Christopher Balrand, one of the three teachers of the First Years classes, stood behind a thick and transparent wall, his narrowed locked onto Rodrick.

After his ‘powers’ ran out of control, the burly student was immediately brought to an interrogation room under the Administrative Bureau Building of Erys.

He had been suspected to be one of the students whose powers were strengthened through outside and illegal substance use, and his battle against Zeke was more than enough proof to lock him up. In fact, it was within Principal Solas’s authority to hand Rodrick to the Department of Defense and make them deal with the rest, but that would cause the youth to be inhumanely tortured to extract information.

“We’re not allowed to use violence. How are we supposed to make him talk?”

The hooded John, one of the members of the Special Investigation Squad, was displeased with how they were treating Rodrick. He stood next to Christopher and grumbled loudly, but the teacher turned a deaf ear.

Upon seeing no positive reaction or agreement from his teacher, John clenched his hands and angrily stormed out of the room. As for Christopher, he kept looking at Rodrick, who was being questioned by Celestial Black.

“You still won’t talk?”

“...”

Celestia was sitting opposite Rodrick, seemingly calm and unbothered by his silence.

“If you decide to keep your counsel, the least you’ll get is an expulsion.”

Unfortunately, her threats were not enough as he had his arms crossed and looked relaxed and adamant about keeping his lips tightly shut.

“Your father could get implicated as well.”

When his father was mentioned, Rodrick’s body twitched and he hesitantly looked at the girl.

“If you cooperate, I’ll make sure you’ll only get one Black Star. There’s no need to complicate this matter and associate yourself with criminals. There’s still room for redemption, Rodrick.”

Time crept by yet the interrogation bore no fruit. Rodrick refused to be a witness against Fylard nor disclose any useful information.

Celestia knew who the culprit was, however, she had to follow the rules and find conclusive evidence, or else the Principal wouldn’t let her apprehend Fylard.

…

Two days later, around midnight.

Room 18 of the First Year Male Dormitory

“Rodrick is still not back.”

Fylard was biting his nails as he paced around the room, looking nervously looking at his phone. Two of his roommates were asleep while the last one was quietly sitting on the bed and staring at Fylard.

“There’s a strong chance we’re being monitored. Stop acting suspiciously.”

Despite this warning, Fylard let out a grunt and kept pacing around, unable to calm his thoughts or his rapidly-beating heart. The longer Rodrick was being locked in Erys, the higher the probability of him divulging the truth.

Fylard was only the supplier of the empowering drug, but that was enough for him to be expelled. At first, when Rodrick was taken by Professor Nayro, Fylard had expected Rodrick’s father to interfere and help his son, but that didn’t happen, much to his surprise.

As it turned out, Rodrick’s father, one of the most infamous gang bosses of the city’s underworld, cared more about his face than his family, opting to stay out of the matter and let his son deal with the consequences, no matter how disastrous they could get.

“And here I thought I could use him to help father and strengthen our family. Tsk tsk!”

Fylard halted his foot and cursed under his breath, slowly but surely becoming hysterical.

Feeling sweaty and hot, he snatched the bottle of water atop his desk and gulped down, but his thirst wasn’t quenched.

“Maybe I was wrong about you, Fylard.” Said the only roommate awake, a sigh escaping his thin lips.

“How can you be so goddamn calm?!” Shouted back Fylard, his face red.

“...”

Hearing no response and seeing the annoying grin on the youth’s face, Fylard stepped forth and grabbed his collar, “I’m telling you! If they find out, I will not go down alone! I’ll tell them everything about your order and how you-”

Fylard suddenly stopped talking and staggered to the back, his face becoming redder and his body profusely sweating.

The other student fixed his uniform and retorted, “It’s fine by me. I have completed my primary objective and I believe it’s time to depart.”

Right after he finished speaking, there was a loud explosion in the dormitory, followed by several light tremors and panicked shouts.

The two sleeping roommates of Fylard awakened, their bodies turning red and their powers going out of control.

As for Fylard himself, his Wind-aspected ability was getting out of control, hitting the room and wrecking it within seconds.

“You’ve drunk more than double the normal dose. It should suffice as a distraction, I guess.”

The youth opened the door, his expression turning into a scared one as he shouted atop of his lungs, calling for help and running away.

…

A deafening alarm awakened Zeke’s from his dreamless sleep. The first thing he saw was the System Window flashing with an ominous red color

[Urgent Mission: Stop the Ivory Oak Order disciple from running away]

[Rewards: +20 EXP | +20 EP | Power-up Survival Skill]

The four students of Room 10 woke up all at once, but Zeke was the only one who didn’t hear the cries echoing across the dormitory’s corridors.

The ringing sound of the System had stopped, only to be replaced by the tremors and explosions occurring simultaneously.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Alan, Samuel, and Azmer jumped to their feet, stupefied by what was happening.

“Stay close… close!”

Samuel ran to Alan’s side and instructed him to be careful whereas Azmer conjured a protective barrier made of flames around him as he warily looked at the only door in the room.

Zeke too, readied himself as lightning crackled around his hands, ready to strike at any moment.

“W-what’s happening?”

The timid Alan was shaking from fear, his eyes were peeking from behind Samuel and at the door.

After a brief bout of silence between the four of them, the door was blasted by an invisible shock wave and a crazed student with red skin leapt at the closest target.

Sadly for him, Samuel and co were prepared and before he could land, the poor student was blown to the back by three different abilities. However, even as he crashed to the wall, his chest bleeding from the fire and lightning, he growled like a beast and lunged again.

Zeke used ‘Life Motus’, appearing to the target’s side, and swept his leg upwards, accurately hitting the back of his head and knocking him unconscious.

“Stay here!”

Just by seeing the student acting like that, Zeke immediately understood what was happening. He recognized him as one of the students whose powers were strengthened. Coupled with the knowledge he had gotten from the Special Investigation Squad, it was relatively easy to conclude that those suspected targets were running out of control, which explained the unfolding chaos.

‘It’s just in the First Year Dormitory yet I hear cries from everywhere, which means there total of students affected is more than a dozen. The upperclassmen and the teachers should be here at any moment, so I’ll go look for ‘my’ target.’

With the voltage dancing around him, Zeke shot forward, striking any of the rampaging students while looking for anyone suspicious. Urgent Missions were particularly rare and the rewards were enticing, therefore, Zeke spared no effort in trying to complete them.

However, even after the passing of minutes, when the shouts were slowly dying down, Zeke found no signs of the so-called ‘disciple’.

He stopped at a small intersection on the ground floor to collect his thoughts and rationalize.

‘First of all, this wasn’t a coincidence. It was intentional on ‘his’ part… either to distract or to purposely cause chaos. Still, he would gain nothing from this unless he wants to… run away? But why now? Did he feel threatened or was he about to be discovered?’

Zeke dashed out of the dormitory, using ‘Life Motus’ sparingly to cross short distances and avoid attention.

Alas, the outside of the dormitory was filled with students, whether it was Second-years coming to help, or Third-Years forming a perimeter to not let the ‘infected’ students escape.

‘Someone inconspicuous. Someone who wants to leave unnoticed. Who could it be?’

Zeke tried to scan as many students as he tried and, finally, he saw someone slowly backing away with his head lowered. He head disheveled brown hair and had an average height, Zeke recognized him from Fylard’s circle.

‘It’s him!’

As soon as he was about to give chase, someone blocked his path and pulled him to the back.

“Zeke! Are you alright?!”

It was none other than Maxine, who tightly hugged him and frantically inspected his body.

Even though he wanted to free himself, Zeke eventually gave up. The few seconds he was locked in his sister’s embrace were enough for the target to hide and disappear from view.

[Urgent Mission Failed!]

He saw the System Notification, which made him inwardly grumble and reassure the worried Maxine.

…

First Year Student Maxwell Lepard switched his clothes using a special artifact. He successfully escaped Erys unnoticed and when he appeared in Kethra’s Arms, his student uniform was switched to an exquisite white and golden robe.

However, after taking a few steps and entering a narrow alleyway, he suddenly stopped and looked behind him.

A frown appeared on his average-looking face as he scrutinized the bespectacled black-haired woman glaring at him.

“My my, I didn’t expect a stealth expert to be holed up in Erys. A mistake on my part, I confess.”

Even as he faced Katrina, Maxwell was slightly startled but otherwise composed. He faced the woman with a soft and impressed smile.

“You are a disciple of the Ivory Oak Order.” Stated the agent with a gloomy and cold voice.

In response, Maxwell scoffed at her while pointing at his flashy robe.

“Of course I am, duuh!”

Her figure turned blurry as she charged at him, two glistening silver blades appearing in her hand and letting out a milky-white aura.

To defend himself, Maxwell raised both hands and swiftly chanted a short incantation, which formed a resplendent shield in front of him.

The shield and twin blades clashed, ending with the latter shattering the former and blowing Maxwell a couple of meters to the back. Still, he quickly got to his feet, a scepter made of ivory in his left hand.

He performed a short bow as his body was enveloped by a grey light before vanishing thereafter.

Although she landed a single blow, Katrina knew that trying to catch him wouldn’t be easy. After all, he was a spy from the Ivory Oak Order, and he must have had a handful of artifacts that would guarantee his escape even from someone like Principal Solas… that was how careful that secret organization was.

In fact, ever since its name became public, there had been only two cases where a disciple was apprehended, and even on those occasions, both had mysteriously died not long after their capture.

In that regard, the Ivory Oak Order and the Ascetic Blasphemers were particularly meticulous in ensuring their secrets never got out. Whenever they send their disciples to heavily-guarded places such as Erys, they would plan everything and make sure the dispatched individual has not only guaranteed success but also several means of unstoppable escapade.

…

In a spacious underground basement within the Eastern Sector of the Sunken Metropolis, there was a bright flash of light, followed by the appearance of Maxwell Lepard.

Three people wearing the same white robe as him were awaiting his arrival. However, the second he appeared, he knelt down and coughed blood.

“I’m… fine..”

He wiped his blood and grinned at his ‘colleagues’.

“An agent from the Department of Defense has caught up to me.”

“Did she see your face?”

A middle-aged man with a stern look asked, to which Maxwell nodded nonchalantly.

“That fact is of no consequence. I think she happened to see me escape.”

Maxwell sat on the ground and chuckled while the other three looked at him, seemingly annoyed by his free-spirited attitude.

“Well… that doesn’t matter. I’m proud to say that the experiment was a success.”

Maxwell took out a small vial filled with frozen blood and continued, “The weak-willed subjects will turn rampant if they consume a large quantity over a short period of time. However, if we regulate the dosage and distribute it equally, the side effects can be negated through periodic and careful Aether Extraction. This should be enough, yes?”

The middle-aged man, who seemed to be the leader of this small group, sighed and nodded in agreement.

“Yes, I will write the full report tomorrow and take it to the messenger. For now, we all need to lay low and avoid the eyes of the Department of Defense and Solas. Neither will be happy after what you did, Maxwell.”

“Whatever, it’s not like I’m going to return to Erys. Speaking of which, I think I’ve found the perfect subject.”

“Who?!” Said a woman with beautiful and long blonde hair.

“Julia Lopmore, though I doubt we have the manpower to get to her.”

“The granddaughter of the famed Hero? Forget about it, Maxwell.” The man glared at him and added, “Don’t do anything stupid, you hear me?”

“I’m not! Come on, stop treating me like a kid.”

After a momentary silence, one of Maxwell’s associates, a slim and short man with thinning black hair crouched down and asked,

“What of the other matter?”

“What other-...ah! Yes, it’s as you said, Bibi.”

As he heard the confirmation, Bibi frowned and gritted his teeth.

“A female disciple of the Ascetic Blasphemers is hiding in Erys. I’ve spied on her but, so far, she hasn’t made any contact, which led me to believe that she might be hiding from her organization rather than the authorities.”

Bibi, growing restless, punched the ground in anger and was about to inquire further but the leader, named Frederic, pulled him back and coldly said,

“Stay your ground, Bibi. We’re here on an official mission.”

“But she’s with them!”

“So what?” Chirped the blonde woman, looking displeased with her friend.

“Those lunatics are dangerous and uncompromising. We better stay as far away from them as possible.”