Chapter 3 — Everyone! Listen to Me!With the students glowing in a variety of colors, the inside of the bus had taken on a fantastical atmosphere.
"The color denotes the difference in your strength, but to put it simply, it's safe for you to assume that those of you who are glowing now are strong. After a short while, the light will disappear. I recommend that you keep in mind who among you looks the strongest, though. After all, if you gather the most powerful people around you, your chance of survival will increase."
As if taking Sion's warning all too seriously, the students began frantically looking around the bus. Although Tomochika wasn't the only one who wasn't glowing, there were very few like her.
"I've installed a system called Battle Song version 02.87.05.11 into all of you. If the installation was successful, you should see a number of license logos appearing in front of your eyes. It may seem annoying at first, but you will only see them on startup, so please bear with it for now."Still standing at this point, Tomochika finally took her seat and began watching the space in front of her intently. But the only thing that she saw was the seat in front of her...nothing like what Sion had described was appearing.
"Mikochi, can you see anything?" Tomochika asked her friend, beginning to get anxious.
"Yeah, there are a bunch of colorful letters, but I can't read them. Oh, it says 'Status.' It's just Japanese? What is this?"
So everyone except her could see it after all. Tomochika was struck by another uncomfortable feeling. Being set apart from everybody else in a situation like this was...bad.
"This system is called the 'Gift' in this world. Using your Gift, please aim for the rank of Sage. I suppose we should set a time limit as well. For now, why don't we say one month?"
"U-Umm, excuse me!" Steeling herself, Tomochika rose from her seat again and called to Sion.
"What is it?"
"May I ask a question?"
"Of course," Sion replied with a gentle smile.
"Err, I didn't glow at all, and I can't see any logos or anything..."
"Ah, well then..." Sion's expression turned sympathetic. "Unfortunately, there are some people who just aren't compatible. There's nothing we can do about it, so please don't give it another thought."
Dismissed so quickly, Tomochika was struck speechless. The feeling that she was in a very bad situation was intensifying.
"Now then, let us continue. All of you will be working together as a single unit known as a Clan. From this Clan, you must produce at least one Sage. You can all work together to prop up one person, or everyone can try to get there by themselves. I'll leave the method entirely up to you."
"Excuse me! Why us?" As desperation began to settle in, Tomochika's usual belligerence was reemerging. The surrounding students began to turn sharp gazes in her direction, as if willing her not to speak out."It's just statistics. Our calculations suggested that this particular group has a high probability of turning out a Sage."
"Excuse me! What happens if no one can become a Sage?"
"Yes, that. I guess I'd have to turn you into livestock and use you to produce magical energy. You would all be put into a dark, cramped tank for the rest of your lives. So do your best to succeed, okay?"
Faced with a future even more tragic than she had imagined, Tomochika was once again speechless.
"But if even one of you attains the rank of Sage, then the rest of you will become their attendants, and will be accorded a degree of authority in this world. That I can guarantee. In one hour, we will begin your first mission. Try not to get wiped out right at the start, okay?"
With those parting words, Sion stepped off the bus. Almost immediately, the students erupted into chaos.
"What's even happening? I don't get it at all!" Tomochika said, falling back into her seat with a thud.
"Ah, the Mission Details are here," Romiko said matter-of-factly, as if completely unfazed by the circumstances.
According to Romiko, the details of the mission were as follows:
First Mission
Objective: Depart from your current location of the Dragon Plains to reach the city in the north.
Main enemy: Dragons (Average Level: 1000)
Advice: Humans are a dragon's favorite food.
If you exit the bus without any sort of plan, you will likely be attacked. In addition, you currently lack the power to defeat a dragon yourselves.
Until the mission starts, the bus will be protected by a barrier, so you will be safe.
Put a plan together so you will be ready to act when the time comes.
"No, no, no, a dragon would be..."
Tomochika looked outside the window. The landscape around them looked like nothing more than idyllic scenery, completely at odds with the idea of it housing such dangerous monsters.
"Everyone! Listen to me!"
As the chaos continued unabated, a single student stood up — Suguru Yazaki, one of the leaders of the class. Between his good grades, great looks, and extraordinary athletic ability, he was a boy with no faults. He could be rather inflexible at times, but that was likely a result of his penchant for justice.
When he raised his voice, the other students immediately fell silent.
"Although I have no idea what's going on here, it seems there's nothing we can do except try to clear this mission. For that, we all have to work together."
He had essentially just declared himself the leader, but it seemed most of the other students were okay with that. If they had held a poll, he almost certainly would have been chosen anyway, so there wasn't much in the way of objection."Is it really okay to leave it to Yazaki?" Tomochika whispered to Romiko, giving voice to her slight feelings of opposition.
"Well, we need someone to manage us for now, right? I think Yazaki is probably well suited for the job."
"That may be true, but..."
Even acknowledging that, she couldn't help but get a bad vibe from the way it had been so arbitrarily decided.
"First, I'd like to get a handle on everyone's abilities. Could you all write your names and Statuses down in this book?"
No one objected.