- Around 15 Minutes Earlier, Shenzhen Magic High School -

(Xuan Kai's Perspective)

Our team of ten, led by Xiang Peng, slowed down as the familiar school building came into sights. She gave us a hand signal to stop, then closed her eyes.

"Level One Psychic Magic - Detect Presence - Tier III."

My eyes widened, along with some of the other team members. Being proficient at Psychic Magic was one thing, but having a spell upgraded to the third tier wasn't easy at all. The amount of money and resouces needed for that was insurmountable, considering how expensive Upgrade Runes were.

Damn...just who is this girl?

Nonetheless, this wasn't the time to be thinking about such things. Xiang Peng opened her eyes again after a while, and she turned back to us. She held up her hand and whispered.

"I sense at least ten monsters at the entrance. There may be more inside the campus. Everyone...prepare yourselves. We will commence action in five minutes."

...Ten monsters?!

However, I then looked at my fellow teammates, and realized that none of them had a look of shock or fear on their faces. I furrowed my brow, then tapped the shoulder of the kind middle-aged senior from before.

"Hm? What is it, little girl?"

I would prefer it if you didn't call me little, but...

I shook my head, then looked at the senior in the eyes. "Are you...not scared?"

He chuckled lightly. "Hah. Scared? Of course I am. Those things...they're terrifying. Hell, under normal circumstances, I would probably turn tail and run the moment I saw one."

I tilted my head in confusion, since his casual expression didn't match the fear he said he has.

Seeing my puzzlement, the man continued. "But...you know, there's something pushing me from behind, telling me 'you must do this'. Something far more powerful than fear."

Then, turning to me, he smiled. "Little girl, do you know what this 'something' is?'

I shook my head. "No, senior...what is it?"

He laughed. "...You'll understand one day. When you find someone you can't lose no matter what...you'll understand."

"..." I fell silent, and we ended the conversation there.

...Someone you can't lose no matter what, huh? Hah...the funny thing is, I've already lost them.

After a while, Xiang Peng glanced at us, and gave a firm nod. "Everyone...we're moving out. I have already figured out our way inside. Remember, searching for survivors is our top priority. If we don't need to fight, don't."

"Yes, ma'am!" all of us whispered sharply.

She nodded in satisfaction. "Okay, everyone. Follow me closely, and watch my hand signals."

Hand signals? So far, I've just been copying what everyone else is doing, but I suppose I should learn these military hand signals for the future, huh? Never know when you might need it, after all.

The ten of us moved swiftly and quietly, and even the oldest of us, the middle-aged senior, made little to no sound at all with the agility of a cheetah. This honestly shocked me, but I suppose only the best of the best were chosen for the rescue squad, huh?

That said, I wonder how that old geezer managed to slip me in the squad even though I only had one elemental affinity on the surface...

Then, suddenly, Xiang Peng stopped, and gave us the hand gesture to stop as well. We complied, and waited in anxiety. We had to just round one more corner, and we would arrive at the sidewalk directly across from the main campus entrance. I was really familiar with this area, so I could even visualize the entire street from where I was crouching, despite not being able to actually see it just yet.

"Curses...there's five of them near the only entrance," Xiang Peng muttered.

"What do we do?" a teenager who looked to be a little bit older than me asked.

Xiang Peng didn't respond, and neither did the rest of us. Deciding it was time to contribute something, I spoke up.

"I have an idea."

As all eyes focused on me, I continued. "Does anyone here have a Sky element affinity?"

Xiang Peng was the first to respond. "Yes. I do."

After making sure no one else had a Sky Element affinity, I nodded. "Alright...this plan may be a little crazy, but what if you were to use Flight and carry us inside the campus one by one?"

"Hm....that could actually work," Xiang Peng murmured in reply. "Okay, let's give it a try."

I blinked in surprise. I didn't expect her to agree so unhesitantly, especially since she would have to be carrying a bunch of guys. That would take a lot of strength, even if she isn't doing it all at the same time.

Heh...everyone in this rescue squad is really something, huh?

Before I could react, Xiang Peng was behind me and pulled me into a princess carry.

"W-Whoa-" I nearly raised my voice in surprise, but quickly covered my mouth, remembering where we were.

Without any warning, Xiang Peng took off into the air, and soared high above even the clouds, which provided cover for us in case any monsters below were looking upwards. This was safer, but at the same time...

Oh shit...it's getting hard to breathe.

I looked at Xiang Peng, but she didn't seem to be having any trouble at all. What are you, a superhuman?!

Hoping she doesn't notice, I discretely cast a small-scale Sky Element 'Generate: Air' spell near my nose, and I immediately felt better with this new supply of breathable oxygen. Luckily, Xiang Peng didn't seem to realize what I did, and I sighed in relief.

After a while, we began descending, and landed directly on the roof of the main campus. Xiang Peng didn't waste any time, and departed again immediately after dropping me off.

Alright...I'm finally alone now. Now then...Qing Yue, Yu An Xue, and Yu An Yan...where are you? Hopefully, you're in your dorms, but...

But wait...that's weird. Shouldn't there be a barrier around the school...? Did Xiang Peng bypass it somehow, or...?

My eyes widened at the sudden realization. N-No way, right...?

...Did the barrier break?!

T-Then that means...

I cast a Detect Presence on my surroundings, and furrowed my brows in frustration at the results.

...There are monsters inside too! Fortunately, they aren't that close to the roof, but...they are roaming the lower floors right now...

Damn...how did I not notice this earlier?! I quickly peeked over the edge of the roof, to find some windows shattered and the front door blasted open. Shit...I was too far away earlier to notice this, but...if the main campus is like this, then the dorms...!

Without thinking any further, I cast Flight on myself and began flying in the direction of the female dorms.

*****

- Several Minutes Later -

I landed on the roof of the female dorm building, and pulled out my walkie-talkie. After making sure no monsters were nearby, I opened the channel and began speaking.

"Leader, can you hear me? Over."

"This is...Zhang San?" Xiang Peng's voice transmitted over. "Yes, I can hear you. What's wrong? Over."

"The main campus...there are monsters on the lower floors. I went to investigate, and managed to escape narrowly. The roof is still safe, though."

That was a half-lie, but better than a complete one. Sorry, Xiang Peng, but I can't afford to reveal my secrets.

"...I see. Are you in a safe location right now? Over."

"Yes. Don't worry about me, leader. You guys focus on the mission. I will find a way out and meet up with you soon. Over."

"...Alright. Be careful. Xiang Peng out."

After I heard the cackle sound of the walkie-talkie, I stuffed it in my cloak pocket once more and took a look down below from where I was on the roof.

One...two...three. Three monsters outside the dorms. Luckily, it doesn't seem like the building itself is harmed...in fact, the main entrance and all the windows are perfectly intact, unlike the main campus.

...That's good and all, but now, how am I supposed to get inside to look for those girls? I definitely can't take on those three monsters down there alone.

Hm...? Hold on, I can reach the topmost window from here, but I can't open it from the outside...oh, wait...I know!

I placed my hand on the glass window, and smirked.

Generate: Fire.

This glass was actually fireproof...that is, against normal fires. My magic is empowered with the power of Chaos, meaning my flames burn far hotter than the norm. Of course, I could just blast the window open as well, but that would definitely attract the attention of the three monsters below. Thus, this was the best choice.

From my knowledge, normal glass could withstand five minutes of normal fire before it began to melt. Then...fireproof glass versus empowered fire should also take around five minutes. I began counting in my mind.

After exactly five minutes, the glass started melting. I kept my hand where it was, and around a minute later, the glass had completely turned to liquid and was sliding down the outside wall of the building. I stopped my spell, and the black fire in my hand disappeared.

Speaking of black...I'm pretty thankful my fire is this color. If it was the bright orange like other people's, even if I didn't make any noise, the monsters below would notice me.

I was also wearing a black cloak with a black hoodie underneath, so that added to the camouflage.

With all preparations complete, I turned around so that my back was towards the roof's railing, and grabbed the railing with both hands so that I was almost in a bridge position. Then, I jumped upwards, swinging myself using the railing as an axis. I watched carefully, and let go of myself at the perfect time so that I swung perfectly inside the open window I had created.

I landed gracefully, and looked around to make sure I hadn't accidentally intruded on anyone. After that, I sighed in relief, then stood back up and patted down my pants and cloak to get the dust off.

I walked towards the front door of this dorm room, preparing to exit. Just as I was about to leave, however, I heard a muffled sniffing sound. It sounded as if...someone was crying. And that someone, was almost certainly the owner of this room.

I took my hand off the doorknob, and turned around.

Who could it be...?