Ryuen opened the schedule tab first.
He wasn't surprised—this week was marked entirely for theory classes. Every following week? Practice. Heavy practice. Two days off per weekend, listed plainly.
He smiled. Slightly.
A single small note blinked at the bottom of the hologram panel:
— note: schedule subject to ideal situations —
He ignored it. Not like he cared either way.
Next, he tapped into the Rules tab.
It loaded. Stayed blank.
He closed it. Reopened. Nothing.
Again. Still nothing.
'So much for DMI's "advanced" tech,' he thought, blinking at the blank panel. Must be a glitch.
He got off the bed, grabbed his coat, and left.
– LOCKED –
The door panel lit up once it sealed shut.
Ryuen paused. Touched the frame. Inspected the metal closely.
'Expensive alloy… looks cool, though,' he thought idly.
"Hey, Ryuen!"
A gentle voice cut through his thoughts.
He froze.
Then recognized it.
He turned around.
"Lien," Ryuen muttered, startled.
Lien stood in the hallway with his usual soft smile.
"What are you doing here? Wait—were you *chasing* me?" Ryuen asked, still caught off guard.
Lien pulled out his ID card and tapped it. A hologram flickered to life.
— Name: Lien
Rank: 441
Room: F-wing 10 —
"What a coincidence! We're neighbors even here!" Lien said, excited.
Ryuen glanced behind him.
F-wing 10 on Lien's door.
He looked at his own.
F-wing 09.
He exhaled through his nose, slowly.
"Look, Lien…" Ryuen said, his voice low. "You're a good person. Maybe even a good friend. But you should stay away from me. Please... understand."
Silence.
Lien looked down, nodded faintly, and went back into his room. The door clicked shut behind him.
Ryuen stood still.
He didn't move.
"…Huh."
He sighed, rubbing his neck.
'He'll be fine. Right? Yeah. He'll be okay…'
His eyes drifted up the stairwell.
'Might as well explore D.M.I. today.'
And with that, he walked toward the upper halls.
'Let's see what's there in D.M.I.,' Ryuen thought, pulling out his ID card. He tapped the edge—no response. Then again. The interface finally blinked to life.
'There should be a map in here somewhere…'
After scrolling through a few tabs—most of them locked behind higher-rank permissions—he eventually found the campus navigation function.
The card projected a 3D hologram of the Demon Militarization Institute into the air. It hovered like a miniature building over his hand, rotating slowly.
'Whoa. It's a superb device… but there has to be a 2D view.'
His eyes scanned the lower edge of the interface. After a few swipes, he found the option. Click.
The display shifted: now a flat, clean 2D blueprint of the first floor lit up—name still listed as [Data Missing].
'Ah. Easier to track things now. Let's see… how many floors are even in this place?'
He counted slowly:
F-Wing (Basement)
First Floor (E-Wing)
Second Floor (D-Wing)
Third Floor (C-Wing)
Fourth Floor (B-Wing)
Fifth floor (A-Wing)
'fiiive above ground!! And I'm listed under The last?.'
He blinked.
Wait.
'Does that mean my room is in the basement?'
A pause.
He looked up. Fluorescent light panels hummed quietly above his head.
'No sunlight… no wonder the walls feel like they're swallowing air.'
Standing alone in the quiet corridor of E-Wing, Ryuen noticed the halls had emptied. Most students were already gone—exploring the vast sprawl of D.M.I., voices and laughter echoing faintly from above.
He tapped open the holographic map again.
"Why can't I access those zones..."
Restricted areas blinked in dull red, the rest a hollow maze of walkways. He scanned the display for something—anything—worth his time.
Then he saw it.
"Market zone..."
A faint smile tugged at the edge of his mouth. But it didn't last.
He glanced down at the bottom of the panel. Then at his ID card.
0 CENYTS — stamped in capital letters, without mercy.
Ryuen exhaled slowly.
'No money. No rank. No upgrades. Not even decent clothes.'
There was no bitterness in him. Just a fact. Just silence.
He shut the hologram down, turned away, and stepped back toward his room. The hallway remained empty—just him, his footsteps, and the weight of being less than nothing in a world built for gods.
Back in the F-Wing corridor, Ryuen stood in front of Lien's door.
He hesitated. Then knocked.
The door opened a moment later. Lien stepped out, rubbing his eyes—but smiling.
"Ryuen! What're you—do you need something?"
Ryuen looked at him.
'Looks like I was right. He's totally fine.'
"I… just wanted to say sorry," Ryuen said. "For earlier."
Lien blinked, still groggy. "Sorry? You came all the way back for that?"
Ryuen nodded, a little awkwardly. "Yeah. I mean—you didn't deserve that. I just…"
"Hey, stop," Lien cut in, waving his hands. "You don't have to explain. Or bow, for god's sake."
Ryuen straightened up. A faint silence passed.
"I didn't even realize when I crashed," Lien chuckled softly. "Guess I was more tired than I thought. Woke up just now. Still in my uniform too—"
He looked down, half-smiling, brushing off his sleeve.
"Hey... what kind of danger were you talking about earlier?" he asked, tilting his head slightly.
Ryuen's brow twitched. Lien looked up.
Ryuen didn't answer. He didn't need to.
Just then, a ping echoed softly from his ID card.
Ryuen looked down at his ID card. Then up.
"Hey, Lien. Did you just get any… notifications?"
Lien tilted his head. "Hmm? Oh! You mean the class schedule? Yeah, I got that."
"No. Not that."
"Oh—rules? Mine weren't opening either."
Ryuen hesitated. Then forced a smile, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Right. Same here. Probably just a glitch."
He stepped back, clearing his throat.
"You should rest, anyway. Still recovering, right? I'll get going."
Lien blinked. "Ah… alright. Thanks."
Ryuen turned, walked off.
'So he didn't get it. Just me…'
He moved up the stairwell, glancing over his shoulder.
Empty. Silent.
Ryuen pulled his card out again. The message hovered, pulsing.
— Meet me at the location. ASAP —
A map overlay blinked to life.
He stared at it.
'Why would a Rank 2 contact me? Who even is this?'