Instant Death - Volume 1 - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

 

Chapter 3 - Everyone, please listen!

All the students' glowing and beaming made it feel like a rainbow was running through the bus, giving it the air of a modern day fairy-tale .

"Your powers differ based on color, but for convenience just think of it as the more vivid the glow the stronger the power . Everyone's light will fade in a moment, I recommend you take mental note of who looks powerful before that happens . Getting on the good side of strong companions continues to prove a solid method of survival . "

Taking Shion's advice to heart the students began frantically scanning their classmates for promising individuals .
Tomochika wasn't the only one that wasn't sparkling, but they were a drastic minority .

"Version 02 . 87 . 05 . 11 of Battle Song has just been installed in you all . With the install successful you should be seeing all the licence holders' logos right about
now . Vexing, I know, but they're only there during boot-up so please bear with it as it finishes setting up . "

Tomochika, who had still been standing, sat down again and stared forward . All she could see was the bus seat in front of her .
Whatever Shion was talking about, she couldn't see it .

"Mikochi, are you seeing anything?"

With a rising sense of unease Tomochika asked Romiko in the neighboring seat .

"Yeah . A bunch of colorful text is floating around, not sure what's going on . 'Status,' it says . Oh, it's in our language . That's strange, right?"

So it really was visible to everyone else .


Tomochika was wavering, it seemed to have been a bad sign after all . The feeling of being left out just wouldn't leave her alone .

"With this you will gain the ability to use various special powers . Use them and work towards becoming a sage . You have one month . "

"E-excuse me!"

Tomochika bundled her resolve, rose to her feet and directly addressed Shion .

"Yes?"

"Ah, is it fine to ask questions?"

"Sure, go ahead . "

Shion smiled gently .

"Um, I didn't glow earlier, and I'm not seeing any logos or anything either . . . "

"My oh my . "

Shion's gentle smile quickly turned into one of theatrical pity .

"It's regretful, but occasionally there are incompatible individuals . Nothing to do about that, you'd best give up . "



Being told off just like that Tomochika was puzzled for a response . The premonition telling her she was heading towards a hopeless situation was growing more and more intense .

"Moving on . You are all part of the same clan, a community of sorts . From here, please produce a sage from within that clan . You may work together on turning only one of you into a sage, or even split up and become sages by yourselves, on your own . I'll leave your course of action to you . "

"One more question! Why us, if I may ask!"

Tomochika's despair gave birth to belligerency .
In response to her question she was stabbed with stares, the same message in all of their eyes: "Don't act out of line!"

"Oh, just a matter of statistics . Calculations suggested that this group has a high probability of producing a sage . "

"One more! Please tell me what happens if none of us turn into sages, if I may ask!"

"Hm, what indeed . I suppose I'll have you turned into livestock and wrung of your magical power . You will be shoved and locked into a dark magic tank where you will spend the entirety of your life . Work hard, okay?"

It was a future more miserable than what Tomochika could have imagined .
That was her last question .

"On the other hand, if you do produce a sage the rest of you will turn into that sage's acolytes, a position of quite some influence in this world . Now then, your first mission will begin in an hour . Don't go and die off on me now . "

With those words Shion left the bus . The students she had left behind now released their pent-up hysteria and the bus' inside became chaotic .



"What the heck, I don't get what's going on at all . "

Tomochika slumped into her seat .

"Ah-, the mission's description came in . "

Romiko spoke in her usual manner, not seeming particularly perturbed . According to Romiko, the mission's contents were as follows:

First Mission
Objective: Escape from the Plain of Dragons and reach the city in the north!
Main Enemies: Dragons (Average Level of 1000)
Advice: Dragons' preferred food are humans . As such, being attacked upon leaving the bus is close to certain . Furthermore, defeating a dragon is beyond your current abilities . You have one hour until the mission starts, during that time a barrier around the bus will guarantee your safety . Use that time to come up with a strategy .

"No way, dragons?"

Tomochika looked out of the window .
All she could see was an idyllic plain of grass, it was difficult to imagine a monster like a dragon to suddenly appear . However, what she did spot were castle walls, far off in the distance .
Seemed like the town was over there .

"Everyone, please listen!"

The panic was still ongoing when suddenly someone raised their voice and stepped forward .
A male student, Suguru Yazaki .
After his shout everyone turned quiet .

"We're in a confusing situation, but for the time being it doesn't look like we've got a choice but to clear that mission, and for that we'll need everyone's cooperation . "

A sudden leader-act .
Tomochika expected someone to voice an objection, but, surprisingly, everyone appeared to go along with it .

"Hey, is it really fine to leave it to Yazaki-kun like that?

She asked Romiko in a hushed voice .

"Well, having someone take the role of mediator sounds reasonable, I guess?"

"I mean, yeah, but . . . "

There was something about it that gave her a bad feeling .

"First of all I would like to get a grasp on everyone's abilities . Can everyone write down their name and status on a memo and bring it to me?"

Somehow no one opposed Yazaki's proposal .