System: Ordinary Schoolboy's Level-Up

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, refusing to give Liam any reaction. The system was speaking to him, the voice rising from within him only. "Just ignore it. It’s an unnecessary noise."

He had heard it all his life. Nothing but his useless mathematical calculations. The old, sharp words of mockery from his friends echoed in his memory. But he shut it down.

The professor dismissed the class. Immediately, the students disarranged the chairs, and the students started making a noise. Robert packed his single notebook and pen with slow, deliberate movements.

“See you no more, Albert Einstein,” Liam said, bumping Robert’s desk as he passed.

That was nothing but mockery, but Robert didn’t flinch. He just stood, slung his worn backpack over his shoulder, and moved in among the crowd of students dashing out through the door.

He said nothing.

But his mind was unsettled. The system kept echoing from inside him: Attention stat uncertain.

"How can I be certain then?" Robert murmured, turning his face aside from people. He could be scorned if they found him talking to himself.

The campus walkways were crowded. Spring sunlight rested on the tall trees. Robert kept his head down, his straight stare completely on the pavement, which was just a few feet ahead. It was his standard posture, widely and smoothly.

A voice cut through the student's rustle. “What's up, Math Genius!"

Robert’s steps stopped for a half-step, then continued.

“I’m talking to you, Robert! Are you deaf?”

He stopped and turned. It was Mark, a broad-shouldered guy from his introductory physics class. Mark was with his two friends, all of them ready to spread the mockery already written over their faces.

“Yeah, you,” Mark said, stepping closer. “I hear you passed during the midterm. The professor even mentioned your ‘elegant solution.’” He made some quotes. “That aside. Have you got a dollar to lend to a struggling classmate? Or are you too busy thinking about numbers?”

Robert looked at him. He didn't look at his eyes but at the centre of his forehead. It was a trick he’d learned. It made him seem busy without showing fear. “I don’t have a dollar for you, Mark."

[System Alert: Emotional Response Detected. Status: Passive. Reward: +0.5 Willpower.] Robert’s voice was flat and calm. The System’s text flashed quickly. The sudden numbers in his sight threw Mark off for a second.

Mark’s smile widened. “What? Have you spent it all on a new calculator? Come on, man. Help a brother out.”

“No,” Robert said. His voice was flat and merely calm. It held no anger at all. It was just a simple statement of fact from him.

The confidence in Robert’s tone threw Mark off for a second. His friends drew closer to him uncomfortably.

“Whatever,” Mark finally muttered, his bravery fading away. “Forget it. You’re not worth it.” He turned away from him and left, his friends following.

Robert watched them leave for a moment, then he winked and continued his walk to the dorm. To him, the refusal was no victory. It was just a familiar feeling of tiredness.

It was his life.

Robert saw that he was meant to study, work, ignore, and survive.

He rushed to his room, a single, small section of an apartment he’d secured with a special grant. It was scanty. A bed, a desk, a single lamp. The walls were bare. On his desk sat a stack of library books on theoretical physics and a notepad filled with his own private calculations.

He loved to be busy with the work that went far beyond his freshman courses. It was studying his system.

"I'm tired," he told himself, stretching his arms for slight comfort. Then, he dropped his backpack and sat. He needed to get to his job at the campus library in two hours. Until then, he had time for his real work.

He opened a textbook, but the numbers appeared blurry in his view. The encounter with Mark and Liam’s comments. They echoed back to him like a stone in his brain distracting him. Afterwards, he squeezed his eyes shut.

Useless.

He hit his fist on the desk. The sound was loud in the quiet room. He took a deep breath, then another. He wouldn’t let his enemies win. He wanted them to know his work was not useless. It was the only thing that was truly his.

He brought out a fresh sheet of paper and started to write on it. He penned down equations smoothly, complex twist of symbols and logic. It was his passion, and every day, he desired to know a new calculation. To him, in the silent language of mathematics, there was no mockery, no judgment. Only the truth.

An hour later, he suddenly felt sleepy. The room seemed to turn upside down. 'Not now,' he thought. He hadn’t eaten since yesterday’s dinner. His budget was tight, and food was often the first thing he planned for. He stood up very fast, and his head heated up again. He stumbled toward his small fridge, hoping he would find a piece of fruit or some bread.

He never made it.

A serious pain, sharp and hot, exploded behind his eyes. It was not like any headache he’d ever known. It felt like his skull was breaking open and apart. He cried out, a short but alarming sound, and collapsed to his knees. Then the grey dorm room carpet got blown up by the air to meet his face.

By the time he wanted to stick himself onto the wall, he was already weak, and he let out a shout, his last hope, according to him. "Who's around there?"

Nobody seemed to hear him.

Suddenly, Robert began to see all that happened during the morning class, including the mockery, a slap on his face. He tried to maintain his poise, but the feeling held him back.

No words left his mouth. He just felt the force hitting him against the wall.

The room where he was didn’t just go black in his view. Instead, it turned into a blinding white light. A new System screen, larger and more complex than ever, flashed harshly before his eyes.

[Warning! Fatal Error. Unexpected Environmental Displacement Detected. User Environment: UNKNOWN.]

[Current Quest: SURVIVE. Finalizing New Stat: Attention...]

[Attention Stat: 99% UNCERTAIN—]

The screen turned blank. Then, a loud, distant knock hit the metal door.