I left the hospital and reached a tram station to go back home. Since it was an odd time in the afternoon, the station was empty.

It didn't take long for the tram to come in front of the station and open up. I walked inside and went back to the third compartment on the tram.

There were just two other passengers beside me, so I sat down in peace.

Trams worked on mag-lev technology, so the need for a different line was necessary. They were cheap and fast enough to cover the entirety of Ternet city in just a few hours so I liked them.

This current tram itself was coming from the International Traversal Junction, the ITJ present in all major cities. I would have gone to the same place and used a special teleportation portal to go to the artificial island of Agriche where a small town and the world-renowned campus were located.

But well, I guess it wasn't in my luck to go use those expensive portals.

{Hey, host. What happened next?}

Suddenly, a new window opened in front of my eyes. This system sure talked a lot for being a system. I quickly glanced around myself and made sure no one was looking. Then, I answered back in a whisper.

"What happened where?"

{In that dream of yours. I could see it, that kid was you, right?}

What the hell. "Why can you see my dreams?" My voice was angry, but I still had to be quiet enough to not attract attention from the other few passengers.

{I am supposed to read your mind too, it's for easier accessibility. But I can't even do that, I am so useless... I'm sorry.}

Whenever this system thing did this I felt a bit guilty, what a treacherous mind it has. "D-don't worry about it. It's better this way."

{Is that so... you are very kind, Host.}

{Now then, you even told that scammer doctor that you were a criminal.}

"Yeah, to think such a person was truly a doctor..." I had my suspicions when I heard that the hospital bills were being covered by the foxkin family, so I asked at the reception desk. It turned out that the woman who barged into my room actually was the doctor on my case, and she was also a guest doctor in the hospital who only stayed here for me.

If not for all that and the [High Heal] skill she used, I would have definitely reported her to the police at the very least.

With a sigh, I turned back to the system's projection and muttered. "What then? You can only get so strong on your own, so I used to go out at night and got involved with the underworld.

{Fightclubs? Host, you sure are intense. Are all 16-year-olds like this in this world?}

"Pfft. I guess you can call it that, fightclubs. Well that's all in the past."

Now that I was feeling better, loneliness was creeping up in the back of my mind. I hadn't heard a word from my own family to the point complete strangers were showing me their pity back at the hospital. Just how disappointed was mom now?

These thoughts that would've eaten me up before. I felt like I could continue to avoid them with the company of this system.

{Isn't that your dream, Host? To be strong? Then why did you stop?}

Huh, so this guy was still on the talk of dreams.

"It was just a means to an end. Not the final goal. And also, it's all in the past. I'd rather not talk about it." Saying so, I changed the topic away. As if on cue, the speeding tram slowed down on the way to a smooth stop. I checked my pockets quickly and stood up. "Our stop's here," I muttered and stepped out of the compartment.

When the tram stopped at the station, I gave a quick word of thanks to the driver and got out. I looked around at the station, this was the same place I had 'died' and resurrected.

Everything was back to normal. The bright lights, the smooth interior, and the hardened exterior. The sliding doors that opened when the trams stopped had been rebuilt and so was the case with the completely destroyed ceilings. In just four days everything had been brought back to normal. I was about to leave when a numbingly short man barely three feet tall with a thick beard and a thicker frown entered my eyes.

A dwarf. So that's how the work was done so fast.

Being a staunchly neutral zone amongst all the countries and races, Ternet naturally had the most skilled of workers for each kind of job.

I left the station and walked through the pedestrian streets back home. To avoid accidents and traffic, the pedestrian streets had been built floating just a bit above the roads. While it made it very slightly inconvenient to get into any cars, it certainly helped keep sidewalk accidents in great control. I passed through the streets near the main roads and soon ended up at the pedestrian-only boulevard.

Shopping centers and fast-food joints along with quick stalls and regal restaurants covered both sides of the road while benches and trees of all kinds spread all over the road. From young children to old citizens, teenage youth, and even the working populace, the place was filled with people of all kinds. Young giants ran around while adult fairies dodged their steps, humans and elf children pestered their parents for toys or clothes while young couples shared sweet nothings over ice creams.

It was definitely a heartwarming sight of peace and freedom.

One that made me unbelievably sour.

"Hey, System," I whispered.

{Yes?}

"You said you'll be useful right? Can you track people or scan things?"

{Um... Maybe if you develop a skill for that. I am still calculating, but if you know you can use such a skill then I'll add it to your skills window easily.}

"I don't need any scout's skills. So you're useless."

{Uh, uh, I can keep an eye on your back!}

On my back.

Huh, no matter how good my instincts were, they couldn't make up for the lack of eyes on my back. "So you can bring up a simple window with a red mark in the general direction and intensity of whatever comes at me from my back and I can react to it... Interesting."

{I was thinking of a text box like this one, but yours is much more practical.}

"Anyway." It was time to address this bad mood of mine. "Can you see behind me right now?"

{Yes...}

{Host. There's someone on your tail! He looks experienced.}

"Good. Keep an eye on him,"

It was tough to look at any tails myself without garnering suspicion, so this was much better.

Why would someone tail me?

There were actually many reasons I could think of. But none of those mattered.

What mattered was that these guys were getting in the way of my normal life.

***

Schumer, the person tailing Ralph, hid behind the corners of the buildings all around them, moving quietly behind the young kid.

'He hasn't even noticed me yet. Keke.'

His screeching laugh scared away the little children who were playing around, but Schumer couldn't care less. The humiliation he had faced earlier came crashing back into his mind every time his eyes landed on Ralph's face. The shoulder-length black hair, the deep golden eyes, and even the small back pissed him off to no end. His only solace was the soulless look in the eyes of the kid as he walked around unknowing of the danger he was facing.

Compared to the dastardly prideful look in Ralph's eyes that he couldn't get out of his mind, the broken face of the child was enough to please him greatly.

Soon, Ralph took a short turn away from the path to his home and walked towards an alley in between the giant buildings. A stupid smile was pasted on his face. Schumer quickly pulled out the transceiver from his pockets and spoke into it.

"Lady Ba. It looks like there's no need to lure him anywhere. This kid is already going into the alleys."

With a static preceding it. Lady Ba's voice came out of the transceiver. "Rat! He didn't notice you, did he?"

"No, no, he didn't I am sure. But, Lady Ba. Will we be able to fight him?"

"Fight him?" Lady Ba's voice seeped with mockery. "Ralph Rubinstein was hospitalized by a troll, a fucking troll! We can take him easily... and even if we can't. I am prepared."

Schumer stepped into the alley Ralph had taken and stopped at Lady Ba's words. "Prepared? How?"

"Haha! I have captured that fucker's mother! There's nothing he can do with a hostage!"

A chill spread through Schmer's back. A hostage. They had a hostage against Ralph Rubinstein.

The same person who had singlehandedly brought down their entire organization at the age of twelve. That crazed laugh, the power-drunk look on the child's face. The way he condescendingly made Schmer choose between dying or breaking his own fingers one by one. He couldn't wait to give it all back. He could finally give it all back. He could finally teach that brat the fear and pain and humiliation he went through.

"Haha... HAHA—"

A hand appeared mid-air.

Schumer couldn't realize what had just happened when a strange impact landed on his face and time seemed to slow down.

At first, it felt like someone had bumped his nose, then his teeth and a soft touch-like sensation spread through his skull.

—THWACK!!

As if a hundred bullets had smashed against him at once, an unbearable force crashed into Schmer's face and shoved him into the wall behind. Blood poured out from the front and back of his head while a long crack and a deep dent formed on the walls of the building.

The transceiver was tossed from Schmer's hands. Before it could fall, it was grabbed midair and its flip was switched on.

"W-who is it... Schumer! What happened?!" Lady Ba's panicked words came out of the transceiver.

"Tsk, tsk."

A young voice went through the transceiver.

"I-it's you..."

"You idiots. You should have stayed back in that town and I would have never remembered you, just like I don't now...

... But you just had to come and knock on death's door, didn't you?"

{Host Details:

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Personality: Insane, Maniacal (Active)}