The lecture hall quieted as the new girl took her seat beside him.
Michael tilted his head slightly, watching her from the corner of his eye. The soft rustle of fabric followed as she adjusted in her chair, her aura brushing faintly against his own. He felt the ripple—gentle, almost melodic—but beneath that harmony, something pulsed with the echo of a place far beyond this world.
'Hmm… She is quite pretty,' he thought with quiet amusement. 'But her energy seems too weak for her to have crossed the barrier… strange. I can't gauge her power properly. Maybe she's just too weak for me, huh? Let's check her status.'
Michael leaned back casually, fingers resting on the edge of his desk. He didn't move his lips, but the command formed in his mind—clear, absolute.
Status.
A faint hum flickered in the air before him. A hovering blue screen appeared, invisible to human eyes but clear as day to his perception.
[ Name: Arina Saforous ]
[ Race: Human (Unknown Level) ]
[ Age: 20 ]
[ Existence Lvl: Tier 0 ]
[ Energy: Blerads Radiation {Lvl:10} ]
Michael's gaze sharpened. He blinked once, then closed the screen with a soft thought. 'Her Race Level is not showing… hmm? This is a first,' he mused, tapping a finger against the desk. His eyes narrowed as he reviewed what he'd seen. 'Blerads Radiation… Level 10… I've seen that energy before, haven't I? Where was it…?'
He leaned back, eyes on the ceiling as faint memories of galaxies long lost shimmered in his mind. Then it hit him.
'Ah… that small universe I visited back then. Heh, what a coincidence. To think someone from there would end up here.' A quiet grin spread across his lips, twisting slightly at the edge, and for a moment, his aura darkened, the calmness of his face flickering into something far more dangerous.
His smile turned demonic—an expression that could have shattered the will of weaker beings. He didn't even realize it.
The door to the classroom slid open again, pulling him back to the present. A man walked in—mid-thirties, sharp eyes, carrying two holographic files. The chatter in the hall died immediately.
The man placed the files on the obsidian desk and adjusted his smart-glasses. "Good morning, everyone," he said, voice calm yet commanding. "Today marks your first lecture, so let's start with the basics. Once we're familiar with that, we'll move toward advanced applications."
The students nodded almost in unison, some already opening their laptops, others adjusting their holo-pens. The hum of tech filled the air.
Michael, however, had other priorities.
He tapped his MacBook once, and the faint chime of a game login filled his ears. Within seconds, his screen lit up with flashing colors and battle music. His character—a warrior cloaked in silver—charged into combat.
Yes. On the first day of college, during the first lecture, Michael was gaming.
'Ah… I missed this,' he thought, smirking faintly as his character cleaved through enemies. 'It's been centuries since I played a mortal game. Quite nostalgic.'
Across from him, Arina's pen paused mid-stroke. She blinked, eyes drifting toward him. Her lips curved in a subtle smile as she watched his screen. He wasn't even pretending to pay attention—just sitting there, relaxed, enjoying himself like this was a casual weekend.
She shook her head softly and returned to her notes, but something about him made her uneasy. Every now and then, her instincts whispered, Don't get involved with that boy. Yet her eyes—those luminous silver eyes—kept glancing back at him.
The lecture continued.
The professor spoke about data structures, quantum code models, and integration arrays, but Michael heard none of it. He was busy achieving a new high score. Around him, students whispered.
"Is he seriously playing a game right now?" one muttered.
"Maybe it's a simulation program?" another guessed.
"Simulation my foot—he's laughing."
Michael's shoulders shook slightly. He wasn't laughing loudly, just quietly enjoying himself, but in the dead silence of the classroom, it was almost comically obvious.
Arina sighed under her breath. 'What an odd human… if he even is one.'
An hour passed quickly, and the professor finally concluded his lecture. "That's all for today. Review the concepts and prepare for your first assignment. Class dismissed."
Chairs scraped lightly as students stood. Michael closed his laptop with a satisfying snap, stretched lazily, and slung his bag over his shoulder. He was halfway to the door when he felt a small tug on his hoodie.
He turned, brows raised.
A girl stood there—short, red-haired, and blushing so hard she might've been mistaken for a tomato. Her eyes darted up to meet his.
"Um…" she began, voice trembling slightly. "Would you like to be friends with me? My name is Lisa… Lisa Romies."
Michael blinked, stunned for a second. It had been ages—literal ages—since anyone had said those words to him. The corner of his mouth lifted as he looked down at her, noting her fidgeting fingers and nervous posture.
'She's… sincere,' he thought, oddly touched.
"That's okay," he said softly, his tone warmer than before. "I can be your friend. My name is—"
He didn't finish.
Lisa's eyes sparkled with delight. "I know your name already! You're Michael, right? I'm so happy you said yes!" Without warning, she jumped forward and hugged him tightly.
Michael froze, eyes wide.
He was suddenly buried in softness.
His mind went blank. 'Ohhhhhh… Is this what it feels like to be a normal human? Ah, this is truly bliss…'
Around them, whispers erupted instantly.
"Is that girl hugging him?"
"She just met him!"
"Man… lucky guy…"
Lisa pulled back slightly, still smiling, oblivious to the stares. "Here!" she said cheerfully, pulling a sleek holo-band from her wrist. She tapped it, and a soft blue light transferred her contact information directly to Michael's device. "Now we can talk anytime!"
Michael blinked again, still mildly dazed. "Ah… thanks, I guess."
She giggled, waving as she turned away. "See you tomorrow, friend!"
He stood there for a moment, processing everything. Then he sighed, chuckled quietly to himself, and shook his head. "Well… that was unexpected."
From the corner of the room, Arina's gaze followed him. She had been watching the entire interaction, her expression unreadable. The moment Lisa hugged Michael, something in her chest twinged—a faint ache she couldn't explain.
'Why… is my heart aching all of a sudden?' she thought, pressing a hand lightly over her chest. Her breath hitched. 'My energy isn't fixing it either… what is this feeling?'
She turned away quickly, forcing herself to focus on packing her bag. 'It doesn't matter. I shouldn't care.'
Michael, meanwhile, was already leaving the classroom. The hallways hummed with afternoon chatter. He walked calmly through it all, his thoughts still half-amused, half-drifting elsewhere.
'Friends, huh…? It's been a while since I heard that word sincerely,' he mused as he stepped into the elevator. The doors slid shut with a quiet hiss, sealing away the noise of the college.
A faint smile tugged at his lips. For a moment, he looked almost… peaceful.
The elevator descended silently, and by the time he exited the building, the sky had shifted into a pale orange glow. The city stretched out before him—hover-cars gliding across elevated tracks, holograms flickering over skyscrapers. The future pulsed all around him, yet none of it impressed him anymore.
He walked home alone.
His house stood at the edge of the district—a sleek, glass-walled residence wrapped in greenery. He stepped inside, shoes tapping softly on the floor. The air was still. His mother wasn't home yet.
"Guess she's out shopping again," he murmured.
He climbed the stairs, entered his room, and dropped his bag beside the bed. The quiet hum of the city outside filled the silence. He stretched, loosened his hoodie, and was just about to collapse onto the bed when something… shifted.
The faint tremor wasn't physical—it was in the air. In the fabric of existence itself.
Michael's eyes snapped open, irises faintly glowing with an inner light. The temperature in the room seemed to drop as he turned toward the window. The evening sky outside shimmered unnaturally, a ripple of distortion spreading like a silent wave.
He smiled.
A slow, knowing smile.
"Oho…" he whispered, voice low and dangerous. "So they came already."
The air vibrated around him, dust motes hanging frozen in place. He rolled his shoulders once, and the casualness vanished from his posture, replaced by the effortless dominance of someone who had long ruled over gods and voids.
"Let's break their will," he murmured, almost amused. "It's been too long since I stretched my muscles… hehe~"
A faint golden light flickered around his eyes.
And outside, the night began to tremble.
_________________
To be continued...