Mornye frowned at the urgent voice in her ear.
"You're calling me over something like this, too...? Don't panic. I'll be right there."
With a sigh, Mornye looked at Rover and Mo Bai.
"The Research Institute is open to students. Would you two... like to come along? Seeing more of the place should be helpful."
Hearing her suggestion and remembering how little patience she had shown the person on the call, Mo Bai thought her invitation sounded almost like a plea for help.
"Sure. Lead the way, Professor Mornye." Rover seemed interested in her suggestion.
As for Mo Bai...
"I'll pass."
Rover raised an eyebrow.
"I still need to get familiar with the Academy and pick up my Terminal. A lot of things are inconvenient without one," Mo Bai explained.
He could see the question in Rover's eyes.
"All right. See you later, then." Rover did not press him.
"Yeah."
Mo Bai waved goodbye and headed toward the train.
Click—
Once the train doors closed, Mo Bai sat alone in his seat.
The carriage felt much emptier than it had on the way here.
Was he really that sensitive? Did he feel lonely the moment a friend was no longer beside him?
Probably not. Mo Bai figured he simply felt unsafe being alone in another world he had only just arrived in.
He was just an ordinary person, after all. It was perfectly normal to feel that way.
"..."
All right, his friend's absence was part of it.
Lynae was in class, and Rover... he should probably keep his distance from him from now on.
It was not that Mo Bai disliked Rover. He thought Rover was a good person, someone who knew how to cheer people up and offer advice when it was needed.
But he remembered what the Goddess had told him.
"There'll be plenty more fun things waiting for you~"
She had definitely said that.
Mo Bai did not think he was the sort to go looking for trouble. Once he settled in, he would probably spend most of his time inside the safety of Star Torch Academy.
But Rover...
One look at him told Mo Bai that Rover was here to do big things. Staying at his side would probably bring all kinds of unpredictable trouble.
Mo Bai still considered Rover his friend, of course. But he had to keep himself safe first.
Until he had settled in, he would keep his distance. He could apologize later, and it would not be too—
Hum...
"Hm?"
In the middle of that inner struggle, Mo Bai noticed the train gradually slowing down.
Whoosh!
A moment later, he felt that familiar sensation of weightlessness.
"Am I some kind of magnet for train crashes?!"
Even as he complained, Mo Bai hurried to the train doors.
His physical abilities were average, but with Cursed Energy behind him, smashing through a door would not be difficult.
The problem was technique...
He had planned to improve his control over Cursed Energy bit by bit, then gradually tame more Shikigami to protect himself.
Who knew he would run into this nonsense on his very first day at school?
"Tch!"
Fueled by his negative emotions, Mo Bai finally kicked the door open and leaped into the air.
A powerful surge of negative emotion could make him stronger in an instant.
But it also wasted Cursed Energy, and relying on it for too long could cause him psychological problems.
In the heat of the moment, though, Mo Bai had no other choice.
"Nue!"
Once airborne, Mo Bai quickly formed the hand sign to summon Nue.
Screech!
Nue caught Mo Bai by the arms. He sighed, intending to let it carry him down somewhere safe.
But...
"Hm?"
His Cursed Energy-enhanced vision picked out something in the distance.
Was Lynae facing off against a student in a red uniform?
Who was that? And had Lynae not told him and Rover that she was going to class?
Bang!
From above, Mo Bai watched Lynae shoot, forcing the person into a red portal.
Then the robot above Lynae descended and activated. It looked anything but friendly.
What was going on? Mo Bai felt certain none of this was something a new student was supposed to see.
If only he had a Terminal. Then the Academy might have contacted him and told him what to do.
But he did not, and right now he had to decide for himself.
"Ugh."
Sometimes that was worse than being forced to choose. When the choice was his own, he could not even make an excuse for it.
"Take me over there. Hurry."
At his command, Nue sped up with Mo Bai in its grip.
Despite giving the order himself, Mo Bai found himself wishing Nue would fly a little slower.
That would give him more time to change his mind.
But he could not give Nue that order.
Because the person facing that robot was Lynae. His friend.
Had he had many friends before?
No. He had had none at all.
Screech!
With Nue's cry ringing out, Mo Bai flew toward Lynae at full speed.
Beep, beep!
A red light flashed beneath the mask of the feminine robot facing Lynae, Haiveisha, as it turned toward her.
More precisely, it turned toward the glowing cylinder in Lynae's hand.
"Divine Dogs! Nue!"
Just as the two sides were about to clash, Mo Bai reached the battlefield and activated his Cursed Technique.
Screech!
Nue hurtled toward Haiveisha. The electric current that accompanied its impact stunned the robot for an instant.
Swish, swish!
Then the shadow beneath Haiveisha's feet stirred, and a pack of wolf-headed dark shapes lunged up to bite it.
This was an expanded use of the Divine Dogs Shikigami, an intermediate form that had not fully taken shape.
They lacked the attack power of fully formed Divine Dogs, but their greater numbers made them better at tying an enemy down.
Snap!
The shadows struck from different directions and bound Haiveisha in place.
"Mo Bai?!"
Lynae stared at the sudden turn of events in surprise.
She clearly had not expected Mo Bai to show up here.
"You owe Rover and me an explanation for ditching us!"
Beep, beep!
No sooner had Mo Bai spoken than an electronic alert sounded from Haiveisha.
"Oh no! Mo Bai, get down!"
Whoosh!
The instant Lynae shouted her warning, Haiveisha tore free of Mo Bai's Divine Dogs at incredible speed.
"It's that strong?!"
Even with Cursed Energy sharpening his sight, Mo Bai could barely follow its movements. Cold sweat broke out on his skin.
That thing was basically a mini-boss, and he had not even left the starter village yet!
He could complain in his head all he liked, but Mo Bai did not dare let his hands slow.
Lynae was too far away. It would take her time to help him, and until then, he was on his own.
But what could he do?
The Divine Dogs were not strong enough. Summoning Nue again without time to build up power would only send it to its death.
Tch. Forget the starter village—he had not even finished the tutorial...
Slash!
Haiveisha reached Mo Bai and brought its blade down. Nothing remained where he had been standing.
"Mo Bai!"
Only Lynae's worried cry echoed through the area.
Before you continue