The scroll was blue.
Bright blue. Like someone dipped it in sky paint and added sparkles.
Shunya held it carefully, like it might bite him.
"This… activates by itself?" he asked.
Naomi shrugged. "You hold it. Focus. Let the scroll know you're ready."
"That's a lot of pressure to put on paper."
He sat on a flat stone in the training yard, Vikoria sitting cross-legged a few feet away, watching him like a worried tutor. Naomi leaned against a tree, arms crossed.
"Alright," Shunya muttered. "Let's do this."
He held the scroll out in front of him and closed his eyes.
"I am ready," he whispered.
Nothing happened.
He peeked with one eye.
Still nothing.
"Louder," Naomi said.
"What— no! I'm not going to shout to a scroll like I'm confessing my love to paper—"
"LOUDER."
"OKAY, OKAY!"
Shunya stood up, raised the scroll, and shouted:
"I AM READY!"
BOOM.
The scroll exploded into light.
A tiny orb hovered above his head.
Then, a calm robotic voice spoke inside his mind:
[Beginner Combat Scroll Activated.]
Basic Movement: Side Step.
Basic Offense: Palm Strike.
Basic Defense: Duck and Panic.
"…Duck and panic?" Shunya blinked.
"Sounds about right," Naomi smirked.
For the next hour, Shunya practiced the palm strike.
It looked more like a weird dance move.
He spun, missed the target dummy, and slapped the tree behind him.
Naomi groaned. "You're fighting like you're apologizing in advance."
Vikoria raised her hand. "That spin was... graceful, at least."
"Thank you!" Shunya grinned, wiping sweat off his forehead. "Finally, someone sees my talent."
"I said graceful. Not effective."
"...Ouch."
✦✦✦
Break time.
The three of them sat on a bench, sipping on fruit water.
Shunya stared at his hands.
"Fighting here isn't like games or novels. I thought the system would do more."
Naomi nodded. "Systems assist. They don't live your life."
Vikoria added quietly, "It's still impressive how fast you learn. Even if it's clumsy."
Shunya smiled faintly. "In school, I was always last in gym class. Even got hit in the face by a basketball once... during chess club."
Naomi snorted.
Vikoria covered her mouth and giggled.
Shunya grinned. "I'm here to make history, one embarrassment at a time."
✦✦✦
Later that evening, Jean Keyar arrived with a clipboard.
"Shunya. Your final test is in three days."
Shunya's eyes widened. "Final... test?"
Jean nodded. "Written exam tomorrow. Combat test after. Then your final hunt."
Naomi leaned in. "You've got a long way to go if you want to survive a real monster."
Shunya's system pinged:
[Side Quest Unlocked: Survive Without Screaming Like a Child.]
He sighed. "That seems... oddly specific."
Jean clapped his shoulder. "Rest tonight. You're doing fine."
As Jean walked off, Shunya turned to the girls.
"Be honest. I'm not ready, am I?"
Naomi and Vikoria looked at each other.
Then both said at once, "Not even close."
"...Yay," Shunya said weakly.
✦✦✦
That night, he lay in his room.
He stared at the ceiling of his tiny rented space in New Fornia.
Outside, the moon was big and yellow, like a lazy coin stuck in the sky.
"I can't go home yet," he whispered to himself. "But maybe… I can make this world less lonely."
His system blinked softly.
[Emotional Status: Hopeful.]