The Veyra Guild didn't just train Awakened; they forged legends.
Alina Veyra's personal legend, a sleek, obsidian-black vehicle powered by a humming mana core, was currently carving a path through the pristine grounds of Jooshin Hunter Academy.
"A mandatory guild social," Alina muttered to the vehicle's silent interior, her thumb scrolling impatiently through her terminal. "The only thing mandatory is the soul-crushing boredom."
A message from her fiancé, Victor, appeared. It was as flawless and calculated as his public persona. 'I anticipate your arrival, my love. Your aura will outshine everyone's tonight.'
She rolled her eyes. To Victor and his Eclipse Guild, she was a strategic asset, a high-ranking component in the grand merger of their two dynasties.
Being the "shining jewel" meant smiling until her face ached while feigning interest in conversations about dungeon-clear times and rare artifact acquisitions.
Her terminal chimed again. It was Lena, her closest friend. A string of dress holos shimmered above the screen. 'The Sunfire Emerald or the Void Sapphire?'
Alina sighed.
The Sunfire was for old, established power; the Void was for the new, aggressive players. She was fluent in the social cues of the elite but tired of them. Lost in thought, she almost missed him.
At the edge of her vision, a boy on an old bike struggled with a teetering stack of books.
Darius Cole's bicycle, "The Unreliable," had a wobble he'd learned to counteract with a constant lean.
The balancing act was made infinitely more complicated by the tower of books in the front basket.
Advanced Gate Theory, The Quantum Dynamics of Mana Flow, and three other tomes were threatening a catastrophic escape.
His mind wasn't on the sway. It was on the Provisional Hunter License renewal form due by 17:00.
A form that required a signature from a professor whose office hours were rarer than an S-Rank dungeon break. He was already late. Scarcity and struggle were the twin instructors of his life, teaching him that time was a resource he could never afford.
He kept his head down, a habit born from years of trying to be invisible. In a world like Jooshin, a world that measured worth by mana rank, being noticed was a liability.
Just then, a system notification flashed in his vision.
[Warning: High-Velocity Mana Signature Approaching!]
He heard the purr of a finely tuned mana core, a low, predatory sound completely alien to the campus's muted energy. It was the sound of effortless power. He looked up just as the black vehicle swerved directly into his path.
Time seemed to slow. Darius saw the expensive car and the distracted driver, and his instincts screamed. He swerved, and his stack of books flew into the air.
Alina gasped and slammed on her brakes. Her high-tech car stopped instantly, its shield just inches from the bike's wheel. The only sound was the thud of heavy books hitting the road.
Then, their eyes met.
Through the polarized glass, Darius saw a face carved from moonlight and immense power. Wide, startled eyes, a perfect mouth slightly agape.
He couldn't see her Rank, but he could feel her aura—a crushing pressure that spoke of overwhelming talent. It was the shock of a queen who had just found a mana-dead peasant in her private garden.
Alina saw a pair of eyes that were not shocked, but unnervingly calm.
[Skill Activated: Aura Perception]
A faint blue light colored her vision. The boy's signature was pathetically weak, a barely-there flicker confirming his F-Rank status.
But beneath it… there was something else. A void. An impossible depth her skill couldn't penetrate.
He looked at her with weary annoyance, not fear, as if she were just an inconvenience.
The moment was broken by a group of arrogant, elite students who had seen it all.
A girl with a designer handbag rushed to the car, calling out, "Alina, are you alright?"
"Did that… F-Rank just swerve in front of you?" a boy in a blazer with a family crest embroidered in mana-thread asked, his voice dripping with disdain.
The narrative was already being written. She, the blameless A-Ranker. He, the clumsy, disruptive nuisance.
Alina felt a flush of shame. It was her fault. But the wall of her peers was a familiar comfort. It was easier to play the part. She lowered the window, her voice poised. "I'm fine. Just a… minor incident."
Darius heard the dismissal. A "minor incident." His racing heart slowed to a steady, angry beat.
His [Passive Skill: Mind's Fortress] activated.
Emotional turmoil suppressed.
He swung his leg off the bike and began to gather his books. The Quantum Dynamics of Mana Flow had landed open-faced. He smoothed the pages gently.
"Watch where you're going, charity case," the blazer boy sneered. The term was a weapon at Jooshin, a brand for those with no talent.
Darius didn't look up, feeling their looks of contempt and amusement. He felt like a piece of trash in their perfect world, and the familiar ache of the System that had branded him worthless pulsed with injustice.
"You should apologize to Miss Veyra," another student added. "Your old bike could have damaged her car's energy shield."
Darius finally straightened, the books secure in his arms. He looked past them to meet Alina's eyes one last time with an unreadable expression before silently turning and pedaling away.
His calm departure was more infuriating than any insult.
"The nerve!" one of the boys sputtered. "Who does he think he is?"
"Just another F-Rank," someone else muttered as the group laughed.
From inside her vehicle, Alina watched him go. His back was straight. He didn't look back.
She heard her friends' sneering, words meant to reinforce the unshakable hierarchy of their world. Normally, she would have agreed. But her Aura Perception had shown her something impossible.
A void hidden beneath a flicker.
It wasn't arrogance she saw in his eyes. It was resilience. The look of someone who had been tested by a cruel System and had not broken.
His refusal to apologize for being in her way was a small act of defiance that shook her world.
"Alina? The mixer is starting," Lena's voice announced through the comms.
"On my way," she said, her voice distant.
She engaged the mana drive, but her eyes were still fixed on the spot where the boy had disappeared.
The encounter sparked a forbidden curiosity, a connection that broke the strict rules of their society.
It was a jarring interruption to her predictable life.
And Alina Veyra couldn't shake it.