Monday. Week 1. Year 1.
A digital alarm tone, sharp enough to cut glass, sounded loudly throughout the room. Hiro bolted upright, his heart hammering against his ribs before he even realized he wasn't in his old bed back on Earth.
[CONGRATULATIONS! YOU TRIGGERED: PEACEFUL SLEEP. VITALITY INCREASED BY 20% FOR THE DURATION OF THE DAY.]
The memories of the previous day mentally hit with a hook. The transition from his normal dreams to this hyper-realistic anime reality felt oily and wrong.
"Sleep well, or did you spend the night dreaming about your mother's impending liquidation?"
Hiro stiffened. Malphas was hovering near the foot of the bed, arms crossed over a now midnight blue suit, his jagged wings twitching with a metallic hum. He was grinning like a cat that had just found cheese in a trap.
"I won't be babysitting you, monkey. We can't have that. But since it's your first day in Sato City, the Masters wanted to ensure you didn't accidentally walk into a bus. Oh, and they sent a little housewarming gift as well."
[YOU HAVE RECEIVED PASSIVE SKILL: HOSTILE DETECTION (LVL 1)
DESCRIPTION: ALLOWS THE USER TO SENSE MALICIOUS INTENT FROM THE DENIZENS OF YAMATSUKA.]
"If you get into a scrap, incapacitate your opponent for experience," Malphas continued, picking at a clawed fingernail. "If you kill someone, that's on your conscience and your legal record. I'm not bailing you out of a Sato City precinct. Keep your nose clean or don't. I honestly don't care."
"What's the point of playing student at Oakhaven when I should be hunting The End?" Hiro demanded, swinging his legs out of bed.
"Figure it out yourself," Malphas snapped, his form flickering like a dying bulb. "I told you that I'm not babysitting your monkey brained ass."
The creature vanished just like that.
"Little prick," Hiro spat. He marched to the bathroom, threw on some sweats, and headed out for a jog. He needed the burn to drown out the urge to punch the wall.
By the time he'd showered, dressed in the Oakhaven uniform which was tight in the shoulders and the standard anime uniform, he was being pressed for time.
He followed the golden navigation arrow in his vision, he was at the academy gates.
Hiro spent the walk practicing his Analysis skill on every passerby, hoping to level it up. Knowledge was the only weapon he had that didn't require a permit.
"Morning, Hiro!"
He didn't have to look to know that it was Hanako. He'd spent half the night mentally prepping and training his eyes to stay north of her neckline.
It was a classic trap where anime protagonists always lost their edge the second a pair of gravity-defying breasts entered their field of vision.
"Morning," he said, keeping his voice flat and casual.
"Want me to show you around?" she asked, her smile bright enough to be a status buff.
"What's your first period?"
"Yamatsuka History," Hiro replied. Then, waited for the inevitable.
"No way! Me too!"
"Of course you are," Hiro muttered under his breath. He could have had a worse guide, he supposed.
At least Hanako was friendly, even if the "Gentle Spirit" tag felt like a ticking time bomb of clichés.
No doubt, the academy looked exactly like a top-tier animation studio's fever dream of a Japanese college.
The women outnumbered the men 6:1, and the professor was pa stunning woman in her late twenties with glasses and an air of professional coldness.
'Predictable,' he thought to himself.
Hiro introduced himself to the class and took his seat. Most of the students were nice and there ducky seem to be any of the typical personality types.
To his surprise, he wasn't placed next to Hanako, but behind a girl with a sharp bob of icy blue hair that was almost white and a permanent scowl on her face.
[CLASS IN SESSION: YAMATSUKA HISTORY 1.]
[SYSTEM NOTE: IF YOU POSSESSED THE "STREAM-LEARN" SKILL, YOU COULD ABSORB THIS INFO WHILE SLEEPING. SINCE YOU ARE A NOOB, TRY PAYING ATTENTION.]
Hiro ignored the snarky prompt and focused. If this world had a history, it had clues about the End. He felt surprisingly attentive, which was likely the vitality boost from the "Peaceful Sleep" and was able to hang on to every word the professor said about the founding of Sato City.
An hour passed as class was over.
"Alright, Rin. Since you clearly find my lecture less stimulating than your dreams, you're officially responsible for getting Hiro up to speed on the first module."
The girl in the seat ahead of Hiro, now named Rin, let out a low, miserable groan as her forehead met the wood of the desk with a dull thud.
"Professor, honestly, I can just grind the material myself," Hiro cut in. He wasn't looking for a babysitter, especially one who looked like she'd rather be anywhere else.
"That's nice, Hiro, but this isn't a favor for you; it's a consequence for her." The instructor flashed a razor-thin smile at Rin. "If he isn't ready for the assessment by Friday, I'll be having a very long conversation with your father about your 'extra-curricular' sleeping habits. Understood?"
Rin sat up straight, her face flushing a vivid crimson. "Fine. I'll teach him."
The rest of the class didn't hide their smirks. The professor nodded, satisfied. "Good. In this academy, we don't tolerate passengers. You two exchange contact info and figure out a schedule. The sooner he's caught up, the sooner you're off the hook, Rin."
As the room cleared, Rin began shoving her books into her bag with aggressive force, clearly not happy about her now new job.
Hiro leaned forward slightly. "She always that much of a hard-ass?"
Rin exhaled in a sharp breath. She looked like she was bracing for a something. "Every day. But I set myself up for that one."
"Look, don't sweat it. I'll grind through the chapters tonight and we can keep the 'tutoring' to a minimum," Hiro offered.
"No, we're doing this properly," Rin countered, her dark eyes locking onto his. "I don't need her calling my old man. Besides, half the stuff she tests on isn't even in that shitty textbook. Give me your phone."
Hiro pulled out his device, and the two phones buzzed as they touched phones and synced.
[CONTACT EXCHANGED: RIN]
[RELATIONSHIP UPDATED: RIN (STRANGER->CLASSMATE)]
[MANDATORY QUEST: THE CRASH COURSE. REWARD: 20 EXP / $5]
The fact that it was "Mandatory" set off alarm bells in Hiro's head. This wasn't just a side task but something for the plot.
'Damnit! This is worse than unskippable ads,' Hiro complained inwardly, not happy about this new plot development.
"I'll message you later," Rin said, swinging her bag over her shoulder. "There's a quiet diner near the station with decent coffee. Be there."
She disappeared into the hallway before he could argue. Waiting by the door was Hanako, looking as upbeat as ever.
"Can I get your number too?" she asked, holding her phone out. "Since we're neighbors and classmates, it'd be weird if we couldn't get ahold of each other, right?"
Hiro mentally smacked his face. Giving his number out to Rin was one thing, ordered by the Professor. But, giving it out to Hanako was another.
Thinking about it quickly, he decided to give her his number. Malphas's warning flashed in his mind. He didn't want his throat slit later on tonight because he didn't want to give her his number and Hanako was secretly a yandere.
"Fair point," Hiro said, tapping his phone against hers. "You're surprisingly helpful, Hanako."
[RELATIONSHIP UPDATED: HANAKO (FRIENDLY/NEIGHBOR->FRIENDLY/ASSOCIATE)
NOTE: RELATIONSHIP GAIN INCREASED TO 10%]
Hiro felt the walls of the "Slice of Life" trap closing in, but he had bigger problems. As they walked, a commotion broke out ahead.
A group of students was parting like the Red Sea for a guy who looked like he had been sculpted out of porcelain and expensive hair product.
"Who's the VIP?" Hiro asked curiously.
"Kaito," Hanako said, her voice turning icy. "His family owns half the real estate in Sato City. He thinks the sun rises just to see what he's wearing."
Hiro focused, pulling up the target's data.
[NAME: KAITO
LEVEL: 13
TYPE: NOBLE
RELATIONSHIP: NEUTRAL
HP: 100%
MP: 100%
SKILLS: SHUT THE WINDOW, MORON. YOU'RE BEING OBVIOUS.]
'Level 13!?!?'
Hiro felt a chill. Why was this trust-fund prick so much higher than everyone else? As Kaito approached, his gaze landed on Hanako, a smug, possessive smile playing on his lips.
"Hanako, darling. Surely you've had enough time to realize my invitation to the gala is the best offer you'll get all year?"
Hanako's expression soured. "I'm busy, Kaito. Find someone else to bore."
Hiro saw the classic "fake boyfriend" trope coming and stepped two feet to the left, making sure there was plenty of empty space between them. He wasn't getting paid enough to be a meat shield for her.
Hanako's hand grabbed at the air where his arm had been a second ago. She looked at him, annoyed by his dodge, then stepped over and locked her arm through his anyway, pulling him tight. He then chided himself for not stepping behind her and further back.
Kaito's eyes shifted to Hiro, the "noble" mask slipping to reveal something much more predatory. "And who," he asked, his voice dropping an octave, "is this?"
Hanako didn't miss a beat. "Please excuse us. I need to show the new student to his next class."