"Phew... It's scorching. Why is it this hot when it's not even full summer yet? The temperature in Academy City is always a few degrees higher than the outside world."
Inside a high school boys' dormitory in Academy City, Takahashi Yuuya climbed out of bed, his body sticky with sweat. He yanked the curtains open, allowing the blinding sunlight to stream into the cramped room.
It was only May. The first semester had barely been in session for a month, yet the temperature had already hit 37 degrees Celsius. If this was spring, summer would be nothing short of a sauna.
To make matters worse, this specific student dormitory experienced frequent power and water outages.
'It's only been two months since Index arrived in Academy City, hasn't it?'
Yuuya walked to the balcony, gazing at the wind turbines spinning slowly in the distance. He sighed, a heavy sense of dejection weighing him down.
Thinking back on his sixteen years of life in this city, a sense of powerlessness rose in his heart.
He had been transported to the world of A Certain Magical Index sixteen years ago, reincarnated as an infant abandoned at an orphanage within the city. The headmistress had given him the surname Takahashi and the name Yuuya.
Academy City. An independent sovereign state occupying western Tokyo, boasting a population of 2.3 million, eighty percent of whom were students.
It was a city of the future, containing dozens of world-class universities, hundreds of primary and secondary schools, and over a thousand research institutions. It housed the cutting edge of the world's scientific community.
To the outside world, it was the sacred headquarters of science.
But Yuuya knew these were just appearances. He knew the true, darker meaning of Academy City's existence.
'But what good is knowing? I can't do anything about it.'
He didn't know if it was a quirk of his transmigrated body, but he had failed to develop any superpowers. He was a Level 0. Despite regular exercise, he was merely a healthy, ordinary human.
Of course, he hadn't spent those sixteen years doing nothing.
Two years ago, he had met Kiyama Harumi while she was still a teacher, but in the end, 'I was unable to prevent the tragedy of her students.'
Then, a year ago, he had encountered Shokuhou Misaki before she had fully established her clique in the Garden of Learning.
The only surprise was that Shokuhou Misaki's Mental Out ability had no effect on him. Perhaps it was a perk of being a transmigrator—a natural resistance to mental interference.
Now, he had entered high school and found himself in the same class as Kamijou Touma.
Given Touma's personality, the boy wouldn't refuse to help if Yuuya was in trouble, but being around Touma meant catching the splash damage of his legendary bad luck.
For example: the frequent power and water outages in this very building.
'So far, aside from knowing that psychology-related Esper abilities are ineffective against me, I'm still just a civilian who can't even protect himself. It's really frustrating...'
With the conflict between Science and Magic set to escalate later this year—culminating in a World War—he was still powerless.
'I was told that transmigrators are supposed to dominate the heavens and the earth. Is my fate destined to be just a background character? Or worse, cannon fodder?'
The thought that Academy City would become a battlefield for the Magic faction in less than six months filled him with immense anxiety.
'Even without a god-mode cheat, just a little bit of power would do...'
[Ding. The Treasure Chest System has been loaded. Please accept it, Host.]
Suddenly, a mechanical notification rang out in Yuuya's mind. He froze, stunned for a moment, before a wave of ecstasy washed over him.
'System! Holy crap, a cheat system! Speak of the devil! I knew a transmigrator couldn't be left hanging forever.'
'Loading complete? It's been loading for sixteen years! I thought I time-traveled naked. I'm so moved I could cry.'
[Ding! The Treasure Chest System has been activated. It is a pleasure to serve the Host.]
"Treasure Chest System, please explain your functions," Yuuya whispered excitedly, barely suppressing the urge to jump up and down.
[Ding! The system's functions are as follows:]
1. Spawn: Treasure chests will appear all over the world. They may be located in other dimensions, on specific characters, or simply on the street.
2. Rank: The treasure chests are ranked from lowest to highest: Common, Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Mythical, Supreme, and Unique. Totaling ten levels.
[Note: Chests of Silver rank and above may require certain conditions to be met before they can be opened.]
A virtual world map, visible only to Yuuya, suddenly materialized before his eyes.
The map marked the territories of various scientific and magical forces. Countless treasure chest icons littered the globe, ranging from dull white to radiant rainbow colors.
The most prominent locations were Europe and Academy City.
Globally, there were thirteen Mythical-level five-colored chests and six blindingly bright Supreme-level seven-colored chests. As for the Unique-level chests, none were currently visible on the map.
Three of the six Supreme chests were located in the heart of the Vatican, the English Puritan headquarters in London, and an obscure ancient town in Northern Europe.
However, three bright, colorful treasure chests were clustered right here in the island nation—specifically, in Academy City.
Two of them were located inside the "Windowless Building," the fortress of the city's board chairman.
The third one... was right next door. In Kamijou Touma's student apartment.
Aside from the Supreme Chest next door, the high-level chests were located in religious strongholds or deep within magical societies. Obtaining them would be incredibly difficult, especially since some might be physically attached to powerful characters.
Yuuya resisted the urge to rush to the next room to grab the chest and continued exploring the map interface.
As he zoomed in, Academy City filled his vision, and lower-level chests began to populate the screen.
In addition to the sun-like chests in the Windowless Building, there were 17 Gold chests, 11 Platinum chests, and two Diamond chests. There were no Mythical chests in the city.
The Gold and Platinum chests were scattered across various research institutions and elite schools (like Tokiwadai and Nagatenjouki). Meanwhile, the two Diamond chests flickered intermittently, appearing and disappearing, seeming to drift in the atmosphere above the city.
'If I'm not mistaken, those are tied to the AIM Diffusion Fields—the "Artificial Heaven" covering Academy City.'
Although Gold and Platinum chests weren't as impossible as the Supreme ones, they were still out of his reach. Those locations were high-security zones; an ordinary Level 0 couldn't just walk in without permission.
'Huh! I have a Newbie Gift Pack... and it's a Unique one!'
Yuuya suddenly noticed a chest stored in his system inventory. He stared, his heart pounding so hard it felt like it would burst through his throat.
A Unique Treasure Chest!
According to the system's classification, Unique chests were one-of-a-kind in the multiverse.
'The system is so generous; it maxed me out right after activation.' He felt a surge of pure joy.
"System, how do I open the treasure chest?" Yuuya asked, breathless. The disappointment of the last sixteen years was swept away in an instant.
[Host, please retrieve the treasure chest from the inventory and open it physically.]
"Won't this cause any strange phenomena?" Yuuya didn't let his emotions cloud his judgment.
He knew exactly where he was. This was Academy City, ruled by Aleister Crowley. The city was filled with "Underline" (nanodevices) monitoring everything. If a strange energy signature appeared, the dark side of the city would come knocking before he could even start his journey.
[It will create a slight fluctuation, but it will not be traceable to the Host. The Host possesses absolute privacy protection that prevents direct visual or technological probing.]
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