CHRONOS SYSTEM

At night, inside the school, three figures could be seen walking through the dimly lit hallways. A black-haired girl with a headband covering her forehead and one part of her hair falling over her left eye moved with purpose. She wore a white t-shirt with the first two buttons undone and a short black skirt that swished with each step. Beside her walked a blonde boy in blue jeans, a crisp white shirt, and a blue varsity jacket that seemed too clean for someone involved in shady activities. Bringing up the rear was a dark beauty with perfect curves and her hair pulled back in a sleek ponytail. She wore a white crop top and tight black trousers that accentuated every curve of her athletic figure. These three were April, Rudy, and April's best friend Lucy.

"April, are you sure we're supposed to be here? I mean, it's really late, and what's he doing here?" Lucy said, her voice shaky like a middle school girl trapped in a horror movie. They were supposed to go to the movies that evening, but somehow she had ended up back at school with people she barely knew.

"Rudy isn't here to cause any trouble," April said reassuringly as she grabbed her friend's arm with a gentle smile. "I'll just grab my stuff and then we'll go see a movie."

"Then I'll just wait for you outside," Lucy replied, trying to pull her arm away as she headed for the exit. But before she could reach the door, two figures in dark robes with hoods covering their faces materialized in front of her, blocking her path.

Lucy's face immediately turned pale as she spun around to look at her friend with wide, frightened eyes.

"Sorry, Lucy," April said softly, her expression remaining eerily calm.

April's eyes suddenly began to glow a deep purple as she locked gazes with her friend. In a voice that carried an otherworldly resonance, she commanded, "Sleep."

And immediately, Lucy's eyes rolled back and she collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

One of the robed men picked up the girl effortlessly while the other turned to address April and Rudy.

"What about the boy?" the hooded figure asked, his voice muffled but carrying an air of authority.

"The plan failed twice," Rudy answered, his hands clenched into fists.

"It was an easy task—beat him up and leave him in the alleyway," the man said, his tone growing more impatient.

"And we did," Rudy replied, this time with a hint of anger creeping into his voice. "Someone else got there before we could finish the job, and we couldn't risk blowing our cover."

"I told you we should have just captured him rather than go with your stupid plan," April said, her purple eyes now fixed on Rudy with a dangerous glint.

"No, Rudy is right," the man interrupted firmly. "We don't have many agents right now. We need to lure him out and capture him—it's the boss's orders." With that, he turned and disappeared into the shadows, leaving the three teenagers alone in the hallway.

"Bastards..." Rudy muttered under his breath.

"I can get him, you know," April said, her eyes now returning to their normal color but still carrying a hint of darkness. With her mischievous smile, one would swear she was a fox disguised in human form. "All you have to do is pay well."

"How?" Rudy demanded. "He's got Max and Lena watching over him 24/7 ever since the first plan failed. I can't help but think that they know about what we're doing. None of this would have happened if you had just kept your mouth shut in front of Max."

"I had to make it look realistic," April snapped back defensively. "Besides, I wasn't the one who forgot how to knock a guy out and leave him in an empty hallway."

"Tch... whatever," Rudy grumbled, clearly frustrated with the entire situation.

"Just make sure you get him this time," Rudy said as they walked out of the school, leaving Lucy's unconscious form to be dealt with by their mysterious employers.

******

Two days later...

The school's hallways were filled with students, chatter, and gossip that seemed to bounce off every wall. But everyone kept talking about one thing—and it wasn't bullies or Kealin's recent transformation.

"Hey, have you heard about those two second-years that went missing recently?"

"Yeah, and they're not the only ones. Lucy from Miss Vanessa's class hasn't been in school for quite some time now."

Currently walking through the school's hallway were Lena and Kealin, both oblivious to the growing concern among their classmates.

"What's going on?" Kealin asked, noticing the unusual tension in the air

"What do you mean?" Lena replied as she opened to a page in her math textbook. They were supposed to have a pop quiz, so she was focused entirely on her studies and hadn't been paying attention to the other students' conversations.

"I'm talking about the missing students," Kealin clarified, gesturing toward a group of students whispering urgently nearby.

"Oh, that," Lena said dismissively as she closed her textbook and let out a sigh of relief. "Relax, it's nothing. They probably decided to stay away from school for one reason or another. They'll show up eventually. This kind of thing is normal here."

"Alright, I'm ready," Lena announced proudly.

"She just scanned through every page and now she's ready... creepy," Kealin muttered under his breath.

"Master, with your mana you can increase your intellect and become even smarter," Chronos suggested helpfully.

"But that would be cheating, and Kealin Thompson doesn't cheat," Kealin said with a proud smile, though it soon turned into a frown as Chronos reminded him of a previous incident.

"But you used your mana to win in the underground arena," the AI pointed out logically.

"That was different..." Kealin tried to argue weakly.

"Different how?" Chronos pressed.

Before Kealin could come up with a convincing response, Max suddenly appeared in front of them with an elaborate bow. He was dressed in a formal suit with a long red tie, and his usual carefree Japanese attitude had been completely replaced by the demeanor of an English butler.

"Good morning, Lady Lena and Master Kealin. How do you do?" Max said in a perfectly accented British tone.

"What's wrong with him?" Kealin asked, completely bewildered by his friend's transformation.

To which Lena answered matter-of-factly, "Max's behavior changes from time to time based on his mood and the activity he'll be engaging in. So from time to time, he imitates different cultures and uses them based on how he feels. Hmm, I think the English butler character is what I call 'smart Max.''

"Hahaha... you're kidding right?" Kealin laughed, thinking this was some kind of elaborate joke.

"My knowledge is just too profound, and it's certainly not something I expect young master Kealin to understand. Your brain is simply too small to comprehend such vast knowledge," Max declared, placing his hands behind his back in a very proper butler-like manner.

"Ok, Lena, permission to kill?" Kealin asked, his eye twitching in frustration.

"Not granted," Lena replied with a smirk, clearly enjoying the show.

"Oh, does young master Kealin wish to kill me? Such intent is not something a gentleman should possess. I'm certainly disappointed," Max said, shaking his head dramatically.

"Ok, one more word and I'll punch a hole through your English face," Kealin threatened, his patience wearing thin.

"I wish that was possible, but it is not. You see, the last time I checked, you can't create a hole in a human's face with just a punch. Young master, are you that dumb as to not know something so simple?" Max continued to use his English persona to tease Kealin, but the latter was taking him completely seriously now.

Watching the drama between the two unfold, Lena was actually enjoying herself immensely, chuckling every time Max said something that made Kealin's eye twitch with barely contained rage.

"I think I like it better this way," she said with a satisfied smile.

"What do you mean?" Kealin had given up on trying to make Max shut up and decided to talk to Lena instead.

"One time Max spoke Russian in biology class, and Miss Vanessa shoved a textbook into his mouth. And another time he spoke Spanish, and the headmistress thought he was insulting her and gave him detention for a whole week," Lena giggled as she recalled these amusing incidents.

"I wonder how he knows so many different languages. I thought he was only interested in Japanese and martial arts," Kealin said, genuinely curious about his friend's linguistic abilities.

"Please, I am but a scholar, of course I would know how to speak so many different languages. You small-minded people do not appreciate the beauty of culture, especially that... that... that barbarian of a teacher..." Max ranted in his scholarly persona.

"Who are you calling a barbarian?" Miss Vanessa's voice suddenly cut through the air like a whip.

The trio turned to see their teacher standing behind them, her eyes fixed menacingly on Max, who was now sweating buckets and looking like he'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Lena and I will head to class," Kealin said quickly, grabbing Lena's arm.

"Wait for me!" Lena agreed, and they both quickly disappeared, leaving Max to face Miss Vanessa alone.

"Ah, gomen, gomen, Vanessa-sensei!" Max's attitude immediately shifted from scholarly and serious to dumb and carefree. But this only made Miss Vanessa more furious as she raised her fist threateningly.

"Oi, how many times have I told you... SPEAK GOD-DAMN ENGLISH!" she shouted as she descended on Max with righteous fury.

******

Inside the classroom, Lena and Kealin couldn't help but worry about their friend, though they were also trying not to laugh.

"Ohayou gozaimasu," Max said as he walked into class with a massive lump on his head and his clothes drenched in sweat from his encounter with Miss Vanessa.

[T/N: Ohayou gozaimasu is Japanese for good morning]

"Ok, he's dumb again," Kealin said to Lena as they both chuckled at their friend's predicament.

******

The day had finally come to an end, and all the students were preparing to return home. That was until something caught their attention outside the school. Posters had been put up everywhere, and on them, three female students could be seen with the word "MISSING" boldly written across the top in red letters.