Heaven Defying System

Chapter 3: I Ate a Nut

"This is awkward."

Zevian scratched his cheek as he stared at the beautiful woman standing before him.

She had just asked whether he truly didn't remember her.

Judging from the slight twitch of her eyebrow, his answer had apparently been the wrong one.

"I'm Seraphina Sinclair."

"Oh."

Seraphina waited.

Zevian waited too.

Several students nearby nearly stumbled.

That was it?

Seraphina Sinclair was one of Auremont University's famous Three Campus Goddesses.

Whether it was her appearance, academic performance, or family background, she stood far above most students. Countless men had tried getting close to her, and even wealthy heirs couldn't easily earn more than a polite greeting.

Yet this fellow had responded with...

"Oh."

Seraphina's eyes narrowed.

"That's all?"

Zevian became confused.

"What else am I supposed to say?"

"...Never mind."

She examined his face carefully.

Zevian allowed her to stare.

After several seconds, Seraphina asked, "You're Zevian Rook, correct? Second year?"

"Last time I checked."

"And you're a scholarship student?"

"Still am."

Her gaze moved over him again.

"You've changed."

Zevian nodded.

"I ate a nut."

Seraphina stared at him.

Behind her, someone coughed.

"What?"

"A nut," Zevian repeated.

She clearly didn't believe him.

"You're quite different from what I expected."

"People keep saying things like that today."

A faint smile appeared on Seraphina's lips.

"I see."

She glanced at the time on her phone.

"I have somewhere to be."

"Alright."

"I'll find you again."

Zevian frowned.

"Why?"

Seraphina was already walking away.

He watched her disappear into the crowd.

"System."

[What?]

"Do you know what that was about?"

[No.]

"Useless."

[HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW WHAT A RANDOM WOMAN WANTS?!]

Zevian shrugged.

"Fair point."

What Zevian didn't notice was that dozens of students had witnessed the entire exchange.

And unlike him, they cared very much.

Less than fifteen minutes later, a message appeared in one of Auremont's student group chats.

[Goddess Sinclair personally approached a mysterious handsome guy near the main academic building!]

A reply came immediately.

[Who?!]

[Apparently his name is Zevian Rook.]

[Who the hell is Zevian Rook?]

Another student responded.

[Second-year scholarship student. Quiet guy. Thick glasses.]

[Are you blind? That guy wasn't wearing glasses.]

[I KNOW WHAT I SAW!]

By the time Zevian reached his classroom, the story had already changed.

"That's him!"

"I heard Sinclair went looking for him."

"No, I heard they met privately yesterday."

"My roommate said she asked him out."

"That's bullshit."

"I heard he rejected her."

"WHAT?!"

Zevian stopped outside the classroom.

He looked behind himself.

Nobody.

He entered.

The whispers stopped.

Twenty pairs of eyes followed him.

Zevian walked toward his usual seat.

Before he could reach it, the lecturer at the front frowned.

"Excuse me."

Zevian stopped.

"Yes?"

"Are you in the correct classroom?"

"Yes."

"This is second-year Economics."

"I know."

The lecturer adjusted the papers in her hand.

"Then may I ask who you are?"

Zevian stared at her.

"Zevian Rook."

Silence.

Someone dropped a pen.

The lecturer blinked.

"Who?"

"Zevian Rook."

A student near the window suddenly leaned forward.

"No fucking way."

Another stood up.

"Rook?"

Zevian sighed.

"Morning."

The classroom erupted.

"What happened to your glasses?!"

"Is that really you?"

"Since when did you look like that?"

"Did you get surgery over the weekend?!"

"How do you get surgery on your entire body?!"

A male student stared at Zevian's shoulders.

"Bro, what happened to you?"

Zevian considered the question.

"I ate a nut."

The classroom became quiet again.

Someone at the back muttered, "Is that some kind of new supplement?"

Zevian sat down.

"Something like that."

Within minutes, several students were searching online for miracle nuts.

None of them found what they were looking for.

The rest of the morning wasn't much better.

Girls who had barely noticed Zevian before suddenly found reasons to speak to him. A few classmates who previously considered him timid kept staring as though trying to reconcile the quiet bespectacled scholarship student they knew with the man sitting before them.

Zevian found the whole thing troublesome.

When classes finally ended, he escaped.

Unfortunately, Miles was waiting outside.

"Zev!"

Zevian looked at him.

Miles grinned.

"Gym."

"No."

"Gym."

"I'm hungry."

"I'll buy lunch."

Zevian stopped.

"Let's go."

Miles' smile disappeared.

"That worked too easily."

Twenty minutes later, they were inside Auremont's fitness center.

Miles folded his arms.

"I need to know."

"Know what?"

"Whether those muscles are decorative."

Zevian looked down at himself.

"They came free."

"Exactly why I'm suspicious."

Miles led him toward a bench press.

"Try this."

Zevian lay down.

The weight wasn't particularly impressive, but before yesterday he would have struggled with it.

He pushed.

The bar rose effortlessly.

Zevian blinked.

Miles blinked too.

"Again."

Zevian completed several repetitions.

Miles added weight.

Zevian continued.

More weight.

Still manageable.

Eventually, Miles stopped smiling.

"Zev."

"Hm?"

"What the hell was in that nut?"

"I told you. I don't know."

Miles looked at the loaded bar.

Then at Zevian.

"Do you think it works on fat?"

"Probably."

Hope appeared in Miles' eyes.

"Ask your supplier."

"My supplier is temperamental."

[WHO ARE YOU CALLING TEMPERAMENTAL?!]

Zevian almost laughed.

Miles misunderstood his expression.

"You're hiding something."

"I'm not."

"You smiled."

"I'm happy."

"You're never happy in a gym."

"Good point."

After leaving, Zevian quietly tested a few more things.

His balance was better.

His reactions were considerably faster.

His hearing had become sharper.

Even after exercising, his breathing returned to normal unusually quickly.

He finally understood why the System called it reconstruction.

It hadn't simply made him handsome.

It had rebuilt him.

'Perfect Mortal Foundation...'

Zevian glanced at the translucent screen only he could see.

Whatever that meant, he couldn't complain about the result.

Well...

He could.

"System."

[What now?]

"Still no webs?"

[NO!]

"Shame."

Meanwhile, on the other side of campus, Darren Kessler was lounging in a private student club room with several friends.

His phone rested on the table while one of his companions talked about the latest campus gossip.

Darren wasn't paying much attention.

Until a familiar name came up.

"...Sinclair."

Darren looked up.

"What about her?"

The young man hesitated.

"You haven't heard?"

Darren's expression changed.

"Heard what?"

"Someone saw Goddess Sinclair looking for a guy this morning."

Darren sat straighter.

"What guy?"

"A second-year student."

"Name."

The young man swallowed.

"Zevian Rook."

Darren frowned.

The name meant nothing to him.

"Who the hell is Zevian Rook?"

"A scholarship student. No family background worth mentioning."

Darren relaxed slightly.

Then his friend continued.

"But people are saying Goddess Sinclair approached him personally. Some are even saying..."

"Saying what?"

"That she likes him."

The room became quiet.

Darren's face slowly darkened.

"Find him."