After untying all the ropes binding the hostages in the large vehicle’s cargo compartment, Alvit calmed them down as they were trembling in a state of panic.

“Th… Thank you.”

“It’s nothing. I’ll go check the surrounding situation first, so please wait here.”

And barely accepting their thanks, she tried to hurry out.

‘Senior…!’

Clara, who had been with her until just now, put the bicycle with the strange name ‘Red Hare’ in a corner and rushed off somewhere.

The delinquent students’ base they arrived at after a long chase.

Clara left saying she would look for the students the shopping district dwarf had witnessed, as soon as they arrived.

At least from what Alvit had seen of Clara so far, she was very good at improvising and judging according to the situation. She even had incredibly fast legs.

It was an unbeatable talent for a weak person’s survival method.

‘So she probably won’t get hurt in some ridiculous way…’

But she was still worried nonetheless.

It’s only been a little over 3 days since they started living together. She was a senior who cared for Alvit without expecting anything in return. Such a foolish senior that she couldn’t treat her like a stranger now.

That’s why Alvit was about to move her feet in the direction Clara had gone.

Rota, trying to get up from her seat in the corner of the cargo compartment, fell over with a thud.

“Kyaa…!”

“Are you okay?”

“Y-Yeah… I just limped a bit because I was startled by the sudden situation. Thanks. B-But what about you? You seemed to be using a lot of ether since earlier.”

“Ah, my skill hardly uses any ether. I don’t know why, but it’s the type that activates just by swinging.”

Rota was startled by those words.

She tried to ask something while mumbling with her small mouth, but eventually brought up a different topic.

“Anyway, thank you for saving me. I don’t know which school you’re from, but I’ll definitely repay this favor. Can I ask your name?”

“I’m Alvit from <Central Prism Academy>. And it wasn’t just me who did this…”

“Hm? Who else came with you? To such a dangerous place?”

“Yes, my senior. Actually, she’s the one who brought us here.”

“I see. Thanks to both of you. My name is Rota. I’m a first-year student who… attended <Public Bana Boarding School>, but dropped out.”

Droop…

Rota soon recalled her situation and drooped her two cat ears.

“…I’m envious that you have such a reliable senior at school. I mean it.”

“…Yes.”

Always making strange noises.

Somewhat unreliable, but occasionally tremendously helpful.

Such a strange senior.

‘Oh right. I need to go look for her.’

Alvit startled, trying to leave the cargo compartment again to find Clara.

“―Hey.”

“…?!”

“…?!”

Alvit and Rota stood at the exit of the cargo compartment.

There was a delinquent student looking at the two with eyes full of killing intent. Eyes shining fiercely in the quiet darkness of the abandoned building district.

“Where are you trying to go in such a hurry? After messing up my territory like this… Blowing away all my subordinates… Now you’ve even ruined my money-making method? Damn, I’m already in a foul mood because that lizard guy ran off as soon as he finished his business.”

He was a delinquent student with a rough and fierce impression like a scorpion emerging from sandy ground.

“Since the culprits who ruined my work… are right in front of me, I want to kill them.”

A growling tone. Sharp teeth revealed in a terribly distorted mouth. A school uniform tattered from roughly tearing off the school emblem. A greatsword with many teeth missing, but feeling more murderous because of it.

Red ether was already burning and overflowing from that delinquent student’s toothless greatsword. He was different from the riffraff they had met so far.

Alvit and Rota couldn’t help but be tense.

“That’s…?!”

“It seems he’s the boss.”

Because.

The ether overflowing from that greatsword was displaying the second level, [Vibration Ether].

Woong―

Dong―

Woong―

Not yet fully realized. Irregular and imperfect, but-

The ether was [vibrating] like a heartbeat in the rough greatsword.

The leader of the delinquent students. The biker gang boss with rough ether declared while pointing his greatsword:

“Give up on the thought of getting out of here alive.”

A voice full of killing intent.

He’s serious.

‘Damn…’

Alvit inwardly sighed.

She thought it would be over if they freed the hostages and escaped.

To think they would encounter the boss here.

‘Senior Clara…!’

Clara wandering alone somewhere.

Rota keeping her mouth shut beside her.

And the hostages trembling behind her back.

The sense of responsibility for everyone’s safety weighed heavily on Alvit’s heart.

At that moment, Rota’s small hand lightly pressing on Alvit’s shoulder. And ether spreading out. Rota’s ether wrapped around Alvit warmly and subtly, like her fluffy-looking two cat ears.

Alvit looked at Rota with wide eyes.

“Rota…?”

“[Ether Link]… It’s my skill.”

Rota raised the <Public Bana Boarding School> distribution wand she had been holding in her bosom. Small and light, but the golden beast pattern engraved on its surface represented their arrogance.

Fwoosh―!

Then a subtle ether link formed between Alvit and Rota.

As their senses were shared, Alvit’s ether operation sense multiplied several times. It felt like someone was pressing calculator buttons for her on the side.

“…!”

Alvit could intuit.

While this link is maintained, she can use the [Vibration] level she had imperfectly realized on her own.

Indeed…

Woong―

Woong―

The ether from Alvit’s sword began to [vibrate].

“Wh-What the hell…?”

“Through [Ether Link], I can take on the ether operation calculation burden of the target instead. Skill speed also increases. But in exchange, the target’s skill ether burden increases more than 10 times… You’ll be fine, right Alvit?”

“…!”

Rota elegantly pointed her wand at the enemy in front of them with her small frame.

“Since ether operation calculation is my specialty, I can assist with my [Basic Ether] attacks in between.”

Only able to assist others.

Unable to explain even the detailed principles herself.

Even if called ‘incompetent’ in the magic world where one must shine on their own.

“At this moment, we are ‘one'”

“Yes…!”

Rota never ran away.

And so.

Their fight began.

* * *

“Kuhueoock――!!!”

“Here goes―☆”

Bang―!

Bang―!

Bang―!

I grabbed the guy’s face and repeatedly slammed it into the floor. I felt the sensation of his hard skull gradually crumbling as he resisted by grabbing my hands for a while.

Bang―!

“Hueoock―!!”

“Hmm? Were you trying to use [Wave Ether] just now―? Were you trying to use a level 50 skill in a main story where the appropriate level is 1―?”

This guy who dared to play the sinister villain while watching the juniors’ fight. And who led the incident that would make Alvit carry guilt in a corner of her heart forever in the game.

I grabbed the back of the neck of this ‘disciple’ of <Ratatosk> and slammed him into the floor with enough force to crush him.

Baaaang―!!

“No way―☆”

Actually, I was more annoyed by his attempt to resist than his actions in the game that hadn’t even happened yet.

“Grrrr…!”

“Ah―☆ You know☆ The scene where a mid-late game boss suddenly pops up in the early story―☆”

As his skull became more dented, he instinctively tried to take the form of a ‘dragon’,

So I broke his horns before the fight could start.

Like a tree trunk broken in a typhoon, his horns revealed their pitiful insides with blood flowing from the remnants. So he could only glare at me endlessly with vertical pupils.

The guy, with his head grabbed by me, miserably sprawled face down on the floor. The green blood that had gradually flowed out pooled in the hole I had created.

Bang―!

When I struck his face down into it, with a splash sound, the green blood scattered in a crown shape.

A primal pleasure like splashing in mud.

“Wow―☆ This feels so good―!! It’s such a fun feeling―☆”

A pure joy like stepping on and breaking thin ice on a midwinter day.

Perfect for venting on cowards trying to live by sucking others’ ether.

“You…! How dare you… touch… Rata… Ugh!! The disciple!!! Of tosk!!!”

“Yes―yes―☆ I know about <Ratatosk>, <Ratatosk>―☆”

“You…!! How do you…! Kuhack!!! The disciple!! The dragon… will!!”

“I know about disciples☆ We can see the story in order later―☆”

Baaaang―!

The guy tried desperately to say some dialogue full of foreshadowing, but since they were the kind to crawl out when the time comes anyway, I continued playing while praying for my juniors’ success.

‘Since Alvit and Rota match well in both personality and skills, they should be able to become friends quickly.’

They’ll probably become good friends here too.

Thinking that, I slammed the guy’s head into the floor once more.

Bang―!

“Ughhhah!”

Rolled back eyes, horns broken long ago. With each slam, along with the satisfying feeling, the sound of his last breath wheezing is heard.

Perhaps because he’s a minion of the ‘dragon’, the toughest boss?

He’s endured quite long for a mid-boss as I’ve been beating him purely with physical force without any big techniques.

‘If I use too big a technique, the sound might reach outside and the kids won’t be able to concentrate…’

With a worried heart, I uppercutted the guy like kicking a shuttlecock.

Kuuuuung―!!

Along with the sensation of the bamboo stick breaking inside the leather pouch, I heard the sound of something in the guy’s body breaking.

‘Oops, that might have made a bit of sound. But they’re probably too busy fighting to have heard it?’

It was moving to sense the juniors’ wonderful fight through their presences.

Crack―!

Drip…

“Ughuh… Uck…!”

Something must have broken hard, as blood flows from his nose and mouth. Unable to even faint due to repeated incomplete recovery without being able to transform into a dragon because of his broken horns.

“Uhuh… Eh… Ueu… Bueop…”

“Oh my―☆ It’s broken. Hmm―☆ You couldn’t even last 5 minutes at a girl’s tea party? I still have so much to talk about☆ If you’re already exhausted and collapsing…”

I kicked the guy up again before he could fall from midair―

Woong―

―and kicked the ‘dragon disciple’ floating gracefully in the air.

“…What a shame☆”

Teoeoeng―!!

The guy flying while bending his body in a ‘ㄷ’ shape with the sound of a drum being hit.

And when he reached the wall…

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

…he flew far away, breaking through the wall.

A makeshift tunnel pierced in the shape of the guy’s huge body.

The ‘disciple’ collapsed like a water bag beyond it.

He was still alive.

I decided to bestow one last mercy on the guy visible far away.

Taking a deep breath with both hands stretched out.

Huu―

Steadying my breath.

As I bring my hands together.

Porong―

Porolong―

Hearts made of red ether appear.

One.

Two.

And countless red hearts gathering.

Gathering them in one place, making them resonate.

Woong―

Woong―

Woong―

A group of hearts moving like the pulsation of a heart.

[Vibration Ether]

Second in terms of levels.

Among ways of understanding the world, content related to ‘resonance’.

Woong―

Woong―

Woong―

The endlessly pulsating hearts.

Gradually condensing.

Becoming a shining red sphere.

Among my three ultimate techniques, the one I created first.

[Red Flower Dazzling]

I threw it at the guy.

The red sphere flying in a straight line gradually changed its shape as it shot forward.

A blooming flower bud.

The resonance of countless hearts.

And what finally blooms is―

The light of destruction.

Fwooosh―!!

“Uh…uh…!!”

Weaker than [Pink Spiral].

But because of that, a flower of death with quiet and modest beauty. Flower petals of hearts flowing from the condensed bud. [Red Flower Dazzling] quietly gnawed away at the guy’s body, making it disappear.

“…”

Silence finally returning.

I lightly stepped up to the upper floor again.

“…!”

Beyond that window I had been watching, Alvit and Rota shaking hands and smiling while exhausted.

And the leader of the delinquent students tied up while unconscious.

* * *

Ching―

Ching―

“…”

Warmth felt on her back.

Pink hair fleetingly visible outside her field of vision.

The darkness of night disappearing, chased by the faintly brightening dawn.

The scenery visible to Rota, sitting on the back seat of the bicycle, with her back against Clara’s.

‘It really was a long day.’

Numerous aftermaths.

They tied up all the unconscious delinquent students around. And after Alvit took the students who had been hostages to a nearby shopping district in the large vehicle and contacted each student’s school of origin.

By the time those things were over, the morning sun was already rising.

“…”

“…”

Rota, who had no school to return to, ended up deciding to rely on <Central Prism Academy>.

But since Alvit volunteered to stay behind to protect the students’ safety, the only way for Rota to go to <Central Prism Academy> was to ride the bicycle with the pink-haired senior who didn’t know the way well.

‘Actually, Alvit doesn’t know it well either, but somehow we get along strangely well.’

Perhaps because of the memory of fighting together.

“…”

The continuing awkward silence.

A single word breaking through that silence.

“Rota~ What’s your dream―☆”

“…What?”

“Rota is such a wonderful girl―☆ Huhu, don’t you have a beautiful and wonderful dream―?”

Senior Clara.

Rota heard about her from Alvit, but she’s truly random. It seems like there might be about 100,000 square kilometers of flower fields in her head.

“…”

But maybe because her head was fuzzy after staying up all night, she became honest?

Rota answered that ridiculous question obediently.

“If everyone… could empathize with… and use… all magic… all skills…”

“Yes☆ That’s a really wonderful dream―☆”

Affirmation without any doubt.

Like Alvit, it seemed <Central Prism Academy> was full of ridiculously kind people.

Huh.

Really.

What did she know to affirm it?

Knowing nothing about magic and trying to do ice-breaking―

Grumble grumble

Rota kept grumbling endlessly inside, but. She had to admit that Alvit and Clara’s unhesitating kindness was what she had wanted to receive from someone, even just once. During the past 4 years.

So she couldn’t stop a single tear from quietly flowing.

“…”

Thankfully she was riding backwards.

So that oblivious senior couldn’t see her crying.

The sky Rota looked up at while thinking that.

The direction the bicycle was heading.

Chased away by that bright dawn, beyond that faint darkness, a small morning star twinkled.

“…”

-Rota, you too… will have friends who support your dream.

Somehow, it felt like that star was blessing her to move forward on a new path.

Rota closed her eyes with a peaceful mind.

“…”

The wind gradually gathering and the pink senior’s breathing. Receiving the warmth felt beyond her back.

Like that, she moved towards the morning sunlight.

‘<Central Prism Academy>… Should I try going there?’

That was the thought that entered Rota’s mind, just before she dozed off.