KamiKowa: That Time I Got Transmigrated With A Broken Goddess-Chapter 30: [] Meter Rising

Xavier watched Beppo scrolling through his phone, the screen reflecting in his eyes. The self-proclaimed social media star had somehow turned their lunch conversation from classes to hunter rankings, and now he wouldn’t shut up about it.

"Dominic Black is definitely top-five material once he graduates," Beppo declared, tapping his screen. "His Kinetic Absorption ability is straight-up broken. But if we’re talking active professionals, nobody touches Virgil Constantine."

Xavier speared a french fry with his fork. "Virgil is overrated."

He didn’t actually know who the hell Virgil Constantine was, but the way Beppo spoke about him with such reverence made Xavier want to disagree on principle.

He was a hater after all.

Beppo’s head snapped up, his perfectly styled hair not moving an inch despite the sudden motion. "Overrated? Are you serious right now? The man cleared a High Tier-3 gate with a bunch of D ranks last year!"

"So?" Xavier shrugged, enjoying the way Beppo’s eye twitched. "One gate doesn’t make someone a legend."

"It wasn’t just one gate!" Beppo’s voice rose an octave. "He’s cleared seventy-three gates with zero team casualties! Zero! Do you know how unheard of that is?"

Xavier leaned back in his chair, affecting a bored expression. "Sounds like he plays it too safe. Real hunter legends take risks."

"That’s—that’s not—" Beppo sputtered, putting his phone down with enough force that his salad jumped. "Who do you think is better then?"

Xavier hadn’t expected the question. He stared blankly for a second before saying the first name that came to mind that he remembered seeing on Gate Break. "Miyuki Tanaka."

"The model?" Luka asked, eyebrows raised.

"She’s not just a model," Sayuri jumped in, surprising everyone. "She’s S-rank."

Beppo waved his hand dismissively. "She’s all style, no substance. Half her missions are staged for the cameras."

"You just don’t like that she turned down your collab request last year," came a melodic voice from the next table over.

Xavier turned to see who’d spoken. A girl with long, thick blue hair tied in a high ponytail stood up from her seat, a tray balanced in her hands.

"That’s..." Sayuri whispered, "Margaret Richardson from our class."

Margaret walked to their table with a confident sway in her hips, setting her tray down next to Calypso. "Mind if I join? Sounds like you’re having the only interesting conversation in this cafeteria."

"Please," Xavier gestured to the empty seat. Freckles dusted her nose and cheeks, contrasting with her fair skin. Her fitted academy uniform did little to hide her curvaceous figure.

"For your information," Beppo said, pointing his fork at Margaret, "Miyuki never ’turned me down.’ Her management said her schedule was full."

"For the next three years?" Margaret asked innocently, unwrapping her dessert—some kind of pudding cup. "I was there with you in high school, remember?"

Beppo’s face turned the same shade as his strawberry water.

Xavier grinned. "I like you," he said to Margaret.

Calypso, who had been quietly enjoying her second slice of cake, stabbed her fork into the dessert with unnecessary force. The sound of metal scraping ceramic made everyone wince.

"So, Margaret," Calypso said "what makes you an expert on professional hunters?"

Margaret didn’t seem bothered by the frosty reception. "My dad used to work security for hunter events before he got injured. I grew up around them."

"Fascinating," Calypso said flatly.

"Anyway," Margaret continued, turning back to Xavier, "you have good taste mentioning Miyuki. She’s unconventional but effective. Though if we’re talking pure power, Jin Kazama’s earthquake technique is hard to beat."

"Only works on land," Xavier countered, though he had no idea who Jin Kazama was either.

"Exactly!" Beppo jumped in. "Versatility matters more than raw power. That’s why Virgil—"

"For love of Mother Russia, not Virgil again," Luka groaned, attacking his third chicken breast. "Let man rest."

"You know who’s probably overlooked?" Sayuri offered quietly, her green eyes focused on her bento box. "Yuna Park. Her healing abilities saved an entire team during the Bangkok Incident last year."

"Support hunters never get enough credit," Margaret nodded approvingly.

Xavier noticed Calypso growing increasingly irritated, her fingers tapping a rapid rhythm against the table.

"Xavier wouldn’t know a good hunter if one hit him in the shower," Calypso announced suddenly.

Everyone at the table turned to her.

"What happened in the shower?" Margaret asked.

Calypso smiled sweetly. "Oh, it was hilarious. Just yesterday morning, Xavier was showering at our apartment, and he slipped on the soap. Made the biggest racket—I thought a gate had opened in our bathroom."

Xavier stared at her. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Don’t be embarrassed, cousin," Calypso said, emphasizing the last word. "Everyone falls sometimes. Though most people don’t scream quite so... operatically."

Beppo leaned forward, instantly invested in this story. "You two live together?"

"Our apartment in Midtown," Calypso nodded. "One bedroom, but it’s spacious enough."

"One bedroom?" Beppo repeated.

"We’re cousins," Xavier said firmly, narrowing his eyes at Calypso.

"Very distant cousins," Calypso added, spooning pudding into her mouth.

Sayuri looked between them, her brow furrowed. "So who sleeps on the couch?"

"Nobody," Calypso replied breezily. "We share the bed."

"Platonically," Xavier clarified, though no one seemed convinced. "It’s temporary until housing sorts itself out."

"Of course," Margaret said, not even attempting to hide her disbelief.

"Some cultures very family-oriented," Luka offered helpfully. "In old country, whole family sleep in one room sometimes."

"Thank you, Luka," Xavier said, though the Russian’s support wasn’t helping much. "Anyway, what class do we have next?"

"Essentia Practical," Sayuri supplied. "With Class 1-A. Professor Valdez is leading the joint session."

"Shit," he muttered.

"What’s wrong?" Margaret asked, tilting her head. "Not prepared?"

"I don’t fully understand how my Essentia works yet," Xavier admitted. "It’s... complicated."

"All Essentia complicated," Luka said, patting Xavier’s shoulder hard enough to make him lurch forward. "Is why we here, yes? To learn?"

"Yeah, but I don’t want to look like a fool," Xavier said. "Anyone want to swap places?"

"Not a chance," Beppo said, grinning. "I wouldn’t miss this for all the followers in the world."

"I would if I could," Sayuri said softly. "My ability isn’t very impressive either."

"What exactly does your ability do?" Margaret asked Xavier, leaning across the table. Her position gave him a clear view of her cleavage, a fact that wasn’t lost on Calypso, who cleared her throat loudly.

"It’s called Input Buffer," Xavier explained, keeping his eyes firmly on Margaret’s face. "I build meter through combat actions, then use it to fuel techniques. Kind of like a fighting game."

"That sounds amazing!" Margaret’s eyes widened. "Which techniques do you know so far?"

Before Xavier could answer, Calypso interrupted. "He mostly button-mashes," she said. "Though he’s surprisingly good at getting his meter up."

The double entendre wasn’t subtle, and Xavier shot her a look.

"We should get going," he said, standing up. "I don’t want to be late again." freeωebnovēl.c૦m

The group gathered their trays and headed for the disposal area. As they walked, Calypso fell into step beside Xavier, a few paces behind the others.

"What was that about?" Xavier muttered, low enough that only she could hear.

"What was what about?" Calypso asked innocently.

"The shower story. The bed-sharing announcement. The meter jokes."

Calypso shrugged one shoulder. "Just trying to fit in."

"Oh my god. Calypso, were you jealous?"

"Of what? Some mortal girl with nice eyes and a great rack?" Calypso scoffed. "I’m a literal goddess."

The group made their way across campus toward the training facilities. The practical hall was a massive dome-shaped building with crystal-reinforced walls designed to contain Essentia demonstrations. As they approached, Xavier noticed another class already filing in—students with blue stripes on their uniforms instead of red.

"That’s Class 1-A," Sayuri whispered, noticing his look. "The elite first-years."

"Intimidating, aren’t they?" Margaret said, sidling up next to Xavier. "But ranking isn’t everything. Some of the greatest hunters in history started in the bottom classes."

"Like who?" Beppo asked skeptically.

"Historia was Class 1-D her first year," Margaret replied. "Now she’s S-rank and leads the North American Hunter Association."

"Yeah but that was fifteen years ago."

"Just visualize success," Calypso murmured as they reached the entrance. "You’ve faced worse odds."

Xavier gave her a small nod of acknowledgment.

Inside, the facility opened into a vast circular arena with tiered seating surrounding a central demonstration area. The space could easily hold hundreds, though today only the two first-year classes were present, creating a strange intimacy in the cavernous room.

Xavier took a deep breath as they found seats. Whatever happened in the next hour, his life now depended on figuring out this Essentia system quickly. His eyes met Calypso’s and she gave him an almost imperceptible nod.

Just another performance, he told himself. Just another role to play.