Hugo entered the classroom with a sense of dread swirling in his chest. It was his first time stepping foot in here after days of skipping.
After the unfortunate incident that murdered his social life, he had dreaded ever having to come to class, but in order not to have an academic death as well, Hugo had to be brave.
He didn't have a choice actually. He had heard on some class groups that some lecturers were probably going to start giving tests this week.
This was the only reason why he was even anywhere near a hundred metre radius of the classroom.
The classroom was a mix of modern and traditional, with rows of sleek, white desks, high-tech projectors, and a digital whiteboard on the far wall.
The wooden floor creaked slightly, and the large windows on one side let in the morning light, casting a warm glow over everything.
What wasn't typical, though, was Hugo's situation. He was about to face a room full of people who might just ruin him if they found out who he really was.
As he stepped inside, he couldn't help but feel a bit self-conscious. This was his first day back after the wild events of orientation, and he was bracing himself for the inevitable stares of recognition and awkwardness.
But to his surprise, no one batted an eye.
'Wait... nobody recognises me?' Hugo glanced around, expecting at least a few double-takes. But no, everyone was going about their business, chatting with friends or scrolling through their phones.
They walked past him without so much as a second glance.
Then it hit him. 'Oh… oh, that's it! The glow up!' he thought, nodding to himself. 'I look so good now, even I wouldn't recognize me!'
He ran a hand through his now neatly styled hair, mentally high-fiving himself. The time he had spent improving himself the past few days wasn't wasted after all.
No wonder no one recognized the old, introverted Hugo.
But now came the hard part: finding a seat. He looked around and saw two available options.
One seat was next to Emily—the same gorgeous girl he sat beside during the Orientation.
The other was next to a small, cute-looking girl who was absolutely drowning in her oversized sweats and hoodie. Her hoodie was so large that her tiny Mickey Mouse beanie barely poked out from the top.
Hugo hesitated, weighing his options. Although he had always had a thing for the ridiculously gorgeous Emily, it was not a good option.
Emily might recognize him, and that would be disastrous. But the cute little girl? She seemed harmless.
He turned toward the loli with resolve. 'Safe option,' he thought, heading towards her. As he approached, he got a better look at her.
She was small, probably five feet tall, and the oversized hoodie made her look even tinier. Her face was delicate and cute, with large eyes that peeked out from under her beanie.
Hugo's mind immediately began wandering into novel territory. 'She's like one of those lolis in eastern webnovels... The ones that are extremely gullible and eat up every word the MC says... Should I pat her head? Maybe call her junior sister? No, too creepy, too soon—'
Suddenly, the loli glanced up at him, her expression flat. "Why are you staring at me like a creep?" she asked bluntly, her voice dripping with disdain.
The entire class went quiet, and Hugo could feel every pair of eyes in the room turn toward him. His heart skipped a beat.
'Oh no, not again,' he panicked, thinking back to his earlier social disasters. Desperate not to ruin this moment, Hugo activated his Aura of Alpha.
Instantly, the air around him shifted. His posture straightened, his gaze hardened, and the entire room seemed to hold its breath.
"You have everyday in your life to be a jerk. Why not take today off?"
The Loli blinked, and the classroom went dead silent, everyone staring in awe.
Without another word, Hugo plopped down beside her. The Loli narrowed her eyes, clearly not happy, but for now, she'd been subdued.
The room buzzed back to life as people returned to their own conversations. Crisis averted—barely.
The Loli frowned, clearly frustrated by the sudden power shift. She reached into her oversized bag, pulling it onto her lap.
As she unzipped it, Hugo caught a glimpse of something inside. Something dark and long and scaly.
His eyes widened in sheer terror.
'Is that a python?' His thoughts went into overdrive. 'Am I sitting next to a maniac who carries snakes around in her bag? What if it escapes? What if it bites me? What if I die right here, in the middle of class? Is this how it all ends? Should I elope right now before it's too late?!'
Hugo was already plotting his escape, mentally planning how fast he could sprint out the door.
But then he noticed something off. The Loli had lifted the bag with the python inside like it was a bag of marshmallows.
Wait. Was it fake?
His survival instincts kicked in, but instead of running, he decided to stay. He steeled himself, trying to convince his brain that the snake was just a prop, nothing to worry about.
The girl, annoyed that her silent intimidation wasn't working, gave Hugo an angry nudge with her elbow.
It was surprisingly strong for someone her size, but she clearly relished the reaction.
Hugo, however, was still in shock. Not from the nudge, but because his System had just pinged in his mind.
[Beep!]
[Evaluation: Target is a 9!]
Hugo blinked. "A… what? A 9?" He glanced back at the loli, who was now smirking, clearly satisfied that her nudge had made some impact.
Meanwhile, Hugo was internally screaming. "A 9?! A loli is a 9?! What is my life right now?"
His eyes nearly popped out of his head. A 9?! This cute, but rude, Loli with a (possibly fake) python was a 9 on his system's beauty scale?
'Why is my life like this?!'