John Wright was walking to his third-period class, minding his own business.

“Stay out of my way, loser,” said Kevin Baxter, a self-appointed bully, and Washington High School’s rich wannabe gangster. “I heard you lost your match. Better watch out, or I’ll show you how it’s done.”

John paid the bully no mind. They were far enough apart. Other kids streamed between them, hurrying to class. And he’s just all talk and no walk. Beating him up wouldn’t even make me break a sweat.

Kevin leered at him.

John acted as if Kevin was below his notice. John was too tired to give an everyday bully his attention, anyway. Boxing practice was killer yesterday since he had to make up for the amateur bout he’d lost last week. After that, his dad had John load up the food truck with new supplies. Then his mom had chores for him that he’d forgotten to do, cinching yesterday as one long and exhausting trial.

So, a bully’s lame diss was the last thing that concerned John.

“Hey, I said something to you.” Kevin shoved John in the shoulder. He sent him stumbling to the side, colliding with a bookish girl wearing square glasses.

Annoyed, John continued to ignore Kevin. He straightened himself out, calmed down, and turned to the girl.

“Hey, sorry about that. You alright?” He gave the girl an easy-going smile. The smile he’d used on his ex when they first got together.

Flustered, the bookish girl shot him a shy smile in return.

“It’s okay, it was just an accident,” she said. “I need to get to chem. It’s all the way on the other side of school.”

“Damn, that’s a long walk,” John said. “I’m supposed to go the other direction, but I’ll feel bad if I leave you. Who's gonna keep numbskulls like me from flying into you?”

She laughed. It was a giggle broken up by a piglet-like snort. It had a cute ring to it.

John’s smile broadened, happy with himself that he made the girl laugh. Maybe that would brighten the rest of her day.

“What’s wrong with you,” Kevin yelled from behind John. “Didn’t your dumbass dad teach you respect? Face someone when they’re talking to you, loser.”

Kevin clapped his hand on John’s shoulder. He tried to yank John around.

John had an answer for that. His fist. Kevin’s nose.

A solid thud sounded throughout the hall. Suddenly, a bunch of squeaking sneakers came to a halt. Everyone turned and stared. Then they erupted into howls and screams like wild animals.

“Fight! Fight! Fight!”

Kevin gaped at John. As if he wasn’t supposed to hit the bully. As if Kevin could keep getting away with his stupid bullshit. Maybe he would’ve if he hadn’t pushed John when there was an interesting girl around. John had a weak spot for girls. And he didn’t like getting pushed around.

But his mom had taught him to deescalate a situation whenever possible. Fights don’t solve everything, she would say.

“Look, man,” John said, “I put that punch on you because you were being a jerk. Let’s call it here and walk away.”

Kevin flew at him like an enraged ape. The square-glasses girl screamed while behind John. She was caught up in this, too.

Aw, shit.

Unable to avoid the confrontation, John bent forward and ducked under the bully’s grasping hands. John swung around a heavy counter-punch that connected right on Kevin’s nose once more.

Thud!

The bully hit the floor. The impromptu crowd roared. Students packed in close to see the action, blocking off school officials.

John was unfazed. He fought in front of people plenty of times. He had a fighter’s body, which was deceptive.

He was tall and broad around the shoulders, but he was built with a lanky frame. He didn’t look big or strong from a distance. His taste for wearing sweaters with hoodies made him appear thin like an easy pushover.

John was not a pushover, even if Kevin thought he was. That was the problem with bullies. They kept judging books by their covers and failed to dig deeper.

“You still alright?” John asked the square-glasses girl.

“I, uh, um,” she stammered.

John chuckled, happy to wait for her to speak.

She was cute. It didn’t seem like it. She wasn’t out there, and she wore sweaters like him. She was easy to miss compared to other girls. She was lowkey. But after the train wreck that was John’s hottie of an ex… yeah. Bookish, off-to-the-side, and low-key cute was in.

“Shouldn’t you focus on the fight?” she asked.

“Nah, he’s a nobody,” John said. “You’re somebody worth focusing on.”

She let out a small squeal, covering her face with her hands. A blush crept up around her cheeks.

Hah. Got her. John chuckled.

Turning away, John kept his cool smile for the roaring crowd and the bloodied-up bully. The principal was close now. In ten seconds, give or take, the fight would get broken up, and John would come out on top.

It was going to be a pain for him, though. John didn’t need all that attention outside of fighting. But he figured the other kids would move on eventually.

Sure, nobody would forget the ass-whooping Kevin got, especially the bully himself. But there was always something more interesting going on than making a hero out of John. He didn’t really consider himself the hero-type anyway. He was just a guy of eighteen years who liked to flirt and box. Nothing too special.

Flashing a broad smile, John leaned over Kevin. “You done now, loser?”

Kevin rubbed his hand across his face and stared at the blood on his palm. Eyes shaking with absolute rage, he jumped to his feet and reached behind him. He pulled out something black and shaped like a pistol.

John realized a second too late that it was a pistol. Then he thought of the girl behind him.

He pushed her out of the way before he heard a—

Nothing.

There was nothingness in the darkness.

The darkness was everlasting.

It was unfeeling. Unchanging. It was everywhere. And it was unending. John was a part of it now.

That was all there was to it, he thought dreamily.

But he was wrong.

Ding! Well, I’ll have to admit. Out of the many candidates I’ve screened so far, you’ve got a lot more potential than most. You’re expensive, too. I’ll have to request a waiver. Hold on… there, it’s sent.

John saw and heard a voice speaking to him. He tried to concentrate on the words, but they slipped away from him as soon as he grasped them. This void was messing with him. It was eating him up. The words were probably a figment of his imagination. If that was the case, they continued playing with his head.

Ding! Shame what happened in your old world. You had a future ahead of you, kid. And that girl. Could’ve made for a good woman.

John couldn’t recall much about a girl or his future. He wasn’t sure what he was doing here.

Ding! If there’s a bright side, your actions changed that girl’s life. Your death led her to switch from mousey chemist to hotshot attorney. She’ll put away scum like that bully in her future.

If you’re worried about your mom and dad, they’ll make it through this. It’ll be hard for them. But they’ll find a way and keep your memory alive in the old world.

John felt a pulse of sadness. It was short and fleeting. He tried to hold onto that feeling, but it faded away soon enough.

Ding! You’re probably wondering why I’m telling you this. If the higher chain decides to approve you, we need you to dive into this new world we’re sending you. Let go of the old and commit here.

Because we need heroes. Our system integration got turned upside-down by nefarious forces. And the balance is out of whack. A little too grim for our taste.

It’ll be rough. You’ll probably die again. But if you can avoid dying again, become stronger, and save the world, that’ll be great.

John didn’t understand any of this. System integration? Save the World? What did that have to do with him? If he was dead, then shouldn’t he stay dead? For a brief moment, John started to feel overwhelmed. Something massively life-alternating was going to happen.

Ding! Just got the waiver. Lucky you. You got approved even though your value exceeds our budget margins. Investments like that are nice until they don’t pan out. Desperate times, I suppose.

Welcome to Urmatia, hero, and don’t disappoint.

John Wright, Lvl 0

Race: Outerhuman, Rank 1

Weapon Art:

Blessing: One Good Punch, Rank 1

Total AP: 0

Resilience: 0

Endurance: 0

Strength: 0

Agility: 0

Perception: 0

Poise: 0

Intellect: 0

Soul: 0

Unspent: 0

Talents: [Identify, Rank 1], [New World Linguistics, Rank 1], [Inner Compass, Rank 1].

WA Skills:

Magic Cores (Max. 2): [Ratel Rookie, MCP 0], [Brightlight Orb, MCP 0].

Available MCP: 0

Gear & Loot: [Leather Boots, Poor], [Trousers, Poor], [Tunic, Poor], [Rope Belt, Poor], [Small Pouch, Poor].