The next morning, Hana walked into class feeling... different.
Not better exactly, but distracted. Her mind kept replaying last night's battle — the fire, the roar, the thrill of surviving with a rare item in her bag. And SpecterX.
"Who was that guy?" she whispered to herself, sliding into her seat.
Miho pounced on her before she even set her bag down.
"Sooo? How was your first time in Valerion Realms?" she asked, eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"It was... insane," Hana admitted. "I almost died, like, twenty times. But then some high-level player saved me. SpecterX or something."
Miho's jaw dropped.
"Wait—THE SpecterX?! The top-ranked assassin?! He NEVER talks to anyone! He's like an online ghost!"
"Well, he saved me," Hana said, trying to sound casual. "And then vanished."
Miho clutched her chest dramatically. "Girl, that's not saving. That's fate."
Hana laughed, but... deep down, something tugged at her.
Fate?
She glanced across the classroom — her eyes landing on a boy seated by the window. Hoodie up, headphones in, eyes staring out the glass like he was waiting for a different world to pull him in.
Kaito.
She barely knew him. No one really did. He didn't talk, didn't smile, didn't join conversations.
But for the first time, she really noticed him.
Meanwhile, Kaito could feel someone's eyes on him.
He didn't look back.
He just kept staring out the window.
But his mind wasn't on the clouds or the sky.
It was on HanaQuest.
That archer girl from last night. He'd logged out before he could even explain why he'd helped her. Or why he couldn't stop thinking about her awkward dodge rolls.
I'll probably never see her again, he thought.
But in the front row, Hana opened her notebook… and drew a tiny sketch of a black-hooded assassin with glowing red blades.
She smiled.
Maybe she'd see him again tonight.