But raising his hand meant visibility. Visibility meant expectation. Expectation meant the possibility of being wrong in front of thirty people who already thought of him as "the quiet art kid."
- Mathematics: 12% - Sciences: 8% - Humanities: 34% - Arts: 41% - Social: 19% - Physical: 22%]
Analysis: User has completed 47 quests in 96 hours. Average sleep: 4.2 hours. Social interactions outside quest parameters: 0.
"The limit is four."
Elias found himself staying after school—voluntarily—to help Sophie Tran with quadratic equations. Sophie had cried over her textbook twice that week. By the end of their session, she solved a problem on her own and laughed, surprised at herself.
He knew this one. He knew it. Factorization. Cancel the (x-2). The limit was 4.
For a moment, the diamond in his vision flickered—not with warning, but something softer. Something almost like relief. High School Master -v0.361- -Ongoing-
The bell rang. Elias gathered his things, heart hammering. The System interface minimized to a small diamond in his peripheral vision, always visible but never obstructing.
Reward: +3% Mathematics Mastery (15% total). Unlocked: Basic Tutoring Interface. Hidden Bonus: +2% Social Mastery (Teacher Approval multiplier).
A translucent blue window materialized in front of his face, hovering just above his graphite-smudged fingers. But raising his hand meant visibility
Then the world hiccupped.
"Psst," he hissed to Mira Chen, two seats over. "Are you seeing this?"
He looked at his desk. His sketchbook sat there, half-finished drawing of a girl with constellations for hair. He hadn't touched it since the System arrived. The Arts mastery had climbed to 43%, but he'd only been doing assignments —perfect shading exercises, color theory tests, perspective grids. No galaxies. No girls with star-freckles. Average sleep: 4
Mira didn't look up. Neither did anyone else. The window was his alone.