Something in my words made her expression soften. "Nobody feels sorry for you."

"Everyone feels sorry for me. The orphan with dead hero parents who didn’t inherit an Aspect."

"That’s not—"

"It is. You know it is." I ran a hand through my damp hair. "But I’m done with that. I’m going to Halloran, and I’m going to pass that exam, and I’m going to be a hero."

Sloane searched my face for a long moment. "What changed? Something happened. I know it did."

This was it. My opening.

"I don’t know how to explain it," I said, letting my voice drop to a near-whisper. "But something has changed. During our training, when you kept knocking me down, pushing me to my limits... I felt something."

Her eyes widened slightly. "What do you mean, ’felt something’?"

I held up my hand, focusing on making it look like I was struggling with something new and unfamiliar. "It’s like... there’s something inside me now. Something that wasn’t there before."

Sloane’s expression transformed instantly from suspicion to shock. "Lukas, are you saying..."

I nodded slowly. "I think I manifested."

"That’s impossible," she whispered, but I could see her mind racing. "You’re seventeen. Late manifestations almost never happen past fourteen."

"Almost never isn’t never."

"Show me."

This was the tricky part. I needed to demonstrate something that could be explained by my fake Aspect without revealing my actual abilities. I looked around my room and spotted a book on my desk.

I extended my hand toward it, making a show of concentration. What Sloane couldn’t see was that I was activating Spectral Reach under the guise of this new "Phantom Touch" Aspect I’d supposedly developed.

The book trembled, then rose shakily into the air.

Sloane’s jaw dropped. "Holy shit."

"I know."

"Holy SHIT, Lukas!"

The book wobbled in the air as I manipulated it with my invisible spectral arm. I made it look difficult, like I was just learning to control this new power.

"When did this happen? Why didn’t you tell me right away?"

"It just happened. During our last training session. I was too shocked to say anything, and I wanted to be sure before I told anyone."

Sloane’s face went through a rapid series of emotions—shock, disbelief, excitement, and then something that looked suspiciously like pride.

"We need to register you. Update your IHL file." She was talking fast now, her earlier embarrassment completely forgotten. "This changes everything for your Halloran application. An Aspect that manifested under extreme stress conditions? That’s the kind of story they eat up."

I nodded, trying to look appropriately overwhelmed. "I don’t even know what classification this would be."

"Channeler, definitely. Telekinetic subtype." She stepped closer to the floating book, examining it with professional interest. "Strength looks minimal right now, but that’s normal for new manifestations. Range seems decent."

I let the book drop back to the desk with a deliberate clatter, pretending to be exhausted by the effort. "It’s draining."

"Of course it is. You’re using muscles you didn’t know you had." Sloane’s excitement was palpable. She reached out and grabbed my shoulders, her blue eyes blazing with intensity. "This is amazing, Lukas. Do you understand what this means?"

I nodded, allowing myself a genuine smile. "It means I have a real shot at Halloran now."

"A real shot? You have way more than that. Late manifestations often come with unusual properties or secondary effects." She was squeezing my shoulders tightly. "We need to test this properly. Figure out your limits. Document everything for your application."

Her enthusiasm was infectious. For a moment, I almost believed my own lie—that I’d really manifested an Aspect through hard work and determination, not pulled it from a mystical gacha system.

Then I realized how close she was standing. How her hands were still gripping my shoulders. How she’d completely forgotten about walking in on me naked just minutes earlier.

Or had she?

Her eyes darted down for a split second, then back up to my face. A hint of pink returned to her cheeks.

"So," she said, finally releasing my shoulders and taking a half-step back. "Movie night’s still on?"

I laughed, genuinely surprised by the abrupt change of subject. "After all this, you still want to watch a movie?" 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"Why not? We should celebrate." She tucked a strand of pink hair behind her ear. "Your first manifestation only happens once."

"True enough."

She turned to leave, then stopped at my doorway. Without looking back at me, she said, "And Lukas?"

"Yeah?"

"Next time, lock your door." She glanced over her shoulder with a smirk. "Or don’t. I’ll knock either way."

Then she was gone, leaving me staring after her with my mouth hanging open.

〘 Subject Sloane Fitzgerald’s Temptation Gauge has increased by 2%. Current reading: 46%. 〙

"What just happened?" I whispered.

〘 Subject has entered the Attached stage, which produces more direct flirtation patterns and territorial behavior. Additionally, your fabricated manifestation story has been accepted with 100% credibility. 〙

I sank onto my bed, still processing. In the span of fifteen minutes, I’d gone from naked and embarrassed to having successfully convinced Sloane I’d manifested an Aspect. And somehow, in the process, her Temptation Gauge had jumped from 38% to 46%.

Almost halfway to Devoted.

〘 📋 MAIN QUEST AVAILABLE

Quest: Registration Day

Description: A lie whispered in a bedroom is a secret. A lie recorded in a government database is a fact. It is time to make your story a fact. Visit the International Hero Licensing office with Heroine Candidate Sloane Fitzgerald and register your "newly manifested" Aspect. Convince the registration officials of its authenticity.

Objective: Successfully file a revised IHL Aspect Registration form. The registration must be accepted without flagging for secondary review.

Time Limit: 72 Hours

Rewards:

500 Scumbag Points

One (1) Silver Gacha Pull Ticket

Failure Conditions & Penalties:

Critical Failure (Deception Detected): Immediate exposure of System mechanics to external authorities. Permanent and irreversible trust damage with Sloane Fitzgerald. Disqualification from all Accord-sanctioned Hero examinations.

Partial Failure (Flagged for Review): Quest remains active, but difficulty increases. Will require follow-up interviews and diagnostic scans you cannot possibly pass.〙

I stared at the quest notification. The stakes were getting higher. If the IHL detected my deception somehow, everything would collapse. But if I succeeded...

"I’m really doing this," I murmured. "I’m becoming a Hero through a lie."

〘 Correction: You are becoming a Hero through strategic application of your actual abilities. The method of acquisition is irrelevant to effectiveness. 〙

I wasn’t sure if that made me feel better or worse.

What I did know was that Sloane was waiting downstairs for our movie. A movie we were apparently watching to celebrate my fake Aspect manifestation. A movie we’d be watching alone, in the dark, with her wearing those tiny sleep shorts.

And she’d seen me naked.

And she wasn’t running away.

I stood up and took a deep breath. Whatever was happening between us was complicated and probably ethically questionable given the System’s involvement. But there was no going back now. I’d committed to this path.

Time to see where it led.

===

〘Traore’s Thoughts〙

Hey guys, I decided to make a Power Stone Goal for this novel.

Every 200 Power Stones this week = +1 Extra Chapter. (MAX 14 ChapterS)

We can have the normal 2 Daily Chapters + 2 Extra Chapters Every Day, is all up to you ;)