"We heard your class is exploring a Portal tomorrow?"

"...Yes."

​​

Van was currently in Unique Class-1 attending his extracurricular class. But unlike before, he did not use his superspeed to get here since he was walking along with Victoria.

"The two of you should be fine then", Ms. Elton scratched her head as she stared at the two freshmen, "I already smell the Portal in both of you, so that would mean you've explored before."

Smell? Is Ms. Elton's sense of smell even better than that of Gemma's?

"But I also heard the Student Council would be there… and so your best friend is bound to be there as well", Ms. Elton said as she turned her eyes towards Van.

Hearing Ms. Elton's words, Van could not help but furrow his eyebrows. Best friend? Was she talking about Gerald?

"He--"

"Oh! I heard that!"

Before Van could even say anything to his defense, a trail of smoke suddenly puffed behind him. It was Chad, who had been missing for a few sessions now. He seemed to be doing well these days, as the bags under his eyes have become noticeably lighter.

"I heard you kicked that psycho's ass?", Chad said as he lightly patted Van's shoulder.

"Kicked his ass?", Ms. Elton started to mutter as soon as she heard Chad's words, "If the fight continued, the little man here would have lost… yes, surely he would have lost. Don't you think so?"

Hearing himself being called a little man by Ms. Elton, who was quite the small one herself, Van could not help but slightly raise an eyebrow.

"Let's prove it? Want to prove it?", Ms. Elton continued, suddenly once again talking to herself.

"What do you think would happen if he caught you?", Ms. Elton then said as she stared Van straight in the eyes.

"..."

Honestly, even Van himself did not know. The last time he got caught was when the Arachnaea hugged him… and he couldn't even budge her one bit.

"You caught him off guard and provoked him, but even then you weren't able to knock him out", Ms. Elton let out a long sigh, "You lack the creativity, little man."

"Out of all the students here, Gerald has the highest level. Probably even higher than most of the younger instructors. Yes? Of course, he is."

"He would have--".

Ms. Elton then abruptly stopped speaking as she leaned in closer towards Van. "Come with me", she then said out of nowhere as she started to walk deeper into the house.

"The rest of you come as well", she beckoned.

And so, Chad, Van, and Victoria followed Ms. Elton. They were led to the basement… and then another basement below that. Once again, Van was shocked at the size of the house. Maybe in the future, when someone stronger tries to chase him, this would serve as a good hiding spot to rest.

After a few more minutes, they were then led to a small and empty room. Even smaller than Van's room back in his house.

"Chad, you stay near the door. Demonspawn, come here", she said as she gestured to Victoria to stand beside her.

Until now, Victoria still had no idea why Ms. Elton kept referring to her as Demonspawn. But it would seem that it had something to do with her grandmother since the two seemed to have a long history together.

And so, slightly hesitating, Victoria slowly walked and stood beside Ms. Elton, who quickly placed her hand on Victoria's shoulder.

"We will be having a mock battle, Van", Ms. Elton let out a deep breath as she stared at Van.

"You are quite the peculiar case, Van. If I could copy your skills it would make it easier for me to teach you how to utilize your System properly."

"But no no. You have a very stubborn System", Ms. Elton clicked her tongue to show her distress, "So… come one, let's have a mock battle now."

"...In here?", Van looked around the small room, could they even have a proper fight here? He thought.

Chad, on the other hand, still had no idea why he had to be here.

"You just need to be able to touch me before I knock you out", Ms. Elton continued, "If you do, I will give you a Blue Crystal."

"!!!"

As soon as Van heard that there was a reward, his eyes quickly glistened as he nodded his head.

"Let's start."

As soon as Ms. Elton announced the start of the battle, Van quickly turned on his [Time Perception] skill as his eyes sparkled in gold. He rushed towards Ms. Elton without even the slightest hesitation.

But alas, he found himself almost tripping to the ground as his feet did not move to his command. He quickly looked down, only to find his legs being wrapped around by the marbled floor.

"!!!"

And as soon as he looked back towards Ms. Elton, her fist was already in front of his face.

"...Oh."

And that was the last thing he remembered before blacking out.

"..."

"...Uh, Ms. Elton?", Chad raised his hand after Van dropped to the ground, "Why am I even here?"

Chad could not help but feel a weight inside his chest. Was he also going to be trained by Ms. Elton today? Is it because he has been missing the class? But Ms. Elton said that he had already learned everything he needed to, so that's why he just checks in from time to time.

But… was that actually a mistake!? Chad quickly wiped the sweat forming on his face as the bags under his eyes started to show themselves again.

"The smoke coming out of your nose is a nice distraction."

"..."

***

"Woh!"

Van quickly opened his eyes as he woke up from the sound of his own huge breath. He quickly touched his cheek, as the last thing he remembered was Ms. Elton's fist about to swallow his face.

And as soon as he removed his hand, he saw Victoria looking at her from above.

"..."

Van looked around, it would seem that he was now in Unique Class-1's lounge… and was using Victoria's lap as a pillow.

It's soft, he thought.

"I lost, huh?", Van let out a slight sigh as he looked at Victoria.

"Yes. You didn't even put up a fight."

"...Why am I resting on your lap?"

"I am calming you down. We thought you'd be running amok once you found out you lost."

"..."

Van could not help but slightly raise an eyebrow with Victoria's statement, since when did he ever run amok?

But come to think of it, Victoria also touched his face after he woke up after his fight with Gerald, and it instantly calmed him down.

"Is that… one of your skills?", Van asked.

"Yes."

And Victoria answered, without even a pause in her words, "I can alter someone's emotions if I touch them… but in turn, I lose my own temporarily."

"...", Van could not help but be slightly taken aback as he heard Victoria's sincere tone, "...Why are you telling me this?"

"Because you asked."

"..."

"And because you're my friend", Victoria said before quickly covering Van's face, completely blocking out his vision.

"I think I am already calm now, Victoria."

"I know…", Victoria said, her breaths slightly stuttering,

"...I am the one that's not calm."