Airi's alarm rings at 6 a.m., but she's already awake. Not because she's eager. Because the System hasn't stopped humming in the corner of her vision since midnight, like a polite ghost waiting to be acknowledged.
Overnight Notifications (4) • Passive Skill: Cognitive Load Resistance +1 • Daily Quest Batch Ready • Warning: Recent anomaly detected • Suggestion: Evaluate emotional state
"Evaluate my what?" she mumbles. The System stays silent, which somehow feels like judgment.
She swings her legs out of bed. The floorboards are cold. Everything is familiar—the crooked dresser, the cat-print curtains Mina forced on her—but she feels like someone swapped out the world's operating system overnight.
She gets dressed slowly, half-turning at every new flicker of UI. At least nothing explodes.
Daily Quest: Eat a balanced breakfast. Reward: +1 Vitality
Balanced breakfast apparently means yogurt, fruit, and not finishing the leftover chips from last night. Airi sighs. She obeys.
Quest Complete. Vitality +1.
The small boost makes her chest warm. Is she seriously getting proud of eating a strawberry?
On the train, her Perception skill quietly highlights tiny details again: a couple arguing in whispers, a cracked phone case held together with glitter tape, a businesswoman whose smile doesn't match her exhausted eyes. Airi isn't sure if this is useful or just intrusive.
School comes faster than she expects. The courtyard buzzes with the usual noise—clubs recruiting, upperclassmen comparing scores, holographic rank boards flickering in the sky like constellations.
She's climbed two positions overnight. Two. Just from yesterday's tiny quests.
Mina spots her. "Airi! Why do you look like you haven't slept since the Meiji era?"
Airi forces a weak smile. "Homework."
"Liar." Mina pokes her cheek. "If you join a cult for productivity hacks, tell me. I'll join too."
Airi laughs—genuinely, this time. Mina has that effect.
Inside the classroom, the System chimes again.
New Quest: Initiate social interaction with one peer (non-Mina). Reward: Social +1 Penalty if ignored: Mild Overclock probability increased
Airi winces. "You really want me to suffer," she whispers.
The System doesn't deny it.
She glances around. Talking to random classmates ranks right below walking barefoot on glass. Still, she promised herself she'd try. Yesterday's small courage gave her momentum.
She taps the shoulder of the boy in front of her.
"Um. Your pen is leaking."
He looks down. "Ah—thanks."
The System sparkles. Quest Complete. Social +1.
Airi slumps with relief. That counts?
Class drags on until lunch. When the bell rings, Airi stretches—and the world blurs. Not a glitch. A shift.
Warning: Presence detected. Classification: High-Rank Individual System Advisory: Avoid confrontation.
Airi lifts her eyes.
Ren Takamine, Student Council President, is standing at her desk.
This close, she sees details she never noticed before: the calm precision in his posture, the faint golden sheen on his ID badge that marks his elite status, the way his eyes—sharp, pale silver—seem to reflect light instead of absorbing it.
"May I speak with you?" he asks quietly.
Airi's throat goes dry. Mina, sitting two desks away, mouths: What did you do?
Airi follows Ren into the hallway. It's quieter here. The System vibrates with a red-tinted jitter she hasn't seen before.
Ren studies her expression. "Relax. I'm not accusing you of anything."
"Then why—"
He interrupts gently. "You rose two ranks overnight. That's… unusual."
Her pulse spikes.
He watches her reaction carefully, like someone observing a puzzle piece turning in their hand.
"You don't have to answer," he adds. "But patterns matter. And suddenly, you're generating a lot of them."
Airi swallows. "I just… worked harder."
Ren's smile is small. Knowing. "If that were all it took, everyone here would be Rank 1."
She says nothing.
He taps the wall beside her head—not aggressively, just enough for her to notice the small resonance pulse his touch creates. A sensor embedded in the wall flashes, revealing the school's scan grid for a split second.
Her System jitter increases.
External Interference Detected. Source: Unknown.
Airi stiffens.
Ren tilts his head. "Did you feel that?"
She forces her expression to remain neutral. "Feel what?"
"You're interesting, Kisaragi." He steps back. "I hope you don't become dangerous."
Then he walks away.
Airi stands frozen until her heartbeat steadies. The System slowly returns to normal—if "normal" means an invisible AI having a panic attack in her peripheral vision.
She returns to class in a daze.
When school ends, she doesn't go straight home. Instead, her feet lead her toward the edge of the city—toward the Arena District she's only heard rumors about. A place where students train unofficially. Where rankings shift in the shadows. Where combat matters.
The neon signs flicker alive as she enters. People whisper. The air smells like metal and electricity.
A tall figure steps from the dim corridor beside the main entrance.
Kurogane.
Scarred knuckles. Dark coat. Eyes like storm clouds.
"You're new," he rumbles.
Airi tries not to shrink. "I'm just looking."
He nods, as if that's enough.
Her System immediately reacts.
New Potential Instructor Detected. Compatibility Rating: 74% Combat Tree Synergy Available.
Kurogane studies her quietly. "You look like someone who wants to get stronger but hasn't decided if they're allowed to."
Airi's breath catches. That's… uncomfortably accurate.
He gestures toward the training ring. "Show me your stance."
"I—I've never fought anyone."
"Then today you learn something."
Airi steps into the ring. The floor vibrates faintly with kinetic sensors. Kurogane takes a casual defensive position, giving her space.
"Hands up," he says.
She raises them.
"Too stiff." He taps her elbow. "You'll break your own arm like that. Loosen."
She adjusts.
The System activates.
Training Mode Enabled. Micro-Rewards Active.
Kurogane moves slowly at first. Airi blocks. Then she misses. Then she blocks again. Each small motion earns her faint flashes of Combat +0.1, Reflex +0.2, Balance +0.1.
It feels real. Earned. Hers.
After fifteen minutes, she's sweating and shaky, but alive with adrenaline.
Kurogane nods once. "You learn fast."
She almost smiles—until her vision flickers violently.
Overclock Risk: Elevated Cause: Excessive rapid skill accumulation Suggested Action: Immediate rest
Airi staggers. Kurogane catches her arm before she falls.
"Too far, too fast," he mutters. "Growth always has a cost."
Airi forces herself upright. "I'm… okay."
But the System's red warning persists.
She thanks Kurogane and leaves the Arena. The cold night air steadies her a little.
Halfway home, a soft chime breaks the silence.
New Notification: Main Quest Updated. Condition Triggered by: Interaction with High-Rank Individual
Airi stops walking.
The System displays a single line.
Objective: Surpass Rank #1.
Ren Takamine.
Her breath freezes.
And underneath the objective, a smaller message forms.
Patch Note Applied: Narrative trajectory recalculated. User importance: increased.
Airi's hands tremble. She closes the window.
"Why me?" she whispers.
The System does not answer. The city glows around her, bright and indifferent.
Airi steps forward anyway. Because for the first time in her life, the world feels like it's noticing her. And she's not sure if that's a blessing— or the beginning of something she can't control.