Steni stood frozen in the hallway.
The red warning screen was still floating in front of her eyes.
[WARNING]
[Unauthorized ability detected.]
[System administrators have been alerted.]
Her heart pounded loudly in her chest.
"System… administrators?" she whispered.
She quickly looked around.
Students were walking past her, laughing and talking like nothing was happening.
No one seemed to see the strange screen in front of her.
Which meant only one thing.
Only she could see it.
Steni swallowed nervously.
"What happens if they find me?"
The screen suddenly flickered.
Then slowly disappeared.
For a moment, everything became quiet again.
Too quiet.
Steni clenched her fists.
"No… I can't panic," she told herself.
If the system really detected her ability, then hiding it was the only option.
She slowly closed her hand, and the small flame above her fingers disappeared.
Just then—
"Steni!"
A familiar voice called her name.
She quickly turned around.
It was Lina, her classmate and the closest thing she had to a friend.
Lina ran toward her with wide eyes.
"Everyone is talking about what happened in the awakening room!" she said excitedly. "The teachers looked so scared!"
Steni forced a small smile.
"It was probably just a system glitch."
"Maybe…" Lina said, lowering her voice. "But some students said your screen turned red."
Steni's stomach tightened.
"Did you see my ability?" Lina asked curiously.
Steni hesitated.
"I… didn't get one."
Lina blinked in surprise.
"What? That's impossible!"
Before Steni could answer—
The air suddenly felt heavy.
Like someone powerful had just entered the building.
Students in the hallway started whispering.
"Look!"
"Is that…?"
Steni turned toward the entrance of the academy.
Three people had just walked inside.
They wore long black coats with a strange silver symbol on their chests.
The teachers standing near the door immediately bowed their heads.
Even the academy guards stepped aside.
Steni felt a cold chill run down her spine.
Because the moment the first man lifted his head—
His eyes locked directly onto her.
Her heart skipped a beat.
"How…?" she whispered.
They had just arrived.
Yet somehow…
They already knew exactly where she was.
The man slowly smiled.
It wasn't a friendly smile.
It was the smile of someone who had finally found what he was looking for.
And in that moment, Steni's system screen suddenly appeared again.
[ALERT]
[System Administrators Detected Nearby.]
[Host identity at risk.]
Steni's breathing became shaky.
Because the man in the black coat had already started walking toward her.Steni's system screen suddenly flashed again.
[ALERT]
[System Administrators Detected Nearby.]
Her heart pounded.
The man in the black coat stopped a few steps in front of her.
His cold eyes studied her carefully.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then he slowly raised his hand.
A blue system screen appeared above his palm.
Students around them gasped.
"That's a high-rank system user…"
The man's voice was calm but powerful.
"We finally found you."
Steni felt her stomach drop.
"Found… me?"
He nodded slightly.
Then his screen changed color.
Red.
Exactly like the one Steni saw earlier.
The message on it made her blood run cold.
[Target Confirmed]
[System Glitch Located]
The man looked directly into her eyes.
And said something that made the entire hallway fall silent.
"Steni… you are coming with us."
At that moment, Steni's own system screen exploded with warnings.
[DANGER]
[Host capture probability: 92%]
Her hands trembled.
Because deep inside her mind…
The system whispered a new message.
[Emergency Skill Activated]
And suddenly—
The entire academy lost power.
Darkness swallowed the hallway.