Before Luke could ask what she meant, Lauren stepped in front of him. She rose onto her tiptoes, rested one hand against his chest, and kissed him.

The kiss lasted only a second, but every thought vanished from Luke’s head. For that brief moment, all he could think about was the warmth of her lips.

When she lowered herself, Luke could only stare at her.

The group behind them had gone silent. Their mouths hung open as they looked between Luke and Lauren, and the mockery in their eyes had been replaced by disbelief and poorly hidden jealousy.

One boy mumbled something Luke couldn’t hear, while another elbowed his friend without taking his eyes off Lauren.

She ignored all of them.

With Luke still dazed, Lauren turned and led him toward two empty seats near the middle of the gymnasium. He followed without resistance, his face burning and his legs feeling unsteady.

Lauren had kissed him in front of everyone. She hadn’t hesitated or tried to hide their relationship, and Luke no longer cared who was watching.

A small part of him wanted to glance back at the boys just to make sure they understood how badly they had misjudged him.

Lauren guided him into a chair and sat beside him, looking far too pleased with herself.

"That was so bold," Luke whispered.

Leaning closer, she replied, "That little kiss took about thirty years off my age. I feel like a mischievous schoolgirl again."

Luke stared at her. Most of his anger had already disappeared, though his face remained hot.

"You did that just to embarrass them?"

"Not only them."

His eyes widened, and Lauren covered her mouth as she laughed softly.

Luke looked away, but he couldn’t stop himself from smiling. She had certainly embarrassed him, yet she had also made her feelings clear. Lauren wanted to be with him, and she didn’t care who knew it.

That mattered far more than the teasing.

Beneath the row of chairs, Luke squeezed her hand. Lauren returned the pressure without looking away from the platform.

The boys at the back finally turned away, their earlier confidence replaced by muttered complaints and awkward silence. Luke felt a childish spark of satisfaction at the sight, but Lauren’s fingers remained intertwined with his, reminding him that winning their approval had never mattered.

What mattered was that she had chosen him openly.

More people entered the gymnasium over the next several minutes. The remaining seats filled, and the low murmur of conversation grew louder while employees moved through the aisles, checked names on tablets, and directed late arrivals toward the back.

The longer they waited, the more their nerves began to show. The man seated in front of Luke bounced one leg without stopping. Behind them, someone repeatedly asked whether the evaluation would involve blood tests, while an elderly woman across the aisle whispered a prayer under her breath.

Even the younger group had quieted down. Their earlier confidence faded as the room filled and no one explained what would happen next.

Luke studied the platform. A podium stood in the center, with a large display screen behind it and several chairs lined up against the wall. Two uniformed officers waited nearby, speaking quietly to each other.

"Whatever they tell us, try not to panic immediately," Lauren whispered.

"I don’t panic."

"You nearly started a fight five minutes ago."

"That was different."

"Of course it was."

Luke gave her an offended look, which only made her smile.

Before he could respond, the double doors beside the platform opened. Conversation died away as a man in a fitted black suit entered the gymnasium.

At first glance, he looked like a handsome government official. Then the overhead lights caught his short red hair, and recognition moved through the crowd.

Luke knew him immediately.

Red Hound was one of the most famous heroes in the country, and millions of people followed his social media accounts even though he rarely posted anything himself. Most of his reputation came from civilian recordings, news reports, and videos taken after battles.

Even without his costume, he looked exactly as Luke remembered from interviews. The same severe expression sharpened his face, while his red hair had been combed neatly aside from a few stubborn strands near the front.

Everyone on the platform straightened when he passed.

The change spread through the audience too. Conversations stopped in the middle of sentences, phones disappeared into pockets, and several people who had been slouching immediately sat upright.

Even the young men who had mocked Luke lost their relaxed posture. One exchanged a nervous glance with his friend, while another lowered his voice so quickly that the gymnasium swallowed whatever he had been saying.

Red Hound had not spoken yet, but his presence had already reminded everyone that this was not a recruitment event or a celebration. They had been brought there because the authorities considered them powerful enough to require the attention of one of the country’s most dangerous heroes.

Luke had seen enough footage about Red Hound to understand why the gymnasium had gone quiet. Once the hero caught a criminal’s scent, hiding became almost impossible. Distance and disguises rarely slowed him down. He had tracked villains across entire cities and once chased a fugitive into another province without sleeping for two days.

His methods had earned almost as much attention as his victories. Villains captured by Red Hound didn’t always reach prison in one piece. He had mauled several violent criminals during arrests, and some recordings showed him continuing to strike opponents after they had fallen.

Those incidents had once caused widespread outrage, but public opinion had started to change. Villains were becoming more common, and ordinary methods weren’t producing results. Criminals with powerful abilities escaped custody, destroyed neighborhoods, and sometimes returned to the streets within months.

People had grown tired of watching heroes hesitate while civilians suffered. To many of them, Red Hound’s brutality now seemed necessary.

Luke swallowed, and the people around him shifted uneasily in their seats. With Red Hound standing behind the podium, the gathering suddenly felt far more serious.

The hero studied the room, letting his gaze travel across the rows and linger long enough to make several people lower their eyes. He drew in a slow breath through his nose and gave them a faint smile that held no warmth.

"I can smell that introductions won’t be necessary."

No one laughed.

Resting both hands on the podium, Red Hound began to speak.

"You’re all here because you developed abilities after playing Powerforge Online. Until recently, that sentence would have sounded ridiculous. Now it’s a documented fact."

Lauren’s fingers tightened around Luke’s.

"Our investigators, scientists, and hero organizations have spent the last several days trying to understand what happened to you," Red Hound continued. "We still don’t have every answer. We don’t know who created the game, how it changed your bodies, or how many other players will awaken in the future."

Nervous conversation spread across the gymnasium. Red Hound waited without saying another word, and one by one, people settled down again.

"What we do know is that ignoring you would be stupid and dangerous."

The blunt statement silenced the room.

"Everyone here has already expressed interest in becoming a hero or using their abilities legally. That’s why you were invited to this building instead of being locked inside an underground facility."

Several people exchanged uneasy looks.

Luke couldn’t tell whether Red Hound was joking, and the man’s expression offered no clue.

"You’re adults," he said. "You’re responsible for your own decisions, and no one plans to force you into service. However, you now possess abilities that could injure or kill ordinary people. Whether you like it or not, the authorities need to keep track of you."

Hearing the possibility stated so plainly made Luke shift in his chair. Until now, government restrictions had only existed in his imagination.

"After plenty of arguing, it was decided that anyone willing to cooperate would receive training, medical support, and access to resources. The current plan is to prepare you for hero certification."

Some of the tension eased throughout the gymnasium. The young men at the back immediately began whispering again, someone in the front row released a long breath, and several people smiled.

Beside Luke, Lauren’s expression brightened.

Becoming a hero had once been a dream she believed was already out of reach. She had watched her daughters train, earn their places as sidekicks, and enter a dangerous world she could only observe from a distance. Now, despite all the uncertainty surrounding them, someone was finally offering Lauren a path toward that same world.

Luke felt her fingers tighten around his. This time, the gesture carried excitement rather than fear.

He wanted to share it. He wanted to tell her that she would make an incredible hero and that he would train beside her for as long as she wanted.

Before he could speak, Red Hound raised one hand.

"Don’t celebrate yet. There’s a problem."