Tyler walked down the hallway, heading straight for the gym locker room. His steps were steady and calm.
The two cronies followed behind him, making sure to stay close, watching his every move like obedient guard dogs. They had to make sure Tyler didn't run or Travis would deal with them.
As for Tyler, he had no intention of doing that—running. He had already made his decision and he was going to see it through.
His physical body is that of 16 year old, but his mind is that of an adult who has experienced life and taken every shit it can possibly throw at him. A kid like Travis doesn't compare.
Meanwhile, behind them, whispers buzzed louder by the second. Some of Tyler's classmates had followed, curious to see how things would unfold.
A fight involving Travis always drew a crowd—and today was no different.
Also, word traveled fast in high school, especially when someone as popular as Travis, and someone unexpected like Tyler was involved.
More students trickled in from different corridors, whispering and laughing as the hallway slowly filled with bodies and anticipation.
The noise grew—a mix of muffled excitement, mockery, and morbid curiosity. A fight was brewing, and no one wanted to miss it.
But Tyler didn't care.
He walked through the growing crowd like they didn't exist. His eyes weren't on the people behind him, but rather the past surrounding him.
...Or should he say the future that awaits them.
Everything still felt... surreal.
The tiled floors. The open lockers. The vending machine beside the stairwell still had Coda-Cola and Sparkle Lime* logos in their old fonts, and the school posters on the walls had faded images of flip phones and anti-drug slogans in big, blocky letters.
Students around him wore baggy jeans, graphic tees, Livestrong bracelets, and some even had slide phones clipped to their belts. There were no iPhones in sight.
It was 2010.
This was before Tick-Tock. Before the collapse. Before the debt crisis, and the riots.
This was back when people still said "YOLO," and thought Friendspace* was cutting-edge. Back when things were still... naive.
Tyler's eyes hardened, as memories of his previous life surfaced.
He knew that none of it mattered now. The world would still spiral into madness soon enough—but right now, his world narrowed to one thing: Travis.
He has to quickly take care of him and turn his attention to the system, as he needed answers.
____
The gym locker room was only a short walk away. And Tyler reached it within minutes.
He pushed the door open and stepped inside.
The scent of old sweat and rubber mats hit him immediately, along with the distant hum of fluorescent lights overhead. The locker room was empty except for three people.
Travis, the girl he'd wrapped his arm around earlier, and one of his cronies who stood leaning against the locker wall.
Travis was laughing about something, chest out, voice loud and obnoxious—playing the alpha as always. The girl laughed too, her arm still linked with his like she was proud to be attached to him.
But the moment Travis saw Tyler walk in, his expression shifted.
That smug grin spread slowly across his face, eyes gleaming with cruel amusement.
He stepped away from the girl, walking toward Tyler with casual swagger and zero fear.
"Well, would you look at that?" he sneered, loud enough for everyone to hear. "The little reject roach actually showed up."
The students that had begun to gather behind the open locker room door snickered at the insult.
The phrase was an old-school burn Travis was known for—something he loved to throw at loners, nerds, or anyone who didn't bow to him.
Tyler didn't flinch, as he stood in place, with an eerily calm face and sharp eyes... Deathly sharp eyes.
Travis' smile tightened when he saw how unaffected Tyler was by his words. He couldn't understand where and how Tyler—the loser who always obediently allows him to beat him up, then bow his head and scurry away—suddenly got to the guts to stand up to him.
And there was also that fierce look in his face. Travis would be lying if he said that it didn't scare him a little.
Still, as someone who has always been the dominant one in every confrontation, coupled with his athletic build, he didn't lose confidence.
To him, no matter how confidence Tyler is, he would never be able to win against him with such a weak body. Not in a million years.
He felt that Tyler was putting up a fake front and trying to look cool, by not looking scared.
But all that will be for naught after he has dealt with him.
"You have such dumb look on your face. I wonder type of face you will be making after I'm done with you," Travis said, and without hesitation, reached out his hand to grab Tyler.
What followed next was a snap. Loud and sickening. Followed by a blood curdling scream that sent shivers down everyone's spine.
They all were already aware of what would follow next as Travis took action, but they were shocked by the shocking scene in front of them.
Instead of Travis shoving Tyler against the wall and beating him up as expected, that didn't happen.
Instead, in a series of movements that their eyes were nearly unable to follow, Tyler grabbed Travis and twisted him at an angle no body should bend.
While everyone was still reeling from the shock of the unexpected turn of events, Tyler didn't pay attention to them, as his focus was completely on Travis.
While Travis was previously busy talking and flexing, Tyler was calculating on how to end the fight as quickly as possible, while also making sure that he won't be bothered anymore.
Tyler stared at Travis coldly and tightened his grip on his hand, drawing another scream of pain from him.
"This is just a warning. Try this kind of shit with me—or anyone else—again, and I won't be so lenient." He spat the words coldly, tightening his grip with each words, drawing pained groans from Travis.
Travis fell to his knees, groaning in pain, while holding his broken arm.
"Stop him! Don't you dare let him leave!" He screamed at his cronies, in anger.
Having said that, Tyler released Travis' hand and turned to leave, but was blocked by two of his cronies.
"What? You want the same treatment as him?" Tyler asked, with a low voice and a cold frown carved into his face like stone.
The two cronies looked at each other, then at Travis who was glaring daggers at them, still holding his broken hand.
As if coming to an agreement, they stepped aside, allowing Tyler to pass through.
Tyler didn't say a word as he left the gym locker room. The crowd outside parted instinctively, a hush falling over them as they made space.
He noticed the shocked look on their faces but he didn't pay much attention to it, as he walked down the hallway.
With Travis already taken care of, he can now focus his attention on more important things.
And those things are what he received from the starter pack: the One-Time Free Unlock (Primary + Specialized Knowledges), and One-Time 99.9% Discount on Core Knowledge Branch Unlock, which is available for the next 72 hours.
It was time to learn what the Core, Primary and Specialised Knowledges are.