Tracked

"Now that we've gotten through the attendance, we'll be heading outside to board the buses."

Orion stood before class B-21 as they listened with excited grins and smiles. However, upon hearing his last words, they couldn't help but pause.

"Professor Orion, did I hear that right? Did you say Buses?" Ava raised her hand, asking what the class thought.

"Yes. Though we can simply enter a portal to reach Ashton, we think it's better for the students to witness and experience Spawn for themselves. Think of it as sightseeing."

"Or at least, the school does. I'm just glad we get a few hours to do whatever we want." Orion mumbled the last sentence though he was still heard.

"Come on, you can't be serious."

"Why do I need to experience Spawn? I've been living here my whole life."

"How long will the bus ride take?"

A few groans of dissatisfaction could be heard in the crowd of students as most of them had already made plans.

'They probably only did this because the Rank 1 is an Outsider.'

Isaac deduced inwardly, noticing Cain on the other side of the class, smiling and celebrating.

Contrary to most of the students, Isaac was not one to complain about these arrangements.

He, too, was an Outsider and wouldn't mind seeing more of Spawn.

Additionally, Isaac wasn't the least bit surprised to know they were taking a bus.

With Spawn's technology, flying cars and far more convenient forms of transportation were no longer a fantasy.

But Isaac had long noticed that Spawn had a knack for not steering too far from their roots.

Transportation, architecture, language, culture. On the surface, Spawn didn't seem that different from the real world.

But underneath, innovative and creative layers of technology lay hidden.

Most transportation, and almost everything, could run on renewable energy like solar. Architecture, though visually not much different, the structure in which they're built and, depending on who built it, were durable, practical and could hold a few surprises.

Even simple things held convenient features.

Isaac was surprised to find his mattress was one that never dented or sunk in, morphing and changing to perfectly suit Isaac's sleeping patterns to ensure comfortability.

His cupboard was designed to freshen and clean all his clothes with a few sprays of something Isaac thought shared a scent with lavender, meaning he never had to worry about laundry.

His room was simple at first glance, but to this day, Isaac was still discovering new aspects to it.

'It would have been nice if I'd gotten a manual. I was almost forced to wash my clothes by hand before Oliver told me about my cupboard.'

"Alrighty, we're all done here. I want everyone to form a single file line and follow me."

Orion walked out of the class, not waiting for anyone as the students leapt off their feet to catch up to him.

But before that…

"Hey, Oliver. Congratulations on completing your first scenario."

"Yeah, tell us all about it."

"Who's your character?"

Before Isaac and Oliver could leave the class, the two of them, or rather the nerdy-looking boy with thick glasses and a combover, was bombarded by questions as the nearby students huddled around him.

"Umm…" Oliver chuckled nervously as Isaac was forcefully shoved out of the way.

"Oliver, congratulations!" A cheerful and high feminine voice stood out from the rest of the students as the surrounding kids parted to make way for Ava and Heather.

"Ava? Thank you, I appreciate it." Oliver replied after a slight pause.

"So, what was it like? What verse did you travel to? Was it dangerous?" Ava asked the question the other students had on their mind.

"Wow, that's so like Ava. Asking about his safety before anything else."

Isaac, hearing a few boys whisper, almost burst out in laughter.

'Yeah, right. She's just asking to see if he's strong.'

Isaac thought inwardly, soon being distracted as he witnessed Oliver staring at him from the corner of his eyes.

Oliver's eyes screamed, "Help me!"

Isaac stared for a few seconds, soon moving his lips to mouth two words.

"Hell no!"

Oliver's heart dropped as he watched Isaac's lips, seeing him wave his hands and leave him all alone.

***

"Hey, Orion. It's been a while."

Isaac managed to sneak in a few words with Orion as the class stood outside, staring at the dozen buses that lay parked before them.

Surprisingly, portals could be seen being set up in the distance. But upon remembering they were in the middle of the forest with no way to drive out, Isaac ignored it.

They would still be driving, because the portal most likely only reaches the nearest road.

They stood to the side as the students chatted amongst themselves, all while Oliver was still being mobbed by the students like one would usually see with the Golden Six.

It didn't help that Ava was leading them. Isaac could almost see her drooling as Oliver answered more of her questions.

"Ah, Isaac. It has been, indeed. I see you've put on some muscle." Orion glanced at Isaac, his words seeming sarcastic due to his lethargic tone.

But Isaac was already accustomed to this.

"Thanks. I've been adding weighted exercises to my training." Isaac replied, tapping his flexed bicep.

"Is this to prepare for your battle against Jett?" Orion asked.

It seemed that despite Orion's obvious disinterest in many different topics, the news about the future battle was able to reach even him.

"Yes, but I have no expectations of winning…"

"It seems we've been apart for too long. You may be forgetting who you're talking to." Orion cut Isaac off as the boy stared for a second.

It was true. Orion was the only person to know of Isaac's SSS Completion Rank, as well as him hiding his strength and being the one to take down Silver.

Isaac looked ahead as a slight grin escaped his lips.

"I'll try not to kick his ass too bad. I have a reputation to uphold, after all." Isaac smirked as Orion nodded his head.

"Are you sure?"

Isaac's smug expression instantly crumbled as he snapped his head toward Orion.

"What do you mean 'Are you sure?'" Isaac peered at Orion from the corner of his eye with a look of scepticism.

"I'll admit, Kid. You aren't an ordinary student, but this battle is one with restriction. You Can only use martial arts. And all of Spawn will be watching. You wouldn't be able to go all out even if you wanted to." Orion commented.

"Do you really think so lowly of me? Don't you think I've already prepared?"

Orion shook his head.

"Who knows, but that's not what you should be asking yourself. The real question is: Are you a better martial artist? I believe you already know the answer to that."

No, he wasn't.

Isaac knew this. With no Art, he didn't stand a chance.

But he'd already prepared for this. Despite still having no Art, he was certain about what the outcome of that battle would be.

Seeing Isaac back away and fall deep into thought, Orion continued.

"But hey…"

Isaac raised his head as Orion turned his back to leave.

"...I've been told my hand-to-hand is pretty decent. Visit me whenever you need any pointers. I am your teacher, after all."

Saying this, Orion walked away as Isaac was left to stare.

Isaac understood the point Orion was trying to make. Even if he wins this battle, he will always be at a disadvantage against someone with an Art.

But it seemed he could help with that, prompting Isaac to grin.

'Nice. Private lessons with Orion. It's about time he taught me something, seeing as it's his job.'

Before Isaac could think anymore, he felt a tap on his shoulder as he turned his head, noticing a blonde boy with a charming smile.

"Zach, what are you doing here?" Isaac asked with a raised eyebrow, noticing his roommate.

"The buses are big enough to hold two classes. Turns out my class and yours were assigned to ride together."

Isaac now understood why Zach seemed so cheerful as he, too, let out a short cheer shortly after.

"Um, I couldn't help but notice Oliver is…preoccupied." Zach pointed as Isaac shook his head.

"It's too late for him. I guess we're the last two losers around." Isaac shrugged.

"Well, let's go get a seat on the bus before all the good ones are taken. We can even save one for Oliver…if he manages to survive."

Zach added after a slight pause, noticing Oliver sweating heavily, stuttering on his words a few times, contrary to his usual confident and talkative self.

"I doubt it."

***

Despite the outside of the bus seeming rather small and compact, the same couldn't be said for the inside as one would find themselves entering an expansive hallway upon entering, countless doors gracing the walls.

They were so abundant and frequent, barely having any space between and appearing to look as though they were decoration rather than actual rooms.

But on the other side of each door lay a perfectly open cabin that could comfortably fit six or seven students with leather seating facing opposite each other and a long window on the furthest wall.

In one of these cabins were exactly six important students.

"Jett, is everything okay? You still haven't bothered using any of your pickup lines on me today…"

"Who needs a pickup line when I can pick you up at nine."

Ava sat between Jett and Daniel as the latter didn't utter a word, staring out of the window.

Jett, cutting off Ava, smiled as he leaned in.

"Were you waiting for me to ask so you could use that?" Ava asked with a tone of playful scepticism.

"...maybe."

Jett replied as Ava and Cain chuckled.

However, Cain's expression soon turned stoic and determined as he spoke.

"Okay, guys. Back to business. We have a mission here. Lucy, is it done?"

Cain turned to his side, speaking to the dark purple haired girl beside him, reading as one could see her eyes follow each word, slowly cascading down the page.

However, upon hearing her name, she closed the thick book, placing it on her lap as she met Cain's gaze.

"Yes. From now on, we will be able to track every student in our class, no matter where they are in Ashton."

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Next chapter title: Ashton City [Single chapter]

NNext chapter title: A Chance [Single Chapter]

NNNext chapter title: Buying an Art [1]

As usual, it's the beginning of the month, so...

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