I froze. The knocks repeated, slow and deliberate this time, as if whoever—or whatever—was out there already knew exactly how to get my attention. My pulse jumped.
"…Who is it?" I whispered, though no answer came.
I glanced at the system window hovering in front of me. Everything still glowed faintly blue, the interface calm, clinical, but now I could feel it humming with… anticipation? Like it was aware of the knocks too.
[Hint: Unknown entity detected at apartment entrance. Recommend caution.]
"Yeah, thanks for the tip, genius," I muttered. My hands shook slightly as I picked up the new storage key, twisting it nervously between my fingers.
Another knock. Slow. Polite. Curious, almost.
I took a deep breath. "Okay… calm… Adrian. Just calm."
I cracked the door open a tiny bit. And froze.
A girl stood there. Small, maybe slightly shorter than me, with two bright yellow strands of hair sticking up like horns on either side of her head. Her wings were folded neatly behind her back, feathers shimmering faintly. She looked… nervous. Curious. She wasn't threatening, just… cautious.
"Oh! Hi!" she said, waving awkwardly. "U-um… hi. I'm… I live on this floor. The landlord said a human moved in… so I thought I'd… say hello."
I blinked, speechless. She looked almost like a normal person, if it weren't for the wings and those little horn-like hair strands.
"Uh… hi," I finally managed. "I'm… Adrian. Just moved in."
She smiled shyly, shifting from one foot to the other. "I'm… uh… S-Sora. I didn't mean to bother you or anything, I just… wanted to be polite."
[System Update: New Partner Detected—Hybrid-Class Female.]
[Energy Alignment: Compatible.]
[Interaction Suggestion: Low-risk communication recommended.]
I stared at her, completely dumbfounded. The system was already tagging her as compatible, but she didn't know anything about that. She was just… a neighbor.
"Well, uh… thanks," I said, scratching the back of my neck. "I appreciate it. I didn't… expect anyone to notice."
Sora tilted her head slightly, wings twitching with a soft rustle. "Notice? Oh, no… I just… humans don't usually move in here. So I thought… maybe I should say hi."
I chuckled nervously. "Yeah… makes sense." My chest was still pounding. System alerts, purple energy humming faintly in my veins, and now a friendly, cheerful Harpy girl standing in front of me. My life had just gone from mundane to completely insane.
[Tip: Interaction may yield ally and energy benefits. Approach with curiosity.]
I swallowed hard, glancing at the system window again. It was silently encouraging me.
"Do you… want to come in?" I asked, a little awkwardly. "It's… messy, but…"
Sora's eyes lit up, and she took a small step closer. Then her expression faltered slightly. "Oh… I… I can't, actually. I have class soon. Maybe… another time?"
"Oh… okay," I said, feeling a little disappointed but understanding. "Yeah… sure. Another time."
Her wings fluttered gently as she stepped back. "Thanks for the invite though! I… I'll see you around!"
Before I could reply, she leapt into the air, wings spread wide, and lifted off smoothly. I watched her disappear down the corridor, leaving a faint trail of feather-soft rustling in her wake.
I closed the door slowly, leaning against it for a moment. My heart was still racing, but… that had been… surprisingly normal. Yes a normal neighbor… with wings.
Then, the system window blinked, sharp and insistent.
[New Notification: Partner Scan Available.]
[Would you like to perform a scan on a detected entity? Y/N]
I blinked at the prompt. My finger hovered over the confirmation, unsure. "Partner scan?" I muttered. "I… guess… why not."
[Yes]
A soft chime rang, and a translucent window unfolded in front of me. The system hummed faintly as it synchronized with the entity it had detected earlier.
[Registered Partner Detected.]
Name: Sora
Age: 19
Species: Harpy
Alignment: Neutral
Energy Type: Blue
Favourability: 34%
Likes: [Locked]
Dislikes: [Locked]
I frowned, staring at the floating data. The system wasn't showing any powers, just basic information: her age, species, alignment, and energy type. Her favourability toward me was… 34 percent? That seemed low. But then again, she'd only just met me, and she didn't even know about all of this.
Blue energy type… huh. That explained the faint shimmer I saw under her wings as she hovered away. Calm, steady, a different kind of flow than the purple energy buzzing faintly in my own veins.
I leaned back in my chair, studying the window. The likes and dislikes were locked, which meant the system couldn't yet determine what she enjoyed or didn't. Her abilities were locked too. Everything about her potential, her strengths, or her weaknesses—completely unknown.
I tapped the window, trying to make sense of it. "So… she's… a partner?" I muttered. "Even though she just met me."
[Tip: Favourability reflects initial perception and potential compatibility. Interaction may raise favourability.]
I exhaled slowly. That made sense, I guess. My first interaction with her was polite and casual, nothing invasive or strange. That probably explained the 34 percent. If I wanted to raise it… I'd need more interaction, more trust.
I stared at the window, my mind racing. Sora. A neighbor. A harpy. Blue energy. Neutral alignment. And… she'd just flown off to class like any normal teenager.
[Suggestion: Plan next encounter for natural interaction.]
I leaned back in my chair and ran a hand through my hair. "Okay… so she's officially… part of this. Somehow. I just… don't know when the next time I'll see her is."
A soft pulse from the system drew my attention back to the window. It blinked at me, almost expectant.
[Note: Partner potential unlocked. Monitor interactions for changes in favourability and energy alignment.]
I muttered under my breath, a mixture of awe and confusion, "Yeah… guess I better keep an eye on her."
Outside, the city shimmered faintly under the lingering glow of the moon. Cars hovered, lights flickered, and the faint hum of magic energy drifted on the breeze. And somewhere nearby, a friendly Harpy girl was going about her life, completely unaware that her very existence was now quietly… intertwined with mine.
I stared at her name on the screen again.