"Yo, Carl. How about hanging out at the internet cafe later, wanna play a round or two of LoL or something? Or I can carry you with ranking, you know how good I am at LoL!" A boy with a neat haircut suddenly slapped me in the back before inviting me. Dude...why can't you drop with the back-slapping? What kind of thing did you eat anyway to get this strong? I'm still young yet my back hurts...

Anyway, this guy who couldn't read a mood is a close friend of mine.

Oh, I forgot to introduce myself, didn't I? My name is Carl Johnson. I'm 17 years old, a handsome high schooler. Unlike a certain character in a theft auto game, I have normal healthy brown skin with a handsome undercut hairstyle. I should have been going on dates with pretty girls with this haircut by now, but for some reason, girls never get any closer to me ever since I got this haircut. Strange...I'm far above average in terms of appearance, I checked myself daily in front of a mirror after all. There's no doubt about it!

Well, who cares about girls. It's not like I will die if I didn't date someone in my high school years. It's their loss for being picky.

"You sure bout that? Cause last time we played together, I'm the one carrying your ass through the entire game."

"That's because it wasn't my day! I'm not in a good form, you know I'm still human right? Humans do make mistakes sometimes, there's nothing wrong with it."

"Excuses! That's the only thing you're good at! If only your taunt skill was as good as your skill in making excuses, you'd have been a good bait, very unfortunate."

"Screw you! You still used me as bait anyway!"

"Well, I can't have you being useless to the team, can I? It's okay, even if you can only play as bait, I'll support you by killing the enemy with my awesome skill! Just leave it to me, brother!"

That's how my daily conversation goes. There wasn't anything unusual happening in my life, it was very peaceful, to say the least. Though I wasn't particularly good at studies, it's nothing worth worrying about when I don't even have a goal in my life. Everyone at least had a goal, but it couldn't be me.

I can proudly say I could do everything at a basic level, but that's about it. If I considered my life as a game, I'd be a jack of all trades, master to none. But is there any need to specialize in something? As long as I can work with my basic skills, my life wouldn't suddenly change genre without notice.

People say not being good at one thing is bad, but I don't really care. I'm not living to please them after all. I'm living for myself. Well, if they are some beautiful ladies, I may consider. Cough, no, I must stay strong to my conviction.

Girls are just temporary, but games are eternal. I shall repeat, girls are temporary, games are eternal. Amitabha. Good, my breathing is normal.

Ring! Ring! Ring!

Now, would you listen to that, it's a bell signaling the end of school for the day. Finally, I can escape from the hell that is being a seatmate to a beautiful girl. Why was she my seatmate you ask? I don't have a single clue, maybe God simply thought it would be interesting putting the average me beside someone blessed like her. She smells good though...

"Let's go, brother. I'll show you my great skill, so you better watch and learn!" I speak out to my friend before he could slap me in the back. He can be a bit dense, but overall a pretty nice guy. Of course, if he was normal, he wouldn't have been my friend. Thinking about it now, I recall the time I was transferred to this school.

Because I never bother starting a conversation with my classmate, they also ignored my presence in response. It wasn't particularly important, but it does get annoying sometimes when the teacher forces me to partner with someone in my class. No one would want to partner up with an unsociable guy like me. And that's where the true hell began.

The beautiful girl that became my seatmate now, the very same girl was the one who decided to become my partner. I don't need any pity not sympathy, I can live off by myself, thank you. But no one listens to my words, so I'm mostly stuck with her every time I was in my class. Honestly, her kind act would have fooled me if I was a huge simp like my other classmates. Unfortunately, I saw right through her.

Like I said in the beginning, I'm very good at everything on a basic level. So to a certain extent, I could understand her true thoughts by reading her expression and body language. It wasn't a special skill or anything like that, anyone could simply do it if they practice it hard enough. Cold Reading.

Why couldn't people just mind their own business, and not intruding upon other's private space like they own the place or something? Honestly, no point in me complaining since I knew the reason why she even talks to me because she wanted to maintain her image as a beautiful yet kind goddess to the whole school. I also knew even if I were to expose the truth, no one will believe me.

"Heh, you'll see just who will be the one getting carry soon!" My friend responded with a shitty grin on his face. I didn't bother answering him cause I am sure as hell knew only the future will tell—how amazing I am at gaming that is. Of course, that's in comparison to this blockhead, if I was against a pro, I wouldn't stand a chance at all. With that in mind, I merrily walk out of the class with my friend following right behind.

On our way to the internet cafe, I was filled with ominous feelings as if I will suddenly slip on a banana pill or something. The more I keep walking, the stronger it feels. Am I..going to suffer defeat under this blockhead's hands?! So his arrogant words back then weren't just a bluff? He must have been practicing his combos at home instead of doing his homework, no wonder why the teacher lectures him in class a while ago. I see...but I'm not going to fall back because I am no coward!

...

At this point in time, I didn't know yet that my life will undergo a huge change from that moment onward. I also didn't know that I wouldn't be able to enjoy this peaceful life in the future anymore. Why? That's because I am one of the many heroes who will one day stand by humanity's side against the invaders that will bring the world to damnation! And in front of me and every other heroes sight, there stood our leader and the one who bring hope to the ruined world, and her name is—