The training room buzzed with energy as Kaito stood on the sparring mat, his stance awkward but determined. Across from him, Yuki smirked, twirling her training spear effortlessly.
"Ready, rookie?" Yuki taunted, her tone sharp but playful. She tapped the spear's shaft against her boot, letting the faint spark of energy at its tip flash dramatically.
Kaito raised his hands, adopting a defensive posture that looked more like he was preparing to catch a fly than face an opponent. "Go easy on me, okay? I'm still figuring this stuff out."
Yuki's grin widened. "Oh, don't worry. I'll make it painless."
[SYSTEM TIP: SUCCESSFUL DODGES INCREASE AGILITY BY 0.02%. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.]
"Noted," Kaito muttered under his breath.
The moment the spar began, Yuki lunged forward, moving so quickly it was as though her spear had vanished for a split second. Kaito barely managed to sidestep, the energy crackling off the spearhead grazing the sleeve of his jacket.
"Focus, Kaito!" Celeste called out from the sidelines, her arms crossed. "Reflexes alone won't save you. Anticipate her moves before she makes them!"
"Easier said than done!" Kaito shot back, ducking under another swipe.
[SYSTEM WARNING: USER YUKI IS USING LEVEL-3 COMBAT TECHNIQUES. RECOMMEND IMMEDIATE STRATEGIC RETREAT.]
"Strategic retreat? I'm in the middle of—!"
Yuki's next attack came in a sweeping arc, aiming for his legs. Kaito yelped and jumped, just barely avoiding the strike—only to lose his balance and topple backward onto the mat with an audible thud.
Yuki planted the butt of her spear into the floor and leaned on it casually, her smirk firmly in place. "You're not bad," she said, brushing a stray lock of hair from her face. "For someone who fights like a malfunctioning drone."
"Wow. High praise," Kaito groaned, rubbing the back of his head.
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The sparring session wound down, with Kaito sprawled on the mat and Yuki smugly victorious. The rest of the team gathered around, clearly amused.
"You've got guts, I'll give you that," Victor said, his usual smirk in place as he leaned against the wall.
"Guts?" Kaito shot him a tired glare. "More like I have a death wish agreeing to this."
"You'll learn," Aria said, sitting quietly on a nearby bench. She didn't look up from her tablet but offered a faint smile. "You're improving."
"Improving?" Kaito raised a brow. "I lasted five seconds instead of three this time. That's barely an upgrade."
[SYSTEM ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: HARD-EARNED IMPROVEMENT. REWARD: +1 WILLPOWER.]
"Great," Kaito muttered, swiping the notification away. "Now I'm officially more stubborn."
Yuki burst out laughing. "Hey, stubbornness is a skill. Trust me, you'll need it if you want to survive out there."
Victor, still leaning on the wall, crossed his arms. "If Yuki doesn't kill him during training, that is."
————————————————————
As the team prepared to leave the training room, an argument broke out between Yuki and Aria.
"You've been holding back information again," Yuki accused, her spear now pointed at the floor but her tone sharp.
Aria finally looked up from her tablet, meeting Yuki's glare with a calm, unreadable expression. "I didn't hold anything back."
"Don't lie," Yuki snapped. "That last anomaly—the amplification field. You 'forgot' to mention it until we were knee-deep in trouble."
"I didn't forget," Aria replied evenly. "I was verifying the data. If I'd spoken prematurely, it could have led to unnecessary risks."
"That's always your excuse!" Yuki took a step closer, her voice rising. "You act like you're the only one who knows what's best, and the rest of us are just supposed to follow blindly."
"Enough!" Celeste's voice cut through the tension like a whip. "We're a team, not a group of bickering children. We don't have time for this."
The room fell silent.
Kaito, sensing the lingering awkwardness, decided to intervene. "Hey, at least we're not fighting over who gets the last protein bar, right? Small victories."
Yuki rolled her eyes but let out a reluctant chuckle. "You'd better watch your back, Kaito. I might take it just to spite you."
Aria said nothing but glanced briefly at Kaito, her expression softening.
————————————————————
Later that evening, Kaito sat alone in his quarters, replaying the day's events in his mind. His body still ached from the sparring session, but his thoughts were more occupied with the System. Something about it had felt… off recently.
Just as he was about to push the thought aside, the faint hum of a System activation caught his attention.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE: USER KAITO SORA DISPLAYING UNUSUAL RESONANCE WITH CORE DATA. ANALYZING…]
"What's that supposed to mean?" Kaito muttered, sitting up straighter.
[SYSTEM RESPONSE: DATA INCONCLUSIVE. ANOMALY LIKELY.]
"Anomaly? That doesn't sound good." He frowned, staring at the glowing interface hovering before him. The System had been a constant presence since he awakened to it, but now it felt… different. Almost alive.
————————————————————
The next morning, the team gathered in the command center. A massive holographic map dominated the room, showing the latest anomaly activity. Celeste stood at the front, her expression grim.
"Anomaly activity is spiking across the sector," she began, her finger highlighting several red zones on the map. "The System has flagged these as potential precursors to a larger event."
[SYSTEM ALERT: CLASS-6 ANOMALY DETECTION PROBABILITY: 72%. RECOMMENDED ACTION: PREPARE FOR ESCALATION.]
The room went silent.
"A Class-6?" Victor finally spoke, breaking the tension. "That's… impossible. We've barely managed to contain Class-5 anomalies."
Celeste nodded. "This isn't something we can fight head-on. We need to think strategically—use every advantage the System gives us."
"Assuming it doesn't glitch out at the worst possible moment," Yuki muttered.
Kaito's thoughts drifted back to the System message from the night before. The word "anomaly" felt far too coincidental. He flexed his hand instinctively, the faint flicker of a rune glowing momentarily in his palm before fading.
————————————————————
As the team prepared for reconnaissance, Kaito approached Aria, who was engrossed in her tablet as usual.
"Hey," he began, hesitating slightly. "Have you ever felt like the System knows more about us than it lets on?"
Aria raised an eyebrow, looking up from her work. "What are you getting at?"
Kaito glanced down at his hand, where the faint glow of a rune flickered again. "I think… it's trying to tell me something. Or maybe show me."
Aria studied him for a moment, her calm demeanor giving way to faint curiosity. "If that's true, then you'd better start listening. The System doesn't make mistakes."
"Funny," Kaito said with a weak chuckle. "It feels like all it does is glitch around me."
Aria didn't respond, but her gaze lingered on him for a moment longer than usual.
As the team boarded the transport, Kaito couldn't shake the feeling that something far bigger than he'd imagined was on the horizon.