Nicholas woke up with a refreshed smile. The reason was due to the midnight pulse he received last night. Apparently someone—or something associated with his father— released a radial blast of fertility mana in the middle of the night. Since his home was comparable farther than expected from his father's residence, it wasn't enough to allow him to grow exponentially, so he decided to use that mana to expand his alchemical knowledge through experimentation in his mind space.

Normally, using his mind space would leave him exhausted for the upcoming day or days. But the compensation was negated with the use of the bonus mana he managed to collect from the blast, thus rendering him more refreshed than ever the second day. He even managed to learn some new and interesting concepts regarding the combination of science and alchemy. The fact that those theories of his could make a significant impact in his country's scientific and alchemical systems proved that they were more valuable than anyone could've imagined.

Everything that happened during last night made getting up the second day all the more exciting, since he could start gathering materials and ingredients already. His current, biological father was an alchemist while his mother was a normal housewife. There were tons of books about alchemy in his biological father's reading room, allowing him to satisfy his almost insatiable curiousity for the merging of science and alchemy.

"Call the other three, we need a meeting ASAP" the mental link between him and Andrew sparked while he was preparing himself.

I wonder what's so urgent... he tried thinking optimistically, but there was a bad feeling in his gut that made him think twice.

"Mom, I'm going to play with my friends." Nicholas wore his shoes as he prepared to leave.

"Wha- so early? Alright, remember to be back by six!" His mother replied from the kitchen. He caught a whiff of apple pie before he left.

"Alright, now to padre's house." He muttered as he began walking through the streets.

The sun was rising higher as he made his way through a T-junction and halfway turning, he bumped into a girl about the same age as he is. "Ow..."

"Oh, sorry— Wait, you're Nicholas right?" The girl appologised before asking. She had blonde hair, which was inherited from her mother.

"Yep." He answered as he struck his chest with a fist. "I'm the Nicholas. Is there something you want to ask?" He looked at her, scanning her before feeling for a pulse of mana. It's there, one of us then, he mused.

"Yes! A-actually, I've been searching for you," A strand of golden hair fell down her face, which she swatted to the back of her ear. "I want to report something I've spotted!"

Nicholas looked at her a little confused. "Reporting? I guess I can do that. So what is it?"

The girl hugged Nicholas, causing him to blush as he stuttered. "Wha-what're you doing!?" The girl then pinched Nicholas's belly. "Ouch!"

Once the girl was satisfied with hugging and pinching Nicholas all around—including his crotch, which made it bulge a little even though incest was sort of illegal— she apologised again. "Sorry, had to make sure. My pulse isn't as strong as yours."

A look of revelation sprouted as his tralalala calmed down. "Ohhh... I always forget not everyone's pulse is as good as mine."

"Nah, its okay. Anyway, back to topic," The girl breathed in before starting. "I spotted a pedophile near me. I think he's a professional considering how stealthy he's been going around."

"Pedophile?" Nicholas's eyebrow rose a little. "Do continue."

"Okay, so, the pedophile has been following me. Even now, I can feel his presence near us. Considering how weak and insensitive my pulse is, it should mean he's extremely close by. I fear he'll make a move on me soon."

After thinking for a moment, he responded. "Alright, I'll report this to the others. In the mean time, we'll be protecting you first," Nicholas then winked. "Especially me."

The girl laughed. "Oh alright you," she then grabbed Nicholas's hand and shook it. "We'll see how protective you'll be then."

Nicholas chuckled in response. "The pleasure's mine. By the way, I didn't catch your name."

The girl let go of his hand. "It's Diera, but people just call me 'Ra' nowadays."

"Alrighty, 'Ra. We'll be in contact then." A slap of hands between the two formed a mental link, which they could now use to communicate over distances. "Im'ma go do somethings first."

"Sure." Diera left with a spring in her steps, as if just telling Nicholas about the pedophile problem made everything easier for her.

I did promse her after all, Nicholas giggled at the thought. He looked forward to exchanging mana with her once the pedophile was caught. This is gonna be easy considering how I've already pinpointed the target.

He then went to gather the other three of The Five.