Athanasia: My Hacker System

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[Ding! Congratulations! You did great in recruiting a powerhouse to your side!]

[Ding! You gained 1% System Synchronisation!]

[Ding! You gained 100 Mental Points cap - +10 to all stats!]

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John watched the notifications flicker across his vision once Nikolas had left. A calm, satisfied smile played on his lips.

This wasn’t the first time the system had rewarded his deeds, and it felt like a silent confirmation that his gamble on the teacher was paying off in more ways than one.

"Let’s celebrate!"

The sudden shout came from Luke, shattering the quietness of the hall and pulling John back to the present.

"We did great, hahaha! We did brilliantly great, hahaha!" Elena’s laughter rang out as she sprinted toward the dancing stage. The moment her boots struck the polished wood, the stage seemed to respond to her energy.

The overhead chandeliers dimmed to a warm, intimate glow, and a silver sphere descended from a hidden gap in the ceiling. It began to spin, casting prismatic rays of light that danced across the walls and floor like glittering mana shards.

Then music played out of nowhere.

"Let’s dance!" Elena pointed an accusing, joyful finger toward Cissel.

To anyone else, Cissel was the ice queen, the collected, calm girl who never let her guard down. But here, in the academy, she felt like she was back home. She exploded alongside her friend. Even Luke joined them, his movements chaotic but full of infectious energy.

Ricky decided that dancing wasn’t his forte. He drifted toward the nearby bar, where he began expertly pouring different liquors, mixing a sophisticated cocktail for himself and the rest.

"For John," Cissel toasted, raising her cup high before draining it in a single, defiant gulp.

"For the team," Ricky added with a slight nod, sipping his drink with a more measured appreciation.

"For our success!" Luke leapt into the air, emptying his cup in one long, breathless swallow before landing back in his chaotic dance.

Elena remained on the stage, the lights painting her in shades of violet and gold. At one point, she paused, her face flushing slightly. "I’m afraid of drinking," she admitted, though she was still smiling. "I have a light head, very light actually. I’ll get drunk from just one cup, and who knows what I’ll do then."

No one felt weird about her admission. By now, they were well-acquainted with Elena’s eccentricities and her habit of harbouring the weirdest fears about the most harmless things.

John stood off to the side for a while, watching the four of them jump, yell, dance, and laugh. It was a rare moment of pure humanity after the relentless grind of the pocket trial and the New World.

Eventually, Cissel couldn’t stand it; she leapt off the stage and pushed John into the fray. For hours, the five of them forgot about Paragons, machines, and looming apocalypse, having fun until the small hours of the morning sent them into a deep, dreamless sleep.

One week has passed since their return. During those days, John discovered that the guest building possessed a frustratingly efficient reset mechanism.

Every morning, the monitors he had hacked and disabled would return to their original settings. Every single day, he had to perform a wide tour of the building, systematically disabling every device one by one to maintain their privacy.

At some point, the Headmaster apparently grew tired of the cat-and-mouse game. Realising that he was gaining zero intelligence on the five students, he sent a teacher to inform them that their vacation was over. There was no longer a need to keep them sequestered in the luxury guest house.

On their final day, they were assigned new, permanent dorms. Luckily, they were stationed close to each other this time, yet in a different building than the one they inhabited when they first joined the academy.

John immediately scanned the rooms, locating and hacking the surveillance devices before they could record or relay anything. Learning from his experience in the guest building, he decided to do it regularly, on a daily basis, first thing in the morning.

As they officially rejoined the student ranks, they became the Military Department’s focal point. Wherever they walked, a sea of peering gazes followed. Whispers trailed them like ghosts, but they gave no heed to any of it.

Even Ricky showed a remarkable change. He didn’t seek out his old gang or try to reclaim his former status as the Paragon-affiliated group leader. Instead, he stuck close to his new friends, completely ignoring the likes of Alfred and Bernard when he passed them in the corridors.

He was no longer the student who joined the academy as a PAREI. He was now standing on the opposite side of the world they occupied. When John had asked him privately if there was any hope of recruiting his old associates later, Ricky had paused for a long, heavy moment before shaking his head.

"They are too deeply involved in the Paragon factions they serve," Ricky had explained.

"Their families rose to power recently, riding on the coattails of those bastards. That means they aren’t willing to trade their new comfort for a risky gamble with us. They’d sell us out for a promotion in a heartbeat."

Those simple words effectively sealed Ricky’s past relations. No one at the time realised that such a casual, firm decision would shed dark shadows over the group in the weeks to come.

Today, the five of them entered the classroom where the bald teacher, known for his sleep-inducing monologues, was preparing for the day’s session. In the past, they would have sat separately: Luke by John, Cissel at the back, Elena at the front, and Ricky in his corner with the gang.

But now, they moved in unison, a cohesive, intimidating force following John’s lead. John chose a row at the very back of the class, hoping to evade the constant scrutiny of their classmates.

"Order, please," the teacher said, noticing the frantic whispering that had erupted the moment the five zombies, the nickname Alfred and others gave to them, walked in. He cleared his throat loudly.