Lost

[ACMI: Alchemy]

GV sat on a bench as the auction began.

A young man with long hair walked on stage and held up a USB stick and began to speak.

"The level-upper, a method to increase your level dramatically through very little personal effort. Truly a wonder. Some may ask, why is it not used on us? Why can we not use it to break past our limits? I shall tell you the reason now: They don't care."

GV leaned back and raised an eyebrow. The man seemed to suggest that academy city didn't actually want to increase the student's levels. It went directly against their mission statement. He would have to look into it himself later.

"So now I ask you: what price would you put to it? You came here tonight to see for yourself if I could truly provide the goods and I have them here with me, on this USB stick is the program of the level-upper. It is a sound file that improve's the listener's level."

He knew what he was talking about then, he must have learned about the event somehow. The fact remained that the network needed to exist before anyone could get power from it. The song was useless without that.

People were shouting out prices they were willing to pay, the opening bid was set at 10,000 yen and it increased quickly to ten times as much. GV just sat back and watched. He would need to question them on how they got the file but he didn't need to bid himself, he could make a copy from their own backup to show to doctor Kiyama. They were unlikely to be selling more than a copy.

As he waited Lumen spoke quietly to him "Someone's at the door to our apartment."

Worry filled him quickly. Joule was practically undefended.

The man on stage checked his phone quickly before calling out.

"To all of you here tonight, I have good news. Those prices you call are all much higher than you need. For you see, you get it for free!"

As he rhymed the speakers all started playing "music" suddenly.

[ACSR: Level Upper]

The level-upper! GV bounded to his feet at the same moment that Lumen called to him "They are trying to break in to the apartment."

It was timed too well, they planned for him to investigate!

A headache was building, he recognised it as the feeling of the level-upper trying to take hold. He threw his hands over his ears and dashed away.

[ACSR: That Day Continued]

As he ran, all he could hear was Lumen's worried voice reporting what was happening at home.

"Joule's hiding under the bed. There are two intruders, a man and a woman." A few seconds passed "The woman found her!"

He only had to run a bit more before he made it home, His headache was hurting badly but he knew he hadn't received a high enough dose of the level-upper for it to place him in a coma.

"She's pulled Joule out. She has an ability! She paralysed Joule's limbs!"

Just a bit further. He would make it in time.

"Joule's been captured, they are bringing her outside."

Please, He had to make it!

"They are bringing him to someone else- it's the man that was on stage!"

What? How had he reached there before him?

"They are linking hands, Joule is being forced to hold on."

No! Was he a teleporter!

"They're gone. They teleported out" Lumen's voice was empty of emotion, she likely felt the same way that GV did. They lost her.

Only a moment later, Lumen winked out of existence. They had likely sedated Joule. Lumen couldn't do anything while Joule was unconscious.

He reached the apartment soon after. The door had been smashed in as Lumen said. There were things all over the floor.

GV walked into the center of the room and fell down. This wasn't like last time where he could follow the car, it wasn't even like the time that she was kidnapped to Firmament, then he was able to follow Merak to Babel tower.

This time there was nothing, Lumen could have led him to Joule if she had been awake but that wasn't an option now. He had no way to find her. Whoever planned this struck fast enough that he had no way to trace them.

Unless? Lumen had said that the man from the trapped auction was working with the kidnappers. He could check the auction ground to see if there were any clues left over.

He made his way back to the park but it was all gone. The stage was still there but the speakers that had played the level-upper were gone. Other than that, all that remained were a few bodies left unconscious on the ground. The level-upper had acted fast and already placed them into a coma.

Once more he went home, this time only at a slow walk. He felt crushed. He really had no evidence. No path that he could see.

He was surprised to see someone standing by the door to the apartment building when he finally made it back.

It was Touma.

He looked up from his phone and saw GV. He waved "Hey, it's Genki right?"

GV barely cared why he was here but he nodded and said a short "Yes."

Touma figured out something was wrong immediately and asked. GV didn't care, he knew about Touma's power but it couldn't do anything to help now.

As he tried to walk past him, Touma reached out and caught his arm. GV prepared to zap him but found that his power supply was empty.

"Tell me."

"No."

GV shook him off and walked into the building. Touma watched him go in silence.

End of chapter.

Yep. That happened.

Nothing much more to say.