Rescue Mission (4)

Early on during one of the 'meet ups' with Yulia and Lucy, Ren learnt that the first years had a group where information was posted and whatnot, that was also where the information about the test was posted. Of course, he somehow wasn't part of the group at that time, so he missed it. Anyway, before the group became admin only messages, it was open for all to chat, and unsurprisingly, his name was being mentioned quite a lot and he was a topic of discussion one way or another. In that regards, it was logical to conclude that Dominic had caught wind of his victory against Linda.

Though Ren had no idea how Dominic knew he was the Ren, but then again, with how advanced the technology in this world was, Ren wasn't surprised if the techniques of taking secret pictures had also become more robust. This would definitely be a good era for perverts and paparazzi.

Once Ren heard the voice calling out and saw that it was Ash, he was certain of what had happened, and that he had limited time.

'Honestly, I should have thought about it from the very moment I saw Dominic.'

There was no time running down the stairs to get to the ground floor at this point. Even though block G was about 20 stories high, jumping down looked like the best option at that point.

'The portal won't last long either, so I have to get there fast.' Ren was considering the time it would have taken Ash to get to block G which was the last block and far from the others, he really didn't have time at all.

Without hesitation, Ren jumped down the side of the building, and Ash watched with great amazement and shock at the same time. It was safe to say he had more than just shock and amazement, there was probably fear also, but when Ren touched the ground unscathed, Ash wasn't given the chance to process what was going on, both outside and within.

"Where are they right now?" Ren asked hurriedly. Ash did his best to explain, since the path Yulia took was not exactly popular, but since Ren had walked that path before and also with Yulia, he recognized it right away.

Running there, no matter how fast, Ren knew he wasn't going to make it in time, so there was only one thing he could turn to, to give him an advantage.

[Lightning Impulse]

With the activation of the skill, Ren's agility had risen to 46.5 from 31. With that, he was barely able to arrive just in time before the portal disappeared.

'The fuck… how is he so fast? Insane.' Ash was stunned beyond belief. He quickly regained composure and hurried back to take care of Lucy. This time, he wasn't able to help the rest, but honestly, even if he was given the chance, he was the type to look at the brighter side of life, 'at least, it wouldn't have been me. No way I'm mindlessly throwing myself into a fight a know I can't win.'

Even when he initially appeared following Ray's scream, just in that short moment, he was able to determine what his choice ultimately was… not to pursue the matter. The factors were just stacked up against him no matter what. The two terrorists, as he saw them were definitely far stronger than he was, and even if he could manage to get Yulia back before they entered the portal, how would he escape? If he wanted to send an emergency signal to the academy, how long would it take for them to arrive? He would have already sustained irreversible injury or even worse, death. If he was to follow into the portal, he could just meet an entire gang of the terrorists waiting on the other end, and if he doesn't die by their hands, he couldn't imagine what else could happen.

'I don't care if I look like a coward, at least I'm not crazy, not as crazy as these guys…' Even though this reasoning was perfectly justified, Ash still felt a bit a guilt with the way he thought, especially after he watched his fellow students jump into danger head first without thinking it deeply to save one of their own, and they didn't even know her.

'Everyone's different, I can't let their actions and decisions pressure me.' Ash resigned the matter for the time being as he rushed towards Lucy who was still unconscious and brought her to the side to lay her on the grass.

After doing so, he didn't waste time sending out an emergency signal to the authorities in the academy and sharing his location. He would have done sooner, but he was in a hurry and unstable as he was running around.

Only after a couple of minutes did two people come rushing to the location where the signal originated from. Both of them were sergeants. Ash gave a detailed explanation of what the issue was, and on hearing it, the authorities called for more back-up, and it didn't take long after that for the news to reach the ears of the head of the academy, General Jack Othman.

A soldier from the paramedics showed up after that to take a look at Lucy, and after making she only received a powerful blow to the head and didn't have any other injuries, she was treated and advised to visit the hospital later for a more thorough check up along with other things.

Even though she had been healed using a skill, it might not clear all abnormalities, that just wasn't how healing skills worked… well until Ashley awakened that is.

Anyway, with everything settled there, Ash was allowed to leave, but he instead stayed behind and waited. If the portal was going to open again, it would open in the same position, and since this one wasn't done using a skill but rather a device, it was even more possible for it to open in that exact spot, after all, that was where the gadgets were set up.

Ash watched as another team arrived at the scene. If he had to take a guess, he would say they were a more technical team, since they seemed to know a thing or two about the teleportation device.

"This seems to be an older model; no wonder it didn't disappear immediately."

"We should be able to read the recent coordinates and generate a portal connecting to the other end. The only problem is, the portal device at the other end had been destroyed."

"How long will it take?"

"Around 45 minutes."

"Can't you make it any faster?"

"We'll try, sir."

Someone of high qualifications was also present, and he seemed to be the one managing the situation on sight and reporting back. Ash could see from his badge on his chest that he was a Lieutenant.

"…"

'I hope nothing happens to them. They must make it back.' Ash himself never realized he would be this concerned about them, but this was the reality.