Chapter 2: My life is like walking on thin ice
[Ding! Life choice mission complete.]
Hearing the cold, electronic voice ring out in his mind, Hiroshi Kirito finally let out a heavy breath and scrambled up from the floor of the bus.
Feeling the strange, judging gazes of the passengers around him, Kirito tilted his head up at a 45-degree angle, trying to keep the tears of humiliation from falling.
This damn beast of a system... I really want to kill it!
[Mission complete. Calculating reward...]
Reward?
A glint of light instantly flashed in Kirito's eyes.
A legendary weapon? An astonishing fortune? Or maybe... you'll reward me with a wife?
Kirito, who had felt utterly humiliated just a second ago, instantly perked up. If there was a payout, the shame was worth it!
[Reward distributed: You have received "A Look of Disdain" from Kiyotaka Ayanokouji.]
Kirito's hopeful smile froze on his face.
What... what the hell?!
What kind of idiotic reward is this?!
Who cares about a look of disdain?! I get those for free!
Kirito felt like he had been thoroughly played. His eyes blazed with fury.
Ugh! I'm so angry!
This is the most idiotic, stupid, useless system I have ever seen!
Just as Kirito was raging internally, a small yellow dog suddenly darted out onto the road in front of the bus.
The driver slammed on the brakes!
SCREECH—!
The sudden deceleration caused everyone in the vehicle to lurch forward violently due to inertia.
Kirito, who was still standing in the aisle, was no exception.
His body flew forward uncontrollably. In a panic, his survival instincts kicked in, and his hands flailed wildly, grabbing onto the nearest solid object to stabilize himself.
That object happened to be the collar of a boy sitting in the aisle seat next to him.
Driven by the momentum, Kirito swung forward, his grip tightening on the boy's blazer.
RRRIIIP!
With a crisp tearing sound, the button popped off, and Kirito collapsed.
"Ouch..."
Kirito rubbed his head, which had developed a large bump from the impact, and cursed the driver under his breath.
But at that moment, a cold, flat voice reached his ears.
"Creep."
Creep? So what? I was falling!
Kirito whipped his head around to defend himself. He saw a stoic-faced boy sitting in the aisle to his right. His clothes were disheveled, his collar was missing a button, and he had the same messy hairstyle as a generic anime protagonist.
His cold, brown, seemingly emotionless eyes revealed a hint of disdain as he looked down at Kirito.
Looking at the expressionless boy, Kirito lowered his gaze to his own hand. He was tightly clutching a button.
His right eyelid began to twitch wildly.
Holy crap!
If I'm not mistaken, this expressionless guy is the protagonist of this world—Kiyotaka Ayanokouji!
That's the Mastermind! The guy who treats everyone as a tool, is a master of calligraphy, piano, and martial arts, and acts like a sociopath!
Looking into those dead, brown eyes, Kirito scrambled backward in fear.
It felt like a wild boar was stampeding through his heart. The chill coming from this guy was terrifying!
Is there some kind of mistake?
How can I offend the main character right from the start?
And not just any protagonist, but the ruthless "God" Ayanokouji! Does the universe want me to die?!
Waaaaaaah! What is going on today?!
Why am I so unlucky?!
"Um, are you... are you alright?"
Kikyo Kushida looked at Kirito, who was sitting paralyzed on the floor, and asked with genuine concern (or at least, feigned concern).
Kirito ignored her completely. He stood up abruptly, pried the bus doors open as they stopped, jumped off, and started sprinting down the road.
He ran so fast it looked like a pack of rabid dogs was chasing him.
Kikyo Kushida watched his retreating figure, her cute face full of bewilderment.
Kiyotaka Ayanokouji silently straightened his disheveled clothes. He noticed the missing button on his collar, frowned slightly, and looked out the window at the boy sprinting away. He seemed lost in thought.
On a random street, Kirito finally stopped.
He bent over, hands on his knees, panting heavily like a broken bellows.
Having not exercised in his previous life, he felt a severe burning pain in his lungs after the short sprint.
He glanced behind him. The bus was still parked in the distance, seemingly broken down or dealing with the traffic.
He breathed a sigh of relief. He couldn't have stayed on that bus a second longer. Who knows what other bizarre things the System would have forced him to do?
After resting for a moment, Kirito walked along the street toward the Advanced Nurturing High School.
He had already completed his enrollment paperwork a few days ago when he first transmigrated. Fortunately, he wasn't far, and he arrived at the massive school gate in just over ten minutes.
He looked around, awestruck by the campus, before walking toward the freshman welcome area.
"Student, please show me your admission notice," said a man in a black instructor's uniform.
Kirito took the notice out of his bag and handed it over.
The man examined it and nodded. "Give me your phone."
Kirito obediently handed over his smartphone.
The instructor tapped on the screen for a moment, installing the school's mandatory software.
"I've installed the S-System on your phone. You can check your class and dormitory information yourself." He handed the phone back. "The first-year classrooms are in that building over there."
"Thank you."
Kirito took the phone and walked in the direction the man pointed.
Now... I only hope I get assigned to Class B or Class A.
If that's not possible, Class C would be acceptable. Ryuen is scary, but at least he's direct.
But... I absolutely cannot be assigned to Class D.
Otherwise...
Kirito trembled with fear as he recalled the button-ripping incident on the bus.
If I'm in Class D, I'll be in the same class as Ayanokouji!
I don't want to be played to death by the Mastermind!
Waaaaaaah!
Looking at the S-System icon on his screen, Kirito nervously swallowed.
"God, Jade Emperor, Buddha, Jesus... please protect me!"
Kirito gritted his teeth and opened the app.
Name: Hiroshi Kirito
Student ID: 9527
[Class: Year 1, Class D]
[Points: 0]
It seems there is no God, Jade Emperor, or Buddha in this world!
Kirito stared in disbelief at the text displayed on the screen: Class 1-D.
I'm doomed. I'm really doomed.
This lovely slacker life of mine is going to rot before it even begins!
"NOOOO!"
Kirito covered his head with both hands and fell to his knees in despair, his eyes filled with dread for the future.
(To be Continued)