Part 2
The hallways were filled with chatter. The students were fresh out of their classrooms, and their whispers had already grown wild. The topic had clearly intrigued them.
"I'm level 17, dude," one student said to another, beaming.
"Wow, I'm nearly level 20!" another shouted.
On the side, standing quietly and absent-minded, was Aki.
His thoughts were racing. What the hell is this? he thought to himself. He couldn't understand—if everyone was beaming, then why did he get to sulk? 9999 EXP just to reach level 2!?
"Yo, are you in a trance or something?"
A hand suddenly patted his shoulder, snapping him back to reality. He turned to see Zane, looking at him with a curious expression. "What's wrong?" he asked.
But instead of answering, Aki asked a question of his own. "What level are you, and how much EXP do you need to progress further?"
Zane stared at him for a few seconds, then replied with a grin. "Oh, I'm level 29, and I need 8000 EXP to level up now. Why do you ask?"
"Forget about it," Aki shrugged, waving his hand before walking away.
Zane followed him. A few moments later, they entered the cafeteria—to the sound of gasps, followed by a plate shattering on the floor.
"Useless!" a student roared at a female student in front of him, her head down. "To think I have to call you my sister."
Caught off guard, the two watched the scene unfold. But when the boy raised his hand, Aki acted almost immediately—zooming across the room in a matter of moments and stopping directly between the two.
Although I don't really care about others, I kinda feel something for her. Pity, affection… I can't tell. But my body just wouldn't let me allow her to be hit, Aki thought to himself.
Staring directly at the male student, the boy was stunned. There was no one there a moment ago—how did he just appear like that? The question raced through his mind, but his blind rage didn't allow him to see reason.
"Who do you think you are?" he spat, glaring at Aki. "I'll have you know, I am Eric Nagami, heir to the YaNa fortune. So what is a commoner like you doing in my face, meddling in my affairs?"
Aki smirked. "Commoner, huh?"
With that, his true self showed as he threw a powerful punch straight into Eric's nose.
The force sent Eric stumbling onto a nearby table, but Aki paid no mind. Turning to the stunned girl behind him, his gaze softened. He smiled and took her hand, walking out of the cafeteria.
Seeing this, Eric became enraged. But before he could rush toward Aki, Zane stepped into his way, smiled, and sneered. "Idiot. Imagine insulting the heir to the Hoshino clan. I'm envious."
With malice in his eyes, he smiled at Eric, then got up and ran after Aki.
Ping.
A notification popped up on Aki's interface.
Congratulations. Aggression points earned. Activation sequence points earned. Current required EXP for level up: 9986.
Aki stopped for a moment, then continued walking, ignoring the message. He walked until he reached an empty classroom and entered with the girl.
"Sorry about that," he said, sitting down. "What's your name?"
The girl kept her head down, then muttered, "Amy. Amy Nagami."
Just then, Zane walked in. "I never expected you to act like that." Turning to look at Amy, he smiled, then walked out, leaving the two alone.
Eventually, Amy lifted her head to look at Aki, finally realizing who he was. But before she could say anything, the door burst open and Eric rushed in, his face twisted in anger.
"Amy, stop wasting my time. Let's go, NOW!"
As he continued shouting, Aki finally had enough. He got up, walked over, and looked Eric in the eyes.
"I suggest you leave before you regret your decisions."
Eric faltered and took a few steps back, shaking angrily. He pointed a finger at Amy. "You! You'll regret this."
With that, he left the room.
After he disappeared from sight, Aki turned back to Amy. Amy Nagami? So that's what's going on, he thought to himself.
Feeling his gaze on her, Amy grew uncomfortable and opted to leave.
"Thank you, Young Master Hoshino, but I have to go now."
After Amy left the room, Aki sighed. "Young Master Hoshino, huh? Well, at least it confirmed something for me—the power struggle of the YaNa clans. Since she's the heiress to both, I'd imagine they're doing everything they can to suppress her."
"SOF," he called, summoning an interface in front of him. "I need EXP. Are there any objectives?"
A robotic voice echoed in his head.
"Current SOF progression is set on Central Academy objective completion. Available objectives are: participation in the Central City monthly academy competition—a competition between ten of the highest-rated academies in Central City."
"I see," he muttered to himself, then walked out of the room.
As he walked down the hallway toward Class Zero, he recalled the previous lecture—remembering Maxwell's words:
"Some of you will realize that you need a lot of EXP to get stronger. The most dense require 1000 EXP, while the least dense require less than 100. But take note—lower density equals lower gain per unit of level-up."
His thoughts were interrupted by the intercom as he was summoned to the head office. Upon entering, he saw his mom sitting on a sofa, reading a book.
"Mom?"
"Hey, sweetheart," Maria said cheerfully, getting up and opening her arms for an embrace.
Embarrassed, Aki protested in her arms. "At this rate, I'll never mature."
After she let go, they sat and talked for a few moments—until Aki brought up the earlier incident.
"Can you tell me what's been going on in the YaNa clan?"
His mom grabbed a book from the table. "I'll tell you at home. I have to get going."
With that, she got up and left.
Ok everyone, this is part 2 and the final piece of chapter 2, chapter 3 will be dropping soon, and with a bit more sauce on the action side, so make sure you come back and enjoy