" Aiko, what are you doing?"
Aiko, Yuichi's classmate, pulled out a bunch of papers out of nowhere. They were multidimensional, and they filled out the whole place.
" Here it is!"
?
" These are your results and your class affiliation."
" These truly are my results. It has my name and everything."
" See! I told you I could help you. I was a lot of help, right?"
" So, did you find your class affiliation?"
" Yes, I did! I'm affiliated to Quest-Class A."
" That's great! We're classmates."
" So, how did you do it? All these papers, how were you able to make them magically appear?"
" I didn't make them magically appear as you think. What I did was employ my power, that's all."
" Employ your power?"
" Yes! My power attribute is networking. Thanks to my power, I'm able to find all kinds of information whether it is a location or finding info about a person, an animal, or an object."
" Wow, that's great! Your power is magnificent. I wish I had such an amazing ability."
" Now that you know what class you're in, shall we go?"
" Yes, let's go!"
On their way to their classroom, they heard an announcement. The announcement said that everyone was to reunite in the big gym.
" What could it be about? Do you think something happened?"
" We can't be too sure that something happened. We should hurry to the gym."
" You're right!"
Ten minutes later, all the students were reunited in the big gymnasium. The headmaster stepped up to talk to us.
" Hello, students! Today is your first day, but unfortunately, an issue was brought up to our attention." Some of you would have to step up as reinforcements."
" Reinforcements?"
" What seems to be the issue, headmaster?"
The students began to lose their nerve; they started to panic just by looking at the headmaster's serious expression. Just like the students, Yuichi was also a bit nerve-wracking as to what the headmaster truly was trying to say to them.
" One of our students has fallen into the enemy's hands."
" He went on a mission, but he was ambushed on the way back. We need reinforcements to go and set him free."
" We know this is a last-minute thing, but we'd really appreciate any volunteers for this. This will be without a doubt your first official mission as a student."
" Don't worry, as you won't be going alone on this mission. A faculty member will be coming along with you to assure your security and supervise you."
The headmaster finished his speech. He looked at us, looking for volunteers for the mission. The students were hesitant to raise their hands and then, all of a sudden-----------------
" I'll go, I'm volunteering. One of our classmates needs our help. We can't abandon him."
The first student who volunteered for the mission was Tatsuya Marashi. He was followed by Santosh Murakami.
No other students dared to volunteer as they were scared out of their wits, which was comprehensible. After all, they didn't want to sacrifice their lives unnecessarily.
" Yuichi, let's volunteer!"
?
" They can't go by themselves. They might need our help, so let's volunteer."
(Volunteer? This is a job in a sense, right? Can I truly do this?)
" Yuichi, where are you lost?"
" Sorry! I don't think that's such a good idea, that I tag along, that is. Someone else might be more appropriate." I'm not certain I'll be able to contribute much if I were to go."
" I think you'll be able to contribute more to this rescue mission than you think. Besides, your illusionary skills might come in handy."
" Any more volunteers?" The headmaster asked.
" Look at it this way! My power attribute is more on the defensive, but I'm volunteering anyway because I know deep down that I have a role to play." Thinking that way gives me confidence and courage."
(A role to play?)
" You've convinced me, Aiko. I'll tag along."
Two other students volunteered for the mission. Those students are Yuichi Hanagawa and Aiko Kanzaki. The volunteers were four in total, with no more additions.
" Thanks to all of you who volunteered! We're very grateful and wish all of you good luck."
" You're all dismissed! The remaining students can head to their classes."
The students dispersed except for the four volunteer students.
" I'll be supervising you today, so give it your best." Arata Sugawara uttered.
Tatsuya, Santosh, and Aiko were delighted to be going on their first official mission, but Yuichi couldn't share the same enthusiasm.
" Let's meet back here in fifteen minutes! Would that time frame be enough for you all?" Tatsuya asked diligently.
" Yes, that's enough time, I think."
" Would you need more time, Yuichi?"
" No, that works for me too. See you in fifteen minutes!"
The remaining four students dispersed as well. Yuichi heads to his dorm.
(A mission, huh? I hope I'll be able to contribute as much as I can.)
Yuichi changed out of his school uniform and wore something more casual. He took his backpack and head out of the dorm.
" You're here already. I didn't think you were going to be here this quick."
" Me neither, Tatsuya. You're pretty excited about this, aren't you?"
" Ah, yeah! More than this being a mission, I get to show what I'm capable of while saving a life."
" That's great! I'm happy for you."
" I see that you two are already here. There's only the girl missing."
Santosh also brought his backpack, as did Tatsuya.
" None of us has introduced themselves officially yet, right?"
" You're right! None of us has." I'm Tatsuya Marashi. It's a pleasure to meet you."
" As for me, I'm Yuichi Hanagawa. It's nice meeting you, too."
" Don't forget about me! I'm Aiko Kanzaki. It's a pleasure to meet all of you."
Kanzaki ran to us with her backpack. Lastly, Mr. Sugawara showed up a minute later. All of us were fully ready to go.
" Where are we heading, Sugawara-San?"
" We're heading to Oshu City."
" Oshu City? How will we get there?"
" Don't worry, everyone! My attribute is Teleportation. I can take you there without a hitch." Santosh inquired.
" Then, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"
Santosh opened a portal and in a matter of a second, we were all teleported to Oshu City in a flash.
" We are in Oshu City. Our mission is to rescue. It's as simple as that. Are we clear?"
" Yes, Sir!"
" We never asked, but who are we rescuing?"
" Yukinari Yukimura, he's a first-year like you guys. He was supposed to start school officially today, but was held back due to this mission."
" What was his mission about?"
" Prevent a theft at the Oshu Bank. The mission was simple but had difficulties which we overlooked." We should've sent him without protection."
" It was our fault; we were negligent."
Mr. Sugawara had this anxious look on his face that Yuichi couldn't help but say something unexpected.
" It's going to be alright, Sugawara-San. We're going to save him."
" Well said, Yuichi!"
" We have an issue. We don't currently know where he is in Oshu City."
" That's no problem at all, Sir! I can find him."
Aiko used her networking attribute to localize Yukinari Yukimura. It only took her a minute to find his exact location.
" I've found him. He's three hundred millimeters away from our current location. Here's the info!" She handed him the information she had collected.
" That's quite far. We'll waste too much time if we go on foot." Let's use the minivan!"
" The minivan?"
Out of nowhere, Mr. Sugawara took out what looked like a gadget out of his pockets and threw it on the ground. What looked like a car appeared.
" Wow!"
" Is this technology?"
" Let's be on our way!"
" Yes!"
We entered the minivan and drove off to our location. We stopped five kilometers away for safety.
The place looked like an abandoned factory, to say the least.
" Before we go in, I have something to say."
" What is it, Sugawara-San?"
" It's important that we stay together at all times and not disperse. The success rate of our operation depends on that one rule."
" Understood!"
Inside the factory----------------
" It looks like we have unwanted visitors. What should we do?"
" What kind of question is that? What do we normally do with intruders?"
" No, No! How can we be mean to our guests? That's not nice!"
" Not nice? You're right! Let's welcome them with the utmost respect!"
More to the east, in a cell, there was a young boy locked inside. He has pale skin and white hair, just like the snow.
(Those guys are tough. Even with my ice attribute, I was unable to defeat them. I wasn't doing that bad on a one-on-one duel. I would have even won it all if they hadn't come at me all at once.)
Forty-eight hours earlier
" My mission is quite simple. I have to prevent theft and my mission will be accomplished."
" Not only is this mission important, but it also serves as my enrollment exam, so failing is not an option."
Yukinari Yukimura waited in an alleyway for the thieves to show up.
(What are they waiting for? What's taking them so long?)
Yukinari heard a scream several kilometers away from where he was and headed there immediately."
" Don't worry, civilians! I'm here to save you."
Yukinari had no problem stopping the low-key thieves. On his way back to the academy, he was ambushed by five individuals.
" Hey, Hey!"
" Where do you think you're going?" Heading home by any chance?"
" You're looking for a fight?"
Yukinari took them on one by one and had no issue overpowering them. When they joined forces, however--------------
" Let's see whether you can overcome our combined attack!"
Yukinari had no time to react, as his vision was blurred, and he couldn't see anything. The next thing he knew, he had been taken hostage by the enemy. It has been forty-eight hours since.
To the present, in the locked cell--------------
(Instead of being at the academy, I'm stuck here, unable to escape. I can't use my powers either due to these res trainable locks. I wonder if they received my SOS signal.)
Outside the factory, Arata Sugawara and the four students head inside. Things were looking good until an attack was issued at them.
The attack issued was a kind of fog, just like the one Yukinari was the victim of.
" Everyone, stay in groups! Don't separate from each other!"