Place : Eiyuuin Academy – Central Corridor, Class 1-A Wing
The tea had already soaked into the carpet.
A steaming pool of fragrant gold, spilled from a silver chalice, now being smeared across the floor by a rag and a boy's shaking hands.
Shinya Sihara crouched with his sleeves rolled up, wiping the mess slowly. His fingers ached, his knees stung, and every time he looked up—
More laughter.
"Oops~ You missed a spot, mopper boy."
"Be careful not to stain that ugly uniform."
"Does your family even exist anymore?"
A group of upper-class girls giggled near the marble pillar. One of them sat on a boy's lap — a pretty-faced, smug bastard named Rento Kaizuki. A noble heir with flame affinity. He was the one who had "accidentally" spilled his tea onto Shinya a few minutes ago, while showing off to the girls.
Now he was whispering into one of their ears, fingers sliding casually up her thigh.
No one looked at Shinya.
Except to mock him.
Not even to pity him.
"This is normal now," Shinya thought.
"My name is Shinya Sihara. I'm sixteen years old, ranked dead-last in Eiyuuin Academy, and the final embarrassment of what's left of the House of Shinya — a noble family so far fallen, even dogs piss on our crest."
He wrung out the rag in a bucket. Brownish water sloshed.
"I have no affinity. No talent. No strength. No one respects me. The girls don't look at me. The guys use me as a prop. I'm a breathing reminder that even among nobility… you can be born worthless."
But it wasn't always like this.
3 months earlier
Place : The Grand Cathedral of Ikaris
Shinya stood in a line of twenty youths, all dressed in ceremonial white robes. Incense swirled in the air. Blue mana crystals floated around the altar. A priestess raised her hand and called his name.
"Sihara Shinya. Step forward to receive your divine revelation."
He had walked forward — heart pounding, palms sweating.
He had dreamed of this moment for years. To awaken his power. To claim a bloodline gift. To prove he wasn't broken.
He knelt.
The priestess pressed a glowing relic to his forehead.
Light surged.
A glyph burned into the air above him.
The crowd gasped.
Then fell silent.
[AFFINITY: UNDEFINED]
[SKILLS: NONE DETECTED]
He opened his eyes — confused. Expecting applause. Hoping they hadn't seen the same thing.
But they had.
The silence turned into murmurs.
Then scorn.
Laughter.
Whispers like venom:
"No skill?"
"Not even a weak one?"
"Did the gods forget him?"
"Poor House Shinya… what a joke."
The day was ending, but the academy's iron gates still shone like polished obsidian under the orange sun.
Place : Eiyuuin Academy.
A fortress of elite bloodlines, built on a mountaintop in Shinkou City's royal district — half palace, half battlefield.
Shinya Sihara stood by the outer walkway, his hands still damp from cleaning duty, watching the sunset reflect off the stained-glass towers.
"They call this place the temple of queens."
"Only nobles with inherited magic and combat pedigree get in. Commoners don't even get close. And guys like me… we're just here to lose."
The academy wasn't lacking in male students — there were plenty.
But talent? Power? Prestige?
That belonged to the women.
Female students dominated the rankings, the bloodlines, the titles.
Most of them had entourages of boys orbiting them like moons around a queen.
And boys like Shinya?
They were invisible — unless someone needed a floor cleaned.
"But if the bottom is hell…"
"Then the top is Mount Olympus."
As if summoned by his thoughts, the gates hissed open — and a convoy of black limousines arrived, engines purring like tamed lions.
Shinya stepped back. Everyone nearby did.
They knew who was coming.
She was always first.
"The Blade of the King" – Amagiri Reina
The door opened.
Polished leather heels touched the stone.
Her uniform was tailored with sharp edges, black with gold trim — a katana sheathed at her hip, its hilt wrapped in sacred silk.
Her presence made the air sharpen.
Amagiri Reina, heir of the Amagiri Sword Dynasty, descended from the imperial line of Japan. She was called the "Blade of the King" — and unlike anyone else in the academy, she held an S-rank affinity for Sword Law.
She didn't speak.
She didn't need to.
Everyone bowed their heads as she walked by — like royalty.
Shinya didn't bow.
He couldn't.
His legs wouldn't move.
But his eyes followed her.
"That's the girl who beat five instructors in a mock duel. She can cut spells. Even time-based ones."
Another car pulled in behind.
This one bore a coat of arms: lions and roses.
"The White Lioness" – Evelyn Arkwright
A tall girl with platinum-blonde hair stepped out, her posture perfect.
She wore modified knight armor with her uniform — an elegant white chestplate engraved with her family sigil.
Her name was Evelyn Arkwright. The daughter of House Arkwright, a legendary British order of knight-mages dating back to King Arthur.
"She's the youngest to ever receive the Order of the Crown. Ranked 2nd in the school overall. Her divine gift? Authority over Light and Vow-based magic. Her word is literal law."
She nodded politely to Reina as they passed, but there was tension in the air — two predators acknowledging each other.
A third car screeched in next.
No formal escort.
No emblems.
Just American horsepower and attitude.
"The Gunsaint" – Cassidy Monroe
Out came a girl with red streaks in her hair and a cocky grin.
Cassidy Monroe — the American prodigy, daughter of a private arms-tech family and the #1 ranked sharpshooter in the western hemisphere.
Twin custom revolvers hung at her hips. Her school badge was scratched, worn like a battle scar.
"She doesn't use mana spells. She just shoots. Her divine gift? Bullet projection. She can summon and accelerate ammo made of pure elemental will. She's killed real monsters… and probably some humans too."
She gave Shinya a wink as she passed.
Not out of kindness.
More like she was saying:
"Look at you. Still alive, huh?"
Then the fourth car arrived.
Unlike the others, this one came silent.
Smooth.
Like smoke in moonlight.
"The Witch of Winter" – Selena Weiss
She stepped out slowly, her steps soundless.
Her uniform was the same as theirs — but cold. Immaculate.
Her hair was silver-blue. Her eyes were pale. She looked like a ghost made from snow and aristocracy.
Selena Weiss, heir of the Weissblood Covenant — an ancient Germanic bloodline known for icecraft, curses, and mental dominion.
"They say she can freeze a soul, not just flesh. That once, a noble tried to flirt with her… and forgot his own name for a week."
She didn't look at anyone.
But everyone looked at her.
The four passed the gate.
And in their presence, even the elite students moved aside.
They were the Queens of Eiyuuin.
And for someone like Shinya Sihara?
They were gods.
Untouchable.
Unbeatable.
Unreachable.
But me?
I'll never reach the peak.
Because I'm… just an unblessed human.
No divine affinity. No sacred emblem. Just a blank reading at the altar.
I'm Shinya Sihara — fourth son of House Shinya, born into power… but treated like I never had any.
In a place ruled by queens, I'm the disappointment they all forgot.
And all I can do… is survive.
The convoy moved smoothly through the marble-paved road that led from the academy gates to the inner dormitory district — a long stretch of elegance reserved only for the nobility.
In the second car of the procession — a sleek black limousine — three of the most prestigious students of Eiyuuin Academy reclined in silence, their uniforms flawless, their presence magnetic.
The eldest daughter, Shinya Misora, lounged near the window, scrolling through her holo-tab, disinterested.
The eldest son, Shinya Reiji, leaned back with one leg over the other, brushing dust off his lapel like he owned the mountain the school sat on.
The second daughter, Shinya Akari, chewed bubblegum and looked out with mild boredom, her eyes occasionally glinting with disdain.
Then, simultaneously, as if remembering something minor:
"Oi, Shinya," Misora said without looking up.
"Grab my bag before you forget," Reiji added lazily.
"And mine. The heavy one," Akari yawned.
In the car behind them — not a limousine, but a standard escort vehicle for bodyguards and attendants — sat Shinya Sihara.
The fourth child.
The one without a title.
A boy born into greatness, but not recognized by it.
He gave a small nod, stepping out as the cars came to a halt near the dormitory platform. He moved quickly, silently, retrieving all three designer bags from the limousine trunk. Not a trace of resentment crossed his face. Just quiet acceptance.
This was normal.
He was always treated this way.
Discarded.
Overlooked.
Expected to serve — but never belong.
Inside the bodyguard car, one of the escorts — a tall man with a scar under one eye — leaned back in his seat, watching Shinya with a tilted smirk.
"You've got some patience, kid," the guard muttered, arms crossed.
"If it were me, I'd have chucked those bags in the fountain."
Shinya offered a small chuckle, more out of politeness than agreement.
"Thanks, Gai-san. But that'd just get me more 'cleaning duty'."
"Tch. Shinya clan or not, those three act like they piss stardust."
Shinya said nothing.
He just looked forward — past the limousines, past the golden dormitories, past the walls that had always held him back.
Because deep down…
He wasn't going to stay in the shadow forever.
Place :Shinya Estate, Western Hills of Shinkou City
The convoy of limousines slowed as the grand gates of the Shinya Estate creaked open.
Unlike the sleek skyline of Shinkou City, the estate stood as a relic of power — tiered rooftops crowned with silver dragon tiles, cedar trees thick with age, and stone lanterns humming with ancestral wards. At its heart rose the main house: imposing, silent, sacred.
Etched above the bloodwood gate:
House of Shinya – Lineage of Steel and Sovereignty
As the vehicles glided in, the staff lined up with mechanical perfection. Maids, retainers, and guards bowed low in unison.
The first door opened.
Shinya Misora. First child. Eldest daughter.
Perfect posture. Violet crest ribbon fluttering on her collar. Cold grace in motion.
Wielder of the Kingblade Style, a legendary martial art said to rival ancient battlemages.
She didn't speak. She didn't need to. The world bent toward her silence.
"Welcome home, Lady Misora," the servants chorused.
The second door.
Shinya Reiji. Second child. Eldest son.
Sword on his back, judgment in his eyes. His aura cut deeper than steel.
Gifted in Void Edge Techniques — his strikes distorted space itself.
He stepped out without a glance, letting his silence sneer for him.
"Lord Reiji, your return honors us."
The third.
Shinya Akari. Third child. Second daughter.
A voice like honey, a smile like poison. Dressed in pastel charms and glittering pins.
She mastered Charm and Illusion Magic — bending hearts, minds, and perception.
She blew a kiss to the steward. "Okaeri~. Get my mirror room lit, kay?"
"Lady Akari, may your brilliance bless this house."
Together, the three siblings ascended the stairs — elegance, power, and cruelty wrapped in noble skin.
Then the final car rolled forward.
No one opened the door.
Shinya Sihara. Fourth child. Youngest.
He opened it himself.
Three backpacks hung off his arms. A duffel slung over his shoulder. A wrapped sword he didn't own rested awkwardly in his hands.
The maids hesitated.
One of them — Aoi, the youngest — took a step forward, eyes shining with quiet pity.
"Let me help, Young Master Shinya—"
"Stop right there."
The words lashed through the courtyard.
Shinya Tenrou, father of the clan, had taken three slow steps down from the gate. His presence dragged shadows like chains.
"If I see anyone carry that boy's burdens again, you're dismissed on the spot. Do you understand?"
The staff froze. Aoi trembled and lowered her head.
Sihara didn't speak. He didn't flinch.
He simply placed the bags down one by one, without complaint, without noise.
Reiji smirked from above.
"Still crawling like a dog, huh?"
Akari flicked her hair and laughed. "Aww. Look at him trying so hard not to cry."
Misora didn't speak. She had already stepped inside.
Tenrou's gaze burned holes through him.
"You're not staying in the main house."
He turned to the servants without even looking at Sihara.
"The hut behind the east garden. The one the old woman clung to. He sleeps there."
"But sir, it hasn't been—"
"It's his problem now."
He walked away.
Sihara said nothing.
Not because he was weak.
But because he'd long learned it made no difference.
Only one voice remained etched in his mind:
"Even a child with no crest can still grow wings, my ember. They just have to burn their own path."
His grandmother's voice. The only one who ever believed in him.
The small hut behind the garden had once been overrun with ivy, dust, and ghosts of memory.
But now…
Paper windows had been reinforced with rune-threaded panes. Solar crystals lit the corners. A worn but polished kotatsu sat in the center. The shelves were stacked with modded tech, gaming consoles, magic scrolls, and spare mana cores.
He had rebuilt this place by hand.
With help.
Gai-san, a hulking bodyguard who'd served the Shinya clan for over twenty years, leaned on the wall with a toothpick in his mouth.
"Yo, Rat Prince," he grinned. "Looks like they stepped on you again."
Sihara dropped his bags without a word.
Gai chuckled. "I fixed the ventilation for you. Also restocked the fridge. And yeah — the thermal mana shield you ordered? Installed."
Sihara finally exhaled.
"Thanks, Gai-san."
The big man waved it off.
"You're the only brat around here that says thank you."
As the door closed behind him, Sihara stared at the ceiling, the flickering screen of his console lighting the room.
Place: Shinya's Hut, East Garden
Night, 11:08 PM
The glow of LED glyphs pulsed gently across the darkened room.
Mana-reactive circuits hummed beside shelves of game discs and enchanted peripherals.
Here, Shinya Sihara wasn't a disgrace.
He was someone. A rogue. A strategist. A raid leader.
He sat cross-legged on the tatami, controller in hand, eyes locked on the screen.
[PROJECT OMEGA: REMNANT]
The title blinked faintly on the menu — a long-abandoned online RPG that had lost its player base years ago.
Outdated. Glitchy. Dead.
Only nostalgia kept it alive for a few stubborn diehards.
And Shinya was one of them.
"One last dungeon," he muttered.
He knew every exploit, every frame-perfect dodge, every meta-breaking strat.
This ruined world of crumbling towers, forgotten gods, and labyrinth cities — it was more home than the mansion he'd been born into.
The system clock ticked over to 11:11 PM.
You Have 1 New Message
Strange.
No one had messaged him in months. The servers barely worked. Most NPCs looped like broken dolls.
Frowning, Shinya selected the icon.
A wall of binary code filled the screen — flickering white on black.
01111001 01101111 01110101 01101110 01100111 ...
Translation (via a quick auto-translator):
"Young and poor boy... will you accept this task... and take it?"
Shinya blinked.
"...That's not creepy at all."
He hovered over the response options.
[ACCEPT] | [DECLINE]
He clicked [ACCEPT] — more curious than cautious.
The screen went black.
Then—
A massive pair of glowing eyes flared across the monitor, followed by the sudden appearance of...
...a fluffy, horned cat.
With a cloak.
And a scowl.
"What the—"
The cat — sleek, white, and clearly female — hovered midair, tail flicking like an impatient pendulum.
"You call the Sage of Infinity Realms... a cute cat?"
Shinya blinked. "Well, you are kinda—"
BOOM. Her face suddenly filled the monitor.
Shinya yelped, nearly tossing his controller.
"I will not be patronized by a boy who still plays dead games in his pajamas!"
"Wha—are you breaking the fourth wall right now?"
"I don't know what that means, and I don't care."
Her tail whipped in annoyance. "Listen well, pathetic mortal. In the north mountain of this city lies a sealed terminal — a core unit of the original Omega System. You must retrieve it. Immediately."
"…You're joking."
"I. Do not. Joke."
Shinya stood and poked the screen skeptically. "This is just an elaborate Easter egg, right? Some glitched dev message or—"
CRACK.
His monitor sparked. The cat recoiled, eyes wide with panic.
"W-Wait! Stop! Don't hit me! I'm real—!"
Shinya stared.
Then slowly sat back down.
This... might not be just a game
"What game are you talking about?" Shinya raised an eyebrow.
"I don't remember installing any creepy sage-cat DLC."
The horned feline bristled. Her fluffy tail spiked up like a static-charged broom.
"I'm not part of your glitchy little nostalgia server!" she snapped. "I'm a real sage!"
Sihara didn't answer.
He just stood up…
And picked up the controller like a weapon.
The cat's eyes widened.
"H-Hey now, hold on—!"
He raised it overhead.
"WAIT! SHINYA SIHARA!!"
The controller froze mid-air.
"…What?" His voice dropped an octave.
The cat blinked.
A pause. Then:
"…Ahem."
Her image flickered.
The screen reset with a pixelated chime, and a new message box appeared in glowing script:
[SYSTEM INITIATED: PROTOCOL RECOGNITION // USER: SHINYA SIHARA // LEVEL: UNRANKED]
The cat floated calmly now, tail curling in a dignified loop.
"Greetings, candidate," she said, her voice formal and composed. "I am designated as Galia, the contracted overseer of the Omega System's Lost Node."
"…Lost Node?" he repeated, still half-suspicious.
"Due to your acceptance of the encoded contract, this node is now temporarily synced to your access. Further instructions will be provided upon verification of capability."
Her smug smile returned.
"…But if you swing that controller at me again, I will hex your save files out of existence."
Shinya stared.
This night just got weird.
And for the first time in a long while...
...he felt curious.
Galia floated with a puff of mana static, her hologram stabilizing again as a faint wind rustled outside the hut.
"I suppose I must enlighten you, pitiful boy," she said with grandiosity, striking a dramatic pose in midair. "For I see your entire pathetic, underdog existence like an open scroll."
She snapped her paw.
And suddenly…
Images flashed across the screen — his childhood failures, the countless times his father's back turned, his siblings' mocking laughter, the sting of carrying bags he didn't own.
Every humiliation. Every ignored effort. Every silent night in this hut.
Shinya's legs trembled.
He collapsed to his knees.
Eyes wide, jaw locked, breath caught.
His fingers gripped the edge of the kotatsu as the tears came — hot, silent, defiant.
"…Tch." Galia crossed her tiny paws. "So fragile. Humans really are all bark and no bite."
Her voice softened slightly, though her smirk stayed intact.
"Still… I suppose I can't fault you. I mean, you're you — Shinya Sihara. Zero magic crest. Zero combat rating. Zero presence. Meanwhile, I am Galia the Horned, Overseer of the Forbidden Omega Node, Chosen Spirit of the Lost Protocols, Emissary of the Code Beyond Reality—"
Grab.
"H-Huh?"
Galia blinked, her speech interrupted as Shinya calmly reached out…
…and wrapped both hands around the monitor.
"W-Wait. What are you doing?" she blinked rapidly. "Hey—HEY. H-HOLD ON—!"
Shinya stood up slowly, tears still in his eyes, but his face blank.
His grip tightened on the screen.
"No no no no NO—!"
Her voice turned panicked — high-pitched and squeaky like a furious chibi mascot.
"I'M STILL EXPLAINING YOU UNGRATEFUL MONKEY! I HAVE EXISTENTIAL PURPOSES—!!"
He raised the monitor over his head.
"GAAHHHHH—!! DON'T SMASH MEEEE!! I'LL TELL YOU EVERYTHING! EVERYTHING!!"
Shinya paused.
"…Hmph."
He slowly lowered the screen.
Galia panted, eyes spinning.
Sihara, still gripping the sides of the screen, squinted suspiciously.
"Did you just say… cheat system?!"
His voice cracked — not from fear, but from a rare flicker of hope.
Galia's hologram, still wobbling from her spinning panic, blinked dizzily.
"Uuuggghhh… my eyes…"
She shook her head violently, fur flopping in all directions.
"Bhbhlbhhbh—bah! Can you not react like a maniac?! Do you want to give your first magical companion permanent trauma?!"
She puffed her cheeks like an angry marshmallow.
Sihara stared, unconvinced.
Galia let out a long, theatrical sigh.
"Fine. Sit down, monkey boy. You clearly can't handle anything standing up."
Shinya sat cross-legged in front of the monitor again, a bottle of mana soda in one hand, controller tossed aside.
The screen glowed faintly as Galia hovered a few inches above it, flicking through floating glyph menus with her tiny paws like she owned the universe.
"Now then…" she cleared her throat with a dignified ahem.
"Let me properly introduce your salvation. You're now bound to a sacred artifact — the Omega Node."
She flipped a holographic scroll dramatically.
"It is a forgotten system buried deep in the remnants of a dead game — a last legacy of an ancient code civilization. It links reality to digital, mana to logic, and guess what?"
She grinned smugly.
"You're the only person who accidentally tripped the trigger."
Shinya blinked. "...Accidentally?"
Galia shrugged. "Well, you did accept the binary message from an unverified glitched protocol. That's like clicking 'yes' on a cursed pop-up. Honestly, what were you thinking?"
Shinya grumbled. "You baited me with creepy code."
"And you fell for it like a rookie," she snorted. "Anyway…"
She spun in the air and pointed at the screen.
"You now possess access to the Hidden System — a cheat-level interface that can scan, upgrade, and even rewrite your reality stats."
A glowing prompt appeared on the screen.
[ Welcome, Shinya Sihara ]
[ Activating Hidden System v0.1.1. ]
[ Scanning Host... ]
[ Status: Crestless – Grade E – Potential Unknown ]
[ Error: No Primary Magic Signature Found. ]
[ Recommendation: Custom Path Creation Enabled. ]
Shinya's jaw slackened.
"...This is real?"
Galia crossed her arms proudly. "More real than your social status."
A slow smile crept onto Shinya's face for the first time in months.
"…So I can really… change everything?"
Galia's holographic tail flicked.
"Only if you survive what's coming next," she said with a smug grin.
Shinya narrowed his eyes. "You said something about a cheat system?"
Galia clapped her tiny paws together. "Ah, so your monkey brain can retain important words. Yes — a system beyond the system. Something that shouldn't exist in this world."
She raised her paw, and three glowing kanji shimmered in the air:
TAKE. GAIN. USE.
"This world runs on a simple cycle," she said. "You Take — loot, rewards, knowledge. You Gain — experience, growth, understanding. And then you Use — your skills, your stats, your strength."
"But…"
Her grin widened, fangs flashing.
"…your system does more than that."
The symbols shattered — and reformed into distorted glyphs, surrounded by crimson runes.
THE SYSTEM: HIDDEN CODE [Ω]
Take (Override Mode):
Anything Sihara defeats, witnesses, or touches — he can "Take" a fragment of it. This includes:SkillsAbilitiesMemoriesTitlesMagical signaturesEven traits like regeneration, fire resistance, luck, or sword mastery.
"You kill a fire lizard? Take its flame breath. You touch an ancient mage's relic? Take its spell matrix. You punch a noble girl? Well… maybe don't, but yes — even bloodlines aren't safe."
Gain (Stacked Adaptation):
Every fight, every injury, every loss — Sihara doesn't just learn from it.
He adapts and upgrades instantly.Hit by lightning? He'll start developing shock resistance.Tricked by illusion magic? He'll build mental defense.Survive death once? He'll develop a passive "Death Avoidance" the next time.
The more he suffers, the faster he grows.
Use (Unlimited Slot Engine):
Normal people can only hold a few skills. Sihara has no cap.He can store hundreds of skills, swap them instantly, and even combine them.He can form custom skills, like combining [Wind Step] and [Shadow Cloak] into [Phantom Leap].
"And if you're feeling spicy," Galia added, "you can even rewrite their effects. Want [Healing Touch] to also grant fire resistance? Done."
Shinya's eyes widened. "This is insane."
"It's not just insane," Galia said, spinning in midair. "It's illegal. It breaks the World Code. You weren't supposed to get this."
He stared at his hand.
"...Why me?"
Her smile faded slightly. Her tone, for once, softened.
"Because you were chosen. Not by the gods. Not by blood. But by… something else. Something watching from the Remnants of the Lost World."
A pause.
Then her usual sass returned. "Also because everyone else was too stuck-up or dead."
Shinya blinked. "So I'm a bug in the system?"
"You're a glitch. A cheat. A cursed line of code in a world that plays fair."
She leaned forward, eyes glowing:
Galia hovered with a flick of her tail, the digital throne vanishing in a puff of pixels.
"Now then," she said, striking a noble pose mid-air, "as Overseer of the Forbidden Omega Node, I grant you access to the Hidden Code: Basic Tier."
A golden window popped up in front of Shinya.
[CHEAT SYSTEM INSTALLED: HIDDEN CODE Ω - VERSION 1.0]
Override Take: ONStack Gain: ONSlot Engine Use: ONStatus: BASIC TIEREvolution Path: 0 / 8
Shinya's eyes sparkled.
For the first time in forever — he smiled.
"…It's real," he whispered. "I can actually… fight back."
His shoulders trembled. Not from fear — but hope.
Galia watched him with a smug expression. "Yep. All yours. Welcome to the cheat life, my tragic protagonist."
Then—
"Wait, did you say… 'basic tier'?" he asked, blinking.
"Mhm," Galia nodded proudly, puffing out her fluffy chest. "You're starting with Version 1.0. You can evolve it through 8 stages. Eventually, you'll reach Godbreaker level!"
Shinya's smile vanished.
His eyes went dead.
A full internal reboot.
"…So I'm still weak?"
"You're cheating-weak! That's better than regular-weak!" she chirped.
He didn't respond.
Just…
Grabbed the monitor. Again.
"W-WAIT—NO NO NO—NOT THIS AGAIN—!!"
Galia's hologram flickered violently as she panicked, her voice squeaking like an anime mascot being squished.
"STOP GRABBING MY FACE YOU TRAUMA GREMLIN—!!"
"I thought I'd finally escaped hell," Shinya muttered, eyes blank. "You showed me light. And then told me it's a flashlight with dead batteries."
"YOU LITTLE DEPRESSIVE WORM I HAVEN'T EVEN FINISHED THE TUTORIAL—!!"
He raised the monitor.
Galia squealed. "GAAAAH! I'M TOO CUTE TO DIE!!"
Her chibi avatar started flailing midair like a balloon animal stuck in a fan. Little panic emojis appeared around her.
"OKAY OKAY I GET IT! HERE—HAVE A FREE BONUS SKILL!! I'LL EVEN MAKE IT SPARKLE—!!"
Shinya froze.
"…Sparkle?"
Galia snapped her paw.
BONUS ACQUIRED: [Inventory Expansion: Reality Pocket (5 items)]
Bonus Skill: [Minor Adaptive Shift] — Allows basic element change on any item.
"You can now turn a stick into a fire stick. Or a lunchbox into an ice bomb. Don't ask how."
Shinya slowly… lowered the monitor.
Galia floated midair, panting, face white. Her horn tilted sideways.
"…You need therapy," she whispered.
"I need sleep," Shinya replied flatly.
Then he looked at the glowing HUD again.
And a grin tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"…Eight evolutions, huh."
The monitor flickered erratically, casting prismatic glows across the room like some cursed rave lantern. Galia hovered in digital form, wagging her holographic tail like a villain mid-monologue.
"Alright, listen here, you mana-deprived meat popsicle," she said, arms folded. "We need to raise this dump's mana voltage by, oh, I don't know… a billion percent."
Shinya blinked. "Excuse me??"
"Look, I can't guide you properly from inside this flat-screen prison. You want a real cheat? You want real power? Then let me out! Raise the flow! Melt the seals! Detonate the spiritual firewall!"
"You sound like you're trying to explode my house."
"I AM TRYING TO EXPLODE YOUR HOUSE—for enlightenment purposes!!"
Shinya looked at the mana panel in the corner with the face of a man considering if death by overload was preferable to dealing with this gremlin forever.
"…You're insane."
"DO IT."
She struck a pose like she was summoning lightning. "LET THE VOLT FLOW, MORTAL."
Shinya gritted his teeth, walked to the mana panel, muttered a quiet prayer to whichever god wouldn't laugh at him, and cranked the sigil.
BZZZTT—!!
The hut instantly exploded in color.
Neon arcs zapped across the ceiling. The walls glowed. The kotatsu flipped. A stray mana lantern burst into fireflies.
The windows flashed pure white.
Outside, in the bodyguard's shed—Gai, friend of Sihara and the bodyguard who bleary-eyed and half-conscious, blinked at the pulsing glow seeping through his shutters.
"…Huh. Oh." He rubbed his eyes.
"Sunrise."
Then promptly went back to sleep.
Inside—
Shinya screamed.
"MY EEEYEEESSS—!! MY PRECIOUUUSSS EEEEYEEESSS!!!"
He rolled on the floor, smacking random furniture.
Meanwhile, Galia looked completely unfazed.
"Hmm… nope," she sniffed. "Didn't work."
"WHAT?!" Shinya gasped, holding an icepack against his scorched corneas.
"Maybe we need more juice. Triple the overload. Reroute your blood to the leyline capacitor. Burn your lungs as a sacrifice. Y'know—simple stuff."
"ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?!"
"Define 'kill.' Spiritually? Physically? Emotionally? Because two out of three are already done."
Shinya wiped the mana-tears from his eyes, still recovering from the failed light-blast experiment.
"…By the way," he muttered, "how do we even find stronger power?"
Galia's holographic form spun in midair like a whimsical loading screen.
She pointed toward the distant skyline with her paw.
"That building. Right there."
Shinya turned his head toward the glowing tower piercing the night sky like a monolith. The top shimmered with magical barriers, rotating drones, and a hum of concentrated mana.
"…That's the City Core Power Facility," he said slowly. "And… wait—"
His eyes widened.
His voice cracked.
"WAIT—YOU WANT ME TO GO THERE!?"
"Of course," Galia replied casually. "It's bursting with surplus mana, enough to boot me into full autonomy mode. I could stretch my tail in there~."
"IT'S GUARDED BY SIXTY SOLDIERS WITH RIFLES! AND—AND—EIGHT ELITE RANK SORCERERS!"
Shinya flailed like he was trying to swat away death itself.
"There's a forcefield checkpoint just to get into the parking lot!"
Galia tilted her head.
"And you… what rank is your magic again?"
Shinya stared blankly.
"…Fifteen."
Galia blinked.
Then started chuckling.
A tiny sound at first.
"Khkhkhkhkhkhkhkh…"
Like a kettle trying not to whistle.
Like a cat trying not to laugh in your face.
Shinya's hand slowly reached toward the monitor again.
"OKAY OKAY!" Galia flailed her arms like noodles. "Let me think—wait—yes—aha!"
She raised one glowing paw dramatically.
"I, the ever-brilliant Galia, bestow upon you… a sacred skill!"
A soft chime echoed in the air as her claw tapped his forehead.
📜 [Skill Acquired]: Velum Umbrae Transitum
(Cloak of Shadow Transfer)
Enables the user to bypass magical detection, visual fields, and carry encrypted spirit data (i.e. Galia) through high-security zones.
Shinya blinked at the floating screen.
"…Latin again? Really?"
"Don't question divine presentation," Galia said smugly, arms crossed.
Another system prompt blinked.
🌀 Skill Activated: Velum Umbrae Transitum
Galia's data signature bound to your laptop. Cloaking active.
Shinya slumped down, eyes still twitching.
"…I'm gonna die before school even starts."
Place: Shinkou City — Core Sector Guard Post, Southern Gate
Time: 2:13 AM
The floodlights hummed overhead, casting sterile white across the empty road. Mana runes flickered faintly underfoot, reacting to the mist that curled around the checkpoint like lazy smoke.
Guard 1 leaned against the post wall, munching crackers straight from the foil.
Guard 2 sat nearby, stirring his cup of noodles with a flick of wind magic.
"So then my wife tells me it's not dinner — it's performance art," Guard 2 muttered.
Guard 1 blinked. "...She served you a steaming sculpture of sadness?"
"She called it 'Emotionally Fermented Broth.' Even the carrots looked traumatized."
"You eat it?"
"My son named it Gary. I couldn't."
Guard 1 shook his head. "That's not food. That's a cursed summon."
Before Guard 2 could respond, headlights cut through the fog ahead.
A truck approached — slow, steady, boxy. Military plate. Civilian tarp.
Guard 2 straightened. "Here we go."
Guard 1 took one last bite and wiped his hands on his jacket. "Let's do the dance."
The truck rolled to a halt.
The window on the driver's side cranked down with a mechanical wheeze.
Driver looked half-asleep, wearing a standard-issue uniform with a low-ranked insignia and a crooked cap.
"Evening," Driver mumbled.
"ID," Guard 2 said, already scanning the vehicle with a mana scope.
Driver handed over a military ID chip.
Guard 1 raised an eyebrow. "Transport from East Sector? Bit late for a run."
"Supply backlog," Driver replied with a shrug. "Got told to run this tonight or get reassigned to toilet crystal duty."
Guard 2 winced. "Oof. Been there. The screaming ones?"
"Yup."
Both guards instinctively stepped back in sympathy.
"Alright," Guard 1 nodded, scanning the chip. "Everything checks out. Open the tarp?"
The driver hopped down with a sigh and walked around back.
As the tarp peeled up, Guard 2 muttered to Guard 1, "Bet it's either ammo crates or toilet crystals."
"Or cursed soup Gary."
From behind a thick line of shrubs, far from the guardpost gate, Shinya Sihara crouched low.
Through the gaps in the leaves, he watched a security truck rumble toward the facility checkpoint. Two guards stood lazily at the post, laughing as they waved the vehicle in and checked IDs.
Shinya whispered, "That's the entrance."
A soft rustle came from the half-open bag on his back. Galia's tiny horned head popped out, eyes gleaming with mischievous light.
"Obviously," she said flatly, "you want a medal for basic observation?"
"Shut up, you're the one hiding in a backpack."
"I'm not hiding. I'm strategically embedded."
They both turned back to the scene. The truck passed the gate. The fence shimmered faintly—layers of runes glowing, distorting the air.
"There it is," Shinya murmured. "The barrier. I can't get through that."
"Leave the barrier to me," Galia said with a flick of her tail. "It's child's play for someone like me. You just focus on sneaking past those guards."
"They'll see me the moment I move."
"Not with that cheat skill. Use the cloak."
Shinya hesitated, then exhaled slowly. He tapped the interface in his mind.
Skill Activated: [Vestis Umbra – Cloak of Shadows]
Mana rippled around him. His outline shimmered, then dissolved. His footsteps fell utterly silent. His shadow disappeared. Even to magical senses, he became a blank space — invisible, undetectable, unreadable.
"…Whoa."
Galia smirked from the bag. "Told you it was modified. Even their detection wards can't sense you now. You're a literal ghost."
Shinya nodded, heart thudding.
He sprinted low to the ground — quiet as mist, unseen as the wind — cutting across the open space toward the inner facility.
From the gate, the guards stood bored.
They didn't notice a thing.
And the game had just begun.
Shinya knelt behind the overgrown bushes, his laptop perched on a flat rock. Wires connected from a cheap mana conductor to the facility's side security node.
The guard cameras flickered briefly—then looped back on an empty feed.
Perfect.
From inside the half-open sling bag, Galia peeked her head out, eyes glowing softly in the dim light.
"Okay, hold on—you can't even use magic properly, but you can hack military-grade surveillance?" she asked, genuinely curious.
"Ahh~ I play games, you know," Shinya said with a smug grin. "And Gai-san always taught me about programs and coding since I was a kid. So, this kind of stuff? Child's play."
Galia raised a furry eyebrow and smirked.
"Heeehh~ you're talented, aren't you? But why doesn't anyone in your family see it? If I had a familiar like you back then, I'd have called you 'Master' already."
Shinya's smile dimmed slightly.
"Well… my family are all heroes of the nation. Big names. They gain glory through battle, not from 'normal' skills like mine."
He paused, his eyes narrowing, thoughts drifting.
"But Gai-san… he always stuck with me. Always believed I had something different to offer. Even when the others… didn't."
He remembered the laughs. The dismissals. The bruises.
Galia tilted her head. "Huh? What's wrong?"
Shinya shook his head.
"Nah, nothing. Forget it."
Beep.
[MODIFICATION COMPLETE]
The laptop chimed and displayed a green screen.
"Alright," Galia asked, ears twitching, "Why'd you go through all this trouble? And how the heck does this hack work?"
Shinya reached over and grabbed a dusty mask and worn robe from the side pocket.
"Well, you see this?" he said, holding them up. "Cheap enchanted gear. But with some light code injections, I modified their effect range."
He slid the mask on and adjusted the cloak.
"Basically… I turned their minor concealment effect into something smarter. I used code logic to trick the barrier's detection pattern. Magic is just another type of rule, like programming. You break it, bend it, or rewrite it."
Galia blinked.
"You enchanted items using a laptop?"
"Yep," Shinya replied confidently.
"Gai-san always told me, 'Even if you're the strongest, always have a Plan B.'"
Shinya opened his laptop as he knelt behind the shrubbery, the glowing screen reflecting off his glasses. The image of a glowing blue dome flickered onto the screen — the magical barrier surrounding the city's core facility.
Inside the screen, Galia stretched like a lazy cat, blinked twice—then her eyes widened.
"HUUUUUUHHHHHHHHH???!!! This is the barrier?!"
Shinya glanced calmly at the screen. "Yeah? What's wrong?"
Galia practically launched herself against the screen, her fur puffing out in all directions.
"HOW CAN A LOW-GRADE MAGIC LIKE THIS BE USED TO GUARD SOMETHING SO IMPORTANT?! THIS ISN'T EVEN A HOLY BARRIER LIKE YOU SAID EARLIER!!"
Shinya scratched his head. "Huh? But everyone in the city says this is the strongest barrier humanity ever made…"
Galia froze. Then squinted.
"STRONGEST YOU SAY? Listen here, nerdy glasses, this thing can't even block a rubber bullet!" She pointed at the flickering outline of the dome on-screen. "Tell me this—has anyone ever actually attacked this barrier?"
"Of course," Shinya said. "The Chief of the Department even tested it himself. He brought a whole squad to strike it last year. Couldn't break through at all."
A cutaway memory flashed in Shinya's mind:
Soldiers in gear charging at the barrier with rifles and low-level spells, bouncing off the glowing dome like flies on glass.
Galia narrowed her eyes.
"...Huh. That's weird. Okay, my turn."
Shinya blinked. "Wait—wha—?"
Too late.
A spark jolted from the laptop. Outside, the shimmering edge of the dome suddenly cracked — and with a flicker, snapped like fragile glass.
CRRRRRSHHHHHH!
The entire barrier evaporated in a burst of light.
Shinya's jaw dropped.
"AWESOOOOOMEEEEEEE!! You just destroyed it like that?!"
Galia, still inside the laptop screen, stood awkwardly on her tiny digital feet, looking like she just knocked over a priceless vase.
"Uh… oh... yeah. I… totally meant to do that," she said, her voice shaky.
Shinya tilted his head. Her reaction wasn't excitement or pride — it was something else. Doubt? Regret? Or maybe she think something fishy
"Galia?" he asked gently, stepping closer to her
She snapped out of it and forced a smile. "O-oh! Right, yeah! Let's go. There's definitely a huge energy signal inside. We don't wanna waste time, right?"
Shinya gave her a look — half concern, half curiosity — but said nothing..
He carefully shut the laptop, placed it into his half-open sling bag where Galia could still peek through, and crept closer to the gate. The barrier was down. No alarms triggered. No change in patrols.
Now it was up to him to sneak in—and finish the mission.
Sihara moved like a whisper through the dim hallway, his Cloak Skill activated. His footsteps left no trace, his presence blurred against the shadows—neither seen nor sensed, even by magic.
He slipped through a corner and found the surveillance control room just as planned. His fingers danced across the console, opening the panel and patching into the system with the same precision he used outside.
"Click... Done."
The facility's internal monitoring network dimmed. The cameras now looped a harmless empty feed. With the surveillance system neutralized, Sihara moved through the corridors freely.
"Shounen~…" Galia's voice buzzed from the slightly open laptop screen tucked in his sling bag. "It's still long? My tail is cramping…"
"Ssshh! Be quiet!" Sihara whispered with panic. "Is it okay to talk here like that?!"
"It's fine~ Look."
Ahead, a bored-looking guard stood post near a heavy steel door.
Galia didn't hold back.
"HEEEEEEEEYYYYY, MR. BLOCK-HEADED OFFICER!" she bellowed from the laptop speaker. "YEAH, YOU WITH THE FACE SHAPED LIKE A MINECRAFT VILLAGER! WHAT YOU WANNA BE, HUH? FARMER? LIBRARIAN?!"
Sihara's jaw dropped.
"ARE YOU CRAZY?!"
But the guard didn't even flinch. He stared ahead, completely unaware.
"See?" Galia smirked. "Cheat skill for the win."
"Huff~ Fine… Let's check what's behind that door."
Sihara crept silently past the distracted guard and into the sealed room. The faint glow of blue and purple light filled the space. Inside were crates of raw mana stones, unstable and unrefined—pulsing with volatile energy.
Beside them sat large transparent containers of "Ætheryl Gel" — a viscous, shimmering golden-blue liquid used in magical energy transfer and synthetic ritual arrays. Highly flammable and magically reactive when exposed to raw mana.
Sihara paused, immediately feeling a chill crawl up his spine.
"...This... is not what we're looking for."
"Yeah," Galia muttered, her voice low for once. "Let's not poke the magical nuke. Move."
Without another word, Sihara closed the door behind him, slipping away into the next corridor.
Place: Shinya Estate — Chamber of the
Time: 2:15 AM
The soft rustle of flame-silk robes echoed faintly beneath the layered silence.
The inner library of the Shinya clan was a tomb of knowledge — lined with grimoires sealed in cursed chains, generation-old scrolls bound by blood ink, and quiet shelves that had seen more betrayal than any battlefield.
The atmosphere was cold, but not lifeless. It breathed slowly. Like it listened.
Three wine glasses sat on the obsidian table. Only two had been touched.
Shinya Hizaburo, oldest head of the clan, sat still as stone, one hand cradling his glass lazily. His posture radiated effortless command. His smile was faint, unreadable.
Across from him stood Shinya Tenrou, the current family head and his direct heir. He was taller, younger, sharper in robe and jawline — but even his composed posture couldn't compete with the weight Hizaburo carried just by sitting.
"The Ascension Match draws near," Tenrou began, voice calm but purposeful. "Eiyuuin's first semester won't be kind to the unprepared."
"It never was," Hizaburo replied without looking up. "That academy still runs the three-trial system?"
"Still does," Tenrou nodded. "Battle Champion Match first semester, the Ascension Magic Match second, then the Top Rank Battle in the third."
He set his glass down with a soft clink.
"They're splitting students into two class types now — strength-based and potential-based. Those deemed weak are assigned to lesser tracks."
"Smart," Hizaburo murmured. "Cull early."
Tenrou's expression didn't change.
"Misora's already rising. Reiji's likely to dominate his bracket. Akari... is manipulating her way up as usual. She's reportedly teaching her judge how to 'properly measure elegance during magical strikes.'"
Hizaburo let out a rare, short chuckle.
"At least one of them understands that charm is part of warfare."
There was a pause.
Hizaburo sipped slowly.
Then, without prompt—
"And the fourth?"
Tenrou hesitated. His tone dimmed.
"Still unranked. No crest. No aptitude on record."
"Disgraceful," Hizaburo said plainly.
"He's isolated himself. Living in the old servant's quarters, just beyond the east garden."
The elder's brow furrowed faintly. "That shack is still standing?"
Before Tenrou could answer—
Soft footsteps approached. Measured. Graceful. Cold.
A gust of fragrance preceded her, floral and clean — like snow on fresh iron.
Lady Eisetsu entered the room.
Her robes flowed like morning fog, silver-threaded and immaculate. She moved without sound, her hair pinned with a platinum crescent moon, each step placed with surgical precision.
"Good evening," she said, her voice like velvet over ice.
Tenrou straightened slightly. Hizaburo didn't react.
She moved to the third seat and lowered herself with practiced ease, her movements like a ritual.
A servant, unseen, refilled her wine glass with silent magic.
"I overheard something about the east garden?" she asked lightly, looking at them with faint amusement.
"The boy lives there," Hizaburo muttered.
"Mm," Eisetsu smiled politely. "Then I suppose he'll have to move."
She raised her glass.
"I've submitted the order to burn and remake the entire garden. I want it expanded."
Tenrou blinked. "You didn't mention that."
"I didn't think I needed to," she said with a calm shrug. "The path behind the outer pavilion is too tight. Unfit for receiving nobility."
"And the trees?" Hizaburo asked.
"All of it. Cleared. Replaced. I've already selected the new formation with the landscape designer."
"We'll burn it next week."
Tenrou glanced at her. "There was something growing there."
Eisetsu tilted her head. "Weeds?"
"A flower," he said. "Small. Blue. Looks crystalline when the moon hits it. One of the maids named it."
He paused.
"Hikayura Bloom."
Eisetsu blinked, then nodded once. "Sounds fragile."
"Rare," Tenrou said. "Heals spirit injuries. Old kind of magic. Nobody cultivates it anymore."
"Then it's useless," Hizaburo said, voice flat. "If it mattered, someone would've turned it into a potion by now."
"Still," Tenrou said slowly, "I heard it only grows in places where a soul feels truly forgotten. Some say it blooms when someone suffers in silence."
"Poetic nonsense," Eisetsu replied. "It'll be ashes soon."
She sipped delicately.
Silence again.
Hizaburo rose from his chair.
"That garden was never a haven. It was a cage."
"And if that boy thought it was a sanctuary, then this will be a fine lesson."
He tilted his wine glass, letting the deep crimson liquid drip slowly onto the marble floor.
"People," he said, "are containers."
He let the glass fall.
CRASH—
It shattered loudly. Red spread like blood across the floor.
"You fill them with talent. With loyalty. With results."
"And when they're empty…"
His foot pressed over the shards.
"You dump them."
A long pause.
Then a chuckle.
First Hizaburo. Then Tenrou.
Eisetsu gave a soft, approving laugh behind her glass.
Their smiles were polite.
Their laughter casual.
Their cruelty — generational.
Place : Shinkou City — Mana Facility, Upper Core Hall
Time: 2:16 AM
The hallway stretched ahead — cold, sterile, humming with quiet magical current.
Shinya moved like a ghost between the flickering lights. His Cloak Skill blurred his presence, bending shadows around his frame.
Ahead, a pair of massive reinforced doors pulsed faintly with barrier runes.
Access locked.
But luck — or timing — favored him.
Hiss...
The door slid open just as a white-robed technician stepped out, muttering into a crystal communicator. She barely looked around.
Perfect.
As the door began to close behind her, Shinya stepped forward — quick, fluid, silent.
Click.
He was inside.
The room on the other side opened into a towering chamber.
And in the center — suspended in midair — floated a massive rotating sphere of glowing blue and violet mana. Three energy rings orbited it at sharp, tilted angles — like a giant Saturn engine from a forgotten age. Runes carved along the rings pulsed with logic older than the Empire.
Shinya's eyes narrowed.
"That's it."
But the chamber wasn't empty.
Guards stood below, stationed in concentric formation around the platform. Some wore mechanized armor; others handled long-barrel staves etched with shimmering circuit-runes. Floating surveillance orbs hovered above them, blinking silently.
No chance of approaching from the floor.
Shinya scanned the structure — beams, scaffolding, cable rails overhead.
Then I'll take the high road.
He crept along the edge of the wall, slipped past a glowing vent intake, and grabbed onto a support bar.
His body moved like liquid through steel — climbing, gripping, balancing without sound.
Up. Higher.
Until he reached a metal platform tucked beneath the ceiling's lattice, directly overlooking the mana core.
The sphere's glow lit his face.
He reached into his sling bag and pulled out his laptop.
The screen flickered on, and Galia blinked into view — pixelated cat ears twitching.
"Shounen~? You alive?"
"Look."
He turned the screen's camera toward the spinning sphere.
Galia's animated eyes widened.
"...Whoa."
She leaned closer as if it would help.
"That's the source?"
"Definitely. The mana signature matches what we traced from the outer district."
Shinya held the laptop up, angling the screen toward the glowing sphere.
Galia's face glitched into focus.
Her ears twitched.
Her eyes sparkled.
"You know how the core shares its mana to the rest of the city?"
Shinya blinked. "No. Why?"
She grinned.
That dangerous, smug grin that never meant anything good.
"Because I want you to fall into it."
He stared.
"…Huh?"
"You heard me."
"…HUH?!"
His whisper shout echoed in the narrow scaffolding space.
"HUUUUUUUHHHHHHHH?! ARE YOU INSANE?! YOU WANT ME TO FALL?!"
"Shh—! Do you want them to hear you?" Galia whispered, making a "zip it" motion on-screen.
Shinya's face contorted into all levels of disbelief.
"You're actually serious?!"
"Dead serious," Galia replied cheerfully. "Look down."
He did.
There were at least twelve guards below. Some patrolling. Some posted near the exit tunnels. A few carried long mana-lensed rifles that looked like they could atomize your soul at range. Surveillance familiars drifted through the air like mechanical vultures.
"If something goes wrong and we fall down there? We die. No questions asked."
"So we die now instead?!" Shinya hissed. "Why is that your solution?!"
"It's not a death plan, Shounen," she replied with a wink. "It's a synchronization plan."
"THAT IS NOT REASSURING!"
"You touch it while holding me. That's all. Easy, right?"
He pointed downward at the massive, unstable core glowing with energy.
"I CAN TOUCH IT — SURE. AND THEN I'LL DISINTEGRATE HALFWAY THROUGH—"
"No, you won't," she cut in.
Her tone shifted — softer, more precise.
"Not while you're holding me."
Shinya froze.
Galia continued.
"The mana will flow through me first — I'll convert it before it reaches you. Think of me like a surge filter… with a little attitude."
He squinted. "...If that's so, then I—"
"You were going to say 'drop me,' weren't you."
"…I was just considering options."
"Too late. I saw it in your eyes."
"Wait, how can you see my—"
"Anyway," she interrupted, "I need a conductor. My core's still unstable. If I go alone, this laptop melts before I even hit the energy field. Besides—"
She paused.
"If I'm too far from you, the Cheat Skill ends."
Shinya let out a long, pained sigh.
"Huff~ …Okay. I'll do it."
He shifted forward, stepping carefully onto the thin beam that stretched across the air above the spinning core. The wind generated by the arcane rotation howled around him — soft, rhythmic pressure pulses making his coat flap.
He was shaking.
But he kept walking.
Surveillance Control Room — Security Office, Sector B
A bored technician leaned on one elbow, flipping between magical surveillance feeds.
A flicker.
Then static.
Then lines of strange, unauthorized code scrolled across Monitor #12.
:: LOOP INTERFERENCE DETECTED ::
> SYSTEM OVERRIDE — EXTERNAL LAPTOP TRIGGERED
> CHEAT LOOP DEACTIVATED — CAMERA RESTORED
The technician frowned.
He clicked. The screen jumped to a real-time view of the mana core.
There.
Perched on the upper scaffolding.
A hooded figure. With a glowing device.
"...We have a breach."
He slammed the red alert rune embedded in the console.
Bridge Rim, Shinya Sihara's Position
Galia grinned, watching Shinya tremble as he stood on the narrow beam above the core.
"All right~ You ready, Shounen?"
"Y-Yeah… okay."
"Good! On one, two, thr—"
WEOOOHHHHHHHH—!!
The sirens screamed.
Red klaxons flared on the walls. The mana sphere pulsed in response — its orbit rings glowing brighter with threat-level resonance.
"WHAT THE—?!"
Shinya whipped open the laptop.
"Oi, Galia! What happened?!"
"Shounen! What did you do?!"
"I THOUGHT YOU SAID THIS WAS PLAN B!"
"YEAH WELL—PLAN B BACKFIRED!"
Lines of script exploded across the screen.
ERROR: TRACE DETECTED
SYNCHRONIZATION TERMINATED
STEALTH FIELD OFFLINE
"They found the cheat loop!" Galia cried. "And they just hit the recall sequence! This place is going into lockdown!"
The bridge beneath him groaned.
A bolt snapped.
SNAP!
The cable supporting the left side of the narrow walkway gave way — the bridge lurched 45 degrees down.
"GALIA—!!"
The laptop slipped from his grip — spinning midair — clattering across the steel frame and sliding to the far edge.
"Shounen—!"
One of the guards below shouted. A beam of light shot upward, nearly grazing the platform.
A glowing command sigil opened at the north wall. A dozen soldiers surged in — exo-armor gleaming, mana-sabers drawn.
"We've confirmed intruder! Top of the core!"
"Send backup to the ceiling sector! DO NOT let him touch the core!"
Galia grinned, watching Shinya tremble as he stood on the narrow beam above the core.
"All right~ You ready, Shounen?"
"Y-Yeah… okay."
"Good! On one, two, thr—"
WEOOOHHHHHHHH—!!
The sirens screamed.
Red klaxons flared on the walls. The mana sphere pulsed in response — its orbit rings glowing brighter with threat-level resonance.
"WHAT THE—?!"
Shinya whipped open the laptop.
"Oi, Galia! What happened?!"
"Shounen! What did you do?!"
"I THOUGHT YOU SAID THIS WAS PLAN B!"
"YEAH WELL—PLAN B BACKFIRED!"
Lines of script exploded across the screen.
ERROR: TRACE DETECTED
SYNCHRONIZATION TERMINATED
STEALTH FIELD OFFLINE
CHEAT DETECTED
"They found the cheat loop!" Galia cried. "And they just hit the recall sequence! This place is going into lockdown!"
The bridge beneath him groaned.
A bolt snapped.
SNAP!
The cable supporting the left side of the narrow walkway gave way — the bridge lurched 45 degrees down.
"GALIA—!!"
The laptop slipped from his grip — spinning midair — clattering across the steel frame and sliding to the far edge.
"Shounen—!"
One of the guards below shouted. A beam of light shot upward, nearly grazing the platform.
A glowing command sigil opened at the north wall. A dozen soldiers surged in — exo-armor gleaming, mana-sabers drawn.
"We've confirmed intruder! Top of the core!"
"Send backup to the ceiling sector! DO NOT let him touch the core!"
📍Upper Beam — Broken Platform
Time: 2:40 AM
Shinya clenched his jaw, his cloak fluttering.
"Mask on. Hood up."
No one had seen his face.
Not yet.
He ran across the beam toward the fallen laptop — slipping once, catching a support bar with one hand, then swinging across to the opposite ledge.
The laptop was there.
Flickering. Cracked. But still running.
Galia's voice was faint.
"...Shounen… don't you dare let me fall…"
"I won't."
He picked it up and turned.
The soldiers had breached the top.
Weapons pointed.
No escape route.
Galia's screen crackled. Her eyes narrowed.
"You still have one bonus skill, right?"
Shinya didn't answer right away.
He pulled the system menu up with his free hand. The Hidden System interface flickered in the corner of his vision.
> Hidden Skill: [Ω Resonance Trigger] — Available
> Warning: Unstable execution
> Sync target: Manual override required
He smirked under the mask.
"Then it's time…"
He stepped to the edge of the beam.
The core roared beneath him.
The wind shook the chamber.
The guards leveled their weapons.
Shinya didn't wait.
He reached into the inner lining of his pocket pants, pulled out a simple red rubber band — innocuous, worn — and snapped it against the beam.
Puff—!
A cloud of thick smoke exploded out, shrouding the entire bridge in seconds.
"Visibility lost!" one soldier barked. "Deploy Wind Slicers—!"
Too late.
Shinya was already sprinting across the support rails, coughing through the haze.
"They'll be on me in three seconds—two—"
From the corner of his eye, four more soldiers burst from the eastern platform, weapons drawn.
He skidded to a stop.
Then pulled out his phone.
"Let's see how your suits handle a little overtime hack."
He tapped into the secondary override he'd planted earlier.
The soldiers flinched.
"Ugh—!"
"What—what's that noise—?!"
A high-pitched sonic scream blasted through their communication channels — not enough to kill, but enough to shatter focus and make them stumble back clutching their helmets.
"Tinnitus mode. Activated."
Shinya smirked and bolted across the upper walkway.
He could see the exit scaffolding—one last jump—
Bang!
"AGH—!"
The shot hit him clean between the shoulder blades.
His body jerked.
The laptop slipped from his grasp.
Shinya twisted mid-fall, trying to catch it, but the impact knocked the air from his lungs.
"OOOIIII SHINYA—!"
Galia's voice blasted through the speaker.
"THE HECK—WAKE UP, FOUR-EYES! WAKE UP—!"
She screamed as tracer rounds zipped past her screen, rain-like. Both were falling fast — spinning, twisting — and below them, the core spun like a glowing cyclone.
Wind tore at their clothes.
The mana pressure was deafening.
Galia's face twisted on-screen, screaming.
"WAKE UP—DAMMIT—WAKE—UP!"
Just as the mana core flared—
A hand reached out.
Sihara's hand.
He grabbed the laptop — steady, strong, eyes just barely open.
"…This is nothing…" he muttered, blood running from his shoulder.
"W-What—?"
"…Compared to getting bullied by everyone for ten years straight."
He grit his teeth, locking eyes with her on-screen.
She froze.
Then blinked.
"…Boy... you..."
Her voice faltered.
The core pulsed brighter below — rings spinning faster, preparing for impact.
"Just a little closer... just a bit more..." Galia whispered in her mind.
Shinya turned his body midair, angling them downward.
"Now, Galia—!!"
He screamed—
"UWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!"
They fell like lightning—
The glow consumed them—
END OF CHAPTER 1