Chapter 68: 64. Monday Mundanity

Jay looked up from the front gates of Central High. It had the blandest Central Florida name a high school could ever have. Seeing it again after so many experiences was strangely stunning for Jay, though.

It was a return to the mundane. Jay was looking forward to it even though he was unsure what would come of it. He had thought of it as a school arc. It could be more than that, honestly. It was the consolidation of all the dungeon crawlers in a calmer, Systemless setting. Even if Central High was probably the most unique high school you could find nearby.

Central High towered taller than most schools. It had multiple buildings around campus that reached five stories in height. It was bigger than some private universities or public college campuses. It had the largest public high school capacity for students and staff you’d find in the area. 

White alabaster walls with black and gold highlights demarcated (seriously, 30 Intellect?) its chosen school colors. It established a certain pompous atmosphere that most students like Jay found either outrageous or alluring. Just like Queen YoAnna, in a sense.

It was over the top. It was strangely mythical. And it had lions serving as mascots and school gate statues.

Jay glanced past the ivory perimeter fence tipped with gold paint. He observed the groundskeepers. They maintained the hedges and plants populating the area between sidewalks. They usually go unnoticed, but Jay paid them some attention in case his [Slayer of Assassins] Title pinged them. He got nothing back from the groundskeepers or the sweeping current of students streaming all around him.

Controlling his Perception here was a pain. There were so many stimulants. Girls wearing too much perfume. Guys honking and snorting as they joked about their weekend fun. Teachers having a last smoke outside the gate before starting their day.

It was all a pounding cacophony, almost overwhelming. Jay reduced his Perception into a tight but highly usable sphere of thirty feet all around him. Nothing should escape his notice unless he put all of his attention on one thing.

When the basketball captain threw a ball at the side of Jay’s head, the [Freak] was more than ready. He shifted back and let the ball sail an inch past his nose. He would have let it keep going, but Jay had to catch the ball. He stopped it from smashing into the face of a random girl.

She jolted back from the near collision, dropping her coffee.

Jay could see her hands open up gradually as if time was slowing down or his mind was speeding up. His hand palmed the ball while Jay dipped down casually and caught the ice-cold frappe before it hit white cement.

He returned the coffee. Nothing spilled.

The girl thanked him profusely. She stared at his glowy eyes and hesitated to walk away. She kept looking back at him until she bumped into a random guy and spilled her coffee on him. Poor girl.

“Whoa, Rooftop!” the basketball captain cheered. “My bad! That ball got away from me and–”

Jay tuned out his hearing.

The return to mundanity would normally have Jay stand there and take crap from the basketball captain.

The jock was one of those guys with a big chip on his shoulder because he wasn’t the most recognized person in anything. The basketball team was middling at best. They were constantly put in the shadows of the Central High football team, band, and some of the other programs the school offered.

For some reason, the basketball captain, and some of Jay’s other bullies, cultivated a hate boner against him ever since the rooftop thing in tenth grade. Ever since he’d put himself out there and became a part of the school pantheon of most recognizable and nicknamed students. 

The fame hadn’t always been nice for Jay.

“Look, man, I'm hearing all sorts of rumors flying around.” The basketball captain snatched the ball from Jay’s hand. “Crazy stuff. You jumped up on the Queen’s birthday stage and got beat by Captain. Ha!” He stopped to have a couple of chuckles before getting more serious. “Then the rumors turn around and say you and the Queen are childhood friends. And you too were hanging out at a potluck! Like you’re on a date!”

Three of his basketball cronies grinned like big, dumb thugs looking for the go-ahead to pounce on Jay like normal. But the basketball captain needed his moment of drama while everyone streaming into school slowed to watch.

“You got into fights with gangsters,” the basketball captain continued. “Your house got torn up during a gang shootout! And then you were on the news with a Divine of all people! Pulling off crazy stunts!”

The basketball captain shook his head. “What’s going on, Rooftop? You stopped dancing alone like a weirdo and started making up shit to be cool?”

“You think I made all that up?” Jay asked, tilting his head.

“I just can’t believe it, that's all!” The basketball captain started to reach out. “Because that’ll mean you’ve grown a pair. Other than the crazy eye contacts you’ve got, I don’t see anything different, loser.”

His hand moved for Jay’s shoulder to shove him like he’d done many times before. That would set off his cronies, who’d rough Jay up without pushing it too far so they could avoid trouble with the faculty staff. 

Bullies were pretty good at knowing the rules. They would manipulate adults and wave around their special statuses–being basketball players–to get away with being assholes.

But this morning, Jay had a decision to make before the basketball captain touched him. 

Would he choose to stay as Rooftop Weirdo?

Or would he be the [Freak]?

The answer was obvious. The hard part was keeping his [Omen Bearer of the Apocalypse] Title under tight control.

He found a middle ground. He smacked aside the basketball captain’s hand and walked away.

He thought about throwing his hood on like usual but decided against it. He wanted people to see him. At the very least, his eyes wouldn’t shine like crazy as long as he kept his powers contained.

His 3D Gravity Mapping tracked the basketball captain rushing up from behind him. The bully’s emotions were bouncing between annoyance, anger, and uncertainty. A touch of fear, too. The [Freak] in Jay smiled.

“Who do you think you are, Rooftop?” shouted the basketball captain. “Don’t you ignore me!”

Now everyone nearby was taking out their phones, cameras turned on to record the juicy morning drama. It also whipped up gossip that had Jay’s name involved. 

The basketball captain reached for him again. Jay smacked his hand aside once more. The bully froze up in a rage, and Jay smiled.

The gossip turned into a frenzy.

“Did Rooftop Weirdo really get with the Queen even after getting beat up by Captain?”

“That dude fought gangsters with the First Nerd!”

“When did he become a badass all of a sudden?”

“There ain’t no way. He’s just another weirdo. It’s a stunt!”

“Those eyes, though! They’re gorgeous!”

“Was that really him and J-Prez on the morning news?”

“The gangsters struck back like ninjas and brought down his house!”

“He’s gonna kick the basketball captain’s ass!”

“Yeah, beat him, Rooftop Weirdo!”

The initial gossip shifted from Jay’s past activities to the current moment quickly. That was to be expected. Everybody loved to get on the newest thing–Jay and the basketball captain squaring off in the morning.

“It’s too early for this,” Jay said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I don’t even have a joke or three ready.”

It was harder for Jay to keep his [Omen Bearer of the Apocalypse] Title down than it would be to go over and kick the basketball captain’s ass. But he kept trying anyway. And a good thing he did. The unexpected happened.

“You lucky I gotta get to class on the other side, Rooftop!” The basketball captain pointed. “I’ll show everyone you ain’t hot shit when I catch you at l u n c h.”

A strange and crippled ripple of Chance and gravity appeared from the basketball captain's words. It passed through Jay at the mention of lunch. The word itself was distorted, sounding wrong to the [Freak’s] ears. But it reminded him of the important words Kleo had mentioned in the Toyreveler Dungeon. Words Jay had planned to use somehow. He couldn't remember how he had used them, but he was sure of their necessity.

Jay jerked back in surprise–something about that moment felt very familiar, but he couldn’t remember why.

The basketball captain confused Jay’s reaction for fear. The bully made a joke with his cronies, laughed at Jay’s expense, and stormed past him.

One of the cronies tried to shoulder-check Jay but bounced off. The cronies had jackshit on Jay’s Strength and Resilience.

The bullies swaggered away as if they won the exchange anyway.

“Boo! I was expecting something cool!” shouted a random onlooker.

“Maybe all the rumors were made-up, after all.”

“I told you there’s no way Rooftop Weirdo became a badass. He's a dancing softie.”

“It’s fake news on the internet, anyway.”

“I swear, someone told me they saw Rooftop Weirdo at the weird super secret government blockade. It was up in my neighborhood, too! Maybe they confused him for someone else.”

“His eyes are still cool, though.”

“He probably stole the look from the guy in the movie. The news said they were recording stunts this morning with a Divine.”

“Jay’s just a wannabe copycat!”

The chatter died down. Everyone that stopped to serve as part of the audience moved on. The traffic entering the school slowed to a trickle as the first bell drew close. 

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Jay’s first-period class was in the middle of campus, but he didn’t feel like he was in a hurry. He was still stunned by the weird gravity ripple. And the specialness surrounding the word lunch coming from the basketball captain. It didn’t seem major–but it stopped Jay from stomping on the basketball captain’s face.

His phone buzzed. Jay checked.

Mike: ‘I passed by your class and didn’t see you. What’s up?’

Jay: ‘Still in front of the school. Just having a moment.’

Mike: ‘You okay?’

Jay smiled. He was better than okay. He could make decisions he’d never been able to make before. To be the [Freak], or not to be. That was the question.

Jay: ‘I’m good, man. See you at lunch.’

***

Jay was an average student. So he had average classes throughout his school years. The bonds between him, Mike, and Lilith were greater than their academics. They caught up with each other beyond classes, Jay and Mike especially. But it was while sitting in the middle of his first-period class that Jay realized he was in the room with the Holy [Medium], Brit.

He’d always known the Band Lead was a part of this class since last week. Everyone knew the Band Lead, or Brit the Crusader. But Brit had this knack for fading out of the limelight as soon as it got off her.

Now that knack seemed to be even stronger. Something was helping her blend out of focus. Become very unnoticeable.

Her presence was so well hidden Jay had barely registered her. His Perception hadn’t failed him. It had been his 30 Intellect that got tricked. His mind had received a nudge not to acknowledge her presence. It had overlooked her.

That was a little creepy for Jay. He glanced away from the creative writing teacher jack-jawing about syntaxes and gave Brit a look. He caught on to what she was doing. The [Medium] was using a Skill, incantation, or whatever to be obscured in the background.

Brit returned an apologetic smile. She shifted in her seat, her arms folding underneath her breasts as she looked out the window. The light streaming in radiated a little brighter on her than the other students. Then a brief and barely noticeable ripple of white energy shifted the light. Now it seemed less bright on her, spreading the radiance to the others seated in her column near the window.

Now that Jay had caught on to her, he wasn’t so easily swayed to look elsewhere. Because most guys had to admit that Brit was a stunning girl to admire. Some people would have her in competition with the Divine Four if there weren’t politics and the differences in bodies involved.

The hotties of the Divine Four, even with Emily being the odd duckling, were classical beauties. They were model-like, tall, athletic, and wealthy. Brit was a voluptuous southern belle, and the way she wore a white blouse showing her cleavage, and had her curly hair down to frame her heart-shaped face, made Jay wonder if YoAnna’s choice of female Champions was tailored toward the most attractive ones.

Then again, there was Lilith. She was like Jay and Mike. Average.

Brit’s beauty wasn’t the only reason for Jay to stare, of course. He hadn’t gotten to see her mini-profile yet.

 

Name: Britney Williams, Rank 2 Class: [Junior Medium, Level 11]  Health: 500/500 Stamina: 530/530 Mana: 630/630 Chance: x8/x8 Noteworthy Info: This human shares an allegiance with you under the same Godling and Pantheon. Her Affinity is Holy. Highest Attribute is 60 Conviction. Most Signature Item is the Against The Swarm Shield, Good. Most Pivotal Skill is [Incantation Proficiency]. Most Particular Talent is [Elephant Boon]. Most Unique Title is [Lover of Grace].

 

Holy…

Jay blinked, his left divine eye dimming to normal after seeing past Brit’s [Obscurification] Talent.

He ignored the stares he received from his peers. He was busy adding up the math based on her Statuses.

If you chopped off the zeroes on the end of Health, Stamina, and Mana. And added a zero to Chance, you could estimate the sum of a Champion’s Attributes.

Jay came out with Brit having somewhere near [246 Applied AP] at Level 11.

“What’s got you spooked like a cat in a hot smokestack, Jay?” Brit asked at a volume only a perceptive Champion could hear. “Something you’re seeing inside me?”

“New trick with the new eye,” Jay said.

“Oh, I know,” Brit answered. “It’s quite divine. That doesn’t answer my questions, though.”

Jay bit the edge of his lip. “You’re way stronger than you should be.”

“Lil and the boys fed me Attribute Crystals,” Brit replied. “No matter what, the healer must be strong, they said.”

That made sense. From what Jay had gathered listening to the other Booty Bandits, their experience in the Ratling Bog Dungeon was a harrowing one. Lilith having genocided all those monsters meant there were a lot of spare Attribute Crystals. Jay could almost imagine the System intended for those to get spread around and not consolidated into the one person that could keep everyone alive and healthy no matter what.

Nice cheat, Lilith. She didn't need to be a gamer to outsmart cosmic forces.

“So, you were just curious about the Champion me, not my girls,” Brit said casually. “You were staring at 'em like they owed you money.”

“Well, they have a lot of gravity,” Jay let out.

“Boy, that deserves a bonk.”

Too many things could be said about her reply, but Jay got interrupted before he could cut loose.

“Mister Luckrun!” snapped the creative writing teacher. “Is there something out the window more interesting than my lesson?”

“Not out the window,” Jay drawled. “I was looking at Brit’s blouse. It’s really nice and fits her. Don’t you guys agree?”

The creative writing teacher was about to enter a tirade when she blinked and noticed Brit for seemingly the first time. The same happened with the rest of the class as they turned and started to truly notice the Band Lead being there.

The creative writing teacher checked her handwritten student name list. “Miss Williams, I have you marked as present. I… can’t help but wonder if you’d stepped out and back in without my notice. I swear I didn't see you there for quite some time.”

“I’ve been here all the while,” Brit said curtly, glaring daggers–or bonks–at Jay.

The [Freak] tried not to smile. He failed. So, he gave the Holy [Medium] his patented Luckrun grin.

“Well, I’m so happy to confirm you’re here. Again,” the creative writing teacher said pleasantly. “I loved last Friday's performance and all the ones before. Please keep up the good work, young lady. The entire school is banding together with you.”

“Band Lead! Go out with me!” Some guy cheered.

The class laughed.

Brit graced them all with a shining smile and a pinch of Holy charm, damn near sweeping the Systemless humans off their chairs–or feet, in the teacher's case.

But the gravity of her emotions flickered into notice.

Jay would only perceive them on the spectrum of negativity. He might’ve opened a wound there. 

Damn, wasn’t he supposed to help with the extreme personalities? That was one of the many issues with being Champions of Challenge and Change.

“Now as for you, Mister Luckrun!” As the creative writing teacher prepared to give Jay an earful, a knock on her door interrupted her.

One of the faculty staff cracked it open and beckoned for the teacher to come over. They talked in hushed tones Jay and Brit could easily hear.

“Ah,” Jay said contently. “He’s here.”

“You are something else, Jay,” Brit said, shaking her head. “I bet you bring torment to your team.”

“Kek.”

Moments later, the creative writing teacher introduced their new transfer student.

Frank Stronghold.

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