Lenny woke up the next morning with the hazy light of Silversun City filtering through his bedroom window. A thin mist hung over the skyline beyond his apartment, blurring the rooftops and hills in the distance. The city had its own rhythm—always slightly restless, always moving forward.
He stretched, sore but satisfied. The events from yesterday still played in his mind—standing up to Craig, nailing the presentation at the Systems Engineering orientation, and getting that unexpected System title: "Hidden Talent."
He blinked twice, then summoned the interface.
System Notification:Welcome back, Lenny.Daily Tasks Available.
Level: 4EXP: 75/100Health: 150/150Strength: 25Speed: 20Agility: 15Intelligence: 40Endurance: 20Charm: 13
Daily Tasks:• Walk 2 km – [Not started] – 40 XP• 60 Push-ups – [Not started] – 40 XPBonus Task (Locked): ??Title:Hidden Talent
"Two kilometers, huh?" he muttered to himself. "Alright. Let's get it."
He laced up his old but reliable sneakers, grabbed a bottle of water, and headed out into the cool morning. Silversun wasn't awake yet, not fully. A few joggers moved along the path near the river bend, and roadside vendors were just unpacking crates of mangoes and passion fruits by the junction.
Lenny took the longer loop—through Cypress Street, across the footbridge, and around the community library. The city air felt fresher than usual.
By the time he made it past the 2 km mark, his calves burned just slightly, but he kept going another few meters for good measure. compared to when he almost fainted after just 10 push-ups, this was a large improvement.
System Notification:Task Complete: Walk 2 km+40 EXP[EXP: 115/100]You have leveled up!
Level Up!Level: 5+10 Strength+5 Endurance+1 Skill Point+50 HPNew Feature Unlocked:Skill Tree (Basic)
Back home, he wiped the sweat off his brow and leaned against the wall to catch his breath. That was the most he'd walked since high school PE days. He opened the system again.
A new glowing tab appeared—Skill Tree (Basic).
He tapped into it.
Skill Tree Options:• Efficiency Boost I—Gain 10% more EXP from physical tasks. (Cost: 1 SP)• Quick Recovery I – Reduce fatigue after training by 15%. (Cost: 1 SP)• Focus I – Slightly boosts concentration and mental clarity during problem-solving. (Cost: 1 SP)
He considered the options for a moment, then selected Focus I. Yesterday had taught him that solving problems wasn't just for the classroom. Sometimes, thinking clearly made all the difference.
Skill Unlocked: Focus IYou feel your thoughts sharpen, just a little.
After a short rest, Lenny got down to the next task—60 push-ups.
The first 30 flew by. The next 20 slowed him down. The last 10 were a grind, his arms trembling, sweat pooling beneath him. But he did it.
System Notification:Task Complete: 60 Push-ups+40 EXP[EXP: 55/120]Muscle activation registered. Strength and endurance slightly improved.
Showered and recharged, Lenny headed to the university. His campus was nestled on the quieter edge of Silversun, bordered by trees and tech start-ups. There was a calm energy to it—students with heads buried in books or laptops, sunlight bouncing off glass buildings.
In the systems engineering lab, some familiar faces from yesterday's group challenge greeted him with nods.
"Yo, Lenny," one of them called out—it was Marcus, the tall guy with glasses. "You lowkey carried our team yesterday."
Lenny gave a polite smile. "Team effort."
In the corridor after class, he bumped into Emma again—literally. She was turning a corner too quickly, a sketchpad under her arm.
"Oh! Sorry," she said, stepping back. "I was just thinking about something."
"No worries," Lenny replied, shifting his bag.
She recognized him. "Hey—presentation guy."
Lenny chuckled. "That's me now?"
Emma smiled. "Just saying, you made that challenge make sense. You have a calm way of explaining things. Like... you see the whole picture."
He shrugged. "I guess I think better when everyone else is panicking."
Emma looked impressed. "Well, that's rare. Keep doing your thing, Lenny."
Then she walked off, giving him a wave over her shoulder.
System Notification:Social interaction milestone achieved.+5 CharmCharm: 18
That night, back in his room after dinner, Lenny sat by the window, sipping water and watching the lights of Silversun twinkle across the hills. Traffic still flowed in steady streams below. Somewhere in the distance, someone played music loud enough for him to catch the beat.
He checked the system one more time.
Status:
Name: LennyLevel: 5EXP: 55/120Health: 200/200Strength: 35Speed: 20Agility: 15Intelligence: 40Endurance: 25Charm: 18Skill: Focus ITitle: Hidden Talent
Daily Task Progress:✔ Walk 2 km – Completed✔ 60 Push-ups – CompletedBonus: Social Milestone – Completed
He leaned back in his chair.
Far above Silversun City, however, something else had stirred.
Location: Orbital Surveillance Satellite A-22 — Earth Orbit | 11:47 PM UTC
Thousands of miles above the Earth's surface, a silent sentinel floated in geosynchronous orbit—an aging satellite known as Vanguard Array-22, operated by the Global Defense Coordination Agency.
For nearly two decades, A-22 had done little more than track solar radiation and monitor deep space signals. Most of its data went unread, archived into servers no one had opened in years.
Until tonight.
Inside a sterile monitoring facility buried beneath the Scottish Highlands, a soft alarm tone pulsed red on a forgotten workstation.
Signal Drift Detected.Origin: Deep Space Quadrant Delta-Four.Pattern: Non-random.Estimated Origin Distance: 4.8 Light-years.Anomaly Trajectory: Intercept course with Earth.
A technician named Isla blinked at her screen, frowning. "That can't be right…"
She ran the sequence again. The result was the same.
The anomaly was moving fast—and it wasn't natural.
She reached for her comms. "Dr. Halvorsen, you might want to see this."