Triangle Academy, Class A1. Friday.
I stared at the board, pretending to follow the lecture.
Today's topic was magical energy theory—core density, circulation efficiency, capacity conversion.
One of the few subjects I couldn't fake completely.
The public challenge system had opened two days ago. The ranking board was live. Names shifted constantly. Positions fluctuated with every recorded duel.
Lucas had secured 7th overall.
Seven.
Just below the S-Class monsters.
And me?
I hadn't fought once.
Not because I was afraid.
Because the moment I revealed how my skill truly worked, people would start asking questions.
What's the trigger?
Why didn't we see it before?
What's the limit?
Curiosity was more dangerous than hostility.
Hostility came straight at you.
Curiosity circled.
I wasn't ready for that kind of scrutiny.
Around me, Class A buzzed even mid-lecture. Whispered comparisons. Merit projections. Quiet calculations of who might challenge whom.
Lucas was surrounded again.
Questions. Invitations. Casual probes disguised as admiration.
And somehow, he answered them all without missing a single line of explanation from the teacher.
"Convenient protagonist brain…" I muttered internally.
He glanced at a page once and retained it like it had been carved into him.
Effortless retention.
Plot-blessed perception.
I tightened my grip on my pen without meaning to.
Being special like that had to be exhausting.
"Alright," the teacher said at last. "That's all for today."
The moment he left, half the class swarmed Lucas.
The other half pretended not to.
I slipped out quietly.
E-Level
It had been two days since I'd last seen Maya.
I'd given her space intentionally.
Didn't want dependence forming.
Didn't want her orbiting me.
But now—
something felt off.
I descended toward E-Level.
The air shifted the deeper you went into the building.
Less polished.
Less monitored.
More… predatory.
I stopped outside Class E for a second.
If the bullying hadn't stopped—
If retaliation had happened—
I pushed the door open.
The smell hit first.
Cheap cleaner.
Sweat.
Anxiety.
Students near the front froze when they saw the stripe on my uniform.
Good.
I scanned the room.
A boy wrapped head-to-toe in bandages caught my attention immediately. Only his eyes and nose visible.
Blaze had done his job thoroughly.
My gaze kept moving.
Row one.
Row two.
No Maya.
My chest tightened.
Row three—
No.
Then—
Back row.
Soft laughter. Almost unsure.
A redhead covering her mouth while she giggled, clearly not used to the sound coming from her own throat.
Maya.
I exhaled slowly.
Relief hit harder than I expected.
A girl clinging to her arm leaned closer, eyes bright.
"So what's a Class A dorm like? Is it really nicer?"
"Yes! You're the only one who's seen it!" another chimed in.
Maya fidgeted, glancing between them and the door.
"Do I answer… or not…?"
I walked forward and sat across from her.
"So you make new friends and forget about me?"
Every head snapped toward us.
Maya shot to her feet.
"W-what are you doing here!?"
Her new friends began subtly retreating, eyes wide and gleefully horrified.
I stood.
"You didn't come yesterday. I was worried."
Her cheeks flared bright red instantly.
Behind her—
whispers.
"They're definitely together—"
"Lovebirds—"
Maya went pale.
She grabbed my sleeve.
"O-outside. Now."
She dragged me into the hallway.
Behind us, someone called out cheerfully:
"See you later, lovebirds!"
The door shut.
Silence.
Maya released my arm like she'd touched fire.
"A-are you insane!?" she hissed, pacing. "I just got rid of the rumor that I slept with you!"
I blinked once.
"…You what?"
"I worked for two days to bury it!" she continued, mortified beyond reason. "And now everyone's going to restart it because you show up like that—"
I waited.
She eventually noticed I wasn't reacting.
"…Are you done?" I asked.
She deflated immediately.
"…Yes."
"I handled the source," I said calmly. "Rumors won't escalate."
She paused.
Processing.
Then I stepped a little closer.
"But answer me something."
Her shoulders tightened.
"Are you ashamed of me?"
Her eyes widened.
I stood just close enough that she had to look up to meet my gaze.
She swallowed.
"N-no! I just—"
Her back brushed lightly against the wall.
Her face went crimson.
I stepped back deliberately.
Teasing achieved.
Focus restored.
"How's training?" I asked.
She straightened immediately, relieved at the topic change.
"I'm at 110 magic energy now."
I frowned.
"No. With your circulation speed, you should've surpassed that in one day."
Her confidence flickered.
Then she raised her hand.
A deep navy-blue glow formed around her fingers.
My breath caught.
"…Metaphysical energy."
She nodded, proud and slightly nervous at the same time.
"I evolved my core."
Silence stretched.
The first core evolution usually required saturating capacity completely—compressing, stabilizing, reshaping. Most students hit that threshold around 600 magic energy.
Maya did it at barely over a hundred.
That wasn't efficiency.
That was inheritance.
Power that understood itself.
Her glow receded into her skin.
"Is that why you didn't come?" I asked.
"Yes," she admitted. "I felt I was close to the limit. I didn't want to interrupt the breakthrough."
I ran a hand through my hair.
"Next time, tell me. I thought someone retaliated."
She looked genuinely guilty.
"…Sorry. I forgot how this… having someone worry about you thing works."
That disarmed me more than the evolution had.
She wasn't strategizing.
She was being honest.
"Alright," I said lightly. "Now we accelerate."
She tilted her head.
"Accelerate what?"
"Everything."
Her eyes sharpened slightly.
"First question," I said. "How many merits do you have?"
She checked her ID.
"510."
Good.
"You didn't waste them."
I showed mine.
"1,600."
Her eyebrows lifted.
"That's 2,110 total."
"…Do you need my merits?" she asked.
"Yeah," I admitted. "Temporarily."
"You can have them."
No hesitation.
No bargaining.
Just trust.
I stared at her a moment.
"You're reckless."
A faint smile curved her lips.
"Maybe."
I took her card.
Then I laced my fingers through hers and tugged lightly.
"Since we're aligned—let's go."
She squeaked.
"Wait—where are we going!?"
She glanced back once.
Her new friends were peeking from the classroom door.
Whispering.
Giggling.
Maya sighed, resigned.
"First," I said, "the merit shop."
She swallowed.
"And then?"
I grinned.
"Then we leave the Triangle."
Her eyes went wide.
"Leave? Are you crazy!?"
"Relax."
"We're just going off-campus."
A beat.
"Illegally."
She stared at me.
And for the first time since I met her—
instead of fear—
she looked excited.