Spirit Magician, a rare ability even among magicians ,they are capable of summoning spirits. They can use the ability of the spirit that they summoned to aid them. Each spirit possesses its unique ability, from healing ability to magic amplification. Most of their ability is capable of a wide area of effect which can greatly change the tide of battle.
What stands above them is the Mystical Spirit, a great spirit that exerts its power to control time and space. If there is anyone who can fight on the same level with an S-Rank Magician, it's a Mystical Spirit Magician. Of course, they are very rare- to the extent of almost being non-existent. One of the well-known Mystical Spirit Magicians is the magician that forced the world to recognize him as the first S-Rank Magician.
" Alright! Here I go Kazu-niisama!" Hina dashes together with her spirit straight at Kazuhiko, holding a Shinai that is taller than her with both hands.
"W-wait, Hina!" Kazuhiko was caught by surprise by Hina's enthusiasm. He is still shocked by the fact that Hina is a Spirit Magician.
"Shiro!" Hina gave a command to her spirit without listening to Kazuhiko. Shiro casts her spell that covers the whole training room with ancient runes. Suddenly, Hina, who is in front of Kazuhiko, disappeared from everyone's eyes. Runes are scribbles that can contain mana. With the correct positioning and arrangement, those very scribbles will convert mana and use it to invoke a spell.
" Hina-chan just disappeared!? Hina-chan is such an amazing girl!" Kenji was perplexed with what happened to Hina.
" This is the first time I saw Hina's spirit and doesn't look like any other ordinary spirit… and t-this spell is… It can't be…" Kana's impression of Hina's spirit makes her think this is going to be a normal sparring that can be seen somewhere else.
" Looks like these runes separate us from the outside of the training room. I can't sense anything from the outside. It's like we're completely on a different dimension from the outside. This ability… as expected of Asakura's blood." Tosaka tried to analyze Hina's ability.
" Then, that means nobody can leave this room unless we remove all the runes. That's going to be difficult to do, we need to decode each rune one by one and reverse the command on it. Moreover, aren't these ancient runes? I can decode normal runes but it's impossible for me to decode ancient runes. Amazing, this is the first time I have seen ancient runes." Said Hana as she inspected the runes.
" In other words, the only one who can remove the runes is Hina-chan herself and…" Kana kept an eye on Kazuhiko, waiting for his response.
Kazuhiko who is still blindfolded and the bindings on his right leg, trying to sense Hina that just vanished without any trace.
(Looks like the connection of the mana from outside of the training room is completely cut off. That spirit must have created a different space for this training room and blocked the connection between other spaces. Then, Hina must be hiding in a different space waiting to strike. The only spirit capable of this high-level spell is… Mystical Spirit!)
As Kazuhiko predicted, Hina suddenly appeared behind him trying her best to land a hit on Kazuhiko. "Take this!!" Hina shouted with all her heart as she tried to strike Kazuhiko. Kazuhiko sensed Hina's presence as soon as she appeared and softly dodge Hina's attack.
" Geez, that Hina-chan is too energetic." Kenji was pleased with Hina's enthusiasm.
" Do your best Hina-chan! Go Hina! Go Hina! Beat your big brother!" Nagisa cheered energetically for her youngest daughter.
" M-mom, stop that. Please act your age." Kana felt embarrassed seeing her mother cheering like a cheerleader.
" Ehh, I'm still a lively young girl." Nagisa pouted on Kana's remark.
" Hina, don't shout if you want to ambush your opponent." Kazuhiko gave his first advice to Hina.
Hina tried a few more swings, hoping that it would hit Kazuhiko. But all that attempts were dodged by Kazuhiko making Hina frustrated and started pouting. " Urhmm!" Hina disappeared and reappeared when she wanted to launch an attack at Kazuhiko. After several times of the same strategy, Kazuhiko finally let Hina land a hit on him.
" Yay! I did it!" Hina was overjoyed with her achievement while people in the room clapped for Hina.
" Congratulations Hina! You just beat your brother." Nagisa and Kenji felt happy for Hina.
" Not bad Hina." Kana praised Hina.
" That was a good combination, Hina. Keep up the good work. I'm sure you'll get much stronger in the future. As expected of my little sister." Kazuhiko motivates Hina to keep getting stronger.
" Hehe. I will keep working harder and one day I will be as strong as Kazu-niisama." Hina showed her objective that motivated her.
Hina commands Shiro to remove the spell and runes. Kazuhiko takes off the blindfold and the binding spell on his right foot.
" Is this finally the end? This is intense in so many ways. Even without using magic, they're this strong. If they use magic combined with those physical abilities… Father, is every magician in the army also this strong?" Asked Hana who spectated the training session from the other side of the training room.
" Hahaha. There's no way magicians in the army can be as strong as them. Our country will be the strongest and most feared country in the world if that's the case. Well, it's not like the magicians in the army slack off their training. It's just these guys are outliers. Every single one of them is on a different level than a normal magician. After all, they're personally trained by Kazuhiko-kun, an outlier even among outliers." Tousaka compared the difference between Kazuhiko's disciples and other magicians.
" To think that they are different to this extent… and Kazuhiko-kun, the one who trained them… (sigh) I'm starting to lose my confidence as a magician." Hana sighs thinking that all of the efforts she put in to be the best magician is nowhere as intense as what she just witnessed.
" Haha. I understand well what you're feeling right now. That's how I always feel whenever I see him trai-... Ahaha, sorry Hana-chan. It's nothing." Kenji almost confessed how he felt over the years of watching his brother surpass him.
" Alright, let's do the usual inspection before we end today's training. There are three things I want to inspect in your swing. Your breath, mana flow, and the synchronization between these two in your swings. Show me how much you've improved." Kazuhiko began to inspect his disciples.
They opened up a wide space in the middle of the training room. One by one the disciples came out and stood in the middle while Kazuhiko stood in front of them. After a simple swing of Joge-Buri[1] (a swing with both hands from above the head until the end of the sword reached the height of the knee), Kazuhiko gave some advice and comments on each of them after they finished with one swing of Joge-Buri. Then they returned to their place and the other disciple came out to the middle for the inspection.
(I can feel a little bit of mana in their swing but I can't see any effect of what that mana does. It doesn't seem like a strengthening skill. I can see that the way they swing the Shinai is really good but that's it. It's not anything extraordinary like when they sparred. What is he trying to inspect with just one swing from them?) Hana tried to look carefully at each swing from the disciples. However, all she can see is those disciples swinging their Shinai just once in front of Kazuhiko.
" Can you see the differences in their swing?" Asked Tousaka when he saw Hana make a complicated face to figure out what Kazuhiko was trying to inspect.
" No. Although I can see that they have a beautiful form when doing Joge-Buri but that's just it. Can you see the differences, Father? Just what is Kazuhiko-kun trying to inspect from a simple swing?" Hana asked her father hoping to get the answer that she's looking for.
" Too bad. Even I can't see the differences. All I can see is a subtle difference. But it's not to the extent to call it a mistake. It's not even a minor mistake. I'm sure Kazuhiko-kun can see more than just that. Well, the best way we can see the difference is to have Kazuhiko-kun himself demonstrate the perfect form of Joge-Buri." Tousaka then asked Kazuhiko to demonstrate Joge-Buri after all the disciples were done with the inspection.
" Tousaka-san, I'm sorry I didn't greet you earlier." Kazuhiko apologized to Tousaka for late greetings.
" Haha. No worries, I just hope my presence did not hinder your training." Tousaka replied.
" Of course not. You're my father's best friend after all. You're always welcome here." Kazuhiko welcomed Tousaka as his father's best friend.
" Thank you Kazuhiko-kun." Tousaka thanked Kazuhiko.
" Alright! Upon request from Tousaka-san, I will demonstrate the Joge-Buri swing. I want all of you to watch carefully and strive to achieve this level of mastery." Kazuhiko started advising his disciples to focus on his demonstration.
Kazuhiko stands in the middle of the training room to make it easier for everyone to see the demonstration.
" The reason why I use Joge-Buri to see my disciples progress is because this is the simplest form that tells you the flaws in your basics. First, the breath. Give the meaning in each breath you take. A breath used for offensive or a breath that is meant for defensive. Using the right breath will bring out a destructive offense and unbreakable defense. Second is mana. Your efficiency in using and controlling mana without wasting a single bit of it. Lastly, a swing of Joge-Buri. Let the offensive breath and mana flow through your veins then unleash it through your swing." Kazuhiko gave a simple explanation behind the Joge-Buri principle. Then, without wasting time, Kazuhiko takes a deep breath through his nose, and with a composed Joge-Buri stand, he unleashes a soundless swing as if he slowly swung the Shinai without a motion. The tranquility of the Joge-Buri swing demonstrated by Kazuhiko leaves everyone in the training room dumbfounded. A swing with a perfect harmony that won't create even a tiny wave in the ocean.
( Wh-what just happened? Something is not right. That swing just now… I-I can't tell whether it's slow or fast. It can't be slow because it's over in an instant. I barely can see the swing but it can't be fast… because I can't hear anything from it. This.. Just doesn't make sense.)
" I hope you're not disappointed in this simple demonstration," said Kazuhiko to Tousaka.
" No no. Don't be ridiculous. That was the perfect Joge-Buri I ever saw." Tousaka was amazed by what he just saw.
" You flatter me. That was far from perfect. I still have a lot more to learn." Kazuhiko didn't let the flattery get over his head.
" What do you mean, far from perfect? Are you saying there's still a lot more to improve in that swing that I… fa-failed to comprehend? What else do you need to improve?" Hana blatantly asked Kazuhiko out of frustration for she is unable to understand what Kazuhiko described as 'far from perfect'.
" It is. Neither my Joge-Buri swing nor me myself is perfect. Unfortunately, nothing is perfect in this world. That's why there'll always be improvements to make. Just because you don't know what to improve doesn't mean that it's perfect. It just means that you don't know what to improve. That's where our job as a learner... to search for it. Learning is a lifelong process, not just a one-decade process. That's my stand, as a learner myself." Kazuhiko politely expressed his thoughts.
" Haha. I can't agree more about that. But do you need to be that humble? You should take some pride in what you have achieved. Just a little bit won't make you arrogant isn't it?" Asked Tousaka, who wanted to stand proud.
" I do take pride in my effort that put me where I am today but humbleness has its place and arrogance has its own. The place for humbleness is in the hearts of those who truly wish to learn something. Be it martial arts, magic, or whatever knowledge they want to learn. Being humble will push away any unnecessary pride that can get in the way of the learning process. There is no place for arrogance in the hearts of those who wish to learn. That's what I believe is the key to having an open mind that is ready to accept what is contradicting one's ideology." Kazuhiko shared his principle of learning after years of spending day and night meticulously going through all the old books in the storehouse.
" A wise word as always, Kazuhiko-kun. Looks like you trained well both mentally and physically. I must say, you really make me proud to know that you are Hiroki's son." Tousaka gave a big smile to see Kazuhiko's growth as if he can see the bright future for his country.
( Although our age is not that much different, the way he sees things is different. Not only that, his strength is like heaven and earth compared to other magicians. It's like he was born to lead humanity to evolve to the next level. Even a student like me knows that this guy… Asakura Kazuhiko will have his name carved in history, an inevitable destiny.) For the first time in her life, Hana felt lucky just by meeting him.
"Alright, we'll stop today's training here. Hopefully all you gain something today and continue to improve. You all have a good day." Kazuhiko dismisses the training. " Thank you very much, Kazuhiko-sama." His disciples express their gratitude to him.
" Oh that's right, both of you will join us for breakfast right? I'm going to cook something special this time. It'll be Hina-chan's favorite dish. I'm sure you both will like it as well." Nagisa invited Tousaka and Hana to join them for breakfast.
" Yes, thank you for having us." Hana accepts Nagisa's invitation.
" Kazuhiko-kun, are you going to the academy after breakfast? Since I'm going to drop Hana at the academy as well, why don't you take a ride with us?" Tousaka offered Kazuhiko a ride to Japan Magic Academy.
" No, thank you so much for the offer. I'm going to meet my master before going to the academy. It's been a long time since I've met him." Kazuhiko politely declines the offer.
" Ohh, Kazuhiko-kun's master? Now I'm curious who this amazing man is to have you as his disciple." Tousaka's curiosity showed on his face to know Kazuhiko's master.
" Haha. Well, he is amazing indeed. (Though I wouldn't call him a man. After all, he's not even human.)" Kazuhiko can still remember his master vividly despite not seeing him for more than ten years.
While everyone is training in the dojo, the head of the Asakura family is enjoying his morning fresh air and a cup of tea. With a blissful scenery of Sakura flowers and a sound from a TV news reporter, his morning begins with a therapeutic routine.
".... As of yesterday, Japan and China have signed a treaty that halts a hundred years war between Japan and China. Today marks the first, hopefully a 'bloodless day' for both countries. Many citizens welcome this treaty with celebration all night long around Japan. With this unexpected development could it be that we're heading towards a peaceful era?..."
" Hmm, a peaceful era after a hundred years of war huh? What kind of miracle is this? But well, let's be grateful for all the lives that are saved and for a peaceful era that my children can live because of this treaty. I pray that this peaceful time will continue forever." Asakura Hiroki is always trying to take things in positive ways.
Joge-Buri[1] Joge means 'up and down' while Buri means 'to swing'. One of the basic Kendo swings from above the head and stops when the sword reaches knee height.
To be continued….