All Chapters of System: Ordinary Schoolboy's Level-Up: Chapter 1
- Chapter 10
10 chapters
ONE
SYSTEM: Attention on the past equals zero power. Attention on the future calculations levels up. Attention stat uncertain. It was not Robert's first time hearing this strong voice, which echoed louder than his heartbeat. Now, he kept listening to it and the Professor at the same time. “And therefore, the proof is very easy to understand,” Professor Evans said, wiping the complex equations from the whiteboard. "I am sure some of you are already distracted by one thing or the other. My explanations have been made plain already anyway." Robert’s head burned inwardly. The calculus lecture hall at Kingston University was really difficult, seeming to be taught the intelligent students only, in his class. The air was completely filled with the smell of dry markers. A student rushed to the next seat, Liam, snorting softly. “Useless. Who needs this stuff in the real world?” Robert’s jaw didn't drop. Despite Liam's murmur, Robert kept staring on the already blank board, ref
TWO
Robert's consciousness returned like a slow sunrise. First, there was the repeated sound of the knock on his door. A distant clanging of the bell was a tone of metal on metal. Then, there was a smell. He felt and smelt everything. Robert opened his eyes. He was lying on a cold floor made of rough stone, carved out of rocks. He pushed himself up, his body very heavy to be lifted. He was in a large, round room. One metal door in the room, covered in rust and strange symbols, was the only exit he could see. “You’re awake,” a rough voice said, echoing through his eardrums. “It took you so long.” Robert turned his head around. A man was sitting against the far wall. He was big, with the thick shoulders and twisted hands of a labourer. He looked to be in his thirties, his face boring and tired. “Where am I?” Robert’s voice was dry mutter. “What is this? Is this some kind of prank or what?” His mind raced, thinking of Mark, and of the other students. Had they drugged him? Did anyon
THREE
The pickaxe was just like a weak object in Robert's hands. He swung it again, and it made a clanging sound. A small piece of blue rock broke off from it, making him scream in pain as he stretched his arms. He was not used to this kind of work. BEEP! [Mining Skill (Basic) Activated. Progress: 5 XP. Quest: 0.1% Complete.] Robert blinked and stretched his arm, ignoring the pain. The numbers were real. He was not used to this kind of work. Next to him, Garret worked with a firm stance. Clang. Clang. Clang. He broke off bigger pieces faster. Don't fight it," Garret said without stopping. "Use the weight of the tool. Let it fall." Robert watched him. [Observation Skill Activated: Analyzing force vectors.] Robert tried. He let the pickaxe head do the work. Clang. BEEP! [Success. Efficiency +12%. +7 XP.] It was easier for Robert. His mind, now linked to the System, saw the math working. Hours passed. The air was still full of intense heat. Robert's shirt got soaked with sweat. H
FOUR
Robert was awake. He looked at his hands. They were tough now, not pale like before. [Basic Healing Active: Minor Injuries Repaired.] The pain was gone. Days had turned into weeks under the same stressful work—waking to the gong, the grey soup, swinging the pickaxe. But Robert was now different. His thin arms had new muscles. The work was still hard, but he no longer collapsed. He had learned the style with which the calculations worked. [Skill: Intermediate Calculation Unlocked.] It was more than that. While Robert was still at his own duty, he collapsed on the floor, and a ray of light disturbed his head, seeming to sharpen his brain even more. Struggling to be composed, Robert's body changed. The soft student's hands became hard and twisted, his thin arms growing a new array of muscle. The work was still hard, but it did not stress him. He had learned the style with which the calculations worked. "I should look around them..." he whispered, his eyes still shut as he tried
FIVE
The next day, the hidden rock was all Robert could think about. It was a secret and a small piece of the pits that the Wardens did not control. It was power.Robert drew his hands out of the shirt he wore, trying to confirm his strength. "I don't know my limit yet." During the shift, he watched the blind spot by the pump. He timed the Wardens again. His mind, sharp from years of study, tracked their movements like a math equation. Two minutes and seven seconds of freedom was enough. At the meal break, he whispered to Garret. "We need to get more," Robert blinked, his face twisted with an uncertain frown. "More what? Rocks?" Garret looked confused. "Why? They're already everywhere." "I don't mean you should get more of them for our use. Just to hide," Robert explained. "We can take small pieces when we are able to. We hide them in the crack and nobody will know." Garret thought about it. "What for? It's just another way of exhausting our strength." "I don't know yet," Robert sa
SIX
Afterwards, in the brightness of the day, Robert and Garret kept a close watch on Leo. He was working slowly with the pickaxe. His hands bled quickly. But he did not complain. He worked in silence, his face overshadowed by a feeling of a painful and necessary determination. Robert respected that. When the time for the blind spot came, Robert nodded to Leo. The three of them moved toward the water barrel by the big pump. They stood in the unseen corner. "For two minutes, no one watches us here," Robert explained quietly. Leo looked around, his face pained with sheer amazement. "How did you find this?" "I watched," Robert said. "They follow a pattern. Their movement is predictable." Leo's eyes, sharp behind his glasses, crossed through the cavern. "Like a clockwork," he whispered. "A routine." "Yes," Robert said, surprised. Leo understood quickly. "We are collecting rocks," Garret said, showing Leo the crack in the wall. "We hide them here." "Why?" Leo asked. "We don
SEVEN
The discovery of the possible tunnel changed everything. The grey soup tasted the same. The pickaxe was just as heavy. But now, every swing has a purpose. They were not just mining crystonium. They were mining for their freedom. They needed a plan. A good one. Robert knew it had to be perfect. One mistake, and the Wardens would kill them. That night in their cell, they whispered. "The tunnel is small," Leo said. "We will have to crawl. We don't know how long it is. And we don't even know where it goes." "It leads out," Garret said firmly. "It has to." "We need to be sure this tunnel is something we can get out from, very quickly," Robert said. "When the time comes, we will not need to start worrying about it." Garret nodded. "The stones are loose. I can make a tool. A strong lever from a piece of metal. I saw a broken machine part near the west wall. I can try to get it." "Good," Robert said. "Leo, you keep watching the Wardens' patterns with me. I think we have to find
EIGHT
The large metal gate groaned open. The line of Wardens stood at attention. A new figure walked into the cavern. He was not a Warden. He was a man, tall and thin, dressed in a sleek, grey uniform. He had no helmet. His face was sharp and cold. His eyes scanned the room like he owned everything in it. He was followed by two taller Wardens with gold markings on their black armour. The man stopped in the centre of the cavern. The only sound was the hum of the machines. "Workers," the man said. His voice was smooth and loud, without a machine to help it. It filled the whole space. "I am Supervisor Kael." No one moved. No one breathed. "It has come to my attention that there has been... unusual activity," Kael said. He started to walk slowly between the workstations. His shiny black boots clicked on the stone. "A loss of efficiency. Small amounts of crystonium are going missing." Robert's blood turned to ice. He kept his face blank. He did not look at Garret or Leo. Kael sto
NINE
The following week was the longest of Robert's life. Every clang of the pickaxe felt like a countdown. Every glance from a Warden was a cause for accusation. They followed Robert's plan perfectly. They were model workers who did not look at the blind spot. They did not go near the jumbled wall. Instead, they kept their heads down and their eyes empty. Robert watched Supervisor Kael. The man visited the cavern two more times. He would stand and watch, his cold eyes fixed on the workers. He never looked at Robert again. Robert hoped it was a good sign. He hoped Kael had lost interest. Inside, Robert's mind was working. He was making a new plan and a better one. The first plan had been about speed, but the new plan would major on trickery. During the meal break on the sixth day, Robert whispered to Garret and Leo. "The shift change is still our best time," he said. "But we can't just run. Kael will expect that now." "So what do we do?" Garret asked. "We give them what they ex
TEN
They moved fast. Robert's heart was louder than a drum in his ears, even louder than the alarms. Garret reached the wall first. He pulled the metal lever from its hiding place. He jammed it into the cracks between the jumbled stones. He pulled with all his strength. His muscles bulged. "Come on!" Leo whispered, his voice tight with panic. With a grinding sound, one large stone shifted. Then another. A dark, narrow hole opened up in the wall. It was just big enough for a person to squeeze through. Cold, damp air flowed out from it. "You go first, Leo!" Robert said, looking back toward the chaos. The Wardens were still focused on the water. But it wouldn't last. Leo didn't hesitate. He rushed deep down into the hole and disappeared into the darkness. "Go!" Garret said to Robert. Robert shook his head. "And you go next. I'm right behind you." Garret nodded. He dropped the lever and squeezed his big body shape into the opening of the hole. It was a tight fit, but he made it throug