Benjamin kept staring at his hand like it was about to explode.
Every time he blinked, he saw that strange mana-code flash again.
But before he could make sense of anything—
A shadow fell over his desk.
**Laura.**
Long black hair.
Sharp crimson eyes.
Pretty enough to crash his brain completely.
**Laura**: "Why are you staring at your hand like that? Did it do something to you?"
Benjamin froze.
His soul left his body.
**Benjamin (thinking)**: [HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO TALK TO HER?!
SHE'S MY CRUSH—
I DON'T LOOK LIKE AN IDIOT, RIGHT???]
Because panic takes priority over intelligence, he did the worst thing possible:
He ignored her.
Laura's expression immediately darkened.
**Laura**: "…Benjamin? Are you on drugs or something? You're literally staring at empty space."
Benjamin snapped back to reality.
**Benjamin**: "O-OH—sorry! I didn't hear you, I'm in—uhh—an interesting situation."
From behind him, a familiar voice whispered:
**Ivan**: "Nice going, Romeo."
He turned to see Ivan and Clard choking on their laughter.
Benjamin's embarrassment turned into determination.
**Benjamin (thinking)**: [I can use magic now… right? Screw it. I'm pranking them.]
He focused on his hand.
A glowing red string of numbers wrapped around his fingers.
Benjamin pointed a finger-gun at Clard.
**Benjamin**: "Bang."
**BOOM!**
Clard's **ass caught on fire**.
Ivan immediately fell to the floor laughing.
Clard let out a scream that shook the windows and sprinted to the bathroom, slapping his flaming butt like a deranged seal. But before he even reached the sinks, the fire vanished—
gone instantly.
Like magic.
Benjamin stared at his hand in awe.
*This… this is real.*
Laura stared at him too, but for a completely different reason.
**Laura**: "Okay. No joke. Are you *sure* you're not on drugs?"
She wasn't being sarcastic this time.
She actually sounded worried.
**Benjamin**: "I'm fine! And I promise I'm not lying about being in an… interesting situation."
**Laura**: "Then what's your 'interesting situation,' exactly?"
She narrowed her eyes.
Benjamin swallowed.
**Benjamin**: "I… can't say. It's kind of a secret."
Laura studied him for a moment, then finally sighed and turned back to the lecture.
She didn't push further.
But she wasn't convinced either.
---
Meanwhile, Ivan was having the time of his life watching Benjamin talk to his crush. At some point he even pulled out popcorn and put on 3D glasses.
Absolute menace behavior.
But then reality hit him.
**Ivan (thinking)**: [Wait… Is Clard alive? His pants exploded and he hasn't come back.]
He launched Thought Communication.
---
### **Thought Communication**
**<[Syncing of idiots]>**
**<[Connecting to Clard]>**
**<[Synchronization Completed]>**
**Ivan**: [Bro? You alive? Why aren't you coming back?]
---
**End of Chapter 3**