The Great Hall of the Hunter Academy was a cathedral of glass and steel, designed to make commoners feel small. Alicia stood in the back of the formation, surrounded by two hundred teenage girls dressed in the crisp white-and-gold uniforms of the Aspirants.
The air was thick with the scent of expensive perfume and the static hum of raw, unrefined magic.
Above every girl's head, Alicia's [Ledger of Probability] was working overtime.
[Success Rate of Cadet A: 45%]
[Success Rate of Cadet B: 12%]
And then, she saw her.
At the front of the line stood Valerica von Arthen. Even from the back, Valerica was unmistakable. Her hair was a vibrant, crimson red that looked like dancing flames, tied back in a high, aggressive ponytail. She stood with her arms crossed, a massive ornate broadsword strapped to her back that looked like it weighed more than Alicia herself.
Above Valerica, the system didn't show a number. It showed a pulsing, golden icon: [Protagonist: Fate Shield Active].
"So that's the legend," Alicia murmured. In the game, Valerica was the player's primary romance option—a tsundere princess who would eventually save the world. Now, she was just a very loud, very intimidating obstacle.
Suddenly, Valerica turned around. Her eyes—a sharp, piercing amber—swept over the crowd. The other girls shrank back, but Alicia was too busy calculating the mana density in the air to look away. Their eyes met for a fraction of a second.
[Probability of Valerica noticing you: 100%]
[Reason: You are the only one not trembling.]
Valerica scoffed and turned back around, but Alicia felt a strange prickle in her chest. Was that the "Yuri" tag of this world starting to tug at the strings of fate? Or just the Broken Mana Circuit Bypass giving her a minor heart arrhythmia?
"Silence!"
Instructor Sarah stood on the podium, her voice amplified by a wind-elemental spell. "The Trial is simple. You will enter the Simulation Gate. The system will generate a Rank-E Shadow Wolf. Defeat it, and you stay. Fail, and you leave."
The girls began to shuffle forward. One by one, they entered the shimmering blue portal. Screams echoed, followed by the mechanical voice of the Academy AI: [Failed. Failed. Passed. Failed.]
When it was Alicia's turn, the room went quiet. A "Cute Commoner" with silver hair and a fragile frame didn't exactly scream "Monster Slayer."
"Step forward, Alicia," Sarah said, her eyes narrowing. "Where is your weapon?"
"I don't need one, Ma'am," Alicia said softly. "I brought my own... equipment."
She stepped into the portal.
The world shifted. The marble hall vanished, replaced by a dark, digital forest. The air felt cold and artificial. Ten meters away, a Shadow Wolf—a creature made of shifting black smoke and glowing red eyes—materialized.
[Enemy: Shadow Wolf (Rank E)]
[Detection: 100%]
[Lethal Strike Probability: 98%]
The wolf growled, its claws scraping against the simulated dirt. Alicia didn't move. Her heart was racing at 140 beats per minute.
"Shop," she whispered. "Search for 'Temporary Environmental Glitch'."
[Search Result: Static Discharge Patch (Single Use) - 1 Credit]
She bought it.
"System," Alicia commanded, her voice turning cold and analytical. "Overclock the Mana Flux. Target: The wolf's left hind leg. Trigger the Static Patch... now."
The wolf leaped. It moved like a blur of darkness, its jaws aiming straight for Alicia's throat. In the observation room, the instructors gasped. But Alicia saw the world in slow motion.
The [Ledger of Probability] flashed: [Critical Error Detected in Simulation Mesh].
Just as the wolf's teeth were inches from her skin, Alicia tapped the air. A tiny, microscopic spark of mana—barely a flicker—hit a specific coordinate in the simulation.
Because her mana was "Unstable" from the bypass she bought, it acted like a virus.
The Shadow Wolf didn't just stop. It glitched.
Its front half continued forward while its back half stayed frozen.
The creature let out a digitized yelp as its code struggled to reconcile its position. Alicia calmly stepped to the side, watching the beast tumble clumsily into a tree.
[Mana Overclock: 400% Capacity]
Alicia felt a searing pain in her veins. Her silver hair began to float, glowing with a faint, jagged white light. She walked up to the struggling, glitched monster. She didn't have a sword, so she just pointed a finger at its head.
"Calculate trajectory," she whispered. "Maximum output."
BOOM.
A bolt of pure, white mana—small but incredibly dense—shot from her fingertip. It didn't just kill the wolf; it deleted it. The simulation stuttered, the trees flickering in and out of existence before the entire forest collapsed back into the Academy hall.
Alicia stood in the center of the room, panting slightly, a single drop of blood trickling from her nose. She looked perfectly delicate, perfectly cute, and utterly terrifying.
The silence in the hall was absolute. Even Valerica was staring, her mouth slightly agape.
[Trial Result: Passed (Rank SSS - Efficiency)]
[Shop Credits Earned: 2,000]
[System Note: You have gained the 'Interest' of the Heroine. Probability of a 'Romantic Encounter' in Chapter 3: 65%.]
Alicia wiped her nose and looked at Valerica. The Princess was walking toward her, her amber eyes burning with a mix of suspicion and something else Alicia couldn't quite calculate yet.
"You," Valerica growled, stopping inches from Alicia's face. She was a head taller, smelling of cedarwood and heat. "What kind of trick was that? No commoner has mana that sharp."
Alicia looked up, putting on her best "helpless girl" smile. "I'm just lucky, I guess?"
Valerica's face flushed a deep crimson. "Don't give me that! You... you're staying in the elite dorms. With me. I'm going to figure out exactly what you are."
[Relationship Progress: Valerica (Rival/???) - Unlocked]
[Comedy Factor: The Princess is 80% confused and 20% flustered.]
Alicia watched her stomp away and sighed. "Well," she whispered to the system. "At least the dorms have better spreadsheets."