I Didn't Want This Kind Of High Teen Possession (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 17

For a moment, a heavy silence fell between Adrian and me. “Huh… Huh? What did you say?” Adrian looked at me, bewildered. And from his gaze, I gradually realized the outrageous thing I’d just blurted out. “Oh, that—that thing I just said…” Adrian slowly averted his eyes, which had been fixed intently on my face, and turned away from my gaze. I was so shocked by my own blunder that I couldn’t utter a word. Instead, my mind raced frantically. What on earth had I just said? ‘What kind of ridiculous situation is this? Why did I just blurt out something so embarrassingly cringey like some high school drama heroine…?’ Thinking about kissing? I’d never had such thoughts! All I’d ever felt was disgust toward people who constantly made others uncomfortable by shamelessly swapping oral epithelial cells all day! More than anything, I was mortified—because I suddenly felt like one of those shameless girls who flirt with their own teammates. How was I supposed to fix this? Should I just blame it on still being half-asleep…? While I stood there, pale-faced and sweating coldly from sheer embarrassment, Adrian glanced past my shoulder and then nodded as if he’d suddenly understood something. “You meant Michael and Sandy, right?” “Huh?” “I figured you said that because those two were acting like that right next to you. I just noticed them too. Those two are always getting overly affectionate in all sorts of places.” I glanced behind me at Adrian’s words and saw Michael and Sandy still clinging to each other, cooing sickeningly sweet nonsense. Those shameless pests. Adrian spoke gently, as if to reassure me. “They’re infamous for doing that anywhere, anytime. Were you startled because of them?” “Uh… yeah, a little…” “Let’s go then. I’ll walk you to class.” I trailed after Adrian as he abruptly turned and headed toward the classroom, my racing heart slowly calming down. ‘If it’d been McQueen, he’d have teased me endlessly about what the hell I’d just said. Thank goodness it was Adrian.’ It was lucky—really lucky—that I’d blurted out that nonsense in front of Adrian rather than Victor. Adrian pretended not to notice my slip-up, saving me from any further embarrassment. Perhaps because my mind was so muddled, I ended up walking side by side with Adrian to the classroom door—even though both he and Victor were the kind of popular guys I usually tried to avoid at school. I hesitantly opened my mouth. “Thanks. You really didn’t have to walk me all the way. You should head in too.” “Alright. Pay attention in class, Juno. See you after school.” Thankfully, for once, the hallway was empty. I waved quickly at Adrian, opened the classroom door, and slipped inside in a hurry. ‘Why do I always end up showing this side of myself only to Adrian?’ Last time, too, he’d caught me sitting in a tree outside the gym, using my skill. I shook my head sharply, trying to push away the mortifying thoughts. Just as I was about to find my seat and sit down— No wonder the hallway had been empty; a group of students had gathered near the front of the classroom, chattering excitedly. Had some kind of incident happened? I set my bag down on my desk and crept quietly toward them. “Whoa, this is insane. Is this an Awakened?” “Dude, is this CG? Where’s this from? Is it from YouTube or something?” Their voices brimmed with excitement as they chattered noisily. I slipped behind the tightly packed group. They were watching a video together on a tablet PC. It was a news broadcast dated that very day. [At approximately 3:30 a.m. today, a Class-D Gate opened in the skies above Manhattan, New York. After evacuating civilians from the densely populated residential area, the U.S. military, in cooperation with the Tieson Boarding School Dungeon Team, successfully suppressed the incident. From civilian evacuation to Gate entry and complete suppression took less than an hour…] The anchor on the tablet calmly delivered the breaking news. A high school dungeon team, working alongside the U.S. military, had swiftly neutralized a Gate that opened over Manhattan in the early hours of the morning. The media and Manhattan residents were reportedly moved by their rapid response. ‘Ah, right—the first official deployment of a high school dungeon team was that New York school.’ According to Mr. Benjamin, that team, too, was an elite squad composed entirely of high-tier Awakened students. It was said the New York team had already closed Gates three times, including this latest incident. “It’s New York again. Isn’t this already their third Gate?” “Anyway, that’s definitely Tieson, right? The super expensive boarding school.” The students watching the news together murmured among themselves. My expression, as I stared at the news through the throng of people, was clearly unimpressed. ‘Ugh, at this rate, they’re going to steal all the bonus points. We’ve only had one measly Gate open here…’ While I glared blankly at the screen, the news broadcast cut to a video clip seemingly filmed by a civilian witness. The footage showed ordinary citizens rapidly evacuating due to the Gate opening in the sky. Through a shaky, blurred perspective, soldiers in green uniforms were visible. And standing among them was a boy in school uniform. A white shirt and navy-blue blazer. The person filming zoomed in recklessly on the lone figure standing amidst the soldiers. Then, the boy turned toward the camera. ‘Huh?’ Although the video had been recorded in the early hours of the morning, nearby lighting illuminated his face clearly. Jet-black hair softly swept across his pale face. Harsh flashlight beams caught his unusually light green eyes and preserved them vividly on screen. Despite the bright light, his expression remained utterly blank—cold, unreadable, and piercing as he stared straight into the camera. The moment I recognized his face, I couldn’t believe my eyes. “…Why is he there?” And the instant I muttered that in stunned disbelief, a bright blue window popped up right before me. “Ah…!” I jumped back in shock. It was the first time since helping Adrian and Victor that a status window had appeared so abruptly. I calmly stepped back a few paces and read the message on the status window. [~The Possessor of a Teen Drama~] [System: The ‘Possessor’ can preview dungeon information within their active region.] ‘Dungeon information? All of a sudden?’ The moment I scanned the message, the screen automatically switched. The next window displayed even more detailed text. [Active Region of the ‘Possessor’: State of Connecticut. A Class-D dungeon will open in Connecticut. The ‘Possessor’ may clear this Class-D dungeon with their party.] [Time remaining until the Class-D dungeon Gate opens in Connecticut: D-7 days.] [This is the timeline separator] In this teen-drama-centered world, the intrusion of “dungeons” and “status windows” had occurred barely a few months ago. America responded to this sudden upheaval by pouring massive capital into the crisis, collaborating closely with defense contractors and the military to navigate this transitional period. Yet, all of this was merely human response. Dungeons themselves remained an enigmatic realm beyond human control. For now, at least. Though efforts were underway to prepare using dungeon byproducts and data collected globally, according to Mr. Benjamin, the exact timing and location of future Gates—such as “which state, at what tier, and when”—remained entirely unpredictable. Aside from the “Dungeon Tier Measuring Device,” every other invention was still an experimental beta version urgently needing testing. Yet this status window had courteously informed me exactly when and at what tier a Gate would open—but only within Connecticut. This was information even the U.S. government and military command, despite their astronomical spending, did not possess. ‘Is this yet another special privilege for being a “Possessor”?’ It even went so far as to kindly notify me a dungeon would open in a week—so I wouldn’t have to sit around twiddling my thumbs in suspense, I suppose. “A Class-D dungeon in a week.” I double-checked the status window message that had just appeared. This screen, too, was labeled [1/2]. Switching to page two revealed even more granular details. [SYSTEM: In 7 days, a Gate will open above Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, Connecticut. Dungeon Tier: Class-D. Dungeon Rewards: Class-D melee weapon and mana crystals. Clearing the Class-D dungeon will grant rewards.] “A Class-D, huh? Not bad for a first dungeon.” During a quiet lunch period, I finished my meal with a sandwich in the cafeteria, then lay down on a hillside overlooking the football field. Just a short hike up from where Victor had parked his car that morning, this secluded wooded spot offered solitude and peace. Ah, but of course, don’t worry about the grass. Thanks to the conventions of beautiful American teen dramas, lying in a grassy field won’t expose you to scrub typhus or creepy crawlies. My health is perfectly fine, thank you very much. I reclined at a comfortable angle in a shaded spot, gazing down at the field, then closed the status window floating before my eyes. Honestly, I wasn’t worried about a Class-D dungeon. Although none of us had real field experience, there were two high-tier Awakened students—including myself—and both Mr. Benjamin and Ms. Jina had agreed to join us inside. Of course, I wasn’t about to get overconfident; once I got home, I’d simply review all the data on the Class-D dungeons Tieson Boarding School had already cleared. ‘Speaking of Tieson…’ I immediately pulled out my phone and connected to the internet. Searching for “Tieson Boarding School, New York” immediately flooded my screen with articles about their “High School Dungeon Team.” Naturally—they were the very first officially active high school team, so media attention was inevitable. I quickly skimmed through the articles. After skipping past several fluff pieces, I spotted lively discussions about the incident on social media. Most posts were just gossip and speculation about the breaking news from that day. Among them, I found a mention from someone claiming to know “Student A,” who had apparently played a key role in suppressing the Manhattan Gate earlier that morning. —Same school. Ever since the first Gate opened, they’ve separated dorms into Awakened and non-Awakened. I think he’s ranked the highest. —An ability-based school for Awakened students. LOL. —It’s not about ability; it’s about the dungeon team. Technically, it’s efficiency-based. —Do you know his exact tier? —All I know is he’s the highest—so high even the military treats him with kid gloves. —Other schools count C-tier as “high-tier.” Does that mean he’s at least B-tier? —If even soldiers tread carefully around him, B-tier’s probably too low. I’m B-tier myself. —Can you prove it? —Wanna meet up and show off your skills? On social media, people were desperately trying to deduce the mysterious Student A’s tier based solely on his brief appearance in the news. Rumors had already spread that Student A was so high-tier he was considered on par with military personnel. In the next post, an eyewitness account appeared—from someone who’d been in Manhattan during the early-morning evacuation. A photo and a two-minute video were also uploaded. I slowly scrolled down and examined the photo the user had posted. My scrolling came to a sudden halt. There he was—a boy in school uniform, standing tall among the soldiers. I pinched the screen to zoom in, and his face became even clearer. Though slightly out of focus, his striking beauty pierced through the low resolution, drawing a soft sigh from me. Earlier in class, when I’d seen him on the tablet, I’d wondered if I’d imagined it… “Ugh… it really is him.” I narrowed my eyes and muttered under my breath. “Alan.” Pale skin, raven-black hair, and mysterious green eyes that brought to mind the color of jade. He was Alan Jade—my childhood neighbor and same-age friend from when I was little, Juno.

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