SSS Talent: I Can Rewrite Reality

The black-clad recruiters barely glanced at the other students. Their attention had narrowed to a single target from the moment they walked in — Grace.

"Mrs. Grace, I represent the Purple Diamond Hunting Guild. Our guild master has agreed to cover two full years of tuition at any academy of your choosing, along with a monthly allowance of one thousand mana stones—"

"All those terms, plus a signing bonus of five thousand mana stones—"

The courtyard had transformed into a battlefield, every recruiter talking over the last, each offer climbing higher than the one before it. The numbers kept rising until the monthly figures crossed ten thousand mana crystals — an amount so absurd it made the air itself feel heavier.

At the staff line, Head Teacher Okinawa’s face had gone a quiet shade of green. Ten thousand mana crystals. Per month. That was more than the combined salary of the entire teaching staff, earned across years of service. The injustice of it sat in his chest like a stone, but there was nothing to do with it. The world had never promised fairness to the ordinary. If they had awakened six-resonance talent in their youth, they would be standing where Grace was standing now.

Grace smiled through all of it.

Her eyes, calm and unhurried, drifted across the crowd until they found Jason’s figure at the edge of things. He looked completely devastated. Something about that expression — the tight jaw, the rigid stillness of a person trying very hard not to show how badly they were breaking — filled her with a warmth she hadn’t expected. It was a strange feeling, given that they had been rivals for years. She should have felt something softer toward him. She didn’t.

Now you understand. Now you know how it felt. Every single year, standing in your shadow.

No matter how hard she had pushed, Jackson had always been ahead. Always better, always first, always the name the teachers called when they wanted to show the class what excellence looked like. Until today. In the final examination, she had left him behind entirely.

Jackson stood apart from it all, fists clenched so tightly his nails were close to breaking skin.

Why. I gave everything, every single day. My physical conditioning was at its peak. So why couldn’t I reach six resonances?

His plan had been built around one foundation: awaken six-resonance talent. Only with that could he earn entry into the prestigious academy attended by the heirs of the Goldenstache family. It was the first step, the only step that mattered, and now it lay in pieces.

All his life he was working for at least Six resonance talent..but the end result was simple Five resonances. A mere five — and not even something impressive to show for it. Other awakeners had manifested phoenixes that breathed fire, creatures of light that could mend wounds. Some had called forth sleeping dragons from the deep places of the world.

He had awakened a brush.

Can a brush... brush away the problems in my life?

Anyone else might have made peace with five resonances. But Jason hadn’t spent years bleeding for average. He had worked to be the absolute best. Nothing else had ever been acceptable to him.

Then a wave of commotion rippled through the crowd, sharp enough to pull him back to the present.

"The Black Rose Hunting Organization — one of the strongest forces in human territory. Why are they here?"

Even Jackson turned.

A tall woman walked through the parting crowd with the long, unhurried stride of someone who had never once needed to raise her voice to be taken seriously. The other guild representatives stepped aside without being asked. She stopped directly in front of Grace and looked at her for a moment before speaking.

"Girl. Would you like to join my Black Rose Hunting Organization?"

No financial figures. No tuition packages, no monthly allowances, no signing bonuses. Just a simple offer, delivered in a tone that suggested the offer itself was the honor.

Grace’s hand shot up before the silence had time to settle.

"I’m willing."

For the first time since arriving, the tall woman — Susan, Black Rose’s regional representative — smiled.

"Good. From today, you are a member of my organization."

The remaining recruiters exchanged glances, then turned their attention to Jason. Second-best option, but still worth pursuing. The offers came in a rush — multiple voices, competitive numbers.

"Five hundred mana stones monthly, ten percent tuition coverage, twenty percent travel concession—"

Jackson listened to all of it. Then he shook his head.

"I appreciate every offer. Truly. But I’ll have to decline — I already have somewhere I intend to go. Please understand."

The warmth in the recruiters’ expressions evaporated the instant the words left his mouth. The contrast with how they had treated Grace was stark and immediate.

"Arrogant." One of them didn’t bother lowering his voice. "Does he think our organization isn’t worth his time?"

"Five resonances and he’s already acting like this. One Level difference from that girl, and he thinks it doesn’t matter — that one level is the difference between two entirely different destinies."

The words were sharp and meant to cut. Nearby, Jackson’s former classmates joined in, heads shaking with expressions that tried to look like concern and landed closer to satisfaction.

"If I were in his position, I’d have accepted immediately—"

"Let him be. Once he shows his real intentions, the offers will dry up entirely—"

"They’re already giving him five hundred mana stones. What more does he want?"

The pettiness in their voices was obvious — years of watching Jason receive every commendation, every teacher’s praise, every first-place recognition had built up pressure, and now they had somewhere to release it. They went all out, without restraint.

Jason’s posture didn’t change.

Head Teacher Okinawa stepped forward, his expression carrying something that might have been genuine concern.

"I know you’re determined, Jackson. But a wise person learns to read the changing wind. Please — don’t set your expectations too high."

Jason turned to face him. The indecision that had been sitting in his expression solidified into something quieter and more certain.

"Thank you for the advice, Teacher. But I know what I’m doing."

Okinawa frowned but didn’t press further.

Jackson looked across the courtyard toward Grace.

"Grace." His voice was steady. "Did you forget about our promise?"

He had already sensed something had shifted in her. But his heart held onto its last thread of hope, and so he asked anyway.

Grace heard him. She smiled — light, almost pleasant — then let it fade.

"Our promise to attend the ancient academy together? Of course I remember." The warmth left her voice completely, replaced by something cooler and more deliberate. "But are you even qualified to attend the same prestigious academy as me now?"

Jason’s mouth opened and closed several times..but No words came.

He had never once imagined hearing that tone from her — from the girl who had always looked at him with something soft in her eyes, even when she was competing against him.

"What’s with that expression?" She tilted her head slightly. "Did you really think our relationship would stay the same after all these years of you holding me back?"

"Did you think I never noticed? You cheering for me when I finished second — knowing perfectly well I would never be able to beat you. All those years, playing with my motivation. Feeding it just enough to keep me running."

"Now look. I’ve left you in the dust. Six resonances. A prestigious academy. And you—"

The words hit in rapid succession, each one landing before the previous had finished settling. Jason stared at her for a long moment — searching her face, trying to find something familiar in it.

Susan glanced between them, a faint trace of amusement in her expression. "Grace. Do you know this young man?"

Grace turned away.

"No," she said simply. "Just someone I used to know."

Jason heard those words from where he stood. His expression stiffened — held for a moment — then slowly returned to neutral.

One by one, the crowd thinned. Grace left with Susan. The recruiters followed. The classmates drifted away. The courtyard emptied until it was just Jason standing beneath an open sky, the fading light stretching long shadows across the ground.

He looked upward.

Maybe she was always like this. I was just too blind to see it.

Someone else might have spent hours turning it over — asking why, looking for the exact moment things had broken, cataloguing every wound. Jason wasn’t built that way. After a breath, he accepted it for what it was, filed it somewhere quiet, and walked out.

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