Talia Rivera

Lanz woke up feeling like he got mugged by leg day.

Every joint in his body ached. Not the good kind of sore where you flex and feel like a champion. No, this sh*t was the kind that screamed, "Congratulations, you're f*cking dying today!"

He rolled onto his back and let out a sound that was somewhere between a sigh and a groan. Morning sunlight poured in through the curtains, way too cheerful for how he felt.

"Note to self," he muttered, staring at the ceiling, "no more three-hour solo sword sessions unless I'm actively trying to become an old man by nineteen."

The relic crystal on his desk pulsed faintly, like it was judging him.

He dragged himself out of bed and shuffled into the bathroom. His reflection looked worse than he felt. Hair a mess, hoodie collar askew, bags under his eyes deep enough to have their own zip codes.

"Peak athlete," he muttered, brushing his teeth with the speed and enthusiasm of a dying sloth.

Downstairs, the TV was already on. His little sister Miko was hogging the couch again, curled up with a bowl of cereal like it was her throne.

"Morning, Failure Monarch" she greeted without looking up.

"Morning, Gremlin," Lanz replied, pouring himself coffee. "TV volume's on max again. You trying to summon demons, or just being annoying for sport?"

"Both," she said, grinning. "Hey, you're on again."

He froze mid-sip.

On-screen was a grainy freeze-frame from his Awakening Test. Lanz, mid-blink, mouth slightly open, looking like someone just slapped him with a trout. The words "FIRST EVER FFF-RANK FAILURE GOES VIRAL" were splashed across the bottom.

"How lovely," he said. "I've officially became a legend in my own way."

"Cheer up," Miko said between crunches. "At least you're trending."

Lanz flipped her off affectionately using his ring finger and grabbed his bag. "Tell Mom I'm heading out."

"Tell her yourself, coward."

He stepped outside into the blinding morning light and started the walk to school. His legs still ached, but there was something else under the soreness now. "Did I just step on sh*t?"

He looked. "Yes... yes I did."

He passed a pair of students walking ahead of him, both whispering and pointing at their phones. One of them glanced back at him, then quickly looked away.

Lanz didn't react. Not because he didn't care, he did, a LOT. But it was getting easier to ignore now.

Because while they were laughing over memes, he was grinding stats in a secret system no one else even knew existed.

He reached the school gates just as the morning bell rang. The courtyard was full of uniforms, chatter, and of course, the security card scanning IDs.

"Welcome, Mr. Kuroda," the guard said as Lanz passed through.

A few classmates waved half-heartedly. One girl actually gave him a thumbs-up. He had no idea what that was about.

As he headed to his homeroom, the overhead speaker crackled to life.

"Attention all Hunter Track students. Next month, the Eastern District Gate Challenge, will begin. To anyone that wants to participate, please make sure your gear is updated, your consent forms signed, and your funeral songs pre-selected. That is all."

Everyone blinked.

Someone behind Lanz muttered, "Wait, what? Did she just say funeral songs?"

He sighed, rubbing his temples. "Yup. And here I thought the worst part of my month was gonna be P.E., not that I'll be participating anyway."

By the time Lanz got to class, the air had already shifted.

There was a buzz moving through the room, the kind that always came with transfer students, celebrity awakeners, or the occasional dungeon attack drill.

Today, it was number one.

The new girl arrived five minutes late and still managed to silence the room.

She walked in like someone who'd read the student handbook, found it boring, and then rewritten her own. She was tall, sharp, and composed. Long dark hair tied back in a low ponytail. Expression like someone who'd already solved the group project and knew you hadn't even opened the doc yet.

Mr. Shigeno, mid-sentence, stopped. "Ah. Class, this is our new transfer. Talia Rivera. Please make her feel welcome."

She gave a polite nod. Nothing too dramatic, just enough to acknowledge the room. And then she locked eyes with the class like she was scanning for weak points.

Someone whispered, "She's from Velmordop Central Academy."

Another muttered, "I heard she cleared a f*cking Tier 1 Gate. A real one, unlike our simulations."

Lanz, who had been zoning out two rows from the back, looked up just in time to see her take the empty seat beside him.

She didn't say anything. Just pulled out a tablet and started reviewing something on the screen.

The teacher cleared his throat and tried to continue, but half the room was still staring.

Lanz leaned sideways a bit. Not enough to look obvious, just enough to peek at her screen. Complex system diagrams, sync rates, basically, stuff way beyond what they were covering in first-year hunter classes.

He blinked, then, without thinking, he whispered, "You know this is basic education, not advanced quantum spell theory, right?"

She didn't even flinch. Just turned her head slightly, barely looking at him. "And yet you still barely passed your last quiz."

Lanz raised his eyebrows. "Okay. Ow."

She smirked, faint but real. "Relax. It was public. Your score was posted on the class board."

"Yeah, and now it's a sticker pack on MemeNet."

"I've seen it. The one where you're Photoshopped onto a flaming dumpster is particularly creative."

Lanz shrugged. "What can I say? I inspire greatness."

She chuckled softly, then went back to her notes.

He blinked again.

Had she just laughed at one of his lines?

He didn't know if that was a win or a red flag, but it felt like both.

***

Lunch rolled around faster than expected, and for once, Lanz wasn't immediately dreading it.

He found his usual crew already huddled around their table near the far corner of the cafeteria. Kenji was halfway through a tray of spaghetti, Leo was sipping melon soda like it was a fine wine, and Hiro was trying and failing to open a packet of hot sauce without looking like he needed adult supervision.

Lanz approached and cleared his throat.

All three of them looked up.

"Hey," he said, scratching the back of his neck. "About yesterday. I was a jerk and i shouldn't have snapped like that. You guys didn't deserve it."

Kenji blinked, then immediately waved it off. "Dude. You're absolutely fine, we get it, you just had a moment."

"Yeah, if I failed my Awakening that hard, I'd probably go mute for a week," Leo added.

Hiro shoved his spaghetti aside. "I would've cried in the janitor's closet. You're a tank for showing up today."

Lanz laughed, relieved. "I thought you'd give me the cold shoulder."

"Psh. You're our guy, FFF or not," Kenji said. "Besides, who else are we gonna roast during study hall?"

They all grinned, and just like that, the tension disappeared. Banter started flying again, dumb jokes, old stories, and a lot of arguments over which dungeon beast had the coolest name.

Then someone cleared their throat behind them. It was Talia.

She stood there with a tray in hand, glancing around the crowded cafeteria.

"Nowhere else to sit," she said flatly, eyeing their table.

Kenji scooted over so fast he nearly fell off his seat. "By all means."

Talia sat across from Lanz, took one look at the mystery meat on her plate, and sighed. "Public school food really is a hazard class."

Lanz raised a brow. "You say that like you weren't raised in a bunker made of protein bars and tactical rations."

She looked at him. "Those at least came with seasoning."

He chuckled. "Fair."

A few more minutes passed with casual conversation. She didn't contribute much, just listened, threw in a sharp comment here and there. But she didn't seem uncomfortable either.

Then, as she stood to leave, she glanced at Lanz.

"Not bad," she said. "For someone who failed three times." And then she walked off.

The table went dead silent. Kenji blinked. "Wait... did she just flirt with you?"

Leo leaned forward. "That... was definitely flirting. Right?"

Hiro nodded slowly. "That was the flirtiest insult I've ever heard."

Lanz stared after her, brain still catching up.

"I don't know what that was," he said. "But does this mean I could pull?"

"You just need a nap," said Kenji. Holding his laughter in.

"Sh*it, you might be right," Lanz replied.

They all laughed.

And just like that, things felt normal again.

***

The rest of the school day passed in a blur of lectures, half-baked group work, and whispered speculation about the transfer girl. By the final bell, the energy in the halls had fizzled into the familiar low buzz of end-of-day exhaustion.

Lanz was on his way out, bag slung over his shoulder, when he heard a familiar voice coming from the teacher's office.

It was Talia's.

He slowed his pace, not enough to look like he was eavesdropping, but definitely enough to catch a few phrases.

"...sync rates looks high for someone..."

"...but wouldn't that only happen if the system was malfunctioning?"

Lanz kept walking.

He didn't stop or turn his head. He just kept a steady pace toward the exit.

But he could feel it. Her gaze brushing past him as he left.

Outside, the air was cool and sharp. The sun had dipped behind the buildings, casting the street in long shadows.

He walked home a little faster than usual, just in case his thoughts decided to turn into panic.

***

That night, the house was quiet.

Dinner had been chill, Mom was busy, Miko was tired, and he wasn't in the mood to bring up his meme fame again.

Dad was still at work, probably stuck on another overnight shift at the rail yards. He usually got home past midnight smelling like engine oil and coffee, muttering about malfunctioning cargo drones like they were personal enemies.

His older brother, Kaz, had been in and out of the house all week. Some part-time courier job in the inner districts, danger pay also included. Tonight, he'd breezed in just long enough to swipe a plate of food and trade a fist bump with Lanz before vanishing back out the door with a, "Don't wait up."

So yeah, it was chill.

He lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling, earbuds in but nothing playing, just silence.

Then his tablet buzzed.

It was a message from the group chat.

He stared at it for a second.

Then tapped.

[Kenji]: "can i have your guys assignments?"

He tossed the tablet onto his pillow and rolled off the bed.

"I'll do mine later."

He grabbed the relic crystal from his drawer.

"Instead, it's grinding time."

The crystal pulsed, and then, in a blink, the room was gone.

End of Chapter 4.

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[ALT SYSTEM — USER PROFILE: ZERO

Level: 4

EXP: 3 / 40

Next Unlock: Skill Slot + Custom Loadout Access (Level 5)

Global System Tracking: DISABLED

World Rank Association: UNLINKED

Stats:

STR: 4

AGI: 4

VIT: 3

DEX: 1

INT: 0

WIS: 0

Skills:

[Basic Footwork Lv.2]

[Blade Control Lv.1]

[Parry Timing Lv.1]

Equipment:

Basic Sword

Lightweight Chest Padding

Boots of Basic Mobility

Fingerless Gloves (Basic)

Starter Cloak: Faded Black

Training Ring (+1 VIT)]