EVIL SYSTEM

Ben was embarrassed.

"You know, I think we interrupted their breakfast, so maybe we shouldn't—"

"Nooo," Jiang Chen placed a hand on Ben's shoulder. "Don't talk nonsense. There's plenty of food here for everyone."

"Besides, you're fraternity brothers," Jiang Chen led them to sit at a table. "Our brothers are always welcome."

Everyone was staring at them, and they knew they weren't part of the fraternity, but the shameless Dante was still grinning from ear to ear, treating everyone as if he truly were part of their fraternity.

"Play along," he said.

Ben spent the whole time holding his forehead while the fraternity boys had fun asking their "fraternity brother" questions.

The only good thing about the situation was that Ben got to eat a good breakfast, which left him so full that he stopped thinking about the consequences.

But by the time Ben finished his meal and relaxed, he realized Dante was chatting and laughing with everyone around him.

At first, it was clear the guys were having fun trying to expose Dante, but now they were genuinely enjoying themselves, not really caring how he had ended up in the building.

Dante had made friends with everyone so easily, and now they treated him like one of their own.

Dante saw him and smiled.

"Good news, Ben," Dante approached him and slung an arm over his shoulder.

Ben raised an eyebrow in question.

"Apparently, they already knew we're not part of their fraternity."

"You don't say!" Ben replied sarcastically.

"Hehehe," Dante smiled. "But it's no problem. The guys are really nice."

"They say we can stay as long as we want," Dante pointed at them as he spoke. "They're a very close-knit and good fraternity."

Ben smiled in relief. "Yeah, I can see that."

"Try to socialize," Dante grabbed Ben's shoulder and pulled him toward a group that was arguing heatedly.

"I'm telling you, the best video game is Clash of Champions."

"Don't be stupid," another guy interjected. "The best of all is Champions League."

"Don't be so generic; that's what everyone says," Jiang Chen shrugged. "Personally, I love Mage War."

"Stop trying to be interesting," one of the guys mocked. "That's a niche game; it'll never be in the discussion for the best game of all time."

"I love Tenipoll," Dante chimed in.

The guys stared at him for a second and couldn't help but start trembling, trying not to laugh, but they failed.

"Hahaha!"

"Tenipoll! Hahaha, you're the best, Dante!"

"Oh my god! I can't stop laughing!"

Dante had a smile on his face and laughed along with the others.

Ben felt out of place. He couldn't understand the joke, and being among them without laughing made him feel like an outsider.

"What about you, Ben?" Dante tried to include him in the conversation. "What's your favorite video game of all time?"

That question inevitably brought to mind a flood of nostalgic memories of a young Antony playing in front of a computer and console.

Hours and hours of constant gaming that never bored him.

"Halo," he blurted out without thinking.

"Halo? What game is that? I've never heard of it," Jiang Chen was puzzled.

"I know everything about video games, and I'm sure there's no game called Halo," a chubby guy pulled out his laptop and started searching. "See?" He turned the laptop around. "No such game exists."

Everyone stared at him, even Dante, who had noticed that Ben sometimes said things no one could understand.

Ben found himself in a predicament of his own making.

"It's a game I made up in my head," he lied.

"So you think the best game of all time is one you made up in your head?" asked the chubby guy.

"Wow, I want your self-esteem!" Jiang Chen burst out laughing.

"I'm intrigued," a third guy approached Ben. "What's this game like?"

Ben didn't know how to get out of this, so all he could do was describe Halo.

How the Master Chief was awakened on a ship in the middle of nowhere and was pursued by Covenant ships.

He had to explain, of course, what the Covenant was.

How they landed on a giant structure in space called Halo.

Ben described everything to them—the weapons, the aliens, the ships, and more.

Everyone fell silent, listening to Ben talk until he finished with the destruction of Halo.

"Wow!" Jiang Chen's mouth hung open in amazement. "How did you come up with all that?"

"It's incredible," the guy who asked about the game was very excited. "I've never heard of anything like it. A world where magic doesn't exist, and humanity's power lies in its intelligence."

"And the Spartans," the chubby guy trembled with excitement. "I want to play that game!"

"We can't; it doesn't exist," Jiang Chen replied.

"But..." the third guy looked very thoughtful. "We could create it."

Jiang Chen and the chubby guy fell silent for a good while.

"I mean, we have to create a game as a project this year and enter it in a competition," the guy explained his idea. "It wouldn't be a bad idea to try and create this incredible world."

Jiang Chen and the chubby guy thought very seriously.

Ben, for his part, was relieved to be free from socializing, and while everyone was lost in thought, he slipped away.

He explored the dorm for a while before finally settling on a balcony, enjoying the fresh breeze.

"Why did you run away?" A voice came from behind him. It was a thin Asian guy, not very handsome, with short hair. "Don't you like being around people?"

"Not really," Ben gestured for him to join. "But I feel obligated to join their conversations, and that makes me uncomfortable."

"I get that," the guy nodded. "Sometimes I just want to be silent and watch everything happening around me."

"Yeah," Ben agreed. "I feel very comfortable with silence."

"Hehe, but you know, there's a problem with that," the guy smiled ironically. "On the days you do want to socialize and talk to others, they'll be so used to your quiet nature that they'll ignore you."

"We become extras in other people's lives," the guy looked very sad. "The guy everyone has seen but doesn't really know."

Ben looked at the guy and, without meaning to, thought about what the abomination had said.

"My name is Benjamin Clay," Ben extended his hand. "What's your name?"

The guy's eyes widened in surprise for a second. He looked at Ben's outstretched hand and shook it.

"Ryuji, Ryuji Sakamoto."

As kindred spirits in their way of thinking, Ben and Ryuji quickly became friends.

Ben introduced him to Dante, who wasted no time in befriending him.

Ryuji introduced Ben to all the other members of the fraternity.

Although it was a fraternity, many of them studied different things at the university.

For example, Jiang Chen and his friends were studying programming and animation. The thin guy was even studying game development directly.

There was another small group studying acting.

Ben was especially interested in this group.

Dante was all smiles, talking with the guys about singing and music.

Apart from them, there were the guys from the magic division.

They were the most numerous, with many athletic guys gathered, chatting.

"That's Tepei," Ryuji pointed to a tall, muscular guy. He had long hair down to his shoulders and a leader-like attitude that was visible from a distance. "He's an intermediate mage and qualified to represent the university in the grand competition taking place in the capital."

"He's a good guy," Ryuji smiled. "He always defends us when other fraternities try to intimidate us. So, we all pitched in some money and rented a bus. Together, we're planning to go support him."

Ben smiled and patted Ryuji on the shoulder.

"You really are a fraternity."

+++

They spent a good time chatting, laughing, and playing ball in the courtyard. Some played with their pets.

Everyone was having a great time, with no discord or bad behavior. There were jokes and laughter everywhere.

Ben couldn't help but think that if he had the chance to attend a university, he'd want to join this one and be accepted into such a close-knit fraternity.

At noon, everyone had lunch in the dining hall, and that's where Dante approached him.

"Ben, the guys are thinking about traveling to the capital to support Tepei," Dante whispered. "We can go with them in our minivan."

Ben didn't have to think long before agreeing.

The Chanzio fraternity guys were really nice, and he had a great time with them.

He also wanted to support Tepei and see how strong the university magic division students from across the country were.

If Tepei was intermediate rank, then there might even be more powerful levels nationwide.

Tepei was leaving today with the university team.

The guys would leave tomorrow without Tepei's knowledge.

They wanted to surprise him at the grand university tournament.

"Can I come with you?" Ryuji asked shyly. "I don't like crowds."

"Of course," Ben replied immediately, not waiting for Dante's answer.