"…Ten thousand points?" His voice cracked. "What am I supposed to do, fuck a dragon? Commit tax fraud on a cosmic scale?"
[Host may find alternative means to acquire points. Like actively looking for more partners, more sessions. etc]
"That is not reassuring." He jabbed a finger at the glowing menu.
"And you expect me to get excited about a minor +10 mana ring when there are divine items locked behind, behind, TEN THOUSAND POINTS!?"
[…Affirmative.]
Elion let out a long, suffering exhale and slumped against the wall.
"This is underwhelming. No, no, this is insulting. I'm being teased with god-tier loot and handed a bargain-bin water ring like I'm a freshman trainee."
The system chimed again.
[More options will be displayed once the Host acquires more System Points.]
[System Store adjusts displayed items based on the Host's spending capacity.]
He dragged a hand down his face.
"So I'm broke, so the store looks broke?"
[Correct.]
He glared at the floating runes. "For a supposedly divine system, you've got the customer service of a shady pawn shop."
[Host is encouraged to improve financial stability.]
He groaned.
"Yeah, fine, fine. I'll get stronger. Earn more points. Unlock the top-shelf stuff. But I swear, if I open this thing later and it still shows beginner garbage…"
He jabbed the close button.
"I'm uninstalling you."
[Uninstallation: Not possible.]
"Of course."
The interface faded, leaving him alone in the quiet room.
Elion sighed and pushed himself up.
"Great. I have a divine system… on a budget."
[Host may interpret it as such.]
Elion glared at the hovering panel. "Yeah, of course you'd say that."
The system remained silent, helpfully, infuriatingly silent. Elion stood, dusted himself off, and stretched.
"One step at a time… I guess."
His eyes flicked to the window. "And the academy is going to freak out when they see the new stats…"
"I should bathe before I go eat."
He tore off his filthy clothes and made a beeline for the shower.
The moment the hot water hit his skin, the black sludge came off in thick, disgusting streaks.
He scrubbed himself clean, letting the steam wash away the last traces of pain.
Only after he stepped out and dressed did he finally feel ready to face the world again.
If only he knew the world was already waiting for him.
He headed to the cafeteria—
—and the moment he walked in, chaos erupted.
Every conversation inside stopped.
Just for one breath.
Then the entire place exploded in noise.
"That's him!"
"That's the guy who took down William!"
"No way he's last-ranked!"
"Did you see how fast he moved? I heard it was like—whoosh—bam—"
"Is he using some secret bloodline ability!?"
"I swear he just grabbed them and threw them like dolls!"
Elion paused at the entrance, suddenly regretting stepping out at all.
He barely made it two steps inside before he was swarmed.
"Elion! Is it true you beat all six of them without moving!?"
"Did William really cast a spell?!"
"Can you teach me how you moved like that!?"
"We're in the same class, right!? Do you remember me? Do you want to sit with us!?"
"Elion, is it true you broke William Dawncrest's nose?!"
Hands reached toward him, patting his back, tugging at his sleeves, tapping his shoulder.
The crowd of first-years surrounded him in a chaotic circle of excited voices and bright, shining eyes.
Elion blinked.
…Backlash achieved.
He forced a polite smile. "Uh… guys… I'm just trying to get some food."
More heads snapped toward him, his name spreading like wildfire.
"Elion's here!"
"No, I heard it was the second-year vampire who stepped in!"
"NO—Elion punched William into the pond!"
The cafeteria's energy spiked to fever pitch.
Students rushed from tables.
Others stood on chairs to see better.
Elion wanted to crawl into a hole.
This is way too much attention…
Someone tugged his arm enthusiastically.
"Elion! Sit with us! We'll give you our extra fruit pudding!"
"No, sit with us! We have meat skewers!"
He sighed internally.
Great. One fight, and suddenly I'm the academy's main attraction.
And then, through the crowd, he spotted a familiar face, Isolde, frozen mid-bite, her eyes wide, ears twitching.
And Aria, who for some reason nearly choked on her drink when their gazes met.
Elion pressed a hand to his forehead.
Oh, perfect. Now they've all seen me being swarmed like a celebrity.
This was going to be a long evening.
Elion managed to gently pry a few eager hands off him and squeeze his way toward the food line, except the food line had now dissolved because half the people in it had abandoned their meals to crowd him.
He internally groaned.
Can't I just eat?
A bold guy with messy brown hair leaned in far too close. "Hey, hey—did you train in secret? Were you hiding your rank on purpose? Are you actually some noble's illegitimate child trained by assassins?"
Elion stared at him.
"…What?"
The guy nodded sagely, as if Elion's confusion confirmed it.
Another girl practically sparkled up at him. "Is your movement technique something you can teach!? I'll pay! I'll pay in any way you want, even my body!"
"I, uh—"
"Elion!" A voice from behind him. "Elioooon!! Elion, big fan!" Another random first-year waved both hands as if he were greeting a rock star.
Was he losing his mind?
He took a slow breath.