard and blonde hair. His golden eyes shone with ruthlessness as he looked at his two sons. 

He leaned back in his chair with grace and pride, making everyone straighten their backs; everyone in the room feared this man except for Mark. 

"I want everyone to say, 'status open!'" he said; there was no question or request in his voice, only an order, an order that no one dared to question. 

Mary looked at her son and her daughter; she wanted to ask more about why her husband was asking to say something weird, but didn't dare to. 

Lara knew what his father meant, 'Aren't those the same words that Mark used to yell when he was younger? He would yell that he was the hero who was here to save the world from the demon lord. And what was it again!?...Ah! Right, heaven-killing palm strike! But why does Father want us to say those cringy lines.' 

She wanted to ask her father, but one look at him and she knew that he wasn't going to answer any 

""Status Open!"" 

Everyone in the room said in unison, Mark said it too, "Status Open!" 

[Opening status!] 

To everyone's surprise, a blue screen flickered open in front of everyone in the room. Lara and Mary were a little startled by this as their brows furrowed. She glanced at her daughter, who was frowning. 

STATUS 

Name: Mark Wood 

Race: Human 

Age: 20 

Class: Mate Poacher 

Level: 0 

Exp: 0/10 

STR: 2 

VIT: 2 

MP: 1 

AGI: 1 

INT: 3 

Skills: Touch of Depravity (lvl 1), Appraisal (lvl 1) 

Conditions: 

1. Fuck your best friend's girlfriend in front of him! 

 Rewards: 5 Exp, +1 INT, +1 MP 

2. Fuck your best friend's mom in front of him! 

 Rewards: 7 Exp, +1 MP, +1 STR