Chapter 123| Hero Suit Day

Chapter 123: Chapter 123| Hero Suit Day

Before a spark it was finally Monday.

A big day. Not just for Zane, but for every first year student who had been waiting since enrollment for the notification that their hero suit was ready for collection. The day that separated students from student heroes in the most tangible way the academy had to offer.

Zane was up at exactly 6:00 AM.

He sat on the edge of his bed. Yawned. Looked across the room.

Dex was awake.

Which was unexpected enough on its own. But Dex awake at 6 AM on a Monday was one thing. Dex awake at 6 AM on a Monday with a hentai novel open on his lap was definitely a specific thing. The page facing outward. A character rendered with the specific artistic commitment that hentai novel cover artists brought to their work, he could see a big-breasted woman seemingly bursting out of the page, her ample chest exaggerated by the artist’s unapologetically provocative style.

Zane looked at it for exactly two seconds.

’His kinks are something else,’ he thought.

The system surfaced.

『 That’s wild coming from someone with a Gacha meter that fills through erotic activity. 』

’So funny system,’ he thought.

『 The system is simply noting observable irony. 』

He got up. Grabbed his towel and toothbrush. Headed to the bathroom.

Prep took twenty minutes.

Showered. Dressed. Pulled his training suit from the box.

He held it for a moment.

Looked at it.

’Today you might have a new competitor,’ he muttered as he glanced at the training suit.

The system surfaced.

『 The host is talking to an inanimate object. The system notes this may be a sign of fatigue or mild psychological drift. 』

’I don’t need commentary on that system,’ he thought.

『 The system retracts the observation. 』

He put the training suit on. Grabbed his bag. Headed out.

He arrived at the Training grounds at exactly 6:20 AM.

Maren was already there.

She turned when his footsteps registered on the composite surface and she was in a good mood. Visibly. The specific version of her that existed when something she’d been looking forward to had arrived on the schedule and was sitting there being real.

She raised her hand. He raised his. The wave landed differently from the usual 6:20 AM version, subtle and warmer. More energy in it.

"Morning," he said.

"Morning." Her eyes were bright. The focused pre-session energy carrying something additional underneath it today.

He looked at her.

"You’re extremely happy today," he said.

"I might be collecting my hero suit today." She said it the way she said things that were true without needing decoration. "Finally making my parents proud."

He looked at her.

Something about the way she said it, not the achievement, the parents proud part. The specific weight of someone who had been carrying that as a benchmark since before they arrived at this building.

"Congrats," he said. Genuinely.

She looked at him. A small nod. Accepting it without deflecting.

Then he said.. "I thought the good mood was about the heart you sent yesterday."

Maren’s face went red.

Immediately. The fastest transition he’d clocked from her in recent memory.

She hit his shoulder. Not hard. Just the specific impact of someone who had been caught off guard and had chosen physical response over verbal.

"You know how to take away moments," she said.

He glanced at his shoulder. Then at her face still red. "I’m sorry. Just teasing."

"Apology not accepted." She turned back to her pad. Pulled her hair tie tighter. The puffed cheek energy fully active. "Between... let’s finish up and get ready for class."

"Yes ma," he replied.

She looked at him.

"What did I say about that," she said.

Zane smirked then looked at the wall.

Pressed his palm flat.

Impact Breaker — B-rank 20%.

The shockwave rolled.

He almost smiled at the wall.

They ran their reps.

Maren’s burst sequences carrying the specific additional sharpness of someone who had a good reason to be performing well today. Overdrive chain activations clean and deliberate — the version of her training that existed when she was running toward something rather than just maintaining.

Zane ran his Overdrive daily quest between wall reps.

Six consecutive activations. Focused on the window between intent and execution.

『 DAILY QUEST COMPLETE 』

『 Overdrive activation window: 0.70 → 0.67 seconds 』

『 Progress to milestone: 0.67 / 0.50 seconds 』

『 Milestone reward: HIDDEN 』

’0.67,’ he thought. ’Moving.’

They finished at 7:20 AM. Picked up their bags. Walked toward the academic block together. The Monday morning campus doing its thing.

Neither of them mentioned the heart again.

Both of them knew it was still sitting there.

After prepping and all they finally arrived at Classroom 1-A at 8:30 AM.

Vael entered the classroom and ran a full theory session — application mechanics, tactical Sigil usage in field scenarios, the kind of content that required genuine attention and got it from a room full of first years who were increasingly aware that the gap between theory and application was closing.

Zane took notes.

Maren beside him took notes. The contained excitement still present underneath her focused expression, visible if you knew where to look.

At 10:00 AM Vael closed her folder.

Looked across the room.

"Before you go," she said. "I understand some of you will be collecting your hero suits today." A pause. The measured delivery she brought to everything. "Congratulations. This is a meaningful step. You will formally be known as student heroes from this point forward." She held the room for a moment. "But I want to be clear about something. The suit is a beginning. Not an arrival. There is considerably more ahead of you than behind you. Don’t let the weight of today make you forget that."

She picked up her tablet.

"Class dismissed."

The room broke into movement.

Zane closed his notebook. Looked sideways.

Maren was already standing. Bag over her shoulder. The contained excitement no longer particularly contained. She looked at him briefly.

"Later," she said. "Have somewhere to be."

He looked at her.

"I could guess where," he said.

She was already moving toward the door.

He watched her go.

’Mori’s office,’ he thought. ’Same as me. Just faster about it.’

He picked up his bag.

Looked at the classroom around him emptying.

’Hero suit day,’ he thought. ’Finally becoming Code Zero.’

He headed out.