The halls of Hoshinaka Senior High had emptied by late evening, leaving only the soft hum of fluorescents and the occasional clang of a closing window. Souta Minakawa walked alone down the deserted corridor toward the biology lab. His footsteps echoed faintly against the linoleum, a steady reminder of purpose.
Unlike his first journeys into the Growth Matrix—when he simply sat before the ancient mountain shrine and let his mind drift free—he now required a deliberate physical gateway in the school. After stabilizing Node 2 and severing his always-on shrine link to prevent unplanned cross-node jumps, he covertly retrofitted the lab cabinet to serve as his portal. It ensured that access happened only on his terms: late night, empty halls, and resolute intent.
Pushing open the lab door, Souta was greeted by the familiar scent of disinfectant and the soft murmur of the old autoclave. He paused at the threshold, scanning the five vacant workstations: Yamada's notebook still open, Kana's reflection journal half-tucked, Takeshi's pen lying beside a stray bolt, and, at the back corner, the steel cabinet he'd modified.
He pressed a fingertip along the subtle weld seam smoothed months ago, on a cold winter night before the first snowfall. That evening, long after the last student had left, he'd buried the hidden latch beneath the cabinet's face and calibrated its resonance lock. Now, under the dim emergency lights, his fingertip found the catch. With a quiet click, the panel swung aside, revealing a mirror-like surface pulsing with energy barely contained.
He took a breath, placed his hand on the glass, and stepped through.
Instantly, he was no longer in the reality of the high school. Instead, he stood in an ethereal grove where every tree, vine, and leaf pulsed with subtle light. The air carried a faint chorus of five minds, woven into a single tapestry of thought.
Above, an iridescent sky arched without horizon. Beneath, soft loam bore concentric rings radiating from a central sapling—the Demonstrator Sapling, seeded at the Matrix's inception. Surrounding it were five demarcated zones—quadrants—each shaped by a different student's cognitive signature.
Quadrant I: Yamada's Grove
To the left, slender silver birches rose in regimented rows. Their trunks were nearly identical, and branches arched uniformly, forming a glowing tunnel overhead. Beneath, roots interwove in a tidy grid—Yamada Koji's disciplined focus rendered in living form.
Souta stepped forward, grazing a finger along the smooth bark. A calm resonance pulsed from the wood—an echo of Yamada's precision. The leaves murmured in perfect sync, a quiet hymn to consistency.
Steady. Methodical. Consistent.
Quadrant II: Kana's Lattice
To the right of Yamada's grove, the terrain softened into a willow-like thicket. Branches wove into a supple lattice; roots formed gentle arches underfoot. Each breeze sent ripples of light pulsing in time with Kana Ishikawa's empathic currents.
Walking the root-woven path, Souta noticed faint glows at each junction—echoes of Kana's reflective LP gain. The pulse grew stronger where her emotional resonance had recently deepened.
Empathetic. Fluid. Harmonious.
Quadrant III: Takeshi's Forge
Beyond Kana's lattice lay chaos—gnarled trees embedded with crystalline filaments that crackled with blue-white sparks. This was Takeshi Murata's domain: an inventive forge where spontaneity thrived.
A fractured log, carved with abstract patterns, sat at the center. Tiny drone-like insects—metallic and precise—flitted among the branches, trimming errant growths as if guided by an unseen hand.
Chaotic. Inventive. Dynamic.
Quadrant IV: Sanae's Orchard
Ahead stood a precise orchard of geometrically pruned shrubs and right-angled branches. Hexagonal flower beds rotated like clockwork gears, unfurling petals in measured unison.
This zone mirrored Sanae Okabe's analytic clarity. At its heart, a spiraling tower of luminescent sap pulsed with hypothesis-driven energy, each beat aligned to her calculated insights.
Analytical. Structured. Insightful.
Quadrant V: Daichi's Grid
At the far edge, crystalline rocks and metallic vines intertwined. Electric pulses raced through conduits feeding bioluminescent blooms in cobalt arcs.
This quadrant reflected Daichi Nomura's predictive modeling. Vines shifted continuously to optimize energy flow. A living capacitor at its center glowed softly—touch it and you felt a brief jolt, akin to Daichi's own spark of clarity when his circuit lit at half-brightness.
Predictive. Experimental. Resonant.
Souta returned to the nexus point, the pentagon of quadrants framing the central sapling. He closed his eyes, allowing the combined resonance of all five to echo in his mind.
He summoned his passive overlay:
[Host Interface – Passive Mode]
Brain Power: 1.3x
Life Points: 4.3 → 4.5
Followers: 5 Active
Tier Shift Progress: 28%
Yamada → Resonance: 4.1
• Kana → Resonance: 3.8
• Takeshi→ Resonance: 3.5
• Sanae → Resonance: 2.3
• Daichi → Resonance: 2.0No directives—just data affirming his students' living growth.
A gentle warmth unfurled in his chest—the system's passive return of +0.2 LP for fostering first-day resonance. His Life Points settled at 4.5.
Five quadrants. Five minds shaping the Matrix. Each distinct, yet all converging on the center. This pentagonal blueprint was minimal but brimming with potential.
What if their resonance loops back into itself? he mused. True Group Resonance could amplify beyond any individual.
Despite enough LP to upgrade, he resisted. His Brain Power remained at 1.3x, Biological Cap unchanged. Patience, he reminded himself, was as vital as any new enhancement.
He turned from the sapling and stepped back through the portal. The grove dissolved into the sterile familiarity of the biology lab. The cabinet panel closed silently behind him.
Collecting his jacket, he walked the corridor with measured steps. Tomorrow, these five students—now the core cohort—would reconverge under the Matrix's watchful embrace.
He cast one last glance at the lab door.
Five quadrants. Five beginnings. Only 28% complete.
A faint smile curved his lips.
The next branches await.