After getting into the vehicle, Texas immediately began the journey. She informed everyone that the destination for this transport mission would be in Zone 7.
When everyone heard they were headed to Zone 7, they got visibly excited—especially Exusiai.
"Whoa! Looks like you're in luck, Ren! Your first freshman assignment and we're going straight to Zone 7! I guarantee we're going to have fun!" Exusiai threw her arm around Ren's shoulder, brimming with enthusiasm.
Which prompted Ren to ask,
"Uh, what's in Zone 7?"
He was sitting in the back seat by the right window, with Exusiai in the middle and Croissant on the left. Up front, Sora sat in the passenger seat beside Texas, who was driving. The seating arrangement felt oddly balanced to him—but at the same time, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.
"Oh, not much. Just that some old friends of ours are waiting there to welcome us," Exusiai replied with a happy smile, which didn't really put Ren at ease.
"Old friends?" Ren asked, though he hadn't even gotten around to asking what kind of "old friends" she meant when—
"Oops, looks like our old friends are already here! And they've brought a pretty big welcome gift!" shouted Croissant from the other side.
"Hold on tight, everyone!"
BOOM!! Texas's sudden shout came just in time for Ren, who hadn't even braced himself, to be thrown hard to the side. A loud explosion sounded from behind, followed by a strong shockwave.
The entire vehicle rattled and lifted off the ground slightly. Cheers and screams of excitement erupted inside the car, as if this kind of chaos was a tradition, before the vehicle finally stabilized.
"W-What the heck was that?!" Ren shouted, now sprawled awkwardly across Exusiai's lap, completely disoriented.
"It's those damn Bear Gangs… They used explosive bolts on us. I can't believe they'd pull something like that on a public road—especially when we're still in Zone 8!" Texas answered, her voice tinged with irritation. She stepped hard on the gas to put distance between them and the attackers.
She glanced at the rear-view mirror to check on everyone's safety.
"Everyone alright?"
"We're good! Uh… well, at least me and Exusiai," said Croissant.
Ren was still dazed, but as he noticed Croissant's mischievous expression, he realized his hand was still resting on Exusiai's thigh. Exusiai didn't say anything, only gave him a slightly awkward smile.
Ren jolted back to his seat immediately.
"S-Sorry, Miss Exusiai! I didn't mean to!"
"It's a small thing, kiddo. But next time, ask for permission first," Exusiai replied with a bashful laugh. She was probably embarrassed too, but still had enough spirit to tease him.
Ren, meanwhile, felt a mix of embarrassment and rage toward the car behind them.
He turned to look at the black car tailing them. The gang inside was already loading up another round of explosive bolts. No way he was going to let them get away with that. He pulled out his spellbook from the spatial storage—similar to a weapon inventory in games—and shouted to Texas:
"Miss Texas! Let me handle the car behind us!"
"Don't kill anyone."
"Oooh! Is that new?" Exusiai said, her eyes lighting up at the sight of his book.
Ignoring her excitement, Ren began gathering earth particles from the area around the car. A massive boulder the size of a person formed beside the door.
The car behind them suddenly veered slightly when the boulder appeared out of thin air, clearly unsure what to do—but Ren didn't give them time to decide. Just as they had fired explosive bolts without warning, he gave them a taste of their own medicine.
"Eat this, bastards!"
The boulder shot off with the same velocity as a bolt, and due to its size, tore through the pursuing vehicle and shattered it into pieces. But Ren had shown some mercy—just like Texas had asked—aiming at the lower part of the car to disable it instead of destroying it completely.
If he had aimed a bit higher, the entire vehicle might've been obliterated.
"Woooo!! That's what I'm talkin' about!" Exusiai shouted in excitement, watching the car behind them break down instantly from Ren's counterattack.
"Whoa!" Croissant and Sora, seeing Ren's powers for the first time, were just as stunned. Even though it wasn't exactly the same as the stone pillar ability from the game they knew, the rock manipulation was close enough that they started to believe what Exusiai and Texas had claimed earlier—that the guy from the game… was Ren.
But still… in just two years, could a scrawny nerd really become this handsome, sharp-looking man?
Croissant, eyeing Ren with growing curiosity, kept that question to herself.
"Watch out, more incoming!"
Just as everyone was still marveling at Ren's power, Texas spotted two more cars approaching. She shouted out a warning.
The windows on those vehicles rolled down, revealing two men in black in each, all of them aiming explosive crossbows at their car.
Ren, seeing the threat, realized that his regular earth magic might not be fast enough this time. He raised his hand to summon a stone pillar—
But Exusiai stopped him.
"Save your strength, little bro. This time, big sis wants a turn!" Exusiai winked and popped open the roof hatch. She leaned out and fired a volley of shots with her signature gun, aiming precisely at the tires of both pursuing cars.
Both enemy vehicles began to swerve wildly, their tires blown out. The men holding the crossbows lost balance and dropped their weapons onto the road, triggering a chain explosion as their own bolts detonated. The resulting blast caused nearby vehicles to swerve and crash—some even slammed into roadside poles.
"…" Ren stared in stunned silence at the destruction behind them.
He turned to Texas, his eyes silently asking: That wasn't fatal… right?
Texas, catching his gaze, immediately looked away—like she didn't really know how to answer that either.
"Ahhh~ The sound of explosions really gets my blood pumping!" Exusiai squealed happily, hugging her own arm like she was melting from joy.
Even Ren, who had seen plenty of strange things by now, couldn't help but think:
"This woman… is terrifying."
Are we really working for a legal company...?