THE SCHOOL MAKES FRESHMEN FIGHT: [Press Y to find out WHY]

'MM… burgers.'

The delicious scent seemed to dance on the edge of his dreams.

Back in reality, the sunshine landed on his face. He stirred in his sleep and turned over. So the sunshine slapped the back of his head a couple of more times.

Steven awoke, feeling the warmth of the sun. He shifted again, his senses slowly coming alive to the reality: there were no burgers. And that realization was a heartache. How sad… 

He sat up, his mouth curling into a yawn. It took a while for him to get his bearings. But once his vision unfogged and he blinked through the tears of the morning, he finally noticed the little ones staring at him. Birds flitted on the windowsill, hopping about, wondering how he could eat if he had no beak: seemingly… a bleak existence.

History class.... That was the first class of the day, wasn't it? Steven shuffled his way out of bed. Birds and history. Humans and existence. What would Ms. Happi say? He made his way to his wardrobe, the chatter of the birds now a fading background score. As he dressed, he pondered about today.

The familiar buzz of the school corridor filled his ears as he reached the classroom. He opened the door to find Ms. Happi standing at the front.

[Press E to enter classroom] 

"Alright class, settle down!" Ms. Happi's voice chirped with an energy that only she could muster this early. It was her third day trying to use that cliché to grab attention. By the chuckles around the room, Steven guessed everyone had caught on. "I know it's Friday, but we must behave ourselves!" 

"So, starting, next week, there's a special event," She buzzed, waving jazz hands.

"It's... the Freshmen Duel!" She announced excitedly, trying to awkwardly hop around and wave her hands again as if she was presenting something cool. Ms. Happi leaned in, her eyes scanning the room as if sharing a secret, "Now, I know some of you have heard some rumors about the rewards, but let me clarify. The rewards are… tempting, but the duels are not for the faint-hearted. The history of these duels is a blend of… well, you'd find some Tw-Is-Ts. You'll soon discover what sets apart a winner from a mere participant." Her gaze lingered on Steven, "And the price you might pay for falling short…"

Hey, that seemed awfully targeted… 

"As many of you already know," she continued, "the Freshmen Duel, or the 'Battle of the Freshies' as we fondly call it, is an optional competition. Even if you don't participate, you'll be in the audience. We attract a variety of spectators, from our own student body to prestigious outsiders, including sect recruiters, organizations, and representatives from other schools."

Pausing for effect, she slapped her hand on the table."The event determines your school rankings for this year! And I… don't want to lose to…" She tightened her fists. "Imani."

'Who's Imani?' Steven thought curiously, before nudging Mayo beside him. "Hey, why do people care so much about rankings?" 

Mayo leaned in, her golden eyes sparkling: "Steven, rankings here aren't just numbers on a board. They're like golden tickets."

"And that's cause…" she continued, her voice dropping to a whisper, "climbing those ranks gets you all sorts of good stuff. Special privileges, homework passes – imagine a week without homework!" 

Steven imagined it.

"And then there's exclusive club memberships, unique items, and some serious funding." Mayo leaned back, twirling a strand of her hair, "But it's more than just perks. For many students, their family's prestige hinges on these ranks. Nail a high rank and your whole family might jump the social ladder. These ranks even bring up forgotten families. So, yeah, it's kind of a big deal."

Mayo finished, her eyelashes fluttering down, "Simply put, if you're aiming for success in this school – or in life – getting on that ranking board is the clear-cut way."

Their attention shifted back to Ms. Happi, who seemed to be in the middle of explaining some perks: "...and the top 100 in the 'Freshman Duels' get a bonus in culti-bucks each month," she announced.

"Culti-bucks?" Steven whispered.

"You saw them yesterday," Mayo whispered back, "They're the school's official currency, which can buy things money can't."

"And those in the top 50? They gain entry to a plethora of restricted libraries, gaining access to elusive techniques, scrolls, and books." Ms. Happi paused, muttering something about reading and how "kids these days" didn't know how to "READ!"

[Dieze: 'ALERT: your generation statistically reads less, that means they are more likely to be… unemployed.']

(Steven didn't bother reading it. Sometimes, the ocular interface of the contacts malfunctioned, and it was best to ignore ['any text' X] that popped up.)

Ms. Happi cleared her throat and continued: "The top 25 receive an assortment of beneficial pills and herbs. The top 10? They get a year-long unlimited access pass to cultivate in specific elemental domains and other unique spots. And the top 5?" Ms. Happi jumped up and down, "Guys, guess! Guess!"

A student called out an answer.

"That's right! An UNLIMITED pass to DINE in any of our campus-affiliated restaurants for a month. And," she sighed, "a full course meal curated by the Udon family."

While the list seemed exhaustive, Steven's mind latched onto one detail – the month-long dining pass. 

'Mm… Food.'

His thoughts were interrupted by something that couldn't really eat: 

[Dieze: 'THINKING… I can already tell you're thinking about food.' X]

No, that wasn't true.

[Dieze: [INSERT words] [INSERT more words] X]

It was so interesting how his Diezel had so much to say. If only there was SOMEONE to read them. Steven glanced back at Mayo, ignoring the pop-up, "So what divisions did you guys choose?"

"I joined the Charms & Formation Division," Mayo said. "I've been working with that typa' stuff since I was little."

"Like… stomping around in a band?" Steven asked, mimicking it with his feet.

"No, formations and charms." Mayo laughed. "Like creating trap-formations, barriers, and talismans." 

Steven shook… his head: "Right, yeah. Formations? Formations." 

"No way, you don't know?" Mayo leaned in. She mouthed. "Well, these formations are useful. You'll see," She winked, before biting her lip, "Plus, I've been slacking a bit on that cultivation thing, and you'll see how these formations help." 

"No way, you've been slacking? My teacher?" Steven teased, nodding. He looked over at Zero. "What did you join?"

Zero told him that he didn't join a division.

"Wait, so no division," Steven's eyes opened wide. "So, you're just gonna fight as a… independent?"

Zero nodded. 

Interesting. 

It was also interesting how the buzz of excitement continued to follow the three of them. 

LOADING… 

History.pathway… PREPARING… Hallways -> Algebra.class… INITIALIZING…

Because even once the bell hit, and it was time for their algebra class, Steven noticed that everyone was still talking about it: 'The Freshman Duel'. 'The Battle of the Freshies'. Every corner he turned, he could hear snippets of conversation about the event. It was all anyone could talk about. And of course, this meant Mr. Matika was being ignored like usual, so Steven found himself doodling on his tablet.

"Hey Steven," A boy greeted them. 

"Hey." Steven raised his hand, realizing it was Samjo. 

Samjo was one of the nicest guys he ever met. Remember yesterday's lunch? Lucius had been there too, along with... ugh, what was his name? Snakey-boy? Sun-kur? No, it was Sinclair. They all seemed to get along pretty well.

[Dieze: 'ABRIDGED version of yesterday's events… GENERATING…' X]

['Lucius: Hi Samjo, we are so friendly to each other. Oh no! I spilled soup on you. Samjo: don't do that again? O.K.? Lucius: Okay. h-U-R-r-A-Y!' X]

No, no, but he and Samjo had met earlier, remember? 

[Dieze: 'Affirmative.' X]

Right. Steven and Samjo had also caught up over breakfast just yesterday, didn't they? (Although that meeting could only be found in one of the missing chapters.)

But the real memory went further back. A party, ages ago when both Steven and Samjo were just kids, maybe six or seven? Steven remembered that even back then, Samjo always stood up for others. A real, stand-up guy!

"What's up?" Steven fist-bumped Samjo.

"Can I sit with you guys?" The black-haired boy asked, looking at Steven's group.

Yeah, he didn't see why not. Steven nodded, gesturing for Samjo to sit down. They began talking about the past, catching up once again.

"I'm sorry."

"...what." 

"I'm sorry," Samjo held a smile, "I wish that I did more. I was struggling with my own problems back then." 

"You don't need to be sorry," Steven shrugged. It wasn't like his past had anything interesting.

See, it started with a girl who loved to dream… • • • 

[LOCKED CONTENT: Pay $10 to continue]

And that was how it all happened. Absent-mindedly, Steven dropped his fork. His fork?

It was lunchtime.