Alright. With the set-up chapter out of the way, we can get into the beginnings of the arc. The "Camping Arc" is going to be a pretty long one, seeing as it is a week's worth of time. And you all know what that means—DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHARACTER VARIETY! I now have all of Class 77 – B at my disposal, and how they'll interact with Jolyne, minus Kuzuryu and Pekoyama. Now, that being said, I can confidently say that after this arc is over, we'll be getting into some more of what you'd expect from a Danganronpa fanfic… EDGE! There are still some very key characters we haven't been introduced to, you know, like a majority of Class 78, the WOH, and the staff other than Chisa and Headmaster Kirigiri.

But, until then, let's just settle with what we have, and call it a day.

Now, you know what time it is, let's get into my response to the reviews/comments!

[Response to Reviews/Comments!]

(Qoutev) Unlucky the unfortunate magical girl: That would be funny, wouldn't it? Also, about Jolyne training Gundham. That is a possibility….

(Qoutev) Taco Sensei: Good, it's meant to.

(Qoutev) Nathan: Thank you!

(Ao3 – Chapter 5: A Chance Encounter) Aoi: I'll do you one better, The Despair of someone's Despair being more Despairful than your Despair, and that somehow not causing ENOUGH Despair. (Despair count: 6, Ha, I beat you)

Onxio: Ah, but are these bears robotic? And perhaps black and white like a panda?

Kolt999: Nagito will be an issue in this arc. Then again when isn't he? Also, yes, Healing magic is something I plan on messing with later on within this story. As for the whole Whitesnake thing, it cannot swap people's bodies, but it disguises itself as people with the use of illusions, so that's some food for thought. As for his other abilities, you'll have to find out when you watch more of Stone Ocean or continue to read this.

Xmasboss: Any physical harm done to Jolyne will affect her health bar. However, it depends on how much force is being used. If it's a simple push, it won't do anything, same with a high-five. But slapping people on the back, stubbing her toe, getting tackled, anything that causes pain to Jolyne will damage her, just like in any RPG.

Now, with that out of the way, let's get into the chapter!

xxXXxxXXxx

[Jolyne Brooks]

Finding what it was she needed to buy was actually rather easy. Jolyne found it refreshing to have something easy happen for once, but a more cynical part of her mind told her that something hard now had to happen to balance things out. The dual-haired mage knew that for a fact, and as she walked out of the store with two bags of clothing, mainly undergarments, some snacks and a sleeping bag, she felt a cold chill rush up her spine.

It was still early into fall, so the wind was going to be a bit chillier than normal. Wearing a skirt in that was kinda counterproductive, but, the dress code was the dress code, and therefore there was no room for argument. All she cared about was the sensation of wearing something under her skirt. The moment she bought what she had come for, she immediately slapped a pair of panties on in the change rooms, same with one of the bras. Speaking of which….

Jolyne had bought 6 pairs of each, costing her 10,000 yen. Those were in the first bag. In the second bag was a white button-up shirt and a grey office skirt, as well as a pair of black stockings. Costing her 7,450 yen. Then she bought some chocolate bars, a few bags of chips, as well as three packages of assorted nut mix with M&M's, and a cheap sleeping bag, which made her cough up 6,280 yen. Overall, she spent 23,730 Yen, leaving her with a whopping 1,780 yen—just enough to buy a pack of cigarettes, if she smoked, that was.

"That took me, what, an hour at most? There's still some time in the day before we all have to meet up at the campus…. I could probably go to one of those arcade things nearby…." Jolyne said, sticking a hand into her pocket and opening her inventory, grabbing out a few coins and counting the 100 yen ones. She had about 17 coins to work with, and there was an arcade across the street.

On the one hand, she COULD waste her money on mindless crane games and have a chance to win something. OR, she could save her money and be responsible. And all it took was a simple shrug for her to put her money back in her inventory and walk away from the arcade. Besides, she could use that to buy a few more snacks for the camping trip. She was originally going to get a hunting knife, but she was a couple of thousand yen short.

Then again, she had her Magic, so perhaps the hunting knife was a bit overkill.

As she walked down the street, she felt something brush up against her side, and without so much as seeing who it was who tried to steal from her, she dropped one of the bags, grabbed the person's wrist and yanked back, a gasping sound coming from her right. She then stomped on the inside of the person's knee, bringing them to the ground, keeping their hand in the air as she inspected it. One of her candy bars, specifically one of her Mars bars.

She took the chocolate bar back, tossed the wrist away, then removed her foot from where she had planted it. "Don't steal. It's bad for your health," Jolyne warned, staring down at the person who she had knocked to the floor. They looked no older than 10, maybe 11, and they had orangish-red hair. They wore a red and black sports shirt, over top of which was a white tank top. He had a pair of short blue shorts, two white ankle socks, and white shoes.

"H-Hey… that hurt!" The kid cried, tears pricking at the sides of his eyes as Jolyne narrowed her own.

"Yeah, well, don't try and steal from others, and you won't get hurt," Jolyne said, eying the boy up and down. He had a few bandages on his knees and one on his cheek. Worryingly, there were some fist-sized bruises on his left arm and some scratches on his other arm. The boy's stomach growled, and that was when Jolyne understood.

She didn't know WHAT was going on in this kid's home, but she was going to find out. And if what she feared was happening was indeed happening, she would teach his parents a lesson they would take to their grave. For all she knew, though, those fist-like bruises could've been from other kids at school. Jumping to conclusions was a bad thing, so until she had proof, she couldn't just assume the worse.

For the time being, however, she could say without a shadow of a doubt that the kid was hungry, and by the looks of things, he needed food. Depending on what the situation at his house was, she didn't know how long he went without food, so if the chocolate bar he tried to steal from her was the only thing he was going to eat, it was better than having nothing.

"But…." The dual-haired teen began, returning the bar back to the kid, making his eyes light up. He was about to grab it, but she was quicker with retracting her hand. "If you EVER steal again, and I catch wind of it, you'll wish that you never met me, got it, kiddo?"

The boy quickly nodded, to which Jolyne gave him the Mars bar. "Thank you, miss!" And with that, the boy got up and ran, despite the slight limp that she gave him thanks to kicking out his left knee. Jolyne shook her head, letting out a huff of air. She probably didn't NEED to threaten him, but drilling it into his head that stealing wasn't right was better than not saying anything.

And then, that was when The System gave her a Quest, and reading the title alone made her heart drop to her stomach.

[Save the kids]

Description: Kids are precious, and therefore should be protected. When things get rough, and people start hurting kids, others should step in. Sometimes that doesn't happen, and that child grows to hate adults. But you're different. Give them that spark of hope they need to survive the cruelness of the world, and perhaps erase some scum while you're at it.

Quest: Save "The Trouble makers" of the Elementary division at Hopes Peak Academy!

Progress: [0/5]

Rewards: 20 Karma (Good), 10,000 EXP, 100,000 Yen, 5 Gacha tokens, and 2 spell tokens

If there was one thing that Jolyne hated more than almost having her food stolen, it was people who hurt children. Actually, that was far higher up the list than getting her stuff stolen. If she had to rank the things that she hated the most, the second slot would be child abusers, and the number one slot would be rapists.

And if that Quest told her anything, it was that what she had feared was actually happening and that her assuming that the fist-sized marks that she had thought were from kids might have actually been from that boy's parents.

Now, she was at a crossroads. She could jump in and do what she could now. Or, she could wait till after her camping trip.

Jolyne bit her lip. The dual-haired mage picked the latter. She had prior obligations to uphold, and a week of camping ahead of her. However, a pit grew in her stomach at taking that option over the other. It didn't sit right with her, but it wasn't as if she had a choice. She still had to find the so-called "trouble-makers" before she even began any attempts on saving them. "That kid was the one who caused the Quest to pop up. There are still four others I need to find, and right now, I don't have the time to do that…." Jolyne thought, an aggravated look in her eyes.

There were just things that people shouldn't do, and purposely hurting kids for no reason was one of those things. She didn't care how powerful you were, the moment you hit a kid was the moment you crossed the line. She might not have been familiar with abuse, but she did know it was bad. She might've had it rough in her past life, but no abuse happened in her family.

So, for her to JUST learn about this…. It made her blood boil. But, she'd have to curb it for now. Right now, she had other things to do. As much as it pained her to wait to help them, it wasn't as if she could free them all in 6 hours or less. She had to build their trust, first and foremost, and that was going to be hard. Plus, she didn't even know what they looked like, minus the redhead. She didn't even know their names!

And then, an idea came to her….

"Whitesnake… so long as I'm close by, I might be able to see where he lives…." Jolyne thought, stepping into an alleyway and summoning the white and black Stand. Without needing to say anything, her Stand walked out of the alleyway, its cloak activating, light reflecting off of its body, repelling it so that no one else could see it other than Jolyne. After two seconds, Whitesnake got into a running position, and then, it ran toward the kid. It was less of a run and more of a bound. It bounced off of its feet, knowing it had a disadvantage, as the kid had a head start in the "chase."

It didn't take long, but after only 10 seconds, Whitesnake was hot on the boy's heels. The boy didn't see it, but Whitesnake kept up with him, its hand reaching out toward the redhead as it tried to snag him, or at the very least slip its fingers into his pocket to maybe try and steal something, like a phone or any kind of identification. But each time Whitesnake got close, the boy would speed up, almost as if he could sense The Stand's presence, much to Jolyne's and Whitesnake's annoyance. This kept up for nearly a whole minute, and each time the Stand got close to the redhead, the boy would speed up, ultimately making the grab attempt null and void. As much as Jolyne wanted to try and get some sort of identifying piece of evidence of the boy, she knew that time was not on her side.

Besides, the boy wasn't going to his house, but rather, back to the school campus. Ideally, she would want Whitesnake to follow the kid, but she was almost out of range, and the timer was almost up. Sighing in defeat, Jolyne grimaced, summoning Whitesnake back to her. The results weren't what she wanted, and she was still back at square one. However, she now knew that he was at least on campus and safe… for now.

Once the boy got home, he wouldn't be safe. And that was assuming he was even safe at the school. Despite that, Jolyne, as much as it hurt her to leave the boy alone, knew that she had no real choice. She couldn't bail out on the camping trip, but when she came back, that was the first thing she was jumping into. Nothing else mattered to her more than that.

"You won't be hurting for much longer. I can assure you that much, kid." And with that thought, Jolyne stepped out of the alleyway, her eyes narrowing as she walked back to school. There wasn't much she could do now. Not yet, anyway. But the moment she started getting names, addresses, and identities, heads would start to roll….

[Jin Kirigiri]

Kirigiri Jin stood overlooking the campus at Hopes Peak from his office window. His hands were neatly behind his back. His black suit, now pressed and clean, was firmly on his body, his black tie and white dress shirt underneath the two-piece suit. It was 11:20 AM, just 40 minutes till midday, and things seemed to be going peacefully enough.

Or at least, he would say, if not for what happened three days ago. Out of all the things to have happened, assassins coming to his school to kill one of his students was not something he had been expressly prepared for. Their target, Jolyne, was able to fend them off well enough, but not without injury. She had to be placed under protected watch just so Mikan and the doctors could get the surgery done in fear of potential backup.

Truth be told, there weren't many things that got Jin angry. But if someone were to really want to do that, threatening the safety of his students, his faculty, his family, or anyone close to him would be enough to do that.

Which was why he had scheduled a meeting with the Kuzuryu Family, to which they agreed. He had to be prepared for them, and in doing so, quell his anger enough to talk to them. Of course, he could go for the unprofessional route and curse them out, but then he'd probably die. The Kuzuryu family were a Yakuza, after all, so doing that would get him on their hit list, or worse, be killed on the spot. He had to approach this with tact, precision, and overall, clear and concise wording.

Any screw-up would spell the end of their friendly, if not tense, partnership. Jin took in a deep breath, calming his nerves, and preparing himself for the meeting. There was a set of knocking on his office door, to which he turned his head slightly, just enough to see the doorway, then he spoke. "It's unlocked. You can come in," Jin said, the door opening as two well-dressed people entered the room.

The one walking in on the left was a man, his hair ash blond, and his eyes a dark brown. He looked to be about 45, maybe 48 years old. He wore a grey two-piece suit with a black tie, two white gloves, and a silver chain necklace with what appeared to be some sort of insignia at the end. The one walking in on the right was a woman, probably no older than 39, maybe in her early 40s. She had dark brown hair, light brown eyes, and red lipstick. She was wearing a black sleeveless dress that covered up to the ends of her knees, along with a pearl necklace. She also wore a pair of white gloves and had a silver bracelet on her right wrist.

These two were who he was waiting to meet. Fumihito Kuzuryu, and Aiya Kuzuryu, parents of Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu and Natsumi Kuzuryu, as well as the current leaders of the Kuzuryu Clan. Jin turned around to face the two parents and bowed. "Thank you for coming, Mr. and Mrs. Kuzuryu. Please take a seat," Jin greeted, raising from his bow as the two parents took their seats in front of his desk, the Headmaster sitting down in his own chair, hands folded into one another as his elbows touched the desk.

"May I ask why we have been summoned here, Headmaster Kirigiri? We were in the Hospital with our son," Fumihito began, his expression unassuming and hard to read. Jin kept himself composed, taking a sip of the coffee he had ordered his secretary to bring him a few minutes earlier.

"It surrounds your son, and the actions he took recently that had him end up in that state, Mr. Kuzuryu, that I would like to discuss," Jin replied, putting the mug down as he eyed the couple. "I do not wish to be rude, but quite frankly, Mr. Kuzuryu, you and I can both agree that messing with those with power is a bad thing, no matter how or why you do it, no?"

"That I can agree with. But I seem to be missing the point," Fumihito replied, calm anger to his tone as Jin narrowed his eyes, scathing, righteous fury deep within his dark purple eyes.

"My point," Jin began, emphasizing "point" with a pop of the p, his fingers becoming tense. "Was that we agreed that I would allow your son on our campus so long as he did not bring your men onto my school grounds, did we not? Well, that oath that he, as well as you and your wife, had made a year and a half ago is now broken thanks to him and his reckless actions. Reckless actions, as you know, he now suffers the consequences of. He caused serious mental and physical harm to my students, and as a Headmaster, I believe it is in my right to discuss how it came to be this way. So, please, Mr. Kuzuryu, enlighten me as to how this all happened," Jin asked, though it came out more as a demand than anything else.

The current head of the Kuzuryu Clan drew in a deep breath, his eyes closed as his right fist tensed. "One of your Reserve Course Students attacked my daughter, Mr. Kirigiri. Nearly killing her, I—"

"I have the video footage to say she instigated the brawl. And from said student's accord, she was nearly killed by her. She suffered from a cracked skull and a broken rib because of what your daughter did, Mr. Kuzuryu," Jin interrupted, earning a scowl from Fumihito. "The only reason why my student didn't die, Mr. Kuzuryu, was because she's… how do I put this… different from most others. Now, please, continue with that knowledge you are now in the possession of," Jin finished, leaning back in his chair, hands still clasped together, an unamused expression on his face.

"As I was saying…." Fumihito began, an edge to his voice as he stared Jin in the eyes. "Because of what this student, Brooks Jolyne I believe her name to have been, my daughter was nearly killed. And if what you're saying is to be believed, then yes, I will admit that what occurred after that was not what I would've wanted to have happened. I was under the belief that Natsumi was attacked while not getting a chance to defend herself. Forgive my son for being irrational. He tends to get like that when anyone in his family is injured not of their own volition. However, I didn't come here to be lectured by you, Mr. Kirigiri. Please get to the point. What are you trying to get at?" Fumihito asked as Jin sighed.

"While I shouldn't be surprised that you're in a rush to get back to your son. I should get to the point. I will be billing you and your family to pay the damages done to the school because of what your son's assassins did to the building and the fight that ensued because of it. We've already made the repairs and disposed of the bodies. The public is unaware of this happening, and everyone who saw it has been ordered to keep quiet. The bill is 15 million yen, and seeing as you are a rather wealthy family, I should like to hope that this will be easy for you to do, no?" Jin stated, however, this time, it was Aiya who spoke.

"I do not see why it should be a problem. However, I'm sensing that there is more to this than you are letting on. What is it, Mr. Kirigiri?" The dark-haired woman asked, putting her hands on her lap as Jin nodded.

"Yes. From what our Ultimate Nurse has said, and from what the doctors have been saying about Fuyuhiko, the chances of him waking up are next to none. I'm sure you are aware of that," Jin began, a sombre look appearing on the two parent's faces. Jin didn't wait for them to say anything and continued. "I know it might be distasteful to say this right now, but, at least for the time being, we have a spot open in Class 77 – B that needs to be filled. I was wondering if you are okay if we substitute Fuyuhiko for Natsumi, whom I am assuming will be the heir if Fuyuhiko died?" Jin asked as the two before him looked at one another. When Fumihito spoke, his voice was almost barren of emotion, almost as if he was repressing himself.

"Yes. That would be the case. But I know my son. He won't die. The hospital has given him a month. And…" Fumihito tensed, squinting his eyes, almost as if he was trying to repress himself from crying. "If he does… pass on. His sister will take over the Clan. Then, and only then, will we allow the titles to be changed. Do we have ourselves an understanding, Mr. Kirigiri?" Fumihito said his tone of voice on the verge of cracking.

Jin didn't want to keep them any longer, and so, he nodded, standing up and bowing, as did the other two. Without another word spoken, the two parents left the room. Down the hall, he could've sworn he heard someone begin to cry, to which he assumed it to be Fumihito.

Jin wasn't proud to say that he made the toughest man in Japan cry, but it was something he hadn't expected to happen. Then again, it was familial matters, something he could understand. If anything happened to his daughter, he too would've been in a similar state of duress. To have your own kin be in that state must've been horrid for the Kuzuryu family. Both children of there's had been put through the wringer, but it wasn't as if he was about to sympathize with either.

Was it cruel for him to hold no sympathy for them? Well, maybe it was cruel to Natsumi. She had a troubled life as it was, being the sibling to the heir of the clan must've given her a nasty inferiority complex, or something similar. The Kuzuryu family were always reactionaries, no matter what. Hell, Jin went to school with Aiya before she married Fumihito, so the two knew each other, if barely. He was pretty sure Aiya was the only one there that didn't jump when something bad happened.

Jin took a sip of his coffee, letting out a sigh. Truly, it seemed like everything was going wrong nowadays. Now he had to deal with the private backlash of Hopes Peak being attacked by assassins. Thankfully, and annoyingly enough, the Steering Committee had been able to divert public attention to something worse, which in hindsight was the only GOOD thing that those shmucks had been working on. Need he even think about the Kamakura Project?

Those walking jokes were still trying to get Jolyne to show off her talent, but at each legal corner, Jin had thwarted them from doing so. He was forcing them to wait for one, maybe two more weeks before he would allow them to see how her magic worked. Why? Because he had put in a new rule about 2 months before Jolyne joined that if any new students joined any of the Ultimate Courses, they would be given a 1-week minimum to settle into the class, 2 at the maximum.

He took relief in that they could do nothing about it, either. The Headmaster had more authority than them, at least when it came to the rules of the school and the students. Everything else like marketing and other finical stuff was on their end.

The door opened once more, and a man wearing a white two-piece suit, a black waistcoat, green shirt, and black tie walked into the office, adjusting his white bowler hat on his head of yellow hair. He had a soul patch at the tip of his chin, as well as a thin mustache. He recognized the man well, seeing as they had been friends in the past. After all, he was the only one he knew who looked even remotely like that.

"Ah, Koichi, you're here. Were you able to do what I asked?" Jin questioned as the man nodded.

"Yeah… I found the "magician." She was heading back to campus after buying stuff for a camping trip Class 77 – B is planning to have. I gotta say, I don't like her too much," Koichi said, leaning up against one of the walls, arms crossed as he tipped his hat down over his eyes.

"Why? She seems normal enough to me, minus the whole blood and fire thing she can do," Jin said as Koichi scowled, grabbing a small metal flash from his jacket, twisting the lid and taking a swig of what Jin had to assume was rye whisky. The man put his flask back into his jacket pocket and then looked Jin straight in the eyes.

"She's cruel, evil maybe. I saw it in her eyes. You know me, Jin. I don't say that often. The last time I did was when I scouted Enoshima Junko. But this, this is different. Unlike Enoshima, Brooks is different. Junko is a more passive person, as I've deduced. Brooks isn't. She's more proactive. You saw what she did to those people, assassins or not. She's dangerous. If we don't tame the beast, the beast will kill us. She's not hesitant to do so, and I for one don't want to be reduced to a crispy human nugget on the pavement," Koichi said, folding his arms overtop one another as Jin bit the inside of his lip.

He always trusted Koichi Kizakura, no matter what he said, even when drunk the man knew how to articulate what he was thinking. It was why he was The Ultimate Talent Scout. He could read people easily, almost to a practice. Koichi was a good judge of character, and he was also the person who warned him about his father. He was a bit annoyed that he didn't listen to him back then, but that was neither here nor there.

So if what he said about Jolyne was true….

"I'll keep an eye on her, Koichi. You have my word," Jin said, earning a nod from Koichi.

"Good… I wouldn't want anything bad happening to ya, Jin. You're a good man, just be careful who you're dealing with. Especially when it comes to someone who has as much power as this kid's got," Koichi said, turning to leave the office. Before he did, however, he glanced over his shoulder. "Oh… and don't forget. Your daughter is going to be passing by. She might actually be able to help keep this gal under wraps if you know what I mean."

With that, he left the room. Leaving Jin some time to think.

[Jolyne Brooks]

If there was one thing Jolyne could admit, it was that she hated buses. They were too crowded, and 90% of the time they smelt like spoiled juice and other, strange things, and sometimes even stranger things. She couldn't really put her finger on it, but if she had to make a remark, it would be like weeks-old soured goat's milk, or possibly something akin to that. Another thing she hated about buses was that they were always boring, stupid primary colours like blue, red, or yellow in the case of school buses.

Now, if there was purple, orange, or hell maybe even rainbow buses then her opinion of them would change in a heartbeat. But most of the time they were boring and an eyesore. ESPECIALLY double-decker buses. Those were NOT appealing at all, whatsoever, and whoever invented them should be hung, drawn, and quartered.

After her whole debacle with that child who attempted to rob her of her sacred Mars bar, she had been in a rather sour mood, especially after finding out that he was possibly getting abused. Then again, The System wasn't really subtle about it, seeing as a whole quest popped up for it and everything. It ate at her, both mentally and physically.

The idea of a kid suffering while she was doing nothing about it, despite knowing damn well what was potentially going on, was making her stomach churn. Unfortunately, she had exhausted all of her options for helping at least one of them at this current moment. And seeing as she was boarding a typical, everyday school bus to head to Wakasu Park camping grounds, her hands were tied.

Truth be told she never went camping before. It was a new experience. But now said experience was sullied with the fact that she had been in contact with at least one out of five abused children who were known as "the trouble makers." She had the urge to punch something, or someone, but was not given the chance to do so, seeing as the only available person next to her was Kazuichi Soda, who, even though he had a very, very punchable face, had given her no reason to do so.

Although he had been eyeing her with a look of suspicion, he hadn't said or done anything to allow her to act on it. So for now, he was in the clear.

She didn't know what was going on in the pink-haired teen's head, but it surely wasn't pleasant. For that alone, she should've decked him, but she didn't want to cause any trouble. And so, she boarded the boring yellow bus and took in a whiff of, for once, clean air. Buses and clean air were a rare combination, perhaps Yukizome-sensei had arranged this bus a month in advance? Or perhaps their class just got lucky. Whatever the case was, she knew immediately where she was going to sit, and that was in the back.

Jolyne hated socializing. It was something she didn't subscribe to. She and socializing never agreed with one another, and whenever she had to do or say anything in front of two or more people, she would have a bit of a breakdown. Even in her past life, she had stage fright. It was annoying that it followed her to her new life, and being the Ultimate "Magician" she had a lot of things to live up to. She would have to perform actual magic shows in the future, not including the one that she had scheduled with Class 78, so it wasn't as if she could walk away with a free talent title and continue as if life was normal.

Yukizome mentioned it to her in passing while they were waiting for the bus. The teacher had said that her on-paper talent was The Ultimate Magician, which Jolyne knew about. She knew that also meant that she had to perform shows for the public. This was to ensure everyone that her talent wasn't a hoax, and so for that reason, the school had scheduled one on her behalf two weeks after they got back from the camping trip.

Now THAT had been news to her. News she didn't like. But, it wasn't as if she could fight it. She would just have to pull out all the stops. To do so, she was going to need to acquire materials. She didn't know what, but she was working on it. Fresh blood was probably one of those things. And a cape, she would need to grab a cape, and probably a top hat. And other things. If she was going to be a magician she was going to go the whole nine yards.

But that was for her to worry about at a later date.

Taking her seat at the back of the bus, Jolyne stuck her hand into her pocket, taking out IT from her inventory. After she got back to campus, and before she boarded the bus, she decided to chill out in her room for an hour, continuing to read IT for the better half of the time she had left, even while she waited in the courtyard. She was able to get to page 314, and now she planned on continuing the book while sitting at the back of the bus.

Jolyne heard her name being called on the attendance list that Yukizome was reading out, so she raised her hand, heard a hum of approval, then went back to reading. The bus lurched forward, the sound of the engine starting echoing throughout the bus, and then it began to move.

There was plenty of chatting to be had within the bus, however out of all of the voices she heard, she could hear Nekomaru's the loudest. He was a pretty loud guy, and whoever he was talking to was equally as loud. Around 20 minutes into the bus ride, someone tapped her on her shoulder. When Jolyne looked over to her right, she saw the smiling, friendly face of… someone. She blinked, then remembered the pale-blonde-haired teen's name. Sonia Nevermind. She, much like Jolyne was a foreign exchange student, except she came from Novoselic, and not Canada.

And technically, Jolyne was from the afterlife, but her "made-up" background and backstory was that she was from Canada.

"Yo, uh… what's up?" Jolyne asked, bunny-earing the page that she was on as Sonia smiled.

"I wanted to ask what book it is that you are reading," Sonia asked, a curious gaze in her eyes as Jolyne smirked.

"IT, by Stephen King. It's one of North America's best horror novels. I believe it was written sometime in the 80s. If you're interested, I'd gladly lend it to you once I'm finished with it," Jolyne said, a smile appearing on Sonia's face. She looked almost enthusiastic about the offer. Jolyne could've sworn mini fireworks were going off in her eyes when she had even so much as suggested to lend it to her.

"Ah! Thank you, Jolyne! I'll take you up on that offer!" Sonia said, turning away from the dual-haired mage, practically bouncing in glee, her expression locked into a smile. All Jolyne could do was chuckle as she went back to her book.

Another 30 minutes passed before her class arrived at the park's camping grounds. During that time, she was able to get to around page 412 before everyone started to get off the bus. Jolyne put IT back into her inventory and followed them out. She also put her bag of snacks, clothes, and what-have-you into her inventory as well, walking out of the bus, Sonia behind her. Once off the bus, and after Chisa thanked the bus driver, the bus departed, leaving them for their week-long camping trip.

"Alright, everyone! Here's what I want you all to do. Go have fun! There's plenty to do here, and I'm sure your imagination will be more than enough. Or, if you want to, go on your own! You're all mature enough to where I don't have to hover over you. But if you plan to go by your lonesome, let me know beforehand. I'll set up the tents 10 kilometres away from the forest, so if you're not comfortable being by yourself, then go there for the night! I expect everyone to be back HERE by Monday Morning! If not, then I will have to search the entire camping grounds for you, and I will NOT be happy when I find you, alright?" Yukizome said, her voice commanding, almost militaristic.

That was something that Jolyne liked about Yukizome. From what she experienced from their teacher, she was nice, and caring, but also strict when she needed to be. That was something that Jolyne could respect about her teacher, far more than what she could say for any other teachers she had in her past.

"YES, SENSEI!"

"Good! Have fun!"

And with that, everyone went their own ways. Jolyne walked south of the bus-stop trail, right to where a group of trees were. But, before she could actually make it there, she felt a hand grip her shoulder. On a whim, Jolyne whipped around and stuck a finger up, a small flame on the tip of it as she stuck it under someone's chin. The person who grabbed her shoulder lurched back for a split second. That was when Jolyne got a good look at them.

They were tall, maybe 6 foot 1, or a flat 6 foot. She didn't quite know. The person had black and white hair, one red eye and one grey eye with what appeared to be a thunderbolt tattoo overlapping his grey eye. To top it off, he had a purple scarf around his neck, as well as two yellow orbed earrings, and a bandaged left arm.

It was Gundham Tanaka. Jolyne sighed, putting out the flame on her fingertip as she looked at the teen. "Hello, Tanaka. If I were to assume why it was you were here, would I be correct in guessing you want to know what I was talking about during my introduction to the class? Am I correct?"

"You would be correct in saying that, witch. May I ask if you can read minds as well?" Gundham replied, earning a raised eyebrow from Jolyne.

"No… I'm just good at guessing," the mage replied.

"So… you have not opened your third eye…. Hmm… well, that is rather disappointing. But I do not think that matters. Back to the matter at hand, I would like to know what you were talking about my "Mana." As the Supreme Overlord of Ice, I would know a thing or two about "Mana" and so—"

"Then cast an ice spell," Jolyne interrupted, seemingly blowing the wind out of Gundham's sails.

"Excuse you?" Gundham said, a blank expression on his face as Jolyne facepalmed.

"If you can't do at least ONE ice spell, you shouldn't be calling yourself "The Supreme Overlord of Ice." So, show me what you can do. Come with me to that patch of trees over there, and I'll see just what it is you can do," Jolyne said, walking toward the trees that she had been planning to rest under before Gundham had snuck up on her, checking back to see the aforementioned teen was following her, to which he was.

Once there, Gundham crossed his arms as Jolyne sat down underneath the tree, crossing her legs together. "Now, show me what you, "The Supreme Overlord of Ice," can do."

Upon requesting that, Jolyne watched as Gundham balled his right hand into a fist. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. In that instance, the air around the pair of them got far colder than it had been previously. Jolyne's eyes widened, not expecting that to happen. And then, Gundham turned around, opened his hand, and then a small blast of cold air came out of his palm, hitting the tree, coating a small portion of it in ice.

He turned around to Jolyne, an embarrassed expression on his face as he covered most of it up with his scarf. "I… Have been practicing ever since you mentioned that I could… actually use magic…." Gundham replied, earning a smirk from Jolyne, who abruptly stood up. She walked over to the ice and tapped on it.

"It's brittle, but that's to be expected. You only have 10 mana available, but I'm sure we can fix that in a matter of days," Jolyne said, having a small flame conjure on the tip of her fingertip, melting the ice away. "For someone who hasn't used Magic before, most likely under the assumption that you couldn't despite your posturing, that's not too bad. Tell you what, I'm tired right now, mainly because I have had a long day. Tomorrow, meet me here at around 11:30 AM, and we'll start your training. Sound good?"

The moment Jolyne said that Gundham let go of his scarf and smirked. "Very well. I shall keep you to your word, witch. For now, I must go. My familiars are waiting for me." With that, Gundham walked away, but with a bit of pep in his step. And then, a quest appeared in Jolyne's peripheral.

[The Student and The Master – Prologue]

Description: You have decided to take Gundham Tanaka under your wing, and teach him how to properly use his magic! What a very generous thing for you to do! Now, it is your job to turn him into a true Overlord of Ice, one step at a time. For now, let's start with something simple.

Quest: Teach Gundham Tanaka Icicle Spear by the end of the week!

Rewards: 5,000 Exp, 1 Ice Spell Token, 1 Spell token, 5,000 yen.

Timeframe – 6 days and 12 hrs

Jolyne pushed the quest aside, sitting back down on the grass as she brought her book out of her inventory. She'd wait till tomorrow to begin his training. She really was tired, seeing as she hardly got any sleep, and no, being unconscious didn't count.

And now that she had a student, that being Gundham, she'd have to take responsibility for his actions. But for now, wanted to read her book that she was SUPPOSED to read for that quest she recently failed, and then find somewhere dark to sleep. Maybe this time she'd actually feel well-rested.

-To be Continued-