The training dummy's chest had a gaping "wound"—really just red fabric stuffed with foam—but Honoka stared at it like it might actually start bleeding.

  "Okay." Her voice shook. "Okay okay okay."

  Suzume crossed her arms, leaning against the wall of the converted back room. They'd pushed the conference table aside and set up three training dummies in various states of simulated disaster. Dummy One had the chest wound. Dummy Two had a "broken" leg bent at a horrifying angle. Dummy Three had what was supposed to be a head injury, marked by a red bandana wrapped around its foam skull.

  "Stop panicking," Suzume said. "What's the first step?"

  "Um." Honoka's hands fluttered uselessly. "Healing?"

  "Wrong. Assess the scene. You can't help anyone if you get yourself killed running into danger."

  "Right. Assess. Okay." Honoka took a breath and scanned the room like she was checking for monsters. "Scene is... safe?"

  "Good. Next?"

  "I... prioritize by severity?"

  "Show me."

  Honoka approached the dummies slowly, crouching beside each one. Her hands trembled but she was thinking now instead of just reacting. She checked the chest wound first, then the broken leg, then the head injury.

  "The chest wound is worst," she said finally. "Probable internal bleeding. Life-threatening without immediate intervention."

  "Correct. And you've only got mana for one healing spell before you're tapped. What do you do?"

  "I..." Honoka's face scrunched up in concentration. "Use the spell on the chest wound to stabilize the bleeding. Then use actual first aid on the other two until my mana recovers."

  "Do it."

  Honoka's hands glowed with soft green light as she cast her healing spell on the dummy. The "wound" didn't actually close—this was just practice—but she went through the full motion. Then she grabbed the first aid kit Suzume had provided and got to work on the broken leg, splinting it with the supplies available.

  Halfway through wrapping the splint, her hands started shaking again.

  "I can't—what if I'm doing this wrong? What if—"

  "Honoka." Suzume's voice cut through the panic. "You're doing fine. Keep going."

  The girl took another breath and finished the splint. Moved to the head injury. Applied pressure to stop the "bleeding" and wrapped a proper bandage.

  When she finished, she sat back on her heels, breathing hard.

  "How'd I do?"

  "You hesitated too much. In a real scenario, that chest wound would've died while you were panicking." Suzume pulled Honoka to her feet. "But your technique was good once you committed. We're running it again."

  They reset the dummies.

  This time, Honoka moved faster but still hesitated on the initial assessment. She worked through it, prioritizing correctly and executing each step with more confidence.

  "Why do you know all this stuff?" Honoka asked while wrapping the head bandage on her second attempt. "You're not a healer."

  Suzume watched her work.

  "I spent six months researching before I ever entered a dungeon. Watched hundreds of hours of medical training videos, studied emergency response procedures, memorized every protocol I could find." She picked up one of the unused bandages, turning it over in her hands. "I'm not a healer. I had to learn everything the hard way because I figured that if I screwed up, people died."

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  Honoka looked up at her, eyes wide.

  "That's... I don't think I could do that. Just learn everything by yourself like that."

  "You don't have to. You've got me by your side, after all."

  Honoka smiled, her cheeks tinging a faint rose before she nodded.

  "R-Right!"

  They ran the scenario a third time.

  Honoka nailed it. No panic, no hesitation. She assessed the scene, prioritized the chest wound, stabilized it with magic, then handled the other two injuries with clean, efficient first aid. Her hands stayed steady the entire time.

  When she finished, she turned to Suzume with a massive grin.

  "I did it!"

  "Yeah." Suzume felt pride swell in her chest—the good kind, the kind that came from watching someone succeed. "You did."

  Her HUD flashed.

  [+75 XP - Knowledge Transfer: Emergency Medicine]

  Suzume blinked. Stared at the notification.

  [Wait. What?]

  Seventy-five XP. From teaching.

  That was more than two full VR simulation runs. More than hours of skill training or knowledge acquisition. Just from spending an hour helping Honoka learn emergency protocols.

  Her brain started racing. If teaching gave this much XP, then every person she trained would become another rescuer. Every skill she shared would save lives she'd never even see. It wasn't just about her saving people directly, it was about multiplying her impact.

  The System recognized that.

  [Holy shit. This changes everything.]

  "Suzume-san? You okay?"

  "Yeah. Just..." She pulled up her full status screen.

  [Status Window]

  Name: Aoi Suzume

  Class: Rescuer (Level 7)

  HP: 90

  MP: 125/125

  EXP: 80/400

  [Civilians Saved (Lifetime): 21]

  [Players Saved (Lifetime): 34]

  That single teaching session had pushed her XP total significantly. If she taught the entire team, if she shared everything she'd learned over six months of obsessive research...

  [I could create an entire curriculum. Train other Players. Build a network of people who actually know how to save lives.]

  The implications were massive. This wasn't just about getting stronger—it was about making the whole system better.

  "Suzume-san?"

  "Sorry." Suzume refocused on Honoka. "You did great today. Go home, get some rest."

  Honoka gathered her school bag, practically bouncing.

  "Thank you so much for this! I feel way more prepared now."

  After she left, Suzume stood alone in the training room, still staring at her status screen. Her mind spun through possibilities, calculations, the kind of systematic planning that made her brain light up.

  She pulled out her phone and opened the guild group chat.

  Suzume: I figured something out. Meeting tomorrow morning.

  Yumi: ??????

  Yumi: knew you'd crack it

  Kasumi: my genius girl strikes again ??

  Hikari: Noted. 9 AM?

  Suzume: Works for me

  Rina: ill be there

  Honoka: (????)

  Suzume pocketed her phone and started cleaning up the training area. Tomorrow she'd lay it all out for the team. Tonight, she'd start drafting a proper training protocol.

  That night, Suzume lay in bed scrolling through social media instead of sleeping like a functional human being.

  Tweeter's algorithm showed her the usual garbage. Player drama, dungeon clear bragging, people arguing about which guild was strongest. She was about to close the app when a photo appeared in her feed.

  Hikari Takahashi, her Hikari, tagged at some beach in Shonan.

  [Huh?]

  Suzume's thumb hovered over the screen.

  The photo showed Hikari standing in the surf wearing a black two-piece swimsuit. Water droplets caught the sunlight across her shoulders and stomach. Her hair was down for once, wet and dark against her neck. She wasn't posing, just standing there looking elegant and completely devastating, talking to someone off-camera.

  The caption read:

  Told Emiko I needed a mental health day. She told me to take pictures for "team morale." So here.

  Suzume stared.

  And stared.

  Her eyes traced the curve of Hikari's waist, the definition in her abs, the way the swimsuit bottoms sat on her hips.

  [Oh no.]

  Her brain went completely offline for several seconds.

  Then awareness crashed back in and she threw her phone across the room. It landed on her desk with a clatter.

  Suzume pressed her palms against her face and made a noise somewhere between a groan and a whimper.

  [WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME.]

  First it was Kasumi. Fine. That made sense.

  Then yesterday her brain decided Yumi was suddenly the most attractive person alive. The ass. The tank top. The bra strap. Things she'd seen a hundred times before but yesterday they'd made her malfunction like a broken computer.

  And now Hikari. Cool, composed, completely-out-of-her-league Hikari, who Suzume had successfully avoided thinking about in any detailed way until approximately thirty seconds ago.

  [I'm losing it. I've officially lost it. This is what happens when you're a virgin with zero dating experience and suddenly you're surrounded by hot women 24/7.]

  She grabbed her pillow and pressed it over her face.