A large, dark interface bloomed open in front of me, layered windows unfolding one after another, far more complex than anything I'd seen so far.
And the moment my eyes landed on the first line— My breath stopped.
The first line burned itself into my vision.
「NAME: Rex Knox.
RANK: Unclassified.
STATUS: Abnormal」
"…Abnormal? What the heck?"
I tightened my grip on my knees.
Then more panels slid open beneath it, stacking downward like a report being assembled in real time.
────────────────────────
MANA CORE: Dormant → Awakening
TOTAL MANA: 0 → ???
MANA AFFINITY: Unknown (Interference Detected)
────────────────────────
"what the hell does that mean?" I whispered.
The system did not change.
Instead, the numbers flickered.
The 0 shattered like glass, replaced by a rolling value that refused to settle. Digits climbed, dropped, blurred, then snapped back to symbols I dont recognize.
A sharp pressure bloomed inside my chest.
Not pain.
Heat.
Like someone had placed a coal inside my chest and told it to wake up.
I clenched my teeth and leaned forward, breathing through it.
"Haha…" I muttered. "the fuck is happening."
Then another line appeared.
—
[PASSIVE EFFECT ACQUIRED]
『Accidental Rizz — Rank: ?』
Effect: When the user performs kind actions without romantic intent,
observer affection increases slightly.
—
"…What the fuck…?"
My eyes widened.
I stared at the words like they were mocking me.
Then I exhaled sharply through my nose.
"…This is bullshit."
My fingers curled into a fist.
"Fuck," I muttered. "Haha."
The laugh came out wrong, thin, it was forced.
The interface pulsed.
Then another window slid in, darker than the rest.
—
[WARNING]
User body is currently incapable of safely retaining mana.
Emergency compensation protocol activated.
Mana source has been automatically selected.
—
"The heck does that mean."
Then suddenly the text continued.
[SOURCE: Luna Ebonveil]
[TRANSFER AMOUNT: 3 Mana.]
[STATUS: Stable.]
The words blurred in front of my eyes.
"…You've gotta be kidding me."
My chest tightened.
"This damn system…" I whispered. "ahaha… why did I even get this."
I dont know how but it took it from her.
Another chime sounded.
This one was quieter.
Almost… satisfied.
[HIDDEN CONDITION ACHIEVED]
『First Synchronization』
Condition: Unintentional emotional + mana alignment detected.
[Reward will now be processed.]
"Woah. That's amazing…"
I then leaned back against the bathroom wall.
"…Ah," I breathed out. "Haha…"
My reflection stared back at me in the mirror, wide-eyed, pale, very aware of one thing.
This wasn't a game.
And Luna… yea…
Then—
"Rex?" Luna's voice called from outside the door.
"You alive in there?"
I flinched.
The status windows dissolved instantly, like they'd never existed.
"…Yeah," I called back, forcing my voice to be steady.
"Just… give me a sec."
Silence.
I lowered my voice, "Status."
The air in front of me distorted, and a black window edged with faint pink light slid into view.
[Full status will be Shown.]
────────────────────────────
STATUS — REX KNOX
────────────────────────────
CLASS: Undefined
RANK: A (academy)
CONDITION: Stable
MANA:
0 > 3
PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES:
Strength: 18
Agility: 18
Endurance: 18
Overall: Average Human
MENTAL / MISC:
Charm: 47
Luck: 9
Perception: 16
────────────────────────────
TALENTS
『Master Cook』
└ Meals prepared by the user produce enhanced satisfaction
and minor positive effects when conditions are met. Tap more…
『Anger Issue』
└ Emotional spikes increase physical output temporarily, and somehow always mad.
(⚠ Side effects possible.)
────────────────────────────
PASSIVE EFFECTS
• 『Accidental Rizz — Rank ?』
└ When the user performs kind actions without romantic intent,
observer affection increases slightly.
────────────────────────────
SKILLS
• None
────────────────────────────
SYSTEM NOTES
• Happy first quest completed.
• Mana is currently being stabilize.
• GOODLUCK.
────────────────────────────
Then suddenly—
BANG. BANG.
The knocking came harder this time.
"Is that shit really that MASSIVE for you to be in there this long, Rex?" Luna yelled through the door.
I nearly jumped out of my skin.
"W–Wait!" I said, scrambling to my feet as I rushed to the door and pulled it open.
Luna stood there, frozen.
One hand still rested on the doorknob.
…Did she almost open the bathroom door?
"I—uh…" she started, glancing away. "I was worried, okay? You weren't answering, so I almost just—"
She let out an awkward laugh and scratched the back of her head.
"Sorry…"
I exhaled slowly, rubbing my face.
"It's fine," I said.
She checked the time on her phone, then looked back up at me.
"It's 12:01 a.m.," she said. "Let's sleep already. Tomorrow's the real start of the academy."
I nodded.
"…Yeah."
As we walked back into the dorm, my eyes drifted to the table out of habit.
The plate was empty.
Not mostly eaten. Empty.
Obliterated.
Even the pan was spotless, its surface faintly warm, like the kitchen itself had decided to erase all evidence of what happened.
Luna noticed me staring.
"Oh," she said lightly. "By the way— your cooking was insane. Like, actually Good, good."
"Yeah," I replied. "Sure. Thanks."
She nodded once, clearly pleased, and headed toward the door.
Then a thought I'd been avoiding finally slipped out.
"…Have you ever checked your mana before?"
She paused mid-walk.
"Hm?" She glanced back. "Yeah. Why?"
"Yeah. At home, we have a mana checker," she said. "So we can measure it whenever we want."
She frowned slightly, thinking.
She thought for a moment.
"The last time I checked, it was around one thousand fifty. Maybe more."
My eyes twitched.
"The fuck… One thousand fifty?"
For context— most people didn't have any kind of system like mine. Mana wasn't something you could just see. That's why mana meters existed: artificial devices developed to measure magical capacity. Expensive, fragile, and usually only owned by noble houses or research facilities.
My chest tightened.
I… took some of her mana.
Well— technically, I didn't.
The system did.
And it took exactly three points.
I did the math automatically.
Three out of one thousand fifty.
That was… what. 0.28%?
I let out a slow breath.
Okay. Never mind. I don't feel guilty anymore.
That was less stealing mana and more like borrowing a grain of sand from a beach.
Fuck this shit.
But statistically?
She wouldn't even notice.
I opened the dorm room door and stepped inside.
The purple mana-light hummed softly overhead as I sat down on my bed.
Above me, Luna climbed the ladder and flopped onto the top bunk like nothing in the world could bother her.
I straightened my sheets, lay back, and stared up at the metal frame separating us.
Somewhere in my chest, something unfamiliar pulsed, quiet, unstable.
The system had given me power.
But it didn't feel like something that belonged to me.
And for the first time since the quest ended— I wondered what it would cost me later.
From above, her voice drifted down, lazy and teasing.
"Good night, my husband."
"…Yeah. No. Yeah— thank you," I muttered. "Good night to myself."
A soft chime echoed in my head.
[Affection has slightly increased.]
Bullshit.
I shifted under the blanket and glanced up at the metal slats of the bunk bed.
"Remember to wake up early tomorrow, Luna," I said. "It's the real start of the academy."
"Yeah," she replied, already half-asleep. "Night."
The purple mana-light dimmed a fraction, responding to the dorm's sleep cycle.
The room fell quiet.
No system prompts.
No timers.
Just the steady hum of enchanted walls and the faint presence of someone breathing above me.
And despite everything—
I slept.
***
.TWEET TWEET.