The lunch break at Valhalla Academy was less about food and more about social hierarchy.
The cafeteria was segregated by invisible walls. The S and A-Rank prospects sat at the tables near the windows, bathed in sunlight, eating gourmet meals. The Support Course students—the F-Ranks like Noah—sat in the dimly lit corner near the kitchen exhaust, eating flavorless nutrient paste.
Noah poked his spoon into the grey mush. He wasn't hungry. His mind was still processing the data from the scanner incident.
Tessa.
That girl was a variable he hadn't accounted for. A glitch in his perfect camouflage. If she reported him, he'd have to leave the Academy. Or silence her.
He preferred the former. Killing a student would bring down the wrath of the entire Association.
"Hey, Vane!" a voice sneered.
Noah didn't look up as a tray was slammed onto his table, spilling his water. It was Brutus, a hulking student with a strength-enhancement ability. He was one of Ignis's lackeys.
"I heard you broke the scanner with your incompetence," Brutus laughed, high-fiving his friends. "How does it feel to be a malfunction?"
Noah slowly wiped the spilled water from his sleeve. He looked at Brutus.
[Target: Brutus (Rank C)] [Concept: Muscle Density] [Theft Probability: 98%]
It would be so easy. Noah could steal the density of Brutus's heart muscle, causing immediate cardiac arrest. He could steal the friction from his vocal cords, silencing him forever.
"It feels... peaceful," Noah said softly. "No expectations. You should try it."
Brutus frowned, not understanding the insult. He grunted and shoved past Noah. "Loser."
Noah stood up. He had no time for schoolyard bullies. He had a theory to test.
He dumped his tray and walked out of the cafeteria, heading towards the Central Plaza of the Academy.
The Central Plaza
The heart of the Academy was dominated by a colossal statue.
It was fifty feet tall, made of pure white marble and gold. It depicted Atlas, standing atop a globe, holding a torch of eternal flame. It was magnificent. Students often stopped to pray to it or leave flowers at its base.
To the naked eye, it was just art. To Noah's eyes, it was a parasite.
He stood at the edge of the plaza, leaning against a pillar, and activated his System.
[System Active: Analysis Mode] [Target: Atlas Memorial Statue] [Scanning Structure...]
The world turned into a wireframe grid in Noah's vision.
The marble statue wasn't solid stone. It was hollow. inside the structure was a complex network of runic conduits—like veins in a human body.
And it was feeding.
Noah watched in horror as faint, golden wisps of energy drifted from the passing students. Every time a student looked at the statue with admiration, every time they whispered a prayer for good grades, a tiny fragment of "Faith" was siphoned from their souls.
It flowed into the statue, traveled down through the plinth, and disappeared deep underground.
"It's not just a school," Noah whispered, his blood running cold. "It's a farm. They bring the most talented kids here, brainwash them into worshipping Atlas, and harvest their belief to keep him immortal."
The Support Course students... they weren't here to become heroes. They were just livestock. Batteries.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
Noah flinched. He deactivated his System instantly.
Tessa was standing beside him. She was holding a carton of strawberry milk, looking up at the statue with unreadable violet eyes.
"It's certainly big," Noah replied, keeping his guard up.
"It's hollow," Tessa said, sipping her milk.
Noah turned to look at her. "What?"
"The statue," Tessa pointed with her straw. "Structurally, it shouldn't be able to support that torch's weight if it were solid marble. The center of gravity is off. It has to be hollow. Or filled with something lighter than stone."
She glanced at Noah sideways. "But you already knew that, didn't you? I saw your eyes glowing blue again."
Noah sighed. Denying it was becoming pointless. This girl was too sharp.
"What do you want, Tessa?"
"I want to know why a guy who can trick a Mark IV scanner is pretending to be a nobody," she said, her voice dropping to a whisper. "And I want to know if you hate Him as much as I do."
She nodded toward the golden statue of Atlas.
Noah studied her face. He saw no admiration in her eyes. Only a cold, simmering resentment.
"Why would I hate the Savior of Humanity?" Noah tested her.
Tessa gripped her milk carton until it crumpled. "Because 'The Savior' let my little sister die in the Sector 4 fires last year. He was there. He hovered right above our building. The cameras were rolling. He saved a bank truck full of gold, but he didn't save the girl screaming in the window."
She looked at Noah, her vulnerability gone, replaced by steel.
"I don't care who you are, Noah. Villain, vigilante, or alien. I hacked the school servers. I know there's a hidden facility beneath this plaza. That statue is feeding energy down there."
Noah's interest peaked. "A facility?"
"Level B-4. Restricted access. Even the teachers don't go there. Only the Director and the 'Golden Guard'."
Tessa stepped closer. "I can get us the access codes. But I can't fight the guards. I need muscle. I need... whatever you are."
[New Quest Generated] [Alliance: The Intel Prodigy] [Objective: Infiltrate Level B-4 with Tessa.] [Reward: Information on Atlas's Origin + 10,000 Credits] [Risk Level: Extreme]
Noah looked at the quest, then at the girl. An alliance was risky. But going solo was suicide. He needed her hacking skills.
"Tonight," Noah said, his voice barely audible. "Midnight. Meet me at the north ventilation shaft."
Tessa smiled. It was a genuine smile this time. A smile that promised chaos.
"Don't be late, fake-boy."
She turned to leave.
Suddenly, Noah's System screamed.
[WARNING!] [Hostile Intent Detected!] [Direction: 6 o'clock High!]
"Get down!" Noah shouted.
He didn't think. He tackled Tessa, shoving her to the pavement just as a massive shadow swept over the plaza.
BOOM.
Something slammed into the spot where they had been standing a second ago. The impact cracked the concrete floor, sending dust and debris flying.
Students screamed. The peaceful lunch break shattered into panic.
Noah rolled to his feet, pulling Tessa up behind him.
Standing in the crater was a creature. It looked like a human, but its skin was translucent, revealing glowing red muscles underneath. It had no eyes, only a mouth filled with razor-sharp needles.
[Target Identified: Failed Subject #049] [Status: Berserk] [Origin: Level B-4 Lab]
"It escaped..." Tessa whispered, her face pale.
The creature roared—a sound that was half-human scream, half-animal growl. It turned its eyeless head toward Noah. It could smell the "Faith" energy he had assimilated earlier.
It was hungry.
"Looks like we don't need to break in," Noah said, his eyes igniting with blue fire. "The basement is coming to us."