Gossip at Jooshin Hunter Academy was a high-level [AoE Psychic Attack].
It moved faster than a teleportation spell and had the destructive power of a controlled dungeon collapse.
The epicenter of the latest event was Spencer Abernathy's dramatic retelling of the library encounter.
In his version, he had heroically rescued a bewildered Alina Veyra from a "leering, social-climbing bookworm" who had inflicted a [Cornered] status effect on her.
By morning, the data had been corrupted and spread through the network.
On the sun-drenched terrace of the Aurelian Club, it was whispered that the F-Ranker was a stalker.
In the guild chats, he was an opportunist attempting to apply a [Blackmail] debuff to the Veyra dynasty.
By lunchtime, the narrative patch was installed: Alina, in a moment of naive charity, had shown pity to a "charity case," and he had mistaken it for a party invitation.
Darius Cole, the feral animal in question, was blissfully unaware of his new reputation for two hours. He was utterly absorbed in The Sympathetic Medium.
It was a Legendary-tier quest item. Croft's math was a lost form of spellcasting, his theories a forgotten branch of the world's skill tree. His work was lighting up new pathways in Darius's mind, showing him ways to bypass the high-tech lab entirely.
He felt a flicker of hope for the first time in days, but it was quickly extinguished by the harsh lights of the dining hall.
The dining hall was socially divided into unspoken territories.
The elite A and S-Ranks occupied the sunlit tables by the floor-to-ceiling windows. The F-Ranks and unranked students congregated in the dimmer sections.
It was a silent, mutually agreed-upon PvP zone. Darius usually didn't mind; he preferred the [Stealth] bonus of the shadows. But today, the shadows seemed to have the [All-Seeing Eye] effect.
He felt it as soon as he walked in.
[System Alert: You have been targeted by multiple hostile entities.]
Heads turned. Conversations dropped to hushed tones. He saw the snickers, the sideways glances, the terminals being angled in his direction.
Well, this is new, he thought, his hand tightening on his food tray. Usually, my passive skill is Invisibility. I guess I've been upgraded to 'Local Cryptid.'
He found an empty table in the furthest corner and tried to focus on his lukewarm Salisbury steak. But it was impossible not to overhear the conversation from a nearby table of C-Rank girls.
"...can you imagine?" one of them said, loud enough to be an announcement. "He's the one she almost hit. Spencer said he was disgustingly smug. Didn't even apologize."
"It's a classic F-Rank maneuver," another chimed in. "He creates a scene to get noticed, then plays the victim. He probably loosened the wheels on his own bicycle for a sympathy buff."
Darius almost laughed. The Unreliable didn't need any help being unreliable; its [Curse of Shoddiness] was a permanent debuff.
"Alina is just too nice," the first girl sighed. "She sees a stray monster and wants to save it. She doesn't realize some of them have rabies."
The comparison stung more than he wanted to admit. He felt his [Mental Fortitude] take a small hit. He was a specimen under their microscope, a piece of low-level content for their afternoon. The [Hope] buff he'd felt that morning seemed a million miles away.
Alina felt a chill from across the dining hall. She sat at her sunny, usual table, but the overly protective concern from others felt suffocating and trapping.
"It's just so predatory," a girl named Madison said. "The way he cornered you. You have to be so careful, Alina."
"Cornered me?" Alina replied, her voice cool and precise. "He was sitting at a table. I initiated the interaction. The archives are a public zone, last I checked."
Her friends exchanged glances. It was a non-verbal [Telepathic Link] that said, Oh, sweet, naive Alina. Her [Danger Sense] skill is offline.
Lena, who had been quietly observing, placed a hand on Alina's arm. Her touch was meant to be comforting, but it felt like a brand. "We're just worried, that's all.
Victor is worried.
This… person. He's a nobody. And when a nobody suddenly gets this close to your mana signature, it's usually because they want to drain your resources."
"He wanted a book," Alina snapped.
"And for the record, he knew more about its lore than my ten-thousand-gold-a-semester professor."
She immediately regretted the outburst. It was too defensive. An admission of something. She saw the calculation in their eyes.
The [Gilded Cage] debuff had never felt so oppressive. One unscripted moment of intellectual connection, and the entire system mobilized to correct the error.
Her actions were not her own. They belonged to her family, to Victor, to the brand.
Later, Lena found her in her dorm—a luxury suite with its own private teleportation circle. Alina was staring out the window at the campus below.
"Hey," Lena said softly. "You seemed tense at lunch. [Status: Agitated]."
"I'm fine, Lena. Just tired of being the main character in everyone's imaginary drama," Alina said.
Lena came to stand beside her. "This isn't imaginary, Alina. It's a reputation debuff. Victor is concerned about synergy."
"Victor," Alina said, the name tasting like ash. "Victor thinks he's a statistical anomaly. The official corporate term."
"And he's right," Lena said, her voice a study in sincere concern.
"Look, I get it. You have a high [Compassion] stat. But you can't let it make you a target. This Darius Cole… he's exploiting your good nature. It's their primary skill."
The "their" was unspoken but clear. Them. The F-Ranks.
Alina finally turned to face her. "What if you're wrong? What if he's just a player with a high [Intellect] stat, trying to survive in a PvP zone that's actively trying to grief him? Did you ever consider that?"
Lena's expression softened into one of deep pity. "Oh, sweetie. You have such a good heart. That's why we have to protect you from players who would take advantage of it." She paused. "Just… be careful. For me? For your party's cohesion?"
Alina felt a wave of exhaustion. It was easier to fold. "Fine, Lena. I'll be careful."
"Good," Lena said, smiling. [Quest Objective: Completed]. "Now, about the charity gala this weekend…"
As Lena chattered on, Alina felt a profound sense of isolation. Lena was her closest friend, her designated [Support Class].
But even she was just another warden in her gilded cage, reinforcing the bars. The [Trust] value she'd had for her friend felt… weaker.
She was realizing that those she once considered allies might now be adversaries.
Lena finally left. Alina stood in her perfect room, surrounded by beautiful, empty loot, and felt completely alone.
Across campus, Lena walked down a quiet path, a triumphant smile on her lips. She pulled out her terminal, her thumbs moving quickly.
She found Victor's contact ID and composed a new message. Her face was a mask of cool efficiency, the [Concerned Friend] buff completely gone, replaced by the [Loyal Operative] title.
The message was short, simple, and utterly damning.
[Report: Subject A is confirmed to be interested in Target D. Awaiting next phase of the operation.]