[Ding! Congratulations, Host. You have opened a Common Treasure Chest.]
[Reward: A pair of Misaka Mikoto's unwashed safety shorts.]
Yuuya stared at the piece of fabric in his hand. It was still slightly warm.
His lips twitched violently.
"..."
To be fair, Misaka Mikoto's shorts were indeed a treasure. For a certain subset of the population in Academy City, these would be considered a holy relic.
But for him?
'Is this a joke? The first chest gives me a critical hit of 10,000 psychic damage? What kind of pervert does the system think I am?'
'I am a respectable member of society!'
Yuuya was so angry that he immediately stored the shorts in his system inventory for safekeeping. You know, for research purposes. Or to burn later. Definitely to burn later.
He moved on to the second chest quickly, hoping to wash away the shame.
It was an Iron-Tier chest.
[Ding! Reward: A modified Desert Eagle (Extended Mag) + 15 rounds of ammunition.]
"Now this is a good thing."
Yuuya's eyes lit up. He weighed the heavy firearm in his hand. It was his first time holding a real gun, and the cold steel felt reassuring.
"It's more useful against ordinary people than most low-level superpowers."
Although Academy City was full of Espers, only a small percentage were truly dangerous. Most were Level 1s or 2s—spoon benders or people who could make a lighter flame. They weren't lethal.
Against the average thug or low-level Esper, a .50 caliber Desert Eagle was far more intimidating than some flashy light show.
He stored the gun in the inventory with a satisfied nod. Fueled by the thrill of the loot, he rushed to the third location—another Iron-Tier chest.
'Another Iron chest. Maybe I'll get a silencer? Or body armor?'
He tapped the icon.
[Ding! Reward: Special Stinky Tofu (Fermented for 10 Years).]
"Ugh—!"
The moment the item materialized, a smell so potent it felt physical assaulted his nose. Yuuya gagged, nearly vomiting up last night's dinner.
"Throw it away! Throw it away!"
He tossed the dark, terrifying cube into a nearby trash can and sprinted away before the smell could cling to his clothes.
'Note to self: Not all chests contain treasure. Some contain biological weapons.'
The next few chests were a test of his patience. It seemed all his luck had been used up on the Star Grail and Touma.
Chest 4 (Common): A pair of used stockings from a local idol.
'System, stop trying to make me a fetishist! Why do you keep giving me these things?!'
Chest 5 (Common): A box of condoms.
Yuuya threw them on the ground. 'Do I look like I have a girlfriend? This is just mockery.'
Chest 6 (Common): A bottle of Musashino Milk.
He drank it. It was cold and delicious. Finally, something normal.
Chest 7 (Iron): A complete, limited-edition set of Gekota merchandise.
'Wait... this is actually useful.'
He held up the rare frog mascot puppet. 'If I ever run into the Railgun, this is a strategic weapon. I can use this to distract her and make escape easy.'
He stored the Gekota set with great care.
Chest 8 (Common): A bloodstained sanitary pad.
'...'
'Is this a cursed catalyst for some dark magic ritual? This is getting ridiculous.'
"We're 500 meters from Komoe-sensei's apartment. There's only one chest left on the route, and it's Bronze-tier."
Yuuya sighed, feeling mentally exhausted. He had opened nearly a dozen chests, and only the Desert Eagle and the Gekota set were remotely useful.
He arrived at the location of the Bronze-Tier chest. It glowed with a faint, hopeful light, distinct from the dull white of the Common ones.
'If this gives me something weird, I swear I won't touch anything below Silver for three days.'
He reached out and tapped the icon.
The chest burst open, and a ball of warm white light rushed into his chest.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host. You have unlocked a Bronze Treasure Chest.]
[Reward: Pyrokinesis (Level 2).]
Yuuya blinked. "Finally! A superpower!"
He held out his hand. With a thought, a fist-sized ball of fire materialized above his palm. It flickered weakly, looking like a strong breeze could snuff it out.
'Level 2... It's basically a glorified lighter.'
At this level, he wasn't going to be burning down buildings. It was a survival tool at best.
'But... it's still an Esper ability. And it gives me the perfect excuse.'
He smirked. Now he had a legitimate reason to visit Tsukuyomi Komoe. He could claim he had finally manifested an ability and needed her to register it.
'Perfect cover story. I can steal the Silver chest in her apartment while I'm "consulting" her.'
He walked the rest of the way to the faculty housing with a spring in his step.
Komoe-sensei lived in an extremely old, two-story apartment building that looked like it had survived the Showa era. A washing machine was sitting blatantly in the hallway, signaling that the apartments were too small to have indoor laundry.
Yuuya checked his map. The Silver Treasure Chest icon was moving around inside the room labeled "Tsukuyomi Komoe."
'If I knew who had chests on them, this system would be the ultimate tracking device.'
He climbed the creaking stairs to the second floor and pressed the doorbell.
Ding-dong.
No response.
He pressed it again. Ding-dong. Ding-dong.
"Coming! I'm coming! I'll open the door right away, but I'm not buying any newspapers~!"
A sickly sweet, childlike voice called out from inside.
"Excuse me, Komoe-sensei. It's me, Takahashi Yuuya from your class. I have something very urgent I need your help with," Yuuya called out, trying to sound like a diligent student.
Inside his mind, however, he was picturing the chaos within.
Right now, her apartment was likely a disaster zone of beer cans, cigarette butts, and manga. If a student saw that, her dignity as an educator would be ruined.
'Imagining Komoe-sensei panicking is strangely cute... Cough. Calm down. I am not a beast like the others in my class.'
CLANG!
A loud crash came from inside, followed by the sound of glass bottles rolling across the floor.
"Ah?! It's—it's Takahashi-chan! W-wait a minute! Sensei is... Sensei isn't dressed properly yet! Oh dear—!"
Crash. Thud.
More chaotic noises erupted from behind the door. It sounded like a small tornado was tearing through the room.
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