An alarm resounded loudly, and Clémentine opened her eyes sleepily.
She listened to the alarm again for a moment, disoriented for a few seconds and slowly realizing what it was until she got it.
Realizing that it was an emergency alarm, she sat up.
Her first reaction was to look out the window to see what was happening outside, but she found only a dark night outside with nothing alarming.
She didn’t know what was happening, but her unawareness was short-lived.
“Emergency! Emergency! An assault by a Rank A monster has occurred!”
A mechanical voice echoed throughout, and Clémentine woke up completely.
The first thing she did was to go outside, finding Nicole also coming out of her room.
“What’s wrong?” Nicole asked without understanding anything.
Clémentine stimulated their minds with psionic energy to wake them up and, shaking her head at Nicole’s words, she signaled for her to follow her.
Amidst bewilderment, she just used ‘quick change’ and changing her clothes for something decent while Nicole did the same.
Then they both went outside and met their partners outside.
“This is an emergency... Where should we go?” asked Érica spreading an icy blizzard among the group.
“Let’s go to the basement,” Andrés answered, shivering at the cold caused by that ice mage.
The others did the same, but resisted it and used the cold to clear their minds, then moved to the elevator.
“Through the portals,” Andrés quickly recalled.
Ignoring the embarrassment of his female companions Andrés, used his authority in the building and created a portal, so they could all enter.
The next moment they arrived at the training basement where Liam stood, waiting, all disheveled.
“1:41 minutes... That’s a good time,” Liam said as he checked the time.
“What’s wrong?” Clémentine asked urgently.
Instead of answering, Liam unfolded a projection of the situation.
In the middle of the night near a village, a rhino with a carapace and three horns on its head was fighting Aurora and Alice.
While Aurora called for attention, Alice used her black arms to strike the armored rhino and seek to knock it down.
The crazed rhino was quite strong and every step it took shook the earth, even sometimes creating small tremors that served to unsettle its attackers.
If it wasn’t for Alice using her black arms to move and Aurora jumping, creating platforms in the air, they would have been affected.
“Africa is as messy in the day as it is at night, though sometimes at night it’s more hectic due to the nature of some predators,” Liam communicated, after turning off, cut the projection.
Some magical beasts were more prevalent at night than in the day, causing problems that those who worked nocturnally took care of.
“Anyway, this is a simulation for you guys. I can’t tell you when an emergency mission will happen, but a quicker response than the current one is needed.” Liam said and, looking at the students, he added. “As you saw, when you guys arrived, Alice and Aurora were already running the mission.”
Two minutes was already a good time, but compared to Alice and Aurora, that time was less.
Emergency missions appeared suddenly and without warning, it was very difficult to keep an eye out for such missions.
While other mercenary groups or guilds would leave their members on guard duty during night shifts, some help always came in handy and more so in a territory as gigantic as the one Zerzura City controlled.
“That’s all you can go back. Just remember this situation for next time.” Liam added calmly.
The group looked at each other but went back to the third floor, where their dormitory was.
“Looks like Liam’s up early too,” Andrés muttered with a strange expression.
He seemed to want to laugh, but also make a big deal out of it.
The entire group had seen Liam all disheveled, making it clear that he had just woken up just like them.
They weren’t upset at being woken up by a drill, but were slightly surprised that they also had to perform missions during the night.
“Aurora and Alice are... Different,” Nicole murmured in a tone filled with strange admiration.
The group’s expressions changed for a moment, but...
“Yes. I knew Alice was special, but I didn’t think Aurora was such a hard worker,” Leslie pointed out honestly.
During the academy, they had seen how Alice always looked, and even though she was just as lazy as Aurora, the former stood out more.
But here, it was different...
“They perform about five missions a day and then they must also perform night missions, right?” Érica asked and seeing that her companions nodded, she added. “It’s funny to think of her as our ‘equal’.”
There was a big difference between Aurora and Alice compared to each of them, it wasn’t just a difference in strength.
It was a difference in attitude, experience, and dedication.
Aurora was an indifferent young woman, but when it came to her work, her attitude changed with a professional seriousness.
Her experience, even though they had only been together for two years, was enormous, but her dedication was what caught the group’s attention.
Fame, money, or prestige did not matter to Aurora.
She would finish the missions and without needing to talk to the village that gave the mission, she would disappear without receiving thanks or becoming known.
The whole group performed missions without profit being some missions such as dungeon cleaning the one that made a profit, but the latter did not perform them often, and this time was an exception.
Faced with such a person, it was hard to think that she was a student of the academy like her group.
“I guess we just have to get better,” Clémentine announced in a serious tone.
She had thought that when she finished the academy, she would become the heroine of a big city where the masses would praise her, but she realized that perhaps she was needed elsewhere.
In the end, she needed to improve to match Aurora or Alice, both in skills and attitude.
The entire group nodded, expressing their desire to improve and headed to their rooms thinking about their development.
******
Aurora read the message from the Zerzura City crime officer.
It was a report on the situation and the mission given to her by Cardinal Brousseau.
“Boss, the students are already prepared,” Liam reported, entering the office carefully.
“Are you coming?” Aurora asked her friend, who was sitting on the couch reading a book.
“Yeah, I read the report and those guys seem to be troublemakers,” Alice commented, without changing her expression, and put the book away on the sideboard.
—It’s a group that has committed the same crimes in different countries. They seem experienced in this kind of situation.
Nodding at her system’s comment, Aurora left her office and headed for the living room.
“I understand that you guys want to carry out your morning mission, but today we have a different mission,” Aurora said and, looking at Clémentine, she asked. “You were in a criminology class at the academy, right?”
Although Aurora and Alice had only taken a few classes, there were dozens of classes at the academy with professionals of all kinds.
Criminalistics was an advanced class that sought to teach students how to apply their various skills to investigations of some criminal occurrence.
While the academy did not specialize students professionally, it did teach them everything they could to leverage their skills in different fields.
“It’s a yearly class, but yes, I was in it,” Clémentine replied calmly.
Unlike other psionics who could only use certain abilities, Clémentine could replicate some particular abilities of other psionics.
“Excellent. We have such a mission today. It involves a murder case in a temporary dungeon that closes tonight at night,” Aurora commented and, giving them a signal to follow her, she added. “I’ll give you all the information as we move!”
The mission was slightly problematic.
It involved a group of adventurers teaming up with other local freelance adventurers to clear out a temporary B-Rank dungeon, but during the process, the freelance adventurers ended up dying.
Although it had been marked as a murder, no one actually knows what happened.
That was because there were no recordings or any kind of information.
Forensics from the Zerzura City adventurer’s guild went to conduct an investigation, but they couldn’t find anything, however, the history of that group of adventurers was the problem.
They had a history of these types of events happening around them.
Temporary or natural dungeons were dangerous, there was no doubt about it.
Although death had been reduced because of the experience most adults gained from Terra nova entering that supposed ‘game’, that experience was also a problem.
Terra nova at its time as a ‘game’ was played by most of the population of earth and it was clear that a large portion of these former players performed some atrocities on Terra nova.
While many of them sought to make amends, many others continued to hide and carry out their misdeeds in the dark, although in a way, there were lunatics who did not seek to hide, but many of them were arrested at the beginning of the ‘Great Cataclysm’.
As players, some people had experience for these cases.
Going with a group of unknown people and ending up ‘accidentally’ dying, allowing those who remained to keep all the profits, was not uncommon.
This group of adventurers had a history of this style and, adding to that information that the temporary dungeon had magic crystals that were of great value, it was certainly something to investigate.
Unfortunately, in other places where they conducted missions, they could not find anything.
The group did not move by cab, but instead used the portal in the basement and headed to the location in the northern part of the city, allowing them to reach their destination in seconds.
“The adventurers guild passed the case to the forensic department of Zerzura City and since they are related to the Church of Time and Space, their capabilities are very high in this type of investigations, however, I asked for a chance to see the scene before they acted,” Aurora explained as soon as they arrived.
Clementine looked at the members of the law enforcement authorities maintaining security around the portal to the temporary dungeon and hesitated for a few seconds.
“I’m not an expert... I may not be able to find anything,” Clémentine said sincerely.
There were different abilities among psionics that fell into the area of ‘modern criminalistics’.
Clairvoyance, psychometry, mediumship, precognition, and retrocognition... Each of those abilities was rare and learning to use them as a non-focused psionic was very difficult.
Clémentine had only learned to replicate mediumship, but its usefulness had never been tested.
“Never mind, this mission is not for you to accomplish. It is for you to learn that not all of humanity are comrades in arms facing a common enemy,” Aurora replied in a serious tone.
Ignoring the gaze of the students, Aurora greeted the officer in charge of the situation, and after common courtesies and a basic briefing, the officer ushered them into the temporary dungeon.
“The bodies are missing. According to that group of adventurers, they were eaten by the monsters. That’s possible because of the creatures in this dungeon having that ability. However, the adventurers who died were highly experienced and might have survived,” reported the officer with a serious tone as he led the group inside the dungeon.
It was a dungeon with a style of caves and paths, leading to different places, with some mushrooms and stones illuminating the interior.
Aurora, who was not concentrating on the surroundings, gave a nod.
She had already read the information they had given and studied the background of all the participants, including suspects and victims.
The independent adventurers were Rank B and had taken quite a few solo missions.
Dying in a temporary B-Rank dungeon was certainly strange, but not uncommon.
After all, a situation could get complicated in seconds and no one could be sure they could get out safely or get through it.
“The accused group is present if you would like to ask them some questions. They are under surveillance by our men, so they won’t cause any trouble,” reported the officer with a professional tone.
Following the officer through the tunnel, after traveling a considerable distance, they came to an open space where high up on the ceiling and on the walls were dozens of magic crystals.
Those magic crystals contained an immense amount of magical energy and if they were refined using the right method, their price would be sky-high.
“How much is the average value of all this?” Nicole asked seriously.
“Between five to ten million dollars. Since this is all a crime scene, we haven’t allowed it to be mined,” replied the officer calmly.
“It seems to be the value of several lives,” Alice mumbled munching on her chips, and when she received the surprised look from the students, she shrugged and pointed. “Sometimes humans kill for less. This price is a decent reason to murder.”
Although the look on the quintet’s faces was surprised, the officer nodded.
An extra cause added to an infamous record... That was reason enough for the authorities to seriously investigate.
When they arrived at the scene where the group of adventurers supposedly said their companions had died when they were attacked by surprise, they found the group of suspects being held by officers.
It was a fairly balanced group that featured a psionic, mage, scout, swordsman, and a fighter.
“When can we go? We’re tired of waiting,” said the swordsman, Aurora quickly identified as the leader.
“When the investigation is over,” replied the officer without looking perturbed.
The group’s expressions turned annoyed, but a suited man beckoned them over.
“My clients have been being held without reason for far too long. What happened here has been an unfortunate accident, which you seek to attribute to my clients,” the man stated with a unique solemnity.
“The investigation is ongoing, according to the legal terms of our criminal and procedural codes. Your clients must wait for the investigations to be completed. Because your group is the main suspect,” replied the officer without losing his calm, and looking at Aurora, he added. “You may begin your investigation.”
Aurora looked around and... She found nothing.
—You’re an ‘instinctive’ person. It’s hard for you to find anything in such a clean scene.
She wasn’t an expert in exploration or criminalistics, she had a great instinct, but that was about it.
Aurora didn’t feel annoyed though, as she had chosen a different path to help and do her job.
“Clémentine, do you want to give it a try?” Aurora asked without changing her expression.
“Please, now they called a teenage girl to do the job! How desperate are they to blame us!” the leader asked with a sarcastic tone full of mockery.
“Don’t worry, leader, they won’t find anything, since we didn’t do anything,” said the psionic with a mockery quite evident on his face.
They were confident to act that way... No; it looked like a mockery earned through having committed these actions in different countries without being caught in any of them.
Aurora could understand that look, however, Zerzura City was very different.
“I... I’ll try,” Clémentine replied, and approaching the center of the place, she sat down to calm her mind so she could enter a state of concentration.
Her position looked as if she was meditating and she focusing her mind and she could feel the ‘outside’ world through her mind.
But she was not just concentrating on that point, she was about to replicate mediumship as her academy teacher had taught her.
She needed to capture the remaining spirituality of the souls who died in this dungeon.
If those adventurers had strong emotions before they died, it was quite possible that she could capture it.
In that bright world where mental strength was represented by glowing lights, Clémentine plunged into that world, focusing her senses on something particular.
Seeking the spirituality of those wretched souls in order to communicate, Clémentine lightly touched a narrow veil of a world beyond what her capacity could perceive.
At that limit, her mind focused on those wretched souls, but she could only see an emptiness in the cave... As if nothing had happened.
A place so clean that it was terrifying...
“I... I found nothing,” Clémentine muttered when she opened her eyes, but looked at Aurora, wanting to say more.
Even when she was in her room and she had reached that limit of the veil that her father said only an A-Rank, could see, she could feel slight strange vibrations.
But here it was empty... There was nothing, and that was the scary thing.
Aurora noticed Clémentine’s expression but just shook her head.
“It’s normal,” Aurora said with a simple tone, and looking at the psionic of the group of adventurers, she added. “After all, in that group is an A-Rank psionic.”
The police guarding the area were surprised and the officer himself frowned.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mention it before. But I recently ascended in rank and haven’t registered with the adventurer’s guild,” Commented the psionic with a mock apologetic tone and looking at Aurora, he added. “I didn’t think a girl would notice.”
—That arrogance will be his undoing.
Aurora ignored her system’s comment and the words of that psionic.
In the information log, there was no trace that the psionic was Rank A, that was because he had been hiding his strength.
Even if a Rank A psionic observed him through her senses she could not tell any difference with a Rank B.
Aurora did not notice it with her senses, but simply after analyzing the records.
Mediums had even been used in one case a spirit mage was called in to contact the remaining spirituality of those souls, but they never found anything.
Removing the corpses, cleaning up the footprints and all the evidence while maintaining a perfect performance over the situation, that was the way that group worked.
The investigators would not have as much time to devote to their investigation because they were temporary dungeons and if the entire crime scene disappeared, it was impossible to be sure that they committed a crime.
However, today was different.
Aurora looked at the priestess, who was approaching from outside.
“Thank you for coming, High Priest Xaali,” Aurora said with a respectful smile.
“It is an honor to work with the Protectors of Zerzura.” said the priestess with a soft smile.
The expression of the group of adventurers changed upon hearing the priestess’ title.
“How far do they want to go?” muttered the leader of the group.
Aurora watched as the policemen pulled out cameras to record all the scenes, looking to save the evidence for when it would be used in the trial.
As she had said, this was not about an official mission they were only here as observers.
Looking at the students on Alice’s back like little chicks, Aurora just gave a signal to her sister to be careful.
“Some priests can use the power of the God they worship. High Priestess Xaali worships Aión the God of Time and Space, allowing her some unique abilities,” Aurora informed in a simple tone to her group.
Using the power of some gods was quite common for their worshippers.
It was one of the reasons why their faith was so widespread on planet earth and it was proof that gods existed.
And now the entire group focused their gaze on the dark-skinned woman, who approached the center.
“Oh, dear God, reveal the past for your devotees...” High Priestess Xaali implored.
Magical energy began to be consumed to an excessive amount, and that was used as a ‘sacrifice’ to connect a mortal to the higher entity.
Different gods needed different sacrifices to borrow their power, but Aión was a permissive god only when absorbing magical energy.
The surroundings began to change as if the entire group was in the center of a movie that was playing backwards.
Monsters were retreating, destroyed walls were returning to their place and in the middle of the scene, several independent adventurers were revealed next to the group of suspects, who were watching the scene with their eyes wide open.
The scene where they abandoned their companions to fight against the dungeon creatures while attacking them from behind so that they would not come out alive was revived at this site.
The scene was played back with sound and there were no omissions even when the independent adventurers died only for the group that had abandoned them to return to find them and clean everything up.
The leader who watched the scene with wide eyes wanted to grab his sword, but a black spear stuck into the wall beside him.
“If you make any moves, we’ll have to act,” Alice warned, eating her chips.
The officers also had their weapons in their hands.
They were not normal civilians each of them was skill users who had dedicated themselves to the police force as another way to help.
Their dedication was evident, and their hatred of this type of crime was high.
The city Zerzura started as a village and then grew into the metropolis it was today.
A beautiful city where origin and ethnicity did not matter and where Africans, Europeans, Americans, and Asians could live together, sharing the values that the city favored.
Those independent adventurers were some who had helped in different missions and that was why in this type of situation, a more thorough investigation was called for.
The city and those who lived in it were looking out for their own.
“Stop those criminals,” High Priestess, Xaali ordered as her eyes flashed coldly.
The policemen threw some collars on the ground, being cautious not to get close and the group of adventurers turned pale but looked at each other.
Alice pulled more arms out of her back and the police officer drew his sword, revealing his sword aura.
Aurora also put on her combat suit, ready for battle, and the students followed, using the ability of their suit to change their clothes.
The number of officers inside quadrupled the group of adventurers and there was no escape from this situation.
“I recommend you surrender,” High Priestess Xaali warned as her eyes glowed with a divine hue.
The glow in her eyes gave a unique impression when combined with the presence she emanated.
The time scene shattered and everything returned as before, but the remnant of that external power that could only be described as ‘Time’ went into the priestess’ hands, revealing an intangible force that contorted.
It had become ‘Space’ and the High Priestess exposed her ability for space magic by distorting her surroundings.
As one of the rare magics that very few could use, its danger was unquestionable, and it was for that reason that the expressions of those criminals trembled.
Facing a space magician who could cast a space-distorting spell, capable of tearing off an arm if they were not careful, was something to worry about.
Added to that concern was the fact that this mage was a believer in the God of Time and Space who could harness the powers if she prayed to that higher existence.
In terms of strength, High Priestess Xaali was close to becoming an S Rank thanks to the support of her faith.
It was a great gulf between an S-Rank and an A-Rank, but being on the edge was a superiority that could not be ignored.
“We surrender.” Said the group leader with a depressed expression.
The officer signaled him and tossed him other collars to suppress magical energy or psionic energy, much like the ones Aurora used.
The swordsman reached out to take it, but halfway through his expression distorted, and threw his sword at the students.
The High Priestess waved her hand and in the path of the sword, a portal was created, managing to exit through the back of the same swordsman and through his leg.
“Go to hell!” shouted the psionic, launching a mental attack to destabilize his enemies.
The officer performed a slash with his sword and his sword aura split that intangible energy that was sent to them.
For her part, Aurora unhesitatingly charged the group, and at her back, ten black arms accompanied her.
When the swordsman pulled his own sword from his bleeding leg, Aurora struck him with her fist using her combat aura and sending him flying against the ground, giving enough time for Alice’s arms to catch him and beat him up.
Since Alice had an arm transformed into a spear next to the group of adventurers, she used it to go after the psionic, who could create a psionic barrier to protect himself and repel her.
High Priestess Xaali sent a line distorting the space around them and shattered the barrier.
Before the policemen with weapon mastery talents could fire, the fighter of the adventurer group hit the psionic, and since the psionic was unprotected without its barrier, the fighter could causeA enough damage for Aurora to reach out and suppress it with her electric fist.
“We surrender!” The fighter who had led his attack wisely retreated along with the other members as they knelt with their hands on their heads.
“Pretty smart... Too bad your teammates aren’t the same,” said the officer and looking at the lawyer who was frozen in place, he commented. “I guess it will be hard to defend your clients.”
With that comment to lessen the tension in the atmosphere, the officer took it upon himself to put the collars on the entire adventuring group.
In just a few minutes, the authorities took the criminals away.
“Well, I didn’t expect it to turn out this way,” Aurora mentioned in a serious tone.
The most logical thing would have been for them to surrender... That was what Aurora thought.
—For people like them, the chance of being able to escape if they took a chance was more valuable.
Her system gave that comment, and Aurora nodded inwardly.
It was hard to understand those kinds of people.
Perhaps they thought the officers would hold back and seek to ‘subdue’ rather than ‘eliminate’, but while Aurora had clear ideas about their actions, the laws of Zerzura City were also quite clear in that regard.
If an ability user resisted subjugation, the authorities were allowed to use more lethal measures to avoid casualties.
It was impossible to talk about rights when in just an instant an S-rank mage could cast several powerful spells or a psionic of the same rank could damage the mind of an entire group.
The world had changed, and reality was sometimes more direct than one could imagine.
“My intention for bringing you here was to make you realize how dangerous reality is. In the same way that you could go on a mission with a stranger, that would be extremely useful,” Aurora said, pointing to High Priestess Xaali who gave a soft smile, then pointed to the blood from the swordsman’s sword wound and added. “You may also encounter a malicious stranger. I’m not telling you to be paranoid, I’m just telling you that the possibility exists.”
Being worried that they might be betrayed and killed in the back was not a good thing.
The mental stress was too heavy.
However, it was also not good to be confident and say that there were only good people in the world who were always willing to help.
Using the death of those independent adventurers as a teaching was rather cold and insensitive, but it was necessary to show the group that reality was cruel in its own way.
Thanking the police authorities and the High Priestess, the group left the temporary dungeon.
When they finally emerged, Aurora checked her holographic watch that had just vibrated and her expression quivered subtly, before turning into a smile.
“Tomorrow at noon I’m going...” –LadyOfFrost
That message from her acquaintance made her smile excitedly.
An alarm resounded loudly, and Clémentine opened her eyes sleepily.
She listened to the alarm again for a moment, disoriented for a few seconds and slowly realizing what it was until she got it.
Realizing that it was an emergency alarm, she sat up.
Her first reaction was to look out the window to see what was happening outside, but she found only a dark night outside with nothing alarming.
She didn’t know what was happening, but her unawareness was short-lived.
“Emergency! Emergency! An assault by a Rank A monster has occurred!”
A mechanical voice echoed throughout, and Clémentine woke up completely.
The first thing she did was to go outside, finding Nicole also coming out of her room.
“What’s wrong?” Nicole asked without understanding anything.
Clémentine stimulated their minds with psionic energy to wake them up and, shaking her head at Nicole’s words, she signaled for her to follow her.
Amidst bewilderment, she just used ‘quick change’ and changing her clothes for something decent while Nicole did the same.
Then they both went outside and met their partners outside.
“This is an emergency... Where should we go?” asked Érica spreading an icy blizzard among the group.
“Let’s go to the basement,” Andrés answered, shivering at the cold caused by that ice mage.
The others did the same, but resisted it and used the cold to clear their minds, then moved to the elevator.
“Through the portals,” Andrés quickly recalled.
Ignoring the embarrassment of his female companions Andrés, used his authority in the building and created a portal, so they could all enter.
The next moment they arrived at the training basement where Liam stood, waiting, all disheveled.
“1:41 minutes... That’s a good time,” Liam said as he checked the time.
“What’s wrong?” Clémentine asked urgently.
Instead of answering, Liam unfolded a projection of the situation.
In the middle of the night near a village, a rhino with a carapace and three horns on its head was fighting Aurora and Alice.
While Aurora called for attention, Alice used her black arms to strike the armored rhino and seek to knock it down.
The crazed rhino was quite strong and every step it took shook the earth, even sometimes creating small tremors that served to unsettle its attackers.
If it wasn’t for Alice using her black arms to move and Aurora jumping, creating platforms in the air, they would have been affected.
“Africa is as messy in the day as it is at night, though sometimes at night it’s more hectic due to the nature of some predators,” Liam communicated, after turning off, cut the projection.
Some magical beasts were more prevalent at night than in the day, causing problems that those who worked nocturnally took care of.
“Anyway, this is a simulation for you guys. I can’t tell you when an emergency mission will happen, but a quicker response than the current one is needed.” Liam said and, looking at the students, he added. “As you saw, when you guys arrived, Alice and Aurora were already running the mission.”
Two minutes was already a good time, but compared to Alice and Aurora, that time was less.
Emergency missions appeared suddenly and without warning, it was very difficult to keep an eye out for such missions.
While other mercenary groups or guilds would leave their members on guard duty during night shifts, some help always came in handy and more so in a territory as gigantic as the one Zerzura City controlled.
“That’s all you can go back. Just remember this situation for next time.” Liam added calmly.
The group looked at each other but went back to the third floor, where their dormitory was.
“Looks like Liam’s up early too,” Andrés muttered with a strange expression.
He seemed to want to laugh, but also make a big deal out of it.
The entire group had seen Liam all disheveled, making it clear that he had just woken up just like them.
They weren’t upset at being woken up by a drill, but were slightly surprised that they also had to perform missions during the night.
“Aurora and Alice are... Different,” Nicole murmured in a tone filled with strange admiration.
The group’s expressions changed for a moment, but...
“Yes. I knew Alice was special, but I didn’t think Aurora was such a hard worker,” Leslie pointed out honestly.
During the academy, they had seen how Alice always looked, and even though she was just as lazy as Aurora, the former stood out more.
But here, it was different...
“They perform about five missions a day and then they must also perform night missions, right?” Érica asked and seeing that her companions nodded, she added. “It’s funny to think of her as our ‘equal’.”
There was a big difference between Aurora and Alice compared to each of them, it wasn’t just a difference in strength.
It was a difference in attitude, experience, and dedication.
Aurora was an indifferent young woman, but when it came to her work, her attitude changed with a professional seriousness.
Her experience, even though they had only been together for two years, was enormous, but her dedication was what caught the group’s attention.
Fame, money, or prestige did not matter to Aurora.
She would finish the missions and without needing to talk to the village that gave the mission, she would disappear without receiving thanks or becoming known.
The whole group performed missions without profit being some missions such as dungeon cleaning the one that made a profit, but the latter did not perform them often, and this time was an exception.
Faced with such a person, it was hard to think that she was a student of the academy like her group.
“I guess we just have to get better,” Clémentine announced in a serious tone.
She had thought that when she finished the academy, she would become the heroine of a big city where the masses would praise her, but she realized that perhaps she was needed elsewhere.
In the end, she needed to improve to match Aurora or Alice, both in skills and attitude.
The entire group nodded, expressing their desire to improve and headed to their rooms thinking about their development.
******
Aurora read the message from the Zerzura City crime officer.
It was a report on the situation and the mission given to her by Cardinal Brousseau.
“Boss, the students are already prepared,” Liam reported, entering the office carefully.
“Are you coming?” Aurora asked her friend, who was sitting on the couch reading a book.
“Yeah, I read the report and those guys seem to be troublemakers,” Alice commented, without changing her expression, and put the book away on the sideboard.
—It’s a group that has committed the same crimes in different countries. They seem experienced in this kind of situation.
Nodding at her system’s comment, Aurora left her office and headed for the living room.
“I understand that you guys want to carry out your morning mission, but today we have a different mission,” Aurora said and, looking at Clémentine, she asked. “You were in a criminology class at the academy, right?”
Although Aurora and Alice had only taken a few classes, there were dozens of classes at the academy with professionals of all kinds.
Criminalistics was an advanced class that sought to teach students how to apply their various skills to investigations of some criminal occurrence.
While the academy did not specialize students professionally, it did teach them everything they could to leverage their skills in different fields.
“It’s a yearly class, but yes, I was in it,” Clémentine replied calmly.
Unlike other psionics who could only use certain abilities, Clémentine could replicate some particular abilities of other psionics.
“Excellent. We have such a mission today. It involves a murder case in a temporary dungeon that closes tonight at night,” Aurora commented and, giving them a signal to follow her, she added. “I’ll give you all the information as we move!”
The mission was slightly problematic.
It involved a group of adventurers teaming up with other local freelance adventurers to clear out a temporary B-Rank dungeon, but during the process, the freelance adventurers ended up dying.
Although it had been marked as a murder, no one actually knows what happened.
That was because there were no recordings or any kind of information.
Forensics from the Zerzura City adventurer’s guild went to conduct an investigation, but they couldn’t find anything, however, the history of that group of adventurers was the problem.
They had a history of these types of events happening around them.
Temporary or natural dungeons were dangerous, there was no doubt about it.
Although death had been reduced because of the experience most adults gained from Terra nova entering that supposed ‘game’, that experience was also a problem.
Terra nova at its time as a ‘game’ was played by most of the population of earth and it was clear that a large portion of these former players performed some atrocities on Terra nova.
While many of them sought to make amends, many others continued to hide and carry out their misdeeds in the dark, although in a way, there were lunatics who did not seek to hide, but many of them were arrested at the beginning of the ‘Great Cataclysm’.
As players, some people had experience for these cases.
Going with a group of unknown people and ending up ‘accidentally’ dying, allowing those who remained to keep all the profits, was not uncommon.
This group of adventurers had a history of this style and, adding to that information that the temporary dungeon had magic crystals that were of great value, it was certainly something to investigate.
Unfortunately, in other places where they conducted missions, they could not find anything.
The group did not move by cab, but instead used the portal in the basement and headed to the location in the northern part of the city, allowing them to reach their destination in seconds.
“The adventurers guild passed the case to the forensic department of Zerzura City and since they are related to the Church of Time and Space, their capabilities are very high in this type of investigations, however, I asked for a chance to see the scene before they acted,” Aurora explained as soon as they arrived.
Clementine looked at the members of the law enforcement authorities maintaining security around the portal to the temporary dungeon and hesitated for a few seconds.
“I’m not an expert... I may not be able to find anything,” Clémentine said sincerely.
There were different abilities among psionics that fell into the area of ‘modern criminalistics’.
Clairvoyance, psychometry, mediumship, precognition, and retrocognition... Each of those abilities was rare and learning to use them as a non-focused psionic was very difficult.
Clémentine had only learned to replicate mediumship, but its usefulness had never been tested.
“Never mind, this mission is not for you to accomplish. It is for you to learn that not all of humanity are comrades in arms facing a common enemy,” Aurora replied in a serious tone.
Ignoring the gaze of the students, Aurora greeted the officer in charge of the situation, and after common courtesies and a basic briefing, the officer ushered them into the temporary dungeon.
“The bodies are missing. According to that group of adventurers, they were eaten by the monsters. That’s possible because of the creatures in this dungeon having that ability. However, the adventurers who died were highly experienced and might have survived,” reported the officer with a serious tone as he led the group inside the dungeon.
It was a dungeon with a style of caves and paths, leading to different places, with some mushrooms and stones illuminating the interior.
Aurora, who was not concentrating on the surroundings, gave a nod.
She had already read the information they had given and studied the background of all the participants, including suspects and victims.
The independent adventurers were Rank B and had taken quite a few solo missions.
Dying in a temporary B-Rank dungeon was certainly strange, but not uncommon.
After all, a situation could get complicated in seconds and no one could be sure they could get out safely or get through it.
“The accused group is present if you would like to ask them some questions. They are under surveillance by our men, so they won’t cause any trouble,” reported the officer with a professional tone.
Following the officer through the tunnel, after traveling a considerable distance, they came to an open space where high up on the ceiling and on the walls were dozens of magic crystals.
Those magic crystals contained an immense amount of magical energy and if they were refined using the right method, their price would be sky-high.
“How much is the average value of all this?” Nicole asked seriously.
“Between five to ten million dollars. Since this is all a crime scene, we haven’t allowed it to be mined,” replied the officer calmly.
“It seems to be the value of several lives,” Alice mumbled munching on her chips, and when she received the surprised look from the students, she shrugged and pointed. “Sometimes humans kill for less. This price is a decent reason to murder.”
Although the look on the quintet’s faces was surprised, the officer nodded.
An extra cause added to an infamous record... That was reason enough for the authorities to seriously investigate.
When they arrived at the scene where the group of adventurers supposedly said their companions had died when they were attacked by surprise, they found the group of suspects being held by officers.
It was a fairly balanced group that featured a psionic, mage, scout, swordsman, and a fighter.
“When can we go? We’re tired of waiting,” said the swordsman, Aurora quickly identified as the leader.
“When the investigation is over,” replied the officer without looking perturbed.
The group’s expressions turned annoyed, but a suited man beckoned them over.
“My clients have been being held without reason for far too long. What happened here has been an unfortunate accident, which you seek to attribute to my clients,” the man stated with a unique solemnity.
“The investigation is ongoing, according to the legal terms of our criminal and procedural codes. Your clients must wait for the investigations to be completed. Because your group is the main suspect,” replied the officer without losing his calm, and looking at Aurora, he added. “You may begin your investigation.”
Aurora looked around and... She found nothing.
—You’re an ‘instinctive’ person. It’s hard for you to find anything in such a clean scene.
She wasn’t an expert in exploration or criminalistics, she had a great instinct, but that was about it.
Aurora didn’t feel annoyed though, as she had chosen a different path to help and do her job.
“Clémentine, do you want to give it a try?” Aurora asked without changing her expression.
“Please, now they called a teenage girl to do the job! How desperate are they to blame us!” the leader asked with a sarcastic tone full of mockery.
“Don’t worry, leader, they won’t find anything, since we didn’t do anything,” said the psionic with a mockery quite evident on his face.
They were confident to act that way... No; it looked like a mockery earned through having committed these actions in different countries without being caught in any of them.
Aurora could understand that look, however, Zerzura City was very different.
“I... I’ll try,” Clémentine replied, and approaching the center of the place, she sat down to calm her mind so she could enter a state of concentration.
Her position looked as if she was meditating and she focusing her mind and she could feel the ‘outside’ world through her mind.
But she was not just concentrating on that point, she was about to replicate mediumship as her academy teacher had taught her.
She needed to capture the remaining spirituality of the souls who died in this dungeon.
If those adventurers had strong emotions before they died, it was quite possible that she could capture it.
In that bright world where mental strength was represented by glowing lights, Clémentine plunged into that world, focusing her senses on something particular.
Seeking the spirituality of those wretched souls in order to communicate, Clémentine lightly touched a narrow veil of a world beyond what her capacity could perceive.
At that limit, her mind focused on those wretched souls, but she could only see an emptiness in the cave... As if nothing had happened.
A place so clean that it was terrifying...
“I... I found nothing,” Clémentine muttered when she opened her eyes, but looked at Aurora, wanting to say more.
Even when she was in her room and she had reached that limit of the veil that her father said only an A-Rank, could see, she could feel slight strange vibrations.
But here it was empty... There was nothing, and that was the scary thing.
Aurora noticed Clémentine’s expression but just shook her head.
“It’s normal,” Aurora said with a simple tone, and looking at the psionic of the group of adventurers, she added. “After all, in that group is an A-Rank psionic.”
The police guarding the area were surprised and the officer himself frowned.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mention it before. But I recently ascended in rank and haven’t registered with the adventurer’s guild,” Commented the psionic with a mock apologetic tone and looking at Aurora, he added. “I didn’t think a girl would notice.”
—That arrogance will be his undoing.
Aurora ignored her system’s comment and the words of that psionic.
In the information log, there was no trace that the psionic was Rank A, that was because he had been hiding his strength.
Even if a Rank A psionic observed him through her senses she could not tell any difference with a Rank B.
Aurora did not notice it with her senses, but simply after analyzing the records.
Mediums had even been used in one case a spirit mage was called in to contact the remaining spirituality of those souls, but they never found anything.
Removing the corpses, cleaning up the footprints and all the evidence while maintaining a perfect performance over the situation, that was the way that group worked.
The investigators would not have as much time to devote to their investigation because they were temporary dungeons and if the entire crime scene disappeared, it was impossible to be sure that they committed a crime.
However, today was different.
Aurora looked at the priestess, who was approaching from outside.
“Thank you for coming, High Priest Xaali,” Aurora said with a respectful smile.
“It is an honor to work with the Protectors of Zerzura.” said the priestess with a soft smile.
The expression of the group of adventurers changed upon hearing the priestess’ title.
“How far do they want to go?” muttered the leader of the group.
Aurora watched as the policemen pulled out cameras to record all the scenes, looking to save the evidence for when it would be used in the trial.
As she had said, this was not about an official mission they were only here as observers.
Looking at the students on Alice’s back like little chicks, Aurora just gave a signal to her sister to be careful.
“Some priests can use the power of the God they worship. High Priestess Xaali worships Aión the God of Time and Space, allowing her some unique abilities,” Aurora informed in a simple tone to her group.
Using the power of some gods was quite common for their worshippers.
It was one of the reasons why their faith was so widespread on planet earth and it was proof that gods existed.
And now the entire group focused their gaze on the dark-skinned woman, who approached the center.
“Oh, dear God, reveal the past for your devotees...” High Priestess Xaali implored.
Magical energy began to be consumed to an excessive amount, and that was used as a ‘sacrifice’ to connect a mortal to the higher entity.
Different gods needed different sacrifices to borrow their power, but Aión was a permissive god only when absorbing magical energy.
The surroundings began to change as if the entire group was in the center of a movie that was playing backwards.
Monsters were retreating, destroyed walls were returning to their place and in the middle of the scene, several independent adventurers were revealed next to the group of suspects, who were watching the scene with their eyes wide open.
The scene where they abandoned their companions to fight against the dungeon creatures while attacking them from behind so that they would not come out alive was revived at this site.
The scene was played back with sound and there were no omissions even when the independent adventurers died only for the group that had abandoned them to return to find them and clean everything up.
The leader who watched the scene with wide eyes wanted to grab his sword, but a black spear stuck into the wall beside him.
“If you make any moves, we’ll have to act,” Alice warned, eating her chips.
The officers also had their weapons in their hands.
They were not normal civilians each of them was skill users who had dedicated themselves to the police force as another way to help.
Their dedication was evident, and their hatred of this type of crime was high.
The city Zerzura started as a village and then grew into the metropolis it was today.
A beautiful city where origin and ethnicity did not matter and where Africans, Europeans, Americans, and Asians could live together, sharing the values that the city favored.
Those independent adventurers were some who had helped in different missions and that was why in this type of situation, a more thorough investigation was called for.
The city and those who lived in it were looking out for their own.
“Stop those criminals,” High Priestess, Xaali ordered as her eyes flashed coldly.
The policemen threw some collars on the ground, being cautious not to get close and the group of adventurers turned pale but looked at each other.
Alice pulled more arms out of her back and the police officer drew his sword, revealing his sword aura.
Aurora also put on her combat suit, ready for battle, and the students followed, using the ability of their suit to change their clothes.
The number of officers inside quadrupled the group of adventurers and there was no escape from this situation.
“I recommend you surrender,” High Priestess Xaali warned as her eyes glowed with a divine hue.
The glow in her eyes gave a unique impression when combined with the presence she emanated.
The time scene shattered and everything returned as before, but the remnant of that external power that could only be described as ‘Time’ went into the priestess’ hands, revealing an intangible force that contorted.
It had become ‘Space’ and the High Priestess exposed her ability for space magic by distorting her surroundings.
As one of the rare magics that very few could use, its danger was unquestionable, and it was for that reason that the expressions of those criminals trembled.
Facing a space magician who could cast a space-distorting spell, capable of tearing off an arm if they were not careful, was something to worry about.
Added to that concern was the fact that this mage was a believer in the God of Time and Space who could harness the powers if she prayed to that higher existence.
In terms of strength, High Priestess Xaali was close to becoming an S Rank thanks to the support of her faith.
It was a great gulf between an S-Rank and an A-Rank, but being on the edge was a superiority that could not be ignored.
“We surrender.” Said the group leader with a depressed expression.
The officer signaled him and tossed him other collars to suppress magical energy or psionic energy, much like the ones Aurora used.
The swordsman reached out to take it, but halfway through his expression distorted, and threw his sword at the students.
The High Priestess waved her hand and in the path of the sword, a portal was created, managing to exit through the back of the same swordsman and through his leg.
“Go to hell!” shouted the psionic, launching a mental attack to destabilize his enemies.
The officer performed a slash with his sword and his sword aura split that intangible energy that was sent to them.
For her part, Aurora unhesitatingly charged the group, and at her back, ten black arms accompanied her.
When the swordsman pulled his own sword from his bleeding leg, Aurora struck him with her fist using her combat aura and sending him flying against the ground, giving enough time for Alice’s arms to catch him and beat him up.
Since Alice had an arm transformed into a spear next to the group of adventurers, she used it to go after the psionic, who could create a psionic barrier to protect himself and repel her.
High Priestess Xaali sent a line distorting the space around them and shattered the barrier.
Before the policemen with weapon mastery talents could fire, the fighter of the adventurer group hit the psionic, and since the psionic was unprotected without its barrier, the fighter could causeA enough damage for Aurora to reach out and suppress it with her electric fist.
“We surrender!” The fighter who had led his attack wisely retreated along with the other members as they knelt with their hands on their heads.
“Pretty smart... Too bad your teammates aren’t the same,” said the officer and looking at the lawyer who was frozen in place, he commented. “I guess it will be hard to defend your clients.”
With that comment to lessen the tension in the atmosphere, the officer took it upon himself to put the collars on the entire adventuring group.
In just a few minutes, the authorities took the criminals away.
“Well, I didn’t expect it to turn out this way,” Aurora mentioned in a serious tone.
The most logical thing would have been for them to surrender... That was what Aurora thought.
—For people like them, the chance of being able to escape if they took a chance was more valuable.
Her system gave that comment, and Aurora nodded inwardly.
It was hard to understand those kinds of people.
Perhaps they thought the officers would hold back and seek to ‘subdue’ rather than ‘eliminate’, but while Aurora had clear ideas about their actions, the laws of Zerzura City were also quite clear in that regard.
If an ability user resisted subjugation, the authorities were allowed to use more lethal measures to avoid casualties.
It was impossible to talk about rights when in just an instant an S-rank mage could cast several powerful spells or a psionic of the same rank could damage the mind of an entire group.
The world had changed, and reality was sometimes more direct than one could imagine.
“My intention for bringing you here was to make you realize how dangerous reality is. In the same way that you could go on a mission with a stranger, that would be extremely useful,” Aurora said, pointing to High Priestess Xaali who gave a soft smile, then pointed to the blood from the swordsman’s sword wound and added. “You may also encounter a malicious stranger. I’m not telling you to be paranoid, I’m just telling you that the possibility exists.”
Being worried that they might be betrayed and killed in the back was not a good thing.
The mental stress was too heavy.
However, it was also not good to be confident and say that there were only good people in the world who were always willing to help.
Using the death of those independent adventurers as a teaching was rather cold and insensitive, but it was necessary to show the group that reality was cruel in its own way.
Thanking the police authorities and the High Priestess, the group left the temporary dungeon.
When they finally emerged, Aurora checked her holographic watch that had just vibrated and her expression quivered subtly, before turning into a smile.
“Tomorrow at noon I’m going...” –LadyOfFrost
That message from her acquaintance made her smile excitedly.
