Chapter 2

The year is 2095, fifty years after the world returned to a new kind of normal, at a private school.

"Move it, fatty."

A good-looking, athletic kid shoved a tall, big, and chubby boy from behind. The self-conscious plump kid immediately moved to the side, giving way to the handsome boy, his friends, and the girls with them.

After the group passed, he just watched them go.

"Must be nice to be like that. I could never be," the chubby kid thought to himself as he headed into the school building for class.

Just as he was about to step into his classroom,

"Hey, move!"

He turned to see a beautiful girl with a messy uniform. One side of her shirt was tucked into her skirt; the other was hanging out. A few of her top buttons were undone, revealing a large chest. Her skirt was super short, well above her knees.

"Plak," she smacked him on the back.

"Why don't you get out of the way, Axel?"

"O-okay, sorry, Abby."

The chubby boy, Axel, stepped aside to let the delinquent girl, Abigail, go in first. He followed her in, looking over to see Abigail already chatting with her popular friends. Slowly, Axel walked to his desk in the very back; his tall, large frame made it impossible for him to sit in the middle or front.

Axel looked around at his classmates, who were all chatting with each other, including Abigail and her crew. He just looked down, his hands clenched into large fists on his desk, but he seemed calm.

"Today... everything will change. I can become a Chaser because the association is testing today. I can finally pay for my brother Theo's treatment—and pay for my and my little sister Janet's tuition fees—she's just started high school," Axel muttered to himself.

The rules for every high school are the same: once students are in 12th grade or turn 18, the association holds a yearly test to find new Chaser candidates to train into professionals who can handle the sudden appearance of dungeon portals. If a student's energy test result—taken after their power is awakened and they gain a skill—is ranked B or higher, they are immediately graduated and sent to a one-year training program at the association. After that, they are hired as Chasers, with their final rank determining their first job.

During their training, the graduated students receive a generous salary, more than enough to support their families, along with insurance in case something happens during training or a field test. This is what Axel hopes for, but besides the money, Axel also has another goal: to find out what caused his A-rank brother to be severely injured in the dungeon and why he's now in a coma in the hospital.

Axel's parents are dead. His brother Theo raised him and Janet. Since Theo was severely injured and fell into a coma, they still get some support from the government besides what the association provides for his medical care, which is only guaranteed for one year. But since Axel and Janet are both still in school and only work part-time, the money is just enough to get by. They are saving the government funds for when the association stops paying for Theo's hospital bills.

"Today, I have to succeed," he said to himself with determination, clenching his fists so tightly his knuckles turned white.

Suddenly, "drrrrt," Axel's smartphone vibrated in his pocket. He took it out and read the message:

"I know what you're thinking. Please don't be reckless. I don't want anything to happen to you."

After reading the message, Axel looked up and saw Abigail, who was sitting in front of him, staring at him sharply with her smartphone still in her hand. Axel immediately messaged back:

"How could I be reckless? It's just a test today."

"What if you get accepted? You can find another job, you know. Being a Chaser is dangerous, even if the pay is good," Abigail replied.

"Don't worry, Abby. I'll be fine," Axel replied.

"Axel... I've known you since we were kids, and I know exactly what you're thinking. I'm sad about what happened to Theo, too, but please think about this. You still have Janet to take care of. What if something happens to you? I don't want that. I want you to find another job," Abigail texted, adding an angry emoji.

"Alright, we'll see. Don't worry about it so much. You never used to ask me about this stuff—it's weird you're giving me advice now," Axel texted, annoyed.

"Ugh... I always pay attention to you. How could you not notice? You're so clueless. I know what you've been going through for the last eight months, which is why I didn't want to bother you. Besides, you haven't been bullied, have you? Who do you think is responsible for keeping you safe, huh?" Abigail texted, filling the screen with angry emojis—a devil, a chili pepper, a thunder cloud, and more.

Axel looked up at Abigail again, and this time she was staring at him even more intensely. She was visibly angry, her face flushed with frustration. Axel looked back down at his phone and his fingers typed out a message.

"Okay... don't be mad. Sorry and thanks," Axel replied.

"Okay... accepted," Abigail replied, along with a thumbs-up emoji.

***

After school, all the 12th-grade students gathered in the gym. Inside, a large iron tube-like device with a bed inside was set up. Next to the tube was a machine with a vertical tube containing green nether stones in several tiers that could light up. An association staff member in a blazer and glasses with her hair in a bun stood behind the machine, operating a monitor and console.

Around the machine and throughout the gym, association staff in black suits, ties, and earplugs stood guard. They didn't carry weapons but looked strong and were clearly not ordinary people. They were accompanied by teachers who were there to maintain order and direct the students to line up by class in front of the machine. Axel, who was at the very back of the line, waited with his heart pounding. Even after Abigail's warning, he was still going to follow through with his plan.

"Hey... fatty, you go first," a handsome kid from the class behind Axel suddenly pushed him, making him stumble forward with a condescending tone.

Axel fell forward, and his classmates in front of him quickly moved out of the way of his large, sweaty body. But then, "tap," Abigail turned around and caught him. She leaned her head to the side and gave a fierce glare to the handsome kid, who was laughing and looking at Axel with disdain.

"Hey... Grey, don't get funny with me. I'll beat your ass after this," Abigail yelled.

"Hahahaha... I'll be waiting for you," Grey yelled back.

"Hey... what's with you guys? Don't make a scene," a male gym teacher said. He looked at Axel. "You, just go to the front. No need to go back to the end of the line."

"O-okay, sir," Axel replied.

The teacher immediately went to the back to scold Grey and his friends. "Plak," Abigail patted Axel on the back and turned to face the line again. Axel watched her standing in front of him. He looked furious and his fists clenched, turning white. He wasn't mad at Abigail; he was mad at himself for being so useless and making her worry about him since they were in class.

"This is one of the reasons I want to be a Chaser. I want to prove to myself and I want Abigail to see me... not as someone who needs to be protected, but as someone who can protect others... ugh... this is really annoying... I hate myself," he muttered to himself.

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