Nightmares Paradise [LITRPG System Integration]

If Jonathan was being completely honest, his life kind of sucked at the moment.

It made sense not to admit such a thing. What vestiges of pride and self-worth he had left refused to let the people around him realize how his life was going.

It made sense he thought, in a twisted sort of way.

He had been raised in household which valued independence and self-sufficiency. Things which other families considered chores or household tasks, was just a responsibility to oneself.

It taught Jonathan that responsibility for oneself should lie solely in the hands of oneself.

That at the end of the day, there was no-one else that someone should rely on.

Ironing clothes. Washing dirty laundry. Catching the bus to school. Preparing and planning meals for the week. Even purchasing one's own personal hygiene products. According to his parents, all of these were fundamental life lessons that every six-year-old should know.

That did not stop them from hovering above him whenever he decided to work on his homework on the kitchen table either. Help was never too far away, but still having to ask permission to hang out with his friends when he was purchasing his own shaving cream did seem kind of redundant at that point.

His parents certainly did not let him forget it, greeting him with a set of packed bags and a small savings account on the morning after his high school graduation.

"You're a man now. It's time you learnt how to make your own way in the world." And with that, the place that Jon had called a home for the past eighteen years had suddenly just become another house on another street.

He barely had any time to say goodbye to his younger siblings, his right eye twitching as he adjusted his glasses to obscure his face better.

He did not want them to see anything that would ruin their image of him.

Jon did not realize just how tight he gripped the strap of his duffel bag, his fingers turning pale as his feet unconsciously carried him halfway across town to his best friend's place, hoping Trevor or Summer would let him crash at theirs for a couple days.

Unfortunately for him, Trevor had planned to join the military directly after high school and Summer more recently went overseas with her family to celebrate her high school graduation.

It only gave Jonathan a couple nights with a roof over his head before Trevor's father 'politely' asked him to leave. The old man possessed a similar disposition to his own father, although significantly more militant.

"What are you planning to do from now on Jon? I can ask Dad to let you stay for just a couple more days until you can find a place but- ", Trevor's words were cut off, his eyes moving from the screen of his computer towards his friend sitting in the corner of his room.

"Nah, I think it should be alright. I've quite literally applied for almost a dozen places at this point. I have enough cash in the short term to stay a crappy motel for a week or two, and if everything goes to plan, I should be able to get a job before the university semester starts up. Washing dishes might suck ass, but if the chefs and cooks are halfway decent people, I should be able to score a free lunch every shift", Jon spoke, lifting his head to meet Trevor's gaze.

Trevor let out a small sigh, nodding his head, knowing what his friend was like.

Say what you would about Jonathan Guilliman, but he was a tenacious, if not slightly arrogant son of a bitch. He was not the type of person to lord his superiorities over another person but did not like it when someone thought he was 'wrong', or not in the right.

He would always reply that right and wrong were morally subjective, and either annoy the shit out of the other person, forcing them to abandon the argument or start a fight in the event that the former didn't happen.

It did not help that he was one of the smarter individuals in their graduating year.

Not to mention that he had the natural build of a born-athlete, something which Trevor cursed every time he watched his friend devour another pancake or serving of fries.

If it was not for his crappy personality, Jon might have been one of those popular kids that become student council president or prom king.

Jonathan, or Jon as he preferred, scrolled through one of house rental apps he had downloaded in the past forty-eight hours. His brown hair was messily pushed out of his face, some strands tucked behind his ears, held in place by a pair of black rimmed glasses.

"I've got a few thousand dollars in savings. Renting a place is my only option at the moment until university housing opens for new students, so finding a place that will accept a short-term renter might be difficult for my price range." Jon tapped a couple filters on his search criteria nodding as he continued speaking out loud.

"The hospitality industry is always looking for new employees. I don't mind taking something with crappy hours or strenuous work so long as the benefits aren't too bad. Within public transport of my house will reduce costs in the long run. The possibility of bringing food home from work will reduce grocery expenditure further…".

"I've got to last just over two months on my current savings. I have no bed and pillows for the moment, only a sleeping bag to keep myself warm. Using folded jumpers or shirts as a pillow for the time being, should be fine. Heated water bottles are always an option, but its summer right now so I shouldn't have to worry about that for the short term".

Jon typed a few more things down on his to-do list before adjusting his posture, sliding across the floor to stretch out his legs and back. His chest and torso arched back, letting a resounding and quite satisfying crack echo throughout Trevor's bedroom.

The two eighteen-year-old boys glanced at each other, nodding as the owner of the bedroom smiled.

"Nice", the pair said softly.

Jon just continued stretching across Trevor's bedroom floor, releasing any of the tension in gathered in his joints. He still did not want to admit that his life sucked now, even if the truth went unspoken between the two of them.

His father always said that a man shouldn't have to accept help from others. That was the way his father taught him how to live, and the same way his father before him taught him how to live.

It was a shitty cycle of pushing the bird out of the nest, hoping that it would learn how to fly on the way down. Jonathan had admitted that much at least.

He almost considered sleeping on the streets for a couple nights instead of coming to Trevor or Summer, but opted against such a thing, worrying about the possibility of muggings and the potential rain while he was sleeping.

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There were a few places he thought he might be able to get away with concealing himself near, but worried about other homeless people knowing about it.

Jon brushed another stray strand of brown hair behind his ear, glancing towards Trevor, who was in the middle of game right now.

"You're probably my best friend in the whole world right now man… Thanks, I mean it", he spoke, his voice barely louder than the game volume.

Trevor just blinked, his head turning around with such force of motion that he almost threatened to snap his neck. His game laid momentarily forgotten as he stared at the figure of Jon, sitting against his bed, phone in hand, still scrolling through one of his many house rental apps.

There was a slight pause between the time he opened his mouth, and when the words flowed out like water.

"Anytime man".

The faint sounds of virtual gunshots and groaning once again filled Trevor's room.

Break

"I'll see you when I'm looking at you next", Jon spoke, the smile on his face not quite reaching his eyes. Trevor had a similar expression on his face, but glanced towards his father, who was chatting with one of the neighbourhood fathers from across the fence.

It wasn't quite a goodbye, but it seemed to close to a farewell for either of them to be happy about it.

Both were entering a new stage of their lives. Both had their own dreams and aspirations they each wanted to fulfill. Neither Jon, nor Trevor were courageous, or selfish enough to ask the other person to stay.

Trevor glanced at the hand extended towards him, but ignored it, wrapping his arms around Jon. The recently homeless young man froze at the sudden closeness between himself and his best friend, but just patted him on the back, letting out a small sigh.

"Don't do anything stupid", Jon muttered. Trevor just smiled, pulling away from Jon, picking up the bags he had either side of him.

"I could say the same thing to you. You have a habit of asking to get punched whenever you open your mouth", he cheekily replied. Jon suppressed an eyeroll picking up his own backpack and duffel bag.

Jon watched as Trevor and his father loaded up his personal belongings into his car. There wasn't much he could bring with him, but Trevor's mother made sure to pack a few extra things within his luggage. She knew that there would be a search upon arriving at the base, but being former military too, she knew the difference between inappropriate and proper personal items.

Trevor's mother, Maria, held her fourteen-year-old daughter, Trevor's younger sister by the arm, as she watched her son and husband enter the car and pull out of the driveway. The older women suppressed a few tears in her eyes, smiling and waving at them even after the car vanished after turning a corner at the end of the street.

The group of three remained outside the front of Trevor's family house until Jon turned towards Maria and her daughter, giving the pair a small nod.

"Thanks for putting up with me for a couple days. Trevor is… I suppose he is the best mate a guy could have in this world", Jon's words came out calmly and collected, albeit with a slight pause in the middle of his sentence. There was a small tension in the air, although not one marked with awkwardness or any sort of inappropriate unease.

Maria just smiled at him, letting go of her daughter for a moment before placing a hand on Jon's shoulder. The middle-aged woman's eyes were glistening, still suppressing the tears behind her eyes.

"You are a fantastic young man, Jonathan. A good kid with a kind heart, just like my Trevor. I understand that your family has its own methods of doing things but for as long as Trevor has a home here, you are welcome to stay as long as you'd like." Jon opened his mouth to reply but was cut off as Maria continued to speak.

"Don't worry about what Dominic has to say about this. I know that he can come off as somewhat strict and totalitarian, but he just wants what is best for his son and daughter. If you ever need a place stay, somewhere you can get a warm meal, or somewhere you sleep on a nice bed, just knock on our door alright?"

Jon remained outside even as Maria and her daughter returned to inside the house. He stood still for a few moments, contemplating Maria's offer but just smiled before shaking his head and turning to walk down the street.

It was a nice gesture, something that he would consider in the event that his search for a rental property didn't pan out, but Jon still felt the need to be self-sufficient. Having his own place meant that he wouldn't have to worry about stepping on someone else's toes about having other people over at different times of the day.

If he was paying for a place, then he was afforded a certain level of freedom that didn't match that of a parent's or friend's place. So long as he didn't break the lease, it would be 'his' home.

Jon sat down at a nearby tram stop glancing down towards his phone looking at the distance between himself and his destination.

"I've got a meeting with a landlord about a house in the next suburb over. Three bedrooms, and two of them have already been rented out. Two bathrooms with a small backyard and a single garage space. I don't own a car right this moment so that isn't anything I have to worry about. I suppose I'll just have to meet the landlord, and the other tenants as see if they'll have me".

Hearing the familiar sounding ding of an approaching tram, Jon lazily stood up, adjusting the straps of the bags on his shoulders. He admitted his mood slightly improved the moment he saw a free seat with no-one beside him.

Sitting down Jon unconsciously leaned his head against the cool glass of the public tram, bringing with it a calming sense of clarity. The overexaggerated sound of wheels screeching as the brakes were put on did not annoy Jon in the slightest, preventing him from hearing the conversations of the people around him.

"Did you hear about…".

"And then, she found out that her husband was…".

"Housing prices these days…"

"Absolutely atrocious I tell you…".

Jon never felt a headache or migraine born from an overload to his senses, but given his current state of mind, could not help but frown, hearing so many different conversations go on all around him.

Moving his gaze and peering out the window, Jon looked closely at all passing buildings and streets, noting how busy the streets were even at this time of day.

"It's almost lunchtime and there are cars everywhere. Perhaps there is some sort of shopping centre or small business district around here?", he muttered to himself.

After roughly half an hour of travel, Jon exited the tram realizing that the entire trip would have taken him twenty minutes or less if it was not for the surprising amount of traffic.

The tram was looking rather empty, edging closer and closer towards the end of the line.

Hearing the familiar ding of the tram doors opening, Jon stood up, stepping off the vehicle while giving the driver a small nod as thank you. He did not turn around to see if they returned the gesture.

Standing on the small platform, Jon noted that only himself and a single other person got off at this particular stop. Taking a few steps forward Jon started walking in the direction opposite the other person, before looking down at his phone for a moment.

Jon paused for a couple seconds before turning around one-hundred-and-eighty degrees and walking in the complete opposite direction. His gaze lingered on the young woman who also got off at this stop with him and waited a few moments before walking in the same direction.

'That was kind of embarrassing', Jon thought to himself.

Jon's gaze occasionally moved from his phone screen towards the rest of the neighbourhood around him.

There was a surprising amount of greenery around him, trees and the occasional flowerbed littering the nature strip between the sidewalk and the road. Numerous different kinds of flowers that Jon did not know the name of, blooming in an assortment of reds and yellows filled the air with the sweet-tasting scent of pollen and rose petals.

The scenery around him was quite nice. The construction of some of the houses Jon had passed suggested that the neighbourhood itself was quite old, even if most of the houses appeared modern and updated.

Traditional brick houses with intricate metal railings and similarly designed fences offered a pleasant and appealing vibe to the rest of the surroundings. Each of the surrounding houses were two to three stories tall, the front of each house possessing a balcony on the first and second story.

Jon passed a public garden during his walk, noting there was a distinct lack of any graffiti or rubbish near any of the public spaces. No remnants of garbage pilling up near bins or abhorrent images sprayed onto public murals or wide open walls.

There was even a small public garden near a playground, one that seemed significantly nicer than the one he grew up with.

'Ah. I didn't realize how nice this neighbourhood was. The rent for this place might be a little bit out of my price range. Oh well, I suppose I'll just have to meet the landlord before anything is- '.

A single noise, reminiscent of the sound of a soap bubble bursting or a piece of chewing gum popping echoed throughout Jon's mind. His breath hitched as he felt his form stretched and folded, moving in dimensions that Jon never once realized existed.

The sound was loud enough for the girl over a dozen metres in front of him to take off her headphones, turning around to find the origin of said noise.

The only thing she saw, was a single brightly lit phone laying silently on the ground.