Emotion Hunter: System Awakening.

The next day at Maya's place.

Maya's dorm room looked a total mess.

There was medical supply catalogs that covered her desk, tactical gear websites filled her laptop screen, and she'd pinned a hand-drawn organizational chart to the wall showing their "operational structure." Her roommate had taken one look at the chaos and decided to spend the night somewhere else....obviously not wanting any smoke.

"Okay," Maya said, adjusting her wire-rimmed glasses as she surveyed her research. "I've identified seventeen critical supply categories we need to address before anyone else sets foot in a dimensional rift."

Jake sat cross-legged on her bed, scrolling through electronics websites on his phone. "She's been like this since six AM," he told Riven and Marcus. "I brought coffee three hours ago and she just pointed at the desk without looking up from her medical textbooks."

"This is serious," Maya said, not looking up from her notes. "You two have been incredibly lucky so far. One infected wound, one broken bone, one severe allergic reaction to alien toxins, and your rescue mission becomes a recovery mission."

Marcus examined the organizational chart. "So y

ou put yourself as 'Chief Medical Officer' and Jake as 'Director of Operations.'"

"Someone has to impose structure on this chaos." Maya finally looked up. "Riven, you're listed as 'Primary Asset and Field Commander.' Marcus is 'Enhanced Support Specialist.' We all have roles now."

"I didn't agree to be Director of anything," Jake protested.

"You're the only one with access to serious money and family connections that don't ask awkward questions," Maya replied. "That makes you logistics whether you like it or not."

Riven had to admit her approach made sense. Over the past day, he'd started thinking of their expanded group as a real team rather than just friends who happened to know his secret. Having defined roles might actually help them function better.

"What do you need?" he asked.

Maya consulted her list. "Trauma medical kit with military-grade supplies, not the basic first aid stuff from that surplus store. Anti-bacterial medications, pain management, suture kits, emergency blood-clotting agents. That's just the medical basics."

"How much will that cost?"

"About eight hundred dollars if we buy through legitimate channels. Less if we know people." Maya grinned. "Turns out pre-med students have very useful connections for acquiring medical supplies without questions."

Marcus looked up from his phone. "I found communication gear. Tactical radio headsets, it ranges up to five kilometers, encrypted channels. Only problem is they cost two thousand dollars for a four-person set."

"I'll handle that," Jake said. "My dad thinks I'm developing an interest in emergency preparedness. He's weirdly proud that his son is finally taking 'practical survival skills' seriously."

"What about camping gear?" Marcus asked. "If we're spending extended time in other dimensions, we need shelter, food, water purification."

"Already handled," Jake said. "Ordered a four-person expedition kit with my dad's credit card. It'll arrive tomorrow, addressed to 'Jake Morrison and Study Group' for our 'wilderness survival project.'"

Riven felt a strange mixture of gratitude and guilt. His friends were throwing money and resources at his personal mission without expecting anything in return. It felt like more help than he deserved.

"There's one more thing," he said, pulling out his phone to check their system shop balance. "I can buy some specialized equipment that you can't get anywhere else. But it only works if I make the purchases."

He navigated to the system interface, showing them the available options.

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**[Team Enhancement Package - 50 SP]** - *Basic protective charms for non-system party members*

**[Communication Crystals - 30 SP]** -

*Mental link coordination during combat*

**[Emergency Recall Tokens - 40 SP]** - *Instant Veil exit for critical situations*

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"I don't have enough points for all of that," Riven said, "but the Emergency Recall Tokens seem essential. If something goes wrong and we need to evacuate immediately, those could save lives."

"How many survival points do you have?" Maya asked.

"Twenty-seven but the recall tokens cost forty." Riven answered....

(Mind you, they entered a Gray Veil during that one week before telling Maya and Jake about their secrets.)

Marcus was already standing up. "Then we need to earn more points before we try a four-person mission."

"We?"

"We can do a quick two-person run to a Gray Veil. Test our current equipment, gain some experience, build up resources for the team mission." Marcus was already mentally planning. "Maya and Jake can finalize supply acquisitions while we're gone."

Maya looked concerned. "Is it safe for just the two of you?"

"Safer than bringing untrained team members into a Veil before we have proper emergency gear," Riven replied. "We'll do a quick run, low-risk targets, focus on survival points rather than exploration."

Jake was nodding. "That makes sense. We need another day to get everything delivered anyway, and you two have experience working together."

"Where's the next one Riven?" Marcus asked.

Riven pulled out the Veil Compass, checking its current reading. The needle pointed northeast, toward the university district.

"That's... really close to campus," Maya observed.

"Gray Veils can open anywhere," Riven said. "The closer ones are usually weaker, which works in our favor."

They spent another hour coordinating their plans. Maya would use her pre-med connections to acquire medical supplies.

Jake would handle communication gear and camping equipment through his family resources. Riven and Marcus would make a quick Veil run to build their survival point reserves.

As evening approached, Maya packed up her research materials with the efficiency of someone used to managing complex projects.

"One more thing," she said as they prepared to leave. "We need better cover stories. The 'family therapy' excuse was terrible, but the 'wilderness survival project' angle has potential. We can build on that."

"How?" Jake asked.

"Through Independent study credits. I talked to Professor Reynolds in the Biology department about interdisciplinary research opportunities. I Told him we were interested in extreme environment survival and emergency medical response. He was excited about the project possibilities."

Riven stared at her. "You got us academic credit for monster hunting?"

"I got us academic cover for activities that involve extended absences, equipment acquisitions, and group coordination training. What we actually do during those 'research expeditions' is our business."

"Maya, you're terrifying," Marcus said admiringly.

"I prefer 'thorough.' But thank you."

As they left her dorm and headed back toward campus, Riven felt something he hadn't experienced since his family disappeared: the sense of having people who genuinely had his back. Not just Marcus, who'd been with him from the beginning, but a real team with complementary skills and shared commitment.

"So tomorrow night?" Marcus asked as they reached the point where their paths would diverge.

"Tomorrow night," Riven confirmed. "We'll do a quick run into Veil and focus on survival points, back before anyone notices we're gone."

"And then?"

"Then we find out what a four-person Veil mission looks like."

Jake was quiet as they walked, but finally spoke up as they reached his residence hall. "This is really happening, isn't it? We're really going to do this."

"Having second thoughts?" Maya asked.

"No. Just... it's a lot to process. Yesterday I was worried about midterm exams. Now I'm planning interdimensional rescue missions."

"The midterms are still happening," Maya pointed out. "We'll need to balance this with our actual college responsibilities."

"Right. Because monster hunting is so much easier when you're also worried about maintaining your GPA."

Despite the sarcasm, Jake didn't sound like he was backing out. If anything, he seemed more committed now that they had concrete plans and defined roles.

As they parted ways for the evening, Riven felt the weight of leadership settling on his shoulders. These people were trusting him with their safety, their secrets, their future.

Marcus had chosen to follow him into danger, but Maya and Jake were choosing to help make his impossible dream possible.

He couldn't let them down. More importantly, he couldn't let his desperate need to find his family put his friends in unnecessary danger.

Tomorrow night would be a test run. Just him and Marcus, quick and clean while building resources for their expanded operations.

But soon, they'd find out if their friendship could survive contact with actual monsters.

The thought should have terrified him. Instead, as he walked back to his apartment, Riven found himself looking forward to it...