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00:00:00Channel Red Novel, Chapter 1, An Obsession, Hey Gary, get your butt over here and check
00:00:16out the highlights from yesterday's altered fight.
00:00:19A boy yelled from his class seat.
00:00:22The sound of the school bell rang out through the halls, signaling it was time for lunch.
00:00:27Immediately opening his drawer from under his desk, the boy pulled out an object.
00:00:32However, it wasn't a packed lunch like one would expect, instead the boy had taken out
00:00:37a tablet and put it on the table, propping it up, tilting it so he could comfortably
00:00:42watch the video.
00:00:44The immediate destination, PoTube, the number one video sharing platform.
00:00:49Soon there was a crowd of classmates around him.
00:00:53All with their eyes glued to the screen.
00:00:56If you're not here in five seconds, I'm starting the video without you, Tom warned.
00:01:01Looking over at his friend he saw Gary focused on playing with something under his desk.
00:01:06He could see Gary was moving his knees up and down, and he had made sure to cover his
00:01:10actions from the eyes of others.
00:01:13Tom was starting to think his friend was doing something that could get him in serious trouble.
00:01:17Bro, we're in the middle of class, come on.
00:01:21At least go to the bathroom if you're that desperate, Tom thought.
00:01:26Just give me a sec, okay?
00:01:28Gary shouted back.
00:01:31Can't you see I'm in the middle of something?
00:01:33Underneath his own desk, Gary was staring at his phone.
00:01:37He had received a message and wasn't sure how to reply.
00:01:41It was already the fifth time he had typed out his response, but ended up deleting it
00:01:45because it seemed insufficient.
00:01:48Be there this evening at six.
00:01:50The message read.
00:01:51Doing none, done, done na na, with the sound of the opening theme song playing, Gary understood
00:01:58they had really started without him.
00:02:01He had given up coming up with a proper type of response, and in his haste, he wrote one
00:02:06letter.
00:02:07K, K. K. Who does this kid think he is?
00:02:12A man shouted in frustration as he received the message on his end.
00:02:17Meanwhile, Gary had gotten over to the others by shoving his way through the crowd, allowing
00:02:22him to stand directly behind his friend Tom.
00:02:25Just in time, for the fight was about to begin.
00:02:29Two men stood opposite each other in nothing but tight shorts.
00:02:33Their abs and muscles on full display.
00:02:36Proud of all the hard work they had put in for the fight this day.
00:02:40In one corner, weighing in at 200 pounds, undefeated for 13 fights in a row, stood Kirk
00:02:46Summerfield.
00:02:47A man with a small goatee beard and black spiked-up hair, short on the sides.
00:02:54His opponent, weighing in at 190 pounds, similarly with a win record of 10 straight wins, was
00:03:00Sam Dill Pickle.
00:03:02He was a shorter bald-headed man with a creepy smile.
00:03:05Hey, don't you think these two look a bit like Tom and Gary?
00:03:09One of the students suddenly mentioned.
00:03:12Holy crap, you are right.
00:03:15They totally look like those two.
00:03:17The students in the crowd laughed together at this discovery.
00:03:21Everyone, but Tom and Gary themselves.
00:03:24Unfortunately, it was hard to deny the similarities between the two friends and the fighters.
00:03:30Although Gary didn't have facial hair, even though he was 16, he never could grow a single
00:03:35hair on his face, body, chest or legs.
00:03:39He was hairless.
00:03:41It was the genes that some women wished they had.
00:03:45Although he did have hair in one area, he promised and made sure everyone knew that.
00:03:50It was an incident many of his male classmates wished to forget.
00:03:54Having been teased so much about it, he decided to show everyone proof.
00:03:59Of course, flashing your fellow classmates wasn't the best way to prove it, and it had
00:04:04cost him a week's worth of detention.
00:04:07At least he made sure it was during the males' P.T.D. class, otherwise, it could have been
00:04:11worse.
00:04:13Still, he did have the same hairstyle as the first introduced fighter, only that his hair
00:04:18was green in color.
00:04:20It wasn't his natural hair color, but a decision he had made over the summer.
00:04:25Everyone was initially surprised when he had come to class looking like that, but at the
00:04:29same time it wasn't that strange for Gary to do something crazy like that.
00:04:34He already had a reputation of always doing crazy, absurd things.
00:04:39As for Gary's best friend, Tom, he looked like the spitting image of the other man in
00:04:43the video.
00:04:45His hair wasn't exactly bald, but he always got a number one when going to the barber.
00:04:50When Gary asked him about his choice of hairstyle, his friend had explained how it was low maintenance
00:04:55to keep it like that.
00:04:57That was pretty much his motto in life.
00:05:00He liked things like computers, games, TV shows and books.
00:05:05Things that couldn't talk back to him.
00:05:08Tom hated interacting with people so much that he refused to go to anything but the
00:05:12self-service scanner at supermarkets.
00:05:15The idea that someone would try to make conversation with him about something he didn't like was
00:05:19enough to send shivers down his spine.
00:05:22Given their complete differences in character, it was odd that these two boys had become
00:05:26friends in the first place, but it had somehow worked out.
00:05:31While their classmates were all busy laughing away, the fight had started.
00:05:35As soon as the bell had rung, the appearance of both men in the ring had started to slightly
00:05:40change.
00:05:41Ladies and gentlemen, it looks like our altards are starting off full throttle right from
00:05:46the bat, the announcer for this match hyped up the crowd.
00:05:50The most notable changes in Kirk were his grown nails as well as his skin color which
00:05:54had slightly yellowed.
00:05:57Going up and down his arm, black spots started to appear, and small patches of fur showed
00:06:02up on his face.
00:06:04On the other side, Sam's cheeks had puffed up, and his legs appeared to be slightly webbed
00:06:09after his change.
00:06:11As you can see, Kirk is an altard based on a cheetah-like beast, while his opponent Sam
00:06:16is based on a frog type.
00:06:18It's going to be an interesting match-up if I do say so myself.
00:06:23The announcer shouted.
00:06:25The transformations took less than a second, and the first one to make a move was Sam.
00:06:30He whipped out his toad-like tongue and grabbed onto Kirk's forearm.
00:06:35The look on Kirk's face just screamed disgusting.
00:06:39He tensed up his arm, making his huge biceps from before grow even larger in size.
00:06:45The veins were visible, practically bulging out, and with a single slash, he managed to
00:06:50cut off the tongue of his opponent.
00:06:52Yes!
00:06:53Gary shouted.
00:06:55Come on, Kirk!
00:06:57Speeding across the small cage, he ran faster than any natural human should be able to.
00:07:04At the same time, Sam had leaped up, jumping higher than any normal person could thanks
00:07:08to his frog-powered legs.
00:07:11Alas, it just wasn't quick enough.
00:07:14Kirk managed to grab him by the leg before he slammed the opponent to the ground.
00:07:19It didn't take long for the referee to declare Kirk to be the winner of this match and also
00:07:24the winner of this Altered Fighters Rookie Tournament.
00:07:27What the kids and everyone was watching was known as an Altered Match.
00:07:31It was currently the most popular combat sport globally, mostly because they featured a new
00:07:36breed of humans called the Altered, although some argued whether they could even be called
00:07:40humans anymore.
00:07:43Humans had discovered ancient fossils that belonged to the ancient beasts that used to
00:07:46roam the Earth.
00:07:48They were undoubtedly the progenitors of today's animals, only fiercer, larger and more powerful.
00:07:55In the end, a scientist had made a major breakthrough and discovered a way to alter humans, which
00:08:00would allow him to inject the fossil's DNA into a human, thereby creating what people
00:08:05now knew as an Altered.
00:08:08These special humans possessed the ability to shift their appearance, changing parts
00:08:12of their body to mimic the beasts they had been infused with.
00:08:16They were stronger, faster and even aged slower than normal humans.
00:08:21If one was ever struck with a disease, it could change the human composition to the
00:08:25point where it felt like a new body, ridding it of such a thing.
00:08:29But not everyone could become an Altered.
00:08:32The fossils discovered were limited in number and although every so often new fossils would
00:08:36be unearthed, until science found a way to artificially recreate them they were valued
00:08:41at absurd prices.
00:08:43Only the rich and powerful could afford to turn themselves into an Altered.
00:08:48Even the contestants they were watching right now, had only received this opportunity because
00:08:53they were sponsored by some big corporations.
00:08:56Nearly every boy looked up to the Altered.
00:08:59In a way, they were like real life superheroes.
00:09:03But the two biggest fans in the room were undoubtedly Tom and Gary.
00:09:08They were the ones who had gotten everyone hooked on the sport in the first place.
00:09:12It was normal for people to wish to one day become an Altered and it was the same for
00:09:16these two.
00:09:18Only the reason for them wanting to become one differed greatly.
00:09:21A big round of applause for our winner, Kirk Summerfield, the announcer, called out the
00:09:26end of the show.
00:09:28When a beautiful female came on to the stage to deliver the large check for 10 million
00:09:33dollars, Gary's eyes practically turned into dollar signs.
00:09:37The young boy was obsessed with money, and watching the Altered fight, especially the
00:09:42large check, he couldn't think of an easier way to quickly become rich and famous.
00:09:47Ironically, it would be this obsession with money that would soon enough take him down
00:09:51a dark path.
00:09:53A path which he wouldn't be able to turn back from.
00:09:56Thanks for watching and subscribe my channel Channel Red Novel, Chapter 2, The Game of
00:10:02Rugby A loud piercing sound entered the ears of the students as the whistle was blown.
00:10:07It served as a reminder to everyone out on the school field that it was time for their
00:10:10daily warm-up, meaning they had to run two big laps around the school field.
00:10:16School lessons may have ended, but that didn't mean it was the end of the school day.
00:10:21Staring off into the distance, Gary watched the large clock placed on the front of the
00:10:25school building.
00:10:27He was squinting hard, trying to make out where the two hands were on the dial, not
00:10:31because the clock was too small, but because his eyesight had gotten terrible.
00:10:36Still, Gary had always refused to wear glasses.
00:10:40He felt like if he did, it was only admitting to himself that he had bad eyesight.
00:10:45He was afraid that it would only deteriorate quicker if he gave in, and it would prove
00:10:50that he had bad genes.
00:10:52Something altered, did not have.
00:10:55After placing his hands by the side of his head, he pulled slightly, narrowing his field
00:11:00of vision, allowing him to focus in.
00:11:03A technique he had learned when trying to see the screen at the back of the class.
00:11:073.30, I still have a lot of time left.
00:11:11Get a move on, broccoli head, unless you want my size 12 feet in your backside.
00:11:17Mr. Root shouted.
00:11:19He was a large man who towered not only above the students but also all the other adults.
00:11:25His last name was very fitting for a man like himself.
00:11:29If Gary didn't know any better, he would have sworn that his teacher's genes must
00:11:33have been mixed in with some giant ancient tree.
00:11:36He was that large and sturdy.
00:11:39Not wanting to anger his teacher further, he joined the rest trotting along at the back
00:11:43of the class.
00:11:45There he ran side by side with his friend Tom, who was huffing and panting away.
00:11:50Why, do, they, want, to, kill, me?
00:11:55Each time he uttered a word, he had to take a deep breath before being able to say the
00:11:59next.
00:12:00Did you know that it's easier to breathe if you don't speak and run at the same time?
00:12:05Gary pointed out.
00:12:07He was doing just fine and could have passed his friend, yet he still chose to stay at
00:12:11the back.
00:12:13It was the same every day, and it didn't go unnoticed by Tom.
00:12:17He was aware that Gary was staying behind because of him.
00:12:21In the end, Tom decided to give up keeping up with the rest of the class and started
00:12:25to slow down his pace.
00:12:28That's better.
00:12:29According to the internet, when you're jogging, you should jog at a pace where you can still
00:12:33talk to each other.
00:12:34Yeah, but I don't think they meant this.
00:12:38The two of them were now moving so slow that they were practically walking.
00:12:43Trying to make their loss of tempo less obvious they were swinging their arms backwards and
00:12:47forwards, imitating those running in front of them.
00:12:50Unfortunately, this didn't get past Mr. Root, and the rest of the students were now busy
00:12:55waiting for them.
00:12:57Just get over here, you vegetables, he commanded.
00:13:01Once the students were all lined up Mr. Root placed a rugby ball on the ground right in
00:13:05front of himself.
00:13:07Out of the lineup, he selected the largest student named Blake.
00:13:12He was the pride of their class.
00:13:14The type that was too good to be true and usually only appeared in movies as the main
00:13:19character.
00:13:20However, this wasn't a movie and he was right in front of his fellow students.
00:13:25Blake had golden tan skin, with wavy brown hair that had just the right amount of curls.
00:13:31To top it off, his body was that of a naturally lean muscle builder, seemingly designed to
00:13:36excel in sports.
00:13:38You know, they say 10% of the boys match with 90% of the girls, Tom whispered to Gary while
00:13:44looking at Blake.
00:13:46On Binder I mean.
00:13:48Not that I've used that app myself.
00:13:51Seriously, what's the point when I know nobody would swipe for me.
00:13:55That's why I go on the app, just to swipe the other direction.
00:13:59That way I've rejected all of them before they could ever reject me.
00:14:04I thought you just said you didn't use the app.
00:14:07Looking at his buddy, and then looking at himself, Gary was a little disheartened.
00:14:11It wasn't because someone like Blake must have girls lining up to be his girlfriend.
00:14:16No, it was because people like him were the perfect candidates to be chosen to become
00:14:21an Altered.
00:14:22As long as there were people like Blake in the world, how would he ever get selected?
00:14:27I won't mince words.
00:14:29We all know that Blake here is the best on our team.
00:14:33Too bad for you lot, that there are hundreds of Blakes out there on other teams as well.
00:14:39Mr Root gave his very motivating pep talk.
00:14:42What this team lacks is a good line of defense.
00:14:46People who can tackle.
00:14:48We're here to find our tacklers.
00:14:50The aim of today's training was to try to either A. Get the ball off of Blake while
00:14:55he was running towards you, stopping him from reaching the white try line, or B. Tackle
00:15:00him to the ground.
00:15:02After watching the first few students attempt and fail, it became clear that it was an impossible
00:15:06task.
00:15:07Eventually, it was time for Gary to have his go at it.
00:15:12Mr Root didn't really have any high hopes for Gary, but according to school regulations
00:15:17everyone deserved an equal chance.
00:15:19The whistle was blown, and Blake started bulldozing his way towards him, gripping onto the ball
00:15:24tightly as if it was a newborn baby.
00:15:27Hey, hey, can't you go easy on me?
00:15:31Seeing the tight grip on the ball, my weak small hands aren't ever going to be able to
00:15:35rip it off him.
00:15:37The only thing I can do then, is go for a tackle.
00:15:41Charging forward, Gary summoned the will to face Blake.
00:15:45If there was one strong point making Gary stand out from the rest then it would be his
00:15:49lacking sense of fear, something even Mr Root had to admire.
00:15:53When they were closing in on each other, Gary bent his knees slightly getting into a lower
00:15:58position.
00:15:59Although it may have looked like he wasn't paying attention to others, Gary had picked
00:16:03up on multiple details and habits.
00:16:06Whenever, Blake feints, he does so with his right foot first.
00:16:11The extra weight can be seen shifting in his body to that side.
00:16:15The grass field is soft today, and his feet are sinking deeper than usual.
00:16:20All of this is done so he can push himself forward, spinning his body over to the right
00:16:25side.
00:16:26Knowing all of this, Gary went along with his feint, aiming to go in for the tackle,
00:16:31but stopped at the last second, and went to his own right.
00:16:35Just like he had predicted, all of these little details had Blake's plan of spinning around
00:16:39to avoid the tackle, but Gary knew where he would end up.
00:16:43Going low, he saw the legs and was ready, only to see Blake's colossal knee slam towards
00:16:48his face and whack him right on the nose, followed by a loud crack that even the onlookers
00:16:53might have heard.
00:16:55Blood started to pour down in an instant, and Gary laid there on the cold grass field.
00:17:00Shit!
00:17:02So what if I figured out where he would go?
00:17:05It's not like I have the body to do anything about it.
00:17:08From the years of watching Altered Fights, Gary was great at picking up habits and seeing
00:17:12the way people's bodies moved before they did.
00:17:16He would see through patterns that maybe even the person themselves wouldn't realize they
00:17:20have.
00:17:21Alas, it was all useless.
00:17:23Hey man, I'm so sorry.
00:17:27Are you alright?
00:17:29Let me take you to the doctor.
00:17:31Blake said as he helped Gary off the ground to see if his nose was okay.
00:17:36Touching his nose lightly, blood started to gush down even more.
00:17:40I think it's broken, Gary said more to himself.
00:17:43Oh, man, I'm so sorry.
00:17:47Let me take you to my family's clinic.
00:17:50I'm gonna tell them what happened, so they won't charge you.
00:17:53The worst thing about Blake and Gary and Tom's collective minds was that despite being so
00:17:58popular and seemingly having been handed everything in life, he was actually a nice guy.
00:18:03At least in the movies or TV shows, someone who was this perfect would have a bad side
00:18:08and act arrogant, probably even bullying the geek in class, but in real life that wasn't
00:18:13the case at all.
00:18:15No one hated Blake, everyone loved his gentle soft side.
00:18:20Including Gary and Tom, who were merely jealous.
00:18:23Don't worry about it.
00:18:25It wasn't your fault.
00:18:27Gary muttered under his breath as he walked off to be with Tom on the side.
00:18:32It was my fault for trying anyway.
00:18:35Walking past, Blake had heard Gary's word.
00:18:38Out of everyone who had tried to tackle him today, Gary was the only one that had managed
00:18:43to predict where he would be going.
00:18:45This classmate of his obviously had talent, and Blake wanted to tell him that, but he
00:18:50had already gone off to the side with Tom, who was accompanying him to the nurse's office.
00:18:55You should have seen your head fly back.
00:18:58Tom teased his friend, all excited.
00:19:01You know when you came back from the summer holiday, with your head all dyed green and
00:19:06that?
00:19:07I thought you had changed, but turns out you're just the same idiot as always.
00:19:11Usually, the two would laugh about something like this, but it seemed like today, Gary
00:19:17wasn't in the mood to be joking around.
00:19:20He didn't respond at all to his buddy's little whims.
00:19:23Why do they even make us do this sport, anyway?
00:19:27Oh, that's right, because our country has an obesity crisis.
00:19:32So they made it mandatory for every student to take part in a sports club every day, so
00:19:36we don't turn out into pigs like most of the adults who came with that stupid idea, Tom
00:19:41continued, but this didn't get a response out of Gary either.
00:19:45Hey, so how's your sister doing?
00:19:48Tom asked, trying to change the subject.
00:19:51You can't date her, Gary replied instantly, still holding pieces of tissue up his nose.
00:19:57What, I didn't mean it like that.
00:20:00Although she is growing up to be quite the beauty.
00:20:03I can already picture it, in a couple of years, she'll be embarrassed to be hanging around
00:20:08with her big brother.
00:20:10She won't be like she is now.
00:20:12You should treasure these days.
00:20:14A picture started to form in Tom's mind, of a slim curvy girl with short brown hair and
00:20:20perfect shaped large eyes.
00:20:22Only his vision was slightly altered in a particular area.
00:20:27Instead of melons, they were the size of watermelons.
00:20:30I know, Gary sighed in defeat, aware that soon enough he might have to fight off his
00:20:35sister's suitors.
00:20:37After visiting the nurse's office to have his nose looked at, she informed him of what
00:20:41he had already guessed himself.
00:20:44His nose was indeed broken.
00:20:46The nurse recommended he visit the hospital if he didn't want it to remain crooked like
00:20:50that.
00:20:52It was possible to do a surgery to fix it later on as well, but it would be easier to
00:20:56do it before it healed crooked.
00:20:59That's when he noticed the time, and Gary rushed out of the room.
00:21:02Thank you, I'll promise to have it looked at, he called back.
00:21:07But he wasn't rushing off to the doctors.
00:21:10Instead, he was running back home.
00:21:13Leaving school, he rushed outside the gate and started running as fast as possible to
00:21:18get back home.
00:21:20They lived in a small town, so it was quicker for him to run rather than get the bus.
00:21:25Not to mention, there was another reason why he wanted to avoid using the bus.
00:21:30He didn't really want to spend any money on it, especially since he could be back home
00:21:34within 10 minutes if he hurried.
00:21:37Litter filled the streets of his neighborhood and there were patches of graffiti near the
00:21:40apartment blocks.
00:21:42He was aware that their area wasn't the greatest compared to others.
00:21:47It was by no means the worst place to live in, but it certainly wasn't the best either.
00:21:52Eventually, he reached an apartment block.
00:21:55The buzzer attached to the side of the door had been broken a long time ago and had never
00:22:00been fixed, allowing anyone to come in as they pleased.
00:22:04The only thing left was the grueling task of walking up six flights of stairs.
00:22:09The apartments had no elevator, and their family was lucky enough to be placed on the
00:22:13top floor.
00:22:16Finally reaching the top, he felt like someone was reaching into his stomach and trying to
00:22:19pull out all his organs.
00:22:22He was huffing and panting louder than Tom had been out on the field.
00:22:26He waited a minute to catch his breath before entering apartment 604.
00:22:32Welcome back, darling that you're just in time for dinner, although I'm gonna need a
00:22:36couple of minutes.
00:22:38Do you want me to leave it out for you tonight as well?
00:22:41His mum shouted from the kitchen.
00:22:43Yes, mum.
00:22:45I'll be going out with Tom tonight as well, he shouted back, rushing into his bedroom.
00:22:51Their apartment was relatively small, only consisting of two bedrooms and a kitchen that
00:22:56simultaneously was the dining area as well as the living room when not in use.
00:23:01It was all his family could afford and since there were only two bedrooms, it meant.
00:23:06Gary, what the hell happened to your nose?
00:23:10His sister, who had been lying on her bed, noticed her brother's arrival.
00:23:14She was still in her school uniform and listening to some music on her phone.
00:23:19Just moments ago, she had been singing away until a certain someone had bulldozed into
00:23:23the room.
00:23:24Amy, don't worry about it, I've got to go, Gary replied, as he quickly changed out of
00:23:30his school uniform and into something else.
00:23:33And please don't tell mum.
00:23:36That was right, the two of them shared rooms with each other.
00:23:40Even though he was 16 and she was 15, only a year younger than himself.
00:23:45Of course, both of them kept this a secret from their friends.
00:23:49If people found out, they might spread rumours about them being some sort of a freakish family
00:23:54who got up to some strange things.
00:23:57But it wasn't like the siblings had much of a choice.
00:24:00Their family situation wasn't the best, and they both knew that.
00:24:05They had never once complained about their situation to their mother, since the poor
00:24:09woman worked harder than everyone else to raise her teenage children to the best of
00:24:13her ability while working multiple jobs.
00:24:16After changing clothes, Gary quickly rushed out of the apartment and was heading off.
00:24:21On his way, he would constantly look at his phone to check the time, and it was now 5.30.
00:24:27I made it, with even some time to spare as well.
00:24:31He had arrived outside a well-known nightclub.
00:24:34Above him a sign read, Basement.
00:24:37It was in the town centre, and he wasn't here to meet Tom.
00:24:41He had lied about that part.
00:24:43I promise I will make our lives better, Gary thought as he walked through the doors.
00:24:48Inside, there was a group of men in suits who greeted him.
00:24:53The only one sitting on one of the sofas was a man with a cigar in his hand at the back.
00:24:58Two more men stood close to him obviously acting as his personal bodyguards.
00:25:03I've been waiting for you, kid, the man spoke with a smile as he let out a puff of smoke.
00:25:09Gary had a deep, dark secret that he had been hiding from everybody.
00:25:14Not just his family, but his closest friends too.
00:25:18There was a reason for sudden change in his appearance over the summer.
00:25:22Unbeknownst to them all, he had joined a gang.
00:25:25Thanks for watching and subscribe my channel Channel Red Novel, Chapter 3, The Underdogs
00:25:31Over the summer holidays, it had been an eventful time for Gary.
00:25:35It was not just because he had chosen to dye his hair and get a new look, but because he
00:25:39had come to the decision to join a gang.
00:25:43Something that he had kept hidden from his friend, his mother, and even sister didn't
00:25:46know about.
00:25:47Had you been late I was thinking of chopping one of your toes off, so you didn't forget,
00:25:52the man sitting down told him.
00:25:55It was only 5.30, so the nightclub had a few hours before it would officially open.
00:26:00However, the club itself was actually just a front, run and used by the gang known as
00:26:05The Underdogs.
00:26:07The smoking man, who was talking to Gary, was the leader of The Underdogs, Damien Hawk.
00:26:13The gang members mostly wore suits, making them look like the average businessman or
00:26:18someone who worked for the secret service.
00:26:21This included their leader, although even a student could tell he wasn't a businessman.
00:26:26He had this crazy look about him which was just too wild for someone who was supposed
00:26:30to sit inside a cubicle all day.
00:26:33He had a black mohawk for his hair and a round earring on his right ear.
00:26:37Yet the most prominent feature about the man were his eyes.
00:26:42They were the eyes of a madman.
00:26:44Usually, Gary was fearless for someone his age.
00:26:48If he wasn't, he would have never gathered the courage to join a gang in the first place.
00:26:53But these people scared him.
00:26:56Gary gulped a little, not saying a word.
00:26:59The palms of his hands were starting to sweat a little.
00:27:02Hey, I'm just kidding, Damien laughed, why don't you head to the back while the grown-ups
00:27:07do a bit of talking.
00:27:09I'll get someone to fetch you when we need you.
00:27:12While walking, Gary was shaking a little.
00:27:15It was hard to tell whether Damien had actually been joking about this sort of punishment.
00:27:20There had been times when he had been forced to witness the leader actually cut off one
00:27:24of his own men's limbs.
00:27:26Before joining this gang Gary had decided to do some research into gangs.
00:27:31Unfortunately, he had only ended up reading a few comics and manga books here and there,
00:27:36and to be honest, this had led him to the conclusion that it wouldn't be too much trouble.
00:27:41Even the odd internet searches and movies had romanticized gangs.
00:27:46Alas, being in a real gang had turned out to be nothing like in those comics and manga
00:27:50books.
00:27:52The members of Underdogs did anything to make a profit.
00:27:56They didn't shy away from selling drugs, killing, stealing, or extorting others.
00:28:02There were many times when Gary had wished to just leave, but there were two things keeping
00:28:06him there.
00:28:07One of them was the fear of leaving the place.
00:28:10Would they even let him?
00:28:13After everything he had seen and heard.
00:28:15It was a question he didn't dare to ask out loud.
00:28:19Come on, Gary, you can do this.
00:28:22Just think of the money, man, come on.
00:28:25And that was the second reason.
00:28:28Pushing the door open, Gary entered the back of the nightclub where there was a large staff
00:28:32room.
00:28:33Inside were other teens that were not too far apart in age to him, sitting on a sofa.
00:28:39He sat down beside them, but not a single one of them spoke a word.
00:28:44Gary had seen them a few times before, but from what he could tell none of them went
00:28:48to his school.
00:28:49While looking at them, he wondered what their reasons could be for being here.
00:28:54Not why they were there today, he knew that, but why they had decided to join a gang.
00:29:00Most people his age only joined out of necessity the world was a tough place to live in at
00:29:04the moment.
00:29:05The economy had been greatly affected ever since the introduction of autonomous machinery.
00:29:11It had created new jobs, but at the same time gotten rid of many old jobs.
00:29:17Gary's own family had suffered the aftermath.
00:29:20His old mother had lost her job as a factory worker sorting out parts, but she wasn't the
00:29:25only one.
00:29:27Mass unemployment had ruined many families.
00:29:30The government's solution to all of this had been to offer retraining in the new skills
00:29:34and departments that the world now required, such as cyber security, programming, engineering,
00:29:39mechanics and so on.
00:29:42But it had proven to be too hard for her to go through any type of training with the little
00:29:46time she had.
00:29:48Ever since, she had been stuck doing odd jobs.
00:29:51All of this had created a tiering system within the towns and cities, making the divide between
00:29:56the rich and poor even more evident.
00:29:59Tier 5 being the lowest, while Tier 1 would be the highest.
00:30:04These tiers were based on how high their GDP per month was.
00:30:09The quality of life, the technology, the medical care, all of these things were better the
00:30:13more cash a town or city generated.
00:30:17However, there was one sector that had started to boom because of this, and that was organized
00:30:22crime.
00:30:23It was highly profitable for them, as they catered and fed on the truly desperate, who
00:30:28were clinging on to anything that lived in the tier 5's, while also serving the very
00:30:32top in the higher tiers.
00:30:35Gangs would exist in all of the tiered cities, and would often work together as the middlemen.
00:30:40The underdogs were one such group.
00:30:43They weren't a huge gang, due to Gary coming from a small town in the first place, but
00:30:48they were widely known and feared in the town.
00:30:51He was aware of the bad things they had committed, but he had chosen to ignore it.
00:30:56Their town was a tier 3, so the quality of life was ok, but they had to make sacrifices
00:31:01to stay here.
00:31:04Forced to live in a small run-down place, with little room.
00:31:07Still, they were barely hanging on, and both children knew that despite their mother's
00:31:12best attempts at hiding it from them.
00:31:14Gary had seen the bills that would come in the mail.
00:31:18If this carried on, then it would just be a matter of time until they would have to
00:31:21move to a lower tier city.
00:31:24The education would be worse and crime rates would be higher.
00:31:28He wasn't going to let this happen.
00:31:31Their life had already turned to crap as it was and he didn't want it to deteriorate.
00:31:35No, he wanted a better future for his mother and his little sister, even if he had to pay
00:31:41the price for it.
00:31:42He was the older sibling, the only man of the house, and he wished to return the favor
00:31:47to his mother, who had been looking after them even when times had been tough.
00:31:52He did not wish to run like that man.
00:31:55While waiting in the staff room, the double doors suddenly opened again.
00:31:59When Gary saw who it was, his eyes started to light up with excitement.
00:32:03Hey kiddo, you're here again, the man greeted him with a smirk on his face.
00:32:09Kirk, I just saw your fight this morning.
00:32:12Congratulations, Gary said, jumping up from the sofa.
00:32:17The man who had entered the room was the same one from the video that he had been watching
00:32:21earlier today with Tom and their classmates.
00:32:24The winner of the altered fight.
00:32:27Most altered worked for some type of organization and Kirk was no different.
00:32:32He worked for the underdogs as well.
00:32:34They were his sponsor or at least they owned the corporation which Kirk was part of.
00:32:40Gary didn't know much of the details of how the relationships between them came to be.
00:32:45Still, he couldn't imagine how much money the underdogs must have put into Kirk for
00:32:49him to become the altered semi-superstar he was today.
00:32:53When the frog man jumped up like that, and you used your raw power to smash him to the
00:32:57ground, it all seemed too easy for you, Gary continued to speak excitedly.
00:33:03It might have looked easy, but most of the things I did today, I only managed because
00:33:08I was an altered.
00:33:10Don't go around trying to do things like that yourself, otherwise, you will just end up
00:33:14hurting yourself.
00:33:16Kirk cautioned his overeager fanboy.
00:33:18I know, Gary replied, a little depressed as he thought about how different his life would
00:33:23be if he could be an altered himself.
00:33:26Seeing the strange look on his face and noticing something else about Gary, a light bulb lit
00:33:31up above Kirk's head.
00:33:33I know, you should have some time before you have to do your thing, right?
00:33:38Come with me, Kirk ordered.
00:33:41And don't worry, if Damien calls for you I'll say you were with me.
00:33:45Gary didn't know what was going on, but trusted Kirk and decided to follow him.
00:33:50Ever since he had joined the gang, everyone had seemed a bit scary to him, rough around
00:33:55the edges, all but Kirk.
00:33:57With the altered, everything just seemed to click.
00:34:01The good thing was, Kirk was also treated as quite the valuable asset to the group,
00:34:05so he could get away with things the others couldn't.
00:34:09If Kirk said he wouldn't get in trouble, then he should be safe.
00:34:13The two of them left the staff room and went over to one of the empty clubrooms.
00:34:18It was quite a large club with three different rooms that would often play three different
00:34:22music types.
00:34:24Right now, they were in what was known as the cheese room.
00:34:28It would usually play one's favorite hits from the time Gary's mother would have been
00:34:31his age.
00:34:33Still, during the day, it looked completely different.
00:34:37The lights were on, so there were no fancy colored lights, and the disco ball above looked
00:34:42less than special.
00:34:44What are we doing here?
00:34:45Gary asked.
00:34:47You're not going to ask me to dance with you or something like that, are you?
00:34:52Kirk started to laugh, Gary seemed to have a talent for making him laugh.
00:34:57No, you idiot.
00:34:59I'm going to teach you how to fight.
00:35:01How to fight?
00:35:03Why would I need to learn that?
00:35:05Kirk pointed to his own nose, and that's when Gary realized.
00:35:10His nose was still broken from the rugby practice.
00:35:13Huh, wait, I think he has the wrong idea.
00:35:17Does he think I'm getting bullied or something?
00:35:19No, wait this is Dash, you don't have to explain yourself.
00:35:24I'm sure the other guy looks even worse.
00:35:27Anyway, it will be good to just show you a few basic things.
00:35:32With the line of work you're doing, who knows when it will come in handy.
00:35:36Kirk interrupted him.
00:35:38Gary didn't say anything else.
00:35:41He decided it would be stupid if he did try to clear up this misunderstanding.
00:35:45Besides, since one of his idols had offered to give him a personal lesson, he would be
00:35:50silly to try to get out of it.
00:35:52It started off with Kirk showing him the first basic punch, a jab in boxing.
00:35:58Punching the air, he demonstrated it a few times.
00:36:01A few major points that Gary took from this, was that Kirk's right hand was always covering
00:36:06the side of his face, even when throwing out the punch.
00:36:10The left foot would twist slightly while throwing the punch outward, at the same time, his hip
00:36:15would move in as well.
00:36:17Rather than a push, the punch was more of a snap.
00:36:21It was now Gary's turn to try these things, and he repeated all the steps in his head.
00:36:26He punched a few times, and it looked good and felt right.
00:36:30It looks like I have a talent for this.
00:36:33Maybe I should join a boxing club instead, what do you think?
00:36:37Gary asked, but turning his head, he could see the look of disappointment on Kirk's face.
00:36:43Sorry, Kirk said, rubbing the back of his head.
00:36:47Your punch is good, the movements are perfect, and you did everything right.
00:36:52Gary had a feeling a huge, but was coming.
00:36:55But, your punch is so slow.
00:36:59Is that as fast and hard as you can go?
00:37:02Kirk asked.
00:37:03Gary would have loved to tell him it wasn't, but unfortunately that would be a lie.
00:37:08He had been trying his hardest without holding back.
00:37:12Things always seem to end up this way for him.
00:37:15He understood the theory, understood how things worked, yet, for some reason it was
00:37:19impossible to perform the way he pictured it in his head.
00:37:23The doors to the cheese room opened and interrupted their training session.
00:37:28One of the men in suits walked in.
00:37:31There you are, the boss has been looking for you.
00:37:34When Gary returned to the first club room, he saw Daimon still sitting down on the sofa.
00:37:40Opposite him were five kids, including Gary, all standing up straight and waiting for orders.
00:37:46Out on the table were five metal briefcases locked with a unique combination.
00:37:51Time for you guys to get to work, Daimon said.
00:37:55This was Gary's job in the organization.
00:37:58He worked as a transporter, and tonight his job would be to deliver whatever was in these
00:38:02suitcases.
00:38:04While Daimon was busily explaining the job details, something had caught Gary's eyes.
00:38:10It was just for a brief moment, so he was unsure if his eyes might have played a trick
00:38:14on him, but he felt he had seen something very odd.
00:38:18Did that briefcase just move?
00:38:20Thanks for watching and subscribe my channel Channel Red Novel, Chapter 4, The System The
00:38:25Explanation from Daimon continued about today's special task.
00:38:30There were five briefcases in front of them, and there were five of them.
00:38:35Each person was to deliver the suitcase in front of them to the correct location safely,
00:38:39and naturally they had all been given different locations.
00:38:43Daimon continued to mention some other details, but Gary was not paying too much attention
00:38:48to that, still focused on the briefcase in front of him, waiting for it to move again.
00:38:53Gary was smart enough to figure out the reason for there being five of them.
00:38:58A few of them had to be dummies, mixed in to confuse whoever might plan to steal them.
00:39:03If his intuition was right, the one in front of him was the real one.
00:39:08That and the fact that he could have sworn he saw it move, although ever since he had
00:39:12started staring at it, it had behaved like a normal suitcase.
00:39:16Am I imagining things?
00:39:19Gary started to doubt himself.
00:39:21He looked at one of the men in a suit who was closest to the case.
00:39:25The two of them made eye contact for a brief second before Gary looked away.
00:39:30If he kept up eye contact for any longer, he was worried he was going to get hit.
00:39:35Alright, are there any questions?
00:39:38Daimon asked.
00:39:40One of the students standing there raised his hand.
00:39:43He was a tall, weak-looking boy with curly hair.
00:39:47He hadn't been in the organization for long, and Gary had only seen him a couple of times.
00:39:53What's in the package?
00:39:55The boy asked.
00:39:56Immediately, Gary clenched his fist and looked down at the floor as he knew what was coming
00:40:01next.
00:40:03Just as expected, a few seconds later he heard a whack and could see the student tumble from
00:40:07the corner of his eye.
00:40:09The man looked like he was about to hit him again, but Daimon interrupted him, stop.
00:40:15The boy is still new, so I'll forgive him.
00:40:18Daimon then looked at the others before stopping at Gary.
00:40:22Greenie, tell him the rules of being a transporter.
00:40:25Yes, boss, Gary answered, turning his body looking down the line of people.
00:40:32Never take the package, never ask what's in the package, and never look inside the
00:40:36package.
00:40:37Excellent, Daimon replied with a slow clap.
00:40:41Break one of these rules, and, let's just say you don't want to break these rules.
00:40:46I can proudly tell you that we never had anyone break the rules twice.
00:40:51Make of that what you will.
00:40:53Clicking his fingers, one of the suited men handed each of them a small wad of cash tied
00:40:57up with an elastic band.
00:41:00It wasn't thick like in the movies, but judging by the size and weight, this job was the highest
00:41:05paying job Gary had ever been on.
00:41:08Each of them had been given $500, which was just half of the payment up front.
00:41:13Upon completing the job they would get the other half when they returned.
00:41:18Seeing the amount of money in his hand, Gary gulped.
00:41:21A thousand dollars was a lot of money to him.
00:41:24Especially for someone who was 16 and best of all it would go a long way to help out
00:41:29his family.
00:41:31He was already doing calculations in his head.
00:41:34They could pay the electric and gas bill, and with what would be left, he could buy
00:41:38a new phone for his sister.
00:41:41This money was nothing for the gangsters, and simply put they were taking advantage
00:41:45of the students, both sides were aware of that, but the students didn't have another
00:41:49choice.
00:41:50Where would they get a job at their age, not mention such a high paying one.
00:41:55All the supermarket and fast food jobs had been replaced by computer screens and machinery.
00:42:01The construction sites were already full of manual laborers.
00:42:05Only technology whiz kids might get a job helping another corporation be the next new
00:42:10thing, and Gary wasn't one of these people.
00:42:13That type of stuff was more suited to his friend Tom.
00:42:17Each of them was given a location, and the job had officially started.
00:42:21Picking up the metal suitcase, it had some weight to it, but it was hard for him to tell
00:42:26if there was anything inside or if that was just the case's weight.
00:42:30Jiggling it he was trying to guess what it was, and once again another man was giving
00:42:34him a stare.
00:42:35Right, don't ask what's in the case.
00:42:39They left the nightclub, and then each of them went their separate ways, including the
00:42:43tall, curly haired boy who now had a bloody nose.
00:42:47Stay safe guys, Gary said quietly, more to himself than the others, as each of them went
00:42:53off.
00:42:54During all of this, there was one big worry at the back of Gary's mind.
00:42:59This was the highest paying job they had ever received.
00:43:03The gangsters wouldn't just hand out money willy nilly, so this also meant it was the
00:43:07most dangerous job that he had ever been given as well.
00:43:11There had been no problems so far on all of his runs.
00:43:15It was the reason why the underdogs were using students in the first place.
00:43:19They didn't look suspicious, and their faces were unknown.
00:43:23There was less of a chance for the students to rat them out to another gang and they would
00:43:27be too scared to do something like that anyway.
00:43:30Still, with every job there was this risk, and it didn't get easier.
00:43:35On the contrary, with each successful mission, it felt that at some point his luck would
00:43:40run out.
00:43:41It was safe to say that Gary stood out a bit.
00:43:45He was running around with a fancy metal briefcase that looked too fancy for the clothes he was
00:43:49wearing.
00:43:50Usually, he would do his drop-offs on foot, so he was still in his trainers and his favorite
00:43:55black and red tracksuit.
00:43:58He didn't care about the gawking eyes that were looking at him, and he just hurried on
00:44:02to the location.
00:44:04When he had eventually reached the location, it turned out to be a construction site.
00:44:09The workers had already left and gone home for the day.
00:44:12The initial foundation for an apartment block had already been built, but there were no
00:44:16walls or roof yet.
00:44:19For his job, Gary was to give the briefcase to a person that was meant to meet him there.
00:44:24He waited in the apartment building center, where there was nothing but the ground and
00:44:28a few cement bags here and there.
00:44:31Gary was nervously tapping his foot and continued to look all over the place.
00:44:36When he pulled out his phone, it was now 8.05 PM, already past the meeting time.
00:44:42Hello?
00:44:43Gary shouted, I'm here.
00:44:46His voice echoed slightly, but there was no reply.
00:44:50Am I in the wrong place, he thought to himself.
00:44:53After double-checking he was in the right place, he sent a text to Damien.
00:44:58No one here, what should I do?
00:45:01It was the first time something like this had happened.
00:45:04Tired of waiting, Gary started to walk around, checking if he could spot the person.
00:45:09Then, while walking around, he saw it.
00:45:13He discovered a dark red liquid on the floor, coming from behind one of the building's support
00:45:17pillars.
00:45:18Please tell me that's just paint.
00:45:22Gary silently prayed.
00:45:24This wasn't some movie and Gary wasn't dumb enough to go around that pillar when he was
00:45:28already sure there would be a dead person behind it.
00:45:31Ding his phone went off.
00:45:33He pulled the phone out of his pocket, and there were only two words.
00:45:38Run back.
00:45:40Lifting his head, he could see a four-inch blade coming right towards him.
00:45:45Out of instinct, the only thing he could do was lift the metal suitcase up, and thankfully
00:45:49a clanging sound was heard as the suitcase clashed with the knife, protecting his face.
00:45:55He only saw the man who had thrown the knife for a brief second, because before he knew
00:46:00it, Gary was running for his life.
00:46:03He didn't know where he was running, he just knew he had to get away from that psycho.
00:46:08He could feel his heart beating so loudly that he thought it would jump out of his chest.
00:46:13He also noticed that his underwear was feeling uncomfortably warm as he had let the fluids
00:46:17held up in him go.
00:46:19I'm going to die, I'm going to die.
00:46:22That was a real gangster, and he just tried to stab me.
00:46:26Running towards where he came from, he saw a few more men at the gate that were wearing
00:46:30suits.
00:46:32As soon as they saw him, they charged at him as well.
00:46:35There's more.
00:46:37What the hell do I do?
00:46:39Dashing to the side, he left the apartment block and was now heading to the more gritty
00:46:44area of the construction site, where there were several mounds of dirt, diggers, and
00:46:48more.
00:46:50The problem was, there were only two entrances to the construction site, the one that he
00:46:54had entered from and the other on the opposite end.
00:46:58One was stationed in the north, the other south, yet in his panic he had run west.
00:47:03There was a wall surrounding the area and on the top there was barbed wire.
00:47:08Even if he didn't care about hurting himself, scaling something like that would have been
00:47:12impossible.
00:47:13Eventually, the adrenaline in Gary's body had lessened, and he was feeling incredibly
00:47:18weak after the rush.
00:47:21His hands and legs were shaking, and he knew he couldn't run away for much longer.
00:47:26Diving in between objects he eventually decided to hide behind a dirt mound to catch his breath.
00:47:32Gary could use several objects and things to hide in between, in his attempt to avoid
00:47:36the men chasing after him.
00:47:39Peeking around the hill of dirt he had hidden behind, he could see three of them in total,
00:47:44all with a blade in their hand.
00:47:46At this point, Gary was wondering if he should call the police, but if he did, then it would
00:47:51just be his own gang after his life.
00:47:54Suddenly, the suitcase started to move about again, flinging Gary's hand slightly.
00:48:00It definitely felt like there was something alive inside.
00:48:04What the hell is in there?
00:48:06But that wasn't important right now.
00:48:08Observing, he peeked around the corner again, planning to make his next move.
00:48:14He could see one person on his far left and the other on his far right, searching between
00:48:18all the items for him.
00:48:20Wait, where's the third person?
00:48:23A sharp shooting pain spread in Gary's lower back.
00:48:27It was suddenly throbbing and felt warm.
00:48:30Gritting his teeth, Gary slung the suitcase while turning around.
00:48:34The corner managed to smash the top of his assaulter's head, causing Gary to let go
00:48:39of the suitcase, which fell to the ground.
00:48:42The man appeared hurt and dizzy momentarily, but he wasn't knocked out.
00:48:47More notably, Gary could see that his hands had blood on them.
00:48:51Touching his back, he felt the blood there as well.
00:48:55He had been stabbed.
00:48:57Damn it, I'm just a kid in high school, Gary blurted out.
00:49:02The man looked stunned by the words for a second as it looked like Gary's weaving
00:49:05body was about to fall over.
00:49:08From the shock and the tension of everything that was happening he fell towards the man.
00:49:13At that moment he started to think about his sister's smile, and his mother's crying
00:49:17face if he was to leave them now.
00:49:20Before hitting the ground, he fought through the pain and placed his left foot out stabilizing
00:49:24himself, he twisted his hip and back foot, and with his right hand he threw out the strongest
00:49:29push he could, hitting the man right on the chin.
00:49:33It wasn't a jab but another punch that he had seen Kirk do.
00:49:37Learning the principles of the jab had set him up for this perfect punch.
00:49:41A right straight.
00:49:43On contact, he felt it connect cleanly, and he felt a surge through his arm.
00:49:49The man fell to the floor and was knocked out while at the same time, Gary fell down
00:49:53as well.
00:49:55Despite his accomplishment, he felt tired, weak and just wanted to close his eyes.
00:50:00The only thing he could see in front of him was the suitcase.
00:50:04It was moving more than ever, so much so, that the suitcase looked to be jumping up
00:50:09and down.
00:50:10I don't want to die, Gary whispered, barely enough energy to speak.
00:50:15Click he heard the sound of the suitcase opening up.
00:50:18The next moment his vision had gone to black.
00:50:22His senses were still slightly there, and he felt an even more immense pain now digging
00:50:26into his wrist.
00:50:28It was far worse than the stab, but he was too tired to even react or shout out.
00:50:33Then, even with his eyes closed and his vision gone, something appeared in front of him.
00:50:39Congratulations you have been granted the werewolf system.
00:50:43Thanks for watching and subscribe my channel Channel Red Novel, Chapter 5, What Am I?
00:50:49Gary's eyes started to flutter open slowly as he was regaining consciousness.
00:50:54The first thing he saw were some very tall trees above him.
00:50:58The sky was gray, making it hard to tell if it was just about to turn to night or whether
00:51:03it would soon be day again.
00:51:05As he lifted up his body, he noticed the sound of ruffling, which turned out to come from
00:51:10the many leaves underneath him.
00:51:12Am I in the woods?
00:51:14Gary thought.
00:51:16He looked around and could see nothing but trees, yet no sign of a pathway or road.
00:51:22Why did I come here?
00:51:24Wasn't I just dash bark?
00:51:26His head started to ring with pain.
00:51:29When lifting it up he could see that the sleeves of his clothing were partially torn.
00:51:34Thinking back he tried to remember the last thing that had happened, but all that came
00:51:38to mind was the throbbing pain in his backside.
00:51:42That guy, he stabbed me.
00:51:45Picking up his shirt, he peeked over his shoulder.
00:51:48Gary tried to take a look, but he found nothing, not even after running his fingers over the
00:51:53supposed wound.
00:51:55For a second he questioned himself.
00:51:57Could it be that all of it was just a bad dream?
00:52:00Alas, he quickly noticed something that made him think all of it had been real.
00:52:06Running down his trousers there were signs of dried blood, looking to have dripped from
00:52:09his own wound.
00:52:12Something had definitely happened earlier.
00:52:14He should have been in pain.
00:52:16There should have been a wound, yet there was nothing.
00:52:20In fact, his body felt far better than it had ever done before.
00:52:24Just what the hell happened after I got stabbed?
00:52:27How the hell did I get here?
00:52:29Shit, where the hell is here in the first place?
00:52:34He had no memories whatsoever of what had happened from the construction site to where
00:52:37he was now, and in all his thinking he had completely ignored something obvious that
00:52:42was right in front of him this whole time.
00:52:45His vision had slightly been altered and in more ways than one.
00:52:49Even though it was quite dark out, he could see details in the night he shouldn't have
00:52:53been able to with his vision.
00:52:55The groves on the trees a distance away, the ants crawling up on the trees, passing food
00:53:00to each other, and then there was the moon.
00:53:03It was still out and would suggest that it was still the middle of the night after all.
00:53:08Hang on, are those ants?
00:53:11Apparently Gary noticed the discrepancy with his eyes.
00:53:15How is that possible?
00:53:17Could it be because of all those carrots mom has been cooking lately?
00:53:21They say it improves your eyesight.
00:53:24Or is that just another internet myth?
00:53:26I bet Tom would know.
00:53:29In the middle of his crazy thoughts, he registered something in the top left corner of his vision.
00:53:35When looking at it, it reminded him of a notification from an email or a game.
00:53:40He moved his head trying to get rid of it, but wherever he would look it would stay there.
00:53:45Then he started to touch his face to see if he was wearing anything, but there was nothing.
00:53:50The notification appeared to be glued onto his vision.
00:53:54How the hell do I get rid of this thing?
00:53:56When thinking about the notification itself, it suddenly opened and a screen appeared in
00:54:01front of him, hovering in midair.
00:54:04Your bloodlust has been lowered, you are no longer enraged, state has been updated to
00:54:08normal, is that, a system?
00:54:12Gary had played a few games in the past with a similar interface before.
00:54:16However he wasn't quite the gamer himself.
00:54:19He never had time for them as he was always busy trying to come up with ways to make money.
00:54:25The one who this would have been perfect for would be his buddy Tom, but with his limited
00:54:29knowledge Gary still knew how to navigate it a bit.
00:54:32The notifications looked like they could be deleted and it looked like there were more
00:54:36options on his general interface.
00:54:39The annoying thing was it was all blocking his field of vision still, at the same time
00:54:43he couldn't deny it was kinda cool.
00:54:46Like he had been turned into some futuristic robot.
00:54:49Nevertheless, he didn't like what he was reading.
00:54:53The word, bloodlust, did not sound good at all.
00:54:56What exactly had happened?
00:54:59Had he been turned into some type of vampire and was now required to feed on blood?
00:55:04It would at least explain the wounds healing on his body so far.
00:55:08He had read supernatural stories of things like that before.
00:55:12Quickly touching his teeth, he felt nothing and they appeared to be the same as they had
00:55:16always been.
00:55:18Then there was the second half of the message, it had been lowered.
00:55:22Reading this he gulped down and tried to look at himself.
00:55:25There wasn't a huge amount of blood on him apart from that on his trousers.
00:55:30Being able to escape from that construction site alive while three men were chasing him,
00:55:35he started to consider the worst case scenario.
00:55:38No, nothing happened, stop being paranoid.
00:55:42Gary tried to convince himself.
00:55:44Surely, I would have remembered something like that.
00:55:48But would I really?
00:55:50I still have no clue how I got in the woods in the first place.
00:55:54Unfortunately with his tendency to forget even menial tasks like emptying the washing
00:55:58machine when his mother asks him to, he was unable to rely on his good memory.
00:56:04After deleting those notifications, Gary decided to study the system a little.
00:56:09The first thing he could see was an image of himself looking back at him and his name
00:56:13by the side with a few stats.
00:56:15Name, Gary Dem, Level 1, Exp 0 out of 100, Health, 100 slash 100, Energy, 100 slash 100,
00:56:25Heart Rate 42 BPM, State, Normal, looking at the information in front of him, he was
00:56:30trying to figure out what they meant.
00:56:33Gary appeared unable to open some sort of description for them and there wasn't really
00:56:37anyone or anything that told him what was going on.
00:56:41Health seemed to be pretty self-explanatory, but Energy?
00:56:45The best he could come up with was that it might be something similar to stamina.
00:56:49As for the heart rate, he considered it to be a very strange thing to appear in the first
00:56:53place.
00:56:55What worried him was that his resting heart rate had never been that low.
00:57:00This was the heart rate that athletes were able to achieve and although Gary wasn't
00:57:03unfit, he was far from being an athlete.
00:57:06As for state, he could only relate it to the message he had gotten previously about his
00:57:11bloodlust decreasing, something he chose to ignore for now.
00:57:15What interested him more than anything was the level by his name.
00:57:19It reminded him of the RPG games that had been introduced to him.
00:57:23He didn't know why, but his favorite part in those games had never been the completion
00:57:27of quests nor the exploration of the world, but simply its grinding.
00:57:32He would spend hours just killing creatures watching that bar increase.
00:57:37Tom would always complain about his play style, stating that it wasn't the fastest way to
00:57:42level up.
00:57:43After all, he was defined as a ''noob'' in Tom's eyes.
00:57:48On the screen itself, at the top the tab read ''Status'', but right next to that, there
00:57:53was another little tab labeled ''Quests''.
00:57:56It had a little red dot, which would usually indicate that there was something new that
00:58:00he hadn't seen before.
00:58:02At least that would be the case if it worked like his phone notifications.
00:58:06Cloaking on that, a few more screens popped up in front of him again.
00:58:11New quest received, get the perfect body, you can now do amazing things you never could
00:58:16have done before, but you're limited by your former weaker self.
00:58:20You need to get into top shape to display your full potential.
00:58:24Do you even lift?
00:58:26No.
00:58:27Then start lifting.
00:58:30Diet is crucial to this task.
00:58:32You will soon see improvements beyond your wildest dreams.
00:58:36The most important thing is to stay consistent.
00:58:40Daily tasks, Tuesday, push day, get to the gym and start pushing, instructions will appear
00:58:46once you get there.
00:58:48Diet, eat 2 kilograms of meat per day, get that sweet protein.
00:58:53Quest reward, that sweet EXP you need and love.
00:58:562 kilograms of meat.
00:58:59Is the system crazy?
00:59:01What does it think I am, some tiger or something?
00:59:05How is it even possible to eat that much?
00:59:08Apart from that, the system messages seemed enthusiastic to say the least.
00:59:13Whoever had designed it must be by a very strange person.
00:59:17Scrolling up there seemed to be one more quest that he had received before that one.
00:59:22New quest received, your first turning, 14 days until the next full moon, survive.
00:59:28Reading this carefully, his thoughts reached a certain conclusion.
00:59:33There was only one supernatural creature in books and movies that he could think of that
00:59:37had any relation to the full moon.
00:59:39Heading back to the notifications, he scrolled up and checked the very first one he had received.
00:59:45Because it wasn't a new one he had missed before, but now he remembered seeing something
00:59:49before blackout.
00:59:51He read the words multiple times, the first system message that had ever appeared.
00:59:57I'm not a vampire.
00:59:59Well it seems like I won't have a problem with body hair anytime soon.
01:00:03Thanks for watching and subscribe my channel.
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