Erlig Grimes, eighteen years old. The biological son of Greg Grimes and deceased Darcy Wells. Now lives with his biological father and a stepmother. Annie Grimes, who took the surname of her husband.
A first-year student of Birchland High. Has three friends that describe him as a kind and introverted individual. Even though he is bigger than most of his peers, he is shy, gentle, and naïve. The teacher's assessment states that despite his tremendous physical form, he pursues the path of a poet. Finding joy in studying, reading books, and writing poems. He doesn’t belong to this "cruel school."
"Now that I think about this, how come he has the same name as me?"
It was Sunday morning. The sun was shining through the thin curtains, making it impossible for me to continue sleeping.
Right now, I was lying in the bed, and thinking about his life. It will be mine from now on.
"If it was someone else's save file, then won't it have a nickname that differs from my name?" As I held my hands up, I looked at the light spilling through the gaps of my fingers.
"Whatever, it doesn't matter now anymore."
After talking to Jessie yesterday, I decided to change. What an inconceivable option. To start your life anew, not from reincarnation, starting as a baby in a womb, but as a young man.
Even if I wake up later, I think I would be able to learn something from this. Maybe I would even be able to change in more ways than I initially thought.
But what came first was the fact that I may stay here forever. What then? I would run away from everything? Turn into a neet, or end my life prematurely? I didn’t want to end like this.
"Actually, in the real… in the previous world, I wasn't such a loser."
Yeah, I was geeky and shy and a virgin, to top it all off. I was a scaredy-cat that couldn't violate any rule because I was scared of the punishment.
But still, I had my strong points. Even if I was shy, I still was able to interact with anyone if I needed it. While someone can say I was a nerd, I, myself, would say that I was passionate about my hobbies. I was rather smart. I even managed to attend a decent college.
And no matter how much of a coward I was, I was always able to talk myself out of the troubles, and one time I was even able to save Andrew's ass.
"Yeah, those were good times."
As for being a virgin. It doesn’t matter to me. Sex is overrated, and being in a relationship is a headache.
Thump!
I trembled after hearing something heavy being thrown in the room above.
Now, back to the business. Yesterday, I got hyped by Jessie and her promises. But later on, I gradually lost all the spirit I gained. I remember being afraid, questioning myself if I made the right choice.
"Yet sometimes you must hit the rock bottom. So that you will be able to bounce back higher than before."
At the moment, I was feeling great. I vaguely remember seeing a dream. However, when I tried to focus on at least a single detail, it all broke down. And after thinking about everything over and over again in the span of two days, I made my choice.
This body, this life, this is me from now on.
I won't try to alienate myself from anyone. I won't act like someone else. Taking over someone's body not only awarded me with the obligation to continue the legacy of the deceased, but It also gave me a way to live my life differently.
But saying and doing were two different things. After all, I can't force myself to feel genuine love towards my new parents. Nor can I keep being a friend with everyone just because "I" was before. I can't be a hypocrite and swear to take care of everyone who cared about the previous me.
So what should I do from now on?
It's hard to take a path from all the countless possibilities. In my previous world, I just went with the flow. I didn’t actually decide a lot of things.
Should I do the same thing here? Try to act like nothing happened, tweaking the personality just a little bit and taking a helping hand from Jessie? I couldn't stop myself from thinking about the easiest path.
"And that's after talking so much shit earlier."
Knock, knock.
"Erlig, I made breakfast, come eat with us," Annie said, gently knocking on my door.
Now that I think about it, I was feeling hungry. I went to bed early yesterday and haven't eaten dinner.
"Ah, how could I forget about the bruises." I slapped my forehead. I used my phone as a small hand mirror and saw my cheeks went back to normal. As for my nose, I think there was a small scar on the bridge, but overall it healed nicely. I looked at my stomach as well. The bruises there were almost all gone.
"Was this freakish healing speed inherited from Greg?"
After washing up, I went to the kitchen. It was a small kitchen, and there were no expensive domestic appliances, and cooking utensils looked heavily used. Some might've even said that it looked poor, but to me, it gave a strange coziness that I couldn't explain. I took some food and started eating silently.
"Erlig…" Annie whispered while Greg maintained his silence.
"…" I sneakily looked at the pair.
Annie or Ann was a young woman, probably in her late twenties. She was a kind of beauty that was common in the countryside. Dark brown hair that she tied with a simple band into a low side tail. Clear light brown eyes, small nose. She had a tiny beauty mark in the corner of her mouth. It attracted attention to her thin and pale lips.
As much of a country girl she was, after spending some time in the big city, she now exuded an air of a young lady. She even had light makeup going on.
As for Greg, well, he looked a lot like me. His previously unkempt dark hair was neatly combed. They were still damp. It wasn't long ago after he went out of the bath. As for actual facial features, he looked normal. There was nothing that could make me say that he is ugly, neither there is a thing that made him handsome. He was a kind-looking dad, who looked slightly younger than his actual age of almost forty years old.
I spent a whole week here, yet this was the first time I tried to look at them thoroughly. It was also the first time I tried to understand their emotions, instead of avoiding them, the moment our eyes connect. While everything Annie thought was written on her face, Greg at least tried to hide his emotions. Well, not that he excelled in it.
They were worried. Not that it wasn't normal to be worried about your son when he suddenly starts ignoring you.
"Dad, I wanted to say something to you." but if I wanted to accept this life and make it mine, I needed to accept them as my parents.
"Hmm?" Greg tried to look like everything was okay and he was relaxed. But the way he straightened his back betrayed him.
"I haven't been feeling so well lately. And I had lots of things going on, I was thinking about everything."
Greg furrowed his brows while Annie put her fork down. Her eyes were darting between me and Greg.
I carefully put my fork and knife down, "I know that you've gone through many struggles every day to support me. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. It wasn't my intention to hurt my stepmother either."
I stood up from the table and bowed lightly. "Please forgive your son!"
"Stop this, Erlig," Greg quickly came to me and held my shoulders so that I wouldn't bend further. "Why are you doing this? You didn't do anything wrong. You don’t need to ask for forgiveness if you didn't do anything wrong, right? Please, sit down, and let's talk. Okay?"
It was the first time I saw his face up so close. It was the face of the father holding complex emotions. He looked both relieved and happy.
"Please tell me what happened."
He wasn't an ideal parent, but at least he tried to. I felt his sincerity, and it touched me.
"You can say that I had a little conflict with another student. I don't want to tell you all the details, but it's all right now."
"That's good to hear." Greg finally let out a long sigh and looked like he finally let go of everything that bothered him. "Son, you should know that even if you are in the wrong, we will support you." He hugged Annie, who nodded vigorously. "But you should always make amends to whoever you wronged."
"Yes… I understand." I don't know if I can become a son for them, but I would, at least, try to become friends in the memory of the previous Erlig.
"Now, let's talk while we eat."
"Uh-huh." I nodded.
After this, the breakfast went much smoother. Greg talked about his work while I tried to keep up with this conversation and told him the little bits of my school life I managed to gain. All while Annie was smiling, gently, as she listened to us talking.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you, I actually made a new friend." I think it will be better if I tell them about Jessie sooner.
"Is it a girl?!" Before Greg could even open his mouth, Annie already asked her question with her eyes shining like two lanterns.
Ugh, where was she hiding this side of her?
"Yes… she is."
"Is she pretty? How old is she? Where did you meet?"
The never-ending barrage of questions made my head throb. Why is she so interested in stuff like this?
"Cough, Ann, I think it would be better to let Erlig talk about it."
"But I was just interested, it was the first friend he made in a few years, and a girl to boot," her eyes still shined, she didn't want to lose this opportunity to chat about girls.
"Nevertheless, let him speak at his own pace. We don't want to pressure him too much."
"Yes, you're right," she gave me a wry smile, "I'm sorry Erlig, I got a little bit excited. Please, continue as you like." She still exuded a type of pressure, but it was a lot better than before.
I gave a big thumbs up to the head of the family in my mind. Greg, you're the man! Thanks for saving me there. I would make sure to repay this debt.
"Her name is Jessie, she is in the same school and year as me, and she will help me train in martial arts."
"Martial arts?" Annie's enthusiasm flew away after hearing these words.
"Yes, she even said that I have a god-given talent."
"But you always said that you didn't like to fight?" Now it was Greg's turn to ask questions. "How come you changed your opinion?"
"It's because…" Fuck what should I say? I can't say that it's mostly a ruse to defend myself from Reid. After all, I would only add more troubles to this family if I told the truth. "It's because she said that learning martial arts isn't all about fighting. It also helps you rediscover and understand oneself."
"Hm, I've never thought about this. That's good, but remember this, you should give it your all when you start a new endeavor. No slacking off."
"Yes."
Somehow my excuse managed to impress both of them. Even earning me small praise because of how I thought as a philosopher.
After we finished eating, we decided to drink some tea and talk some more. When Annie started pressing me if I had a girl that I liked, I heard my phone ringing with a notification sound. Using this as an excuse, I slipped back into my room.
"Now, let's check what's this all about."
After taking my phone, I found many notifications. There were over ten missed calls and even more unread messages. They were all from Mara. It was mostly short messages to call her back or at least send a small response. The last message being a question.
"WHERE ARE YOU?"
He should just sever contact with all his friends... Well i wouldn't even call them friends...
that'd be my take honestly. Right now it seems like there's no real upside to being connected with them, and there's the downside of the stress of pretending he's actually the person they know. That sounds cold, I know, but these aren't his friends. They're strangers who know the guy who used to piloting this meatsuit. And hell, it ain't like any of them are actually acting like they're on his side anyway. Might as well look out for himself, cause no one else is going to.
Hmm I thought he would go the path of Vengeance how unfortunate
But
I did not dislike the path of bettering himself & finally facing things instead of running away & finally fighting back
Let's hope he will grow as someone as be the one who takes, rather than the taken
You mean ntr right? f*ck that shit, take em all
Funny seeing a bunch of teen cowards in the comments. "Sever contact with friends" or "Don't take bit*hes back"... How childish, really hoping here that author don't follow your insecure teenagers mentality. I wanna see a good mature conclusion D:
He gotta work out his relationship with friends see what he can redeem and save and try to make the best of it from what he said before it seems each one of them have their own troubles, if he sever stuff with them just like that then he truly didn't change or mature.
Hmmm....
I suppose you can see it as a younger and more childish mentality to just quite something when things get hard, but at the same time it has weight. The new Erlig clearly identifies that he is nothing like the old Erlig of this world and won’t spend HIS new life pretending to have the same interests and relationships the old one had if they are hazardous to him.
Real talk, as an adult if I need my ‘best friend’ and my ‘close female friend’ are screwing around behind my back while the female is leadings me on and they both know. Yeah no, we aren’t friends. I won’t even go into the supposedly gentle childhood friend that’s topping his bully off (having s3x) in the back while he was getting tortured at school. But thats the thing about being an adult, you learn which connects to cut and which to make last for your benefits regardless of if you like them.
I won’t say for him to sever the old Erlig ties, but I will stand behind the notion that they’re starting back from zero again now.
It's not so much a sever but rather a redraw of the board. In some novels the MC makes the choice to live the life of the host and become the host.
But this MC decided to not bear the weight of the host which isnt his weight to bear. I do agree that he should work on the relationship (if he wants to have anything to do with them) but if he doesn't, then an you can't blame him for attempting an amicable separation.
I wouldn't want to pretend to be something or someone I'm not. Its ok to see his friends as just strangers and see if what he wants from there.
He should sever contact with all his friends and those girls permanently I’m not against him stealing girls but he shouldn’t take bit*hes back.
And as soon as he gets back to school...the ass beating continues..and all his female friends get ridden like a bike!
Sheesh, mara, where were *you*...? When he was getting his ass beat, you ghosted him, and now you're worried?
Thanks for the chapter
I dont understand how it works but why cant he change schools. There are pretty good parents in some stories but he made up with them to fast and his mother is to clingy for a stepmother who was just recently called stepmother.
There are some reasons to why he can't change school, one of them because this one it one of the best schools there is. The other reasons would be explained later down the story. And there was no actual conflict, so he didn't make up with the duo. It was about accepting them as parents and he started warming up to them.
@SailusGebel Ah ok, its just that the actions of his father reminded me of the parents in sweet home. Ignoring his suffering and saying he should hold on (getting beaten up by a bully) bexause they couldn't afford the conflict.
Causing the mc to hate his parents.
But yeah, he is an adult, maybe ha accepted that as well
@SailusGebel I don't understand how he can accept random strangers as new parents, after all he was not an orphan in his world and I guess from his description he had a normal life with normal parents for like 20* years, he is an adult, I could believe trying to be on friendly terms with these two characters, but accepting them as new parents it's just unbelievable, as for his so called friends they are also strangers and are not really real friends, I mean they didn't even try to help when he was in need and just used some excuses.
I really liked the prologue and how you depicted the MC, a normal, reasonable man, pretty smart, with realistic reactions to this new world and situations, even his attitude towards women from this world is rational, and the most important is that he doesn't act like a hormonal teenager. I'm already enjoying reading about him and don't really think he needs to change so much, well he will have to learn how to fight even though he doesn't like violence, that's a logical course of action given the world he is in.
Overall I really enjoyed the prologue and the protagonist you created, but from this chapter he is already acting differently, accepting strangers as new parents it just does not fit with the protagonist from the prologue, and I guess in the future he will start transforming into something opposite from what he was in the prologue. Hope the relationships will be reasonable.
Well you are still doing a good job at writing and even if in the future this story will become some cliché, from the prologue I can see that you could write a great story in the future,maybe not this one but another. Good luck author and don't let comments influence you so much, after all we all have our different preferences and expectations.
@Casus Thanks for your kind words. I appreciate it.
I'm pretty sure that the protagonist stated somewhere that he would try to be on good terms with the parents. So yeah, accepting them as a family and calling them like that is more of a goal and self-suggestion or self-hypnosis, don't know what is the appropriate term, rather than an actual feeling of being related to them.
About his friends. I've got lots of comments that he should leave them, that they are bad, that they are strangers, and so on. He doesn't know them, at all. This world has changed from the game he played, and so does these characters. Before doing something with them he should get to know them better. And at the moment he is too preoccupied with himself rather than his relationships. It's not just random writing that I didn't develop these characters and left them hanging. Everyone will have their story to share, but first and foremost they will be told through the eyes and most importantly perception of mc. So if mc doesn't want to listen to their story, how can it be told?