Alas, this peculiar occurrence was abruptly interrupted by Julia, who waved her hand right in front of his eyes. As he snapped out of it, he realized that the light vanished and the sky returned to normal.

“I asked you a question.”

“What?”

He stared at her with visible confusion, his mind still wondering about what he had just witnessed. He wasn’t crazy enough to see such a realistic hallucination, nor was he on drugs or any substances, therefore, he was certain that it wasn’t just a simple trick.

“I said; Why don’t you grow a pair of balls?”

“...”

Still not understanding, Zeke contented with silence, which only irritated the girl. She pushed her long auburn hair to the back and leaned her face closer to his.

“You’re a man, aren’t you? How can you let Azmer boss you around?”

He swept his eyes across Julia and her four friends then calmly responded,

“I don’t see how it is any different than what you are doing.”

“What? You think I’m bullying you? You should be glad Azmer is an idiot and I only ask you to help with homework. Other defects have it much worse.”

“In comparison, our class is much more docile and most of us ignore you. Considering you don’t belong with us, you should be grateful Julia is protecting you.”

The curly-haired short girl, Rebecca, hissed at Zeke as she angrily spat those words. However, their words did not resonate with him nor did they change his mind about their discriminatory actions.

“I don’t remember asking to be protected. If you have nothing else to ‘order’ me, I’d like to leave.”

Julia looked at him in silence before unceremoniously waving her hand.

…

Zeke wasted no time and directly headed home. Since Julia and her gang had never hit him, he wasn’t scared to voice his thoughts and be bolder than usual. Nonetheless, it annoyed him that he could not retaliate or spend his time at school in peace.

Right after his conversation with Julia, he exited the building and was about to leave the school’s premises only to hear soft cries coming from a small park within Erys.

Curiosity got the better of him and he ended up following the source of the cries. Eventually, in an inconspicuous spot within the park, he saw three females, all three first-year students, judging from their uniforms.

Two of them were standing next to each other and facing a black-haired girl. 

“You’re a venomous slut! Know your place!”

Out of the blue, the black-haired girl was viciously slapped on the cheek. The slap made the corner of her lips bleed and her cheek red, but even that did not stop her from retaliation.

Alas, a barely noticeable rope made of resplendent white light wrapped around her ankle and, with a tug from one of the two female students, the girl fell head-first on the ground.

The lack of explanation notwithstanding, Zeke knew that this was a bullying case, no different from his, in fact. Additionally, the black-haired girl was definitely a Defect, one he had never met but heard about. 

In that moment, as the girl was protecting herself while being kicked, Zeke saw himself in her. For the first time, he wasn’t the victim but merely a spectator. However, that did not make him feel any better.

‘I should leave… yes. This has nothing to do with me. Nothing.’

Cowardliness and the fear of failing rooted his legs to the ground and forced him to hide behind a tree. 

As he heard the loud slapping noise, Zeke couldn’t contain himself and revealed himself.

With the little bit of courage he had mustered, he walked to the two girls.

“Stop it.”

His sudden appearance startled the bullies, who hastily turned around, fearful that it was the Dean or one of the teachers.

However, when they saw Zeke, their grins returned.

“Who do we have here?”

“Come on, Amy! It’s obviously the loser from class E.”

The shorter one, unperturbed by the approaching Zeke, sneered at him and raised her hand.

There was a subtle ripple in the air, which was enough to alert Zeke and make him clumsily roll out of the way, barely avoiding whatever she had attacked him with.

“He’s like a monkey! Hahahah!”

The girls found his evasion comical as the semi-invisible ripple struck Zeke’s back, pushing him on the ground.

“Where’s your bravado, little man?”

Amy, the taller of the two, mockingly pulled her tongue out.

“A Defect trying to help another Defect. The satire writes itself!”

The bullies looked at each other and giggled. They enjoyed seeing Zeke struggle against the magical force, which had pinned him to the ground.

Amy wanted to immobilize Zeke and pressed her shoe on his chest as she leaned closer to his face and said,

“And I thought Amelia was weak. You’re a man yet you can’t do a thing! To raise such an incompetent loser, I really feel bad for your parents.”

“I’ll make you pay!” Uttered back Zeke with gritted teeth and an expression of rage and pain.

Alas, his ‘threat’ did not faze Amy or her friend as they toyed with him using their magic. He quickly became their main target while the other victim was unresponsive, seemingly unconscious.

Eventually, once they had their fill, the bullies left. Zeke was on the ground, gasping for air and letting out soft groans of pain.

‘There will be a reckoning. There will be.’

The only person left with him did not speak, she looked at him for a couple of breaths then, with unsteady steps, left the area.

…

During the short trip back home, Zeke kept looking at the sky, lamenting over his mediocrity and hoping to see the crimson light again but to no avail.

He was a studious person but, without any talent to manipulate Aether, the ambition to rise to unprecedented heights was absent. Rodrick’s regular beatings notwithstanding, Zeke felt useless after failing to help the other Defect. In a place like Erys, being intelligent clearly wasn’t enough. 

….

Once at home, Zeke checked the new bruises that were still aching then headed to the roof, still wanting to get a glimpse of the rare occurrence from earlier.

Albeit momentary, that singular odd experience, which broke his long-lasting monotony, made him obsessed and hellbent on figuring out what it was. Time crept by and the temperature drastically dropped yet Zeke was stubborn, so much so that even when he was starting to feel sleepy, he refused to budge.

Eventually, exhaustion and sleepiness were getting the better of him and his eyes were closing on their own. After four hours, just when he was about to give up, he felt that serenity, immediately followed by a strange thing invading his body and tightening around his heart.

As his eyes flung open, he saw an almost blinding crimson light glow above his head, covering the entirety of the darkened sky. At first, he suspected it was a meteor, but, the lack of an expected and wide-spread panic that would ensue if something like was visible to anyone, suggested that only he could see it.

“Ah!”

Zeke fell on the ground and clutched his chest as he felt piercing pain in his heart. While bearing through the agony, he laid on the cold ground and kept staring at the seemingly approaching light. 

Soon, very soon, his vision turned completely black and he unknowingly fell unconscious. 

Only later, thanks to the cold breeze did the young man wake up. He let out a soft groan and held his aching head as he first looked at the sky then checked his body.

Perplexed and surprised about what happened, Zeke was about to stand up only to be startled by something within his field of view; It was white and translucent, dark golden words written on what seemed to be a floating ‘box’.

[Paths of Extinction successfully applied to user ‘Zeke Orland’.]

[Use the revolutionary System ‘Paths of Extinction’ to improve and achieve the epitome of power.]

[Available Paths of Extinction:

Aether voltage Path (2 PE)

Martial Arts Path (1 PE)]

[Accessing any of the available paths requires PE Points, earned through completing Daily Tasks, Urgent Missions, and Leveling up.]

[Only one Path of Extinction can be accessed at a time. However, user ‘Zeke Orland’ can freely switch Paths but cannot use any of the skills of an inactive path.

-Example: The skill [Fists of Fury] cannot be used while the Aether Voltage Path is active.

-Survival Skills are exempt from this rule.]

[PE Points (Paths of Extinction Points) can be used for the following: Level Experience, Skill Experience, Unlocking new Paths.]

[User: Zeke Orland]

[Race: Human]

[Level 1 (0/15 Exp)]

[Strength: 8]

[Agility: 9]

[Aether: 0]

[Paths: N/N]

[Skills: N/N]

[Available PE: 0]

Zeke, dumbfounded, read the series of floating white windows. It felt too surreal and it took him a good deal of time to process everything and collect his thoughts. He knew that the crimson light wasn’t an illusion, but he did not expect this to happen.

Nonetheless, Zeke pushed his skepticism aside and thoroughly read everything multiple times.

The inexplicable and shocking occurrence that Zeke had gone through robbed him of any exhaustion and sleepiness. The first half of the night was spent pondering and theorising about the ‘Path of Extinction’ and the ridiculous fact that he was seeing something magical… something he had never heard about.

Although he did not know whether it was harmful or not, the System’s arrival was much-welcomed by the young man. He pushed away any negative thoughts and focused on the available practicality of the newfound strange power.

Unfortunately, the System did not provide any explicit details concerning the ‘stats’ or other functions, but there was an accessible sub-window in which he saw the previously mentioned ‘Daily Tasks’.

Since he had absolutely nothing to lose, Zeke spent the entirety of the night completing the daily tasks, which were tiresome but not overly-difficult.

[Daily Tasks: Run 15Km (3.4/15) | Meditate for 1 hour | Perform 30 successive Push-ups (30/30)]

Admittedly, Zeke wasn’t a fit individual, which made the completion of the Daily Tasks somewhat challenging. However, his physique wasn’t that detrimental since he always made sure to not eat either too much or too little.

The 15Km run was, by far, the most exhausting and it left him out of breath, but the cold breeze of night pushing against his sweaty body along with the determination to see this whole matter to its end did empower his will.

The only issue Zeke faced was the meditation, which he had no idea what to do. Fortunately, the power of the Internet came in clutch and after a meticulous search, he found the right method.

He had to sit in a very specific position and cycle inhaling and exhaling without paying any attention to any form of distraction. When he heard the loud notification sound of the System, Zeke knew that he succeeded.

By the time the darkness of the night was replaced by a beautiful orange hue and the sun started rising, Zeke’s body was aching over.

[Daily Tasks (3/3) completed: +2 EXP | +1 EP]

[Allocate 1 PE into the Martial Arts Path: Y/N?]

“Yes!” He responded, feeling a little apprehensive.

[Martial Arts Path unlocked!]

[You obtain the skill ‘Fists of Fury’]

[You gained 3 Strength]

[You gained 3 Agility]

[You gained 1 Aether]

[You gained 1 Exp]

Seeing the results, the apprehensiveness turned into ecstasy as he switched to his Status Window to have yet another look.

[User: Zeke Orland]

[Race: Human]

[Level 1 (3/15 Exp)]

[Strength: 11]

[Agility: 12]

[Aether: 1]

[Paths: Martial Arts (1/12)]

[Skills: Fists of Fury(Proficiency 0%)]

[Available PE: 0]

The first thing Zeke did was test his new skill ‘Fist of Fury’. However, due to the lack of specification from the System, he did not know how to execute. Therefore, he began a rather comical and childish endeavour that lasted ten minutes, resolutely attempting to use the skill.

Woefully, all his tries bore no fruit and only left him more tired. The supposed increase in Agility and Strength was intangible, if not non-existent, further lowering Zeke’s morale.

As the time for school approached, Zeke took a quick shower and ate something before heading out. But, unlike yesterday or all the days before it, he felt mentally energised and eager for the day to pass so he could complete tomorrow's Daily Tasks too.

Even with the lack of any physical difference in prowess and the inability to use the obtained skill, Zeke knew that this wasn’t a dream or hallucination. It wasn’t a trick of the mind born out of desperation or want for greatness. It was an opportunity, a chance to turn his life around and, at last, seek what he wanted and make his life better.

Suffice it to say, it would take time and effort, but, eventually, he would no longer be a defect and could potentially best all the people that treated him with disdain and disregard.

Within half an hour, he arrived at the large campus and, as always, Azmer and Rodrick were waiting for him. 

“Did you bring the money? We’re in a hurry!”

Said the bulky and beady-eyed Rodrick as he kept looking at his phone as if waiting for something. Only when he caught sight of them that Zeke remember the daily ‘allowance’ he would begrudgingly give them. He was so preoccupied with the Paths of Extinction System that he forgot to bring the money.

Alas, as they were his classmates, avoiding them would be futile. Since the bullying had begun, he never failed to give them what they wanted and today was the first time he was empty-handed.

Upon seeing him give no response, the two furrowed their brows. Azmer’s expression turned a bit angry as he approached Zeke and, with a cold voice, said,

“Where’s the money?”

“I forgot.” 

Zeke, fidgeting and seemingly anxious, averted his eyes and, seeing no easy way out of this, tried to leave only for Azmer to grab his shoulder. He wasn’t given the time to offer an explanation as the two, with fake smiles, pulled him to a quieter spot.

“It seems we’ve been too lenient on you.” 

Azmer signaled his friend, who grabbed Zeke from the back, basically incapacitating him.

“I really forgot. I’ll bring it tomorrow.”

Knowing what was going to happen, and that he was going to get brutally beaten, probably worse than ever before, Zeke clenched his teeth and glared at the two of them. He remembered Julia’s words. Ultimately, chose not to do anything. It wasn’t just because of cowardliness, but also because he knew his limitations. The strength disparity between them would make any form of resistance look like the struggling of a flailing pig. Pitiful and miserable.

“That’s not how it works, kiddo.”

A little flame spark appeared above Azmer’s index as he leaned closer, about to burn Zeke’s cheek. 

“This will serve as a little remin-”

“What the hell are you doing?!”

A loud voice came from the side, startling all three of them. Rodrick instinctively let go of the relatively small Zeke, Azmer his hand behind his back and straightened to seem less suspicious. However, when he saw who it was, he snorted and snappishly retorted,

“Julia! You gave me a scare.”

“I said what you are doing.”

Julia Lopmore, also one of Zeke’s bullies but a more civil one, headed their way. She first stared at the annoyed Azmer then at the expressionless Zeke.

“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m teaching him a lesson.”

Although Azmer spat those words with a confident and remorseless voice, he did not act out of place or use a rude tone. Julia was significantly stronger than him and, even in terms of social status, she was above him. They were ‘friends’, so to speak, only because they frequented the same spot and were both regarded as ‘delinquents’.

As she stopped in front of him, the blonde-haired Azmer unknowingly stepped back and cancelled the flame spark.

“I understand that you got your so-called jokes and whatnot, but using actual magic against a defect? You’re overstepping your boundaries, Azmer.”

“Why are you overreacting, Julia? It’s not a big deal.”

He tried to play it calm and unperturbed but that only made the girl unhesitantly push him then motion for Rodrick to distance himself from Zeke.

“I will let this one slide, but next time, you will be dealing with the Dean, not me. Scram.”

“...”

Stone-faced, Azmer glared at the girl but did not argue back, he left alongside his friend after one last piercing glance at the silent Zeke.

As the two were left alone in that secluded spot, Julia turned her attention to the young man.

“A word of gratitude would suffice. After all, I did say that other defects are having it worse and you would have become the same were it not for my interference.”

“Interference? You just made it worse by angering Azmer. He can’t touch you, so who do you think will suffer his wrath?”

“If you’re so against getting bullied then why don’t you fight back? Punch the bastard and see what happens. Be a man.”

“Easy for you to say when you were born strong. The strong will never understand the weak… purely because they can never picture themselves in such a position. Why don’t you mind your own business and leave me alone? It’s not like you’re not a bully either.”

“Excuse me?! When have I ever bullied you?”

Julia looked genuinely surprised by his statement, so much so that she unintentionally raised her voice.

“You’re making me do your homework because of your stupidity and laziness. Bullying doesn’t necessarily have to be physical violence.”

With narrowed eyes and gritted teeth, Julia snorted and retorted, “I did not force you to do anything. I asked for your help and you agreed. Don’t fabricate lies to victimize yourself.”

Zeke scoffed at her words and shrugged his shoulders, “When Julia Lopmore takes me to her favourite spot filled with ‘unruly’ students and asks for my help, how should I respond? Do you seriously think I was in any position to refuse?”

“...”

This time, the girl had nothing to say back, nor did she have any time to do so as he clicked his tongue and walked away.

Julie was notorious for her nasty attitude, but Zeke knew her enough to know that, her anger notwithstanding, she wouldn’t attack him because of a disagreement or a misunderstanding.

He was grateful for her timely help, but that did not make them friends, nor did it change his impression of her.

It was not like her advice was idiotic, but, for someones in his shoes, any type of resistance would most likely lead to a worse case of bullying.

For now, he needed to focus on strengthening himself and when the time was right, he would strike back.

…

Once he arrived at the classroom and took his seat, Zeke saw the gazes of animosity coming from Azmer and Rodrick. When the lesson started, even Julia was giving him a piercing stare that made him feel mildly uncomfortable.

He was worried about what might happen later, when he was heading home. It was the perfect time for his bullies to exact a semblance of vengeance after they were interrupted.

He was distracted and, for the entirety of the day, he kept looking at the Status Window and wishing his Stats were higher.

Unavoidably, the last theoretical lesson came to an end and, with clear hesitance, Zeke left the building with quickened steps, hoping that Azmer and Rodrick would not catch up to him.

Thankfully, what he dreaded did not happen and he left the campus unscathed. However, less than a minute after his swift ‘retreat’, he stumbled upon an unexpected sight.

It was all because of his morbid curiosity, which, once again, forced him to follow a soft cry coming from an empty backstreet in Kethra’s arms, the bustling commercial district adjacent to Erys.

Nervously, Zeke approached the backstreet and peeked his head, finally seeing what was happening; There were four male students with their backs facing him, all wearing the Erys standard uniform, and in front of them was a familiar girl on the ground.

She had long black hair, teary eyes, and a reddened cheek. The personal jacket she was supposed to be wearing over the uniform was laying on the ground right next to her feet: It was none other than the girl from yesterday, the selfsame Defect student who suffered the physical and verbal abuse of the bullies.

“Don’t you get it? You’re a low-born defect!”

One of the students spat outloud as he crouched down and viciously slapped the ground. Another student pulled her hair and brought her face closer as he checked her body with unmasked lust.

“It would be a waste to not pledge loyalty to us.” He whispered into her ear as he licked his lips.

The girl, though outnumbered and stricken with fear, did not let them have their way, nor did she accept to suffer in silence. Even with her hair pulled and wrist bruised, she pushed the youth and kicked the closest to her right in the crotch.

Regrettably, this only made them become more violent as two of them restrained her while the one who was hit in the crotch cursed while giving her a venomous look.

“You unobedient wench!” 

He proceeded to slap her twice, bruising her already scarred lips and causing a bit of blood to leak out.

“...”

As a silent and unseen spectator, Zeke pulled his head back and pondered for a bit. He just learnt that she was a defect like him, and although he knew they always suffered like this, that did not make what he witnessed any better.

Still, even in full knowledge of what was about to happen to the poor girl, he felt slightly relieved that Azmer wasn’t as bad as those students, though that could change after what transpired in the morning.

Hearing what could only be described as evil laughter coupled with a cry of helplessness, Zeke peeked his head again and saw one student restrain the girl while the other was ripping her uniform. The remaining two stood at the side and filmed the process.

For a split, momentary second, Zeke’s eyes met with the struggling girl. Their gazes met, which made him hide himself while inwardly cursing his stupidity. He expected her to call for help but it did not happen, even her cries seemed to vanish as she seemingly accepted her fate.

“Yes. It has nothing to do with me. It’s not like I can do anything.”

With clenched fists, he turned around and went the way he came from, shaking his head and trying to forget everything. However, before he reached the end of the alleyway and returned to the main street, he suddenly halted his feet and looked down.

“Fuck! I’m going to regret this.”

Julia’s words kept echoing inside his head, along with the strong urge to make a different. For the first time, he fought against fear and hesitation, choosing to take risk without thinking about the consequences. While he wasn’t the one being bullied, he could still sympathise with the girl and understand her suffering, psychological and physical.

He fought against all the thoughts that were telling him to run and bent down, picking a  disproportionate stone the size of his hand, then dashed toward the backstreet. 

With his heart racing and rising adrenaline, he rushed toward the unsuspecting students. With their backs facing him and their attention on the ‘spectacle’, they did not notice the incoming Zeke.

Everything happened so fast, from striking the first at the back of his head using the stone, to tackling the second and falling on top of him on the ground.

The first student, hit by the stone, was unconscious and bleeding. As for the second, he was startled and before he could react, Zeke used the stone to hit his forehead, knocking him senseless too.

The last two, who finally realised what was happening, stopped what they were doing and retaliated. 

As Zeke hastily got back to his feet, an unseen yet powerful surge of energy pushed him and made him fall on the ground. 

Alas, he did not have the time to stand up again as the student who was previously restrained by the girl kicked him in the stomach.

“What did you fucking do!”

He kicked Zeke a total of three times, which was enough for the latter to feel the urge to vomit in addition to the immense pain he was not used to.

While bearing through the pain, Zeke stretched his arm and pulled the guy’s ankle, almost making him fall. Although it was an unsuccessful attempt, it did allow him to stand up and, at least, try to retaliate instead of accepting his loss and getting hit again.

It happened then, an unfamiliar burning sensation, exhilarating but strange, as if something welled up inside of him; His hands, clenched into fists, glowed with a barely visible orange glow as he proceeded to punch the student.

It was difficult to describe it, his inexplicably empowered fists seemed to follow a natural force as they hammered down on the target multiple times.

Zeke did not even know where to hit, he embraced the new sensation and, short-lasting as it was, the end result was surprising.

The student, not expecting a fierce and violent attack, fell on his knees while clutching his chest.

As for the last ‘enemy’, he was stricken by shock and failed to notice the girl. She picked up the bloodied stone and mercilessly hit him multiple times until he fell unconscious.

With heavy gasps and slightly trembling hands, Zeke and the girl stared at each other.

“Are you okay?” He asked once he came back to his senses.

“...”

She did not reply, but that did not stop him from first picking up her fallen jacket and dragging her to the alleyway.

“I suppose it was a stupid question to ask.” He ended his sentence with an awkward chuckle, his eyes trying their best not to look at her exposed body. He handed her the jacket and spoke again,

“You should leave before they wake up and potentially give chase.”

Her response was different from what he had expected.

“Why did you help me?”

“...”

Hearing no response, she slowly put on her jacket and buttoned it up, “I know you. You’re the Defect of Class E.”

The traumatising experience she just went through notwithstanding, the girl no longer trembled and her voice was much calmer. 

Zeke did not know how to respond, so he just motioned for her to go then left too. 

He returned to the main street and headed to the subway station only to notice the girl following him. 

Eventually, he stopped walking and turned around to face her.

“You should go buy some bandages and medicine instead of following me.”

His reckless attempt in saving her wasn't as bad as he initially expected. Even though he knew there would be consequences, possibly disastrous ones, he felt relieved that he helped a defect like himself. Furthermore, he got to experience ‘Fists of Fury’, so, in conclusion, the whole ordeal was worth it.