Reality Quest: False Protagonist

One wizard said this quote, "To the well organized mind, death is but another adventure."

It's a very optimistic viewpoint to a very morbid topic, such as the idea of mortality. It is an inversion of the afterlife, instead of being put in either heaven or hell, the quote surmises that it's just another path waiting to be uncovered. That is why it's optimistic.

Now, let me tell you the problem.

I have no issue with the idyllic stance of the saying, however… When it comes to my predicament, I don't think this quote is the best description of my situation.

You see. I have been killed, the cause of death being a bullet tearing through my head. It was fast, barely any pain registered, I don't even remember half of what occurred. Yes, I'm already dead, a deadman's monologue you are hearing right now.

So, you might notice that… ain't this a very fitting quote for you, at least at the half of the statement. Death is but another adventure, and I'm surely dead, pretty sure it is no prank. And, yeah, somehow I'm alive in a different form. Now, my body is not my own but that of a student in what seems to be Korea, second my age had been regressed to my high school years… duh, with this new body of mine it is a given.

The problem now is, while there's some truth in that quote in terms of my situation, the first half is completely false. My mind is not organized, I'm barely holding on to my sanity, trying to withstand the abstract vertigo that I'm feeling. It is delirious, close to manic, how this seems all too normal to me. In my eyes, this is just my life, and this is my memory – that I somehow lived as this student all my life.

And my impending psychosis is aided by my knowledge of who I am inhabiting. You see, this kid, his name is Ha Do Wan. A loser who has been degraded into a mere game shuttle, that plays games for other people. This guy is a bully victim, just the bullying is not too physical. At least, in the first half of his story…

For you see, Ha Do Wan is not a real person but a character inside a Manhwa named "Reality Quest." He is the protagonist of this weak-to-strong story involving a system that resembles the game he plays all the time. It was bestowed to him by another player who aided in a rain, the person's is "The One Who Brings The End." But, the process of how TOWB give Dowan the system is strange.

First things first, Dowan died – or possibly. In the story due to his unhealthy lifestyle, which consists of caffeine nourishment and lack of sleep, Dowan died while playing the game. However, a bizarre event happened. Instead of fully dying, Dowan regressed when he was still at school playing games for others. Time reseted him to that interval, everything looks normal, but the system is now integrated in Dowan.

I grit my teeth. My life is scripted, see! I'm called "MY," when its not my own. Something is messing with my mind.

But…

Looking at the desk, and gazing at the amount of phones mounted on stands playing games. Dowan is still within me, his memory and impulses are proof of that. While I have stopped playing the game as of the moment, my hands are twitching to do so. Even though Dowan is a gamer at heart, this degrading Game Shuttle title makes him that he is in fact an avid enjoyer of games.

Bullies. No matter if this is an illusion, or a world simulated in the image of Reality Quest. Bullies are still the worst, they're the scum of the earth in my opinion, no life having insects that deserve nothing but a beating and hellfire. Some might say, bullies do the things they do because of other reasons like trauma, inferiority complex etc. And, for that reason, I could proudly say they could suck my nuts. Who cares if they're fueled by trauma, the fuck is my business with that? I say, it won't matter what motivation you say, action speaks louder than words. If you do something trashy, then I will see you as I trash can, simple as that.

Sigh… this is a very one-sided perspective I have. It ignores circumstances, I guess. At the end of the day, however, the actions echo more than words. If you want change, then there's no point in understanding. 

Speak of the devil.

"Hey, Dowan," It was a raspy voice, clearly this someone has been inhaling a certain type of air, "Who told you to stop playing?" He slammed his hand, and Dowan's body reacted in shivering, "If my character dies, I'll kill you." 

ChulWoo Min, the white bastard that torment Dowan in the first two chapters. This guy is what I meant with scum. ChulWoo is only really strong against weak people, that's why he surrounds himself with guys Jaemin – who can gather a huge group of people to back him up. While he can fight, someone who has a practical knowledge on fighting could beat him. And this guy give up with one loss, he had never shown face when the original beat him in a fight.

So…

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Character Window 

Name: Ha D̷̞̣̤̜͕̞̪͝o̸̜̲̻̲̒̌́̽ͅw̸͖̼͔͓̜̮̎̋̑̂͋̏̊̑͘͝a̶̬̗͗͐̀n̸͍̯̓̒̈̆͋̓͊̾̎̓͌͝͝

Class: Powerless? Game Shuttle 

Lvl. 1 

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The system already woke up. However, unlike Dowan the skill tree is not showing as of the moment. I need to unlock it. To that, I need the same trigger as Dowan, that is fighting ChulWoo. However, there's a problem. Dowan's Character stats are pathetic, which is expected from a gamer like him who never bothered to condition their body in physical training.

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Attack Power - 1

Defense - 1

Agility - 1

Mentality - ??? 

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"Huh?" ChulWoo raised his eyebrow, as I stood up and look at him, "The fuck you looking at?" he met my gaze, "You want beating, Loser?" 

I took a breath, "If you want your character to level you have to play it yourself, Skill-less bastard, " The trembling of my body stops, as my mind begins to clear up. It took a lot to control." 

"What did you just say?" ChulWoo give me a dangerous glare.

"Are you hearing impaired?" I tilted my head, "I said you're a skill-least bastard, do you want me to say it again?" 

I will not play along with Dowan's original timidness, this guy needs a serious reality check. Even if I come out of this beaten to a bloody pulp, I'll make sure this guy turns into a squash fruit before I leave this classroom. 

None of us is leaving here unscathed, especially him.

"Have you gone insane, Dowan? "He grins, and grabs my shoulder, "Never have I thought that you will grow a backbone, I guess I have to break it."

His face darkens.

"Right?' He cocked back his right, readying for a punch.

He throws.

And it's fast, if I don't move now my face will be smashed. 

Just one movement.

I shifted my head down, forwarding my forehead. Again it's fast, his hand is already inches from my face. He continues to grin, unaware that my forehead will be the one he is hitting.

"Ack!-" ChulWoo yelped in pain, as his hand made contact. The white-haired boy noticed his arm trembling, and he looked at me with a surprised expression.

"The front of the skull is the strongest part," I begin to say, as ChulWoo retreats his bleeding hand. My forehead is bleeding too, and my vision blurred a bit, "It's common sense, the brain resides inside the skull. So having the front being the hardest is a given." 

"You fucking…" ChulWoo flail his hand to resist the pain.

I pointed on the part where his punch landed, and smiled, "That's why most professionals sometimes use their forehead as a block instead of their hand. Due to the nerves here the pain registration is a bit delayed, and when an attacker targets this part it brings them more harm than results. The knuckles are not stronger than the cranium after all."

My smile curves more. And ChulWoo's face begins to redden. I could've dodge by the width of a hair if I choose so, but that brings the least advantage. Sure I dodge the attack, but with him being faster than me he could just do a follow up to negate my evasion. The move to use my forehead is a calculated one, it's both defense and offense. While there's some damage it is barely considerable, but I did damage one important part of ChulWoo, his dominant hand. This means that arm right now is weaker than before.

"You should've listened to class instead of jerking off, ChulWoo." 

"Fucker! I'll kill you!"

The boy lodge at me, intending to punch again. Instead of his dominant he use his left, which is in better condition.

The way his standing is that of a boxer, and his reliance on his arms is supportive of that. So, I'll not worry about his legs attacking. However, the way he orients himself is set-up for a punch different from a straight. With the way he's running, he's intending to use a close-range attack. A straight is inefficient in that distance, a jab is weak, so…

Prediction is better than dodging.

I step out the way, dodging the punch that comes from the left.

"A hook." A mumble. I'm bending my knees here, and ChulWoo has not realised the opening he just created. 

A boxer's main weakness is.

I twisted my body, and kicked ChulWoo's knee.

"RAGH!!" It bends against its natural motion.

"What..!!!" ChulWoo grabbed his leg and gritted his teeth, I bounced back to preserve the distance, "You loser, you learned how to fight didn't you?! This is where your confidence is coming from."

I smiled, and sat on the desk. Feeling my breath being hard to inhale, Dowan's stamina is really trash at this stage. 

I grab one of the phones and begin to tinker with it, "Yes and no. I didn't learn how to fight, why would I do that against someone like you? You're not worth the dedication." 

"This bitch." ChulWoo bites his tongue and gets angry.

"I use common sense here, it should be clear when I explain why I blocked my forehead. " I said, shutting down the phone, "I know you trained in boxing some time ago, you bolstered every single possible chance. The question in your mind right now is 'why am I losing?' well the simple answer is you're weak. You wasted your chance to actually make that detour worthwhile."

"In simple words, you have thrown away the chance to become actually strong." 

"Too focused on targeting weaker people than you, too focused on useless things like reputation and such, " I breathe with every single word, trying to regain the stamina I've lost. This guy is too dumb to actually notice that I'm actually tired, so I'm using it as a chance to rest, " If only you stay in that gym, respect the martial art you're trying to learn, and marinate the principles of that fighting style. If only, but who am I kidding? If you truly dedicate your time, you will not be here, you will be at the ring focusing on becoming strong." 

Okay, that's enough. My lungs feel better now.

I notice the ChulWoo is awfully quiet, I guess my bullshit speech cut deep on my nerves. I held the phone tightly, and did a stance. I didn't train in martial arts back then, too busy with life's crap, but I do know how to fight. I have a friend who is a black belt in Karate, and if we are bored we sometimes just spar with each other. Of course I didn't win a single one, but I did gain something there. I have lost my fear of getting hit with attacks. 

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Quest! 

Defeat the Monster [ChulWoo Min]!!!

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A quest popped up… my mouth curve upwards, I guess this is the trigger to unlock the skill tree.

No more hesitation I guess.

ChulWoo looked up, but it was too late. I'm already in front of him. As my punch is weaker than that of a toddlers, it will be useless to use it against ChulWoo. Something much better than my hand is required, preferably something hard and sturdy with a narrow point that could concentrate the force like how Brass-Knuckles works. As this is a school, there's no weapons in sight, so the best thing is the unlikeliness thing.

A phone is sturdy, made with metal and protected by a rubber case.

ChulWoo snaps out of it, and his anger returns in his eyes. However, my hand is already heading to his temples.

"You could've become something more." 

The phone made contact with the side of his head, and the concentrated force delivered a knock-out attack. ChulWoo's eyes turned white, and his saliva flew out of his mouth. 

"Good Riddance." 

His body fell onto the floor, echoing a deadpan thud. 

My legs feel weak. 

And I fell on my ass.

Dowan's has never trained in his life, so his body when other stress due to rotating and twisting is pressured. And, with the hit in the head I tank, Dowan's body is complaining for me to rest already.

"A-alright… I'll chill for now, before I go to the infirmary." 

But, before that…

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YOU'VE DEFEATED THE MONSTER [CHULWOO MIN]

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YOU'VE RECEIVED 200EXP

YOU'VE RECEIVED GOLDEN KEY

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"Haha, " A softly chuckle, tasting a bit of blood on my tongue, "Worth it-!"

"DOWAN YOUR BODY!"