I sat by the window in my new classroom, the morning sunlight pouring in like a spotlight on a life I hadn't yet accepted. The school uniform itched against my skin, or maybe it was just the weight of pretending to be someone new. Everyone looked polished—loud laughter, easy smiles, confident steps. And me? I was just a boy patched together with broken yesterdays, trying not to fall apart in a room full of perfect-looking strangers.
The whispers started the moment I entered.
"Is he new?"
"He transferred mid-term?"
"He looks... intense."
If only they knew. If only they had seen the boy I used to be—the one who flinched at every loud voice, who trembled in the locker room, who hid his bruises with a hoodie and silence. That boy died the night *he* visited me in that dream—the old man with the broken voice and those eyes that glowed like burning embers.
> "You've suffered enough. Take control now. Rewrite your fate."
And I did.
I turned to look outside again. The sky was painfully blue, like the world didn't care how much I had changed. I was still alone in it.
"Hey, new kid."
I blinked. A voice—sharp, confident—broke through my thoughts. I turned and saw her. The girl with eyes like silver frost and jet-black hair tied loosely behind her ear. She didn't wear the school's fake expression. She looked at me like she actually *saw* something.
"You're in the wrong seat," she said simply. "That one's mine."
I stood, mumbled a quiet apology, and stepped aside. She didn't sneer or roll her eyes. She just sat down and opened her notebook, scribbling something like the world didn't matter.
For a moment, I wished I could ask her name.
But I didn't.
Because the silence felt safer than the past I was still running from.
---
Lunch was a storm of noise in the cafeteria. I sat in a corner, eating slowly, each bite mechanical. No one joined me. No one tried. That was fine. I didn't come here to make friends.
I came here to rise.
I opened my phone under the table. The screen flickered, and the *System Panel* came up—the mysterious interface only I could see.
```
[GodCode v1.1 - SYSTEM ACTIVE]
User: Akio Renji
Level: 2
Status: Stable
Next Level: 85 XP
New Skill Unlocked: [Perception Sync Lv1]
```
*Perception Sync*—I hadn't tried it yet. The description said: *"Temporarily enhance awareness of movement, speech tone, and emotional intent in others."*
Useful. Very useful.
As I activated it, the world sharpened.
Voices slowed down slightly. I could hear the subtle rise in tone when someone lied, the shift in body posture when someone was anxious. I looked around the cafeteria—my senses were syncing with reality like tuning an instrument.
Then I heard it.
"…That's the loser who flinched when we mocked him in the alley."
I turned.
Three boys. Same ones from before. My old school's demons.
I didn't think they'd follow me here. Maybe fate has a sick sense of humor.
The tallest one—Reiji—walked toward me with that fake laugh he always used before a punch.
"Renji! Wow, you're alive. Thought you'd jump off a building or something." He grinned, teeth like knives. "Guess you're still desperate for attention."
People started to look. A crowd was forming.
Old Akio would've panicked. Looked down. Apologized.
But that boy is gone.
I stood slowly. My chair scraped the floor. Calm. Controlled. My heart beat steady, like a war drum.
"Back off," I said quietly.
Reiji laughed. "Or what?"
> \[GodCode – Active Buff: Intimidation Aura Lv1]
The air around me shifted. Reiji paused. His smile twitched.
"W-What the hell is that look?" he asked.
I stepped closer. "You shouldn't have followed me here."
He raised a hand to grab my collar, but I caught it midair.
A hush fell over the room.
"You think I'm still that boy who cried in the bathroom?" I said, eyes locked with his. "Try it. Just try. I'm not the same anymore."
He yanked his hand back like he'd touched fire. His friends didn't move. Neither did I.
> \[EXP +20]
> \[Bonus XP: Public Confrontation Defused]
I sat down, pulled my lunch closer, and started eating again—like nothing happened. But everything had changed.
---
That night, I lay on my bed staring at the ceiling fan spinning slow and tired above me.
I had won today. Small win, maybe. But it mattered.
Because today, no one made me feel small.
Today, I stood.
And tomorrow?
I would rise higher.
I tapped the glowing icon on my screen.
```
[New Quest Available: Strength Through Suffering]
Objective: Defend a stranger from danger.
Reward: Skill Upgrade Token + 50 XP
Time Limit: 48 Hours
```
I exhaled slowly.
"Guess the world isn't going to let me rest."
And maybe I didn't want it to.