After hauling us over in our rooms, the teacher placed Midori and me in detention during breaks, lunch, and after class. He told us it was our punishment for attempting to cut classes early in the morning, which we didn’t. Who the hell even thought about this punishment, especially in Japan? Well, it was our teacher who introduced it to our school. Other schools didn’t have one, only in this academy. Detention wasn’t a thing because students had club activities to deal with rather than this. However, the teacher told us otherwise.

Our subject stretched longer than we had expected. But none of these students knew what could come afterward would change everything into a forgotten wasteland. Death slowly approached in our direction. Midori and I couldn’t stand still as we continued fidgeting between our fingers and biting our fingernails. Thanks to our fiddling body movements, some seatmates couldn’t concentrate. We kept looking at the windows, thinking that the portal could appear at any minute. And seconds felt like hours. We just wanted to end this day as quickly as possible without experiencing any casualties.

Luckily, six hours had passed, and nothing had materialised outside. Our eyes watched everything from afar, checking every nook and cranny of anything resembling a portal. But there wasn’t anything. I told Midori that portals had golden hues and purple smoke covering the area, guessing he could see through the place just like me. However, Midori said to me that nobody knew how portals were created, not even the government. And the adventurer’s guild had never seen any golden hue before in their lives. They had no means of checking portals.

After an hour, we could finally leave the classroom. And nothing should happen afterward. Our professor briefed us that we were free to leave the class and advised us to change our ways despite our detention. Of course, we planned on doing that in the first place. But, the thing was, Midori and I did nothing stupid. 

I received a text message in the middle of my subject. Hina’s name popped up with her message when I secretly opened my phone during class. She told me she had club activities after school on the third floor beside our building, and she would go home before dinner. 

‘Club activities? It’s our first day?’ I thought to myself. But Hina also said that we could join our clubs earlier than everyone else, since we were graduating students. Hina also added that she was an officer and wanted to pass on her status to freshmen students or the lower batches. I wasn’t in any organisation, so I couldn’t care less about it. It was a club about gardening. 

“I won’t be long. If you could, you can wait for me outside the school,” Hina added. Even though we hadn’t talked much, she still wanted me to wait for her. 

But, unfortunately, a piece of chalk flew straight towards my face like a speeding bullet. It hit me with a devastating banging sound. Everyone in my class, excluding Midori, chuckled up a storm as they witnessed everything. Our teacher, who was already beside me, tapped his feet and crossed his arms as he approached me. His face turned red, and my teacher’s eyes glared at my figure.

“You were late this morning. And now, you’re using your phone during class hours? Give me that thing. Get it from me after class. These rascals. Who do you think you are?! After cancelling your detention, you repay me with this?!” And the scolding continued on forever.

After hearing a piece of his mind, our teacher lengthened our punishment. The teacher claimed that he would put a word to my parents during the parent-school consultation. And that would discipline me as an adult. Well, he taught wrong. I wasn’t doing anything that would harm my peers. It was my teacher’s fault, not mine. But I would also trouble Mrs. Himari about it if she found out about this occurrence. Maybe she could understand? I could only hope she could, or else this would also affect Hina.

Within a few moments, the school bell finally rang. It dismissed every class inside the classrooms. The teacher had no other choice but to continue the lecture and provide assignments for tomorrow. Midori and I weren’t as lucky as our classmates, as the two of us stayed behind and received another scolding session. It eventually became a story about why we needed to become great students for our upcoming university life. Unfortunately, we were the only ones who would participate in that hellish event and wait until sundown before we could leave.

But before anything else, the ground trembled. Every painting hung on the wall vibrated, and the jars on the desks fell like aligned dominoes. The students racing outside lost their balance and slid to the floor. It was a disaster. A natural disaster. At least, that was what these people would think and claim it was an earthquake. However, I knew better.

The portal I saw earlier did this. Within a blink of an eye, things became haywire. I didn’t tell anyone about it, knowing nobody would believe me after hearing about the portal situation. But that turned out to be my mistake. And now, students and teachers inside this building would be affected by the catastrophe that I could’ve prevented.

As soon as the phenomenon occurred, the speakers blinked and turned on by themselves. The ones behind the speaker notified everyone to vacate the academy immediately until the adventurers arrived. This was not an earthquake drill. It was something else. 

“Our dean and teacher had already summoned them from the guild. And they are on their way to help us!” the speaker claimed. They talked about the adventurer guild - a group of talented individuals who could stop this mayhem. 

After hearing those words, our class hurriedly went out of our classrooms and pushed each other towards the side. We bumped into each other’s class and stampeded our way to the exit. Everyone shoved one another, trying to leave this place and save themselves. Nobody listened to the protocols of our teachers. It was useless. 

Deafening screams reverberated inside the rooms as the girls from every class screeched in fear. The boys did the same and tried forcing themselves into the sandwich-like crowd. Even the teachers didn’t care about their students and tried racing with them. They had their own families, after all. So, those teachers wished to save themselves without caring for their students. Some still wanted to help us, but it didn’t matter. 

Midori and I were one with the horde as we battled our way towards the exit. We took the stairs, but the other students had the same idea as we had. I told Midori that we had to check the other building since Hina was there. I didn’t want to leave her behind, considering I was her brother.

While that happened, something struck my vision. Everything became blurred. The golden runes and purple smoke emerged on the sides and became visible to everyone. Those students in front pointed to the magic circles, but the others cared little about it, most of them but Midori and me. It was akin to the time I first saw them when I was still six-years-old.

But it was too late. The damage had already been done as the building’s foundation collapsed. Luckily, the school had six storeys, and the students from above had already made their way towards the exit. It was the same as the other building where Hina was. Most students had already rushed downstairs and made it out of the academy, including the teachers and other staff. 

Luckily, Midori and I also made it outside. However, I wasn’t pleased about it. When I looked around, I didn’t find Hina among the ocean of students. I didn’t see her classmates either. Even though I had already squinted my eyes and browsed the entire land, Hina wasn’t with the sea of students. Something must have gone wrong. I could feel it. 

[A group of people have entered the class D portal.]

[Quest: Defeat every single monster residing in this place. There is no time limit.]

[Reward: Treasure Chest (Common)]

There was a floating box that appeared before me. I wasn’t the only one who could see it. Midori saw it too, but he claimed it was the adventurer’s job to do it, not ours. I had no idea what he had mentioned, so I put that note aside and focused on saving Hina. The panicking students also glimpsed at the panel, but they were too afraid to notice it. How could they, when everyone could die at any second?

“Midori, if the adventurers arrive, tell them to go to that building and look for my sister,” I instructed, and dashed straight to the other structure without thinking about anything else. She was the most important thing in my life, after all. 

But before I could even leave the open area, Midori grabbed my shoulders. His hands were firm as he returned my gaze. 

“What the hell are you doing, Aoi? It’s too dangerous!”

“But I can’t leave Hina to die… I have to save her.”

When he saw my face, Midori nodded and answered. “Got it. I’ll relay the message to the adventurers if I find one. Until then, good luck, bro….”

Midori wanted to accompany me and save Hina - his first love. However, he knew that if the two of us entered the premises, the overwhelming number of students would crush us. One of us would just slow the other down. And it was wiser to call for help, especially to those adventurers who had otherworldly abilities. Somebody had to stay behind and alert those adventurers as soon as possible. I went inside the portal to look for Hina.That was my job as Hina’s brother. 

After our exchange, I rushed towards the building right next to ours and clashed against the wave of students. They were sprinting outside, but I was running in the opposite direction. I didn’t have anything but my stark hands. However, it was enough. 

Saving Hina was my utmost priority. As long as I can grab her and leave, everything will go alright. It would be perfect if Hina didn’t suffer any wounds or trauma from these. I had to cross my fingers while dashing straight into the collapsing building.

The only thing I feared was the monsters summoned by the portal. From what I reckoned, these portals could transfer untamed beasts inside. And those fiends almost killed my parents and me when I was still a kid. The only way to defeat them was to use extraordinary powers granted by these otherworld dimensions. Nobody could get out until the portal’s mission was accomplished. The adventurers who conquered these portals related them to game mechanics, where these portals acted like dungeons. 

It was something that the government couldn’t even explain.