CHAPTER 2: EXECUTABLE DETECTED!

Roy quickly took his bath and got ready for school. He was going to do so already without being told.

At the dining table, he ate breakfast with a vein already popped up on his forehead.

"You creepy old woman, why do you keep watching me eat?! You’re making me lose my appetite," Roy screamed at the elderly lady, poorly hiding behind the kitchen door.

She was startled at his words, having believed she had hidden herself well.

"H-How dare you talk to me like that?! As punishment, have more eggs!" She retorted and took out the pan she was hiding behind her. She had been looking for a chance to feed him some more.

"Nana, no!" Roy grabbed his plate and ran away. "Tsk, you’re going to make me a fat loser. I have a reputation to keep in school, you know?"

Roy’s grandma gave a warm smile and slowly moved closer to him. "My dear grandson, you’re a loser already, so what reputation do you have? Just eat food and be happy, okay?"

"What the hell?! No!"

He couldn’t believe his ears. His own grandmother was calling him a loser. What a time to be alive.

Roy’s face scrunched in annoyance, while Nana’s was beaming as she held the pan.

But then he stretched his plate and said angrily, "Just one spoon!"

"Yes, yes, yes," she said and dished him a spoonful, but added two more spoons in a flash.

"Nooo!!!"

Roy screamed and wanted to pull his hair out. This old woman was driving him crazy.

However, she was the only one who always stayed. His parents were gone, and his elder brother was never around as he was someone who worked in a guild and was always busy.

Roy knew he really couldn’t complain. Nana always provided him with everything he wanted.

’Tsk, but never some freakin’ peace,’ he muttered, resting his head on his desk and looking out the window of his class.

"Yo, Roy," someone called out to him, and he raised his head to look. Sitting at a desk away was Chris, a bespectacled fat loser.

"Did you see the top post on the forum this morning about some loser’s EXE saying sign-in unsuccessful? Wait, dude, were you crying?" Chris asked, chuckling.

"W-What? No. Why would you think that?" Roy countered, quickly wiping his tears. He was still down about his WTF.exe predicament.

Chris scoffed. "I’m pretty sure you were crying. What happened? Is it because Jane’s dating Pierre?"

Roy’s eyes widened. "Jane is WHAT?!"

"The two faggots, what’s cooking?"

Speaking of the devil, Pierre, the handsome, tall high school heartthrob, suddenly grabbed both Roy and Chris’s shoulders.

"U-Uh, Pierre," Chris stammered, "how’s it going?"

Pierre smiled and asked, "I told you two to meet me at the back of the school yesterday with the cash, what happened?"

"Uh, I had to run home. Family emergency," Chris quickly lied, already starting to swat buckets.

The handsome bastard grinned. "You’re lying again, piggy. That’s okay, just know the consequences remain the same. What about you, Roy?"

Roy just stared at Pierre and Chris with a newfound detachment.

’Why are these two bastards bothering me?’ Roy voiced inwardly, grabbed Pierre’s hand, and forcefully removed it from his shoulder.

And said plainly, "Buzz off, Pierre. Find some other loser to extort."

’Seriously, I have a system now. Why should I continue being afraid of you?’ Roy thought. Now Jane was dating Pierre, wouldn’t it be a shame if Roy funded the gifts Pierre gave her?

Right then, a small panel appeared before Roy.

[Executable Detected!]

[Do you wish to link to the host?]

Roy blinked and looked down at Pierre’s hand.

"Yes!" He shouted, not minding the eyes on him.

[Linking to Host... 2%]

Chris’s eyes widened in shock at Roy’s words about Pierre fucking off, and so were Pierre’s.

The latter forced a smile and looked at his wrist, which Roy held, and nodded.

"I guess you’re turning into a man now, right, Roy?" he said and straightened his back to leave, already thinking of how he was going to teach Roy a lesson later, but was surprised to find that Roy still held onto his wrist.

"What the...? Let go of me, you freak," Pierre said and forcefully dragged his hand away, but he only pulled Roy closer, who then hugged the former’s body.

"Please, just give me a few seconds," Roy begged, unwilling to let Pierre go.

"Bastard! Are you crazy?" Pierre screamed, his eyes darting around the classroom, noticing the weird looks he was getting due to being in such a position with another guy.

"Get off me!" He yelled and punched down at Roy, but the kid didn’t budge.

[Linking to Host... 14%]

Roy laughed. "Haha! You thought I wouldn’t find out? You thought you could hide the reason why you’re so special, while the rest of us are losers?"

"What are you talking about?!" Pierre shouted and punched Roy again, but once wasn’t enough to make him let go, so he did it a couple more times.

Unable to take the pain, Roy groaned and pushed Pierre to the ground, and took hold of the chance to wrap his legs around Pierre’s.

"Ew, what’s happening?"

"Haha, we gotta film this."

"Get him, Roy! Pierre’s a pain in the ass!"

"Didn’t Roy like Jane? She’s dating Pierre now, could that be why they’re fighting?"

"Probably, haha! This shit is going viral!"

Pierre screamed at Roy, "What is wrong with you?! Leave me the fuck alone! You’re embarrassing me!"

Roy, with blood running down his nose, laughed, "Let’s be embarrassed together, you bastard."

[Linking to Host... 37%]

"Yeah. Fight for us, Roy."

"End Pierre’s reign of terror!"

"We, your fellow single losers, stand with you, Roy! You’ve got this!" All the boys rooted for Roy.

"What shit are you bastards saying?!" Pierre screamed and wrestled more with Roy, tumbling and turning.

Meanwhile, all the girls rooted for Pierre.

"Pierre, you can do this!"

"Beat that pervert, Pierre!"

"Don’t let Roy win, Pierre!"

"Avenge me, Pierre. Roy tried looking under my skirt once."

Mid-fight, Roy raised his head to the crazy girl who said that, and screamed, "I didn’t try to look under anything, you lying flat-chested bi—"

Pow!

Pierre elbowed Roy’s cheek this time, causing him to daze a little.

But the panel before him gave him focus, and he held on for dear life.

[Linking to Host... 69%]

"Roy! Roy! Roy!" The boys screamed, their noise drawing in more audience from other classes.

"What do you want?! Why are you still holding on to me?" Pierre said, tired already from all the effort wasted.

Roy gritted his teeth and said, determined, "Until it’s over, I’m never letting you go!"

"Aaaaaaahhhhh," the boys screamed in agony and laughter at the insanity of that short dialogue, while the girls looked away bashfully.

Shortly after, the teachers arrived to separate the fight, but it took a while longer before Roy finally let go of Pierre.

In the infirmary, despite having received the news of a few days’ suspension from school, Roy was beaming with a smile as he stared at the panel before him.

[Linking to Host... 100% (Complete)]

[Congratulations! You have successfully linked with Host "Jean-Pierre Dubois".]

"And what are you smiling about?" Pierre asked, his expression completely sour.

"None of your business, really," Roy said.

Pierre gnashed his teeth. "I’m suspended because of you. You think you can get away with this? As long as we’re both in this school, I swear I’ll make you pay for embarrassing me in front of everyone."

Roy stood up from the bed and dusted his school uniform.

"Heh. Good luck with that," he simply said and left the infirmary.

Just then, Jane entered the infirmary too. Roy had figured she wasn’t there to see the fight because she was the teacher’s pet and was most likely in the staffroom.

Seeing Roy, she deliberated before speaking with furrowed eyebrows, "I didn’t expect that from you, Roy."

Roy just clicked his tongue and walked past her, muttering, "Get off your dick, bro. And piss off."