Kaien stared at the document.
The date was wrong.
Not slightly wrong.
Months wrong.
In the comic, this dungeon wasn't supposed to become relevant until much later.
He remembered it clearly.
The Eastern District Dungeon.
A low-ranking dungeon that eventually became the site of one of the academy's first major incidents.
Mira was supposed to be there.
Ren was supposed to be there.
Several other students were supposed to be there.
And Mira was supposed to get hurt.
Badly.
Kaien's fingers tightened around the paper.
Seraphina noticed.
"You know something."
Kaien looked up.
"I know the dungeon."
"From where?"
He hesitated.
He couldn't exactly say:
I read about it in a comic.
So he settled for something safer.
"I've seen reports about it before."
Seraphina studied him.
"You seem unusually concerned."
"It's dangerous."
"It's a low-rank dungeon."
"That's what makes it dangerous."
She raised an eyebrow.
Kaien placed the document on the table.
"People underestimate things because they're classified as weak."
Seraphina smiled slightly.
"That's a surprisingly thoughtful answer."
Kaien shrugged.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
"People get killed by things they don't respect."
The girl beside her looked at him.
"You sound like you've done this before."
Kaien glanced at her.
"Not exactly."
He didn't elaborate.
Seraphina picked up the report.
"Then what do you suggest?"
"Keep watching it."
"Anything else?"
Kaien hesitated.
"Don't send anyone there alone."
Seraphina nodded.
"Understood."
Kaien relaxed slightly.
At least now someone was watching it.
Maybe he could prevent the incident without interfering directly.
Maybe.
The following days passed normally.
Classes.
Training.
Assignments.
Kaien settled into academy life surprisingly quickly.
He wasn't the strongest student.
He wasn't the most talented.
And he wasn't particularly interested in becoming popular.
That didn't stop people from noticing him.
Mostly because of his height.
"Kaien!"
He turned.
Mira jogged toward him.
"You walk too fast."
"Do I?"
"Yes."
She caught up.
"Your legs are ridiculously long."
Kaien looked down at her.
"That's not my fault."
She smiled.
"Sheep."
"Stop calling me that."
"No."
Kaien sighed.
At this point, he was starting to accept that the nickname wasn't going anywhere.
Then Mira suddenly looked at his right side.
"What's that?"
Kaien froze.
Her eyes had landed on the area beneath his ribs.
His shirt covered it completely.
"What?"
"You moved weirdly."
Kaien immediately relaxed.
"Oh."
He put his hands in his pockets.
"Pulled a muscle."
Mira frowned.
"Already?"
"Training."
She looked unconvinced.
But she didn't push.
"Don't overdo it."
Kaien smiled.
"I won't."
She walked beside him.
"You know, you're actually nicer than you look."
Kaien raised an eyebrow.
"What am I supposed to look like?"
She thought for a moment.
"A giant sheep."
Kaien stopped walking.
Mira burst out laughing.
"You're impossible."
That evening, Kaien sat on the roof of the dormitory.
The city stretched out beneath him.
He opened the system.
[Weapon Points: 23]
He still wasn't close to his next major upgrade.
He needed more.
But he didn't want to rush.
Weapons were dangerous.
Especially when combined with mana.
He summoned his pistol.
The weapon appeared in his hand.
Kaien stared at it.
The academy considered firearms outdated.
Adventurers preferred weapons whose power grew with their mana.
A sword user could strengthen their blade.
A mage could increase the power of their spells.
A spear user could reinforce every strike.
A gun?
The bullet remained a bullet.
No matter how strong the user became.
That was why firearms had fallen behind.
Kaien smiled.
"That's where you're wrong."
He pushed a little mana into the weapon.
The gun vibrated faintly.
The system appeared.
[Weapon Enhancement Available]
[Current Enhancement: 3%]
Kaien's eyes widened.
He hadn't expected it to activate.
He dismissed the weapon.
Then summoned it again.
The enhancement remained.
His smile slowly grew.
"Interesting."
He had spent two years learning how to control mana.
Now he was finally starting to understand what the system could actually do.
His phone vibrated.
A message from Seraphina.
We have another request.
Kaien sighed.
"Already?"
Another message appeared.
Information gathering. No combat required.
Kaien paused.
Then another.
And there's something else.
He frowned.
Someone has been asking questions about you.
Kaien's expression changed.
He looked across the city.
For the first time since joining the Veiled Crown, he felt like someone else was watching him.
Not the organization.
Not the academy.
Someone he didn't know.
Kaien dismissed the system.
"Great."
He stood.
"Just what I needed."
Far away, in a dim room, a computer screen displayed several photographs.
The academy.
The entrance exam.
Kaien firing his weapon.
Mira talking to him.
A single file sat in the center of the screen.
KAIEN ARCLIGHT
A cursor hovered over it.
Then clicked.
And beneath his name appeared a single line:
UNUSUAL.
The story was changing.
And Kaien wasn't the only one noticing.