The Ultimate Support Character

"Go with Yuko-chan to her Otherworld. She will train you and she will be your first hero to support,"

The Principal declared what I have to do. Go with her? Training? What's there to train?

"I understand. But when is that and what should I prepare?"

Does this mean, I can go for now? Should I use this chance to escape?

"Don't worry about it Kuramoto-kun. You just need to go here after school."

Eh? So there's no training regimen here? With only my Adaptability, how could I cope in the Otherworlds? And after school? So we still attend normal classes?

Haa. Prestigious Academy my ass. Turns out they were just part-time heroes. It was cool and all to be one but it being a secret negates the title, right?

Plus I was also a bit curious about that Pocket Dimension.

What was it? It activated my ability. And that ability locked me up in this situation.

"You can go back now, Yuko-chan. Leave Kuramoto-kun with me. I will prepare him inside the Pocket Dimension."

"Yes, Fa-- Principal."

Sugawara-san bowed to the Principal and nodded at me before leaving the room. Her previous blushing expression was now gone and she's back to the state when I first met her.

"So, Kuramoto-kun, I forgot to introduce myself. As you can guess, I am also a Sugawara, Sugawara Hajime."

Hajime. Beginning. I see so he really was the start of all this. By discovering that Pocket Dimension, he gathered the heroes and awakened them early on.

So that meant even without his intervention, the thirty heroes were doomed to be summoned to act as heroes for their respective Otherworlds.

Err. Now I kind of pity their fates. I guess I was better off as a support? To be bound by duty to save the world that's not theirs to begin with. It's sounds like a hassle.

Following behind the Principal, he opened a secret passage on one corner of the room. It was a flight of stairs leading below.

"I kind of wanted to back off now. What was hidden below the stairs?"

I acted scared but considering he just told me about the Pocket Dimension, I guess that's what's waiting for us below.

"The Pocket Dimension."

See? Is it possibly Hell? Well, since it's below the ground, there's that slim chance to be like that.

"I keep hearing that dimension since earlier, what exactly was it?"

To activate someone's ability just by being brought there. Is it some kind of paradise or hell? Was some tentacle monster inject us with something?

"You don't have to ask, Kuramoto-kun. It's better to bring you to it. You've already been there once but you were unconscious."

That time they determined my ability eh? Was I the only one they tested? So the other exam-takers wasted their time attending it? Such a way to bamboozle the hopeful students.

"Am I the only one with this ability? Could there be other Support that you can choose from"

He's a Clairvoyant, he probably used that ability to pinpoint me. Then it's also possible to find others, right?

"True. There are others but your Adaptability is unique and that's what we all needed."

Unique eh. Let's go along with it for now.

"Now I wonder what would threaten them that I could prevent."

If they're already strong as the Heroes, what can a newbie and only have Adaptability do to prevent whatever danger they will face?

"Only time can tell. My Clairvoyance has its own limits too."

I see. Every ability would always have its flaws, right? Like mine. I could Adapt but that was all there was to it or is there something more to it?

A few minutes later, we finally reached the bottom of the stairs. I thought it would be too dark here but in the middle of the room was a shining sphere suspended in the air. It only had one color, white.

"This is the Pocket Dimension."

He pointed at the obvious, of course.

"I'm sorry but all I can see is a floating white sphere."

The Principal smiled at me and gestured his arm as if telling me to go ahead and approach it.

I was a bit wary but curiosity had taken over my reason. Besides, after all that talk about me being the chosen support and the engagement with his daughter, there was no reason for me to be killed here.

"You should see for yourself. Put your hand on it."

"Will I be sucked inside this? Is this what I read from novels? A separate dimension?"

The Principal didn't answer but just smiled; waiting for me to go and touch the sphere. I guess there's no use hesitating now. I approached the floating sphere and stretched my hand out to it.

The moment my fingers touched its surface, my sight immediately turned white. It was like being submerged in a white fog.

After a few seconds in that state, the fog cleared and I could now see a desolate land stretching as far as my eye could see.

Not far from me was the same sphere but unlike the one I touched, it looks like the illustration of the Earth.

"Welcome Kuramoto-kun."

The Principal's voice sounded behind me. He was still the same man I followed behind earlier.

"So I was really sucked inside. And that thing is the door to go back, right?"

"I don't need to answer you, you know it right? Can you feel it? The increased clarity."

Ah, he was right. My mind was even clearer now. I believe I could solve a hard mathematics problem that was impossible for me before.

"How did you find out about this?"

This is a separate dimension. And I could clearly feel the change in me. For something like this to be possible...

"Honestly, I don't know. I only explained it as destiny."

Destiny eh? So was it also my destiny to become their support? I call bull--

Ah. I said I should stop cursing.

"What do you think? Can you feel your ability?"

With an amused smile, he goaded me to try it out.

"Let me see."

I closed my eyes and felt the ability he was talking about.

Just by closing my eyes, a small avatar of me suddenly appeared, diving inside my mind. I could see the various thoughts running through my head. And in one part of my brain, there was something shining in there.

I opened my eyes and looked at the Principal.

"Eh? It's part of our brain."

That ability he's talking about is a natural part of us. Then does it differ from person to person?

"Correct."

The Principal nodded.

"When I focus on it, I immediately understand how my ability works."

Right. It's almost a wonder to suddenly become enlightened like this.

"Let me see."

Stretching my arms out, the wind that was somewhat stale since we entered suddenly stirred. It then focuses on one point, my palm that was currently open. It circled around it until a whitish blob of energy was formed.

"This energy. Psyche Energy."

Even the name of this energy was registered on my mind. Is this part of my Adaptability? To understand everything I was exposed to? Or is there a limit to what I can and cannot adapt to?

"Correct again. That's the energy increasing our Clarity. But that's not it's only use. Think about it."

This Psyche Energy was inherent to this Pocket Dimension, I could adapt to it but I could not bring this out of this Dimension.

But as long as I am here, I am control this energy like it is mine.

Collecting more energy in my hand, the size of the blob increased to the size of a basketball.

"I feel like I can control everything here!"

I shouted exicitedly. To experience something like this, anyone will be overjoyed.

"I know that's what you will say. Then try controlling it."

Excited, I did what he told me but what happened wasn't what I expected. The blob of energy dispersed once it left my control.

"What happened?"

Confused, I asked the Principal.

"You already adapted. You have to think why. This is what you will do in the Otherworld, understand the inherent energy and use it to yourself to support the heroes."

I see. I once again closed my eyes and searched for an answer.

This Psyche Energy. It did not have a destructive power. To put in game terms, it was an intelligence buff type of energy. By collecting it, one could use the energy to boost other people or themselves for a short period of time or just until the energy was all used up.

"This is a buff. Not an attack type energy."

"Correct. Your ability allows you to retain the clarity boost this dimension gives. But it can also store a certain amount of energy which you can bring out of this world."

Now that he told me that, I confirmed that I could really store the blob of energy inside my body. There was an invisible container there that could accommodate the said energy. But it could only contain a small amount.

"I can only store energy the size of a baseball."

"That's good enough. You just have to keep practicing. The capacity will increase with continuous usage. Now try to use that stored energy."

Concentrating again, I channeled that stored energy inside me. It manifested itself as a small blob of energy again but unlike before, it's stable. I know I can throw this energy to someone.

Aiming for the Principal, I threw the energy to him. He didn't dodge and welcomed it.

"As I thought. Your ability is truly useful as a support. I felt my already high clarity raise a bit because of that energy."

He nodded again as he closed his eyes feeling the effect of that ball of energy I threw at him.

"It's funny because you're right. I was doomed to be a support. Will this energy help them?"

Right. This is a support skill. I won't be able to use this offensively.

"Yes. Most of the time their Mind or their Psyche will be exhausted. Throwing that to them will let them feel refreshed."

I see. So it was like an energy drink albeit for mental energy.

"Well then, Kuramoto-kun, I will be leaving you here. Use the time until the evening when you will depart to practice and try to increase your capacity."

After confirming that I already understood what my ability is, he turned around and started walking towards that Earth-like sphere.

"Yes, Principal."

If I want to run away from here, then I should just follow for now. And it's not really that bad to have a special ability that you could only see in fictions.

"I don't need to tell you how to leave this dimension, right?"

"Yes. It's clear how to since we stepped inside."

Adaptability. A super support ability. But the Principal didn't think about the real potential of this.

Though I don't know what kind of energy and boosts I will receive in each of their Otherworlds, it will surely bolster my arsenal. Thinking about it, if I went to that magic world and adapted to Mana, I will then be able to store mana and bring it back to Earth. If I learned a magic spell, I can then cast it here, without any restriction.

Ah, but all of this needed hardwork from me. Unlike the preset heroes with preset destiny and ability. They all received a super beginner package that can let them blaze through the earlier levels. Ah, how enviable.

I only had a beautiful girl as my fiance as my beginner package? I still don't know what's my connection with Sugawara. For her to act like that, there's really something.

I better practice hard for now and increase this invisible container inside me. I'll ask the questions when the time comes.