Chapter 7 |Common Ground

Chapter 7: Chapter 7 |Common Ground

He was still walking through the academic block corridor when his usual system notification appeared.

『 System Observation: You acquired Overdrive from a fellow student. She trains daily, solo, with above average technique for a C-rank bearer. 』

『 You are currently running her Sigil at 40% of its potential. 』

『 System Suggestion: Get closer to her. She may have training techniques that improve your activation efficiency. And it is, after all, her Sigil you are using. 』

Zane kept walking.

’I just talked to her twenty minutes ago,’ he thought.

『 You exchanged six sentences and stood next to each other in silence for ten minutes. That is not getting closer. That is coexisting. 』

’Fine line,’ he thought.

『 The familiarity ceiling disagrees. 』

Zane slowed his pace slightly.

’She’s at best okay,’ he thought. ’You already know my type.’

『 Your type does not affect Overdrive’s output ceiling. Her training methodology might. 』

’You make a fair point,’ he thought reluctantly. ’And if we practice together I get to watch her activate it up close. Better data on the technique. Faster improvement on my end.’

『 Now you are thinking correctly. 』

’This is purely strategic,’ he thought.

『 Of course. 』

He turned around and headed back toward the training grounds.

She was still there.

Same corner. Same drill. She’d moved from movement repetitions into something more structured — short burst activations, measuring how fast she could fire Overdrive and cut it before the fatigue window opened. Smart. She was training the efficiency of the Sigil not just the output.

Zane watched her for a moment from the edge of the grounds.

’She actually knows what she’s doing,’ he thought.

『 Familiarity: 14%. Output ceiling remains at 40% until further progress is made. 』

He walked over.

She didn’t look up immediately. Finished her current rep first. Then glanced at him sideways.

"You’re back," she said.

"Forgot something," Zane said.

"What."

"To introduce myself properly." He stopped a few feet from the pad. "Zane. Since we keep ending up in the same corner figured names made sense."

She held his gaze for a second. "Maren."

"Maren." He nodded once. "Your technique is clean. Cleaner than most people. The way you’re training your activation window — I haven’t seen anyone else in this intake doing that deliberately."

Maren said nothing but she didn’t go back to her drill either.

"I’m working on some fundamentals," Zane continued. "Nothing flashy. But watching someone who actually knows what they’re doing helps. If you don’t mind me being around while you train I won’t get in your way."

She looked at him for a long moment. The kind of look that was doing quiet calculation behind a very still face.

"I train until seven fifteen," she said finally. "After that I head to class."

"No problem, I can work with that," Zane said.

She went back to her drill.

He found his spot on the edge of the pad and started his own work.

’Name acquired,’ he thought.

『 Familiarity increased to 18%. 』

They ran parallel drills for the next twenty minutes. No further conversation. Just the specific comfortable silence of two people who had stopped needing to fill the air between them.

『 Familiarity: 23% 』

『 Familiarity: 23% — Stranger tier. Output ceiling locked at 40%. 』

『 Acquaintance tier unlocks at 35%. Output ceiling will increase to 60% upon crossing threshold. 』

’Twelve percent away,’ Zane thought. ’From one conversation and twenty minutes of drills.’

『 Genuine exchange accumulates faster than forced proximity. As previously stated. 』

Maren looked up at him. A full second passed before she answered.

"I’m always here at six twenty." She turned back to her drill without waiting for a response.

"So that’s a yes to practicing together."

The corner of her mouth pulled into a low smirk. She kept her eyes forward and said nothing, already back into her next rep.

Girls don’t really know how to express their self with words they prefer body languages that’s hard to decipher.

[8:00Am Time for class ] His alarm buzzed from his communicator

Zane waved at her picked up his bag and walked back toward the academic block.

By the time he reached the main corridor the shift in atmosphere was already visible.

Nothing dramatic. No confrontation. Just the specific social weather change that happened when a story had already been told and the room had already decided what it meant.

A few first years near the notice board glanced at him as he passed. Not hostile. Just aware. The kind of awareness that came from having heard something and not being sure yet what to do with it.

Ryan Castellan was holding court near the corridor junction ahead. Broad shouldered, easy posture, talking to four students who had positioned themselves in the particular formation of people who had decided proximity to the right person was a strategy. Two of them laughed at something he said.

Ryan clocked Zane the moment he came into view. Didn’t say anything this time. Just watched him walk past with the patient expression of someone who had decided the opening move was already made and the next one could wait.

The system pinged.

『 SIGIL ACTIVITY DETECTED 』

『 Bearer: RYAN CASTELLAN 』

『 Sigil: PRESSURE WAVE — B-RANK 』

『 Acquisition window: OPEN 』

『 Awaiting host approval. 』

’Decline,’ Zane thought without breaking stride.

『 Bearer is B-rank. Higher than your current holdings. 』

’I know what rank he is,’ Zane thought. ’I don’t want it.’

『 Reason? 』

’I don’t take things from people I actively dislike,’ he thought. ’I’d have to get close enough to build familiarity and I’d rather not spend that much time near someone whose personality is that exhausting. There are better B-ranks in this building.’

『 Noted. Ryan Castellan removed from priority acquisition list. 』

’Good,’ Zane thought.

He kept walking without looking back.

He pushed through the door into the academic block and let it swing shut behind him.

Somewhere in his jacket pocket his academy communicator buzzed once.

Mail notification.

He didn’t check it yet. Class was starting in four minutes and whatever letter was sitting in that inbox had waited this long.

It could wait four more minutes.

He wasn’t sure he believed that but he kept walking anyway.