Chapter 15 - Welcome your Esper Tour Guide!

"You see, I'm an esper, one of the only ones to exist. Being an esper lets me see through people, things such as their intentions, thoughts, and even hidden abilities. I have reason to believe that Yukio has an incredibly powerful hidden ability that he has not unlocked yet, so I've decided to travel with him to help him unlock this power." said Ambrosia.

"Wait, y-you can read our minds?" said Yui, concerned.

"Yes, I know what you're thinking right now, and I'm not too fond of it. Calm down," said Ambrosia. Yui then took a deep breath, crossed her arms, and looked to the side. She was still annoyed.

"Is that why he was doing so well during his exam? He seemed unstoppable in there," said Mayumi.

"Yes. I was infusing him with my energy, to see if it would help bring his powers out. What you saw in there was a good 5% of his true power. If he could control 100% of it, he could be a god. But the issue is, he's too weak to even harness 1% of it. He needs to train and become stronger, to harness his power." said Ambrosia.

"...a hidden ability. Yukio, were you aware of this?" asked Cyprus.

"I wasn't. I never knew that I possessed such an ability until I met Ambrosia," said Yukio.

"I see... well if Esper Witch's hunches are right, and you do possess great power, I'm all for helping you bring it out. Esper Witch, how are you planning to go about this?" asked Cyprus.

"Energy Infusions," said Ambrosia. Cyprus tilted his head to the side, confused.

"Huh? Explain."

"Basically, Yukio and I are going to make physical contact every day so that I can infuse some of my energy into him. This will build him up stronger each day until he is able to manifest his ability. Think of it as a daily boost." said Ambrosia. Yui heard this and grimaced.

"But this alone won't be enough to bring out his power. As I said, he will need to train on his own and climb the ranks as well. This will simply act as a catalyst for his growth. If you don't mind, I'd like to join the little group you have going on here. Is this okay?" asked Ambrosia.

"Sure! Having a level 7 with us will make our job easier!" said Mayumi. Cyprus also chimed in with his agreement.

"Well, I can't guarantee that I'll always be able to help you guys out. As a level 7, if I am called upon to help another camp, I will have to leave temporarily to help them. But I will ensure that I am with Yukio at least once a day." said Ambrosia.

"Sounds good to me!" said Cyprus.

Yui, however, was peeved. She knew that this would help in the long run, but she was still against the idea of another girl being close to Yukio. However, the group had already outvoted her 3/1, so she had no choice.

"I guess that's fine. Hmph," said Yui. Ambrosia walked up to her and closed her eyes. She wanted to know what Yui was really thinking.

"You carry a lot of malice in your mind. Don't worry, he's yours," said Ambrosia. Yui backed up and gasped. The rest of the group was confused but paid no attention to it. Ambrosia laughed.

"Hah! Well then, why don't we take a tour 'round Camp Alpha? I can show Yukio where everything is!" said Ambrosia.

The group followed Ambrosia. She let go of Yukio's hand as to not annoy Yui. She was aware of her suppressed feelings for Yukio and wanted not to interfere. She took them around a corner and showed them the camp's shopping district first.

"Alright, so I'm sure you three know where everything is by now, but Yukio, here is the shopping district of Alpha. We have many shops here where you can buy things such as food, uniforms, and other amenities. Speaking of which, you should probably get a hero outfit soon." said Ambrosia.

"Yeah, I've just been wearing the clothes Mayumi gave me for the past week or so, I've had a good 5 outfits to cycle through. I think I should get a hero outfit if I'm going to be one," replied Yukio.

"Over to the left, is our main training center for heroes. Regardless of level, you can go there to train. It has stations similar to the rooms that your physical test took place, Yukio. So I'd recommend going there whenever you visit the camp."

"Also, over here is where you can turn your quests in. There are multiple stations scattered throughout the camp, so whenever you finish a quest, when you've transferred, you can go to these stations to turn them in!" said Ambrosia.

"Man, this camp's got it all! It's basically a city. Look over there Mayumi, that even looks like a food market, there wasn't one in Theta, right?" asked Yukio.

"Well, there was, but you just didn't see it. It was tucked away. But you're right, Camp Alpha isn't just a camp, it's an entire city, some people live here. There are 5 major camps that act as cities in the world, they're Alpha, Zeta, Kappa, Omicron, and Omega. The rest of the camps are smaller scaled." said Mayumi. Ambrosia added onto this.

"Indeed. Camp Alpha is one of the 5 "City Camps". There are other regular cities in the world, but only 5 of them serve as camps." said Ambrosia. Then, she continued her spiel.

"Over there is the Benevolent Boar Hotel, they're a chain of hotels that span across the world, and they're known for their amazing service, especially their food. Some of the top chefs in the world work in these hotels," said Ambrosia. Yukio was getting hungry just listening to her. He chimed in.

"That sounds super nice. What time is it anyway? I'm getting pretty hungry." asked Yukio.

"It's nearing 5:00 PM. Would you like to eat something?" asked Ambrosia.

"Yeah, what's good around here?" asked Yukio.

"Well, we can book a room in the Boar hotel, and eat there if you'd like. Considering my rank, I shouldn't have any problems getting you four in," said Ambrosia.

"Well, if you can secure us a room until after Yukio's training, we would be forever grateful," said Mayumi. Ambrosia then chuckled.

"Hah, it's nothing really, here, follow me so we can reserve a room," said Ambrosia.

The party followed Ambrosia through the camp, walking past many heroes. Yukio glanced at them, comparing them to one another. It seemed that looks weren't everything in the Hero Camp, as there was an incredibly tall and buff armored man, whose badge read level 3, and then you had Ambrosia, who was level 7, rank 2.

As they approached the hotel, two doormen swung the doors open for them and greeted Ambrosia. She had a high status in the camp.

"Welcome, Ms. Esper Witch. Are these four with you this evening?" asked the doorman.

"Indeed. They will be staying here for a few days while I train them," said Ambrosia. The party looked at each other, confused, but then Ambrosia suddenly entered their minds and changed their expressions.

"In that case, welcome back to the Benevolent Boar, Ms. Esper Witch."

"My sincere thanks. Alright guys, let's go in and book our room," said Ambrosia. The party followed her into the hotel.

The hotel was grand. It was decorated with many different luxuries and amenities. The walls had intricate golden patterns on them, and water flowed from nearby wall fountains. There were plants decorating the walls and floor, and there were numerous paths leading to other areas within the hotel. The front desk was operated by a man in a suit, with a golden rose on it. He greeted them.

"Welcome back, Ms. Esper Witch! Are you here to book a room with us tonight?" asked the man.

"It's nice to see you again Sir Kenji. These four are with me tonight. I'd like to book a room for a week or so." said Ambrosia.

Sir Kenji was an older gentleman who ran the Benevolent Boar Hotel in Camp Alpha. He had gray hair, combed back, and gelled. He had a finely crafted mustache and blue eyes.

"Sure thing. Which room would you like to book?" asked Kenji.

"Room 304 on Floor 8 will do nicely," said Ambrosia. She could see the entire layout of the hotel with her esper senses and knew that room 304 was the largest room in the hotel. She seemed to have a sense of clairvoyance, as well as telepathy.

"Alright, here is the room key. With your rank discount, your price per night comes to $65." said Kenji. Yukio then chimed in.

"Whoa, a hotel this luxurious for only $65 a night? That's a crazy discount. What's the normal price here?" asked Yukio.

"Well, considering Ms. Esper Witch is the 2nd ranked hero in the entire camp, she gets a 95% discount. The normal price per night here is $1,300/night. But that's not much to heroes, as they're all paid well depending on their quests." said Kenji. He was clearly a very rich man.

"Interesting. Well, we'll take the deal! Let's go, Ambrosia, let's find our room!" said Yukio. Ambrosia then thanked Kenji, and the party went off to find their room. When they had left, and Kenji was alone, he spoke to himself.

"That red-haired boy accompanying Ms. Esper Witch... there's something interesting about him. I've seen thousands of heroes come and go through this hotel, but he's different. He has the eyes of a demigod...and it seems Ms. Esper Witch is undisturbed by his blatant use of her first name, rather than her Hero Name...could she potentially consider him a higher rank than herself? I'll keep my eyes on him..." said Kenji, closing his eyes.

The party made their way to the elevator and stepped in. They selected the 8th floor, the doors closed, and the elevator started to rise. The inside of the elevator was decorated with intricate gold patterns, as well as many posters that hung on the wall. Mainly posters about the food at the hotel, and things to do in Camp Alpha.

The elevator chimed, and the doors opened as the party approached the 8th floor. They stepped off and walked through the halls of the hotel. They were decorated with red carpet, numerous plants on either side, chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, as well as plenty of doors, each marked with a number. The party approached room 304.

Ambrosia took out the room key and slid it into the keyhole with her mind. She was showing off at this point. However, she turned it, and the door opened, revealing their hotel room to them. They walked in.

The hotel room had 3 beds, each being able to fit 2 people. It also had a center table, a bathroom, and a suite with a changing room and storage closet. The windows looked over the grand city camp, and the room was decorated with plants and golden decorations. Yui chimed in.

"Woowww, this is so nice. I've been here twice before, but never in a room as nice as this one. Esper Witch, you knew this room was the best one, didn't you?" asked Yui.

"Indeed I did. I know this hotel inside and out. Although this room is the most expensive, it's not that big of a deal, considering my rank discount. I'm just glad nobody else was in this room." said Ambrosia.

"Well, I think we should unpack, and get settled in. We'll be staying here for the week. After we unpack, I'd say we should grab some food, and head to bed. Yukio has a long day tomorrow." said Cyprus.

"Sounds good to me. We'll need to figure out who sleeps with who though, as there are 5 of us and only 3 beds. Personally, I'd prefer to sleep by myself, if that's okay with you four?" asked Ambrosia. Yui immediately stepped in.

"I can sleep with Yuki-oop!" said Yui prematurely, covering her mouth afterward.

The whole party turned toward Yui and stared at her with semi-shocked expressions. Yui then panicked, shook around in place, and rephrased her sentence. She was speaking quicker than normal.

"Well, I mean, if you guys already planned everything out that's fine too, I was just throwing an idea out there, to be honest, I'll sleep with anyone if you need me too, WAIT NO I didn't mean like, ahhh!" said a distraught Yui. Mayumi then spoke.

"Yui, it's fine, Yukio, do you mind sharing a bed with Yui? Cyprus, you can share one with me if you'd like, as Esper Witch wants her own bed to herself," said Mayumi.

"Sure, Yui can share a bed with me, I don't mind," said Yukio. Yui then glanced at him and blushed. Cyprus then added on.

"I'll share a bed with Mayumi, not like I haven't shared a cot with her before in Theta. Well then, I'm glad we sorted that out," said Cyprus.

"Alright, everyone! Now that this matter is settled, let's unpack, relax for a bit, and then get some dinner. The food here is fabulous, I'm sure everyone will enjoy themselves. When we get back, we can change, shower if we need to, and sleep. Yukio, good luck with your exam tomorrow..." said Ambrosia.

"Thanks, Ambrosia. Alright guys, let's unpack..." said Yukio.