The dining room was filled with the clinking of silverware against fine plates, but the air was thick enough to cut with a knife. Professor Elara took a slow, deliberate bite of her steak, her eyes moving across the table like a scanner.
"I hope I'm not a burden, Haruto," she said, her voice smooth but carrying a sharp edge.
"Not at all, Professor," Haruto replied, his smile feeling more like a nervous twitch.
"You're a guest in our... humble home."
"Humble?" Elara chuckled, setting her fork down. Suddenly, the "pamper mode" vanished. Her eyes turned cold and serious, locking onto Haruto.
"Listen to me very carefully. I know there's something wrong here. The most powerful humans in the world are keeping an eye on you, and yet you go to their school every day like nothing is happening. Whatever your 'reason' is for hiding, you need to be extremely careful."
Haruto's heart skipped a beat. She hasn't told the Chairman yet? he thought, his mind racing. Why? What's her angle? Is she playing some personal game?
Elara tilted her head, a knowing smirk playing on her lips.
"I can see the gears turning in your head, Haruto. You're wondering, 'What's in it for her? Why isn't she reporting me to Boss Frederick?'"
Can she read minds?! Haruto screamed internally, his face turning pale.
"No, I can't read minds," Elara said, as if answering his thoughts anyway.
"I just know how 'people' like you think. Here's the truth: if I'm the teacher who discovered and groomed a world-class power, my title and status in the Academy skyrocket. I have a professional interest in your success. But..."
She leaned in, her shadow stretching across the table. "I have questions that don't add up. You're 20 years old. You appeared out of thin air a week ago—no records, no history, nothing. You jumped from Level 0 to Level 3 in a few days. Before that, you didn't even exist."
She shifted her gaze to Bellona, Lustra, and Ivory, who were unusually quiet.
"And then there are these three. 'Cousins'? Please. They are Level 6 at minimum, but their mana feels... ancient. Deep. Where did you find them, Haruto? And why are they—Goddess-tier beauties with enough power—serving a Level 3 student?"
The room went dead silent. Toya looked like he was about to faint, and Asobi blew a thick ring of purple smoke that lingered over the table like a question mark.
"You have secrets, Haruto," Elara whispered. "And while I'm willing to protect them for now, the Chairman isn't as patient as I am. So tell me... who are you, really?"
The silence in the dining room was heavy, almost physical. Haruto sat motionless for a long minute, his mind racing through every possible lie, every "Admin" excuse, and every risk. Professor Elara didn't blink; she kept her eyes locked on him, her gaze as sharp as a surgical scalpel.
Ivory started to lean forward, her lips parting to offer a calculated explanation, but Elara didn't even look at her. She simply raised a single finger, a silent command that froze Ivory in her tracks. This was a conversation between the "Master" of the house and the Professor.
Finally, Haruto looked up, his expression hardening.
"I don't think it would be safe for you to know the whole truth, Professor. For your sake, and ours."
Elara took a slow sip of water, a small, satisfied smirk playing on her lips. "Accepted," she said, setting the glass down with a soft clink.
"Exactly the answer I expected from someone living in a place like this."
She stood up, smoothing out her professional attire.
"So, let's make a deal. I will keep your secrets—everything I've seen and guessed today stays within these walls. In exchange, you will become the most powerful student in my class. When the world asks how a 'glitch' student reached the top so fast, you will tell them it was my training. I want the title of the World's Best Teacher. Deal?"
Haruto nodded slowly. "Deal."
The tension in the room broke instantly. Elara looked around at the finished plates, the traces of a legendary meal still lingering.
"Thank you for the dinner, Haruto. It was... enlightening."
The entire team—Toya, Bellona, Lustra, Ivory, and Asobi—followed Haruto as they escorted the Professor to the grand entrance. The mystery of the "three missing hours" still haunted them, but for now, the immediate threat of the Academy discovering their true identities had been neutralized.
As Elara stepped out onto the porch, she paused and looked back over her shoulder, her eyes glowing faintly in the moonlight.
"One last thing, Haruto. Remember... Everyone is watching you now. Don't trip."
With a final wave and a mysterious smile, she walked down the stone path and disappeared into the night.
The moment the front door clicked shut, the heavy air in the mansion suddenly shattered. Haruto, who had been holding his breath the entire time, let out a roar of pure adrenaline.
The air around him didn't just vibrate—it started to hum with a dark, rhythmic pulse. His mana, fueled by the excitement of being "the most powerful student" and the thrill of being watched by world-class elites, began to spike uncontrollably.
Ivory immediately raised her hand, her eyes glowing as she ran a live scan.
"Haruto! Stop! Your mana density is skyrocketing!" she screamed over the hum.
"You just hit Level 10! Stop jumping around before you level the foyer!"
Haruto didn't care. He was punching the air, a wild grin on his face.
"Did you hear her?! She wants me to be the strongest! No more hiding like a glitch in the basement! I'm going to be a monster in that school!"
"Haruto, this is dangerous," Ivory warned, her voice tight with concern.
"We can't trust her completely. You were supposed to stay hidden until at least Level 50. You're a Level 3 toddler with a Level 99 ego right now!"
"Level 50 is a lifetime away!" Haruto shouted back, his eyes flashing.
"I'm tired of being the 'Zero' kid. If I'm on everyone's radar now, then I might as well give them something worth watching!"
Toya stepped back, a chill running down his spine. Haruto's aura wasn't like the red light of Bellona or the purple mist of Asobi. It was pitch black, swirling around him like ink in water. It was creepy, ancient, and definitely not something a normal Level 3 student should possess.
Suddenly, Haruto stopped. The black aura began to recede as a realization hit him.
"Wait... Professor Elara said the badges record mana. If my aura is this chaotic, the school's artifacts will explode the moment you all wore them because you are level 99 And Toya how will you go to school tomorrow you're a Level 60 walking nuke right now."
Ivory sighed, crossing her arms. "The three of us have perfect mana suppression. We can look like Level 1s if we want to. But Toya? After Bellona's 'training,' his muscles are literally leaking mana. It'll take at least two days for him to regain full control."
Bellona laughed, leaning against a pillar. "Don't worry. I'll spend the next 48 hours 'drilling' him. By the time I'm done, he'll be so disciplined he won't even breathe too loud."
Toya shuddered at the thought of more "therapy," but he nodded. For the first time, looking at Haruto and the others, he felt like he actually belonged.
"I'll do it. If this is my family now, I won't be the one to expose us."
"Good," Haruto said, his excitement cooling into a focused, sharp ambition.
"But I'm still going to be powerful. This is finally getting interesting. No more being bored."
"We go to school tomorrow," Ivory commanded, pointing toward the stairs.
"I'll use my Reality Magic to mask your HUDs. Toya, you'll show as a Level 5—a fast jump, but believable for a 'Late Bloomer.' Now, everyone sleeps."
Haruto headed to his room, but as he sat on the edge of his bed, the mystery of the 3-hour gap tugged at his mind.
"Three hours," he muttered to himself. "Toya doesn't remember, the Goddesses don't remember... what kind of file did we delete in that Mind-World?"
He looked at his hands. The black aura flickered for a second, responding to his excitement. He wasn't bored anymore. He was a target, a glitch, and a rising power—all at once.
"Just don't tear the house down in your sleep, Haruto!" Ivory's voice echoed from the hallway, sensing his rising mana again.
Haruto chuckled, laying back. The game had truly begun.
As Haruto reached the top of the grand staircase, a sharp, digital DING echoed through his mind—a sound only he could hear, yet it felt like it shook the entire hallway.
A translucent HUD flickered to life in front of his eyes, glowing with a sharp, obsidian light.
[NOTIFICATION: SYSTEM ALERT]
Event: Absolute Devotion Earned from Teacher (Professor Elara).Reward: Massive Experience Gained.Status Update: LEVEL 4 REACHED.
Haruto froze, staring at the floating text. "Level 4... already?"
The entire team, who had been heading to their own rooms, stopped dead in their tracks. Ivory turned around, her eyes widening as she sensed the sudden shift in the atmospheric pressure. She didn't even need a scanner this time.
"WHAT?!" Ivory's voice hit a high pitch that almost shattered the nearby vases.
"Level 4? Haruto, you were Level 3 ten minutes ago!"
Haruto's excitement spiked again, but this time, something was different. Instead of the black aura leaking out and shaking the walls, it suddenly pulled inward. His body felt like a vacuum, sucking every stray spark of mana back into his core. He stood there, perfectly calm, his presence completely erased from the room's sensors.
He looked back at them with a wide, confident grin.
"The game has finally started, Ivory. If Elara's devotion gives me levels, then the whole school is basically my private grinding zone."
Ivory tried to calm her breathing, rubbing her temples.
"This is a disaster waiting to happen. If he hits Level 10 before lunchtime tomorrow, how are we going to keep him under control at school?"
Haruto didn't answer. He just gave them a casual wave and walked into his room, his face glowing with pure, unadulterated joy. He wasn't the "Level 0 Glitch" anymore; he was a rising anomaly.
Lustra leaned against the doorframe of her room, a playful smile on her lips.
"Haruto... he's 'Far' for a reason. He doesn't follow the rules of this world."
Bellona crossed her arms, letting out a huff of laughter.
"At this rate, nothing he does is going to surprise me anymore. The man is growing faster than a war-beast."
Toya, who was still sore from his training, watched Haruto's door close with a look of genuine awe.
"He really is... a monster. But he's the kind of monster you want on your side."
One by one, the four of them retreated into their rooms, the mansion falling into a temporary, silent truce. But in the dark of his room, Haruto sat on his bed, watching the "Level 4" icon shimmer in the dark. He wasn't bored. For the first time in his life, he was exactly where he wanted to be: right in the center of the storm.