When Nile opened his eyes that morning, the first thing he saw wasn't the ceiling. It was the glowing blue screen that had appeared just above his head.
[New Mission Available: Pass the CCG Entry Exam]
Reward: 200 Fusion Points
He stared at it in silence.
Well… I think that solves the theory of if the system is conscious or not. Chuckled nile thinking about how the missions he was getting were very convienient.
The nearest CCG branch office was a squat, modern-looking building tucked between a department store and an empty pharmacy. Clean and professional.
Nile stepped inside, gave Kaneki's name, and asked to apply for the academy. The woman behind the desk gave him a clipboard without question. In Tokyo, young men signing up to fight ghouls wasn't rare.
The written test came two days later. Nile spent every hour leading up to it reading ghoul profiles, law briefings, and historical cases. The system helped his recall—he could feel it sharpening his memory, his focus.
Late at night, staring at the ceiling, he whispered to no one.
"Mia... if you could see me now."
He smiled weakly.
"I don't know if it's Kaneki's body or the damn thing inside me... but I can remember stuff way better than I used to. It's like my brain finally got an upgrade."
He passed the written exam with ease—logical reasoning, memory, and ghoul theory all scoring well above the threshold.
The physical assessment was more demanding, having him do sprints, push-ups, obstacle course time trials.
Nile honestly didn't mind showing off, he wanted to get fast tracked to a third class investigator as soon as possible. His cardio was excellent—no doubt from both his MMA training and the fusion helping his stamina. He made it through clean with no issues.
Then came the sparring match.
Nile stood across from a man nearly a head taller—about six foot one, lean and broad-shouldered. Nile, in Kaneki's shorter five-foot-five frame, looked almost out of place.
But he wasn't nervous. He Knew how to use leverage. He understood distance. And fights aren't won with size alone.
I can beat this guy, he is big but I wouldn't say he Is as skilled as me in the ground or top game, thought Nile as He bit his nails only a little bit nervously, when the instructor approached Nile put on a smile to try to mess with his opponent.
The instructor gave the signal.
Nile stepped forward, bowed, and shook the man's hand.
Then the bell rang.
The taller opponent came in fast with a jab to the head—standard boxing posture, high guard going for Nile. Nile slipped left, his body turning fluidly as he ducked beneath the punch, rotating on the ball of his foot.
He returned with a right hook. The man leaned back—narrowly avoiding it—and circled away.
Nile closed distance quickly. He stepped in low and launched an oblique kick at the upper outside of the man's lead knee. The man grunted and staggered back, his leg buckling slightly.
"Shit—!"
The taller fighter tried to recover, raising his guard—too slow. Nile stepped around and launched a question mark kick, feinting low before whipping the strike high toward the jaw.
It barely missed.
The man surged forward, throwing a flurry of jabs and right hooks, even a wild uppercut.
Nile read it like a book.
The barrage was fast but sloppy. He slipped and parried, his stamina hardly dipping.
The Symbiote is definitely helping with my recovery rate, he thought. My arms aren't even heavy yet.
Then came the finish.
The man overcommitted on a hook. Nile ducked, twisted his hips, and delivered a sharp, instinctive counter—an upward elbow aimed for the chin.
He stopped it short—but not short enough.
The strike clipped the man's throat. Not enough to cause real damage, but it was clean.
The opponent gasped, dropped to his knees, and the instructor immediately stepped in.
"Match over!"
Nile backed up, breathing lightly.
He walked over to the man and helped him up onto his feet "you okay dude, that was a great match we had though am I rite" said nile
The man accepted Niles hand and got up putting a hand on Niles shoulder "your going places kid" the guy said as he smiled at him.
Ten minutes later, he sat on a bench outside the training mat, rehydrating. The screen blinked again in his vision.
[Secret Mission Complete: Win Sparring Match – +100 Fusion Points]
He smirked.
Not bad. Wasn't expecting the secret mission, that means ill be able to increase my fusion if I get in.
The next day, results were posted.
He'd passed every section, ranking high in both intelligence and physical fitness. His reflexes were noted as "exceptional.".
Placement: CCG Academy – 11th Ward Division – Special Track
Nile read the line again.
Kurona and Nashiro Yasuhisa. That's where they were right now.
I mean I was aiming to get into the same academy as them, hopefully i'll run into that white haired brat too.
After checking the posted assignment list, Nile slipped away from the crowd and walked calmly through the hallway. Dozens of academy staff and trainees passed him, white uniforms brushing past like ghosts. A few nodded politely as they moved by, but none lingered.
That was something he'd already started to appreciate.
Kaneki doesn't look like trouble, he thought. Nobody expects anything from him. He blends in. Quiet, forgettable.
He took a left down a less-used corridor and found a storage alcove. The door was unlocked. He stepped in, shut it behind him, and turned the lock with a click.
The silence was immediate.
He let out a slow breath and opened the system screen.
Fusion Points: 300 / 300
He squinted slightly.
"Honestly I got those points way faster than I expected."
Use all fusion points, he thought.
Immediately, pain stabbed through the back of his head.
He gasped, staggering slightly as his vision went white, then black. His ears rang. He brought both hands to his head, gripping tightly—fingers digging into his scalp, palms pressed against his ears to try to shut out the sensation.
What the hell—
It felt like something inside him was growing. Expanding. Stretching its presence. Just for a moment, he thought he felt it... watching him.
Is this thing... getting a mind of its own?
He didn't dwell on the thought. It passed.
The pain faded.
His vision cleared.
And the system screen updated.
System Update
• Fusion Level: 6%
• Fusion Points to Next Level: 0 / 500
• Current Missions: None
Strength: Comparable to the lowest-tier ghouls (F–class)
• Speed: Comparable to the lowest-tier ghouls (F–class)
• Regeneration: Rapid clotting. Minor wounds close in seconds. Serious injuries in hours.
• Symbiote Mass Available: Enough to coat one full hand
• Symbiote Ability Unlocked: Surface Hardening – Level 1/10
Can harden symbiote-covered areas on command. Durability: comparable to steel. Not yet kagune-resistant.
Nile flexed his right hand.
The black tendrils crawled smoothly across his fingers and palm, coating his skin in a tight, living shell. He focused—and the symbiote darkened, solidified, a faint gleam forming across the surface like tempered metal.
He curled his hand into a fist.
Once I have a quinque... and with this fucking hardening, its like metal, id say once i can produce more symbiote it will almost be like having a kagune but better.
The tendrils peeled back and vanished under his skin.
He unlocked the door and stepped back into the hallway—just another quiet figure walking among the doves.