“Sigh.....It's all the same...” A girl walked past the street lamps as darkness took more of the light with each passing second. She had a pep in her step but let out curses as she walked. Her name was Tulip, her last name never mattered to her much so she had never bothered mentioning it. She was a 2nd year student at xxxx high school, as shown by her clothes that she wore over herself.

She kicked a can from the ground in front of her and let it hit against a lamppost with a small clang. “Day in.....Day out...” She paused for a moment and thought before shaking her head and walking again, “Whatever.” She sighed, the empty feeling in her heart annoying her to no end.

Life was just a set of repeats for her. She woke up, got dressed, put on a pretty face for school, and then went home. Nothing really changed for her lifestyle after years and years of constant effort. It was too taxing at this point. She walked down to the end of the road, looking out past the cars and houses. To a place far away from here, a place where she could be herself.

Her eyes stared out at empty space, drifting the lines between reality and blurring it all together. She stepped forward and closed her eyes, a meaningless gesture. Nothing would change once she opened her eyes once more. It would be back to her life of repeats and disappointments once more.

“Please…..even if only for now….let it be my forever….” An unusually shaky voice came out from her mouth and she squinted her eyes closed. The sounds of the city began to fade and the air around Tulip changed, it went from a night breeze to a warm stale. “That’s….weird…” Tulip opened her eyes to satiate her curiosity. A room of white and gold adorned where a cityscape should have been, men in blindingly silver armour pasted themselves against the sides of the room. Spears at their sides.

“What….” But before Tulip could speak she was interrupted by a loud harrumph from the middle of the room. An old man wearing gold laden robes sat atop a throne made of gold, encrusted with gems of dazzling beauty and lustre. “So the hero we summoned is a woman? A teenager at that!” He shouted with unbefitting power, letting his voice project itself across the halls of the room, echoing to all within.

A much younger looking man approached Tulip from the side of the old king and grabbed her chin, appraising her. “Well her looks are hero material at least…” The man let go of his hand and looked back to the old king, “If she’s of no use to you, then could I have her? My current collection is getting boring…” The soldiers in the room looked visibly embarrassed being in the same room as that man but the king showed no rebuke. “If she’s of no use then she’s yours to keep, Adrian.” The younger man took a small bow and spoke “Thank you, Father”.

Tulip, who had been stunned from the events happening, hadn't responded to anything that happened to her. Not even the prince grabbing her chin. She was lost in thought. ‘Where the hell am I? How the hell did I get here?’ As Tulip’s thoughts flickered in and out like a bulb, the old king stood and looked towards Tulip. “O’ Hero! We have called you in our desperate time of need!”.

Tulip sat and listened, intrigued by why she was here. “We request you! O’Hero! Please save our land from the scourge of the demons! Rescue humanity from it’s grim fate!” The king seemed to have finished his speech, he breathed in heavily for a few moments before regaining composure and sitting back down on his throne. Tulip’s mind pulled a blank for a few moments before responding.

Another man pulled away from the side of the king, this one was tall with dark blue hair and thin glasses on his face. ‘He seems disgusted just looking at me’ Tulip thought. “You." The man spoke with disdain in his voice, “The people of our world have a system called ‘Status'. We use this system to find out our strengths, weaknesses, abilities and many other things about ourselves. Maybe you'll find something of use.”

The man turned his nose up at Tulip, feeling superior for some reason. “Aight” Tulip stopped looking at him and whispered status under her breath. A few guards laughed at her response but were quickly shut up by the bespectacled man's death stare.

Name: Tulip

Level: 3

Race: Human

Age: 15

Gender: Female(?)

Vitality: 10

Strength: 12

Agility: 7

Magic: 0

Skills: Acting Lvl 2, Observation Lvl 1, Tomboy Lvl MAX

“WHAT THE HELL?!” Everyone in the room jumped at Tulip’s sudden exclamation, she quickly apologised and looked back to her status. ‘What the hell is a “Tomboy” Skill?! And what’s with the question mark after my gender?!’ Tulip felt like she was on the verge of crying. First she gets sent to some weird throne room in god knows what country, then she’s insulted by a system?! At least I have a body!

“Hero.” A cold voice slowly ebbed through the room, ending her thoughts. “As a commemorative present for arriving here safely, we shall bestow upon you a bracelet. We hope you’ll receive it” The owner of the voice stepped out from behind one of the pillars scattered about the room holding a box, it was a girl, she walked forward with an almost robotic grace and stood in front of Tulip, with the gift box open.

Her eyes were dead, not a hint of life could be found in them as she stood there. The only evidence of her life even existing was the small breaths she took, moving her shoulders up and down ever so slightly. “Hm, well if you insist…” Tulip stood and looked at the contents of the box, peering down.

The box's interior was covered in red velvet, matched with a cordial gold and polished oak exterior. ‘It’s truly fit for a royal’ She thought as she looked at the contents. But soon what grabbed her attention was the absolutely beautiful bracelet inside the box, it was a glistening silver intertwined with black, across some parts were bright gems of orange and blue. It was stunning.

Tulip’s hands moved to touch it and place it on her arm, but before her arms could move, her eyes had caught something. For some reason the girl in front of her was also wearing a similar bracelet, granted it was more faded than the one in front of her but it was undeniably similar. ‘That’s weird…’ Tulip still moved in to grab the bracelet regardless of her suspicions. she wasn’t an idiot. If she refused a present from the king here it was very likely the guards would move in to execute her for slander of the crown. Plus, it looked quite good.

Tulip held the bracelet in her hand and decided to try something, “Observation.” She spoke quietly so as to not rouse suspicion, a small screen appeared in front of Tulip, it was similar to the status screen but the words displayed were very different.

Black Mages Bracelet:

+2 Magic

-5 Strength

-5 Agility

-3 Vitality

A Bracelet made by a Black Mage hired by xxxxxx. It inflicts a brainwashing spell upon the wearer and makes them completely subservient to the person registered as the items master.

Current Master: xxxxxx

Tulip’s blood ran cold. Her eyes darted between the broken doll of a girl in front of her and the rest of the people in the throne room. The hands holding the bracelet began to shake and shiver, but she held on and took a deep breath. In…….out…...letting air flow through her lungs made her feel more at ease. She quickly weighed out her options.

Put on the bracelet? That’s the worst possible scenario, I’d become their slave and have my every thought controlled by them. Not an option.

Run? With so many armed guards here there’s no way I’d be able to make it to the door before being tackled and restrained. Then they’d just force me to wear the bracelet. Also not an option.

Fight? I haven’t checked what my other skills do, maybe there’s something useful in Acting? Maybe even Tomboy? The chances of either being able to get me out of here aren’t very likely though. Also not an option.

As Tulip thought to herself, the king grew impatient. “Are you going to accept my humble gift or not, Hero?” She began to sweat. There wasn’t anything she could do.

“Plan B it is then!” Tulip shouted as she ran for the large door at the end of the hall. “Seize her!” The old king shouted vigorously and soon enough the guards were right behind Tulip, pushing boot to heel and gaining on her, fast. Tulip was out of ideas, her life up until now was just a sham covered in mirrors, she hadn’t lived to the fullest yet! She didn’t want to die in some unknown world by some weird king!