Taking a step back, Bryan freed his mind of unnecessary thoughts. The status window remained floating in front of him as he got out of bed. His thoughts, uncertain, led him to want to close it almost immediately. It did just that. Huh. Convenient. He walked toward the bathroom, pleased. As he opened the bathroom door, a slender girl greeted his sight. She had bright blonde hair cascading like a waterfall down her back. Her skin was a marble white, resembling a piece of jade. Her baggy pajamas covered her slender figure. Not only that, but her eyes were a still blue lake, staring at him. A displeased look on her face and furrowed eyebrows ruined the homely view. It was Emily. In response to her look, he was expressionless as he walked to the other sink to start to brush his teeth and wash up. His reaction surprised her, as he usually avoided her gaze by hanging his head low. His lack of reaction frustrated Emily, causing her to exclaim menacingly. “Aren't you going to greet me!?” He ignored her completely, contrary to what she expected. Angry, she grabbed his shoulder and spun him around, making direct eye contact with him. Seeing his calm gaze, her anger vanished. It was different from his usual look. He stared at her apathetically without a ripple of emotion, like a complete stranger. Emily felt like an ant standing in front of a stone wall. While her legs wobbled, her eyes filled with tears. However, she couldn't break away from his bone chilling gaze. Bryan broke the silence when her legs were about to give out. As the dominant presence left his body, he said, “Morning,” without any particular tone. He started to wash his face again as if nothing ever happened. She responded back in a halfhearted way, before swiftly walking out of the room. The unsteady gait she had betrayed her state despite her efforts to act normal. After she left, he let out a long sigh as he walked into his room to change. Bryan made it a habit to observe people in his gang. He was more analytical than his hot-blooded counterparts, which made him indispensable to the Red Vipers. Even though this was his first encounter with her, he already knew how she felt about him by her body language and his memories of her, but he did not confront her about it. After all, he only cared about himself. *** After Emily entered her room, she shut the door behind her. Her back leaning against the door, she slid down until she was sitting on the floor. She pulled her knees in, coiling her arms around them. She started to recollect what had happened earlier. In all honesty, she didn't like Bryan. Although Emily tried to act normal around him, her sharp tone couldn't be hidden. During their childhood however, Emily always clung to Bryan. He always protected her when she was getting picked, caring deeply. However, as they grew up, they distanced themselves over the course of time, losing what they once had. Emily hated Bryan's cowardice; it annoyed her to see him get bullied. Yet she was even more angry that he never told anyone. Never stood up for himself, either. She never knew how to discuss this issue and took a hostile stance, even ignoring him at school. She didn't like the way their relationship turned out, but couldn't change it at this point. So when she saw Bryan's apathetic gaze, the thought he had given up cropped in her mind. Due to Bryan's incompetence, Emily had to take care of her family by herself. Long ago, she had already thought of herself as Bryan's elder sister. Even so, her thoughts about Bryan were a mess, since she still cared for him. After she calmed down, Emily began getting ready as she always did. However, she didn't realize that her feelings of hatred and anger for Bryan were starting to change… *** Meanwhile, Bryan was looking at his status window. BRYAN HAYES LVL 1 0/100 EXP PRGRMS - EXP huh Bryan began to think. The problem was how he was going to achieve that power? That fateful night, he made the decision to take control of his fate. Would he ascend the digital underworld using the system? Or alternatively, did he plan on becoming an obedient citizen, climbing up the corporate ladder? That boring life isn't for me In an instant, he made a decision. He developed a sense of excitement and adventure from his previous experiences. A nine-to-five job wasn't for him. Deciding this, he started to plan. Leveling up required EXP. As he focused on the EXP bar, the criteria expanded. EXP IS EARNED WHEN THE HACKER SUCCESSFULLY INFILTRATES NETWORKS, MACHINES, AND OTHER SYSTEMS. DEPENDING ON THE DIFFICULTY, THE APPROPRIATE AMOUNT OF EXP WILL BE REWARDED. Bryan read this, getting a rough idea of how to go from here. I guess I need to establish my presence on the Dark Net if I want to go up from here He knew what type of place it was from his memories. Since the Dark Net was the main hub for the underworld, it had many illegal dealings. If a house was the underground society, The Dark Net was the entrance. First, Bryan needed to learn some basic coding concepts. Fortunately for him, he had the store, otherwise he would have to work for years on end to reach a decent level. Bryan thought he was very lucky since the store's currency was just Dark Net digital currency. He logged into his bank account on his laptop. The previous Bryan's savings were in it. He never used it for anything other than books, magazines, and comics, so he had a lot to spend. He transferred all his savings into crypts, except for a quarter for daily use. After the transfer was complete, he saw a blinking signal in the corner of his eye. When he opened the status window, the amount he converted was displayed. 35 CRYPTS Bryan decided to wait until school was over to buy some things from the store. He grabbed his bag and dashed down the stairs into the living room, realizing he was running late. Lily was frying eggs in the kitchen. She was quite tall. The snow-white blouse she wore emphasized her good figure with her azure jeans. A ponytail styled in Lily's blonde hair. As with Emily, her eyes were deep-sea blue. Her face, however, looked tired. Bryan thought it was most likely from work. After taking a look at her then himself, he realized something was off. Bryan's jet black hair and gray eyes made him look completely different. After digging into his memories, he understood why. Lily was his stepmother. Before he was born, his father left, leaving him with Lily and Emily, his stepfamily. The idea of family, however, was alien to him, and he didn't particularly care about it. While rushing out of the house, he grabbed a piece of toast from the table. “What about the rest of your breakfast?” Lily shouted in a gentle voice from the kitchen. “Don't need it!” Bryan hastily said as he rushed out the door. Lily stared at the door for a moment before shaking her head. She smiled faintly. Before Emily sat down at the table to eat, she thought, “That boy…”. The expression Emily wore was downcast, which she did not notice. He didn't even wait for me She thought before nibbling on a piece of toast like a pouting rabbit. Bryan arrived at his classroom as the bell rang, beads of sweat rolling down his face. They didn't even turn their heads towards the doorway as they chatted among themselves. Unperturbed, Bryan walked to the back of the classroom and seated himself at the window. Bryan never went to school, only knowing basic literacy because of the memories he got from taking over this body. As soon as the bell rang, a middle-aged man walked into the classroom and began taking rolls. He was Mr. Rogers. Mr. Rogers wasn't a strict teacher, but he wasn't too lax either. Even though he was middle-aged, he looked young, having a noble air about him that made him popular with the girls in the class. In class, he never paid too much attention to the guys, but he was always picking on Bryan since the girls found it entertaining. It was no different today, as he spoke a little louder than usual in the middle of class. “Bryan, how did you get those bruises on your arms? Are you hurt?” As he said this, the rest of the class snickered and giggled as they found it quite amusing to see Bryan put on the spot. “I fell down, Mr. Rogers.” Bryan said in the blandest voice. Putting on a poker face was a habit as the slightest emotion could be harmful to his dangerous life in the past. The rest of the class didn't notice the change in his tone compared to how he normally sounded, as they were too busy trying to reign their laughter in. “You fell down? Do you even know how to walk Bryan? Maybe we should put you in preschool as well, given your grades.” Mr Rogers' sneer grew bigger as the class continued to egg the teacher on, welcoming his unprofessional, and in Bryan's opinion, childish antics. The rest of the class couldn't hold it in any longer and burst into laughter. Laughing, some girls covered their mouths, while others held their stomachs. Everyone in the class was smiling except Bryan, who was looking lazy. Is this really a school? As he looked at the class with some pity, Bryan thought internally. In a flash, home room ended after the fiasco subsided. Bryan went to the rest of his classes and had lunch by himself. After half a day, he found it quite boring. Bryan went to the library after school. As opposed to traditional images of dusty old books and a somber atmosphere, the library was different to what Bryan expected. Modern and trendy, the library had a variety of tables with DVDs, computers, and designs. Bryan walked over to the far back computer, sitting on a wooden chair. Rather than turning on the computer, he opened the status window and headed to the store. STORE: BASIC JAVA — 5 CRYPTS VPN — 5 CRYPTS His teacher humiliated him today in an attempt to impress some dumb girls. He was mad, despite not showing it. 'Once struck, strike ten times harder' was one of his core principles. As soon as he noticed Mr. Rogers' lecherous gaze at some girls in the class, he knew something wasn't right. This would permanently stain him. Want to fuck with me? I'll fuck with you. His expression turned into a cold sneer, and his gray eyes filled with an icy glint. For this unscrupulous teacher, he was going to put on a show. In his eyes, his classmates were just some kids who didn't deserve his attention. His 'teacher' was a different story.