The classroom was still silent.
Everyone was staring at Steni.
The red screen floating above her hand slowly disappeared.
The instructor looked confused.
"I… I've never seen this before," he muttered.
Students started whispering.
"Did the system break?"
"Is she cursed?"
Steni slowly stepped away from the crystal, her heart racing.
Something felt strange.
Very strange.
Then suddenly—
A quiet voice echoed inside her mind.
"System connection established."
Steni froze.
"W-what…?"
The voice continued.
"Hidden protocol activated."
A faint blue screen appeared in front of her eyes, but no one else seemed to notice it.
[Welcome, User: Steni]
Her breathing became faster.
"Why… can only I see this?"
Another message appeared.
[Ability detected: ???]
The system paused as if it was trying to understand something.
Then suddenly—
[Skill copied successfully.]
Steni's eyes widened.
"Copied…?"
Before she could think more, a loud voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Class dismissed!"
The instructor looked nervous.
"We will report this incident to the academy."
Students quickly started leaving the room, but many of them kept staring at Steni like she was some kind of monster.
As she walked out of the classroom, the mysterious screen appeared again.
[New Skill Acquired: Fire Magic]
Steni froze.
Fire magic?
But she never received that ability.
Then she remembered something.
The boy before her had received Fire Magic from the crystal.
Her heart started pounding.
"Don't tell me…"
She slowly raised her hand.
A small flame appeared above her fingers.
Her eyes widened in shock.
Because she understood something terrifying.
She could copy other people's abilities.
But before she could react, the screen flashed red again.
[WARNING]
[Unauthorized ability detected.]
[System administrators have been alerted.]
Steni felt a cold chill run down her spine.
Someone… or something…
was now watching her.