At exactly 8 AM, a small but fancy-looking bus stopped at the gate of Future High, the central high school within the district. A small group of teenagers wearing their best clothes moved towards with zeal, everyone had been waiting for this moment!
"Hey Teach, why aren't we leaving already?"
However, the only adult around remained standing in place, unaffected by the students' excitement. Only one student stood next to him as if they were waiting for someone, seemingly unbothered by the complaint.
"We are waiting for another 5 minutes. If nobody else arrives, then we will leave," it was only when 5 minutes had passed that Link answered Fred's question as he forced a smile into his face. Disregarding the impatient delinquent, his eyebrows drooped with a hint of worry as he stared at the empty street.
He was obviously waiting for someone, and it seemed like he would gladly wait for that person even if it took hours, let alone minutes. Unfortunately, he couldn't just bend the rules for the sake of his personal convictions, especially when most of the people involved didn't share the same intentions.
'Where is he…'
Things were different if this was a normal school day, but today was the day that would decide the future of these lucky students. Only the resources of the Extra Academy could truly support an Extra in their upstarting phasing, and only they had the chance to grab this opportunity at its lowest bar!
It was natural to be excited about getting the chance to ascertain their abilities' true worth and stand out from the rest of their fellow classmates. The ones that had somehow managed to awaken thanks to the pill's help were more impatient in particular. However, the golden-haired beauty of the class appeared to be concerned similarly to Link…
"Hah, the teacher's showing targeted concern once again. Isn't this basically nepotism? Do we really have to wait for the useless Ordinary?" A slim tall young man snorted as he walked to Fred's side. He didn't dare to throw shade at Link like this when they were still studying under him, but things were different now that the road to success had already opened up to him.
Although Krig was originally just a fellow bully of Fred who only targeted the weak and feared the strong, he was now full of confidence at hitting the jackpot and awakening under the pill's effect. In some part of his mind, he felt that he had finally become the protagonist of his life!
"You really-" Link felt bitter as he looked at Krig's smug face. He had always felt weak since there was nothing he could do to stop bullies like Fred due to their strong background, expelling someone like Krig was possible, but he was already a replacement that had already been chased away.
Even in times like these, the evil in the human heart was… Just as the helpless Teacher was about to fall into despair, his heart lit up as he caught sight of the silhouette that he had been waiting for!
Running as fast as he could, a light-blue haired dashed towards the bus, bringing his handsomely defined facial features into sight as he stopped in front of the small crowd.
"Hah… hah… Sorry for being this late, I tried to get here as fast as I could… hah…" Chrome said as he tried to catch his breath.
He was already more than half sure that they would leave as early as this, but it wasn't like he could do anything to change the rules that governed his mysterious reality exchange.
"Oh? The loser is really here! Did you hope to come with us by using cheering for us as an excuse or something?" Krig snickered at Chrome with ridicule.
"That's a good idea. We will definitely do much better with Chrome as our cheerleader! Can't we make an exception for him Teach?" Fred pretentiously cheered up as if he had been waiting for this moment to crush what was left of the weakling's spirit.
No matter how different Krig and Fred's social class was, they would always unite when it came to their favorite hobby, bullying!
The rest of the students' reaction wasn't that much better. One looked at him unpleasantly for being the cause of the delay while the other acted indifferent with a hint of disdain hidden in his eyes. Even Bryce's face, which Chrome wasn't expecting to see, awkwardly looked him in the eye once, turning a blind eye in fear of being lumped up with him again.
"Unfortunately, I don't possess your great level of intelligence to try out something like that. I only came here to go about it the conventional way, giving the examination a try after awakening my ability with the help of the school's sponsoring." Chrome smiled, completely unbothered by the bully pair's sarcastic comments.
Now that his counterpart had handed him the steering wheel for whatever reason it might be, Chrome had no plans to bend down for everyone just to avoid trouble. Even if he weren't to succeed with this new start, they still needed to break his spirit from the very start if they wanted to see him act submissively!
As unaccomplished as Chrome was, his pride and dignity were still at the base level. No one had the right to talk him down as long as he did nothing wrong! It was specifically part of his nature to stand up to such bullies!
"Eh?" The pair looked at each other in shock. It was old news that Chrome's good grades were the only reason he managed to get the last spot in the Special Class as his Exos ratings were practically nonexistent. Yet, he was somehow saying that he was one of the only seven students to awaken in the class gathering the people with the highest ratings in school?
Most importantly, the two were more dumbfounded about Chrome's changed attitude. Had his lucky awakening made him suddenly grow a backbone out of nowhere?
"You also awakened your ability, Chrome?" Bryce suddenly stepped forward with a smile, just what were the odds for both of them to change their fate overnight!
"Yeah, I almost gave up and sold the pill to make my life easier. However, I still gave it a try in the end so I could save myself from future regrets, and it somehow paid off!" Chrome answered this so-called best friend of his in a mix of genuine and fake happiness.
The Bryce in his world was truly his best friend from school, but the one in this parallel reality had distanced himself to the level of a borderline acquaintance. While Chrome understood that the pressure of bullying by companionship was tough, he still had mixed feelings about the guy who left his counterpart alone at his lowest point…
"Great! I did the same and it somehow worked as well!" The happiness on Bryce's face looked real, but its conditional appearance irked Chrome off.
"That's great, Chrome!" Confirming Chrome's successful awakening, Alice appeared to be the happiest within the whole group including Chrome himself, subconsciously raising her arms as she approached him before quickly taking them back.
'That was close…' A tinge of red appeared on her face as she retreated, but she still couldn't hide her excessive smile.
"Ahem. Congratulations, Chrome… and everyone else who has managed to earn the right to be here. Since that should be all of us now, let's quickly board the bus." Link didn't lose to Alice in elation as if a huge weight had been taken off his shoulders, hurrying everyone up into the bus.
'Luckily it worked out, the first part of my task is a success.'
"Hah? Does everyone believe whatever this loser blurts out just like that? If any Ordinary could truly awaken their ability just because they say so, then shouldn't the whole school be allowed to come with?" Finally having come to his senses, Fred blatantly accused Chrome of lying as soon as he witnessed Alice's reaction…