It was an absolutely terrible morning when my alarm clock went off for the first time in weeks to inform me that it’s time to get out of my bed. I trudged out of my beautiful palace of comfort to get ready for what I believe is the worst experience in my 16 years of living. Some think of it as fun, while others think of it as a waste of time. Yes, the horrid thing I am talking about is what you might call “School”. Today was my first time attending it in a few months; it would have been even longer if I wasn’t forced to leave my comfortable room because of the internet being locked, thanks a bunch you stupid aunt….

I slowly but steadily creeped towards the restroom, making sure not to disturb that devil who's probably still sleeping after drinking all night long with her friends. After her husband left her, she let herself go and brings back a new man every few days. Having to share a room right next to hers is like a curse from the devil himself.

As I entered the restroom, I looked up into the mirror to examine the monster staring back at me. A short goblin-looking creature as round as a bowling ball was the best way to have myself described. I stood at a height of 5’2, weighed around 260 lbs, and had a face covered in acne. The only reason you can’t see how bad my acne is might be because I hid it with my horrid black hair, completely riddled with split ends. Starting from the top right corner of my forehead, over my eye, and almost reaching my lips is a giant scar, a permanent reminder of why I was stuck in this hellhole in the first place. I closed my eyes and the terrible memory from just a few months ago flashed through my head.

A family filled with problems driving home after picking their child up from school.

A mother and father arguing in the front seat over who cheated on the other first.

A young boy listening to music blocking out the bickering sounds, since it’s an everyday occurrence in the household.

A bright light appears directly in front of the car.

A crash. A Fire. Screaming. Terrible, terrible screaming....

I opened my eyes, and looked at myself again. I was completely covered in sweat from head to toe. I quickly hopped into the shower, trying to forget the whole ordeal.

After I finished showering, I quickly put on my plain-looking school uniform and started walking towards school. It was only a 20 minute walk from my aunt’s house, and I knew asking my aunt for a ride to school would only cause her to get angry. After all, the only reason she took care of me was to try and extort inheritance money in the future.

I quickly arrived at school and took a seat in the back of the classroom. I made sure to be the first one to arrive, since that way I could avoid scornful looks from the other students. As the classroom started to slowly fill, the one existence I couldn’t avoid walked up to the front of my desk.

“Hey, it’s dipshit. Finally coming back to school, I thought you went off and died like those useless parents of yours.”

I stared at him from my seat. Adam, a boy standing a good foot higher than me, was the bane of my life. With perfect brown hair, a perfectly chiseled chest, and bright blue eyes, he was literally the hottest boy in school. Even with his bad attitude, it wasn’t like anyone hated him. In fact, everyone loved him and hated me. I’ve been unpopular for as long as I can remember, and the class essay where I wrote about my love for Japanese manga didn’t help my case any.

Me: “What do you want Adam? Did I do something?”

Adam: “Actually, you did do something. Your worthless ass lived. Why did that have to happen?”

I knew arguing with Adam would only result in my ass being beat to a pulp, so I decided just to agree with him.

Me: “I have no clue. I was just really lucky I guess…”

Before Adam could say any more, the bell to start class rang. He went back to his seat, but not before giving me a strong kick to my leg. The teacher, watching everything from his desk, got up and simply started the lesson. Of course this should be no surprise; why would someone help somebody so useless? The class went through all of the lessons, and before I realized it, it was already lunch time.

I hurriedly got up from my seat and went to the school’s roof. Waiting for me there was the only person that I trusted, Jessica Lynn. A short, spunky female; she was noted as one of the most beautiful girls in school. It’s a wonder why someone like her would even become friends with me, but every time I ask her, she always replies “Haha, because you’re so interesting.”

Jess: “Hey Tony! It took you ages to get back!”

She quickly stated this while running up and giving me a hug. She’s always been there for me, and she’s the only person I could tell my troubles to. Truthfully, she’s one of the only reasons that I’m still alive.

Me: “Thanks. It took me a while to get over…. Well…. Everything….”

Jess pulled herself away from me, and gazed into the depths of my eyes. I wish I could just keep looking at them, but I didn’t want her to realize that.

Me: “I’m better now, don’t worry about it. I’m staying with my aunt now, and she treats me a lot better than what my parents ever did.”

I just lied through my teeth, but what other option was there? I didn’t want Jess to worry, and the main reason I came to school today, (besides the fact that I was forced to finally attend) was to finally go through with my feelings for Jess. I know she won’t accept them, but I’ll still feel better going through with it.

While we were eating our lunch, we talked about a bunch of random things; from the games we both play to how we did on today's quiz in Science. As the bell signalling the end of lunch rang out, I quickly grabbed Jess’s hand.

Me: I don’t know how to explain this well…. But…. Can you please read this later? Thank you.”

I bolted out of there as fast as I could. My face was as red as a tomato, and I didn’t want to see her facial expression when she would open the letter and read the contents. I was happy I finally confessed my feelings; that was all that mattered.

While nothing interesting happened after that, I quickly hurried home to make sure that I avoided Adam. I wonder what her response will be? I guess I’ll just have to see tomorrow.

The Next Day

As soon as my alarm clock went off, I jumped out of my bed to turn it off. Even though I knew how Jess would reply, a small little part of me still carried hope. I wonder why? I took a shower with Jess engraved into my brain. Maybe for once in my life things will start to look up? The small piece of hope kept growing and growing, until it was bigger than myself (And trust me, that’s really difficult to do in the first place). I looked at myself in the mirror after the shower.

‘My hair is a mess! I can’t have Jess look at me like this!’

I spent the next 2 hours trying to perfect my hair for this day. I even made sure to pop the pimples that looked like they were ready to burst. By the time I had finished, I looked at the clock, and to my dismay

Me: “DAMNIT! I’M 10 MINUTES LATE!”

I ran as fast as I could to the school, and made it in a record time of 10 minutes. I went to get my Tardy Slip from the office, and noticed the school’s secretary smiling at me weirdly. Was there something on my face? If there was, I could take care of it before I meet Jess at lunch. I jogged to my classroom and opened the door. The whole class started to stare at me.

Me: “Sorry, I’m late. I ha….”

Before I could even finish my sentence, the whole classroom erupted into laughter. For some reason, even the teacher was laughing at me. Was there really something on my face? While I started to feel my face, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. Covering the whole whiteboard in the classroom were multiple pieces of paper. When I went to get a closer look, I started to cry. Who did this…? Why…?

Dear Jessica Lynn,

You were the first person to ever see past the me that everybody else sees. You see me as myself, the real me. Normally I hide myself behind a veil of darkness, masking my true self from the evils of this world. You can see past all the truths and lies around me and still accept me as I am. No matter what I do, in the end you still like me just for being me. You’re the world’s most beautiful girl, and I fall in love with you the more I get to know you.

Will you be mine, my love?

Sincerely, Tony Adsiculousl

I didn’t know what to do at this point. Who spread my letter all over the school? Did Jess drop it by some chance? Why did someone have to do this to me, wasn’t my life horrible enough?!

“Haha, you like the little present dipshit?”

I looked up and noticed it was Adam speaking. Did he do this? How?

Me: “H-H-HAWDU G *hick* GET THU LEWTER?!” (How’d you get the letter?!)

I could barely speak at this point. My eyes were blood red with tears flowing down my cheeks like a river. The snot from my nose was starting to build up around my mouth and my chin, leaving me looking even more horrific than normal.

Adam: “Hm, I wonder? Haha, why don’t you try asking your best friend Jessica?”

As much as I hated to admit it, he was right. Jess would be able to figure out what happened. Was Adam watching us on the rooftop? Did he notice me give Jess the letter? I needed to get to her as fast as I can.

I ran out of the classroom at full speed and went to Jess’ Homeroom classroom. When I opened the door, I was once again greeted by laughter, and a few cases of pity. I quickly looked around and was able to spot Jess in the middle of the room. She didn’t look at me with sorrow, or even pity…. Was she…. Was she laughing at me?

Me: “Jess! Whu hawpnd with thu lewter I gabe U?!” (Jess! What happened to the letter I gave you?!)

I was still crying and covered in snot, making it difficult to understand me. I saw her look at me with an astonished face while she stated

Jess: “Letter? What letter could you ever mean? I never recieved a letter from you, especially one stating you love me and you were hiding youself with some *giggles* veil of darkness!”

At this point the whole classroom was laughing their heads off. Considering the lack of teacher, I’m guessing he was late too, or went to the office to report the papers that also covered the entirety of his whiteboard.

Jess: “You must be an idiot. Did you really think we were friends? I just used you to win a bet against my boyfriend, and I won. I must admit, I didn’t think it would take so long for your useless ass to confess. I’m guessing the fact you somehow turned even more useless after your parents died was the reason, but I don’t really care. I won, and thats all that matters to me.”

With these words, the classroom was once again in an uproar. Does this mean everything.... Everything was a lie…?

I ran out of the classroom as fast as I could, and hurried up the stairs to reach my schools sanctuary, the rooftops. When I reached the top, I threw up against the wall, turned around, and sat against the wall I just barfed on. I didn’t even notice now dirty I was at the moment. Was everything I knew a lie? Why did this happen to me?

Before I could calm myself, the door to the rooftops creaked open and out came Jess… and Adam? Why was he here? Before I could ask, Jess decided to start the conversation.

Jess: “I’m pretty sure you’ve met my boyfriend here Tony. His name is Adam, and I’ve heard you two know each other VERY well.”

Without even being given time to think, Adam walked over to where I sat and instantly kicked me in the stomach at full force. Without letting up, he gave me an endless barrage of punches and kicks until I was soaked in my own blood. No matter how much I screamed, nobody came for help.

By the time he was finished, my face was completely disoriented, and a few of my ribs seemed to be broken as well. My brain cycled through thousands of questions, but I could only ask them one.

Me: “Why…?”

After receiving another kick to the stomach, I was greeted an answer I didn’t expect.

Adam: “Your useless parents ended up killing my dad. IT’S THEIR DAMN FAULT MY DAD’S DEAD!”

I did hear that someone other than my parents died in the crash, but it was Adam’s dad? None of this made any sense. I started talking to Jess before the accident even occurred. How is this even possible? Before I could get my thoughts together, I ended up blacking out….

A Few Minutes Later

I awoke still on the rooftop of the school. I got up, only to fall down again. That quick movement was a terrible decision.

“DAMNIT! IT HURTS! IT HURTSSSSS!”

I screamed this over and over, but to my dismay nobody came to check up on me, even after an hour or so had past. It shouldn’t be much of a surprise, considering the 3rd and 4th floors that lead up to the rooftop aren’t even in use at the moment since they’re getting refurbished. I gently roll onto my back, and start thinking outloud.

‘Does God hate me?’

‘Why can’t I fit in?’

‘Should I just die?’

‘How can they do this and get away with it?’

As I keep thinking about my life, my thoughts slowly start becoming darker and darker.

‘Why did I have to have such useless parents. Always arguing, they never even took care of their own son.’

‘Why did my aunt have to be the only member left of my family. Couldn’t I just kill her?’

Jess was a lying, backstabbing bitch. I feel like an idiot for ever trusting that whore.’

Fucking Adam. I want to just cut him into pieces, oh-so-slowly, that way I get to cherish each and every little scream his mouth can form…..’

All of the pent up hatred and anger kept building up more and more. It’s like every single piece of hell I had to suffer for the last 16 years is all coming back to the surface making me even angrier.

‘That reminds me, today is April 12th…. Hahaha, that means today is my fucking Birthday, who would have guessed I’d get a present as fucked up as this.’

Before I could continue my demented thought, the schools intercom turned on (you can tell because you hear a slight click when someone holds down the button to speak), and through it, a raspy voice said.

Tell me young children of Earth… Are you ready to play a game?

Even though I heard the voice, I chose to ignore it. My best guess was some joker decided to play with the school’s intercom. Why should I care about something like that? It’s not like it will save me anyways.

As I go back to my deep thoughts, the voice continued its speech even though it had lost the ability to reach my ears.

Voice: “Not all can hear my voice. While some of you think you might be going crazy, this is not so. It just means you have a str…..”

As the voice started to rattle on and on, I decided to contemplate all the events that had occurred in my life. Besides the fake joy I received when I was with Jess, what other reason did I even have to live? I’m an ugly, weak kid without a single good point about me. What should I do now?

I spent the next few minutes contemplating the options I had ahead of me.

‘Suicide? I couldn’t get revenge on the classmates who mocked me if I just kill myself. I bet they would actually celebrate being rid of a nuisance such as I.’

‘Run away? Where would I even go, and how would I be able to survive like that?’

I racked up as many ideas as I could in my brain, weighing the good and the bad effects each choice gave me. Since nobody cared about me in the first place, I couldn’t rely on anybody to help me. What could I do?

And then the perfect idea appeared within the dark crevices of my mind….

Torture…

I could torture those who mocked me. It’s not like I needed help to cause another human pain.

What would I do first?

Slowly and steadily peel their skin off with a rusted knife?

Cut their fingers off section by section, that way they don’t lose their finger until they experience the pain multiple times?

I heard in Medieval Europe, they could stretch someone to death. That might be something I could look into…..

The more I thought about what deeds I could perform on my classmates, the more I started to smile. Normally having broken ribs and a face that looked as if it was smashed with a baseball bat would cause a normal person to cry their little heart out. Of course, that’s a normal person; I on the other hand don’t even consider myself a human at this point. Did something inside of my head break? Even if something had and could be repaired, I wouldn’t have wanted it to. It’s not like I had ever treated as a human anyways.

Before I could think another thought, a flash of light entered my vision. I quickly looked at what caused this phenomenon, and was surprised when I was greeted face to face with a person. He stood at an impossible height of around 10 feet tall, and had the body of a model. As I stared at him I witnessed the most astounding thing I had ever seen; atop of his head sat a floating halo, and upon his back was a lofty pair of white wings. Did I die without noticing?

Before I could get my jumbled thoughts together, the man spoke to me.

Man: “BOY, DID YOU NOT HEAR OF MY DIVINE REVELATION?”

I was surprised at the sound of the man. While it looked as if he was trying to whisper, a sound that could match a horn was let out. While I was thinking of what he could have meant by his strange words, the memory of the intercoms message came to mind. Could this man be the same person who played with the speakers?

Man: “AS ONE OF THE FIFTEEN CHOSEN, WHY DO YOU NOT GATHER IN THE HALL AS I INSTRUCTED?!”

The man was filled with anger, looking as if he could kill a lion with just a glance. Thankfully his glare couldn’t even hold a candle against my aunt’s, so I casually smiled and stated,

Me: “I wasn’t listening to a single thing you said. Did you want something?”

With this response, the man simply stared out at me. Within a few moments, he was laughing for some odd reason.

Man: “Hahaha, you’re the first in a long while to even dare talk to me in such a disrespectful tone. You seem to be an interesting one. Well as I stated previously, would you like to venture into a new world, and have the chance to become a hero?”

I stared up at him. Normally when gazing upon someone twice your height, you would feel awkward about the situation. Rather than do that, I looked him straight in the eyes and simply said,

Me: “I refuse”

Man’s Point of View:

‘What is this? For the first time in a few millennia, a mere mortal has refused the chance of becoming a hero? What sort of witchery is this?’

Using my powers, I quickly took a look inside of his heart. Before I even reached the first gates, I was pushed back by a darkness that might be as great as the Demon Lord himself. What sort of human has this type of power? Did he crawl up from the bottom of hell and live?

As I kept thinking of this, I took another look at the boy. While I didn’t notice it before, he was completely covered in wounds. While I couldn’t read his mind, I was able to use my powers of deduction to guess what sort of situation the boy was in. Being a Demi-God myself, I received a similar treatment from the Gods around me. Seeing myself a little in the boy, I knew I had to do something to make him accept. If he chose not to, the Gods will torture him until he did. Unlike the lost Teleportation Magic, the one known to the Gods today can only teleport those willing to be teleported.

While I was thinking this, the boy look at me once again; but this time, he had a dark, sinister smile planted across his face.

Staring me down with no fear, he simply asked,

Boy: Can I see a list of the other students going?”

Looking at him with a curious glance, I used some simple Magic to conjure up a list of the remaining 14 students who had already been teleported some time ago. After taking a quick look at the list, the boy’s smile grew even more twisted. Then, he said the words that surprised me the most….

Boy: “Hey old man. Hurry the hell up and teleport me already. Just don’t have me teleport near the other fucking bitches.”

Tony's Point of View:

The man looked at me and once again laughed. After I judged his facial expression, I realized he could read me like an open book and already figured out my reason for suddenly accepting his offer. It didn’t matter either way in my opinion. He got what he wanted, and hopefully I will get what I want within due time.

The man slowly started to explain how things would work in the new World. As a Demi-God, he didn’t have much knowledge on the world since it wasn’t in his jurisdiction. Thankfully, the few things he did know were enough to surprise me. The world I was being sent to was called Friht (pronounced Fuh-Rit), and from the description of things it sounded almost exactly like it was ripped from a RoyalRoadl FanFic. With beings such as elves, orcs, beastmen and more, I couldn’t wait to be teleported to Friht. Why did I even reject this in the first place? Well besides the fact I couldn’t torture a few people to death, but thankfully this won’t be the case. Ufufufufu, I can’t wait to watch them beg for their death before I even start. I need to make sure it’s as painful as possible for them, so I can savor every bit. After all, who knows how long it will take to break a new toy?

While I fantasized about thoughts I never knew my brain was capable of, the man interrupted my joy and told me the most important thing about this new world. Once I enter the world, I will be able to call upon my Status Screen just by thinking about it. From there it will display my Class, current Stats, Skills, and most interestingly; my Special Ability that each of us 15 Chosen have. While the Abilities differ from person to person, I was curious as to what someone as useless as I would have as a Special Ability. After this conversation, the man told me an important piece of information.

Man: “The Gods only know of 14 Chosen entering the world. Since you weren’t with the group, they won’t notice your presence until I teleport you. I would suggest changing your name if you would like to avoid your classmates, since the Gods can ask about you. Thankfully,I have just enough power to change it, but it can only be done once and will be permanent. Interested?”

I nodded as soon as I heard. A new world, new power, and a new name. What more could a person with nothing left to lose ask for? To make things better, I already had the perfect name ready…. Soul Aldicus. It was simply the letters of my last name being rearranged, but I would always use it for any online game I played. It was the only part of me I didn’t really want to forget.

After I stated what I wanted as a name, the man simply closed his eyes and said he was finished. Was it really that easy? Before I could ask, the space around me started to glow. The man just stared at me and said,

Man: “I shall teleport you around 5 miles away from the other Chosen. I wish you safe travels, and hopefully you beat the shit out of those fucking pricks.”

Giving the man a nice big grin, my sight slowly started fading away as as I whisked into the world of Friht.

Man's Point of View:

The Demi-God stared at the empty space where the boy once stood. After a few moments passed, he teleported himself back to the God Realms.

The God Realms, as one would expect, was an area only the Gods and a few Demi-Gods could enter. Being a beautiful Greek-like City floating among the clouds, it was no surprise this haven was only meant for so few.

The Demi-God slowly floated towards the Council Building, where the Elder Gods were waiting for him. He slowly opened the door and knelt before the Gods.

Man: “I, Demi-God Caprih, have finished the mission the Elders have bestowed upon me.”

The Demi-God then rose from his kneeling position and saw the Gods with distain on their faces. Kraton, the God of Warriors, started the conversation.

Kraton: “Caprih, we felt you teleport another human after you teleported the chosen. Why did this occur?”

Caprih then began to explain the issues he had with the human, making sure not to reveal the boy’s old name in the process. After the Elders agreed Caprih took appropriate action they moved onto the next topic, the discussion of which Chosen was the Hero.

Caprih: “I have found that with the birth of the 12098th Demon Lord, a Heroine by the name of “Kaitlyn Bumont” was chosen rather than a male Hero.”

The Elders looked at Caprih in surprise. Even though this is the 12098th Demon Lord to come into existence, only 27 had ever been female. One can only find out what gender the Demon Lord is by locating the one with the Status of Hero; and obviously since the Hero was actually a Heroine, they knew there would be problems. While few, the Female Demon Lords boasted the strength of 5 male Demon Lords combined. While the Elder Gods were contemplating how to help the Chosens, Caprih slowly left the Council Building, with a slight smirk on his face. While short, Caprih was also able to take a quick glance at Tony/Soul’s Class, and couldn’t think of one that suited the cocky boy better.

While floating back toward his house, he though to himself,

‘So Soul Aldicus, show my if you can live up to that Class’

Yes, the Class Soul received was one never heard of even among the Gods. Soul was the one and only….

Hell-Spawned Hero