Their eyes drifted to the top left corner of their HUDs. But just as Rondo was about to tap the 'Log Out' button, something popped up, stopping him.

  [Congratulations! You have obtained +9999 Growth Points]

  Rondo, Kenta, and Tira pulled off the Realnecks they were wearing. They pulled up their Orla profile UIs. Checking their GP history, Tira and Kenta stared in absolute shock at a massive deduction: -2850 GP.

  Tira snapped her head toward Kenta. "W-we've been in here for three hours?!" Her eyes narrowed, and she reached out, violently tugging at his hair. "This is all your fault! What the hell was that? How could you be such a noob!"

  "Ouch! Ouch! Well, why did you drop dead the second that shadow boss showed up?" Kenta shot back, trying to pry her hands off his scalp.

  Meanwhile, Rondo checked his own Orla.

  [Name: Rondo Ernias

  Health: Good

  Mood: Happy

  Growth Point: 9999 (Unshareable)

  [Stats] [Maps] [Friends] [Camera] [Messages] [Notifications] [Settings] [Close] ]

  "Uh... guys," Rondo called out. The bickering duo behind him instantly stopped. They glanced at him and walked over.

  Tira's eyes nearly bugged out of her head when she saw Rondo's balance. "N-nine-nine-nine-nine?! Where the hell did you get that much GP?"

  Kenta scratched his chin. "I guess it's because he beat that boss earli-"

  "Wahahah! You called us over because you want to treat us, right? Oh, fine, fine, we graciously accept your kind offer," Tira cut in, practically vibrating with excitement.

  Rondo gave an awkward smile. "Ehehe, no tha-"

  "Yeah, yeah, I get it. You're just too nice. In that case, let's get out of here and hunt for some new toys," she interrupted again, basically dragging both boys out of the VR room.

  They walked out, ending up right in the middle of Entertainment District. The area was still packed with Nexhile students wandering around.

  "So, where to now?" Kenta asked.

  Tira squinted, scanning the street like a hawk. Her gaze locked onto a medium-sized storefront with a simple, minimalist design.

  "Ah, there. We're hitting that photobooth first," she declared, pointing at the building.

  They pushed through the crowd of students to get there. A tiny LED sign out front read that a single photo session cost 75 GP. Inside the booth, a group of girls was still busy taking pictures. The trio had to wait around ten minutes before the girls finally walked out.

  Tira practically sprinted inside. A second later, her head poked back out the door, glaring at them. "Hey, don't just stand there spacing out. Get in here."

  Rondo scratched his head. "Do we really have to?"

  Rolling her eyes, Tira grabbed Rondo and forcefully yanked him inside.

  Her head popped out again. "You too, Kenta. Stop daydreaming... Hurry up!"

  "I don't know, this is a bit too mu-"

  And just like that, Kenta was dragged inside too.

  They sat in a row with Tira right in the middle. She smacked the 'Shot now' button on the hologram UI floating in front of them. A 10-second countdown started ticking.

  "Hey, give me your biggest smiles and do something dramatic," Tira ordered.

  Rondo and Kenta just stood stiffly, offering wide, goofy grins. Right as the timer hit the 3-second mark, Tira viciously pinched both of their cheeks. The camera flashed, perfectly capturing their pained expressions.

  [Photo successfully captured! Please check your Orla to view the result.]

  Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

  Tira immediately checked her Orla and tapped the gallery menu. She busted out laughing at the picture. Annoyed, Kenta quickly hit the 'Shot now' button himself.

  "Hehe, gotcha," Kenta muttered. The moment the timer started, he tickled Tira's sides without mercy, making her burst into genuine laughter, her body jolting upward just as the shutter clicked.

  His revenge was a success, judging by the photo now saved in his Orla. Tira, seeing her own face, was fuming. "You...! Delete that right now!"

  Kenta just stuck his tongue out at her. Tira lunged at him, trying to snatch his Orla, but Kenta kept dodging her frantic grabs.

  Meanwhile, Rondo smiled slyly, watching the two of them wrestle in the background. He quickly pressed the 'Shot now' button. Giving a wide grin, he threw up a thumbs-up right as the camera went off, perfectly framing Tira and Kenta fighting behind him. The sound of the shutter made both of them snap their heads toward Rondo, glaring.

  "Traitor!" they yelled at the exact same time.

  The three of them kept messing around in the booth, making an absolute racket. From the outside, it sounded like a bunch of cats fighting, startling any Nexhile students passing by the area.

  They wrapped up the session with one final photo: the three of them smiling brightly, arms wrapped around each other. They ended up taking around 30 photos total. They each kept about 10 on their Orlas, swapping their favorites with one another.

  When they finally stepped outside, they were panting and covered in sweat, like they had just run a 10k marathon.

  "S-so... where to next?" Rondo asked between breaths.

  "How about we hit up the arcade and play some retro games?" Kenta suggested eagerly.

  Tira shook her head. "Boring. Who still plays old games?"

  "Oh, what about the movies? There's got to be a theater near here," Rondo said with a smile.

  Tira shook her head again and sighed. "Movies these days are dull. The stories are all bland and totally predictable."

  "Then... where do you want to go?" Kenta asked, raising an eyebrow.

  They soon found themselves standing in front of a wooden gate with a sign that read: 'Meditation District'.

  Kenta stared blankly ahead. "Meditation? You've gotta be kidding me..."

  "Yeah, yeah. Do whatever you guys want. As for me, I'm going to get some relaxation," Tira replied, already walking toward the side of the building.

  "Tira, where are you going?" Rondo called out.

  "The guys and girls have separate rooms. Don't tell me you wanted to peek? Perverts!" she yelled back. She disappeared through a side door, leaving Rondo and Kenta behind.

  Rondo looked at Kenta. "Now what?"

  "Well... might as well give it a try. Who knows, maybe it really is relaxing."

  Rondo and Kenta opened the front doors and headed inside. They walked until they reached a massive, clear-water bath, thick steam rising from the surface. A bunch of other students were already inside, relaxing shirtless in the water.

  Not wanting to miss out, Rondo and Kenta stripped off their clothes in the locker room and jumped right in. They leaned back against the smooth rocks at the edge of the pool.

  "Huahh... it's so warm..." Rondo sighed, looking up at the twilight sky above them.

  "Hey, I've been meaning to ask. You... said you were a scrap metal dealer, right? What did you normally do before getting into this school?" Kenta asked.

  "Yeah, you heard right. But I wasn't the dealer. I was the scavenger. Before coming here, I just scavenged scrap metal and sold it to the local dealers. That was the only way I could make any cash," Rondo explained.

  "Let me guess, you were pretty nervous during the introductions this morning, weren't you? Ahaha, plus you were late."

  "Ehehe, I was pretty embarrassed this morning, yeah. What about you? What was your life like before Nexhile School?"

  Kenta scratched his chin. "Hmm... before this, I was just selling bread during the summer. I don't know, this tall guy showed up, started talking about my potential, and offered me a free ride at this school. I asked my mom, and she said it was fine as long as it wasn't a scam. The next day, a tall man in a black suit and sunglasses picked me up in a car. He brought me a black suit and this school uniform."

  Rondo's eyes widened. "Was that guy's name... Jay?"

  Kenta shrugged. "No idea, honestly."

  "That's exactly what happened to m-"

  [1 New Message!]

  Rondo immediately opened his Orla UI.

  [Chantira Ploy]

  Hey, I already went home with my desk mate.

  Sorry for leaving you guys behind.

  [Sent a photo of Tira's friend. Her face is partially hidden behind her hand.]

  She's feeling shy, hahaha.

  "Wait, that's the girl from this morning," Rondo muttered.

  [Rondo Ernias]

  Hahaha, alright.

  I can head back with Kenta.

  Kenta peeked over at Rondo's Orla UI. Rondo glanced to his right and caught him looking.

  Kenta's face flushed beet red the moment he saw the picture of Tira's friend in the message.

  Rondo frowned. "Why... is your face turning red?"

  "Oh, it's nothing. I'm just getting a bit too hot," Kenta deflected with an awkward smile.

  "That's Tira's desk mate from this morning. Weird how you're suddenly acting like this," Rondo teased.

  Kenta was stunned. "Tira's desk mate from this morning?! But she was wearing glasses then. Why does she look so different here? She looks so much more..." Kenta abruptly slapped a hand over his mouth.

  Rondo tilted his head slightly. "More...?"

  "Ah, forget it, we should just go home," Kenta said, quickly scrambling out of the hot springs.

  The two of them dried off, got dressed in full, and stepped out of the locker room.

  Rondo stared at a small wooden sign that read: Meditation class. Every Sunday at 5 a.m. Affordable price, amazing results for your body! Come join us

  "Meditation class?"

  Kenta threw an arm around Rondo's shoulder. "Come on, let's go home."

  Rondo and Kenta walked out of the building and kept walking until they reached a neat row of small houses.

  "I'm in the block all the way down there. Still got a bit of a walk. You're in this plain house, right?" Kenta asked.

  "Yeah, I haven't gotten around to decorating it yet. But anyway, thanks for today."

  Kenta patted Rondo on the back. "Alright, see you in class tomorrow."

  Rondo looked up at the pitch-black sky, lit only by the moon. He let out a long, relieved sigh and stepped inside his house.

  Inside, he caught a whiff of his own armpits. "Ew, geez, that reeks. Maybe Theo was right. I definitely need to wash these clothes tomorrow."

  Rondo swapped his school uniform for a set of pajamas and quickly fell fast asleep.

  ---

  *Beep! Beep! Beep!

  Rondo's eyes shot open. He bolted upright, his eyes bulging in panic.

  "Crap! Am I late again?!"