High School Again [01]

While stewing in his thoughts about acquiring capital, Samuel eventually made it to the entrance of the dilapidated school building. As his house was only a 10-minute walk from the school, the proximity to the institution had never been an issue for the young adult.

As he went through the rustic gates of the high school for students of the ages 15-18- where optional higher education teaching took place- Samuel watched as groups of students loitered around the crowded square before class. As it was the Monday morning of the first day of school, most were greeting each other enthusiastically as they'd been kept apart since their last outing- a period of time that felt like ages to teenagers- while others were brooding like edgy kids that woke up on the wrong side of the bed.

'How nostalgic… I haven't seen that building in years. And the fountain… wow; It spews out water! This takes me back.'

Marvelling at the liveliness of the schoolyard, Samuel entered the main building to get to his form. Form was a registration class where announcements were made and students were marked for attendance to the morning sessions. One would usually cultivate a friendly atmosphere in the class since the participants of the form would remain together for the entire duration of high school.

It was at the entrance of his form room, the room in which most of his classes with his classmates took place besides when the need for a computer or science room arose, that Samuel was reminded of why his teenage self may have acted as he did in his past life.

"Move it, fatso."

From behind Samuel a 5'5 girl with short black hair that reached the nape of her neck, and who was donning a sloppily-worn shirt with its top button undone, attempted to barge her way past Samuel. Unfortunately, she seemed to be lacking some strength of sorts as the fatty in front of her barely moved from his spot. Using her bare arms, with their rolled-up sleeves completely devoid of the presence of a blazer as though a normal occurrence- a luxury only afforded to individuals with some prestige earned from participating in a sports club, she pushed Samuel out of the way so she could finally get past.

Her short skirt and shin-high socks did little to hide her toned legs, which illustrated the effort she put into playing and captaining the badminton girls' team. Samuel, however, couldn't help but glower at the girl as she nonchalantly walked past him like she hadn't just pushed him into a desk.

As his annoyed eyes retracted back from her form they settled on a taller 5'11 individual with black hair and a deep frown etched upon his oval-shaped face.

"What are you looking at, twerp?"

Slightly disgruntled at the fact that the kid they used to bully in the previous two years of high school had the gall to stare at his girlfriend in such a way, Jun Aoyama glared at Samuel who also looked back at him, unperturbed. Then, without paying heed to the taller boy's question, Samuel continued on his way to a random seat beside the wall and away from the noise of the classroom to settle down.

"Tch." Deciding between wanting to teach the kid a lesson and joining his friendship group, Jun ultimately chose the latter option. He'd have enough opportunities to get back at the brazen dweeb later for ignoring him on the first day of their third year.

'Looks like I'll have to bust the pair of balls he's grown over the summer.'

While Jun was thinking about getting some revenge on Samuel, Samuel so too was thinking about the couple that he'd had the misfortune to interact with on this fine morning. Samuel's happy-go-lucky attitude had only been his attempts at deceiving himself into thinking the bullying while at high school hadn't been so bad; 20 years had passed since then and the grievances of the time had almost been forgotten. But the incident just now felt like old wounds were being ripped back open again, and the idea of putting aside any thoughts of getting back at the students who pestered him in his previous life flew right out of the window before the first day had even officially started.

'I wanted to treat it like some schoolyard messing around, but that group of kids made my life hell at this school if I remember correctly. Maybe that was why I turned into a shut-in in my previous life and disregarded mum when she sought my help…'

Still annoyed at their antics, Samuel created a hypothesis in his mind wherein the blame for his behaviour in his previous life lay upon them. Ultimately, Samuel was keenly aware of the fact that it was his fault that his mother had had the tragic end that she did. But reflecting back upon it now, he had to admit the school children's machinations had a big part to play in the way he acted.

And for that… Samuel would get back at them.

'To hell with treating them like kids. If their actions ruined my life, then I refuse to be so forgiving as to let them off the hook. I'll ruin their lives too. And this time…'

Samuel looked into his peripheral vision where his system interface was displaying his current health and stamina. Now, he had a system to help him exact his revenge on the group of students who bullied him in his previous life.

While a part of him thought his reaction to their stunts was a bit childish, the young adult didn't budge on his stance. No; he was being extremely rational when he considered having them recompense him for the emotional damages of the past. While he had to admit there was an emotional basis to his actions, he had realised the opportunity that lay within his revenge- with a perfectly justifiable cause.

[Ding! Mission generated]

[Mission 4: Get revenge on the couple who antagonised you this morning]

[Accessory Mission: Your revenge is of a sexual nature]

[Reward 4: +1in height +1% muscle mass]

[Accessory Reward: +1 max stamina]

[Time limit: 48 hours]

'Wow! What a way to egg me on. You truly are a system based on my desires aren't you?'

Samuel was stunned at the rewards of the mission. He was planning on getting back at the pair for their attitude this morning, but to be able to gain an inch to his height and even get more muscular was mind-blowing. It had only just registered to him the fact that he could make real physical changes beyond that of adding additional inches to his waistline.

With a little thought, he was vaguely able to notice the link between the rewards and the mission contents, sparking a curiosity he decided to get checked out.

'Height and muscle would make me more intimidating theoretically, right? System?'

[Correct, Host. Missions are issued based on Host's desires, and rewards are indeed related to the mission.]

'Great! And yeah, I guess can sort of see the link between max stamina and sex. But will accessory rewards always be as lousy as this one? I don't know, maybe I'm being an ignorant dumbass here…'

[As Host is not completely aware of the mechanics behind the system, Host is incorrect. Each additional point in max stamina or max health provides Host with an exponential increase in either category.]

'I see. Numbers-wise though, what am I looking at?'

[Host's current stamina is scaled up from 93 to 100. With an additional max stamina stat, Host's current stamina would technically be 189, however, it will be scaled down to x/100 for ease of understanding.]

'189 stamina?! That's nearly double... I could have full-on sex like 2-3 times with that sort of stamina.'

[Correct, Host. You can also utilise your stamina more efficiently when your physique is improved.]

'That's… a lot more sex. Now if I complete mission 2 as well, I'll have made some headway in the physique department too. Sheesh, I need to get to that soon because the system's poor evaluations in most categories feels bad man.'

[Mission 2: Create a gym membership]

[Reward 2: -1% Body Fat, +1% Muscle Mass]

[Time limit: 1 month]

Jubilant at the clear changes each of his rewards would bring about to his body, Samuel focused his attention on the group of students he would be getting revenge on. His target right now was only the couple who had annoyed him this morning, but he wanted to get back at the entire group of friends at some point too.

Looking at the group, he spotted four pretentious-looking individuals that seemed to be absorbed into their own world. Besides Jun and his sporty girlfriend- Mai Matsushita- who were sitting on a set of chair and desk respectively, there was another pair of boy and girl sitting just as relaxedly.

The boy, with his legs propped up on the desk in front of him while rocking back on his wooden chair which looked quite small against his tall but lithe 6'0 frame, had 'stereotypical' European facial features. A long, narrow nose and high cheekbones sat below a pair of blue eyes and a ruffled mop of blonde hair. His thin lips were curled into a devious smirk, while the sun shining through the window on Samuel's immediate left reflected off of the silver earring on the young blonde's left ear.