Ren

'I'm so fucked, I'm so fucked...' Ender continued to think that while Derreck screamed in pain, clutching his face.

Students were already entering the bathroom due to the ruckus and everybody stood there with open mouths.

Hell, some of them even took their phones out to take some photos and videos about the situation.

"Has... has Ender won against him?"

"How pathetic of him, getting beaten up by that weak."

"Still, how did he do it?"

Ender didn't dare to look back as he felt every single eye slashing him on the back. He started brainstorming scenarios to argue about what happened but his social status and the situation said otherwise. In the end, he just sighed and gave up on that.

He decided to check the hologram that popped up after he, somewhat, calmed down and was left dumbfounded,

[Hidden Task: Defend yourself from the aggressor. HP must not decrease past 20HP: 27/20 HP (Completed)

Rewards:

- 1000 EXP (Host has leveled from 1 to 3)

- Claws of Fear level up! - [Less energy consumption, lose EP every five seconds]

- 2 Points added to every stat.]

Ender made a slight smile before hiding it, he couldn't check his stats right now due to the situation... which thinking about it brought him to reality. He looked back and saw every student pointing at Derreck, which scared the shit out of Ender.

["Don't tell me you are scared..."]

Out of nowhere, Ender heard again the voice that made him shiver up. But this time it was different, he could hear it very clearly.

It wasn't deep, it was more of a teenager's voice but still, it made his shoulders tense up. Just as he wanted to say something, he heard loud voices behind him.

["C'mon, don't get so defensive now."]

Ender's entire body trembled as he clutched his head trying to get rid of that voice.

"Everybody get out of the bathroom, now!" A commanding voice said. Ender looked behind him slowly and saw the principal along with three other teachers arrive, including Mr. Dan.

Everybody looked at the scene with different feelings. Some with confusion, others with disappointment.

Ender looked at Mr. Dan in an attempt of... he didn't even know. From those five he was the only one Ender could trust. Mr. Dan simply smiled at him which reassured him.

"Well, well... I hope you have a good explanation for this." The principal said while putting a hand on his shoulder.

He was slightly taller than him, and the aura he had wasn't helping at all. He re-adjusted his red suit and black tie and left the bathroom.

The other teachers went towards Derreck, who was still screaming, in an attempt to calm him down.

"No! NO! DON'T TOUCH ME!! YOU WILL OPEN THE WOUNDS!!" He screamed in distress.

"Derreck, please, there is nothing wrong, you need to calm down." A female teacher said with a comforting tone.

"NOTHING WRONG?! MY ENTIRE FACE IS FALLING APART AND IT HURTS!" Derreck started crying in pain while punching anyone that got close to him.

Ender quickly took his backpack trying not to get hit by Derreck, and with slow steps, he exited the bathroom. He took a last glance at Mr. Dan who just patted him on the shoulder.

---------------------

Ender sat outside the principal room. Nothing happened to him as everybody knew the bullying Ender went through every day. The principal clearly expressed that his only purpose was to increase the High School's prestige through students' grades, so fights didn't matter to him.

He also told him that Derreck's family wanted to take action against him but the second he mentioned Mr. Dan, all of them shut their mouths and left.

Ender looked at the ground not knowing what to do, feeling as weak as he was. He fought back, didn't he? So why was he feeling this way? He started bouncing his leg in anxiety,

'This is way harder than those fantasy books... Firstly, why does everything have to hurt so much, I can't endure shit...'

Books always made everything look easier, but this was real life. Psychological issues had to be taken into account as well. It's not like he was going to get something OP and then suddenly be stronger than anyone.

'So fucking naive...' He chuckled while hiding his face in his hands.

Ender heard somebody coming and looked towards the side, where Mr. Dan sat while looking at him with a little smile.

"You know Ender," He said while opening a can of soda and taking a seat, "The first fight is always the hardest, it was for me as well, and for everyone. It's not like movies where they just punch each other then another scene happens. Here, you have consequences."

Mr. Dan took a big sip while Ender looked at him not knowing what to say. He stopped drinking and continued, "I'm impressed that you could even almost knock out Derreck, you know how strong he is compared to you.

I won't bug you on how you gain such sudden powers, sometimes it happens. But I'm telling you in case you didn't notice, in just one week you were able to surpass one of the strongest people in your class. Someone who worked for months to achieve it. You know what this means right?"

Ender slightly nodded even though he was more lost than a baby inside a mall. Mr. Dan noticed and said, "That means, you have potential, probably more than me... Use it wisely."

When Mr. Dan said 'More than me', Ender's eyes brightened in expectation... but he couldn't get rid of the anxiety that was assaulting him. He noticed how bad Ender was and decided to change the topic, "Anyways, what were you doing with a slice of bread inside your bag?"

"I-I... uh... *ahem*, I have a cat, but I don't have money to buy him decent food so... yeah."

Mr. Dan's eyes widened, "You have a cat? Why didn't you tell me earlier? Come to my office for a moment."

He then stood up while finishing the can and started walking towards the exit. Ender just sighed and walked behind him.

---------------------

Ender was now walking home from school. They let him leave earlier due to the high levels of anxiety he had. He used to have panic attacks but this kind of feeling was a whole new world to him.

When he entered Mr. Dan's office, he threw him four cans of cat food from his spatial storage, enough for two weeks.

Ender caught them quickly while trying to get explanations. Mr. Dan told him that he also had cats and was drowning in cat food.

He anticipated that his family didn't even care about his cat so he decided to supply him with cans every time he ran out of them. After thanking him for minutes Ender finally left the school.

He quickly reached home, which was of course empty, and quickly stored all the cans. He opened one and left it on the ground, and he soon heard some meows. Casper entered his room and started eating the food.

Ender smiled but the anxiety quickly kicked in and he started somewhat hyperventilating while sitting down.

"What the fuck is happening to me."

["It's due to my awakening. Give it some hours and it will go away."]

Sadly, hearing that voice only made Ender panic even more. He was starting to feel his body extremely heavy and due to the shortness of oxygen quickly fainted. While he was fainting though,

["*Sigh*, may as well show him..."]

Ender started waking up.

His eyelids slowly opened while blinking constantly. When he had fully opened his eyes, he found himself inside a vast desert, made out of grey sand.

Everything was monochrome, except himself. He quickly rose to his feet and started scanning the place.

He looked around but could only see sand and a grey sky with a grey star.

"Hey there."

Ender quickly transformed his entire right-hand nails into claws and slashed behind him.

*Clink!*

But sadly, something else stopped him. There, he met a raven-masked teenager.

He was the same height as him and probably the same age, but had red and black hair, the back tied with a ponytail. He had two skull earrings that shined with any light that came across.

He was wearing a tight black crop top, leaving his belly button and an innumerable amount of scars in the open. When he looked towards his right hand, he saw the same claws he had right now, stopping him.

Ender was left with an open mouth and quickly made some distance between them by walking backward. Then he noticed the massive red trousers he was wearing, probably twice his legs size. They had a big dragon going from his foot to his waist.

"How rude to attack me with my weapon." He said while vanishing the claws. He took away his mask, revealing captivating red eyes and two fangs coming from his mouth. If any woman saw him, she may lose her balance momentarily.

Ender, still in a fight position, deactivated his claws. When the teenager saw this he sighed and said, "Even though I'm helping you... am I an enemy for you?" He said while pointing at himself.

After carefully analyzing his voice, he recognized it instantly, "You are... you-you are the System."

The teenager widened his eyes and chuckled, "If you wish to call me that way, but I'm not that... I prefer Ren though. Now please... take a seat, let's discuss some things."

Suddenly, a small round table with an umbrella appeared, along with two chairs. Ren sat down and grabbed a tea from nowhere.

"Expect me to just do it?" Ender tried to intimidate him, but Ren just stood there looking at him indifferently.

Ender didn't want to do so, but he had no other option so he had no choice but to comply, "Whatever, I just want to know what the fuck is going on."