I swiftly dodged the attacks from the multiple opponents in my training simulation. One of my opponents fired a fireball at me and I deflected it away then shoved my lance through their body and they dispersed into holographic particles. The other opponents began to rush at me all at the same time. I watched their movements and dodged each of their attacks and twirled my lance around my body before slashing in a circle, slicing all of the holographic enemies in half.
"Training Complete. That's enough, Yusuka." A woman said and turned off the battle simulation. She walked inside of the training room with a towel and a bottle of water in hand.
I took it from her hands then wiped my sweat off my face. "Next time put the opponents on Mastered Level. I need to push further."
"Of course." The woman nodded.
My father walked into the training area with a big smile on his face. "Hey there, Yusuka! Big news buddy!"
"Hey dad, what's the news?" I asked before taking a sip of my water.
"I landed the new job at Olkron! This is the biggest break yet! I will finally get closer to my dream of understanding the magic code of the Cipher and now it truly works." My dad started.
"That's great dad, I'm happy for you." I smiled.
"Thanks son, but another thing. Since I'm moving, you should come with me. You just graduated Eternia High School Academy and this would be a good time for you to attend a college Academy and I know just the right spot. The Taegiths Academy! It's near Olkron and everything! It's a very large academy with a massive campus and even has fully paid dorms!" My dad said, really trying to sell the idea of me moving with him.
"I think I'm fine where I am. Training until I master my Cipher and go to the next level. There's still new heights I can reach. I want to be like Mom and Grandpa Aaron! They were Master Level Cipher users and I have to reach it. I'm so close to reaching my goal. Well not really since I'm hard stuck Elite Level." I said.
"If that's what you want then this academy is for you! You can meet people who are just like you and probably even stronger! There you can put your skills to the test and level up to greater heights!" My dad smiled and crossed his arms.
I looked at him then sighed softly and looked at the woman who ran the training simulation for me. I wanted her to convince my dad to let me stay but she just gave me a smile and placed a hand on her hip.
"Come on Yusuka. You can only get so far with training simulations. That's why you haven't been getting any stronger. You need real human interaction to help push you to be better and strive. I'll always be here if you feel home sick." The woman spoke and smiled gently at me.
I sighed then closed my eyes. "Fine.." I said in an unenthusiastic way.
"Come on, let's get you all packed up and ready. Charlotte, keep the mansion cleaned for us. We will probably want to come back here from time to time." My dad smiled.
"Yes. Of course, Mr. Akashiro." Charlotte bowed and smiled.
"Come on, Yusuka. Let's go pack." My dad said then walked away.
I looked at Charlotte and walked off behind my father. I went to my room and got out my suitcase then began to pack my clothes and other items I wanted to take with me such as my mom's old book about the Infinite Cipher, my grandpa's old pendant and a few books that I liked to read on my own time.
After packing up and freshing up, I walked downstairs with my suitcase in hand. I noticed my dad was already done packing and was ready for me. I walked to him and he ruffled my hair then we walked out to the car and our personal driver packed our things in the truck. We got in the car and the driver got in the car after. He started the ignition then drove off.
I stared out the window and looked at the scenery. It's been a long time since I've had to move somewhere. I haven't moved locations since the month after mom passed away due to what the doctors call a Aura Failure.
An Aura Failure is the same as having a heart attack or a stroke and it sucks for the one experiencing it because once an Aura Failure happens, it's almost impossible to cure it or stop it. It's like having all your life force drained from you at once and there's nothing you can do about it. No one knows the cause of the Aura Failure my mom experienced, but people speculate it was from a corruption within her Cipher...then again it's all speculation. All I can do is live on for her and make her proud.
As we traversed to Olkron, we stopped at a nearby hotel to rest and freshen up then set off back on the road to Olkron. Once we made it, I got out of the car first and got my luggage from the trunk then said my goodbyes to my dad then walked off, heading on campus. I noticed there were other first years like me on campus. They all were chatting with one another and already making friends.
I walked ahead and looked around then heard a familiar voice call out to me. I stopped walking and turned around to look in the direction the voice came from.
"Hey, it is you. Haven't seen you since graduation ceremony." A red haired man said to me and smiled.
"Ashi.." I said and watched him walk to me.
Ashiri Seken is one of my old highschool friends since freshman year. He was a complete hot head who always got into fights, especially when it came to me. We were like brothers and we still are like brothers. He looked very different from what I remember. His hair was longer, extending a little beyond his shoulders and he styled it in a low ponytail. He wore an ornate black v neck t shirt with black pants and boots. He wore along long black coat with the end split in two.
"So what made you want to move out here?" Ashiri asked.
"I was practically forced out here since my dad landed a job here. If he didn't land the job, I wouldn't be here. Not that I'm saying I'm not proud of my dad, I am proud of him. He's been trying to land this job since forever." I said.
"Ahh, well I'm here because I heard this school is one of the best in the country if not the best there's ever been. I'm here to increase my potential and level of my Cipher." Ashiri said.
"Since I'm here I could do the same thing." I shrugged.
"Attention all newcomers to the Taegiths Academy, opening ceremony is about to begin, everyone please come to the gym at once! Once again, all newcomers to the Taegiths Academy come to the gym for opening ceremony." A woman said on the intercom.
"Shall we?" Ashiri asked.
"Yeah." I nodded and then we headed to the gym as requested for the opening ceremony.
All of the first years entered the gym and we set our belongings in the designated area then took our seats. Me and Ashiri got separated during the process of setting our luggage down so we ented up sitting two rows from each other. The gym was split into two sides and I didn't quite understand the reasoning behind it. Ashiri was also confused on the reasoning.
The headmaster of the academy walked onto the stage and we turned our attention to him and he stood in front of the podium. He cleared his throat and looked at us. "I would like to welcome all the new students to our prestige academy, Taegiths Academy. Being accepted here is no easy feat and to all who were accepted, I am very impressed. My name is Kyomao Fukuyashi, the headmaster of Taegiths."
There were some murmurs after he introduced his name.
"The legendary Master Level Cipher user?" A girl asked.
"He's literally a legend in the flesh.." A guy beside me said.
"Yes, I know you all are pretty surprised to see me in the flesh. I am a Master Level Cipher user and as strong as they get in my Generation." The man said and stroked his gray beard. "To start things off we will begin by performing our tradition ceremony. The gym has been divided into two sides as you all have noticed. When I give the signal, you are all to ride and battle the other side. All who are defeated, will be asked to leave the premises. Those who are still in once ten minutes are up, will be able to stay."
The others began to murmur in shock, even expressing their disbelief. One man stood up.
"Headmaster Fukuyashi!" He spoke up.
"Yes? Speak your peace." Kyomao said.
"Isn't this a bit unfair? We all worked extremely hard to even get accepted and now we have to fight to stay in?" The man said.
"In Taegiths Academy, we value the strong. We prepare you all for the world abroad once you graduate from the academy. You all will have long and hard battles to face out there so why not face them here first?" Kyomao said.
"Come on we basically did all of this for nothing!" A girl said.
"Your ten minutes have started now." Kyomao said.
Everyone stood up and decided to get it over with than complaining. The gym turned into a battlefield of students fighting for their place in the academy. I stayed seated with my arms crossed and my eyes closed. Kyomao noticed I was still seated and unbothered. The teachers even noticed and watched me.
One of the students ran to me and went for an attack. I opened my eyes and a barrier appeared around my body, blocking his attack. He groaned as he took reflective damage and held his arm. I stood up then kicked him across the gym then he crashed into the wall then fell onto the floor. Some of the students looked at me in shock.
"Whoa...he's gotten stronger since highschool.." Ashiri said then smirked. "I can keep falling behind you, Yusuka."
I walked ahead and deflected a magic attack then began walking faster, going into a full sprint and punched one guy's stomach and he fell to the ground. A girl tried to sneak attack me and I dodged her attack then elbowed her face. She groaned and fell to the ground.
The students looked at me and gulped. I looked at them and placed my hands in my pockets. One of the muscular guys ran to me and went for a punch. A barrier protected me and caused the guy to take reflective damage. He grunted and used his Cipher to break through my barrier and strike my face. I was sent flying, but I rebounded off one hand then landed on my feet.
"Who is this guy..? He's unstoppable.." A girl said.
I dashed towards the guy and magic energy surrounded my arm then I palmed his chest. Aura burst from his back then he fell back onto the ground. I looked at my hand then groaned softly. I knew I could take my abilities even higher, but I didn't understand how to break the ceiling that was stopping me.
"Time!" Kyomao said then everyone stopped fighting. "All who are still in the gym have succeeded. Congratulations on making it in our institution. Learn from this victory and continue to grow!"
The students who passed looked at each other and smiled at each other. We were all instructed to head to the dormitory area to get our dorms and rest for a while. We were also assigned a random roommate so anyone's guess was as good as mine when it came down to who my roommate was.
I headed to my dorm with my luggage and walked inside. It was a large room that looked exactly like a luxury hotel room. The room came with two beds, expensive furniture like couches and chairs, a nice view outside, a flat screen TV, and a bathroom. There were also desks in the room just because. I walked to the bed and sat down then set my luggage beside the bed. I heard the door open and heard someone walking in.
"Wow...It's so large in here.." A girl said then noticed me and froze. She immediately got shy and blushed then took a step back. "You're the guy, everyone is talking about..!"
The young woman had peach colored hair that reached to her shoulders, blue eyes, a thin lithe body with a medium bust size. She wore a a white shirt, white skirt and white leggings with blue and white boots. It wasn't hard to tell her favorite color was white, but the way she presented herself also made it clear she was very shy.
"I see. Is that why you seem afraid of me?" I asked.
"W-Well somewhat...You were terrifyingly strong and even seemed like you were super well trained. None of your opponents stood a chance that one muscular guy had a chance but your recovery was so good. You looked like a superhero." The girl said and looked at me.
"Superhero huh." I said then smiled and chuckled softly.
Upon seeing me smile and chuckled, the girl began to relax little. "U-Uhm my n-name is Minena Sebara! It's nice to meet you!" Minena bowed at me.
I looked at her then closed my eyes. "I'm Yusuka Akashiro. It's nice to meet you as well, Minena."
Minena looked at me then quickly hurried over to the other bed then sat down. She looked at me and ran her fingers through her hair. "So where did you come from?"
"I come from Osebus. It's about maybe a day and some change away from here." I answered.
"O-Oh! I'm not from this country. I'm actually from Eplya, it's in Greece." Minena said.
"Greece. You don't really seem like it." I said.
"I actually get that a lot." Minena giggled nervously. She stopped fiddling with her hair and began to feel a bit more comfortable. "Who trained you to fight so well?"
"My mom and grandpa. They were also Master Level Cipher users. I want to reach that level and push even further beyond in honor of them." I said.
"It's nice that you can fight. I managed to hide away in a corner the whole time. Fighting is really scary especially when you don't know how to fight. My Cipher is pretty weak compared to others. I am only capable of healing...How strong is your Cipher?" Minena asked.
"I am an Elite Level." I said.
Minena looked surprised. "Elite Level? That's really strong! What's your Cipher Power?"
"Last time I checked I was around 1,894. I want to break this ceiling so I can finally get stronger, but I don't know how just yet. I still don't truly understand my Cipher." I said.
"I'm just an Advanced Level and a really low one at that." Minena nervously chuckled then sighed. "At this rate...I might as well be repeating High School.."
I looked at Minena then smiled. "You'll grow stronger, healing is an awesome ability to have. You can increase you Cipher and your healing ability can evolve into a Regeneration Ability. All I know is the Cipher grows with you by training your body and abilities constantly."
"I see...I didn't know that." Minena said then looked at her Cipher Symbol on her hand. "Huh...I might try that soon."
I smiled then heard the intercom come on.
"Please report to your class at this time as class shall begin shortly. I repeated, report to class at this time as class shall begin shortly." A woman said on the intercom.
I stood up. "Come on, let's head to class."
"Okay!" Minena smiled.