“Tomo, let’s compare our homework!” one of my classmates waved their stapled stack of papers in the air.

I stood up from my seat, ready to follow her to the library when someone unexpected stood near the classroom exit. Zhuyu looked up from his phone and greeted me with his usual monotone voice.

“Hey Yuki, sorry to bother you but Tess wants you and me to meet up with her and Jin at a study room,” the math major revealed, shoving his phone into his left pocket.

“Ooh, I won’t bother you Tomo! Have fun, I’ll message you later tonight about our graded stuff,” my classmate dashed off, clearly misinterpreting the situation.

“I’m surprised Tess is even free,” I remarked as Zhuyu led the way to our meeting spot.

“She always finds some time if it’s important to her. Just got out of math class, huh?” We walked past the fountain and towards the engineering building.

“Wait, were you in my class the entire time?” I glanced over at him.

“I’m way too scared to do that. Tess told me what class you were taking so I just waited outside,” he replied and checked his phone.

“That sucks. I hope you weren’t waiting too long. They have study rooms in here?” I looked around the first floor of the building.

“Don’t worry about it. It was just fifteen minutes, gave me enough time to catch up on new visual novel releases coming out this month. Umm, oh, gotta get to the fifth floor,” Zhuyu answered, leading me to the elevator.

This was just my second time in the engineering building, freshman orientation being my first. Compared to other places, this one was definitely newer with polished floors and bright walls. Zhuyu knocked on a door and Kisai opened it up with his usual grin.

“Took you long enough, Long. Yuki, I would have picked you up but was too busy talking with Tess,” Kisai revealed.

Similar to the private studying rooms at the library, there was a whiteboard and a projector screen. A circular table was in the center of the room and contained a hub for almost any type of connection related to electronics. Tess typed on her laptop at a rapid pace and paused once we entered.

“I apologize for the sudden summons. Because Jin located all three keys, it is an appropriate time to discuss the next steps,” she said and walked up to the whiteboard. “Our friends at the SIU have relayed important features of the fortress where the seal on Jin’s power resides.”

Kisai picked up a marker and drew a rough sketch of the fortress exterior. Hold on, why were there three different entrances?

“Oh, already see something weird, right? That’s what Tess wants to cover,” Kisai said.

“To bypass the defense mechanism, there will be three parties, each one traveling to a designated switch. Each party will turn theirs on, opening up pathways for the others. Once that is accomplished, each party will proceed to a control panel and input a code. The key part is that all three codes must be entered at the same time. A path will then open up to the rooftop,” Tess explained.

Why was I here again? Kisai could have just told me all of this when we were going to the fortress. The magic user pushed over a stack of folders over to me and gestured at the Gatekeeper.

“Yuki, decide who you want for your party,” Tess directed as she erased Kisai’s sketch.

“Huh? You’re letting me decide? Wait, that’s usually your job, Tess,” I answered.

“I’ve assigned you as the party leader for this mission so the responsibility is yours, Yuki,” Tess explained, drawing two lines on the whiteboard to separate it into three sections.

“Who’s leading the other two parties?” I opened up the folders, finding information on all the heroes.

“Jin and Long,” Tess stated, organizing a stack of photos near her.

“This is way too much pressure! Also, what if I pick someone that Kisai or Zhuyu want? That isn’t fair to them,” I pointed out.

“You get the first pick. Choose wisely,” Zhuyu said, not bothered at all.

“Yeah, make sure to pick someone useful, you know not Darryl,” Kisai joked, taking his cap off.

“How many people are there in each group, Tess?” I read through the mini profiles of everyone.

“Jin and you will lead a group of four including yourself. Long’s group will only have three. Ah, unfortunately I am not a possible candidate for you to select,” Tess replied. “Of course Lilith and her team members are all eligible as well.”

I sighed and pondered different compositions. Shan was good to bring along because of his analysis ability I just learned about the other day. My chemistry with Ichaival and Jen was also something to consider. Although having Shan and Ichaival together was a headache to deal with sometimes. I expected Zhuyu to pick Kyoi but having two of the top-ranked heroes was optimal.

What about people from Lilith’s side? Her second-in-command was an interesting person from the archived battles I watched. However, I didn’t have a chance to work with her or anyone else for an extended period of time. Lionel, Champ, and Xi. Those were the three people I would consider.

“Arrived at a decision?” Tess tore open a pack of liquid food and drank it.

“Tess, mind giving me a couple of those next time? I’ll pay for it of course,” Zhuyu requested.

“Incorrect. You are compensated for consuming these new prototypes, Long,” Tess corrected him.

“I feel bad about just taking them and getting paid for it,” Zhuyu remarked.

“Your parents come up with really interesting stuff, Tess. I thought it would taste bland but it’s not bad,” Kisai said, catching a packet the Gatekeeper hurled at him. “Wanna try one, Yuki?”

“Maybe next time. Tess, I’ll bring Shan, Champ, and Jen,” I decided.

“Damn, I was gonna pick Shigetzu. Long, you wanna pick before me?” Kisai glanced over at his friend.

“You go ahead,” Zhuyu deferred.

“I got Kuan, Darryl, and Lilith. Sound good, Tess?” Kisai opened up his liquid food packet.

“I will not veto your choices, Jin, there is no need for me to confirm,” she replied, placing photos of our chosen members onto the whiteboard.

“I’ll bring Xi and Shui,” Zhuyu revealed.

“Barring any unexpected absences, are these everyone’s final choices?” Tess questioned, staring at us with her piercing eyes.

We all confirmed our selections and then discussed general strategies afterwards. My first time leading a group, huh? Ichizen would have killed to be in a position like this. Although, he would be one of the worst possible leaders given his lackadaisical temperament. Tess definitely was testing me by assigning a leadership role. Just gotta put in a 95% effort and it should be fine!

Grand Fortress Exterior

“This barrier is a beast, they really don’t want anyone going in here. How the hell did the SIU even gather information about this place?” Shan stretched his hand out before pulling it back.

“Their special ops is really good, been with them on a couple of missions,” Kuan replied.

“Don’t think that just because you brought us along that we owe Tess or you anything,” Lilith said, pointing at Kisai.

“Nah, didn’t even cross my mind. Just picked people who were strong,” Kisai denied.

“That kind of compliment won’t work on me. Especially since you make fun of Ichaival so much!” Lilith didn’t believe in Kisai at all.

“Damn, she got a point,” Shan remarked.

“Shut up, Shigetzu! Just get this started already, Jin!” Ichaival shook his head at the gravity manipulator.

“But how, Darryl?” Kisai placed the three keys into his friend’s right hand.

“Are they always like this?” Champ questioned.

“Pretty much,” I sighed, hoping Kisai was just joking like usual.

“Yuki, thank you for bringing me along. I haven’t used my powers in two weeks,” Jen said.

“I’m kinda amazed Tess even let you be inactive for so long,” I remarked.

“I’ve had a couple of projects to work on at school so it’s been really busy. That’s not an excuse though so I’m really glad you picked me,” she revealed.

“I’m glad I could help you out. I honestly just picked you because I wanted to work with you again,” I said as Kisai grabbed the keys back.

A spinning magical circle appeared underneath Kisai. He placed one key in front of him and then set the remaining two behind him, equally spaced apart. A flash of light connected all three keys, forming a flashing triangle which rotated in the opposite direction of the circle. A blinding beam of light shot up into the sky and then the barrier vanished.

“Time to pick a key!” Kisai called Zhuyu and me over.

“Does it matter?” I stared at the keys he held out.

“Don’t know,” Kisai replied.

“It definitely does. Fine, I’ll just take this one,” I decided, selecting the middle one.

Path B - Grand Fortress Interior

“Shan, can you analyze inanimate objects too?” Champ pulled out a green microfiber cloth.

“Nope, just on whoever is attacking us. You asking because of your powers?” the gravity manipulator stared straight ahead.

“I was hoping to get some tips from you,” Yuka’s boyfriend replied.

“Uh, don’t really know if I can teach you anything since our powers don’t exactly work the same. But I’ll see what I can do. How exactly does your stuff work?” Shan questioned.

“This is really pleasant,” Jen remarked as we traveled through a large hallway with royal banners hanging on the walls.

“Really? I’m not really feeling it. Oh, our first obstacle,” I replied as we arrived at a locked door.

I observed two gleams from the ceiling, wiring extending below them. Shan pulled out a rock from his pocket but Jen spoke up.

“Shigetzu, I’ll do it,” she said, firing a single arrow at the left gleam.

Her projectile struck it before ricocheting over to the right gleam. The door swung open, revealing a divergent pathway. I referred to the rough outline Tess provided but couldn’t determine which one to take.

“The right path is dangerous,” Champ said, stepping back in fear.

”Pretty sure I don’t want to know but what did you see?” I walked toward the left path.

“The outline was really vague but a lot of mechanized and sharp objects,” Champ answered.

“Good job, I don’t have to do any work today,” Shan commented.

At the end of the left path was a magical barrier. I placed my hand on it and was repelled immediately. Champ poked it with his left finger with no repercussions.

“I don’t think you or Shan can go through,” Champ revealed.

“Wow, we’re VIP now, Yuki,” Shan commented, yanking his hand away as he made contact with the barrier.

“I’ll go,” Jen volunteered, her right hand passing through the barrier.

“Wait!” I grabbed Jen’s shoulder but her entire body already passed through it.

“Hmm, Jen can handle it,” Shan said.

“I really hope so! Tess is gonna kill me if anyone comes back with major injuries,” I said, summoning my grimoire.

“It’s clearing up,” Champ observed. “Whoa, that’s a huge bird!”

Jen stared upward at an enormous blue and yellow avian. It was the size of an airplane with white streamers flowing from the bottom of its wings. It flew over the archer and explosives descended upon her. She strummed the string of her bow and sped away from the explosions.