The orientation finally wrapped up mid-day and it lasted all morning. My legs ached from standing and walking for hours, and my brain felt like it had been stuffed with maps and rules until there was no room left for anything else.
The staff member leading us through the school ended the session with a cheerful, "That's everything for today. Don't forget classes begin tomorrow. Be on time!"
Everyone else drifted off in small groups, chatting like they'd already known each other for weeks. I lingered, letting the crowd thin before I slipped toward the exit. Maybe if I kept my head down, the whispers would stop.
Because they'd been there all day.
At first, just quick glances. Then muttered words I wasn't supposed to catch except they wanted me to hear them.
"Is she really just a Level Two?"
"She must've paid her way in."
"Figures. No wonder she disappeared for a week."
Their voices didn't affect me at first but soon if it continued, I knew it would. Each one twisted tighter around me. Why is this such a big deal? Isn't Level Two good? Back home or at least in the anime and manga I used to devour having powers at all would've made you special.
But here, it just made me anything but special.
I quickened my pace, desperate to get away from the weight of their stares. That was when three figures stepped into my path.
The girl in front had short hair that framed her face, sharp eyes, and a presence that demanded attention. She folded her arms and tilted her head at me with practiced ease.
"So. You're the famous no show."
Her confidence made my stomach clench. She didn't even need to tell me her Level. I already knew she was stronger.
Behind her stood two more. The taller girl, wiry and twitchy, smirked like she was already enjoying the show. The other, a shorter girl with black hair cropped at her chin, said nothing, but her stare was no less cutting.
The leader gave a mocking smile, almost polite.
"Let me introduce us. I'm Kanzaki Reika, Level Four. These are my friends Tachibana Kaede and Sakurai Mei. Level Three and Level Three. You can probably guess why we're here."
My throat went dry.
Kaede, the taller one, stepped forward first, rolling her shoulders like a boxer warming up. "We don't like freeloaders. People figured you must be some monster esper who didn't need to attend. But then we looked it up." His grin widened. "Level Two. Pathetic."
The word hit harder than I wanted to admit.
Before I could say anything, she lunged. Her fist glowed faintly, a shimmer of heat radiating from it. I panicked, shut my eyes tight, bracing for the pain.
But nothing came, only the slight feel of something grazing me.
When I cracked my eyes open, Kaede was on one knee, clutching his hand. Confusion flashing across his face.
My breath caught. Did I do that?
The thought barely formed before Reika's boot slammed into my stomach i dont think she even used her ability, but it already felt like a truck. The air whooshed out of me in a single gasp as I collapsed to the floor. Pain shot through my ribs.
Mei moved next. She didn't hesitate, didn't even sneer, just drove her heel into my side, sharp and precise. The impact rattled through me.
I tried to crawl back, to push myself up, but Reika was already crouching down to my level, eyes gleaming with cold amusement.
"Level Two. Figures. You've got nothing. Just a weakling pretending to be strong."
Her words dug deeper than the blows.
The crowd that had gathered didn't cheer, didn't laugh. They just watched. Dozens of eyes, blank and detached, as if this was nothing unusual. Their silence was worse than jeers it meant I didn't matter enough to mock.
The beating didn't last long there wasn't enough time for any teachers or adults to intervene, but it felt endless. By the time Reika and her group turned their backs, my body was trembling, weak, humiliated.
I forced myself upright, every movement sparking pain. Around me, the crowd was already dispersing, their whispers drifting like smoke.
"So, she's nothing special after all."
"Guess we can stop wondering about her."
"Level Two… What a joke."
The words carved themselves into me.
I limped toward the dorms, keeping my eyes on the ground, heat pricking at the corners of my eyes. I wanted to cry, I wanted to, but I clenched my jaw until it hurt.
I was a mid-twenties office worker. And here I am, almost crying because middle schoolers beat me up. Nothing's changed. still humiliated, still at the bottom. This isn't the isekai I dreamed of where I'm the strongest. It's just another life where I don't belong.
The dorm doors closed behind me, muffling the noise of the world outside. For a moment, I stood there, hugging myself, shaking.
"I learned a valuable lesson today at least if your not a high level esper here your nothing "
And then another thought crept in, "what was the originally haru thinking when skipped school".