Mission in progress.
Death looms around the corner.
Objective: Survive until tomorrow. [00:17:34:32]
Reward: An affinity.
Failure: Death.
Respawn: 2/5
I made my choice, and the interface shifted instantly.
Exchange in progress...
It is advised that the user find an isolated place for the next hour, as the process will cause extre pain.
You have one minute to locate an isolated area before the process begins.
So it was true. That bastard really had been trying to get killed. But how? He only asked for my notebook. We barely spoke, and I never gave him a real chance to do anything else.
Tsk.
Enough. I needed to focus. I scanned my surroundings and decided the rooftop was my best option, so I headed toward the elevator, rounded the corner, and pressed the button. The doors slid open quietly, and that’s when I saw her.
"Lyra?" I cursed under my breath. Of all people.
Lyra. The elven princess. The dangerous one.
She was standing in the elevator, green hair falling in waves past her shoulders, eyes catching the light in a way that made them look almost gemstone-like. Even in the standard school uniform, a white shirt and pleated skirt, she carried herself in a way that made it obvious she wasn’t soone you wanted to cross. Her eyes locked onto mine, and I felt my heart rate spike, not out of attraction, but out of pure survival instinct.
"How do you know my na?" Her voice was low but carried a clear edge to it.
I rubbed the back of my neck, trying to co up with sothing, but my mind was running too fast and nothing ca out right. This was bad. According to the ga’s storyline, she didn’t even go by the na Lyra at this point, and nobody knew she was an elven princess yet. One wrong word and I was finished.
"I asked a question," she repeated, her tone sharpening as she stepped forward toward the exit.
Tsk. Screw it.
Without thinking, I did the one thing nobody would expect.
Thwack.
My fist connected with her face, and she stumbled back into the elevator, eyes wide with shock, hand flying up to her nose. The doors slid shut before she could recover.
"Tsk," I muttered, already moving.
Maybe that wasn’t the smartest call, but if she had stepped out, things would have gotten out of hand fast. She was far more powerful than I was, and fighting her head-on would have been pointless. Running wasn’t a better option either, she was faster. And more than anything, Lyra was unpredictable. If she suspected sothing was off, I’d have been done.
Ding!
Ti left: 06:34
"Shit!" I broke into a sprint toward the stairs. This part of the school was empty, everyone was in the cafeteria, which was the only reason that punch was even an option. If I’d done that anywhere near a crowd, her fanboys would have made sure I regretted it imdiately.
I took the stairs as fast as my legs would carry , and with every step I couldn’t help thinking about Lyra. What was she even doing in that elevator? It didn’t lead to the cafeteria or any of the common areas. She wasn’t soone you just ran into by accident. Sothing didn’t add up, but I didn’t have ti to work through it.
Ti left: 00:04
Ti left: 00:03
Ti left: 00:02
Ti left: 00:01
Ti left: 00:00
Initiating affinity insertion.
Please be open, I thought as I hit the rooftop door.
BAM.
It swung open hard, and I stepped through just as the pain hit.
"AHHHHHHHHHH!"
I collapsed, screaming. It felt like fire had erupted in every part of my body at once, like sothing was tearing through from the inside and putting it back together wrong, over and over, without stopping.
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