Title: Hugo: Master of Hiding
Chapter 3: Exams, a Killer Teacher, and the Anomaly in Class 9-Z
Respawn complete.
Location: National Glitch High School – Class 9-ZMorphHide Lv.4 Activated!Cooldown: 10 hoursChoose one disguise form:
White eraser with bite marks
Crooked metal ruler
Broken plastic chair with one leg
Hugo let out a long sigh.
"What did I ever do to the devs of this game? Other people get isekai'd into heroes—or at worst, a slime. Me? I get to be a pillow, a door, and now... a crippled chair?!"
He stared at the screen in agony.
"God, please. Just let today be less cursed than yesterday. I just wanna hide and finish this game alive."
Click. Broken plastic chair.
Hugo transformed. The world spun. Everything went dark… then appeared again—a classroom. Dust in the air. Peeling paint. Blackboard covered in graffiti: "Hugo smells like an anomaly." He knew—this wasn't an ordinary classroom.
Heavy footsteps echoed from the hallway.
"EVERYONE IN!! EXAMS START NOW!! IF YOU'RE NOT A REGISTERED STUDENT, YOU WILL BE ERASED FROM THE SERVER'S MEMORY!"
Mrs. Yuvita, the legendary killer teacher, entered. Thick glasses. A metal ruler longer than your will to live. Rumor says it can slice the will to skip school in half.
One by one, students poured in. Among them:
Cika, the hyperactive doodler with a love for permanent markers
Coki, the nerd armed with a hot glue gun
Mr. Darnu, the school security guard, watching the door like he's with the CIA
Hugo—now a one-legged plastic chair—got placed in the back corner. Dirty, smelly, slightly slippery. He accepted his fate.
"Okay… I just need to survive for one hour. Sit still. Stay unnoticed. Don't nosebleed. Don't foam. I'm a chair. I'm a chair. I'm—"
Plop.
Coki sat on Hugo. Hard. And… started rocking.
"Bro… could you not sit like a demolition ball?! I've had one working leg since 2008!!"
Then… Coki pulled out the hot glue gun.
"Miss, the chair's wobbly. I'll glue it!"
"NO!! THAT GLUE IS LAVA!! I'M GONNA LOSE MY MIND!!"
But it was too late.
SSSSSTTTT!!
Molten glue flowed onto Hugo's underside.
"THIS FEELS LIKE HELL'S FONDUE!! I'M TRYING TO STAY CALM!!"
At the same time, Cika passed by and started doodling on Hugo's back:
"Let's draw a monster!"
She sketched an ugly giant face with the words: "Stinky Anomaly Pillow Freak."
"NOT ENOUGH TO GLUE ME?! NOW I'M GRAFFITI?! THIS IS A HATE CRIME!"
Then...
SLAM!
Mr. Darnu kicked the door open. "EVERYONE FREEZE! I SMELL ANOMALY AURA!!"
Mrs. Yuvita's eyes narrowed.
"Who here isn't a registered student?"
Silence. Then… her metal ruler slammed the front desk.
"Okay. Time for plan B. RUN."
Suddenly, the glue melted more. Hugo slipped backward. Everyone turned.
"THE CHAIR IS MOVING!" Coki screamed.
"ANOMALY!!" Mrs. Yuvita shrieked.
"GET IT!! PREPARE THE REALITY ERASER!" Mr. Darnu roared.
Cika, Coki, Mrs. Yuvita, and Mr. Darnu all chased after Hugo—the wobbly chair—squeaking and limping.
"I'M A CHAIR, BUT I'VE STILL GOT DIGNITY!!"
The students stood. Some grabbed erasers, rulers, even pencils—like they were trained for this moment. The whole class knew: one object came alive—and if they didn't catch it, the glitching school system could delete their entire class.
"HURRY! IF WE DON'T CATCH THAT CHAIR, WE'RE ALL GONERS!!"
Panic echoed through the room. Hugo hit a desk. Lost another leg. But kept rolling, clinging to life.
"I can't run forever. They all know... I can't hide anymore."
Suddenly, a virtual screen popped up.
MorphHide Mode Activated!Cooldown: 0 secondsChoose a disguise:
A notification blinked on Hugo's forehead:
Activate
Later
"Activate—WHAT DO YOU THINK?! I WANNA LIVE!!"
Choose form:
1. Giant wooden pencil sharpener (size: refrigerator)
2. Hello Kitty school backpack
3. Small green trash bin
"What even is that pencil sharpener?! A tree grinder?! God… anything except Hello Kitty…"
Click. You've selected: Small green trash bin.
The world spun fast. One breath. One flash of light. Hugo was now… a mini trash bin with wobbly wheels and a sticker that read: "Cleanliness is Next to Madness."
He appeared in the school hallway—right in front of the chemistry lab.
"Oh God… now I'm literally where people throw away the failures of academic life…"
No time for complaining. The school alarm blared again.
WARNING: ANOMALY HAS TRANSFORMED. SEARCH AREA EXPANDED.
Footsteps echoed. From the far end, Mrs. Yuvita appeared, full of vengeance, followed by Mr. Darnu, Cika, Coki, and students carrying the wildest tools: electric sticks, giant erasers, even a modified vacuum cleaner.
"They brought a vacuum?! I'M A TRASH BIN, NOT DUST!!"
"CHECK EVERY BIN!" Mrs. Yuvita yelled."DON'T LET THE ANOMALY HIDE IN CLEANLINESS!"
Hugo panicked. He rolled into the lab, hoping to hide among the chemical shelves. But his wheels squeaked.
KRIETT… KRIETT…
"THERE'S A SOUND!" Cika screamed. "THAT TRASH CAN'S MOVING!"
Hugo crashed into the lab and dove inside. Test tubes rattled. Bottles shook.
"WHERE DO I HIDE?! PLEASE DON'T THROW TRASH INTO ME!!"
But fate is cruel.
Ms. Tiara, the quirky chemistry teacher, emerged. Known for dumping leftover experiments into bins.
"Ah, finally! They sent an extra bin," she said casually.
She opened Hugo's lid and—SPLAT!
A whole bag of diluted HCl, leftover fish formalin, and handwash water poured into Hugo's body.
"NOOOO!!! WHAT IS THIS?! THIS IS WORSE THAN OSPEK SWEAT!!"
Hugo's inner screams paused as the crowd outside got louder.
"MS. TIARA! THAT TRASH BIN'S NOT A BIN! IT'S THE ANOMALY!"
"IT'S HUGO! A HUMAN TRAPPED IN THE GAME! HE'S BREAKING THE SYSTEM!"
"What?!" Ms. Tiara stared at the bin.
And Hugo, from inside, silently pleaded:
"Please don't open it. Don't check. Don't..."
CREEAAK...
The lid opened. Everyone stared. Acid. Torn papers. A rubber eyeball (who knows where it came from).
Mr. Darnu lifted Hugo. "IT'S HIM! THE ANOMALY!!"
"I'M A TRASH BIN WHO WANTS A PEACEFUL EXISTENCE!!"
BOOM! Hugo got flung into the hallway. Everyone swarmed. Determined faces. Time left: 12 minutes.
"I can't die now... not to kids with glue guns and venom erasers!"
Then—another screen.
Emergency Skill Unlocked: Blink Hide!Effect: Teleports to a random area within 50mRisk: 50% chance of landing in dangerProceed?
"YOLOOOO. You mean 50/50? Half dead, half not? WHATEVER—LET'S GO!!"
BZZZZZTTTTT!! Light engulfed him.
Screams echoed:
"DON'T LET HIM ESCAPE!!"
New Location: Paris City LibraryTime Remaining: 7 minutes
Hugo appeared between dusty shelves. Quiet. Dark. Smelled like old jam. But it was safe.
"I... I'm alive? Still intact? Not roasted by 9th graders?"
Then a screen popped up:
Level UpLevel UpCongrats! You survived two high-level pursuit scenarios.New Permanent Skill Acquired: Adaptive HideEffect: After each survival, you can store one form from the last 3 games.Cooldown for next 3 games: activeTotal slot: 1 form
"WHOA!! SERIOUSLY?! NOW I CAN PICK WHAT I WANNA BECOME?! I'M OFFICIALLY A CAMOUFLAGE MASTER!!"
But his face quickly tensed.
"...unless the next room is a men's toilet and I have to be a mop bucket."
To be continued…