Kael woke the next morning with a dull ache along his ribs. Not a sharp pain—more like the sore, heavy feeling left after a long workout or a minor sprain. Leveling up had done something. His stats had increased. His healing had improved. But the blow from the chain—it still lingered.
He pushed himself upright slowly.
Every part of his body felt… clearer.
Not stronger in the superhero sense, but more responsive.
His breathing stabilized instantly thanks to Energy Regulation.
His mind focused faster thanks to the stat boosts.
And something else—something new—whispered at the edge of his awareness.
Trade Instinct.
A subtle sense, like a second heartbeat.
It didn't give words.
It didn't give images.
It simply nudged.
Kael stretched carefully, washed up, and joined his parents for breakfast. They talked about normal things—work, school news, weekend plans. No one noticed how Kael moved more smoothly, how his awareness followed every sound, or how his instincts quietly tracked details he would've ignored before.
As he walked to school, the city felt sharper.
Not louder, not brighter—just more clear.
Trade Instinct nudged faintly every so often, like a subtle tap on the shoulder.
Not dangerous.
Not urgent.
Just present.
Midtown High looked the same—crowded, loud, the air buzzing with conversations. But Kael felt a faint shift in how people reacted to him. Not that they saw him as different—if anything, he seemed even easier to overlook. His body language had become smoother, calmer, almost meditative.
People's eyes slid right past him.
Perfect.
He walked into the building, moving with quiet confidence.
First period passed.
Second period slipped by.
Lunch approached.
Then something new happened.
As he walked down the hall toward his locker, Trade Instinct sparked—sharper than before. Like a small, internal bell chiming once.
Kael slowed.
His eyes scanned the hallway.
Left side—normal.
Right side—normal.
Then he saw it.
A girl stood at the far end of the lockers, biting her lip, her hands shaking slightly as she clutched a broken smartphone. Her blonde hair fell over her face as she leaned heavily against the wall, trying not to cry in front of everyone.
Most students passed by without noticing.
Some glanced, then avoided her.
Trade Instinct chimed again.
Kael approached calmly.
She didn't see him until he spoke quietly.
"You okay?"
She flinched and looked up—light blue eyes watery with frustration.
"S-sorry," she muttered. "Yeah. Fine. Just a bad day."
Her voice cracked at the end.
Kael glanced at the shattered phone in her hands. The screen was spiderwebbed. The case was cracked. The charging port was bent.
"What happened?"
She gave a weak laugh. "Dropped it between the metal bleachers during gym. Landed right on the edge."
"That's rough."
Her eyes lowered. "It's not even the phone. I lost… something on it. Something I don't know how to get back."
Kael stayed quiet, letting her choose to continue.
"Photos," she whispered. "Of my grandma. She passed away last year. I didn't back them up. They were only on here."
Kael's chest tightened.
Trade Instinct chimed a third time.
The girl looked ready to break again, pressing the phone to her forehead.
Kael spoke gently. "I might be able to help."
She blinked. "You fix phones?"
"Not professionally." Kael held out his hand. "But if the storage chip isn't cracked, the files might still be retrievable."
Her eyes widened with a desperate kind of hope. "Really?"
Kael nodded.
She hesitated only a moment before placing the broken phone in his hand.
A system window blinked in front of him.
Trade Opportunity Detected
Value Type: Emotional Relief, Memory Recovery
Target Skill Potential: Technical or Sensory Enhancement
Kael breathed slowly.
He opened the phone gently, assessing the damage. Pattern Recognition helped him see the structural weak points. The charging port was ruined. But the internal components…
Not destroyed.
"I'll need time," Kael said. "Probably after school."
Her eyes softened. "Thank you."
Kael nodded and stepped away, heading to class.
This wasn't life-threatening.
This wasn't combat.
But emotionally?
This trade held weight.
The afternoon passed with a quiet buzz of anticipation. Kael's mind kept drifting back to the phone in his backpack. He needed a place to work—somewhere quiet, somewhere private.
When the final bell rang, he slipped out before most students. He made his way to an old community library a few blocks from the school. It was mostly empty at this hour. The librarian gave him a polite nod as he headed toward a study room in the back.
Kael sat down, pulled out the broken phone, and opened his backpack to retrieve a small toolkit he had carried ever since Razorback commented on his grip. Not for combat. For situations like this.
He took a breath.
Energy Regulation steadied his hands.
Pattern Recognition highlighted the screws and seams.
His increased Perception let him track tiny details.
He worked slowly, carefully.
The back cover came off.
The metal shield lifted.
The storage chip sat intact beneath the cracked frame.
Kael connected it to a data cable and plugged it into a library computer.
The system blinked softly.
Trade Ready
Kael felt his heartbeat pick up.
A trade with emotional weight tended to give useful rewards.
He accepted silently.
Offering: Recovery of memory, emotional stabilization
Receiving Options:
– Fine Motor Skill (Minor)
– Technical Insight (Basic)
– Sensory Focus (Weak)
– Data Interpretation (Basic)
Kael chose Technical Insight.
Trade Complete
Skill Gained: Technical Insight (Basic)
EXP +20
Warmth brushed across Kael's mind like a soft breeze. Suddenly, connections became easier to understand. Not full engineering knowledge—nothing supernatural—but enough to instinctively interpret circuits, signals, and internal structures.
The screen flickered.
Then a folder appeared.
Photos.
Dozens of them.
Kael exhaled quietly. "Got them."
He transferred them to a USB stick the library sold at the front desk. Then he fixed the phone just enough so it wouldn't fall apart when he returned it.
He left the library with the USB in his pocket, heading toward the girl's last class.
As he approached the school courtyard, Trade Instinct sparked faintly.
She stood alone by the gate, arms wrapped around herself, eyes down.
Kael walked up and tapped her shoulder gently.
She turned quickly.
"Here," Kael said, handing her the USB. "Everything that was on your phone is in there."
Her breath caught. "You… you got them?"
"All of them."
She covered her mouth as tears filled her eyes—relief, grief, love all mixed together. She hugged the small drive to her chest.
"Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you so much."
Kael nodded once. "I'm glad I could help."
She wiped her tears and gave him a shaky smile. "I—I don't know how to ever repay you."
Kael shrugged lightly. "You don't need to."
But the system disagreed.
A small window faded into view.
Bonus Trade
Target's Emotional Weight: High
Extra Reward: +5 EXP
Kael blinked as the points slipped into his system.
He didn't react outwardly.
The girl sniffled and gave him a soft, grateful smile before leaving to catch her bus.
Kael watched her go—not with pride, but with quiet understanding.
He had traded for combat knowledge.
For observational skills.
For awareness and energy control.
But this trade felt different.
Calmer.
Gentler.
More meaningful.
He didn't need to chase danger every day.
Not when the world was full of chances to grow quietly.
His phone buzzed.
A text from his mother.
Dinner in an hour.
Kael turned toward home.
But something stopped him halfway down the block.
A flicker.
A shift.
Someone was watching him.
Not hostile.
Not aggressive.
Just aware.
Kael slowly scanned the rooftops.
No figure.
No silhouette.
Nothing obvious.
But the feeling lingered.
Someone with power had noticed his trade.
Not the system—another human.
Or… something close to human.
He kept walking.
He didn't raise his guard.
He didn't run.
He simply regulated his breathing, let the anxiety fall away, and carried himself like a tired student going home after a long day.
The presence did not follow.
When Kael reached his house, he entered quietly and headed straight to his room.
He sat on his bed and reviewed the system.
His experience from the trade placed him at:
90 / 200 EXP.
Almost halfway to Level 3.
Kael leaned back and exhaled.
The world felt larger tonight.
More connected.
More aware.
He was growing.
He was learning.
And the system was always watching.
Always ready for the next opportunity.
---
KAEL STATUS – END OF CHAPTER 6
Level: 2
EXP: 55 / 200
Physical Stats
Strength: 7
Speed: 8
Endurance: 7
Agility: 7
Durability: 6
Stamina: 10
Regeneration: 2
Mental Stats
Intelligence: 25
Memory: 30
Perception: 17
Willpower: 20
Instinct: 14
Multiversal Awareness: 5
Energy Stats
Energy Capacity: 20
Energy Recovery: 5
Energy Type: None
Energy Compatibility: High
Energy Control: Basic
New Skill
• Technical Insight (Basic)
– Enhanced understanding of simple circuitry, hardware, and structural logic
– Faster recognition of mechanical patterns
– Minor boost to dexterity in technical tasks
Upgraded Skills
• Energy Regulation (Basic) – better integration due to emotional steadiness
• Pattern Recognition – slightly more refined through usage
---
Anyone want an aux chapter about the basics of the system if someome does i can try explain it