Lian had spent the past month in a relentless cycle, moving between classes and business meetings without pause. Even during the semester break, he stayed on campus while most students went home.
A month has already passed.
On his way to Class D, he ran into Hazy.
She looked him over for a moment before speaking.
"I really didn't expect you to walk away like nothing happened," she said.
"I thought you'd at least be a little depressed. If it were me, it would've taken weeks to feel normal again." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "But you… you look like you don't even care."
She exhaled, almost annoyed.
"I guess I worried about you for nothing."
Lian shrugged, a faintly indifferent look on his face. "I guess that's the difference between you and me."
Hazy tilted her head. "What difference?"
"I'm just more selfish."
She blinked. "Selfish?"
"You do things to be seen," Lian said calmly. "You work hard to prove your parents wrong. To prove everyone wrong. You care about external stuff like reputation—how the world views you. While I only think about myself"
"Oh really?" she challenged.
"I don't think about any of that" he replied. "I just do what I want. Regardless of consequences or how it affects my image."
Hazy looked at him annoyed.
"Still acting like you're better than me as always."
His tone remained even. "I'm not saying one is better than the other. It's just two sides of the same coin. Suit yourself with whatever motivates you to grow."
She narrowed her eyes slightly. "Why are you suddenly acting all wise and grown up?"
"That's because I am wise." Lian said with with a arrogant smirk.
"Yeah, sure." She waved him off. "I'm getting late for class."
"Alright. See you around."
As Lian headed toward Class D, his expression slowly settled into something more thoughtful.
His mind drifted back to what had happened last week.
It was an ordinary day—at least, it started that way.
Then Lian received a call from home.
His parents wanted him to attend some party, celebration, whatever. His younger sister had been admitted into Red Line Sovereign Academy, Class A.
He already knew it would be a headache—A polished gathering where people smiled too much and silently measured status.
So there he was, riding public transport back home from the academy, sitting quietly by the window.
Outside, the scenery blurred past, but his mind stayed stuck on his current situation. No company contracts. No licenses. Flat broke. Demoted to Class D.
Pretty much the lowest point he'd hit so far.
Things weren't exactly going well.
Yet his face stayed the same as always, calm and detached, like none of it mattered.
Lian kept staring out the window, lost in thought.
A couple hours later the train stopped at station.
He was walking toward his house. Along the way, he passed several massive luxurious homes belonging to high-ranking military officials.
Lian glanced at them quietly.
"No wonder everyone aims for higher military positions," he muttered to himself.
It was the same path his parents had always pushed him toward.
He walked on.
He arrived home not long after.
The house was large—not flashy, but quietly important. His parents held high-ranking government positions, although it doesn't pay as much as military its still enough to live comfortably.
Lian stepped inside.
"I'm back," he called out, already heading upstairs.
He went straight to his room, dropped his bag onto the bed, and glanced around.
It was the original Lian's room.
The shelf is filled with old remote-control cars. Paper-folded dinosaurs. A jet plane made from cardboard. And a half built robot with wires coming from it. All of them which he made as a kid.
There was an old gaming console under the TV, and a study desk with electronics parts with messy wires on it.
Lian stared for a moment, then a small, genuine smile appeared.
"Damn. This guy really was just like me," he murmured.
He walked closer to the shelf, picking up one of the handmade cars.
"I used to have the same stuff in my room."
He paused.
"Who am I kidding… we are the same person."
Before he could sink further into it, his mother's voice echoed from downstairs, sharp and impatient, calling his name.
Lian's smile faded instantly.
"Here we go again," he sighed.
Lian walked downstairs.
His father sat stiffly in a wooden chair, newspaper folded neatly in his lap. His mother was on the sofa, Lian's report card resting in her hands.
The atmosphere felt suffocating.
His mother looked up first. "How did you manage to fail almost every subject?" she asked, her voice sharp enough to cut.
Lian didn't answer. He just stood there.
His father slowly lowered the newspaper, eyes cold.
"You're a failure," his father said coldly. "Look at your sister. Class A. And you? Class D."
"We had expectations," his mother added. "You turned out to be a disappointment."
"Did you forget your duty?" his father asked.
The fuck you mean Duty? I'm barely fourteen Lian thought, staring at the floor.
But out loud, he only said, "No. I didn't."
Aren't people my age supposed to be playing and having fun? Why are the countries in this world preparing them for wars and shit? although Lian didn't care, it still felt odd compared to his previous world which has age limits, consent, regulations… rules that at least drew a line.
His mother added "And all you do is waste time. Video games, stupid hobbies, useless distractions." Her eyes narrowed. "If you keep behaving like this, you won't have any future."
More followed. One insult after another.
Lian didn't fight back or argue.
He just stood there, tried to put a sad pitiful face but he really suck at acting so he stared at floor instead.
And the lecture didn't stop.
It dragged on for nearly an hour.
By the time it finally ended, Lian quietly walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge, reaching for a bottle of water like nothing happened.
At the dining table nearby, his older brother sat casually eating ice cream.
He glanced at Lian.
"Damn," his brother said. "That was almost an hour. I could hear it from the other side of the house."
Lian twisted the cap off the bottle. "Yeah."
His brother hesitated, then added, softer, "Don't be upset."
Lian took a sip. "You know I don't care about this stuff as much as you think I do."
His brother gave him a sideways look. Not mocking or pitying.
"I know," he said in a softer tone. "You'll probably get back to Class C… maybe even Class B next semester."
He leaned back in his chair.
"You still have more potential than me. I didn't even get into the military track. I'm stuck in medical department."
He paused.
"You can use academy resources, advance to Sequence 3, and get a decent military position. Even Sequence 2 would be enough to make it big."
There was no jealousy in his voice.
Lian glanced at his older brother and sighed.
"Whatever, man. I'm not in the mood to hear any more of this career crap."
He opened the fridge again, looking for something.
"Is there any more ice cream left? I can't find it."
His brother just took another spoonful.
"Too bad," he said. "I ate yours too. I figured you wouldn't be in the mood to eat after that whole lecture."
He lifted a hand quickly. "Don't be mad. There'll be more at tonight's party."
Lian stared at him. "Is that why you're acting all cheerful?"
His brother shrugged.
"Anyway, I'm going. I've got stuff to do unlike you." He stood up, stretching. "I'm busy preparing everything for the party, so be grateful I even found time to motivate you instead of just asking why I ate your snacks."
Lian couldn't help but laugh.
"Yeah, alright, Guess I'll just go buy something to eat."
His brother replied. "Just come back before 7 PM."
"Okay."
Lian returned after an hour.
The party had already started.
Voices filled the house. Laughter. Polite applause.
The living room was crowded, guests dressed sharply, congratulating his sister one after another. She stood at the center, smiling brightly, receiving praise proudly.
An elderly couple stood in front of his sister, smiling warmly.
"Getting into Red Line on your first attempt—and straight into Class A," the woman said proudly. "That's exceptional."
"You'll rise quickly in the military if you keep this up," the man added. "The path is wide open for you now."
His sister nodded politely, thanking them with practiced grace.
The cycle repeated. Compliments. Predictions of future ranks. Giving advice about her career trajectory.
Meanwhile, a few people eventually turned their attention to Lian.
"So, how are you doing at the academy?" someone asked.
But the moment they found out he was in Class D, their expressions shifted, subtle but obvious. Their tone stayed polite, but the interest drained out of their eyes.
One of them said, "You are still in second year just focus on improvement."
"Work hard," another added. "Make your parents proud."
On the surface, it was encouragement. Underneath, it was quiet rejection.
Not long after, his parents pulled him aside.
"Do you see what you've done?" his mother whispered sharply.
His father's voice was low but tense. "You've ruined our reputation."
"They barely look at your sister's achievement," his mother added. "Your failure stands out more."
"Negatives always echoed louder than positives."
Lian didn't respond. He just stood there, silent, letting the words wash over him like cold water.
Inside, though, his thoughts were calm.
People care too much about reputation and end up doing nothing with their life.
Reputation is a form of power, but most people wear it like a collar instead. It is a tool meant to be shaped, spent, or discarded depending on the situation. But Society treats reputation as identity and self worth combined, which is exact point it becomes the chains that binds and restricts us.
Lian understands that reputation only has value when others believe in it.
Those who protect their reputation at all costs are controlled by it, while those who are willing to ruin it can reshape outcomes. Power isn't being praised by the world, it's being able to act freely even when the world condemns you.
But in Lian's current position, reputation had little to no value.
At the academy, it didn't matter what people thought of him. Advancement depended on results, strength, and intelligence. Nothing else.
The military was different. Reputation mattered there. Climbing ranks required trust, loyalty, and connections, not just raw power. Strength could open doors, but reputation decided who was allowed to walk through them.
Lian understood that clearly.
He was someone who stayed true to himself. If he wanted to do something, he did it, regardless of how many people opposed him, or what consequences came after.
He'd already crossed lines most people wouldn't even think about.
He'd never cared what others thought of him, whether they liked him, hated him, or even wanted him dead.
Back when he was a hacker, he had made enemies. People who wouldn't hesitate to see him dead.
And Lian had survived anyway.
As long as he stayed stronger. Smarter. Two steps ahead to escape anything that is thrown at him.
--
Lian walked inside Class D after recalling everything happened over last month.
"well so much has happened over the past month, but the main thing is I am not broke anymore"
The day passed uneventfully with lectures and some boring shit.
Later, he headed to the library sitting in front of a computer.
He had been planning to upgrade his rune deck for months. The academy's public archives were too shallow with surface-level theory and recycled designs. If he wanted an edge, he needed something beyond civilian research.
So he went digging.
The world's digital systems were expanding faster than their security, and that gap was where people like him thrived. If it had been properly built, breaking in would've taken months. It took him less than a week.
He exploited a vulnerability of the cloud storage that military research division used.
The storage node was misconfigured—access controls were loose, and the network segmentation was weak enough that internal data was exposed beyond its intended scope.
Lian moved carefully.
He checked his route again, made sure nothing was pointing back to him, and kept an eye on traffic.
Then he found it.
Several folders with no encryption or any authentication layer. Just raw internal files sitting inside what was clearly a military storage node.
Prototypes of several combat and stealth runes belonging to Sequence 3 and Sequence 2. Even experimental bio weapons.
This is something a normal student shouldn't even have access to.
Lian didn't hesitate. He copied everything.
His gaze sharpened as the download started.
For a moment, he allowed himself to calculate the value. Not just academically. Strategically.
It got up to 74% then The screen flickered for half a second.
No error message or any disconnect notification. The network indicator still showed an active connection.
But the transfer had stopped.
Lian's heart skipped a beat. "Did someone catch the breach?"