School District 7 has a high school student dormitory.
Inside his room, Fang Li sat comfortably, the television humming softly in the background as he focused on his laptop, meticulously sifting through the latest news and international intelligence.
The audacious incident, his theft of the holy "Gospel" relic from the exhibition hall, had only occurred a few days prior.
In the time since, his companion, Sylvia, had been increasingly busy, working tirelessly to advance her part of their shared Main Quest. Her company had scheduled her for a dizzying array of public appearances and activities designed to skyrocket her reputation as a star.
Given her intense schedule, Fang Li knew he couldn't afford to slack off on his own mission. To progress with the next stage of his quest, securing the second original volume of the Magic Path, he first needed an essential resource: solid intelligence.
"After all," Fang Li muttered to himself, running a hand through his hair, "even though my Mystic Eyes of Death Perception have gotten significantly stronger, my overall combat strength still isn't enough to just march into the Roman Catholic Church's headquarters and demand they hand over a sacred original."
As one of the world's most massive, magical, and religious powers, the Roman Catholic Church was certain to possess genuine, top-tier experts.
Based on his current knowledge, Fang Li estimated that even with the full power of his Stigma, he might not be able to confidently defeat even one or two of those elite figures.
And that was assuming a polite, one-on-one duel.
Fang Li wasn't naive enough to believe that if he infiltrated their global seat of power, they would queue up to fight him individually. He wouldn't just be facing their strongest; he'd be facing an entire global force backed by the power and faith of over two billion believers.
"If I were targeting some of the weaker, minor magical factions, it'd be a different story," he sighed.
Unfortunately, such minor groups were unlikely to possess a priceless Magic Path original in the first place. His targets were, by necessity, the first-class, world-spanning organizations.
"Even though one of the originals was recently stolen," he reasoned, reviewing a cached article, "they'll still have to continue exhibiting their sacred relics. It's essential."
Followers were the lifeblood of faith and the ultimate source of a religion's power. To attract and maintain their believers, displaying holy relics worthy of worship was an absolute necessity for any major religion.
"That means… there'll definitely be more opportunities coming up soon."
With this guiding thought, Fang Li pressed on with his intelligence work, trying to pinpoint the next public event or location where he could make his move.
However, exhibitions of relics on this scale were almost always international, publicized events. Finding the details for the next one on short notice was proving to be incredibly difficult.
He also considered another possibility: various magical organizations might, for different reasons, need to unseal or move their Magic Path originals, attempting to utilize their power or transfer them. If he could learn about such movements ahead of time, he could intercept them.
Hence, information was paramount.
"I wish this were the setting of Butei High right now," he thought ruefully, leaning back in his chair. "If it were, I could easily get high-level intel through someone like Lezzad."
Since he had no such connections here, Fang Li had no choice but to handle the entire operation personally. And one person's ability to gather data could only stretch so far.
"Maybe I should seriously consider finding a way to expand my information network…"
Just as that thought crossed his mind, his cell phone suddenly rang, a sharp, insistent sound.
"Sylvia?"
Fang Li answered the call immediately, without bothering to check the caller ID.
Given his current situation and his minimal social circle in Academy City, the only person close enough to call him directly was Sylvia. He assumed it was her, and he was right.
However, this time, Sylvia brought him truly unexpected news.
"Someone's gone missing?"
Hearing the update from her, Fang Li paused, his eyebrows lifting in surprise.
On the other end, Sylvia gave a quiet, wry laugh.
"Yes. Because of this incident, all of my scheduled performances have been suspended. This is actually the first time since becoming a singer that one of my concerts has been put on hold because a person disappeared."
She explained that over the past few days, her management company had been working hard to make her debut performance as grand as possible to build immediate, massive popularity.
To that end, the company had forged a collaboration with one of Academy City's most prestigious schools to hold a campus-themed concert series.
It had been a brilliant idea.
In this city, where espers were the central focus, schools responsible for cultivating student abilities, especially the elite ones, could turn any event they touched into a huge sensation.
And the school Sylvia's company had chosen was…
"Tokiwadai Middle School?"
When Fang Li heard the name, his expression shifted to one of slight surprise.
Unaware of his reaction, Sylvia's voice continued over the phone.
"I heard that Tokiwadai recently admitted two Level 5 espers this year. The news caused a huge stir in the city."
Sylvia's company had immediately decided to seize the opportunity and ride that wave of publicity. After paying a significant fee, they had finally secured permission to host the concert series on the school's grounds.
Starting a few days ago, Sylvia had been performing inside the School Garden where Tokiwadai was located. In just a short time, she had gained an immense student following.
It was rumored that the students in the School Garden hadn't been leaving the premises at all, spending all their time eagerly awaiting Sylvia's next show.
But then, yesterday, a student vanished. She hadn't returned for an entire day, plunging Tokiwadai Middle School into utter panic and prompting the suspension of all outside activities.
"So that's what happened…"
Fang Li nodded slowly in understanding.
"For the school to suspend such a popular, highly-anticipated event over a single missing person, that student must be anything but ordinary, right?"
Only one or two names came to Fang Li's mind that could possibly fit that description.
"Exactly," Sylvia confirmed. "The missing person is one of Tokiwadai's two new Level 5 espers, the one known as the strongest mind/psychic-type esper. I believe her name is Shokuhou Misaki."
As he had suspected.
Only the disappearance of a newly-enrolled Level 5, a student who had instantly become the school's shining, high-value star, could cause such a large-scale commotion.
"Shokuhou Misaki… went missing?"
Fang Li frowned deeply.
That… wasn't a plot point he recalled from the original Index story.
Could this be a minor event that simply wasn't shown in the main narrative?
Or perhaps, Sylvia's large-scale, high-publicity concert in the heart of the School Garden had triggered an unexpected butterfly effect?
As these thoughts raced through his mind, a sudden, familiar chime echoed only in Fang Li's consciousness, the system prompt of his higher, otherworldly dimension.
System Notification: B-Rank Side Quest: [Sudden Occurrence] has been triggered for Player Fang Li (Serial Number 11273).
Quest Details: Locate the plot character Shokuhou Misaki, and resolve the incident affecting her without using any abilities that surpass the background framework arranged by the Main God Dimension for this world (i.e., do not use explicitly otherworldly powers, only what this setting allows).
Quest Reward: 20,000 Exchange Points.
At the exact same moment…
Far from School District 7, nestled in a secluded, mountainous natural area beside a calm, artificial lake, a young girl slowly opened her eyes, as if rousing from a deep, confusing sleep.
She was quite petite, barely reaching a meter and fifty centimeters in height.
She was wearing the distinct beige blazer and tartan skirt of the prestigious Tokiwadai Middle School uniform.
Her eyes, however, were wide and filled with a profound, blank confusion.
After a long pause, the girl murmured softly, her voice barely a whisper, trembling with deep uncertainty:
"I… who am I?"
(End of Chapter)
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