My System: An Evolved Computer I Made With My Unique Ability—

Like an antagonist in every novel out there, Kurogami shifted out of his shadow as if he was walking into the spotlight. He wore a slight grin while slowing down his pace, each step a thud louder than the rest— or so that's what everybody pictured as he loomed like a dark cloud over them.

Oculus was the first one to realize that they were rendered immobile and he tried to get away... but to no avail. After all, he isn't a strength-type superhero so there's nothing he could do about sticky situations such as this. As for Saturn, he almost got away but Kurogami tightened his hold onto his shadow.

"Who are you?!" Oculus shouted in a panic, hiding the Badges he was holding behind his back.

"Give me those," Kurogami said, "You can keep your Badges but give me those,"

Kurogami sighed in relief. He knew that time was about to run out and yet there were no preys in the vicinity. But upon landing himself a huge catch, he knew that this was his chance to redeem the time he wasted waiting. Of course, he didn't want any school to harbor hate towards their team since there might be other rounds where they'll see each other again. That's why he decided to just ask for the badges that they have instead of getting all the badges they currently possess.

Of course, he was aware that the team had a lot of badges, and yet he only asked for the ones Oculus was currently holding. In total, Oculus was holding at least a dozen or so of those Badges and Kurogami unhesitantly asked for it.

"Here," Oculus didn't think twice about handing it to Kurogami, they were all doomed anyway. Even if he were to ask for all of their Badges, he would most certainly give it to him since they didn't have any choice. Right now, they're stuck, to say the least, and Kurogami literally held their freedom by the palm of his hand.

'Why didn't he ask for all our Badges though? And he could've gotten it himself. Why go through all that trouble? Did he expect me to hold onto these Badges til the bitter end? What a fool, of course, I'll give it to you no questions asked. The sooner you free us from here, the faster we'll be able to replenish our Badge count. There's no use crying over spilled milk after all.' Oculus said to himself just when he handed all the Badges he was holding to Kurogami.

A brief smile formed on Kurogami's face and then he turned around and waved his hand off towards them. As if on signal, the shadow that held Oculus's group's shadows in place disappeared and they were once again free to move. All of them almost fell forward but they caught their balance in a split second.

"You may go now," Kurogami said.

Pause.

"You think!" Saturn exclaimed as he retracted his hand in a punching motion. He then ducked low and sprung towards Kurogami, intending to punch him with full force on the head.

It was so sudden that Kurogami didn't have a chance to react. Had Saturn looked closer, he would've seen the colors drained out of Kurogami's face as his punch closed in.

"Stop, Saturn, we're going," Oculus said in an instant.

When it comes to schools and their inter-high candidates, just like any other school, the Flowing Wave Academy held great regard when it comes to hierarchy. That's why Saturn stopped his attack as soon as Oculus told him to do so. His punch stopped just when it was about to bury itself on Kurogami's right cheek.

Meanwhile, Kurogami couldn't move at all as the attack almost got him. If Oculus didn't tell Saturn to stop, Kurogami would've flown a couple of hundred meters due to the swift strike. He didn't even have time to blink as he watched in horror while adrenaline coursed through his body.

"You were lucky, next time you wouldn't be so lucky," Saturn said, unclenching his fists as he rejoined with Oculus and the others.

Kurogami's expression had a different impact on Saturn, however. As Saturn walked back, he couldn't help but glance at Kurogami who was just standing there, unfazed. Even though he released a considerable amount of killing intent as he tried to punch him, Kurogami still didn't move and all he did was stare at him as if he didn't even exist. Saturn felt shivers run up and down his spine in face of greater power. He couldn't believe that someone didn't fear his punch when everyone else did.

"That guy is scary, what was his name?" Saturn told himself.

"You saw what he was wearing, right? He's from the USA. Man, I'd say their first years are scary," Oculus said.

The others didn't say anything else, they just nodded.

.....

Meanwhile,

Satoshi and the others were listening to Tohka's backstory while Shidou cringed in the background. What he didn't know was that he and Tohka were actually childhood friends and their parents named them after two iconic characters in a certain series. And as if by fate, they saw each other again in the inter-high, this time as students. However, they don't have prior memories of each other.

"We only have a few minutes left, what should we do?" Siril asked out of the blue as their group took a rest by a nearby tree. There were a lot of trees in the background but they specifically chose this tree since its canopy is a bit wide, giving them a bit of hiding space from the peering audiences that watched from above.

"Let's just stay here," Satoshi said, his arms in his Orb Oboros just in case something happens. Of course, he didn't want to risk being attacked out of the blue so he summoned the Giant Toad, the White Lion, Dex, and the Chameleon so they could stand guard and watch the surroundings. The Chameleon is one of Satoshi's new familiar and so far it proved to be useful in sneak attacks. That's because it was able to hide somewhere and even move faster than the eyes could see.

"How many Badges do we have right now?"

"So far we have sixteen, and that's not counting the bonus we got," Fuuka responded. "I don't know how they'll count the bonuses but it must be worth quite a lot of points."

"Yeah, probably," Shidou said. "Why are you looking at me like that?" He suddenly voiced out towards Satoshi.

"Don't mind me," Satoshi said, chuckling. As a fellow man of culture, he did know where the names Shidou and Tohka came from so he couldn't help but laugh. Just looking at them made him want to burst into tears and hysterically ha-ha his heart out. "You guys want some sandwiches? I packed some in my Orb Oboros."

Everyone nodded at the offer.

"Here you go," Satoshi didn't hesitate to grab some of the sandwiches in his Orb Oboros. These sandwiches were packed the night before but they were still as fresh as when they were first made. That's how useful the Orb Oboros was when it comes to storing.

Pretty soon, everyone in the group, including Tohka was eating with gusto as they let their guard down.

"So, which school are you from, Tohka?" Satoshi asked. It took every cell of his being to suppress the laughter that almost came out of his mouth.

"The Great Mountain Academy," Tohka responded casually as if she was already part of the group. Well, technically speaking, she's already included in the group since she never caused them harm throughout the entire first round. Well, that is if one didn't count the start where she engaged a fight against Fuuka.

"I heard that's a real powerhouse of a school. That's actually my second choice if I didn't get to the United Superheroes Academy." Shidou chimed in.

"Same here," Fuuka continued.

"The Great Mountain School was my first choice," Tohka continued after taking a big bite out of the sandwich that Satoshi gave her. "The competition in the United Superheroes Academy is pretty tough. I know that my chances of getting into tournaments and the like are significantly lower. Although the Great Mountain School is full of elites, at least there weren't a lot of students compared to your school."

"Yeah, you're right about that. Me getting into the Inter-High Tournament was a mere fluke, you know," Shidou agreed.

Rustle. Rustle.

Suddenly, the bushes right behind Satoshi was disturbed and a figure leaped out from it. While everyone stood up and prepared for a fight, Satoshi just continued eating.

The White Lion then came out of the bushes with a few Badges on its mouth. "Don't worry, it's just the White Lion doing all the heavy lifting for us while we wait," Satoshi shrugged it off as if it were nothing.

"..." Of course, everyone was shocked. How could a mere familiar defeat a couple of inter-high candidates?

"What do you me—"

[TIME'S UUUUP!]