Re-Awakened :I Ascend as an SSS-Ranked Dragon Summoner-Chapter 148: New standings

Sophie wiped furiously at her face, but it was pointless. The tears kept coming, her nose running as her breaths came in rapid, shallow gasps.

"That night—that night, Noah! I wasn’t some—some girl with a plan. I wasn’t thinking, ’Oh, let me go find a boy and twist his fate so he falls in love with me!’" Her voice cracked as she clawed at her own arms, like she was trying to hold herself together. "I left my apartment off campus that day because I was having the shittiest day imaginable! I didn’t want to talk to anyone, I didn’t want to see anyone—I just wanted to feel something other than how goddamn numb I was!"

Her chest rose and fell rapidly, her fingers gripping the fabric of her own shirt. "I went to that Rave because I thought, maybe—maybe if I drank enough, danced enough, maybe if I did something stupid like pop a pill or take a hit—maybe I’d actually feel something other than empty."

She sniffled hard, her nose red, her lips trembling. "And then Lucas called me over." Her breath shuddered as she laughed bitterly. "And I went. And I met you."

Her entire body trembled as she stared at him, her lips twisting into something that wasn’t quite a smile, wasn’t quite a grimace.

"And you—you looked at me. Not like the others. Not like the guys who just saw a hot girl, who just wanted to sleep with me or show me off. You looked at me like I was a goddamn puzzle. Like you actually wanted to figure me out."

Her voice dropped to a whisper, so soft it almost broke him.

"Do you have any idea how much that meant to me?"

Noah’s throat was dry, but he had no words.

Sophie’s hands balled into fists at her sides. "So what if it was my luck?! So what?!" She practically screamed the words. "Are you telling me you weren’t happy? That I didn’t make you happy? That we didn’t make each other happy?!"

Her face contorted with grief, her body heaving with sobs. "Don’t I deserve this?! Just once?! Just one fucking time?!"

She wiped at her face, but it was useless. Her nose was running, her breathing ragged, her entire body wracked with uncontrollable tremors.

Noah just stood there. Frozen. Staring at the girl who was falling apart right in front of him.

He took a slow, deliberate breath, trying to steady himself. The weight of everything Sophie had just thrown at him sat heavy in his chest, but his mind was already shifting gears, trying to understand.

He wiped a hand down his face. "Alright… okay," he muttered, eyes flicking up to hers. "Then explain something to me. Your dad. He didn’t like me before. Didn’t even pretend to tolerate me. But then, suddenly, he wanted me over for dinner? Did you—was that you?"

Sophie shook her head immediately, still sniffing. "No! My luck doesn’t work like that."

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"Then how does it work?"

She sighed, rubbing at her arms as if trying to shake off the weight of her own words. "Sometimes… it rubs off on the people around me."

Noah stilled.

Something about that phrasing—it itched at the back of his brain.

’Rubs off?’ He replayed her words, letting them roll through his mind like a fresh equation he needed to solve. ’That means It’s an external influence… a field effect, maybe?’

He narrowed his eyes slightly, his mind racing ahead of his mouth.

’If her luck isn’t just affecting her, but also influencing the probabilities around people she interacts with… then that changes everything. That means her presence alone could be shifting outcomes, tipping chance in different directions without her direct intention.’

His heart started to pound—not from anger this time, but from sheer intrigue.

’So if her luck isn’t strictly self-contained, then what’s the limit? Is it proximity-based? Does it grow stronger the longer she’s around someone? Or is it tied to emotion? Does her own belief in an outcome make it more likely to happen?’

His fingers twitched at his sides, his mind locking onto new threads, pulling them apart and re-weaving them together.

’This could mean… in a controlled environment, she might be able to manipulate probability itself without even realizing it. And if that’s true, then luck—real, tangible, quantifiable luck—might not be just some abstract concept but an actual, measurable force acting on the world.’

His gaze snapped to Sophie, his expression shifting into something more thoughtful than accusatory now.

"How do you know it rubs off?" he asked carefully.

Sophie hesitated. "Because… I’ve seen it happen. Things around me just—go my way. And sometimes, the people I’m with get lucky too."

’Cause-and-effect. If there’s a pattern, then it’s not coincidence. Which means—’

"So you’re saying," Noah started slowly, testing the idea as he spoke, "that just by being around people… you might be altering their probability of success? Without even meaning to?"

Sophie bit her lip, then gave a small, guilty nod.

Noah exhaled sharply, staring past her now, his mind already five steps ahead.

’That means I have to rethink every single thing that’s happened since I met her.’

Noah’s thoughts raced as he tried to process everything. His mind jumped from event to event, trying to pin down where Sophie’s so-called luck could have influenced his life.

But then he stopped.

He met her before the Cannadah incident. Before his entire life turned upside down. He’d gotten his powers before that. So whatever had happened to him back then—it had nothing to do with her.

At least, not directly.

But…

His stomach twisted as his mind reeled back to other things.

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That night had been a turning point in ways he still wasn’t sure he’d recovered from. His parents had sent a delegate from the Ark, and—

He swallowed.

They’d given him a flipping coin.

What if…?

Noah froze. His brain hit a wall, his own thoughts betraying him for a second.

’No. No, I can’t— I won’t blame my entire life on her.’

Whatever luck Sophie had, it hadn’t been what made his parents garbage human beings. His childhood trauma? That was his burden to deal with. His parents? They were shitty people all on their own.

But it didn’t change the fact that…

Sophie was a problem.

Not just in the bad way. But in the good way too.

And right now, both of them were exhausted. Their emotions were running wild, their heads were spinning, and neither of them were in the right state of mind to keep spiraling.

Noah took a deep breath, then moved.

He walked toward Sophie, his steps steady, his mind clearing—not fully, but enough. He grabbed his bag, but before he could turn, she reached out and held onto him.

Her hands were cold. Shaky.

When she spoke, her voice was raw, fragile.

"…Are we gonna be good?"

Noah paused. He looked at her, at the streaks of tears still on her face, at the way her lips trembled—at the absolute mess of emotions between them.

And then, he sighed.

"I don’t know," he admitted, voice quiet but steady. "But right now? I need to eat. I need to rest. I need to get my head straight."

He searched her face, making sure she was listening.

"And I hope you’ll come cheer for me this evening," he added, forcing a small smile. "When I fight to qualify for the interschool competition."

Sophie sniffled, her grip on him tightening. Her lips parted, but no words came out for a second. Then, with a weak nod, she whispered—

"…Okay."