Chapter 10: "Please, I'm Begging You, Let Me Help!"
The next morning, Elias arrived at his classroom with barely a minute to spare. Compared to his usual self, he looked rough. The dark circles under his eyes were prominent, and his messy fringe stuck out in all directions—clear evidence he hadn't even tried to tame his hair. He slumped into his seat in the middle row, fighting the overwhelming urge to doze off.
His classmates eyed him curiously. It was rare to see Elias in such a disheveled state. Several of them even snickered quietly behind their hands. As frequent victims of Elias's seemingly cursed aura, watching him stumble into class like a sleep-deprived cryptid was oddly therapeutic.
They didn't mean to be unkind—at least not at first. But after enduring one too many Elias-induced mishaps, it was hard not to take a bit of petty comfort in his misfortune. Whoever or whatever had left Elias in this state, they silently gave it a thumbs up.
Mrs. Alden entered the room just after the bell rang. She paused mid-step when she spotted Elias in his sorry state. Her brows immediately furrowed in concern.
"Good morning, everyone," she said, then addressed him more softly, "Good morning, Elias. You don't look well. Are you alright?"
She worried that his parents' disappearance might be taking a toll on him—or perhaps he'd received bad news.
Elias lifted his head, eyelids heavy. He gave a half-hearted wave and a stiff smile.
"I'm alright, Mrs. Alden. Just didn't sleep well—there was a lot of noise last night."
Her chest tightened with sympathy. He's probably trying to hide the truth, she thought, sighing inwardly.
She moved closer to his desk and lowered her voice, speaking gently, "If there's anything you need—or if you want to take the day off—I can talk to the office. We can reschedule your quiz."
Elias shook his head. "No, I'll manage. I don't want to fall behind."
Miss Alden nodded slowly, adjusting her glasses. "Alright. But don't push yourself too hard."
While everyone speculated about what might be going on with Elias, the real reason for his appearance was exactly what he'd said: noise.
Thanks to his newly heightened senses, every bark, creak, and rustle in the night had been amplified tenfold. His Perception stat had jumped by over 20 points in one go—how was he supposed to adjust to that overnight?
The class started without further delay. To keep himself from nodding off during class, Elias opened his system panel. Since no one else could see it, he didn't bother hiding the fact that he was zoning out—his blank stare was easily blamed on sleep deprivation.
With his stash of free draw coupons officially gone, he'd have to start earning Lucky Points the hard way—through quests.
At his current level, only unranked and iron-tier quests were available. But he wasn't planning to touch any iron-tier quests for now. Most of them were too risky, too complicated, or required a level of physical, mental, or magical ability he didn't have yet. Some even involved long travel, special knowledge, or interacting with dangerous individuals. Not ideal for someone still attending high school.
Unranked quests, on the other hand, were doable for regular humans—things like finishing homework, doing chores, or helping others with simple tasks. Many of them were repeatable, which helped… but most only paid out 1 to 2 Lucky Points. The higher-paying ones either took hours of effort or required skills he didn't yet possess.
Still, if he wanted another draw, he'd have to start grinding through the small stuff. One menial task at a time.
He glanced at the point requirements for each Lucky Draw:
[(UR) Lucky Draw – 50 LP]
[(IRN) Lucky Draw – 100 LP]
[(BRZ) Lucky Draw – 150 LP]
[(SLV) Lucky Draw – 200 LP]
[(GLD) Lucky Draw – 300 LP]
Elias let out a bitter smile. At this rate, it would take forever just to afford the lowest-tier draw.
He sighed. "Well… better get started."
He began attempting a few simple quests—working on assignments, offering to help classmates, anything that might count. But his good intentions were met with universal suspicion and mild panic. Aside from Miss Alden, no one could understand why the school's resident disaster magnet was suddenly trying to get involved.
By the end of first period, he had earned just one pitiful Lucky Point. Apparently, helping others wasn't easy when most of them fled at the sight of you.
Elias couldn't help but feel discouraged. He was used to being treated like a walking jinx, but now his cursed reputation was actively getting in the way of earning Lucky Points.
Still sulking, he shuffled off to his next class: History.
Thankfully, History was one of the few subjects he excelled in—mostly thanks to his dad.
Harold Graves, gentleman thief and notorious artifact enthusiast, was also, naturally, a relentless history buff. Elias had grown up listening to hours of unsolicited historical lectures, often while trying to eat cereal or watch cartoons. At this point, he might've known more random historical trivia than the actual teacher.
He looked at the whiteboard and noticed a notice for the upcoming history essay competition. It was an event held once every semester, but Elias had never bothered to participate. It was only a district-wide competition and unlike his father, he didn't have a burning passion for history. The only rewards were some mild bragging rights for college applications and a $25 gift card to a store or restaurant of the school's choosing.
But now, Elias stared at the notice with sparkling eyes.
The moment he stepped into the classroom, his quest list refreshed with a new task:
[(UR) Quest: Win History Essay Competition – 20 LP]
The deadline for the competition was in three days. Writing a history essay was an easy task for Elias. Once the results came in, he could already picture the sweet Lucky Points rolling his way.
Lost in his daydream, he made his way to the teacher's desk at the back of the room.
Seated there was a man in his thirties with dark skin, a neatly trimmed black beard, a shaved head, rimless glasses, and an impeccably pressed suit and tie. This was Mr. Quanda, the school's history teacher. He seemed absorbed in grading papers and didn't notice Elias approaching.
Elias tapped the desk with his knuckle. "Mr. Quanda, I'm thinking of joining the essay competition this time. Is there a specific theme or a page requirement? And do I turn it in to you?"
Mr. Quanda set his pen aside, curious to see which eager student had decided to participate. But the moment his eyes landed on Elias, he flinched slightly. He quickly recovered, forcing a polite smile onto his face. Rising from his chair, he extended a hand to Elias and said, "The theme's fairly broad this semester—just choose your favorite historical figure and explain how their achievements impacted history. Minimum is 4 pages, double spaced. You can turn it in to me directly."
Then, while still smiling, Mr. Quanda subtly nudged a few fragile items and some important papers on his desk out of Elias's reach.
Elias shook his hand and pretended not to notice the discreet desk rearrangement. "I just felt like giving it a shot," he lied smoothly. Twenty Lucky Points was on the line—of course he was going to try.
"Is that so? Well, I look forward to your paper," Mr. Quanda said, forcing a smile so strained and awkward that Elias almost wished he'd just express his displeasure openly instead.
Elias had the highest grade in all of Mr. Quanda's classes. Logically, that should've earned him some favor. But after losing a few personal antiques—brought in for class demonstrations—to the chaos of Elias's calamity halo, and being corrected mid-lecture by the very same student more than once, Mr. Quanda's enthusiasm had noticeably cooled.
Elias quickly ended the conversation and quickly picked a desk to sit at. He felt like if he stood too long in front of Mr. Quanda, his teacher's mouth might rip from the edges from forcing a smile too hard. He quickly took out his notebook and pen and began drafting the essay with enthusiasm. He was definitely going to win.
—-
It was finally lunchtime. Elias headed toward the usual fountain spot where he always met his friends, debating whether he should skip lunch to hit the library instead. From a distance, he spotted Sylar and Mina walking his way.
"Hey there, black cat!" Mina called out with a grin.
Syler simply gave a small wave and a gentle smile. "You look horrible. Did you not sleep or something last night?" He asked, observing Elias's rough appearance.
Elias rolled his eyes at the nickname. "Yeah, I'm a bit sleep deprived. But sorry, guys, but my lunch break's booked," he said, waving a half-written essay at them. They sat on either side of him.
"Are you behind on homework?" Syler asked, tilting his head. When he noticed Elias didn't have any food, he sighed and handed him half of his sandwich. "At least eat something."
"Thanks, mom," Elias joked as he absentmindedly stuffed it in his mouth, still scribbling in his notebook. "Nope. I'm writing an essay for the history competition," he muttered, nearly inhaling the sandwich in one bite.
Mina scrunched her nose. "Ew. That lame thing? Since when did you become such a nerd? It doesn't even offer anything good. Is Mr. Quanda bribing you with extra credit or something?"
"Just wanted to challenge myself," Elias lied without looking up.
Mina and Syler exchanged deeply skeptical glances. Mina then grabbed Elias by the shoulders and started shaking him dramatically. "Sy, help! Our beloved disaster magnet has been replaced by a doppelgänger!"
"You should be careful, Mina," Syler sighed, watching Elias get shaken, violently, "He might not survive your joke."
"Please. Stop. Shaking. Me," Elias said, his expression pained. The force of Mina's grip wasn't exactly gentle—he was pretty sure the sandwich was seconds away from making a reappearance.
Mina finally stopped, laughing sheepishly as she realized she might've used too much strength. Elias quickly straightened out his now-wrinkled clothes.
"Look, I've got my reasons, okay?" he said, brushing himself off. "Just be good friends and prep the party poppers for when I win this thing." Elias smiled and puffed up his chest in confidence.
Syler tried to stifle a laugh behind his hand, but his hunched, trembling shoulders gave him away immediately. Mina made another exaggerated face of disgust and, out of politeness, decided not to say what she was thinking.
Mina's eyes cooled as something crossed her mind.
"Hey, guys. I might be gone for a little while," she said casually, though her tone betrayed a hint of tension. "Some family stuff came up, so I've gotta head home for a bit."
Both Elias and Syler immediately picked up on the change in her voice and straightened up, now listening intently.
"I might be gone for about a month... if things drag out."
Neither Elias nor Syler pried. They both knew Mina well enough to understand—if she wanted to talk about the details, she would have.
Elias didn't know much about Mina's family situation, but after three years of friendship, he'd pieced together enough to suspect it wasn't great. He had never once met her parents, and she lived alone in a cramped apartment that felt more like a hideout than a home.
He still remembered the first time he'd visited. It had completely upended his expectations. The Mina he'd originally met had been practically unrecognizable from the one he knew now—elegant, long-haired, always dressed like a refined debutante. She had a cool, aloof air and carried herself like she was descended from nobility. At the time, Elias had assumed she was some rich, sheltered heiress.
Now? She wore leather jackets, cursed like a sailor, and could probably break someone's jaw with a headbutt.
"Well, just be safe on your trip. Keep us updated," Elias said with a nod.
Syler hesitated for a second before adding, "If you need anything... seriously, just say it."
As if trying to comfort her, he handed her half of his favorite cookies—wrapped in a napkin like it was sacred treasure.
Mina's somber expression broke into a sunny smile as she accepted them. "Aww, how can you be so lovely, Sy?" she sighed dramatically.
Syler's face turned beet red. He suddenly looked like he regretted every life choice that had led to this moment. Elias, already used to the chaos, continued writing his essay without looking up.
Then Mina suddenly paused mid-bite and glanced around.
"...Weird," she muttered. "Thought I felt something. Must be imagining things."
Unbeknownst to her, someone was watching from afar.
High up, hidden on a rooftop with a telescope in hand, her cousin Kaito squinted through the lens. He had excellent eyesight—but unfortunately, no enhanced hearing.
"Tch! There are actually two boys hanging around her?" Kaito muttered, fuming. "I have to get her back home before she gets defiled by some perverted high school boy!"
He narrowed his eyes, analyzing the scene with the intensity of a military strategist.
"I won't let any smelly boys even look at her unless they pass my approval!"
Kaito's gaze flicked back and forth between the two suspects.
One of them—Elias—was tall, decently handsome, with dark hair and striking blue eyes. The other—Syler—had a thinner build, medium-length brown hair, freckles, and soft features that leaned more toward "cute" than "manly."
"I see... it must be that one!" Kaito declared, pointing at Elias with righteous fury. "My sister's the type to go for the tougher-looking guy!"
A storm of determination sparked in his eyes.
"Let's see how long you stick around once you deal with me, pretty boy!"
Back down at the fountain, Elias had no idea he'd just become the target of yet another random grudge—this time, from a paranoid cousin on a protective rampage.