Chapter 102: Ch 102: Senior Year Finance Department - Part 1

"Your duties will start the second you leave this room. Here, one of you takes this to the senior division and makes sure to be polite."

Noah was unlucky enough to be handed the note, and he could not refuse it either.

He had to accept that note and agree to deliver it. Only then did their teacher look relieved and allow them to leave.

"Read your duties carefully and be polite to everyone."

The last thing they got was a sheet of paper with their duties and the list of departments they needed to support. The list was not that long, which was also nice.

Most of it sounded simple enough.

They needed to deliver messages, collect requests from the senior students, report any problems to the teachers, and make sure the different committees were communicating properly.

Nothing sounded particularly dangerous. And yet, Noah could not shake off the feeling that something was wrong.

"Since you are all guides, you should be able to move around the academy without too much trouble. I expect you to remain available throughout the preparation period. Do you understand?"

"Yes, teacher."

The three students answered at the same time.

"Good. You can leave now."

Noah turned around immediately.

He had barely taken two steps when the teacher called him back.

"Noah."

His body stiffened.

"Yes?"

"You will be responsible for delivering the reports from the finance committee to me. Make sure you do not lose any of them."

Noah frowned.

The finance committee?

That was Alan and Daniel’s team.

’So she is intentionally connecting us?’

Noah glanced at the teacher, but she had already turned away.

He could not tell whether this was part of the system’s plan or another one of the teacher’s schemes. Or maybe it was a coincidence that he could not shake off.

Either way, Noah had a bad feeling.

He looked at the delivery papers in his hand and let out a sigh.

It was time for him to head to their senior division, and he felt nervous about this.

"Let’s get this over with. I am sure it will be fine."

...

The academy was divided into different sections based on the year one was in. It was a 4-year program, but different years hardly interacted with each other.

More specifically, the first year was totally isolated, while the other years still had a little interaction. But Noah could not say he was totally clueless about the other years either.

Out of everyone in their grade, he had the most exposure and interaction with their seniors due to Kris’s incident...

"Darn it! I don’t want to admit it, but the teachers did make the right choice by sending me here. Not that it makes me feel any better."

Noah complained as he headed toward the other building. There were separate barriers surrounding the first year and the rest of the school just to make sure they didn’t interact, and Noah felt a sense of danger the second he crossed that barrier.

He could tell that there were too many people keeping their eyes on him. But he could not brush them all off.

’Ugh, this means I will have to be subjected to these glances the whole time I am here. This does not feel pleasant.’

The seniors were trying to test Noah by using their powers in a subtle way, which he noticed due to his sensitive nature. But he could not show how sensitive he was to these people if he did not want them to get interested.

After a few minutes, most of the students pulled back, losing interest in a talentless B-class guide. But a few still insisted on sticking around like flies.

’How annoying. But let’s not lose my cool. I just need to get to the finance committee here...’

Noah had hacked into the school’s system and gotten a map long ago. He had also memorized the map in order to know where everything was.

So, in theory, he knew where he was going. But there were too many defenses layered around this place, which made it a little difficult to navigate. Especially since Noah had decided not to use any force.

He had to navigate this place through his memory alone, which was a little annoying. But there was a problem with this.

[Someone is trying to influence you using their abilities. What would you like to do?]

Noah looked like easy prey in the eyes of these senior espers and guides. And in a society where hierarchy and strength meant everything, Noah was like easy prey they could harass.

So he was being subjected to all kinds of annoying powers without being able to retaliate.

He had already tripped more times than he could count and also faked being scared by hallucinations.

From the outside, Noah was surely making a fool out of himself, and he even felt like he wanted to drop this act already.

’These stupid kids! I want to give them a piece of my mind already.’

But Noah knew that losing his temper here would only make things worse, especially when he had no idea how many powerful espers and guides were watching him from the shadows.

’Just a little longer. I can tolerate this for a little longer.’

Noah gritted his teeth and continued walking while pretending that the strange abilities affecting him were causing more trouble than they actually were. Every few steps, his body would suddenly stumble because of another ability, and he had to force himself to react naturally instead of simply ignoring it.

"Ah!"

Noah stumbled to the side and nearly fell against the wall, causing a few nearby seniors to laugh.

"He really is a B-class guide."

"Why would they send someone like him to help us?"

Noah lowered his head and pretended not to hear them, even though he was already memorizing their faces.

’B-class guide, my ass.’

He was an SSS-class guide-hybrid, and if he wanted to, he could probably make these students regret provoking him.

However, revealing his abilities here would only attract unnecessary attention, so Noah continued toward the finance committee instead.

After several minutes, the attacks finally stopped as the seniors lost interest in him. Noah quietly followed the directions from the map he had memorized and finally arrived at the department he needed.

He stopped outside the entrance and took a deep breath.

’Please let this be quick.’

Noah pushed the door open, only to find several unfamiliar senior students looking toward him with curious expressions.

"Are you the guide from the first-year division?"