Chapter 92| A Battlefield Control Ability in a Pink Skirt

Chapter 92: Chapter 92| A Battlefield Control Ability in a Pink Skirt

"I believe you," she said. In the tone of someone who had filed something and was choosing not to open the file right now.

"I’ll agree for now," he replied.

She picked up her cup slowly.

Maren and her friend collected their orders and left the cafeteria without looking in Zane’s direction. Maren hadn’t seen him. Her friend definitely hadn’t seen him either.

He watched them go.

Then looked at the system notification still sitting in the corner of his vision.

『 B-rank Sigil — Deciphering complete 』

『 MAREN’S FRIEND — Sigil: Emperor’s Touch — B-rank 』

『 Function: User can exert controlled force on any object within a designated range without physical contact. Range, precision and force output scale with user’s rank and Sigil mastery. At B-rank — estimated range 8-12 meters. Can manipulate multiple objects simultaneously. Mass limit scales with output tier. 』

Zane stared at it.

’Emperor’s Touch,’ he thought. ’Telekinetic force control at range. No contact required. Multiple objects simultaneously.’ He looked at the cafeteria counter where she’d been standing. ’At B-rank that’s an 8 to 12 meter manipulation radius.’

’That’s not a close range Sigil at all,’ he thought. ’That’s a complete battlefield control ability.’

’And she’s walking around in a pink skirt like she’s not carrying something that terrifying,’ he thought.

The system surfaced.

『 Emperor’s Touch — high tactical versatility. Compatible with host’s close range profile as a complementary long range option. The system notes this is a significant acquisition candidate. 』

Zane looked at the notification.

’Wow,’ he thought. ’So many good Sigils out there. I need to get my slots faster.’

The system surfaced.

『 Current carry limit: 3 slots. 2 occupied. 1 available. Further slot expansion requires additional Bound Target bonds or Gacha rewards. The system recommends prioritising both. 』

’Obviously,’ Zane thought. ’Give me time.’

He picked up his coffee and drank.

Sera was reading something on her communicator. Hoodie sleeves pulled over her hands. Completely unbothered by whatever had just happened at this table.

’Two weeks,’ he thought. ’To my first NSA assessment. And now a B-rank close range Sigil walking around campus attached to Maren’s social circle.’

’One thing at a time,’ he thought.

He could genuinely hear Gerald wheezing somewhere in the distance.

_ _

Zane left the cafeteria at exactly 1:15 PM as indicated by his communicator.

Sera had headed off to her afternoon session five minutes earlier than him. Waved, told him bye, her hoodie disappearing through the cafeteria entrance with the specific efficient exit she brought to everything.

He walked back toward the dormitory building alone.

The campus at 1:15 PM on a Monday running its between-sessions quiet. The academic block filling back up. A few students moving between buildings. The east courtyard empty except for two second years sitting on the low wall doing something on their communicators.

He moved through it with his hands in his pockets and Emperor’s Touch still sitting in the corner of his vision.

’Maren’s friend,’ he thought. ’B-rank. Emperor’s Touch. 8 to 12 meter manipulation radius at current tier. Walks around campus in a pink skirt like she’s not carrying a battlefield control ability.’

’And I don’t even know her name,’ he thought.

The system surfaced.

『 The system notes the host does not know the target’s name. Acquisition requires familiarity building. Familiarity building requires knowing someone’s name as a baseline. The system suggests addressing this gap. 』

’I know,’ Zane thought. ’Maren knows her. That’s the natural route.’

He pushed through the dormitory entrance and took the elevator to the seventh floor.

He arrived at room 714 at 1:46 PM.

Time had passed the way it always did when you were walking and thinking simultaneously . Faster than expected, slower than it felt. He pushed through the door and dropped his bag.

Empty.

Dex was out. Torre was presumably wherever Torre went during the day when he wasn’t occupying Dex’s bed with a container of food. Gerald wheezed from the wall.

Zane dropped his bag. Still in his training gear from the morning. He had no reason to change for the thirty five minute gap before the afternoon session. He lay back on his bed to chill for the moment.

The afternoon session starts at 2:00 PM. He had thirty five minutes.

He pulled up the system display.

Current status:

『 CARRY LIMIT: 3 slots — Slot 1: Impact Breaker 90% — Slot 2: Overdrive 90% — Slot 3: Empty 』

『 BOND TARGET: Maren Cass — Bond depth 34% — Familiarity 84% 』

『 GACHA METER: 12% 』

『 FAMILIARITY STANDINGS: Maren 84% — Dex 62% — Sera 26% — Nyx 11% — Nil unidentified 』

He looked at the nil entry.

’Unidentified,’ he thought. ’Still pending. Six weeks and the system still hasn’t confirmed who the fourth candidate is.’

’Could be anyone,’ he thought.

He looked at the Emperor’s Touch notification.

’Or,’ he thought. ’Could be someone who just walked into a cafeteria in a pink skirt and a B-rank Sigil I’ve never seen before.’

The system surfaced.

『 System Note: The nil candidate identification requires sufficient proximity and interaction to register. The system cannot confirm or deny the pink skirt hypothesis at this stage. 』

’The pink skirt hypothesis,’ Zane thought. ’That’s what we’re calling it now.’

『 The system uses descriptive labels. 』

He closed his eyes.

His communicator beeped twenty minutes later. The alarm he’d set before lying down cutting through the quiet with the specific urgency of something he’d agreed to before he knew how tired he’d be.

He opened his eyes.

Stared at the ceiling for three seconds.

’So much for resting,’ he thought.

He got up. Grabbed his bag. Headed out.

_ _

The Afternoon session lasted from 2:00 PM to 4:30 PM.

Vael ran a combat application theory session — how to apply Sigil output in multi-opponent scenarios. It was somehow interesting so he e gave it full attention.

Beside him Maren took notes with the focused efficiency she brought to everything.

At the break between sessions he looked at her.

’Her friend,’ he thought. ’The one with Emperor’s Touch. B-rank. I need a name and a natural reason to meet her properly.’