Takumi sat at the back of the classroom, his eyes heavy with the monotony of yet another Monday morning. The hum of fluorescent lights above seemed to buzz louder with every passing second. He wasn't paying attention to the lecture on ancient history—who really cared about Mesopotamia in the middle of the semester anyway?
His phone buzzed softly beneath his desk, a small, almost imperceptible vibration, but it was enough to catch his attention. He glanced over at his teacher, who was absorbed in writing on the board, and quickly checked his screen.
A single text message appeared, its sender unknown:Level 1: Survive the First Week. Collect: Social Points, Friend Connections, and Confidence.
Takumi blinked. What? His first instinct was to dismiss it as some sort of prank. He'd seen enough random messages over the years, from memes to "you've won a prize!" scams, but this one… something about it felt different. The words seemed almost too… calculated.
He glanced around. No one else seemed to notice. His heart beat a little faster as he swiped the message away and tried to focus on his teacher, but the words lingered in his mind.