The bell hadn't rung yet, but the classroom was already filled with a sense of tension and anticipation.
Ethan entered, adjusting his hoodie as the warmth of the room met his chilled fingers. The air inside was noticeably heavier than the previous day, almost as if there was a palpable weight to it.
Perhaps it was nervous energy or something more.
The desks were cleaner than usual, chairs arranged in unnaturally neat rows, as if the janitor had known something important was about to happen.
Why does it feel like a storm's about to come?
He took his usual seat near the back window and slumped down, eyes drifting to the fogged glass. Outside, the weather was reflecting his mood: grey and indecisive.
More students arrived gradually, as whispers spread through the room.
All of them carried the same topic: the upcoming Inter-Class Realm Cup.
A tournament… already? But I just started. Ethan thought.
I haven't even figured out how to master controlling my realm's environment.
Kelly Mendoza entered confidently, her heels clicking sharply. She dropped her bag with a flair, as if she were performing on a stage.
"Today's the day, my friend." she said aloud, grinning. "Let's see which of us builds sandcastles and which of us builds legacies."
"Who even builds legacies with fungus and trash?" a voice murmured sarcastically from nearby.
Ethan noticed the tension rising among his classmates.
Then—bam!—the door burst open like a thunderclap.
Mr. Huxley strode in with his hair seemingly defying gravity, coat billowing behind him like a cape. His boots were muddy, and a suspicious green stain clung to his left sleeve.
"Take your seats now!" he ordered briskly.
Silence fell immediately.
He approached the front panel, activating a holographic display.
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[GREY CLASS TEAM DRAW]
Format: 3v3 Realm Simulation Battles
Team Size: 3 Students
Total Teams: 8
Assignment Method: Randomized
Initializing Draw...
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The data swirled faster, letters and names flashing like slot machines.
"Eight teams in total" Mr. Huxley said.
""You will represent Grey Class in the preliminary rounds of the Inter-Class Realm Cup. Your realms, projections, combat strategies, and teamwork will all be evaluated under simulated conditions. These simulations are tied to your actual realm attributes, so don't think you can just fake it with pretty words and superficial efforts."
Kelly smirked confidently.
"Better not put me with slackers." she remarked.
The system chimed.
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[Team 1]
Kelly Mendoza
Marcus Lee
Tria Summers
[Team Name:Phoenix Bloomers]
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"Seriously?" Iris Kandy muttered a few seats down from Ethan. "They even got a cool name. Sounds like they've already had quite a practice."
Ethan gave her a sideways glance but remained silent. He was more focused on his own heartbeat. It was louder than the system chime.
The names continued to shuffle.
Then:
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[Team 2]
Ethan Thorne
Jasper Kim
Iris Kandy
[Team Name: Scrap Reclaimers]
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Ethan blinked in surprise.
Wait. Is that… me?
Already assigned? So fast!
He glanced around and found Jasper waving enthusiastically from the front.
The guy had a small bio canister labeled "Experimental Mycelium – Do Not Sniff" hanging from his hip.
Iris didn't look surprised. She just raised an eyebrow and gave a small shrug like it was fate.
"Nice name," Jasper said, sliding into the seat next to Ethan. "Scrap Reclaimers, huh! Kinda suits us, doesn't it?"
Iris joined them, her gloves still smudged with dirt and debris from realm work. "If by 'suits' you mean everyone thinks we're just the cleanup crew, then yes."
Ethan cracked a small smile. "Cleanup crew wins the wars."
"Though they also sometimes lose them," Iris added playfully.
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[TEAM: SCRAP RECLAIMERS]
Members: Ethan Thorne, Jasper Kim, Iris Kandy
Combat Focus: Terrain Manipulation, Bio-Control, Reconnaissance
Current Realm Grades: [C], [B-], [C+]
Pending Interface Sync…
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The panel flickered, and Mr. Huxley stepped forward again, clearing his throat.
"All teams will undergo a Realm Projection Interface Tutorial today, including shared consciousness synchronization, team relay protocols, and environmental adaptation techniques."
Shared what now?
Ethan shifted nervously. "Do we… need special helmets for that?"
Jasper beamed. "Nope! Just plug your realm link to the school node and let the system mesh our minds together like spaghetti."
"That doesn't sound very reassuring," Iris replied dryly.
Mr. Huxley ignored their comments, pressing a few keys on the panel. A countdown appeared:
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[Shared Interface Session Begins: 00:14:27]
Location: Level B – Simulation Lab
Gear Required: Realm ID Band, Mental Calibration Tag
Note: Failing to sync might lead to some… interesting side effects.
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"Fun starts in fifteen minutes," he said. "Make sure you're on time—or not. Your rivals might thank you for it."
Kelly scoffed and replied, "Hope you remembered to bring helmets for your team, Thorne."
Ethan didn't say anything. He was busy looking over his team's information. His realm's current rating was a C—still not great, still rough and still dying.
And yet…
I have two teammates, a team name, and a real goal now.
Maybe, just maybe, this could be the start of something better.
He asked, "Ready to pick up some scraps?"
Jasper lifted his canister. "Born ready."
Iris simply said, "Don't slow me down."
The simulation lab was nothing like what Ethan expected.
The walls weren't sleek metal or polished glass like the rest of the school. They were old stone, covered in roots that faintly pulsed with light. It smelled of soil, and something pungent like bleach. The floor vibrated softly beneath their boots from the hum of magic-tech machinery.
"Don't touch the roots!" a voice buzzed overhead. "They will bite."
Iris shot a quick look at Jasper's hand, which was twitching toward the roots. "You were about to touch it, weren't you?"
"I was curious," he muttered, pulling back quickly.
At the center of the room sat a round platform with three chairs—not your usual seats. They looked more like odd thrones made from mismatched materials.
One glowed green with moss and stone, another shimmered with hexagonal crystals, and the last looked like it had been welded from scrap metal and thorny vines.
Each seat pulsed faintly, connected to a ring of glowing circuitry in the floor.
This is it. Shared Interface... whatever that's supposed to mean.
Mr. Huxley's voice rang from a speaker overhead. "Take your seats, sync your Realm Bands to the node, and let the system handle the rest."
"Side effects may include dizziness, headache, and depression."
"Enjoy."
Ethan muttered sarcastically, "That's… comforting," as he settled into the scrap-vine throne.
The moment his band clicked into place, he felt a strange tug. Not physical—more like his thoughts were being pulled into a current.
Jasper sat next to him, already humming some off-tune melody. Iris was last, silent but sharp-eyed.
Then the lights dimmed.
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[Shared Interface Sync Initiated]
Realm Host: Ethan Thorne
Temporary Overlay: Polluted Divine Realm [C Grade]
Team Members: 3
Cognitive Merge Progress: 24%... 57%... 100%
Welcome, Scrap Reclaimers.
----------------------------------------------
Suddenly, everything turned white.
Ethan blinked, confused.
Then—
He was standing. But not on the platform.
Nope, not inside the school either.
Instead… a broken sky loomed above, smeared in gray. The air buzzed with pungent and the faint stench of dirt and ash. Under his feet was cracked ground veined with pulsing black roots. Gutted trees looked like skeletal hands reaching up. The wind sounded... wrong—slow and loud at the same time.
And to his left and right were Jasper and Iris.
Their forms were there, but not quite normal.
Like avatars in a game: streamlined and simplified.
Ethan glanced down and saw the same—his clothes were gone, replaced by a neutral, featureless suit with subtle energy lines running across the sleeves.
Is this… my realm?
No, wait. It is just a memory, a reflection or something.
It feels… empty though.
Iris was the first to step forward. "What the hell..."
Her voice echoed twice.
Jasper spun slowly, eyes half-lidded.
"So, we're kind of inside your head, I think. Look—this isn't the real realm. It's a mental sandbox. A safe copy to get used to syncing and team projection stuff."
Ethan tried to walk but the ground squished under his feet like a sponge.
Great. Of all the realms… why does mine look like a junkyard haunted by ghosts?
"Everything's blurry," Iris said, crouching to poke a twitching plant. "Like we're wearing foggy glasses."
"That's normal," Jasper said, tapping his chest. A small glowing icon pulsed above him:
----------------------------------------------
[Avatar Link: Jasper Kim]
Role: Biotech Manipulator
Compatibility: 83%
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Ethan glanced to the side and saw one over Iris too:
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[Avatar Link: Iris Kandy]
Role: Tactical Sensor Specialist
Compatibility: 79%
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Then he looked at himself.
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[Avatar Host: Ethan Thorne]
Role: Realm Anchor
Realm Grade: C
Environment Status: Toxic / Declining
Compatibility: N/A
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"N/A?" he muttered. "That's not good at all…"
Jasper knelt beside a cracked pipe that hissed green mist. "See this? Even in this sandbox version, we can interact with the environment. The point is to get a feel for each other's abilities. Not just power levels, but trust, energy links, emotional flow."
"I guess it's kind of like couples' therapy," Iris mumbled.
"Exactly. Instead of fixing fights, we're fixing the collapsed ecosystem." Jasper joked.
Suddenly, a ripple pulsed through the sky.
The air grew colder and heavier.
A distorted voice crackled through the floor, faint but clear:
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"Foreign entities… detected."
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Ethan froze.
"What was that?"
Iris spun around. "Is that part of the simulation?"
"No," Jasper said quickly. "No. Shared Interface doesn't have scripted events. We're just supposed to walk around, maybe throw a virtual boulder, then leave. That… that was totally different."
Just then,
In the distance, something moved.
Not quite walking, not quite slithering.
A shadow in the fog, dragging itself across the corrupted soil.
Ethan's heart started pounding.
"End simulation!" he said quickly. "Exit command—now!"
But nothing happened.
The white UI didn't reappear. No exit prompt appeared at all.
Instead, a slow message appeared in the black smoke across the poisoned clouds.
----------------------------------------------
[Your realm is not stable.]
[You are not alone.]
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"Okay, now I'm officially freaking out," Jasper whispered.
Before anyone could do anything, the fog cleared just a little—and revealed something really strange.
Amid the ruins… a single glowing green leaf.
Alive.
Vibrant.
Pulsing with breath.
Right there in the middle of all the decay.
Iris gasped. "Wait—did that just sprout?"
Ethan's breath caught in his throat.
That wasn't there before. I know every inch of this place. I've stared at it for hours... and that… is something new.
The message in the sky shimmered and changed again:
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[Anomaly detected.]
[Potential wonder signature: 0.0001% probability.]
[Classification: Unknown Bloom]
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And just like that, it was gone.
The realm trembled.
And then—
White light.
The simulation ejected them out.
Ethan blinked, heart pounding, as he found himself back in the lab. The chairs hummed with light. The lights felt way too bright.
Mr. Huxley was already waiting by the console, one eyebrow raised.
"Well?" he asked casually.
Jasper raised a shaky hand. "Um. Was there supposed to be… a thing in there?"
"What kind of thing?"
"Like… creepy voice, some realm anomaly or mysterious plant sprouting, and existential threat—that kind of thing?"
Mr. Huxley tilted his head, thoughtful. "Huh."
He leaned over the console and tapped in a few commands.
"Thorne," he said finally, eyes flicking to Ethan, "we're gonna need to run some diagnostics on your realm. Preferably soon. That wasn't just some interference."
Iris narrowed her eyes. "What was it?"
Mr. Huxley smiled faintly. "That, my dear students… might just be history knocking."