A Dose of Pain

That morning

Beep! Beep Beep!

John rolled over to the side of the bed as he mumbled incoherently under his breath. He reached his hand out of the warm covers and grabbed his phone, turning off the blaring alarm. He stayed there for a few seconds, before forcing himself to sit up and pull off the blanket. John got out of bed and popped his neck. He had about one hour to get ready for another day at school before he needed to leave.

‘Let’s see…’ John looked down at himself. He had been wearing the same clothes since yesterday’s shower, including sleeping in them. Which meant that he definitely needed to shower and change again before he left. Just a couple of minutes later, John was standing under the hot water, and began to let his mind wander.

‘Honestly, should I even worry about school anymore?’ he asked himself. ‘I mean, it’s not like I’m going to actually go to college, get a degree, and then live a normal life after everything that’s happened. Why would I even want to when magic and so much mythical stuff actually exists?’ At this point, the only thing that John actually needed to go to Ashcroft for was Wentworth. And for that, he didn’t necessarily have to also go and attend class.

‘Maybe I should save up for a car or something. I already have two thousand dollars; if I grind for a while, I can probably find a cheap one somewhere. Blair said Ganzac can drive me today, but I don’t want to rely on him if I actually just start going to school at night to meet Mrs. Wentworth. I wonder if the Abyss Auction sells mundane models at a good price?’

He’d need to ask Blair to show him the IP address in her notebook. That way he can save it onto his phone and have easy access to the Auction without needing to borrow her laptop again. He regretted not thinking about this sooner, that $25k he got from Wentworth probably could have gone to a car instead of the amulet he had bought.

Well, in the end, maybe it was for the best after all. The stat boost he’d get by activating the amulet could end up saving his life. And having a car to drive wouldn’t matter if he was dead. On that final thought, John stepped out of the shower and began to get ready.

After a quick change of clothes into his school uniform, John went to the living room, where the smell of cooking breakfast filled his nose. Blair stood in the kitchen, and waved at him with a smile.

“Heyo, sleepy-head! Breakfast just needs another minute until it’s done. If you want, you can try eating some now so you aren’t starving by lunch.” Under normal circumstances, John would have tried to decline. However, as he looked at the eggs, bacon, and hashbrowns, his stomach had other plans. As soon as it all finished cooking, John wolfed down what he could before he felt full. Once done with his food, John gave Blair a quick hug goodbye before he went outside, where Ganzac awaited him in a black sedan. The following trip to Ashcroft was a quiet one. Ganzac never said a word or tried to start a conversation; all John could do was stare out the window. When they arrived at the gate, John checked his phone. He still had a few minutes to spare to get to his locker and get a few things before class started. He quickly got out of the car and thanked Ganzac, who simply grunted in response before John closed the door and rushed towards the school.

Frank wasn’t anywhere to be seen, so John was able to reach his locker with ease. Today his first period would be math, and the second, history. As John got his class supplies ready, he couldn’t help but listen in on a nearby conversation. It was between two nerds who had stopped near him. He never had any classes with them, and as such didn’t even know their names.

“Dude, I can’t believe they actually released Kayn a few months earlier than they said they would. I like the concept of an evil, demonic scythe that fights for control with its host. Like, it’s cool how you can pick whether you wanna go assassin or a bruiser type of build. His Darkin form’s sustain is actually busted though.” Before John could hear the other person’s response, the two walked away and were drowned out by the noise of the crowd.

'Been a while since I played League, but a champion with a demonic scythe being released right around the time I acquire the same thing? That’s gotta either be a coincidence or Gaia indirectly teasing me.' John thought to himself. 'Although… either way, maybe I should look him up and see if there’s any inspiration I can borrow.' He was The Gamer after all; to research a concept similar to his own skillset from existing games should really have been his first thought.

When John reached his next class, he pulled out his phone and positioned it in a spot where his teacher wouldn’t see. His math teacher Mrs. Flynn cared more for tests than note-taking. So as long as he made it look like he paid attention to the lecture, he shouldn’t get caught as he looked up the new champion called Kayn.

'Let’s see, his ultimate lets him jump into an enemy and burst out for some decent damage… ah, I see how this passive works. His actual abilities don’t really change on which form you choose, but instead, there’s an on-hit bonus effect. Ok, so the Darkin form heals for a really good chunk of the damage he deals with his abilities. I’ll need to listen to his theme during lunch, even if the balance theme did make him busted as that dude said, I’m sure the music team worked their magic.' John put his phone away, but rather than begin to pay attention to class, he pulled his skill tree up.

The skills available to him were Deafness, Demonic Ritual, Killer’s Stance, and Chaos Bolt. Of the four, Demonic Ritual was the one that had the most room for interpretation. John thought about it in two ways: either it was a summoning spell for demons, which made sense based on the name. Or since Deafness was obviously a debuff on enemies, it could contrast that and be a powerup for him. There was the chance it could have been something else entirely, but for now, John assumed those were the two likely possibilities.

With that, John decided to pay attention to the rest of class and casually take at least some notes. It was hard for him to actually care about it now that he doubted his future attendance as an Ashcroft student, but it was at least better than pure boredom. His next class, however, would be with Wentworth, and that should prove to be an interesting one.

Later

Math and History were now finished. And like before, Wentworth called John into her office. She sat behind her desk as he stood in front of her.

"Mr. Newman, there is one question that needs answering after your demonstration last night. For we have yet to discover what kind of effect holy power has on you." From her desk, she pulled out a glass box containing a pure white crystal. "Many years ago, this was used as a conduit for a novice cleric to channel their own mana through, effectively blessing their power." Wentworth opened the box and held out the crystal in John's direction, from which a pale, golden light covered his body.

John immediately fell to his hands and knees as everything suddenly spun around him. His throat constricted as the inside of his chest seared with pain. All he could taste was iron. John’s body refused to swallow the saliva built inside his mouth as it felt like he was about to vomit at any moment. His body was already covered in sweat as it drenched his clothing and began to drip off him. He wanted to cover his mouth, but couldn’t move. Every fiber and muscle in his body felt heavy, as if he had been filled with molten lead.

But after a few seconds of this torment, it came to an end. His vision still blurry, John looked up to Wentworth as she placed the crystal back into the box and returned it to its place. He opened his mouth to speak, but his throat could barely let out a croak as his mind and body tried to recover from the experience.

“Interesting, considering the strength of the demons you have absorbed thus far, that level of exposure should have put you close to ****. Instead, its effect simply made you greatly ill and effectively immobilized. It would seem that you being ultimately human, even with the demonic essence flowing through you, grants a higher tolerance to holy power compared to conventional demons. This is a very fascinating result with equally so implications for the future, Mr. Newman.” Wentworth turned her back to him as John struggled to get up to his feet.

“However, it is clear you will need some time to recover. Consider yourself excused from school for the rest of the day. I will speak to your other teachers about your sudden illness. You are dismissed.”