The dorm room smelled faintly of antiseptic, metal, and the sweat left behind by someone who had spent the last hour training.
Hitake sat cross-legged on the floor beside his bed, staring at the translucent screen only he could see.
[FATED QUEST COMPLETE]
SURVIVE THE TRIAL
Reward: 30 Attribute Points
Skill Slot: Already Acquired
Available Attribute Points: 50
Hitake stared at the number.
“Fifty.”
Zena stood near the window with her arms folded.
“You're smiling.”
“Because I have fifty points.”
“You're smiling like a criminal.”
“I might become one.”
Zena's expression remained flat.
“Don't.”
Nefertiti was lying upside down on the ceiling again, her long golden hair hanging toward the floor.
“I support his criminal career.”
Hitake looked up.
“Of course you do.”
“I'd even fund it.”
“That's exactly what a sugar mommy would say.”
Nefertiti smiled proudly.
“Finally, someone appreciates me.”
Zena's eyes narrowed.
“Stop encouraging him.”
“I am his system. Encouraging him is literally part of my job.”
“You're enjoying it.”
“Very much.”
Hitake sighed.
“Can we focus?”
The screen changed.
[DESTINY ALLOCATION]
Name: Hitake Kael
Level: 2
Strength: 28
Agility: 34
Endurance: 30
Mana: 32
Perception: 55
Luck: 12
Charm: 8
Available Attribute Points: 50
Hitake studied his numbers.
Perception was already far ahead of everything else.
That was intentional.
His Eyes of Truth had become terrifyingly useful since his perception had increased, but during his fight with Renji, he'd learned something important.
Seeing an attack coming wasn't the same as being fast enough to escape it.
He had seen Renji's movements.
He simply hadn't always been able to respond.
“Agility,” Hitake said.
Zena nodded immediately.
“Fifteen.”
“Fifteen?”
“You're still too slow.”
“That sounds personal.”
“It is.”
Hitake laughed.
“Endurance next. Ten.”
“You nearly collapsed during the trial,” Zena said. “Make it ten.”
“Mana?”
“Five,” Nefertiti answered. “Enough to give you a larger reserve without wasting the entire allocation.”
Hitake nodded.
“Then that's it.”
He touched the screen.
[ATTRIBUTE ALLOCATION CONFIRMED]
Agility +15
Endurance +10
Mana +5
[Processing...]
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then Hitake's body suddenly went rigid.
His muscles tightened.
His heartbeat accelerated.
A wave of warmth moved through his limbs before sinking deep into his bones.
He clenched his fists.
His breathing became slower.
Sharper.
The world seemed to move differently.
Not slower.
Clearer.
Hitake suddenly noticed the tiny movement of Zena's hair as air passed through the window.
He noticed the vibration of the pipes behind the wall.
He could hear footsteps two rooms away.
Then he moved.
One step.
He crossed half the room before stopping himself.
Zena blinked.
Hitake looked at his hand.
“Whoa.”
Nefertiti floated down from the ceiling.
“Congratulations, darling.”
Hitake looked at his status.
Agility: 49
Endurance: 40
Mana: 37
His Perception remained at 55.
For the first time, his stats didn't look like a fragile foundation anymore.
They looked like the beginning of something.
Zena walked over and tapped his chest.
“Better.”
Hitake grinned.
“That's all I get?”
“You want praise?”
“Maybe.”
She looked away.
“You're improving.”
Hitake smiled.
“I'll take it.”
Nefertiti clapped her hands.
“Oh, how adorable.”
“Don't.”
“Two children discovering affection.”
“We're not children.”
“Then stop acting like it.”
Zena's eyes sharpened.
“Nefertiti.”
“Yes?”
“Keep talking.”
Nefertiti smiled.
“Gladly.”
Before the argument could escalate, a sharp chime rang through the room.
The academy announcement system activated.
[ATTENTION ALL FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS]
The voice echoed through the entire dormitory.
[ALL FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS ARE TO REPORT TO THEIR DESIGNATED ASSEMBLY AREAS IMMEDIATELY.]
Hitake's smile disappeared.
The announcement continued.
[EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, FIRST-YEAR TEAMS HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED TO A C-RANK DUNGEON SUPPRESSION MISSION.]
Silence.
Even Nefertiti stopped smiling.
[LOCATION: ROTTING HIVE — SECTOR 7.]
[PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: PERIMETER CLEARANCE, CIVILIAN EVACUATION, AND DUNGEON STABILITY ASSESSMENT.]
[DEPARTURE: 0600 HOURS.]
There was a pause.
Then the final sentence appeared.
[THIS IS A LIVE OPERATION. CASUALTIES ARE POSSIBLE.]
The announcement ended.
Nobody spoke.
Zena was the first.
“They're sending first-years into a C-rank dungeon?”
Hitake stood slowly.
“A real one?”
Nefertiti's expression had changed completely.
No teasing.
No smile.
“The academy has been preparing for this.”
Zena glanced at her.
“You knew?”
“I knew there would be a field evaluation eventually.”
Nefertiti looked toward the window.
“But the timing is earlier than expected.”
Hitake frowned.
“Why?”
“Because someone wants to know what the first-years are capable of.”
“Who?”
Nefertiti's eyes returned to him.
“That,” she said quietly, “is the interesting question.”
Another chime sounded.
A new notification appeared.
[TEAM ASSIGNMENT]
TEAM 7
Leader: Hitake Kael — Level 2
Member: Zena Virel — Level 4
Member: John Derrin — Level 4
Support: Two Academy Healers — Level 3
Mission Role: Perimeter Clearance / Civilian Evacuation
Hitake stared.
“John?”
Zena raised an eyebrow.
“Interesting.”
From somewhere down the corridor came an explosive scream.
“WHAT?!”
Hitake winced.
Zack.
“JOHN GOT PICKED AND I DIDN'T?!”
A door slammed open.
John appeared several seconds later.
He stood in the doorway holding his shield.
His face was pale.
His knuckles were white around the handle.
“I... didn't ask for this.”
Zena's expression softened slightly.
“None of us did.”
John looked at Hitake.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then John gave a small nod.
“Are you really the leader?”
Hitake glanced at the notification.
Apparently.
“Looks like it.”
John swallowed.
“You're Level 2.”
“So are a lot of problems.”
John stared at him.
Hitake smiled.
“Don't worry. I won't order you to do anything stupid.”
Zena immediately said, “Good.”
John looked at her.
“Because you look like the person most likely to do something stupid.”
Zena's eyes narrowed.
Hitake slowly turned toward him.
“That was brave.”
John's face went pale.
“I regret it.”
Zena almost smiled.
Almost.
Then the hallway outside erupted into noise.
Students were rushing toward the assembly areas.
Some were excited.
Others looked terrified.
A few were pretending not to be.
Hitake looked down at his training sword.
It suddenly felt embarrassingly light.
He had spent months being the weakest person in every room.
Now he was being asked to lead people into a dungeon where civilians were trapped.
This wasn't a spar.
There wouldn't be a professor standing nearby to stop things from going too far.
There wouldn't be a bell.
There wouldn't be a reset.
If he made the wrong decision, someone could die.
His fingers tightened around the sword.
Nefertiti appeared beside him.
“Darling.”
“Yeah?”
“Your heart rate increased.”
“I know.”
“Afraid?”
Hitake looked toward the door.
“Yes.”
Zena glanced at him.
He continued.
“But I'm going anyway.”
Nefertiti smiled.
“That is why I chose to believe in you.”
Hitake looked at her.
“You said I chose my own destiny.”
“You do.”
Her expression became softer.
“I simply intend to make sure you survive long enough to choose it.”
A golden interface appeared.
[BANK FUNCTION UNLOCKED]
Available Attribute Points: 0
Stored Attribute Points: 0
Bank allows future rewards to be preserved for high-cost upgrades.
Hitake nodded.
“Good.”
Zena tilted her head.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
He looked at his status one more time.
Hitake Kael — Level 2
Strength: 28
Agility: 49
Endurance: 40
Mana: 37
Perception: 55
Luck: 12
Charm: 8
Available Attribute Points: 0
Skills:
Eyes of Truth
Perfect Control
Aether Sense
Analyze Weakness
Skill Slot: 1 [EMPTY]
Hitake closed the screen.
For the first time, he didn't feel like he was looking at the stats of someone trying to catch up.
He felt like he was looking at the foundation of someone who could eventually stand at the top.
But there was still one problem.
His weapon.
He lifted the training sword.
“This thing isn't going into a dungeon with me.”
Zena looked at it.
“Why?”
“Because if something actually has armor, I'm going to be beating it with a piece of wood.”
“It is reinforced steel.”
“It feels like wood.”
Nefertiti raised one finger.
“I agree.”
Hitake looked at her.
“You agree?”
“Completely.”
She snapped her fingers.
A tiny golden window appeared.
[EQUIPMENT RECOMMENDATION GENERATED]
Current Weapon: Academy Training Blade
Assessment: Inadequate
Suggested Replacement: Pending
Hitake stared.
“You can get me a weapon?”
Nefertiti smiled.
“Darling.”
She leaned closer.
“Did you really think your sugar mommy would let you go to war with academy equipment?”
Zena stared at Nefertiti.
“War?”
Nefertiti shrugged.
“Technically, it's a dungeon suppression mission.”
Hitake looked toward the window.
Outside, warning lights had begun flashing across the academy grounds.
Students were moving toward the transport hangars.
The atmosphere had changed.
The academy no longer felt like a school.
For one night, it felt like a military base.
Zena stepped beside Hitake.
“We leave at six.”
“Yeah.”
“Then sleep.”
“I can't.”
“Why?”
Hitake looked at his sword.
“Because I'm thinking about everyone we're supposed to bring back.”
Zena was quiet for a moment.
Then she placed her hand over his.
“We'll bring them back.”
John stepped forward.
“Even me?”
Zena looked at him.
“Especially you.”
John blinked.
“Why?”
“Because you're on our team.”
Something in John's expression changed.
The fear didn't disappear.
But it became smaller.
He nodded.
“Then I'll do my part.”
Hitake smiled.
“That makes three of us.”
Nefertiti hovered behind them.
“And me.”
Hitake laughed.
“You're not physically going.”
“I am spiritually present.”
“You're an AI.”
“I can still be spiritually present.”
Zena sighed.
“This team is doomed.”
For the first time that night, they laughed.
But far beneath the academy, something else was happening.
Deep inside an abandoned monitoring chamber, an old system that had been offline for years suddenly flickered awake.
A single screen illuminated.
[DUNGEON ACTIVITY DETECTED]
[SECTOR 7 — ROTTING HIVE]
[ANOMALOUS ENERGY FLUCTUATION: INCREASING]
The screen flickered again.
Then another line appeared.
[UNKNOWN SIGNATURE DETECTED]
The system attempted to identify it.
[ANALYSIS FAILED.]
The screen went dark.
Nobody noticed.
Nobody except the thing watching from somewhere beyond the reach of ordinary perception.
And it had been waiting for the same person the academy was sending into Sector 7.
Hitake.
At 0600, the transport ships would leave.
His first real mission was about to begin.
And this time, the academy wouldn't be testing whether the former “zero” could survive.
Something else was waiting to see what he would become.