"The next battle is Mitsuho verses Dahlia!" Tokichi said and looked at the two women.
Mitsuho stood up then walked out onto the battlefield. Dahlia skipped ahead onto the battlefield. Dahlia was your typical rich girl who was very full of herself. She wore her golden hair in two pigtails styled in large coils. She wore a blue sleeveless dress and proudly wore her family birth crest on her left shoulder.
"Begin!" Tokichi said.
Mitsuho dashed towards Dahlia and attempted to hit her with a roundhouse kick. Dahlia dodged her attack then grabbed her leg and slammed Mitsuho on the ground. Mitsuho kicked Dahlia's face, making Dahlia release her. Mitsuho got up quickly and awakened her Cipher then energy particles appeared above her finger tips. She grunted and swiped her hands energy whips rushed towards Dahlia.
"What the-" Dahlia said then grunted as she was wrapped by the energy whips.
"Raikin Shock!" Mitsuho yelled and launched electrical blasts through her whip, shocking Dahlia.
Dahlia screamed in pain as she was electrocuted. Mitsuho released her and she fell to the ground.
"Dahlia is unable to fight. The winner is Mitsuho!" Tokichi said.
Dahlia watched Mitsuho walk away and grunted lightly as she stood up. She walked back over to the side lines and sat down, dusting herself off. "To lose so easily to her. Hmph!"
"Mitsuho's Cipher Power is 902. Pretty good and Dahlia didn't use her Cipher but it still got a reading from her fight during the opening ceremony. Her Cipher Power seems to be 893. Also pretty good." Tokichi said then looked at the screen. "Next up is Yusuka against Torushi!"
I stood up and walked ahead. The class looked at me and watched me walk out onto the battlefield. Ashiri smiled as he watched me. Torushi got up and walked out onto the battlefield as well. I looked at Torushi and studied his appearance. He was a guy with short light brown hair, green eyes, and a tattoo on his neck. He wore a white t-shirt and gray sweatpants with black tennis shoes.
"Begin!" Tokichi said.
Torushi immediately activated his Cipher and dashed ahead and vanished at high speeds. He appeared to the left of me and went for an attack. I dodged his attack effortlessly then watched him. He vanished again then began to move around me quickly.
"He's fast." A girl said.
"This is the power of Speed Augmentation." Ashiri said and crossed his arms. "But this power is nothing to Yusuka."
"What do you mean?" Mitsuho asked. "I know Yusuka is powerful, but with such speed he can't possibly keep up."
"He most certainly can. Look at him, effortlessly dodging each of Torushi's attacks." Ashiri pointed.
I swiftly dodged each of Torushi's attacks and blocked one of his strikes. "I guess it's my turn now." I awakened my Cipher and used Torushi's exact Inscription and punched his stomach, blowing him away.
Torushi groaned loudly and flew backwards. I appeared behind him at incredible speeds. Everyone except Ashiri looked surprised. I palmed his back then blew him away once again. Torushi grunted as he hit the ground. I lowered my hand then closed my eyes. Torushi stayed down and Tokichi noticed.
"Torushi is unable to continue! The winner is Yusuka!" Tokichi said.
I walked over to Torushi then he looked at me. I held my hand out then he grabbed my hand and I helped him up. We walked back to the sidelines and sat down.
"Yusuka wasn't lying...1894 is his Cipher Power. He is indeed an Elite Level. Torushi is a good 780. A bit of an unfair match, but then again there is always room for improvement." Tokichi said then looked at the screen. "Next up! Juliana verses Ebani!"
Juliana stood up excitedly and hurried out onto the battlefield then waited for Ebani to come out onto the battlefield. Ebani stood up and walked out onto the battlefield. Ebani was a girl with tanned skin, red eyes and long black hair. She wore academy clothing and a magical bracelet on her left wrist.
"Ready? Begin!" Tokichi said.
Juliana awakened her Cipher and bellowed as she began emitting powerful aura from her body. She concentrated all her aura into one ball of energy.
"Like I'd let you complete your attack!" Ebani said then ran towards Juliana.
"What is Juliana doing?" Sumitori asked.
"She's using her Cipher to manipulate her aura into a concentrated energy beam. It's a very easy attack to pull off, but requires a lot of concentration." I said.
Ebani awakened her Cipher then bellowed and a ball of fire energy appeared in her hand. She bellowed and her eyes shined. "Eruption Shot!" Ebani bellowed and fired a beam of flames at Juliana.
Juliana turned her body into an illusion and the beam hit the illusion, causing an explosion. Juliana appeared behind her and kept charging up her attack. "Not yet..!"
"What was that?" Mitsuho asked.
"Mirage Technique. The way she used it was to make her entire body into an energy clone and moving somewhere else while her opponent was distracted. It takes a lot of concentration to make a mirage clone to look identical to the user. She's planning to one shot Ebani with one attack." I explained.
Ebani bellowed and fired multiple fireballs at Juliana. The fireballs struck another illusion and multiple illusions of Juliana appeared around Ebani.
"She seems to really know how to use her abilities." Ashiri smiled.
Ebani looked around her then let out a battle cry and discharged a wave of flames from her body in every direction, striking everything in the radius. An explosion happened and we all watched. The smoke cleared and Ebani panted, looking around for Juliana. Juliana appeared above Ebani and her eyes shined.
"Luster Burst!" Juliana bellowed and blasted Ebani with a beam of pure energy and Ebani groaned in pain then an explosion blew her away and she crashed into the magic wall then fell onto her knees then fell on the ground. Juliana landed on her feet and held up a peace sign.
"Ebani is unable to battle! The winner is Juliana!" Tokichi said.
Juliana celebrated and giggled. She watched Ebani stand up slowly after recovering. The two walked back to the sidelines and sat down.
"915...she had a clear disadvantage against Ebani's 947. Clear indication that knowledge and battle IQ can take you a long way in battle." Tokichi said then looked at the screen. "Next we have Ashiri verses August!"
"Cheer me on, buddy." Ashiri smiled and stood up.
"Yeah as if." I smirked and closed my eyes.
Ashiri walked out onto the battlefield and rolled his shoulders. He was getting pumped for the match against his opponent. August was a guy with short white hair and red eyes. He wore a black button up shirt with black pants and shoes. He looked familiar to me, but I couldn't tell if I truly knew him.
Mitsuho leaned forward and tapped my shoulder. I looked up at her and wondered what she wanted. "You said that Ashiri was your best friend right?"
"Mhm." I said.
"How long have you in known him?" She asked.
"Since my freshman year of highschool. We were actually rivals back. I slightly remember having a fight against him on the school roof, but we never got to finish our battle." I said then looked at Ashiri. "He's extremely strong, but I always manage to stay above him due to me training almost every day."
Sumitori, Juliana, and Kiruri looked at me then looked at Ashiri. They could sense our bond was very close.
"Begin!" Tokichi said.
Ashiri dashed towards August then went for a punch. August caught his fist and smirked. Ashiri smirked as well then August looked surprised when he was hit with an invisible attack. Ashiri's body dispersed into magic particles then his real body appeared with his fist on August's cheek. August slid away and looked at Ashiri.
"What the hell was that..?" Mitsuho asked in shock.
I smirked and closed my eyes. "Invisible Attacks. It's not a part of his Cipher, but a Trait he mastered. He can utilize Speed Clones to hide his real attacks, but that's just his basics."
"Wait so is he going invisible or is he just that fast?" Juliana asked.
"He's...just that fast. He's moving so fast, his actions happen before he even appears." I said.
August watched Ashiri dash to him again. He awakened his Cipher and used his energetic pressure to slow Ashiri down. He dashed ahead then went for a punch. Ashiri awakened his Cipher then smirked. August began moving slower out of nowhere then Ashiri struck August's stomach. August groaned then was blown away at full speed. August rebounded off one hand then landed on his feet then slid backwards.
"Okay and that?" Sumitori asked.
"That's his Cipher's power. Bullet Time and Counter Force. Combining the two together allowed him to create Quick Time Counter Force, his true ability. The ability is so complex that his inscription is nearly unreadable. His Cipher is called the Self Adapting Cipher." I answered.
"So what does that mean?" Kiruri asked.
"It means he can counter any ability by developing an ability that counter acts his opponent's ability regardless of the ability. The only drawback is the ability can only be as strong as his current Level and below." I explained.
"Whoa." The four women said then watched the battle.
"Heh...A Counter Cipher. No wonder I felt my Aura Pressure on you weaken. You merely made my aura weaker by developing an ability that drains my aura. Not only that but you can also slow down time. Impressive.." August said then wiped his lip.
"Heh. My Bullet Time ability isn't all that impressive since I can only slow down time by 15%, but it's enough to give me the upper hand and turn the tides of battle." Ashiri smiled and rolled his shoulders.
"Let's see how you do against this then!" August said then dashed forward and vanished.
"Speed Augmentation?" Mitsuho asked.
"It's a pretty common inscription to master." I said.
August boosted his speed to the point where he began to use the Flash Step technique to move around Ashiri quickly, leaving behind afterimages. August went for multiple attacks in all directions of Ashiri's body. Ashiri smirked and began to block each attack then slowed down time and elbowed August's stomach and aura burst from August's back. August coughed then was blown away, rolling on his side.
"That's what we call a Aura Power Strike. You strike the opponent's body with so much force, aura just bursts from the target's back and you blow them away. It usually always results in a guaranteed knock out since it causes the target's energy to leave their body." I said. "My mom used to always use that as a finishing move, I taught it to Ashiri."
"August is unable to battle! The winner is Ashiri!" Tokichi said then wiped the sweat from her head as she was on the edge of her seat. "Man...Ashiri is Elite...1878. August was no sloucher as well. 1000 on the dot."
Ashiri walked back over to me and smirked. "Impressed?"
"Meh." I said and smiled.
"Whatever, I know you're surprised to see how much better I've gotten since highschool." Ashiri chuckled and sat down. "August was pretty good, his power seemed pretty familiar but I couldn't quite put my finger on it."
"Yeah.." I nodded and watched August take his seat.
"Alright next we have Kiruri against Chizumi!" Tokichi said.
Kiruri stood up and walked down down to the battlefield slowly. She had her hands cupped together and she mumbled things to herself.
"What's with her?" Ashiri asked.
"I'm roommates with her and she's kinda awkward. She's a Witch and she tends to mumble to herself lot." Mitsuho said.
"Hm. A witch huh." Ashiri said then looked Kiruri.
Kiruri stepped onto the battlefield and looked at Chizumi who was wearing a mage's attire. We watched Kiruri and Chizumi then felt the magic energy flowing around the stadium.
"Begin!" Tokichi said.
"One attack is all I need for you!" Chizumi bellowed. "Infernix!"
She bellowed and her Cipher awakened then she blasted Kiruri with a powerful orange and black fireball. Kiruri looked at the fireball then a magic barrier deflected the attack and struck the magic ceiling then an explosion happened. Chizumi looked surprised then groaned when she began to be struck with a barrage of razor winds. One last razor wind blew her away and Chizumi used wind magic to slow herself down and land on her feet.
"She didn't even move. I don't see a Cipher Symbol on her." Ashiri said.
"She has one." I said.
Mitsuho and the others looked at me and I looked at Kiruri as she bit her nail and had a slight smile on her face.
"Where?" Ashiri asked.
"Her left eye." I said. "You can't see nor sense it because she has it covered and she deactivates it after executing an attack to conserve magic energy."
"You can see it?" Juliana asked.
"Yeah." I nodded.
Chizumi dashed ahead and three magic circles appeared behind her then she fired three water beams at Kiruri. The magic barrier around Kiruri deflected the beams and hit the magic wall.
"Try this on for size! Meteor Rain!" Chizumi bellowed and summoned multiple meteorites to fall down and strike Kiruri.
Kiruri warped away from the meteorites then Chizumi gasped and looked around for Kiruri. She looked up and noticed Kiruri floating in the air using her magic. Kiruri summoned her wand then smirked, looking down at Chizumi.
"Begone." Kiruri said then a portal opened underneath Chizumi and sucked her inside. The portal closed and she twirled her wand. "Shadow Break."
A darkness explosion happened in the air then Chizumi appeared from the smoke cloud and landed on the ground. Kiruri landed on her feet then desummoned her wand.
"Chizumi is unable to fight! Kiruri is the winner!" Tokichi said.
Kiruri walked back to her seat and cupped her hands together. She sat down and looked at me then the closed her eyes.
"932. She's pretty efficient and has great control over her Cipher with an array of different magic abilities. Chizumi is a good 678, good magic control just poor attack power." Tokichi said. "Alright the final battle of the first segment of this tournament is Sumitori verses Fargaes!"
Sumitori stood up and hurried down to the battlefield and smiled determinedly. She turned around and looked at Fargaes then grunted and looked nervous. Fargaes smirked at her then laughed. Fargaes was a man who took the form of a demon. He had black demon horns on his head, his scleras were black and his eyes shined orange. His black hair flowed with the soft breeze.
"Afraid..?" Fargaes asked.
"Begin!" Tokichi said.
"Very!" Sumitori said then dodged a demonic beam and grunted.
Fargaes used his demonic energy to summon an energy blade then dashed to Sumitori. He slashed at her rapidly and Sumitori dodged each hit the best she could. She grunted and sang a note, paralyzing Fargaes. She swiped her hand then a piano made from energy appeared in front of it and she played a song on the piano.
"Wind Symphony No. 2!" Sumitori sang then cutting waves began to strike Fargaes powerfully and blew him away.
Fargaes landed on his feet and dashed to Sumitori then slashed downward sending a cutting wave to Sumitori. Sumitori played a different song quickly then a magic barrier appeared in front of Sumitori. She changed her piano into a microphone and sang a high note, releasing powerful sound waves. Fargaes groaned and held his head, falling to one knee.
"Where is her Cipher Symbol?" Ashiri asked.
"It's in her mouth. Specifically her voice box or larynx." I said.
"Time for the finale!" Sumitori said then a magic circle appeared in front of her mouth. She let out a sonic scream and it hit the magic circle then the magic circle blasted a beam of energy at Fargaes.
Fargaes blocked the beam and grunted. The beam began to push him backwards. He tried to break through but the beam broke through his guard, blowing him away. Sumitori stopped screaming and cleared her throat and rubbed her neck.
"Fargaes is unable to continue! The winner is Sumitori!" Tokichi said then looked at her Cipher Power Tracker. "910, it does seem her Cipher has some drawbacks like putting strain on her throat. Fargaes is 812...alright we got everyone. This concludes the first segment of the tournament! Let's take an hour break and head back here after an hour! The cafeteria is open so feel free to eat up and replenish your energy."
We all got up and went to the cafeteria. I walked with Ashiri and we talked for a bit until a group of girls surrounded him and began gushing over him. I chuckled and decided to go on ahead as he was going to meet up with me in the cafeteria.
I walked into the cafeteria and noticed Minena sitting alone then walked over to her and stopped beside her.
She looked up at me then smiled then looked back down at her plate of food. "I'm the weakest out of everyone here. I saw the scores...I only managed a 157."
I pet her head and she looked surprised. She looked up at me. "I was just like you in highschool when I first joined. Everyone was already practically Advanced Level and I was hard stuck in Basic." I started and sat beside her.
"I find that hard to believe." Minena said.
"Ashiri can tell you. I was the weakest in the entire school, but it didn't stop me from making a name for myself. Constant training with my mom and grandpa got me where I am now and studying with my dad allowed me to learn any inscription I wanted. There's a lot you can do with a healing technique." I said.
"Like what?" Minena asked.
"Watch." I said then awakened my Cipher and used a Healing Technique named Cellular Stimulation on my hand to activate the cells in my hand. My cells began to make my hand more durable. "Use your fork to stab my hand."
"E-Ehh?! Yusuka-"
"Just trust me." I smiled.
She picked up the fork and nodded, but was hesitant. She stabbed my hand then noticed it didn't even hurt my hand at all. "Wh-What happened?"
"By activating the cells in my hand, I could manipulate them to do a numerous of things such as giving myself extra durability and suppressing the pain, but that's not all. You can activate the cells in your body to give yourself a boost on speed and strength. The technique is called Cellular Stimulation. I can teach it to you if you'd like." I said then took the fork out of my hand then my cells allowed my wounds to heal quickly.
"I'd love to learn that from you!" Minena smiled then noticed Mitsuho and her friends walking up.
"Got room for four more?" Mitsuho smiled.
"Go ahead." I smiled.
Mitsuho, Kiruri, Sumitori, and Juliana sat down with us and the six of us began talking amongst one another, getting to know each other and becoming friends. They were interested in my knowledge about the Ciphers and I told them everything that I knew. Of course everything I told them was the basics of the Cipher like creating inscriptions and unleashing them to memorizing them. I still didn't know much of anything about them but they were happy with any information I said.
The five ladies were pretty nice and kind, all coming from different backgrounds and cultures. I enjoyed their personalities and wanted to get to know more about them and teach them what I knew since I pretty much had more knowledge than the average student about the Cipher.