At 3:12 AM, Aarika's phone vibrated.
Not a short notification buzz,
A sustained one.
Persistent.
Deliberate.
Half-asleep, she dragged her hand across the beside table and squinted at the screen . No caller ID. No app name . Just black background and white text.
Your position has baan updated.
She frowned.
Position?
Because she could process it, another line appeared.
Rank:12
Her heartbeainsteaed instead of racing - the way it did when something felt wrong but not loud enough to justify panic.
She hasn't applied for anything. No new exam. No campus election . No internship results due.
The final line appeared.
Rule 12 applicated
The screen went completely dark.
Aarika blinked
Then checked her notification.
Nothing.
No history.
No new app installed.
She even opened her App Store purchase list.
No trace.
"Okay", she muttehallucinations. "Stress hallucinations"
Midterm were close . Lack of sleep did strange things.
She locked the phone.
But sleep didn't return.
Morning at Orion Heights college felt... altered.
Not chaotic.
Not dramatic.
Just slightly misaligned.
Students were gathered near the academic board earlier than usual.
Whispers spread like static.
Aarika adjusted her bakpack and moved closer.
A new notice had been pinned over the previous semester rankings.
Merit performance list - updated
Her eyes scanned downward.
Position 12.
Her name.
Her breath caught.
That was impossible.
Last semester she had been 27.
She remembered clearly because she'd calculated exactly how much she needed to improve to reach
Top 15.
She had not improve that much.
Behind her, someone spoke sharply.
"My rank dropped. How is this even calculated? "
Another voice "Mine too"
Aarika stepped back slowly.
Her phone vibrated again.
Some black interface.
No icon.
No logo.
Just text.
Welcome, User 12.
Her throat felt dry.
Rule 1 : Ranking the dynamic.
Rule 2 : Performance is continuous.
Rule 3 : Silence ensure the stability.
Silence ensure stability?
Her fingers hovered over the screen, searching for settings, permissions, anything.
Nothing responded.
New line :
First evaluation: 18:00.
Then the interface disappeared again.
The time she didn't pretend it was stress.
By lunch the atmosphere had shifted further.
Two seniors had lost confirmed internship placement.
One student received an unexpected academic warning email.
Coincidences stacked too neatly.
In the cafeteria, Naina slid into the chair across from her.
"You saw her too, right ? " She whispered.
Aarika studied her carefully. "What did your say? "
Naina swallowed." Rank 38 "
Dropped
" And evaluation at six".
Same time .
A synchronized system.
Across the room, Kabir Malothra stood near the windows, calm as ever. Top performer.
Scholarship holder. Faculty favorite.
His phone buzzed.
He didn't look surprised.
He looked aware.
As if this was confirmation, not shock.
Aarika felt something cold settle in her stomach.
At exactly 6:00 PM-
Every phone in the cafeteria vibrated.
The sound rolled across the room like a wave.
Conversation died instantly.
Her screen turned black again.
White text appeared
Evaluation Round 1.
Identify the weakest link in your immediate circle.
Her pulse slowed unnaturally.
This wasn't about grades.
It wasn't about exams.
It was about people.
Below the instruction:
Failure to respond will result in automatic reassignment.
Reassignment to what?
Her screen populated with names.
Friends.
Classmates.
Group project partners.
Naina's name
Kabir's name
Her own reflection faintly visible behind the text.
Timer appeared.
05:00
04:59
04:58
The cafeteria felt smaller now.
More suffocating
She looked up.
Students were starting at their screens, eyes darting to each other.
Measuring
Calculating.
Across the room -
Kabir lifted his gaze.
Directly at her.
Not confused.
Not scared.
Studying.
As if he wanted to see what kind of person she was.
Her phone displayed one final line.
Position 12 is not permanent.
Her breathing became uneven.
This wasn't asking who was week.
It was asking who see was willing to lose.
Timer:
02:17
Naina looked up at her.
Fear clear in her eyes.
"Aarika...what is this? "
Because for the first time-
She understood something terrifying.
The system wasn't testing intelligence.
It was testing loyalty
And someone would fall.
The timer hint:
00:59
Her thumb hovered over the screen.
Across the cafeteria, several students had already pressed their choice.
She could hear rha faint confimation vibrations.
00:30
Kabir still watching.
00:10
A final message appeared:
Your decision defines your position.
Aarika closed her eyes for half a second.
Then-
She made her choice
End of chapter 1-
Next chapter teasure-
She made her choice.
But the system isn't asking who is weak.
It's calculating who is willing.
In the next chapter-
Rank will shift.
One position will rise.
Another will fall.
And someone on the leaderboard will no longer apper the same.
Because the Rule:12
No one disappears
They are reassigned.