"Shit, I signed up for the easiest quest and now this?" Kaizen muttered under his breath turning around slowly to answer the figure who called his name. Girls parted ways to let the figure in. She walked in like she owned the place.
Selene Veyra.
The Moonlight Queen herself. Untouchable. Supreme. Every guy's dream, every girl's nightmare. And now she was calling him.
"Kaizen? Right" she asked looking at him with eyes sharp enough to cut one open. Kaizen swallowed hard before he spoke. "Y-Yes, it's me" he replied stammering.
"Come with me," she said smirking, swaying her hair like it was weaponized.
Those exact words sounded simple enough but the gravity and the response it got afterwards was terrifying. Pages stopped turning, flipping stopped, even the AC refused to hum. The entire library froze.
Kaizen blinked pointing himself like a fool. "...Me?"
"Do you see anyone else standing here? Yes, you. I need your help." she asked arching a brow, her tone was as sharp as glass.
Every other girl in the room spiked like cats seeing a rival enter their territory.
"He's busy. With us." Jami snapped, chair screeching back.
"Stay, cutie. We were just warming up to you." another girl snapped pouting and tugging her sleeve.
Kaizen's brain screamed: YES, STAY, FOOL. THIS IS SURVIVABLE.
But his mouth—traitor that it was—betrayed him.
"…What kind of help?" he asked gritting his teeth , half-growling.
Selene didn't answer with words. She turned on her heel, heels clicking on the marble like a countdown to doom.
"You'll see. Don't make me repeat myself." she replied voice calm and sharp.
"God, I am so screwed…" he muttered following her.
And just like that, he was leashed.
The Trap Hallway
She led him down the hallway, every step calculated, deliberate saying; Try to catch up if you dare.
"God… you're like a walking lawsuit waiting to happen." he muttered under his breath, tripping over his own two feet slightly.
"You talk too much. Focus Kaizen" she smirked without looking back, her voice as silk.
"Focus on not dying… maybe." he muttered rolling his eyes.
The hallway was terrifyingly long. It was lined with lockers and posters of students' events. She finally stopped. Kaizen looked up, the sign above the door almost made Kaizen's heart stop.
"WOMEN'S LOCKER ROOM"
"No, absolutely not. I'm not-" he tried to protest but Selene interrupted him, her voice dangerously calm. "I lost something. It's my diamond hairpin. Family heirloom. If I should be frank with you, it's worth more than your life so that is why you're going to help me find it."
"Why me?! Seriously, why me? There's like a whole army of guys in this school!" he asked throwing his hands, groaning.
"Because, you don't say no to me. Nobody does," she said stepping closer as her perfume curled around him like smoke, her tone was teasing.
Kaizen's mind screamed "RUN!" but his feet betrayed him—they moved. He followed her inside.
"This is how people get arrested… or worse, end up viral on social media for all the wrong reasons." He whispered, groaning and dragging his hands down his face.
Selene didn't even look at him. She walked past him like he was furniture, flipping her hair with such care it might as well have been a weapon.
"Let's hope you're fast enough to keep up." she whispered smirking like Kaizen was an afterthought.
"Fast enough to survive a locker room? Yeah, sure, just another Tuesday." he grumbled, muttering to himself.
Locker Room Hell
The search for the diamond hairpin began. Kaizen crouched between lockers, muttering curses under his breath while he searched the tight spaces.
"This better not be some prank. Who the hell loses a diamond hairpin in a locker room full of… people?" he asked grumbling with a low voice but was panicking.
He peeked into a row of lockers. Nothing. He crawled under a bench. Still nothing. His patience fading, his stomach knotting with nerves.
"I swear, if Selene set me up, I'm… I'm… ugh, I don't even know what I'll do." he muttered to himself.
Then—the door BURST OPEN.
A tidal wave of girls stormed in like a storm disturbed, laughing, chatting, tossing gym bags, stripping jackets. The smell of perfume, deodorant, and shampoo hit him like a physical force.
"…Is that a GUY?!" a girl asked, stopping mid-step, eyes wide and pointing.
"He's hot!" another yelled.
Kaizen's eyes widened. Hands grabbed him from all sides. Gym bags swung dangerously close. Voices overlapped into a deafening discord.
"WAIT—NO—STOP! I'M NOT—" he said stumbling backward, panicking.
Someone pulled at his shirt. Someone else pushed him toward the benches. His heart raced like a drumline at a parade.
"HEY! I DON'T BELONG HERE!" Kaizen shouted, his voice cracking.
The world blurred. Lockers slammed. Clothes flew. Perfume choked him. He felt fingers brush against his arms, his back, his chest, his legs almost below his waist.
"I swear, if I survive this, I am quitting… everything." Kaizen muttered, desperate.
A sneakered foot nearly tripped him. He fell, arms thrashing, and the next second he was shirtless. His shirt had been ripped off and now hung on a locker like some bizarre war trophy.
"…Never again. NEVER. AGAIN." Kaizen said collapsing against the wall, gasping. His chest heaved.
He pressed his face into his hands, tried to regain some impression of composure. His brain was screaming at him, his body shaking, and somewhere, Selene's voice, calm and unbothered, floated in his memory:
"Let's hope you're fast enough to keep up." Selene (cool, teasing in his thoughts).
"Fast enough? I barely survived the slow walk!" Kaizen muttered groaning.
He peeked over his hands. The locker room was a chaos of girls laughing and chatting as if nothing had happened, unaware to his trauma.
"Yeah, this is what I get for saying yes. Books are safer. Libraries are safer. Why the hell did I agree to this stupid task?" he said to himself, bitter.
I ALMOST DIED BECAUSE OF YOU, NOT AGAIN DUDE.
Kaizen's phone buzzed violently in his pocket. He nearly threw it against the wall out of sheer reflex.
*CALL SESSION*
Ren: KZ, where you at bro, we need to meet. It's urgent.
Kaizen: "Urgent?! Ren, I almost died the other thanks to you. Your definition of urgent can go straight to hell."
Ren: Dude, I'm sorry, but at least you still leaving, right? What possibly went wrong?
Kaizen: God damn you Ren. I got my fucking ribs snapped, my legs dislocated and I got this lewd AI telling me what to do. My life just went a whole lot from bad to worse. And the worst part is, If I choose not to do it, I die, If I do do it and don't pass, I still fucking die. You Ren, just got my ass in some deep shit.
Ren (hesitant, stumbling over words): "Uh… I-I didn't know—"
Kaizen (cutting him off): "Save it dude. Not happening. Goodbye."
Click.
He dropped the phone, chest busy, legs weak. His head turned. Sweat clung to his neck. He stared at the floor, trying to remember which part of him wasn't bruised, scratched, or ashamed.
"I should've stayed in the library. Books don't scream. Books don't attack you. Books don't rip your shirt off…" he muttered with a bitter voice.
A sparkle of light drew his attention. The air before him shook, twisting like liquid. Blue light sparkled into being.
[Library Task: Completed.]+1 XP
"…Wow. Totally worth losing my shirt for. Bravo, me." he said sarcastically, exhaling sharply.
He rubbed his chest and looked at the alternating screen, only for another interface to materialize. Larger. Darker. Letters pulsed in rhythm with a heartbeat that made him shiver.
[Ultimate Mission Activated.]Requirement: Gain 200 XP within 7 days.Stats must increase by 45%.
Kaizen blinked. Then blinked again. Then, disbelieving, he laughed bitterly, a sound without humor.
"Yeah… yeah, the ultimate mission. 200 XP in a week. Upgrade everything by 45%. Whatever. I don't care… not yet. Nope. Not my problem. What's the worst that could happen?" he muttered, his voice raw with sarcasm.