📖 Level Up, Lila!
Chapter 4: The Transfer Student Who Broke My System
Word Count: ~3500
Tone: Mystery, banter, emotional build-up, light sci-fi-fantasy hybrid
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🏫 Setting: Tempest High – Orientation Hall
The auditorium was buzzing with excitement.
New semester. New upgrades. New PathTree reveals.
And one very new, very silent girl.
She stood at the edge of the crowd, arms folded, short black curls brushing her cheek. Her jacket said "Do not engage" in six stitched languages.
Lila's system flared the moment she looked at her.
> ⚠️ SCAN FAILED
🔒 PathTree: Unknown
🧭 Data Block Present – Tier III Obfuscation
📘 SYSTEM NOTE: "We recommend you do not attempt to teach or sync this individual until more data is available."
Lila: "...Challenge accepted."
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🌌 Introducing: Sol Aiven
She was officially registered as:
> Name: Sol Aiven
PathTree: REDACTED
Transfer Status: "Emergency Placement – Council-Approved Exception"
Combat License: ✦✦✦✦✦
Interaction Level: Minimal Recommended
Warning: Interference Patterns Detected
Lila approached her after everyone else scattered.
"You're the talk of the school. You know that, right?"
Sol turned, one brow raised. "Talking usually doesn't interest me."
"Cool. I'm Lila. I teach people how not to explode themselves. Or their feelings."
Sol hesitated. "I don't... usually talk to systems like you."
That made Lila pause.
"Like me?"
Sol's lips twitched, almost a smile. "You're bonded to an Adaptive Meta-Core. You glow when you learn. It's... loud."
> 📡 SYSTEM WARNING: "Subject Sol Aiven displays knowledge inconsistent with standard education trees. Proceed with caution."
Lila: "System, could you stop sounding like she's a cursed collectible card?"
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🔍 Anomaly One: The Glitching Hallway
The next day, Sol walked through Hall C, and everything flickered.
Lights pulsed. Lockers unlocked. Two battle-class boys fainted.
When Lila touched the wall near Sol's path, her own system shook like a bad signal.
> ⚠️ SYSTEM INTERRUPTION: "Reality-weave distortion in localized field.
Source: Unknown. Probability of Origin: 86% – Sol Aiven."
Note: "You are not authorized to debug this glitch."
Lila: "I'm not debugging it. I'm talking to it. Ever tried that?"
She chased Sol down at lunch.
"Okay. So. Are you a secret A.I.? Time traveler? Or just very dramatic?"
Sol sighed. "I was hoping to be normal here."
Lila blinked. "Girl, your shoes generated static math when you walked. There's no 'normal' after that."
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📘 Teaching Attempt – Rejected
"Let me try something," Lila said. "Just one Spark Note. Low-level stuff. Maybe your PathTree will unjam."
Sol frowned. "You want to teach me?"
Lila smiled. "That's kind of my thing."
Sol didn't move. "People who try usually end up afraid of what they see."
"Then I'll bring snacks and courage."
Sol stared at her, then nodded. "Fine. One minute."
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⌛️ Spark Note: Initiated
> Subject: "Self-Classification and Emotional Processing"
Target: Sol Aiven
STATUS: PENDING...
ERROR: SYSTEM FEEDBACK LOOP
⚠️ Warning: Subject contains multiple overlapping Paths. Classification conflict.
Do you wish to proceed?
→ YES
Lila's head spun.
For one terrifying second, she saw dozens of Trees—broken, branching, fused, abandoned.
A Tree of Silence. A Tree of Static. One that whispered in code. One that bled sound.
And in the middle of it all: Sol, curled up, holding a glowing seed of memory.
Then it was over.
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🧠 Aftershock
Lila collapsed. Nosebleed. Sparks in her vision.
Sol caught her. "I told you."
Lila wheezed, "You... have multiple Paths. That's not even supposed to be possible."
Sol looked away. "I was... part of an experiment. Before I was Sol. Before I chose my name."
Lila sat up, hand on her heart.
"You're a Living System Fragment."
Sol flinched.
"Please don't tell the Council."
Lila smiled, dazed. "I'm the last person they trust with secret data. Your truth's safe."
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🪢 Secret Bond – Not a Sync, Yet
> 📘 UNLOCKED: "Unclassified Empathy Channel – Lila ↔ Sol Aiven"
Skill Gained: "Fragment Echo (Lv 0)"
➤ Allows brief flashes of unstable code-emotion when near hybrid Path holders
➤ WARNING: May attract corrupted systems
> 🎓 Hidden Stat Discovered: "Hope Index"
Current Value: 2%
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🌠 The Ending Scene
Later that night, Sol found Lila in the library, asleep at her desk. She placed a small device beside her—a protective field generator tuned to Lila's heart signature.
"Your system is light," Sol whispered. "Mine was forged in error."
She turned to leave, pausing just once.
"I hope yours stays kind."
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🌳 End of Chapter 4 – Growth Summary
> 🌳 Polymath Hearttree – Level 5
XP: 140 / 200
🎯 New Skills:
Fragment Echo (Lv 0 – Passive)
Hope Index Stat Revealed
📘 Unofficial Link: Sol Aiven (Status: Partial Empathic Thread)
Secret Tree Unlock Progress: 2/3 Sync Links Complete
1 Hybrid Link (Locked)
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