Then his interface blinked.
A new notification.
Not a ranked match.
Not a merit update.
A message.
No sender ID.
No location stamp.
Just text, short and brutal.
STOP USING THE TRAINING HALLS.
Dreyden stared at it.
The Triangle's network didn't allow anonymous student-to-student messaging.
That was one of their "protections."
And yet—
The message existed.
Which meant it came from either:
An administrator.
A system-level exploit.
Someone who wasn't playing by Triangle rules at all.
Dreyden's thumb hovered over the delete icon.
He didn't delete it.
He archived it.
Then another line appeared, like whoever was sending it knew he'd hesitate.
THEY INSTALLED A CAPTURE LAYER. IT'S NOT FOR DUELS. IT'S FOR YOU.
Dreyden didn't move.
Across the canteen, Lucas sat with Arlo and a few others.
Lucas's gaze flicked briefly toward Dreyden, then away.
He'd felt the shift too.
Dreyden read the message again.
The phrasing wasn't administrative.
It wasn't polite.
