A day had passed since the girl had left the stream. Currently, she was on the 2nd step of her survival plan, selling the location of the lab.

“I have the information but what’s the most beneficial way to use this?”, the girl wondered, perplexed about what her next move should be.

Since the girl now held proof of the lab’s existence and location she could sell it for a large sum of money but she wanted to take some of the treasures in the lab herself so she’d be missing out if she just did.

“It’s not like the Information Network will just wait for me to get strong enough to participate in the raid of the lab… But getting into CI is a must and I’ll need money for that, and the other ways to get in are impractical…”

There are 3 ways to get into Combat Institute, large cash admissions, scholarships, and connections, somewhat similar to private schools, only it's the best school in the nation made for Combatants.

“Scholarships require immense talent in some form of combat so I can count myself out for that… And connections need to be on the level of an S-Rank mercenary, even in the future Daniel is only A-Rank”.

The girl leaned back in her chair a bit before she got up and began to leave her room.

“I need some fresh air, maybe that’ll cool me off”.

The girl got down to the reception room and eventually reached the exit though took notice of the wandering gazes towards her.

‘Now I’m really starting to wonder what’s with the staring. The same thing happened when I came back yesterday and on the bus. Is there really something special about me? It’s the only thing that can explain me capturing attention from literally everyone…’, the girl pondered as she began taking a walk past the building.

After checking her surroundings to make sure she was alone the girl started talking to herself.

“If that’s the case then what’s special about me? I doubt it’s me being able to sense Essence since numerous characters in the novel can also do that, maybe my Essence is different? Do I even have Essence?”

 

As the girl began turning a corner, she suddenly felt a bump and began backing up, almost falling.

“Ahh?!”, the girl cried out in bewilderment.

“Oh, I’m sorry about that”, a voice called out to the girl as she regained her balance and focus. 

“Y-yeah, me too…”, the girl hurriedly replied as she began to observe the source of the voice.

The voice’s owner looked to be around 20 with sun-kissed skin and deep brown eyes. He was tall, around 5 '10 (177 cm), and held a well-kept appearance, wearing a dress shirt and suit pants.

The girl quickly began walking away, taking a curious glance at the man with one thing on her mind.

‘Why didn’t I sense him?’ 

The girl’s extraordinary “Sense” had grown after she found the “puzzle piece” and now she was able to sense ordinary people, she’d spent her bus ride and walk back to the HQ testing it out so her surprise at not being able to sense the man left her in small shock. 

‘Did I have a blank? But senses don’t just go blank, not unless there’s a problem and I was definitely sensing normal people outside the HQ and they were there when I went out… Is he concealing his essence?’

Essence Concealment is the ability to conceal the amount of Essence you have, it can be used to reduce the amount of Essence you appear to have, or even completely conceal it Essence. 

‘It's mentioned in the book that every living being has Essence so I doubt he just doesn’t have any. And If he’s concealing his Essence then he has to be some kind of stealth-based combatant, but there weren’t any stealth characters in the novel that fit his description, who the hell is he?’

Unknowingly the girl began to sweat and her heart began to race.  

‘Wait, to use Essence Concealment on that level he has to be around S-rank? There are no unmentioned S-ranks in the novel so he’s not a background character. And S-ranks don’t die unless some major event happens, which according to the timeline there isn’t yet so…’

The girl began gnawing at her nails as she reached a conclusion she’d been avoiding and hoping to be false.

‘...This world… It isn’t 1:1 with the novel’

“Argh…”, the girl began groaning, frustration and dread growing within her.

‘This makes things so much worse… If some random S-rank can just show up, what's to say some monster or catastrophe won’t show up out of nowhere? Hell, what’s to say the main plot will even happen?!’ 

The girl started walking back to the Mercenary building in hurried steps, breathing carefully.

‘Okay, this world not being 1:1 was always a possibility, all it means is that I absolutely need to get stronger'

*****

*****

“So, what’ve you found out?”, a gruff voice asked curiously.

“The talisman is currently at the Mercenary HQ, from what I’ve seen the only one there who has the talisman’s Essence on them is a young girl, around 13, maybe 14. I tried testing her sensory abilities, and although she seemed to be above average she’s not at the level where she could’ve sensed the talisman just passing by it”, Owen summarized in response.

“Hmm, is that so? Anything else?”

“There were 2 things that stood out to me about the girl. For one, her soul was, odd to say the least”.

“Odd”.

“Yes, it felt different. No two souls are the same but her soul was nothing like any other soul I’d seen before. It was a human’s soul for sure but it was… different. I’m not really sure how to describe it as anything but different”, Owen put together, still perplexed by the girl.

“Also, the girl had Red hair'', Owen quickly added.

“Red hair?!”, the gruff voice immediately grew shocked.

“...Yes. Is something wrong?”

After a moment of thinking the gruff voice warily spoke.

“...No. What about her combat capabilities?”

“Likely none. I collided with the girl, not only did she stumble it felt like I could easily walk through or over her so she likely isn’t a physical combatant, and her Essence pool was below average so probably not a mage”.

“...What’s her name?”

“I asked Abby and she says she hasn’t said it, likely because no one asked. After all, you didn’t need it to recognize or find her”.

For a few minutes, the room was silent as the gruff voice was pondering on the information about the girl, though eventually spoke.

“...Okay. Send word to the Institute and tell them to prepare for another student, and pass the news along to the girl”, the gruff voice commanded in an unusually serious tone.

“Huh? Can I ask why?”, Owen asked, confused about the decision.

“Truthfully it's a gamble”, the gruff voice responded, regaining its normally humorous tone.

“A gamble on what?”

“I’ll tell you when you’re older”

“I’m already 22, when will you stop using that excuse?”

“You’ll never outgrow it”, the gruff voice chuckled.

*****

*****

A day had passed since the girl’s encounter with the man and she had been in her room trying to rework her plan with little luck.

“No matter how I look at it, I don't know what I could change it. My original plan was iffy, to begin with, but it didn’t make major changes to the plot. Any other change I make to get stronger or more money will either weaken the Main Character and potentially doom the world. Or, significantly change the course of the story, ridding me of my only advantage of knowing what will happen”, the girl said as she began gnawing at her nail.

“Argh! If I got Isekai’d shouldn’t I be overpowered?! Or at least have cheats to make money?”

Just then, the girl heard a knock on the door. After closing up her notebook she walked towards and opened the door, finding a familiar face.

“Hello, I’ve got news for you young lady, do you mind coming down to the lobby for a bit?”, the receptionist asked the girl in a somewhat curious tone.

“Uh… sure? I mean, I don’t!”, though confused, the girl accepted the receptionist's request, quickly closing the door to get her shoes on before following her to the lobby.

After being seated the receptionist began to speak.

“The reason I called you down here was to give you an offer”.

“An offer?”, the girl answered with a question. 

“Yes. Though I’m only acting as an intermediary, the offer came from an anonymous sponsor. The offer is for you to enroll in Combat Institute through the backdoor”

The girl was stunned to receive such information, staying silent for a moment in shock and thought.

‘What?! Why would anyone offer me this? And who’s the sponsor? She said I’d get in through the backdoor instead of just paying for my admission so they have the standing of an S-rank but who?’

“Um, what are the conditions for the offer?”

“None, the sponsor just wants you to enroll and graduate, with no strings attached”

Once again the girl went back into thought.

‘None of the S-ranks would just give me a handout without wanting something in return. The peak nobility, like Dukes and Royalty, could also be the sponsor but I don’t think they even know I exist, plus I’d say they're the same, if not worse, concerning handouts compared to the S-ranks’ 

“So, what do you think? ”

“...It’s an amazing offer… but it’s weird. There’s no reason to give me this opportunity. Out of everyone who wants to get into CI, a nobody like me gets picked? With no conditions or IOUs?”

After hearing the girl’s thoughts a small smirk developed on the receptionist’s face.

“Despite what you may think, you’re far from a nobody young lady”, the receptionist stated confidently adding to the girl’s confusion. 

“Either way, the opportunity is here, so will you accept it? This offer is one-time only so if you accept it has to be now”

‘The sponsor being anonymous is definitely concerning since I don’t really know what they want but this is a chance to get everything I’m hoping for, increasing my survival chances’

“How do I know this sponsor won’t suddenly start calling in favors when or after I’m at CI?”

“While I can’t guarantee you won’t ever be asked to do anything, I can say for certain you won’t be forced to help your benefactor. Since the Syndicate is acting as an intermediary if something is left out in the offer or any hidden conditions pop up, it looks bad on us so we formed a Contract with your sponsor”

“...Really?”, the girl asked, suddenly perking up at the receptionist’s nodding head

‘If a contract was involved then maybe it won’t be so bad…’

Contracts are soul-binding deals generally made between two individuals. They can range from partnerships between Spirits and Spirit Users, to business deals, to even just acts of trust between individuals. Though knowledge of creating contracts is rare among people. 

“If you’re still worried I can form a contract with you, to tell the truth about the offer”, the receptionist added, taking note of the girl’s silence and thought.

‘From what I remember from the books, though the cost can vary, if contracts get broken by one side then the cost of severance is extremely harsh, disabling or killing someone in some way. So if she’s willing to do all this then…’

After some hesitation and thought, the girl spoke her thoughts.

“I… Accept”.

“Great. Unfortunately, Combat Institute's school year orientation begins tomorrow, so you’ll likely need to leave immediately”

The receptionist then handed the girl a letter, containing details regarding her admission, then she returned to her desk and resumed her job, during this process, the girl was in a state of mental turmoil.

‘Tomorrow?! Why the hell did my mystery sponsor decide to sponsor me just before the year started?!’

As her surprise began to fade she returned to her room and began reading through her letter.

“Hmm… There’s not a lot on what the school’s like, guess it's being saved for orientation. And since the Protagonist didn’t actually go to CI besides the few notes of dialogue about it from one side character, I don’t really know anything about it… Shit, I need to get ready!” 

Although Combat Institute isn’t far from the Mercenary HQ with the Orientation being tomorrow the girl was hoping to get into the dorms as well as get her uniform today. While tomorrow was Orientation it was more of a combination between a tour of the school and the first day.

And so the girl began packing her bag with what little belongings she had and after cleaning up her room walked into the lobby in hopes of finding the receptionist to ask if another bus is heading toward CI 

‘Where is she? Is she on break? I’ll wait a bit but if it takes too long I’ll have to ask… someone else…’

Thanks to her social anxiety, the girl sat in the lobby patiently, with thoughts creeping into her head on what else she can do.

‘Should I write Daniel a letter? He’s the reason I’ve been able to survive and make actual plans…’

As if in sync with her thoughts, Daniel walked in and after a few seconds of looking at the girl began to talk to her.

“So kid, are you leaving?”, Daniel asked though likely already knew.

“Yeah. I’m going to CI…”, as the girl timidly expressed her plans she was met with a face of shock by Daniel.

“CI? Really? Well, congrats on that”, Daniel said, the uncommon shock in his voice not surprising her much.

‘Given the situation, I was, or am, in I’d be shocked too. Hell, I am shocked’

“Thank you. If not for you I…”

“It's fine. Helping you was not a favor but my own choice”, Daniel said as he walked past the girl, heading up the Guild’s stairs.

“See you when I see you kid”, was all the girl could hear from Daniel before he was out of sight.

“See you… Wait, I never told him my name!”

“It’s not like he needs to know, you’re unforgettable”, suddenly a voice called out to the girl causing her to squirm and almost scream. 

“Uhh?! Where’d you come from?”

“What an irrelevant question. I figured you’d want help getting to CI”

“Uhh... Yeah, could you…”

“There’s a bus heading toward there in 9 minutes, once you get off just follow the road signs and you’ll be there, it’s at another bus stop down Alp Avenue” 

“Alright, thank you! Ms… Uhh”

“Abigail, not Uhh…”

“Okay… Ms. Abigail… Then I guess you don’t need my name right?”

“Heh, yes young lady. Now off you go!” 

The receptionist walked back to her station and the girl took one last look over the HQ’s interior before leaving and walking to the bus stop.

*****

*****

When the girl arrived it had already reached sunset, though the entrance was surprisingly beautiful and had its beauty expanded with skies myriad of colors.

“Okay, this is it…”, the girl nervously let out as she walked up to the gate of the school and tried pressing the buzzer. 

After a moment of silence, a voice emerged from it, asking…

“Who are you?”

“Um… I’m Enrolling”, the girl said squeamishly as she pulled out her letter and faced it in front of the camera at the gate.

“Ugh, so you’re the extra, huh? Why was he so late with the news? Anyway, come to the main office, well get your dorm and uniform sorted out”, the voice said lowly, only adding volume for the last part, as the gates began opening.

The girl took a step in and was left marveled at the inside of the school. Despite not being into art or architecture she still took a moment to appreciate it. 

“Woah… This is so cool, so this is where all those cash admissions go to…”  

Once the moment was over the girl headed to the main office after looking at a directions sign at the entrance.

Inside was a man at a desk looking to be around 40 with black hair and eyes. Once the girl took a step into the office he turned toward her, observing her closely.

“Well, are you gonna come here or what?”, the possible secretary asked with an annoyed tone. 

“Y-yeah”, the girl said, hurriedly rushing over to the desk.

“Let’s make this quick. The dorms are to the right from here, your dorm is #03, and luckily no dormmates. Next to the dorms is the fashion outlet, there you’ll get and measure and will have your uniform sent to you by tomorrow morning. Any questions”

‘Is this guy a straight-to-the-point kind of guy or does he just not want to deal with me?’

“No”

“Alright then, go to the outlet already. Since you’re here so late that the seamstress will have to be working longer”

“Oh, sorry about that…”

‘I think it's both’

“It’s fine. But if you’re really sorry then head there quickly so she can get her job done. Also here's your key”

After being thrown her dorm key the girl rushed toward the outlet in hopes of not annoying the employees further, ignoring the staring students.

“Really, couldn’t my sponsor just offer this earlier instead of making me hated by all of the staff!”