Chapter 1: Victim

(WARNING: this chapter explores themes such as bullying and suicide, to a very unrealistic level within the bounds of fiction.)

"You really thought you could snitch on us, you freak?"

On the top floor of a construction site somewhere in a city, a boy was currently sprawled on the floor, with multiple boys and girls surrounding him. A squelching sound echoed in the area as the boy was being repeatedly punched in the face by someone twice his size.

"S-Stop! Please! Ack!" 

The boy, named Van, cried out, his nose bleeding heavily. His face was bloody and bruised, and he had on a broken pair of glasses. Punches continued to rain down on his face as the boy standing over him ignored his plea, a wide smile on his face.

"Take it easy, Grant. We don't want him to pass out." 

A girl who was busy on her phone while leaning against a beam spoke up. Grant, the boy who was beating Van, turned around and walked back to his friends, shaking Van's blood off his fist.

On the floor, Van ran a hand through his black hair as he tried to rub off some of the blood on his face, taking off his broken glasses. He looked up at the group that surrounded him.

4 girls and 4 boys stood in front of him, including Grant and the girl focused on her phone. These people were his fellow classmates, yet they had tormented him for the past 3 years, ever since he met them in high school. They were all a bunch of typical rich brats who did whatever they wanted, with parents or family members in powerful positions. 

They often did whatever they wanted because of this, and the school they went to would always ignore whatever trouble they caused. They and Van attended one of the branches of a prestigious school, one Van worked himself to the bone to get a scholarship for, as his family wasn't the most well-off.

He was just an average student attending the school, until one fateful day. He was walking in the hallway when he saw Grant and his group forcing one of his classmates to eat his lunch on the floor by their feet. Van decided to step in and tell them to leave his classmate alone, which to this day he considers his biggest mistake.

His act of trying to protect his classmate simply made him their next target. From that day on, his desk and locker would always be vandalized, his stuff destroyed, and he was shunned by everyone, including the classmate he tried to help.

All this was the work of Grant and the others, and it only got worse from there. They would use Van as a shuttle, an ashtray, a punching bag, one time they even forced him to instigate a fight with a random man on the street, which ended up with Van needing a visit to the hospital.

He was beaten and abused on the regular, and not once did they ever pick on someone else, which Van found strange at the time. Before he was their victim, they were known to switch to a new target every few weeks.

Van had tried to get help multiple times, from the school, from his family, and even the police, but it seemed the city he lived in was practically owned by Grant and his group. 

The school had fed him some excuse about how Grant was a "model student" and couldn't afford any stains on his record, asking him to suck it up as it was simply "teenagers having fun". That was when Van knew that the school had been bribed by Grant's family.

When he went to the police, they had ignored him, saying that he was overreacting and proceeded to chase him away. Turns out, one of Van's tormentors was the son of the Chief of Police, who was the one that bailed out Grant and the others when they committed illegal activities.

The worst experience was with his parents. He told them everything, about how he was being bullied, and how he went to the school and the police. He thought they would comfort him and help him transfer to another school.

Van was wrong. His parents had yelled at him for "involving" himself with someone like Grant, and even told him to focus on his studies instead. They made it about themselves, saying Van was wasting the education they worked hard to give him.

In the end, they even made Van apologize to them. That was when Van realized he was truly alone. He had no friends, and no family to help him. Yet Van never gave up hope that things could get better. He felt that if he could get through it all until graduation, then he would never have to see Grant again.

So he took all the beatings, all the torture, and not once did he fight back, not once did he complain. Even when one of the girls there faked a confession to Van to manipulate him into doing her bidding, even when they made him do humiliating things in front of the school, he took it all. 

Until yesterday. An executive from the main branch of the school came to do an inspection of the school and its students, and Van had gone to the inspector in private. He confessed about the things Grant and his group would do to him, and even presented a recording he took ages ago of them attacking him.

The inspector had promised Van he would do something about it, and for the first time in a long time Van felt he was finally going to be free. But on the next day, Grant had suddenly asked him to come to the construction site, which led to the current events.

"I gotta admit, that was pretty smart going to the inspector," Grant chuckled, crouching down to look Van in the eyes, pulling out a brown envelope from his pocket. 

"But unfortunately for you, all people care about is this." 

Grant opened the envelope and poured the contents onto Van's head, which was a small pile of cash. As Van watched the money fall, he felt himself tear up. He was so close, so very close to being free. 

Once again, his hope was broken right before his very eyes. Tears streamed down his face as he realized that nothing he could do would ever make things better. No matter what he did, Grant and his friends would be there to make his life hell.

"Do you get it? No matter what you do, you'll always be our plaything." 

As if to confirm his thoughts, Grant taunted him before standing up and spreading his arms wide.

"We're the kings, freak. And you're just a dog rolling in the mud."

Grant began to laugh as did his friends, the girl busy with her phone even letting out a smile. Van, at this point, felt broken.

'So what if I graduate?' Van thought to himself. 'There's only one way out, and I can do it right now.' 

Suddenly, Van got to his feet, though he was swaying around a bit as he was heavily affected by the beating Grant just gave him. He turned around, and started making his way to the edge of the platform. 

"Oh? Are you gonna jump? Then do it, freak!"

Grant called out to Van seeing as he immediately went for the edge. The construction site they were standing on was going to become a fairly tall building, and seeing as they were on the top floor, a fall from this height would surely mean death.

Van looked over the edge, immediately feeling dizzy. He began to wonder whether he was making the right choice. He turned around to look at Grant, to see if he would even care. All he saw, however, was Grant smiling from ear to ear.

Everything Grant and his group did flashed through Van's head. He thought of all the times he was a crying, bloody mess. He thought of the times when he broke down in his room at the thought of the hell he would have to face the next day at school. Van wasn't even safe on weekends, as Grant would often call him out.

As the memories flashed through his head, Van made his decision. He faced forward once more, taking in one last, deep, shaky breath. He spread his arms wide before taking a step forward. 

'This is it. This is the way out.' Van thought to himself as his foot met air, and he began to fall. 'It's not like anyone would care. My parents would probably just cry about how much they wasted on me.'

Van was now halfway to the ground. His vision was beginning to get blurry, and black spots were in the corner of his eyes. He heard Grant's laughter, but he felt he was probably imagining things, as the roaring of the wind was all he could hear.

'If I was given a second chance…' Right as he was about to hit the ground, Van had a strange thought. 'I would-'

******

"My head is killing me…" Van mumbled, now in a dark room.

'Wait, I'm not dead?!'

Just as Van was gathering his thoughts, shocked by the fact that he was still alive, a female voice called out to him.

"Hello there! Please get up slowly, as you're still disoriented from transmigrating here."

Van listened to the voice, taking a second to gather his bearings before getting up slowly, a hand on his head. As he looked around, he could see that he was in a small, dark room, and he was previously lying down in what seemed to be a glowing white ring.

Light suddenly shined on Van's face from a doorway, and he could barely make out the silhouette of a woman. He raised a hand to shield his eyes as he winced from the sudden exposure. That was when the female voice spoke out once more.

"Looks like you're all right now. Welcome to Transmigrator Academy!"

"...Huh???"