Chapter 3: The Expanding Horizon
The first gray light of dawn filtered through the grimy window of the apartment, cutting through the shimmering blue haze of the Privacy Partition. Ren woke up before the others—a habit born of years in the District 9 orphanages, where the first to wake was the only one who got a hot meal or a dry pair of boots.
But as he tried to shift, he felt an unfamiliar, heavy warmth anchoring him to the mattress.
He froze, his heart thudding against his ribs. The 'Harmonious Proximity' buff hadn't been a suggestion from the System; it was a physical law. During the night, the three of them had naturally gravitated toward the center of the massive, charcoal-colored bed. Mia was curled up like a cat on his right, her head resting near his shoulder, her breathing deep and rhythmic.
On his left lay Elena Valentine. Even in sleep, the "Ice Princess" looked formidable, her silver hair fanned out across the pillow like spilled mercury. Her hand was resting inches from his, the golden cord between their chests pulsing with a soft, steady hum that felt like a collective heartbeat.
[DAILY QUEST COMPLETE: THE FIRST TWENTY-FOUR][REWARD: 5,000 CREDITS DEPOSITED][SHARED SKILL TREE: INITIALIZED]
The soft chime of the notification inside his head was subtle, but it was enough to make Elena's eyes snap open. For a heartbeat, she looked soft, her violet gaze clouded with sleep. Then, the memories of the previous day crashed back in. She saw Ren, realized how close they were, and recoiled so violently she nearly tumbled off the far side of the bed.
"Don't. Say. A word," she hissed, pulling the charcoal duvet up to her chin, her face flushing a deep, humiliated crimson.
"I wasn't going to," Ren muttered, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "The quest is done. We got the credits."
Mia stirred, yawning and stretching her arms over her head. "Is it morning already? I haven't slept that well in... I don't even remember." She looked at the translucent screens floating in the air and gasped. "Ren, look at the Tether. It's changing."
All three of them stared at the central hub of their shared interface.
[BOND MILESTONE REACHED: CO-EXISTENCE][SYNC RATE: 1.0%][TETHER UPGRADE: PHASE 1] * Current Range: 50 Meters -> 150 Meters.
Expansion Logic: As the Sync Rate increases, the physical limit will expand up to a maximum of 500 Meters.
"One hundred and fifty meters," Elena breathed, her posture relaxing just a fraction. "That's enough to leave this room. I can at least walk to the end of the block without feeling like my soul is being shredded."
"It's more than that," Ren said, his voice dropping an octave as he looked at the new 'Skills' tab. "It means we can actually move. Dungeons aren't just one room. If we were stuck at fifty meters, we'd be tripping over each other in a boss fight. At five hundred meters, we can scout, we can flank... we can actually survive."
"But we're still penalized if we're apart," Mia reminded them, pointing to the warning at the bottom of the screen. "Twenty percent experience if we kill something alone. The System really wants us to stay in sync."
Ren swiped to the next screen, his finger trembling slightly. "Let's see what the Skill Tree gave us for reaching one percent."
A single icon was illuminated in the center of a vast, dark web of locked abilities.
[SHARED SKILL: TETHERED SENSE] * Type: Passive / Active
Effect: Allows the three users to share a mental map of their surroundings within the Tether range. Active use allows for 'Flash Communication'—the ability to send a single image or emotion to the others instantly.
"Try it," Mia whispered.
Ren closed his eyes. He didn't try to force the magic; he just thought about the layout of the kitchen and the cold hallway outside. Suddenly, his mind wasn't just his own. He felt a soft, warm hum that felt like Mia's gentle nature, and a sharp, crystalline edge that could only be Elena.
He 'pushed' his thought outward, focusing on the image of the dripping kitchen sink.
Elena gasped, her hand flying to her temple. "I saw it. The sink... and I felt your annoyance. The way the sound is grating on your nerves." She looked at Ren, her expression shifting from anger to a strange, reluctant wonder. "This isn't just magic. It's... it's soul-weaving."
"It's Fate," Ren corrected her, standing up and reaching for his boots. "And Fate just gave us enough rope to go outside. We're out of food, and we have fifteen thousand credits in the bank. We need to buy supplies that aren't from the Shop—things that make us look like people who belong in this district."
"Normal people," Elena repeated the word like it was a foreign concept. She looked at her torn, expensive silk dress. "I can't go out looking like this. I'll be recognized in seconds."
Ren opened the Shop again, his eyes scanning the gear. "That's what the credits are for. We buy 'Commoner's Camouflage'—high-quality stuff that looks like low-rank junk. We leave this building, we find a low-tier gate, and we see what we're actually capable of."
He looked at Elena, his gaze steady and unyielding. "Your father's men are going to expand their search today. If we stay in this room, we're sitting ducks. If we're in a dungeon, we're invisible to their sensors."
Elena looked at the golden cord, then at the modest room. She was a Valentine, a daughter of S-Rank legends, now being told what to do by a boy who didn't even own a second chair. But she felt the 'Tethered Sense' pulsing in her mind—a power that felt deeper and older than anything her family's wealth could provide.
"Fine," she said, standing up with a regal grace that even the cramped room couldn't suppress. "But I pick the outfits. If I am to be a 'commoner,' I will at least be a well-dressed one."
Mia laughed, the sound bright and clear in the dim apartment. "I'll handle the gear check! My father taught me how to spot a fault in a blade from ten paces. If we're going into a gate, we're doing it right."
[NEW QUEST: THE FIRST DESCENT] * Objective: Enter and Clear an E-Rank or D-Rank Dungeon.
Reward: 20,000 Credits & Weapon Manifestation.
They walked toward the door together, the golden cord stretching and humming as they moved in a practiced, silent rhythm. Behind them, the modest apartment sat in the morning light—a quiet witness to the moment three strangers decided to stop running and start building something of their own.