Middle schoolers are hopeless when it comes to life's problems. One day, James finds himself logging onto a virtual game to escape the feelings of guilt for his school crush, and with that comes getting stuck in a world of fantasy.

Dracula was on the couch in the living room seated as Alexander was sitting in another chair looking at the same schedule that Dracula was looking at on his phone,
Dracula looked up from his phone, "So we have early morning workouts, then we have the official practices?" and Alexander nodded, "Seems so, I'm guessing we have some type of conditioning, a fun type of thing. Then we get into the actual two-days later in the evening" and Dracula nodded and they both went back to their phones.
Dracula looked at the time and looked at Alexander, "Let's go get those supplies that we wanted for football," and Alexander nodded agreeing wholeheartedly, "I'm never wearing that mouthpiece ever again" and Dracula agreed with him on that as he got up and moved out of the house,
Dracula and Alexander then went to the Nike Store by the Mall and grabbed cleats, gloves, arm bands, head-bands for Alexander, and overall things that you'd need for Football and left with several bags and several females trailing behind them but they quickly lost them.
They also decided to visit the school's spirit shop to buy more clothes, and even some for football, God knows they weren't coming to practice smelling like shit.
Once they got home they threw the bags on the counter and just left them there for when they had to wake up at 6 AM in the morning on a Thursday night, for conditioning before school, then actual practice afterwards.
Dracula went to his bedroom while Alexander just found any room and slept in it, to say Dracula's mansion is huge… means that it's freaking huge.
----
*Beep*…*Beep*…*Beep*
Dracula groaned and smashed the alarm through the desk and into the ground as he got up and sighed, he willed his phone into his hands and looked at the time, 5:29
Dracula got up from his bed and looked down and saw that he wasn't wearing anything except SpongeBob undershorts and groaned, apparently you could wear anything you want to conditioning so Dracula went to his closet, grabbed one of his short football shorts, of which once again revealed his legs, white socks, a tight white t-shirt, and some Nike Running shoes,
He wore the cross around his neck, and went to the restroom to wash himself up as he heard another water running in the house knowing it was Alexander.
He brushed his pearly white fangs and teeth and smiled in the mirror,
Once he got done he teleported into the kitchen and made himself some food while Alexander came shortly behind him yawning, "Morning dad" and Dracula nodded at him, "What's for breakfast" and Dracula looked back at him as he was cooking it, "Eggs, Bacon and Toast" and Alexander looked at him as he sat on a stool and smiled as he looked at his phone then at Dracula, "All of those years holed in here, you became a better cooker?" and Dracula nodded as he smiled, "Had to," and Alexander nodded, "So, how did you get the food though I'm genuinely curious" and Dracula shrugged not intending to answer and Alexander rose his brow and looked at his phone as it said 5:45.
Dracula quickly finished, threw the food on the plate, gave one to Alexander then went into refrigerator and threw some drinks at Alexander, and grabbed one for himself as they were out the door and into the car as they drove to school but saw not a lot of people there in the parking lot. So they quickly finished the food and got out with their bags, apparently after conditioning they were going to shower then head up to their classes.
They had some fun events after they do drills apparently they play basketball with designated teams, though Dracula and Alexander had to make up their own teams by themselves because of course, they have no one.
They entered into the building with their cards given to them by the school and went down into the locker room as they saw a bunch of seventh graders, eight, freshman, and sophomores as he nodded to the little kids and went to were the Seniors and Juniors were.
Dracula and Alexander walked into a separate room were everyone was chilling, and rap music was playing and Dracula nodded, he's actually started getting into this music because he always hears it recently. Dracula nodded at the people in the room as they nodded back with mutual respect and a little admiration.
Dracula and Alexander found their own lockers and stuffed their bags on top of them and simply sat in the locker and sat on their phone waiting for the rest of everyone to arrive before they run up and go to the gym to do conditioning.
As Dracula and Alexander were sitting down, they saw Derrick walk in as he was laughing with some people near him. Derrick walked over to Dracula and cupped hands with him and Alexander as he smiled, "What's up guys ready for your first conditioning practice?" he said with a grin and Dracula nodded, "Of course I am," and Derrick nodded as he looked at Alexander then back to Dracula, "But I'm pretty fucking sure this would be lightwork for you." he said chuckling, and Dracula grinned a little.
Derrick went over to the group of boys and grabbed Aux and started playing his own songs as everyone was just chilling, stretching and laughing while the middle schoolers were questioning the younger freshman and sophomores about who Dracula and Alexander was and they were amazed at what they were told about how they were most likely to be the most recent 5-Stars for their school and All-American Talent. Some middle schoolers didn't believe it, they were the see-to-believe type and wouldn't trust anything they said until they saw it for themselves, but it was obvious that everyone on the team would be looking at Dracula and Alexander during conditioning.
"Alright boys let's go!" one of the seniors said and everyone got out of their seats and Dracula and Alexander followed as they got up and went with the rest of the high schoolers, while they were going up the stairs into the gym he saw that the middle schoolers were staring at him very hard. He wasn't physically turned around but he can surely sense it,
Once they got in the gym they got in their Captain's lines as he was behind Derrick following Alexander on his left. They then did their chant before doing jumping jacks then doing all of their stretches.
They then did some extra workouts given by the coach which was light work for Dracula and Alexander but maybe not so easy for others. The coach then came up while everyone was on the ground and started talking about future events and camps that's going to have after 2-Days, then he talked about their schedule for the teams they're going against future teams, whether it was their rivals or some Private-Schools that can compete D1. They even are going against some teams in Florida, of which are renowned for their Football teams.
The Coach then proceeded to talk about their two new recruits, and bragged about them of which brought upon a smile on Derrick's face, while some of the other ones just sighed.
Once the Coach finished talking he sent people to certain drills, the Hop-Overs with bags, 4-Cones, 3 Cones, and then a special drill given by whatever the coach is feeling.
Derrick's squad got sent to hop-overs, while some of the other captains had to join the other's squad.
Coach Harold had a timer in his hands, "Alright one of you step up! You already know the drill, back pedal,  sprint, side shuffle, sprint!" and Derrick stepped up and nodded at coach, "Go!"
Derrick hurriedly back pedaled turn a little bit before he reached the cone and started sprinting before he started side shuffling and sprinted all the way through and the coach yelled, "5:60… damn boy!" Coach Harold said as he whistled, "That's our four star right there!" one of the other juniors yelled out.
Some of the middle schoolers who were in Derricks, Dracula's, and Alexanders groups shrugged as it was a regular occurrence, albeit a bit faster than usual.
Eventually all of the seniors went, the middle schoolers and the rest of the high schoolers but Derrick made Dracula and Alexander go to the back, saying and I quote, "Saving the best for the last"
Dracula went up on the line and Coach Harold had his hopes up high, he already knew whatever time he was going to get would be phenomenal and he was ready as his eyes were wide open.
Since most of other groups were finished at their drills they also looked on, as the Middle Schoolers especially were curious as to what the hype was all about.
Dracula who watched everyone go before him now knew what to do in the drill and got ready to go,
"Set!" and a silence proceeded to happen before, "Go!" and a screech was heard as Dracula blasted off the line as he already reached the first cone and sprinted and then side shuffled and sprinted all the way through as Dracula was still running he slowly stopped.
Everyone went from Dracula with wide eyes before looking at Coach Harold who's hand was shaking from what he was looking at, "2-2:09" and there were gasps all across the room as even some of the middle schoolers were surprised like crazy, wasn't that faster than any professional football player they had ever heard.
Coach Harold quickly got his bearings as he grinned and Alexander was up as he had his hair in a bun again, "Go!"
Alexander did the same process as Dracula as he came speeding by Dracula before he stopped, "3:05: and Alexander muttered damn under his breath but of course Dracula heard it and grinned.
While Dracula and Alexander were grinning at each other, Derrick was doing the same, but the others? It was safe to say that everyone was amazed, and that placed their respect at an even higher pedestal. Coach Harold? He was struggling and trying to refrain from shouting and cheering, he hit the gold mine! He's gotten another high star recruit on his team,
"N-next drill move!" and everyone moved to their next drill's of which Dracula and Alexander did a phenomenal job at each drill and then they ended up to the special coaches drill.
The Coach already had cones set up, "Bear Crawl to the cones, sprint back 3 times!" and whimpers could be heard all throughout the group, but of course none of the juniors or seniors made a sound as they were used to it, and Dracula and Alexander just simply wasn't fazed,
Dracula watched as the first group of captains went before it was their turn and they got a rough example of what to do and Dracula grinned as he looked at Alexander behind him, "I'm in my natural habitat, I love to hunt" before he got on all fours, a stance much different from other bear crawls and as soon as Derrick passed him he went and crawled as if he was an actual damned bear curved around the cone and sprinted all the way through unfazed and looked at the rest of the guys who were in his group to go as they were still just barely pass the starting line,
Once Dracula passed Alexander, Alexander flew also at fast speeds and sprinted back, it was safe to say their group annihilated any other. And Dracula and Alexander carried… hard,
The whistle blew and Coach told them to sit their asses down, so Dracula and Alexander went to go sit on the bags while Derrick followed them as he whispered to Derrick did his back hurt and Dracula chuckled.
They saw a bag and went towards it before a group of freshman went and sat on it and Dracula rose his brow as he kept walking over there and just stared down the group of freshman, "You saw me heading here to sit down yet you came and stole the bag… why?" and one of the freshman rose his brow, "First come… first served", and Dracula nodded, "I'll see you on scout" and the boys face paled as he quickly got up along with the others, "J-just take it I don't need it I'll sit on the floor I'm fine" and Dracula shook his head, "No it's fine keep it, we'll go sit somewhere else," and one of the sophomores who saw the encounter simply chuckled and shook his head before looking at the coach,
Dracula and the rest of the squad simply sat down somewhere while the coach had a clipboard in his hands, and another coach had basketball's in his hands, "Team 3 vs. Team 5 on that side" Coach Harold yelled out as he pointed to the court opposite of him, "Team 1 vs Team 9 over there" and pointed in front of him and 4 groups of people came out and got on the court, one of the teams on the court had to take off their shirt so they did.
They played a game of basketball as Dracula and Alexander looked closely at their movements while Derrick was just watching for entertainment. Then of course a couple more games went on before it was Dracula's squad as Coach Harold yelled out the two best teams, one of which was of course the best team with the best record. And the other with well technically two 5 stars.
"Dracula, Alexander, and Derrick Vs. Team 7!" Coach Harold yelled out and pointed to the court in front of him as Dracula looked at Derrick with a questionable gaze, "What? I left my team because I want to join the team that's going to win" and Alexander chuckled at his lack of care to the things he just said.
Dracula's squad took off their shirts of which of course the middle schoolers and a couple of high-schoolers who didn't see were surprised, while the other team just simply gazed at them then got ready to play. It seemed there were 2 Seniors on the team one of which was a captain, 2 juniors and 1 freshman.
The reason why they were mostly successful was either they had former basketball experience, or just the fact that they don't only workout at school but at organizations that they payed for so of course their extremely fit to play both sides of the ball.
The Coach looked at the difference in size and gave Dracula the ball first, Team-7 of course played a 2-3 Front with the 2 Seniors up front.
Dracula casually walked up from the other side of the court and as he was nearing the half-court he saw the other senior standing by the 3-Point line nowhere near him so he shot the half-court shot and drained the three. There was a silence before an uproar of cheers were heard from the sidelines as some of them were yelling various things like, "In your mouth!, Hands down man down, Guard up sped, That's our five star!" and the crowd was lit.
One of the coaches whistled at the shot, Alexander and Derrick quickly got down court as they slapped Dracula's hands with a grin and Dracula could say he's thoroughly enjoying his "high school" experience, though mostly because of sports probably.
With the 5 people on the other team coming up court Dracula's squad quickly formed a type of triangle formation.
The slim junior came up with the ball and tried to hesi then hit a crossover but Dracula quickly stole the ball at intense speeds and ran down the court with the Junior confused and felt a woosh next to him as Alexander came running at intense speeds behind him, "Alley!" Alexander screamed out and the crowd started to get more excited as Dracula threw the ball against the glass and Alexander jumped and one-handed slammed it into the rim with a ferocious dunk as the crowd got even more turnt after that as they were jumping in the air, one of them acted like they passed out, even the middle schoolers were screaming in excitement at the game that was playing out.
The ball went through the net and bounced on the floor as Alexander grabbed the ball, acted like he had a pen and "wrote" on the ball and gave it to the Freshman who was already down court before grinning and running back down the court as the sidelines almost fainted at the disrespect that was being showcased in front of them.
The Freshman who saw a chance quickly ran past Alexander and Dracula as they were jogging back to their side and saw Derrick in the corner guarding the senior and went for the easy layup, though when he looked at Derrick he saw that Derrick didn't make a move and simply looked behind him and when he put up the layup all he heard was a gasp from one of the people in the crowd as Dracula chased down the kid and slapped the living shit out of the ball as it slapped the backboard bouncing off of it and it got sent down court as Alexander who was already there quickly signaled to Dracula to get down there and Dracula who was still in the air twisted and once he landed blasted off towards the hoop,
Alexander quickly passed the ball to Dracula once he got past the half court line and the crowd was anticipating it this time as he saw one of the kids about to jump,
Dracula got to the free throw line and jumped and twisted in the air as he slammed it through and all he heard was the crowd roaring and one of the kids yelling "Hey!!!"
And the game went on as it was a complete… and utter, blowout. In a span of a five-minute game, the score was 54-0.
As the games were over the Coach simply said the shower order and the Juniors were up first as Dracula and Alexander went through the door first with the juniors and Derrick behind him following.
They went back into their little room, went in their bags and grabbed the towels as they went into the showers as Coach Harold was taking attendance to who is there and who isn't.
Once they showered, they came out and got dressed for school.

Keeping it real with you guys, this is something purely for my entertainment and out of all of the books that I've written and of course that you haven't seen, I feel like this has the most potential. With a ton of ideas, and a lot of things to do. Implement Dracula and his servants in a TVD type of Environment and what do you get? Read and see.

Possible Multiversal Travel, and Omniversal Travel. Forewarning, it might be cringe a little, this is of course R-18, and this is of course Dracula so don't expect good things all the time. But he is different from the stereotypical Dracula.

"Cheol-yong, move!"
"Watch out!"

Hyung-geun intercepted the ball easily enough and passed it to someone else before receiving it once again a moment later. All the other children circled around him, determined to steal the ball back for themselves, but Hyung-geun skillfully maneuvered around them all, dribbling all the way to the goalpost. He looked up to find his aim, but was thrown off by what he saw.

"Huh?"

Or rather, by what he didn't see. The goalkeeper was nowhere to be seen.

"Stop him!"
"Get him! No!!"

Hyung-geun kicked the ball into the goal with little effort and, surely enough, scored a point for his team.

"Where did plaster face go?" Myeong-su asked, but no one had an answer for him.

Unseen by the other children, Lucid had snuck away from the field and climbed the mountain behind the institute for the first time in a rather long time. It had been an impulsive decision on his part, but he had also hoped that coming back would somehow transport him to the other world again, as it had before.

This mountain, unlike the forest in the other world, was mainly comprised of bamboo and oak trees. With both being evergreens, the mountain was a lovely shade of green all year round, and even now, it looked like a piece of summer stranded in a winter land. Only the harsh wind broke the illusion. Still, as with most other mountains, the ground was covered with a decent amount of fallen leaves, but they posed no problem for Lucid as he climbed higher and higher, especially since he had cast magic to increase the friction on the bottom of his shoes. For him, climbing up the mountain was no different from walking down the street, and he reached the peak in no time. Breathing heavily to regain control, he noticed that his physical strength and stamina had both deteriorated over the past year. Before, he hadn't even broken a sweat climbing this same mountain, yet here he was now, huffing and puffing. All that sitting and reading must have taken a toll on him after all.

The sky he saw down at the courtyard and the sky he was now looking at, from high in the mountain, were one and the same, as clear and blue as ever, but the air felt different. It was clearer, crisper, and he took deep breaths to fill his lungs with it. He closed his eyes and felt the wind on his skin, canceling all the magic he had cast before. As the warming magic left him, a sharp chill ran down his spine.

"Mom." he called, his voice low. He hadn't spoken that word out loud in a long time, and he choked on it.

****

Dong-in had been looking out the window, watching some middle schoolers running around with some elementary schoolers.

"God dammit." he muttered under his breath.

He had been cursing quite a lot recently, and most times, he didn't even realize. The words left his lips whenever he felt even a little miffed, whether he was alone or not, prompted or not. Right now, he cursed watching the children playing in the field.

He hadn't known this when he himself was a young child, but now that he was in middle school, playing outside and kicking a ball around were no longer entertaining, and he had no wish to participate. It was easy enough for elementary schoolers to run around chasing a ball, but the middle schoolers with them were a bit different. They would run just enough to reach the ball and kick it just enough to get the children to run to the other side. In other words, they weren't playing. They were just taking care of the younger children. When Dong-in was younger, the middle schoolers (now high schoolers) took care of him in the same way, and now, his peers took care of the elementary schoolers. High schoolers then avoided the courtyard altogether, choosing to let the younger kids run free and instead studying to achieve their goals for the future, once they left the institute. Such were the rules of the Anes Institute, a sort of tradition to allow all the children to come together and fraternize, growing closer together as real siblings would. Or was it?

"In the same boat, so row together." Dong-in grumbled.

Once he had realized that this was the true intention of the rules, Dong-in had lost all interest in playing. It disgusted him to know that he was expected to go out and mingle with the rest of the children, so that they may all be pitied together. He didn't want to be considered pitiful, and he didn't want to consider the other children as such either. So, he simply grew to dislike their soccer games. That was why he was currently holed up in his room, avoiding all the volunteers crawling about the institute and watching the children play outside, as much as he hated it. That's when he noticed one of the goalkeepers turn around and sneak off somewhere.

He gnawed on his lips as he watched the boy's retreating figure, feeling all sorts of emotions bubbling inside, emotions that stung his eyes with unshed tears, emotions that made him want to scream until his throat bled, that burst the blood vessels in his eyes and made his breath uneven. Hatred, disgust, resentment, contempt. No matter how many words he used to describe his emotions, they weren't enough to properly convey everything he felt. Part of him felt frustrated. Why should he have to feel this way? He didn't deserve this. He had lived his whole life being well-liked as a good student, a good child, a kind person who always smiled, until that boy came along and pushed him straight to the depths of hell. He couldn't ever forgive him. He wouldn't ever forgive him.

Dong-in turned around and left his room.

****

Yun-jeong had made her way to the cafeteria quite early in the morning, which was unusual for her. After helping out with serving breakfast, she gleefully went in the kitchens to practice her own cooking. With the recent boom of cooking programs on TV, Yun-jeong was more than ecstatic, and she made up her mind to be like all those famous chefs and master their fancy skills. As such, she had grabbed the kitchen wok and was now furiously shaking it about. It was no easy feat, as slender as her arms were, but she persevered, passionately practicing the movement. She rolled the wok around to evenly coat it in oil before dumping in the spring onions she had chopped up. Then, she added a splash of soy sauce, to both flavor and impart some aroma to the oil. As she shook the wok around, the fresh scent of spring onion oil wafted through the air.

"Yun-jeong! Are you into Chinese food now?"
"What are you making? You've made such a mess!"
"Fried rice!" Yun-jeong answered cheerfully, smiling at the cooks who had gathered around to watch.

Focusing once more on the wok in her hands, she added ground pork and various vegetables, stir frying as needed before reducing the heat to add the rice. She would be sharing with all the cooks, so she would have to make plenty. However, that meant more of everything, and the considerable weight of all the ingredients as well as of the wok put quite a strain on her wrists. The only thing pushing her forward was her love for cooking, and she continued to shake the wok around. After what seemed like a lifetime, she finally set it down and turned the heat off, dividing the fried rice evenly on three plates.

"It's done!" She said. She was covered in sweat, but she knew that it was a result of her hard work. She was proud of herself and of what she achieved. "Come have a taste!"
"Are you done?" asked one of the cooks.
"Nope! I'm making crab soup next!"

Yun-jeong wiped the sweat from her eyes and set to preparing for her next dish.

****

Ki-woong had been reading, the door to his room firmly shut. Outside, a sign hung from it, reading "Currently studying, do not disturb." Normally, most institutes housing high school students didn't receive high school volunteers, to avoid the awkward, if not downright patronizing, situation of being taken care of by a peer. Even if high school volunteers were accepted, measures were taked to prevent them from meeting the resident high schoolers, such as sending the latter outside. The Anes Institute was no different, and with the influx of high school volunteers (it was the weekend, after all), most of the high schoolers had gone out. All, actually, except for Ki-woong.

Ki-woong had chosen to stay, mainly because he had nothing better to do outside, and he didn't quite care about the volunteers wandering about the institute. As long as he didn't run into them, then everything was fine. And so, he had kept reading, until he heard a knock at the door.

"Ki-woong," a voice called from outside. "Are you free?"

Recognizing the voice as one of the teachers, Ki-woong opened the door.

"How can I help you?"
"The administrative office asked if you could help them out. They're a little flooded, I think."

This was a rather common occurrence in the institute. If the office was behind in its work, Ki-woong would often go down to lend a hand. This was partly because he was the smartest high schooler in the institute, and he had actually proven himself to be quite adept at getting things done. The biggest reason, however, was that he hardly complained, to the point that the director of administration had actually suggested that Ki-woong work at the office after graduating high school. This wasn't well-received at all, since Ki-woong had his sights set on medical school, but he had still smiled and laughed it off, showing remarkable self-control and patience.

"Yes, of course. Should I go down right away?"
"Yes, please. Thank you so much, and I'm so sorry to ask you every time."

The teacher smiled bitterly and pat Ki-woong's arm in an attempt to comfort him. The boy wasn't getting paid at all, simply giving out his time for the sake of the institute, and this made the teacher feel all kinds of terrible. He was proud of him, yes, but it was still a very regrettable situation. Ki-woong was, the teacher thought, the very definition of a volunteer.

****

Jiwon had walked back (though "escaped" would be more accurate) to the institute from the courtyard, and she was hardly in the mood to talk to anyone. But with nowhere to go, she was forced to go inside and join the rest of the volunteers.

"Jiwon," one of them called out. "What are you doing?"
"Oh... Um... I was just wondering if there's anything I can do to help."
"You're really red, did you know that?" the volunteer asked, cupping Jiwon's cheeks in her hands. "How long were you outside? Goodness. Stay inside, and go check the kitchens. They'll be getting food ready soon, so go see if there are any dishes that need to be done."

The volunteer had assumed that Jiwon had gone out to play, and Jiwon was much too high strung to explain herself. She couldn't even find the proper words for it, and she simply nodded, making her way towards the kitchens as she had been instructed.

In her head, she kept replaying the conversation she had with that boy. Why had she said that? She had no idea, and she was embarrassed beyond words. She had volunteered at the institute before, but back then, she had to do so much work that there simply hadn't been enough time for her to talk to any of the residing children. That was why she had made up her mind to spend some time with them this time around. She had a lot of work today as well, but she had managed to sneak out to the courtyard somehow. But after all her efforts, she had been attacked when she had least expected it.

To Jiwon, volunteering at an institute meant playing with the children, holding their hands and talking to them as a way to make them feel loved. That's what heroines did, wasn't it? Still, when she had seen the children running around in the dirt, she had felt a bit put off, which is why she had decided to talk to the child farthest away from all the mess. That turned out to be her worst decision yet, as she had gotten quite hurt from their conversation.

"Why would talking to us be work?" the boy had asked.

She had immediately felt in the wrong. Perhaps she had been so flustered, so scared by the boy's piercing gaze because she felt guilty. No, she knew that was the reason. She had known it as soon as she heard the boy's words, and that was why she had practically run away from him.

She felt bad. Instead of making him feel loved, she had hurt his feelings, and she felt terrible about it.  But she also had no excuse, no good reason to go back so soon, so she simply went to the kitchens. Maybe distracting herself with work would help calm her down and get her thoughts back in order. Then, she decided, she would go back and apologize.

When Jiwon turned the corner to get to the back of the building, where the cafeteria was, she saw a boy climb the fence and go into the mountain. He had short hair, and he was shorter than her. A middle schooler, most likely. As she watched, he walked calmly, but with determination, towards the mountain, and his figure was soon hidden by the trees.

With a mountain so close to the institute, perhaps it acted like a natural playground for the children here. Did they usually go out into the mountain? Probably, Jiwon thought. Dismissing it at that, she opened the door to the cafeteria.


<Lucid Dream (1)> End.

A boy who was living an ordinary life in another world suddenly came to the present world.

Social systems, way of life and morals... They have all changed.

How will the boy try to survive?

What kind of life will the boy live?

"Go get reinforcements from the high school section Rika," Luke got ready to summon his sword.
 
I nodded my head as I ended the call to sneak into the high school grounds. It would be easier this time since Oili was waiting for me on the other side. Oili paced back and forth before he waved for me to come inside. I came into the created hole with his access pass making ripples separating the two spaces. There was no need for me to use my mana like last time to meet Jules for a Lilika Yuri fan meeting.
 
"What's your plan?" he helped me up.
 
"To gather as many high schoolers as possible to help fortify the barrier," I dusted off the snow on my coat.
 
"What do high schoolers usually do during this time anyways?" I wondered.
 
"Most are in their dorm, resting before they go to another intense round of classes or sent off to another mission," Oili recalled from the top of his head.
 
Did I really want to call Lucius for help on recruiting more people? He probably arrived at school an hour earlier than us at most. He would definitely remember me pushing him inside the gate out of anger. Although, Belle would be more forgiving.
 
I sighed before calling his number, I really didn't want to call him if I didn't have to. Even if I wished he wouldn't get my call, the next second, I stared at his tired face inside his luxurious dorm room. Meanwhile, Belle was nowhere to be seen inside the room.
 
"Can you and Belle help us recruit more high schoolers?" I went directly to the point.
 
"Your younger brother is risking his life to protect the school barrier near the middle school section since the s-class monsters followed us all the way here. By the way, the teachers are all gone," I didn't bother to add any fluff.
 
"Meet us at the gymnasium," Lucius sighed.
 
"Is this true?" Ben stood behind us.
 
I was never so thankful for running into Ben all the time whenever I landed myself into more trouble. I didn't have to explain the situation to him. I nodded my head as I wondered who else I should call.
 
"Can you and Alice also meet us in the gymnasium with the recruits?" I started to punch in Ethan's number.
 
"We'll get there as fast as possible," Ben entered into a video call with his fraction members while running towards another location.
 
Ethan appeared annoyed as he picked up the call, "what now?"
 
"I need your help in recruiting more people to help defend the barrier in the middle school section or else those s-class monsters are going to break in. So let's meet in the gymnasium as soon as possible," I ended the call.
 
"Is it okay to be this brief with him?" Oili wondered.
 
"It's because we have something on each other," I shrugged.
 
"Is there anyone else you know?" I exhausted all my connections I had to the high school section.
 
Oili shook his head. It made sense since Ethan and Oili were in the same fraction. The people that Ethan was probably going to recruit was probably the people Oili knew. It was time to make a ruckus to gather more people outside our fractions.
 
"Where else are there a lot of people?" I wondered.
 
"In the cafeteria or training rooms at best," Oili threw me a glance we should split up.
 
I agreed as we needed to minimize spending less time on this as much as possible. We decided that I would go to the cafeteria since the training room wouldn't be accessible to me. I pulled out a map of the high school section as I walked towards the location.
 
Overall, the cafeteria was almost identical to the one in middle school. Like Oili mentioned, there was quite a few people eating their meals in the early evening. I instantly stood out as I didn't wear my uniform, but a thick coat with a torn dress beneath it.
 
However, I grabbed everyone's attention when I stepped onto the table as they placed their utensils down, wondering who would break such common etiquette. Everyone here wasn't a part of the fractions of Luke, Ethan or Ben as they were already gathered in a meeting. I used my mana to increase the volume of my voice as I prepared to speak.
 
"Are you a student here?" the person closest to me asked.
 
"I am and I come here to deliver an important announcement," I pulled up a recorded scene from my marble of the humanoids attacking the school barrier.
 
"Look at the crest labelled near the edge of her coat. She comes from the Roselia family," one of them noticed.
 
"The s-class monsters, the humanoids are attacking our barrier as you see on the screen. This was recorded some time ago, meaning there should be more cracks in the barrier now. We, middle schoolers need your help in fortifying the barrier, which is why I am here," I hoped this was good enough.
 
"How did the humanoids track the school in the first place? It's hidden under many layers of illusions," one student mumbled.
 
"Isn't that the kid that causes all sorts of trouble?" another gossiped.
 
"Please step down from the table," the student narrowed his eyes.
 
I jumped down the table as I landed gracefully on the floor. This was not the reaction I was expecting.

I was captured and put onto a stake to be lit on fire as part of the ongoing witch hunt conducted throughout the land. I had to do something. But, this life really sucked. 

This all started when I was accidentally killed by God. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to kill you. It was just that I was overworked lately by my superior and I just wanted some time to relax and vent my stress out," he confessed.

"So, while I was snacking, I accidentally dropped one potato chip into the human realm where the child tripped over the potato chip onto a den of steep stairs." God guilty admitted.

So I reincarnated into the most adorable girl with the largest orange-speckled eyes that contrasted her pale white skin void of any imperfections.

'How could someone look this pretty?' I thought as I admired my new appearance.

I was nowhere close to this pretty in my previous life. Did God put me into this new vessel as an apology?

But some things were too good to be true.
***
"We can do this the nice way or the hard way," My fiancé’s brother started off.
"The nice way is where you willingly come with us back to the first district and the hard way is where we forcibly take you back, which would be hard for all of us," Lucius gave me a warning.
Why was my life so depressing? He practically meant I didn’t have a choice! 
***
Few months later, I was at a party that I planned to escape from my fiancé’s family.
"I still get to continue with my naps on the weekends?" I tried to confirm with them.
No one answered as I almost cried from giving up my rare nap times from the mess I got involved with. This life was too bothersome!

"Hey punk, get the hell off this court. Its ours now."
"But we came here first, why should we move away?"
"What you say huh! You got some guts, we are way bigger than you guys and you still dare to talk back to us."
I heard some people talking at the other side of the court, I looked and saw a group of 5 middle school kids confronting another group of kids around my age. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was going on, those pieces of crap were trying to pick on them.
"Yo Aomine, check out what's going on at the other court. You think we should go help them out?" I asked Aomine.
Aomine glanced at the situation and gritted his teeth."Why did you even ask this question, you know how much I hate bullies. Let's go put them in place."
After knowing Aomine for a while, I had come to realize that he actually had a very strong sense of justice. He could not stand bullies or anyone who was treated unfairly, this was quite far from his high school self, where he abused his power as Tou's ace.
Sudden, I saw a screen appear in front of me.
[Host has received his first mission:
Have a sense of justice: Host has to help out the children who are being bullied.
mission rewards: 20 general points]
As I read what was written on the screen, I clenched my fists in excitement. Nice! Not only would I be able to destroy those bullies, I also get to earn general points. And 20 in a go as well!
"Come on, why are we still standing around here. Let's go confront those craps."Aomine said.
We went over and Aomine swatted the ball which one of the guys was holding.
"Well well well, what do we have here, more little kids trying to join in the party." One of the middle schoolers said.
"Nah man. This ain't your court. If you guys really want to play here you gotta win us in a match first. Hoopers do their talking on the court."Aomine squared them up.
"Brooo, these kids are getting too cocky. We just joined our middle school basketball team, you sure you still want to face us." He taunted us.
"Sure"I replied."So we play 2 against 2 first to 11?"
"Yeah no problem. Watch how fast we destroy you."
Perfect, I had recently upgraded all my stats to level 2, So I wanted to see what a complete level 2 would be like against middle schoolers.
"Yo Kaen, you shoot for ball."Aomine told me, passing me the ball.
I received the ball, went behind the three point arc and got into my shooting motion. I smoothly brought the ball from my waist up to my head and released it at its highest point and made the shot. The middle schoolers saw this and immediately got serious, knowing this wouldn't be an easy match anymore.
It took about 4 shots before I finally won possession of the ball. I checked up my defender and tossed the ball to Aomine. Aomine, pounded the ball hard and blew past his defender, laying the ball into the basket.
I then received the ball and did a side step to the right. I faked a shot, causing my defender to jump into the air, I then drove to the basket. Aomines defender went into the paint and jumped at the same time as me, trying to contest my shot. However this was a major mistake as he had left Aomine right open, I did a simple drop pass to Aomine and he tossed it into the basket.
Next possession, I caught the ball and immediately pulled up for a shot. My defender was caught off guard and could not jump in time to contest my shot, the ball flew spun around the rim a few times before falling into the net.
Aomine and I scored so aggressively and skillfully that we easily defeated our opponents 11-0. They didn't even get to touch the ball once. Well, they weren't very good. I assume they joined a basketball team that didn't even make it through the first round of the preliminaries.
"Bro, y'all trash. You think you can take over a court with these skills of yours, go train somewhere else and come back when you get better." I mocked them. They couldn't say anything back and simply walked off the court quietly. It was an unspoken rule on the court that all that mattered was the game, age, size and background did not matter.
[Host has successfully completed the mission.]
[name: Nakamura Kaen
Age: 6
Height: 28/100 (projected height growth: 1.91 meters)
Shooting: 0/200 (level:2)
Handles: 0/200 (level:2)
Lay-ups: 0/200 (level :2)
Post scoring: 0/100 (level: 2)
Size: 2/200 (level: 2)
Athleticism: 0/200 (level:2)
general points: 20 ]
Now that all my stats were at level 2, I needed to decide which categories to invest my points in. I decided to work on my athleticism, handles and layups. As I grew older, athleticism was beginning to become more and more important. By the time I enter middle school, there would be people who can dunk the ball at will. Simply being skillful is insufficient, as most of my layups will get pinned against the backboard.

I pulled the ball back in between my legs and watched my defender fall. The pink haired point guard, Akashi Seijuro, the man who broke ankles now sat in front of me with his ankles broken. I got into the shooting motion, bringing the ball up from my waist. Cameras flashed around around me, the crowd screaming and cheering. Wait for me Kuroko no Basket, I'm coming for you.

Basketball. The greatest sport ever created. I dominated in middle school at the highest level. I put my back and heart into every practice and game and played my heart out on the court. I grinded like hell and got the recognition I deserved. I was going to enter high school when a major accident happened. 

Well I died. And guess what. I reincarnated into an anime world!

Its just like how I imagined, everybody has some sort of special ability. Although there are no insane superpowers like that of my hero academia or one punch man. Well, It wouldn't really have basketball if those powers existed. 

This is more of an anime school world. Quite a few school animes exist in this world. This includes the greatest sports anime ever created, Kuroko no Basket.

Now with my basketball system watch me take over this world. I shed my blood, sweat and tears and leave it all on the court. I am Nakamura kaen and this is my basketball journey.

"Ah Nincompoop" Faust says as his eyes widens, raising his eyebrows, completely taken over by surprise.
"Uh...." The kid in front of him pauses I'm a shock before continuing.
"It's Nicholas troop! Not nincompoop oi Faust! How dare you?? You never call me with my real name" Nick short for Nicholas starts to whine and complain about how Faust never calls him with his real name.
Faust, who barely have friends at school is a calm and shy kid. When it comes to making friends for him, it takes weeks and months to even talk to the person sitting just beside him in class. 
He doesn't like to involve in any of the quarrels that normal kids at his school usually do. So much for being a big dreamer at home, but a quiet and shy kid at school.
To emphasize more about how quiet of a kid Faust really is, he never cries. He does, but in a low and squeaky voice ever since he was a baby. It's a strange thing to ever witness. A child that doesn't even make a noise as an infant and cry out like any newborn child would.
And so, Faust ended up having only 3 friends in the whole school. And the way he made friends is also strange in different situations.
*Backstory of how Faust and Nick met*
Faust's ears perk up as he overhears a kid yelling too loudly from  behind, while he is having his lunch in a corner of the cafeteria's table seat.
"I'm a black belt in karate, I will just sweep the whole floor with you if you don't stop bullying other people" Nick is threatening  a bully who is throwing his fangs on a timid girl.
Nick couldn't stand the bully's behavior, he really wants to scare him and impress the girl at the same time. Before he can show off his heroic image, Nick is on the ground with bruises on several places of his body.
*"This bully never heard of the word 'mercy' or what?"* Nick thinks to himself as he moans in a squeaky voice.
This is the first time Faust notices Nick.
"What a weird kid" He mumbles under his breath, looking at Nick, who is a goner by now.
The next day, Faust is having his lunch again all by himself in his usual spot and again he heard the same kid from yesterday, who has started roaring, loud as a lion. And surprisingly, an adult voice too joins him.
Out of curiosity, Faust stands up from his spot to see what the commotion is about.
*"Ah it's that weird kid from yesterday"* Faust realizes while watching Nick. *"Bu-but wait"* he pauses before saying
*"Who is this big thug beside him?"* Faust wonders as he sees a huge guy standing beside Nick.
The adult next to Nick is his dad, who is one of the village's security. But he has really thick eyebrows and a scary face with a scar across his face which is given to him by a 'cat' not in a war or in some fight.
Which leaves an impression of him being a thug and makes the kids think he is truly a gangster. Where in reality he is a village guard.
The next thing Faust notices is Nick's father shouting and abusing the bully directly in his face. He is so enraged and riled up that his son got beaten up badly. And according to Nick's dad, if it is for his son, he is ready to pick a fight with anyone. 
At the same time the bully is scared to his wit and only thinking of running from that situation. But he got nowhere to go since he's pretty much being backed up against the wall like a prisoner.
"Wa-wait, he is not stopping with just the bully?" Faust is looking at more people getting yelled at by Nick's father.
"Who are the people trying to defend the bully? That must be his parents and this thug is yelling at them too??" Faust watches while his jaw's dropping, he tightly rolled up his fists in excitement.
"Whoa, here comes the teachers. This old dude will stop now tsk tsk"
But to Faust's surprise...
"He is still going and is shouting at teachers too??? Wow, AMAZINVVVV! this old dude is really amazinvvv!!"
Faust really wants to reach out to Nick's father and tell him how cool he is, yelling at everyone to defend his son, but he is too scared to do that as Nick's father continued to yell at everyone that is approaching him, he is really unstoppable.
But later on, he figures out a way to approach Nick's father and that is through Nick.
"Yo! You are so coollll" Faust stands in front of Nick with a goofy expression and giving thumbs up to Nick with admiration written all over his face.
Nick upon hearing this, is very happy, *"If not the girl admiring me, a guy admiring me for my coolness is not too bad" he thinks as he tries to smile, exposing his broken tooth.
*"I'm a dumb fool who got into this mess."* Nick, while dying internally pats on the shoulder of Faust saying " thanks for the compliment, want to eat together?." 
Faust who thought his plan is working agrees and the both of them started eating together from that day and Faust who became Nick's friend with a secret intention to learn how to be a Savage like Nick's father, now really thought of Nick as his real close friend as they continue to get closer as each day passes by.
"Back to the present story"
"So poop (referring to Nick), let's go to our base and discuss about how we deal with these monsters." Faust says with a bright smile on his face.
Faust, Nick and their two other friends love to play the hero's of the school with Faust being the best kickboxer, Nick the Karate Master, Roy(a Noble's kid) being the space hero and Tim the higher class men and 2 years older than the three doesn't like to play any character. 
He stays a normal kid and cultivates his land and grows vegetables. And the monsters that Faust is referring to are the bullies of the school.
Faust and his friends are currently good at dealing with level 1, level 2 and level 3 rank monsters who are bullies from 1st, 2nd and 3rd grades in their school.
The kick boxing, karate and every other martial arts are ancient techniques in this modern world of 5062.
No one ever saw or heard of someone using these skills. However, there is a belief that very few people in this entire world can use ancient martial art techniques. But no one is allowed to teach or learn these fighting arts.
If anyone is seen using them in public, they are hunted and killed instantly by the government. And so the ancient martial arts nor the healing arts were passed down through generations.
The only fighting arts used in this age is military arts. It involves the use of weapons that have special attributes and technology that does the impossible.
Faust and Nick are friends from the start. However, they met Roy and Tim during a brawl between the high schoolers and middle schoolers on one fine day.
*One fine day of spring*
The taunts between the middle schoolers and high schoolers grew intensely which lead to a huge brawl between both of them. Both sides are too angry and are just pushing each other while yelling loudly enough to resonate around the whole school where every teacher and student can hear this ruckus, yet no one passing by cares.
Because these particular students have been having a brawl from past three years and never once in three years they hit each other. All they do is cause a huge ruckus, raise some dust off the ground and disperse like a scripted fight on stages.
They only want the 10 minutes attention and want people to realise that these are the hard boiled bad guys in the school. But the reality is that no other students or teachers are willing to spare their time to stop the fights and resolve the issues
Yet, there are four kids who watches the brawl between these two mobs from the school balcony, standing next to each other and with excitement filled in their faces and the happiness they faced when they saw the high schoolers running away from the fight because the middle schoolers overcame them with numbers which happens every time.
The eyes of these four met each other, where Nick starts talking.
"So you guys came here to have a fight with us or what?" Nick, with an arrogance filled voice asks Roy and Tim who he has just met.
"We're just here to watch the brawl" Roy and Tim answers at the same time with surprised faces as they didn't want to start any trouble.
"So you guys came here just like us? To watch and learn? asks Nick.
"Indeed" Roy and Tim replies by nodding their heads.
With just that, the four of them starts talking and their conversation led to one thing and another. They even get to know about how all four of them shared the same interests and goals with each other and became closest friends to one another.


**Read author' review before starting**

The aftermath of 'end of the world' and how the new beginning aroused with the discoveries of new magical realms. new sword arts and ancient martial arts. But what is beyond that? beyond our Third Dimension and beyond the earth and beyond human? how did humans come to existence? how do humans possess knowledge and is different from any other being? 

And a kid who doesn't realize the powers he is blessed with, as pain is the only thing that helped him grow faster and learn about the bitter truth about humans.

Fear, curiosity, anxiety, helplessness, powerless, worthless, selfish, being used, being ignored, isn't cared, isn't loved and more and more and all these feelings are killing him from inside while his life is hitting him harder and harder and breaking his will, his wish to live and keeps knocking him down. 

So one day he started liking all these feelings and decided that he had enough and says "I WANT TO FUCK THIS WORLD AND BE ON TOP AND RULE IT, I will pay everyone back with double the price. Even god, he needs to pay for his creation." while laughing like a maniac.

So I ask you....

Do you believe in gods? They reside in higher dimensions. And until now we have only discovered 11 dimensions, we cannot go further than that. This is about the world in 5062, land on earth has been reduced to one third. Only one continent exists, all of humanity from all regions and ethnicities had to live together on one land. During this chaos, the best group of scientists found gateways on earth to travel to different dimensions. Each dimension is a new world with its own laws of physics and principles, and new elements of nature.



*//Editors\\* 

๛ Aysel_Inara

๛ NatsumeRikka

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

Follow me on IG to interact with me, give me suggestions and see the pics of the world and its characters.

IG - wn_miniace



Earlier that Friday, before Vanessa crossed paths with Logan in the hall, Dani sat well suited in the studio's jam-packed lobby alongside Jaivva, Logan, and Jeff. The studio always got packed in February with people who enjoyed the thoughtful themes bringing them closer to loved ones. Jaivva was singing, bragging about how she gets to protect big boy Jeff from assassins. 

Jeff sat, rubbing his head, "Dani, why don't you go in already"? 

"I have to go in later for something," she answered. 

"For what"? 

She was a bit taken, "Don't worry about it". 

Just as Jeff was about to bicker back, Logan cut him off, "I freaking hate when the studio gets crowded with all these non-players. It reminds me of the old days when it was always like this". 

"Really?" asked Jaivva, "What happened"? 

Logan scratched his grey hair, "Well, it use to be flooded with a lot of players. But a lot of them were crappy. Lot's of hazing and people getting jumped. Especially with the middle schoolers". 

Jaivva smirked, "That's just middle school. Nothing new, but whatever". 

"Oh no," corrected Logan, "High schoolers and adults would jump, beat, and haze the middle schoolers. They used to put me into planks and kick my rib cage to see how long I would hold out for. Not to mention car races where they tied cars to our necks and made us race out back for fun. My favorite was pocket monsters. They used to take us, throw us in a ring against each other, and make us fight. We could only do what they tell us to in those battles". 

Jaivva noticed the smile on his face, "That sounds terrible, okay"? 

Logan smirked, gaining the attention of others around them, "Oh yeah, it sucked. Great character building though". 

Many laughed except Dani who heard these stories several times as he continued, "Yeah... But eventually, the studio calmed down. A lot of players, good and bad, left. After that, it slowly kept dying. Now we mostly have people who don't really play. They just sit around and do nothing. Roleplay and lolly gaggle". 

"Well that's not bad," said Jaivva with Jeff agreeing with her. 

"So," said Logan, clasping his hands, "What you have to understand is that this is a business. And they need to make their money. These themes used to be a lot longer. But they're not anymore! Reason being is because there are less players like us who actually play to beat the game and have fun. Now, there's just 'players' who come, don't play, don't fight, complain about everything, and expect to beat the end game content". 

Jaivva snapped her fingers, "You're right on that". 

Logan threw his hands, "Like seriously, it's a fight. If you don't train and maximize yourself to beat the end game content, you simply won't beat it. Don't fucking cry about it. Go act or join a drama club if you want to roleplay so much". 

Dani laughed, "Whatever you do, stay clear of Logan". 

Jaivva was a bit indifferent though, "I mean, I-... I hear people complain, but that's normal. Like most of the actors and roleplayers, I see around here don't care to beat the endgame content. But, I don't know. There was this one Hakken person that seemed interested in actually playing though". 

"Is that a boy or girl?" asked Logan with Jeff also staring at Jaivva. 

"I don't know," she answered. 

Logan looked off for a bit before shrugging, "Well, good luck. I need to head off early. I got somebody I need to 'help' this month". 

"Oh!" yelled Jaivva, "Are they paying you? That sounded genuine". 

Dani laughed, "Yes, good luck to you too Logan". She texted a bit before yelling, "And Don't forget my present in June". 

Logan flipped her off while everybody else was clueless. 

"I'm serious!" she yelled, "Like there doesn't need to be a reason. Just get me a present". 

Instead of answering, Logan walked off which angered her to cross her legs onto the sofa, "I can't stand him". 

"Cute," laughed Jaivva. 

Dani answered seldomly "no" whereas Jeff nearly panicked, "no"! 

"Oh wow," said Jaivva, "Well at least we're gonna beat some assassins this month". 

Logan poked his head back in the lobby, "And make sure you get as much info on these assassins as possible"! 

Everybody in the lobby was startled by the word "assassin". Some theorized whether they would be attacked as well. He left again, heading towards the back which confused Jeff. 

As he stood, Jaivva asked, "Why did Logan go through the back"? 

Dani whispered over while Jeff wasn't looking, "We always go through the back. But don't tell Jeff". 

Jaivva rose up, smirking as she grabbed Jeff's arm, "Alright Dani, we'll see you later". 

There was a smile on Dani's face that was a bit more genuine than usual. One that was a sure sign that she had herself a little Valentine's. The question on Jaivva's mind, was that Valentine's in fact Logan? The two are pretty close and Jeff doesn't seem to approve of them dating. It was definitely something she would have to run by Vanessa later.

The Isekai Game is a vigorous sport where players battle in a variety of themes each month. From magic, alchemy, melee combat, gun slinging, themes, players are forced to fight each other and monsters alike. 



Vanessa finally has her shot at playing and making it to the pro leagues to live a life of wealth, fame, and adventure. But when her small guild of misfits is threatened by an in-game assassin and her "ghost" warns her of a traitor, she feels at the end of her ropes. 



Will her new Isekai family stay together and make it to the pro leagues. Or will this traitor succeed at tearing them apart along with the harsh nature of the game?

Find out in The Isekai Game. 





Tags: action, gaming, RPG, strong female-lead, weak-to-strong, virtual reality, LARPing, Live Action, Roleplaying Game.


Manga to be released in June for free. Check my Instagram for more info.








Notes:
I know my first 2 chapters are confusing. I literally give the first 65 chapters free. My story has a "Do now, explain later" rhythm to it. The characters you read on in the first two chapters get fleshed out in the next two chapters. 
So give it a chance. 


Also, this is not your typical trash Isekai. There is no boy getting hit by a truck. No heavy romance. No high dive online nonsense. No harem. No sex jokes thrown every chapter nor bouncing tits. No truck-kun. No getting trapped in the game. No matrix or any other corny stuff. My concept is not original. But I literally cannot think of 1 story out there that has it.


".........///////////" indicates a transition in scene or time. 
My story gets hectic. This will help a lot. 



Instagram Page: the_isekai_game
follow for more info regarding The Isekai Game.




Artist: Serah Fletcher aka gr0vey.art on Instagram

Later the next day, Fraise and I noticed people gathering around a bulletin board right outside the main school.
"Fraise, why are there so many people gathered up?" I asked curiously from afar, witnessing the group of people.
As we looked from afar, my gaze met up with Rumi's, who was also in the crowd.
"Oh, Michiko, over here!" Rumi waved me over and I approached her. We stood together to where we could still see the bulletin.
"What's going on here?" I asked her and she raised her eyebrows in excitement.
"It's a notice for the Cake Grand Prix Series. It's a cake contest within the school. If you win, as a representative of the school, you'll go to nationals," Rumi pointed at the paper posted. "Everyone's eager because, if you win in the nationals, you can study abroad in the Paris branch."
'The Paris branch? That's the branch my mother attended before she became a patissiere!'
"Really? Is it true that you can study abroad in Paris?" I asked to confirm the information.
"Yeah, it's true. The Paris branch is known for being more advanced than the one here in Japan. Lots of famous patissiers graduated from there and were successful."
'If I win the Grand Prix Series and the nationals, I'll have a chance to study abroad at the same St. Marie Academy that Mom went to where her dream began!'
My face lit up at this thought, pondering the idea of being able to attend the Paris branch.
"Oh, Michiko? You look excited," Rumi viewed with a smile on her face.
"I guess…" I clocked my head sideways gazing at her.
'I've always wanted to make another friend right after Fraise… Maybe, this is my chance to do it!' 
"Hey, Rumi, would you like to discuss this over at the cafeteria?" I asked timidly, a bit fearful that she might reject my invite.
"Oh? Michiko is asking me to eat with her?" Rumi looked at me in shock, not expecting that to happen.
'As I thought… She might not even want to be friends…'
"Of course I'll come with you! You can go over there first, I just need to grab the pamphlets so I can explain it to you in more detail," Rumi smiled cheerfully, her face lighting up.
'She agreed? I thought she would've said no…'
"Okay," I said as Rumi and I parted ways. I went ahead over to the cafeteria while she went over to the bulletin to grab the flyers.
I looked over at Fraise who gave me a warm smile, looking proud of my progress.
* * *
"Michiko, I got a pamphlet for you," Rumi said as she ran toward me who sat at one of the tables near the windows. She didn't take too long, but I'd already bought some food for us to eat as I waited. 
"Oh, thanks for buying food for me," Rumi bowed her head and I nodded. She sat down across from me and handed over a paper with more information about the Cake Grand Prix.
"Thanks, Rumi." I bowed my head and held the paper in my hands. Fraise flew closer toward me so she could also see the information but I wasn't worried about Rumi seeing her since she can't see sweets spirits.
"Ok, so the Grand Prix Series is a great event for the student patissiers. First, a group of 4 people will enter, and in the span of 3 months, they'll compete in a tournament, covering 5 themes. If you and your team win in St. Marie Academy, your team will represent the school in the nationals. If you win the nationals, it'd be amazing 'cause it means that you're Japan's #1," Rumi explained as I scanned the pamphlet.
'Japan's #1… It seems like a high title to hold.'
"Who won last year?" I said, taking a bite of the food in front of me.
"Obviously a high school 3rd-year team. They're studying abroad right now," Rumi said, taking a sip from her cup.
'Hm? Not only the oldest students in the school but high school 3rd years? Does that mean that even the middle school department competes against the high schoolers?'
"Do the middle schoolers and high schoolers compete against each other? Aren't the levels too far apart?" I questioned, putting down my fork.
"Well, it might be a disadvantage but it is possible." She winked as she continued to explain. "In their first year, the Sweets Princes were the only ones to make it into the third round. The middle school division winning the first match was unheard of until they came along."
'Nobody else in the middle school department besides those three made it past the first round… I knew they were looked up to and admired upon, but wow... those three are really amazing…'
"Hm… they probably would have made it higher if they didn't group up with Ojou to begin with…" Rumi thought to herself.
"Ojou? Who's that?" I asked curiously, taking a sip from my drink.
"Oh, nothin'. Just someone a year above us. The word is taboo for Kashino though," Rumi responded with a flustered expression. "Besides, Michiko, are you entering the Grand Prix with the sweets princes?"
'Me, joining up with the sweets princes? Will they even agree?'
"I don't know… but it does sound interesting," I stated with hesitance.
"I like Michiko's cakes. Every cake I've tasted from you is high leveled, even at this age. Like the cake you made for Ringo, it was enjoyable and delicious. You're also skillful when it comes to technique and flavor as if you got training from a professional. Who knows, with you in their team, you and the Sweets Princes could even win the Grand Prix and make a name for yourselves as the 1st middle school team to win the Grand Prix!" Rumi exclaimed with a friendly gaze, taking a bite of her food. 
"Really? You think if I team up with them we could win?" I pondered.
"You guys are the best, not only in our grade but in the entire middle school department! I think it's possible," Rumi assured. "Though you've only been here for a month, you bake as if you're already experienced in the field. Though you're quiet and aloof, your face lights up when you bake. It'd be a waste to not challenge yourself."
'Rumi… Her words are encouraging.'
"She'll join, just leave it to me!" Fraise popped out of nowhere and made a claim.
"Geez, what are you saying?" I muttered to Fraise under my breath.
"Oh! As expected of the talented "Ice Princess!" Rumi exclaimed.
"Ice… Princess?" I furrowed my eyebrows confusedly.
'What kind of nickname is that?!'
"That's what everyone calls you!" Rumi explained with a smile. "Michiko is the beautiful transfer student that people admire from afar. Though, people say you look unapproachable because of your beauty, so that's why we call you the Ice Princess!"
'Should I be taking that as a compliment or an insult?' 
"Is that so?" I chuckled nervously at her response.
"Though you don't talk much, I think Michiko is a very interesting person! If you don't mind, is it alright if I can call you Keiko?" She asked shyly as I looked dumbfounded at this request.
'She wants to call me by my first name… Does that mean, she wants to be my friend?'
"Hehe, of course," I gave a light chuckle at her strange request and her eyes brightened.
"Okay… Keiko!" 

'Today… I think I made another friend…' 
Rumi and I continued to talk until the sun started to set, talking about the smallest things. We hadn't realized that it was already late, but we eventually said goodbye and I went back to my dorm room.
I got ready for bed and lay down, staring at the ceiling.
'Mom… Do you think I have the qualifications to enter the Grand Prix? Ever since you passed, I missed eating your sweets every day and seeing you… Why did that have to happen? Why… did you have to go so soon?'
End of Chapter 29: Why So Soon?

At a young age, Michiko Keiko had admired baking because her mother was a world-famous patissiere. Keiko had a talent for baking at a young age and her mother always knew that her child was special. Her mother introduced her to a whole new world whenever she baked, but ever since she passed away due to an accident when Keiko was 8, Keiko lost herself, unsure if anything could bring her back to reality. Her drive to bake disappeared along with the presence of her mother and she always held her emotions back. Instead of baking, she focused on her school work to be on top of her classes to deal with her grief. Though she thought about giving up on her dream to become a patissiere, she felt an emptiness in her that couldn’t be filled up unless she achieved that dream. She wants to prove to her mother in heaven that she can also become a world-renown patissiere. Her first step—entering the famous St. Marie Academy that specializes in training young patissiers.
But, what happens if there's more to baking than Keiko could ever think of? What kind of secrets will unravel relating to the death of her mother?



[This story is based off of the manga Yumeiro Patissiere. The MC displayed is my own original character and some ideas have evolved from the original work. Cover is created and drawn by me.]

He made a mental note of the facts he had on hand. 
 Min. Pshi Academy. Modern Evolution. Beta Tester. Gaia. 
 He started with what was most important. He tapped the tabletop and a faint screen appeared over the table. He was connected to the academy server, and through it to the wide net. He opened Sigma, a browser with a simple interface, and searched for Pshi Academy. There was enough information on the wide net about the academy. He opened the academy page that was uploaded on the wide net. The class of Modern Evolution was listed, but he didn't find the information he sought. Realising his mistake, he pulled up the Modern Evolution page on the Academy server. He found the list of students. And among them, he found his name. 
 Min Naiv. 
 He clicked on the name and his student profile filled the screen. 
 
 **
 
 Student Name: Min Naiv 
 Age: 18 years 
 Guardian: Topher Grace
 Overall academic grade: A
 Special mentions: 
  a. 100 percentile in mathematics
  b. Editorial recognition for the piece, 'Linear math of non-linear human interactions'
  c. Scouted for the program - Modern Evolution
 Academic projects:
  a. Beta Tester - Gaia
  b. Regression analytics on declining traditional societal norms
  c. Diagrametics 
 Intelligence: Visual mathematician, 99 percentile in IQ
 High school grades:
  Mathematics  A+
  Languages  A
  Science  B
  Social Studies B
  Art  B
  PE  C
 Positions of authority held: None
 Member of clubs: None
 Research project: Enhanced consciousness

**

 The student profile didn't feel like all of him. He felt the profile drew an incomplete sketch. Probably because he didn't understand all of it. 
 Firstly, who was Topher Grace? 
 A quick search on the academy server revealed that Topher Grace was the academy sponsorship program, started by an alumni of the academy named Topher. After graduating from the academy, she started a human welfare organisation that operated across borders. In association with the academy, her organisation started the sponsorship program. 
 Sponsorship differed from Scholarship in the fundamental principle. Scholarship was the academy offering help with the tuition for students with high academic grades who could use the aid. Sponsorship was the academy covering all expenses for orphans eligible to study at the academy. 
 Purugs, the scholarship program, imposed requirements on the recipients. Topher Grace recommended recipients have expectations of themselves. 
 Min understood he had no family. That gave some more clarity. 
 He next searched Diagrametics. What he found confused him all the more because it made sense. Diagrametics was representing people and ideas and even vague concepts as two dimensional figures on a chart. He couldn't understand how someone could make sense of such an idea enough to prepare an entire project on it. 
 And then of course, there was Modern Evolution. 
 There was a video on the academy server. Of a student introducing the subject to a group of middle schoolers as the teacher-in-charge, Mr Brogz, looked on with pride. Modern Evolution dealt with the impact and the importance of sociology on wide area augmented reality for an accurate representation of the real world so that separation of virtual and real became increasingly impossible. He read the name of the student addressing the middle schoolers underneath the video. Kexin. The granddaughter of the Vice-Principal of the academy, and the star of the department of sociology. 
 He could see how being a student of the subject would enable him join the Beta Testers of Gaia. He didn't have complete clarity yet, but he at least had the outline. 
 He began reading all there was about Min on the academy server.

What if one morning you woke up with no memories? 

What if all you had was a video message you left for yourself, warning you that you were in grave danger? 

What if the only way to survive was in discovering what you forgot? 

And what if your biggest enemy was yourself? 

**

"There is a bug. It allows unmitigated access to the users' consciousness. You're the only one who knows. You must stop the release. You must stop them." 

That was the primal directive. Min needed time to understand, to accept. But time was the one thing he didn't have. 

He woke up with no memories. He only had the one video message he left himself to work with. The video told him he was a beta tester of Gaia, and he had discovered a bug that could very well be intentional. 

What he was asking of himself was to be a hero. But was that what he wanted? Was that really him in the video? 

If it was him, why go through all that trouble? Why did he delete all of his memories himself? 

Who were the people helping him from the shadows? Were they friends? Or, were they something else entirely? 

Who were those that were after him? Were they all related to Gaia? Or were there other secrets too? 

School was the perfect refuge. Friendless and unremarkable, he couldn't be hidden better. But with less than three months to graduation, he was running out of time...

Let the record show that I, Kim Min-chul, do not know how to fight. I am but a lowly swimmer boy who wants my boo, Jang Mi-young, to return after I messed up. So, with this in mind...why the hell am I facing 8 delinquents?!?!

And to add to that, why am I facing 8 middle schoolers as a kindergartener? Damn stupid justice brother.

(Few moments earlier)

"...alright then... let me show you something cool"

"What? You really are going to fight middle schoolers? Do you wanna die?!? Stop, just call an adult"

"By the time we find an adult who cares enough, that bullied kid's wallet would have been long gone"

Well, he does give a point. I'm sure most adults won't care enough to follow a little kid to assist in a situation where they can't do anything but tell the bullies off and maybe call the police if it's severe enough.

"..this is stupid. Let's go home or I'm telling mom"

"No! Min-chul! How can you watch someone get abused like that?!? Do you have a heart?"

"I can watch this because it isn't happening to you or anyone I actually care about"

Looking at me with a confused then weirded out face, it's like he's looking at an alien. I don't understand? You are my family I care, isn't that easy to understand?

"You...what if that was me or someone you cared for, huh? What if that was mom being robbed by thugs?"

"I'd do the sensible thing. Call the police using an adult's phone or from a shop"

"And when they are too late?"

Thinking about it now, it doesn't really make sense. But all I need to do is distract him for long enough.

"Oy! Who's over there!"

"I am! Stop bullying that kid!"

'Well great. That's all fine and dandy. I guess it's time to use my ultimate power card...'

'Cuteness!!!'

Walking into the alley, I see the 5 boys and 3 girls more clearly and... why is this more cliche? The leader has bleach blond hair, the girl leaning on the wall has bleached hair and one of the girls on the leader's lap has brown hair with too much make-up.

"Ahhhh~ we have two little babies, huh? Why are you here?"

"Because you shouldn't bully people!"

'...this is not good. My body might die of the 2nd hand cringing. My cuteness has temporarily been unsuccessful since the alley is too dark!'

My body physically tenses up from what I heard. Dear God, please help me from this. Have one of the girls take mercy.

"Ahahaha! And what are you gonna do about it, punk?"

"I...I'm gonna beat you up! Graahhhh!!!"

'Huh...seems like somethings are fated to happen'

While watching on the side, I see Jung jump off a wall and kick one of the delinquents in the teeth while dodging another's kick. Using the momentum from the dodge, he runs and...who am I kidding?

He got absolutely obliterated and is now a crying heap of sadness on the floor. Going closer and picking him up, I hear some of the girls talk about taking me home...please no. I am fine with my brother, thank you very much.

Well, at least he doesn't have the giant scar now. Yes, his face is banged up and he probably will get a scar on his cheek but that's too small to even care about.

While I am carrying Jung out of the alleyway, the gang leader nods at me; I guess to show my respect that I didn't try butting in. Nodding back, I see the Kyung-sam kid run right out of there; promptly chased by the bully's lackeys.

'Hmmm...quest'

—————————

Save Jung's face (Completed)┃ Hard ┃
Reward: ₲400 ┃ STR +1 ┃

 ₲400 has been deposited into your shop account! Enjoy the  ₲400, you brave man! Or is it stupid? I'm going with stupid!

—————————

'Heh. Not a bad haul eh? I wonder what I should add this to...maybe strength? Speed seems like the best option for swimming but strength is needed as well'

Making up my mind, I add 3 to speed and 1 to strength so now, my status looks like this:

—————————
Name: Kim Min-chul

Age: 5

Titles: None! Wow! You suck!

HP: 10/10

STR: 19      RES: 14
SPD: 29     STAMI: 18
INT: 31

₲Coins: 0 
—————————

After being extremely pleased with the results, I stop over a an ice cream shop and spend my remaining allowance on some ice cream for Jung. After all, he does deserve some type of reward, no?

"What'cha want?"

"...vanilla"

Getting a vanilla with caramel for me and a vanilla with chocolate sprinkles for Jung, we look at each other and laugh. I mean, it's not everyday that a 3rd grader can fight a middle schoolers and lose so badly their face isn't even a face anymore.

'This brother...I really have a dumb brother, huh? Stupid brother. Always caring about others before even looking after yourself...'

After finishing the ice cream, handing the change to a poor man and throwing away our tissues, we head back home for real now. No fooling around with delinquents or bullies. Back home to mom.

Reaching home in less than 5 minutes, I knock and open the door to smell beautiful curry. We are late by 10 minutes but mom usually doesn't mind if we are late by a few minutes. 

""We're home~~""

"Welc-...what happened, Jung?!?"

"I-"

"Jung tripped and fell"

Looking at me, my brother knows what's up and I know what's up. Obviously, no matter how annoying of a patriot this guy is, I won't take that away from him. At least he isn't too destructive in his views.

"...you...fell? On another person's fist?"

"No! I fell on the floor!"

'Well, he isn't lying. They did trip him and he did fall...he just didn't say the part about when they punched him so hard he spun 900°. What a rowdy brother I have...'

"Tsk tsk tsk...please be more careful then, Jung!"

"Un!"

After finishing the delicious meal, my mom tucks me into my bed and starts watching over me as I try sleeping. Laughing for a bit, she then asks me if I want beddy byes or better known as bedtime songs.

"Good night mom"

"Ahaha... no need for beddy byes?"

"No no...night night"

"Love you, baby"

As she walks out of the room, I look around and close my eyes, content with today. I prevented that scar from going on my brother's face and making him not find a girlfriend and I even got that Kyung-sam fellow a chance to run away. Albeit, a bit poorer than he came in.

'Ahhh, I really wan-'

"Min-chul? You awake?"

Hearing the familiar voice, I see Jung standing in the doorway looking at me, seeming like he has something to say. Well, I guess today was pretty eventful and I can hear him out despite it being 6:00 p.m already.

"Jung nim? What do you want?"

"...thank you, Min-chul. I'll be smarter next time"

"Heh. Sleep already. I'm tired"

"Yes!"

After he returns sneakily to his room, I close my eyes once more to try and calm myself down...

'Ahhh, I really want to grow up quickly'

—————————
(A.N) yoyoyoyo! What's up, readers!? Another chapter for you and another sweet moment of brotherly love! Yoyoyo! I hope you enjoyed, peace ✌️!



Life isn’t fair and Kim Min-chul knows it...except it isn’t for the reason you are thinking.

...Min-chul is just too damn PERFECT!!!

he has a tall height of 184 cm, a fast metabolism, perfect swimmer’s body without even trying and is unknowingly a ladies man!

He makes girls fall for him without even knowing!!!

How do you even do that?!?!

Unfortunately however, he let this all get to his head. Not starting his swimming career until he was in junior high and barely making it into the international leagues. Even then, he would neglect his training regularly.

With his 184 cm height, his constant slumping caused him to lose some height, eventually reducing  to 176 cm.
Even with his fast metabolism, he ate too much and rarely exercised; giving him a potbelly at 29.
Despite his natural swimmer’s body, his shoulders got narrowed down and social skills now non-existent.

Looking back at his life in high-school and college as a 40 year old salaryman making just above-average wage, he stares over Wariss Bridge and contemplates. Contemplating whether life is worth living or not...

“Bwahahahaha!!! What the hell, author? Contemplating what, you liar! I just thought that the view was nice!”

“...y-y-you...you’re courting death; insulting me, ancestor koppa!”

That day, a strong gust of wind started the chain of unlikely events that would eventually take 
Min-chul’s life.

‘.....I died, huh?’

[beep boop zorp... I am making robot noises!]

“What the hell?!?!”

[Oh! You are host, yes? I am your system! Your swimming system!]


NOTE: This story isn’t one of those “ sport is life” novels. This is the story of redemption for a man who lost everything due to his own negligence. He isn’t a swimmer, he is a regular guy with a life who is also happens to be a swimmer. 

Don’t get me wrong though, there will be tournament arcs and swimming tournaments but I will focus on a more slice of life type story for this novel.

for middle schoolers novel

I'M TRAPPED IN A VIDEO GAME? (ONESHOT)

The Dracula Diaries

Remember The Name

My Bothersome Life

Swish: A KnB journey

The World We Do Not know

The Isekai Game

Sweets Magic

osmosis

Swimming Prodigy’s Return

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