The next morning arrived and I opened my eyes and looked at the ceiling. I got out of bed and made my bed then walked into the bathroom and noticed a half naked Minena inside, who was midway into putting on her bra. She looked at me quickly and blushed.
"Uhm...Good morning." I said.
"G-Good morning." Minena said.
I slowly closed the door and walked back to my bed then sat down on the bed. I nearly about to use a memory erasing spell on myself, but decided not to. "Sigh. Classic accident moment."
Minena walked out fully dressed and looked at me then looked down a bit. "T-The bathroom's free...now.."
"Yeah...Alright." I said, with a slight blush on my face. "So isn't this the part where you slap me and call me a pervert?"
"F-For what?" Minena looked at me.
"Walking in on you." I said then looked at her.
She quickly shook her head. "No! It was an honest accident...This is your room too, you shouldn't feel inclined to knock in your own room..!"
"I should've." I chuckled softly. "I guess I'm so used to living at home without a sibling I'm just not used to knocking before entering into a bathroom."
"I understand that feeling. I was always an only child so I didn't really have to knock for anything." Minena smiled.
I stood up and got out some new clothes then walked over to the bathroom. "Well I'm gonna take my shower, you don't have to wait for me."
Minena nodded and hurried to her side of the room to get her phone.
I walked into the bathroom to take my shower and freshen up. Today was the day of the semi finals and finals. I didn't have much to worry about, but something about Ibaru struck me as off. I know his Cipher dealt with Light Manipulation, but I know he's hiding more than just that under his belt. All I know is I can't take him too lightly. I know he's saving his true abilities for either me or Ashiri.
After having shower thoughts and freshening up, I dried myself off then put on my clean clothes then used cleaning magic to clean my dirty clothes then folded them and warped them into my suitcase. I walked out of the bathroom and noticed Minena sitting at a desk. She seemed to have been waiting for me.
"Minena?" I said and walked to her.
Minena looked at me and smiled. "Hey, looks like you're ready?"
"Yeah, you were just waiting for me?" I asked.
"Mhm!~ I wanna walk with you to the cafeteria~" Minena smiled sweetly at me.
I looked at her then chuckled. "Alright. Let me just grab my phone."
Minena nodded then got up and waited for me at the door. I walked over to the nightstand next to my bed then grabbed my phone off the charger. I walked over to the door and we headed out, traversing to the cafeteria together.
"If the tournament ends quickly, do you think we can head out today? I wanna explore Olkron and see what they have in the city!" Minena smiled.
"Yeah sure." I said as I scrolled on my phone, checking messages and whatnot. "Where did you want to go in Olkron?"
"Maybe like the mall or or like get some ice cream or...uhm maybe like...go to a zoo?" Minena said as she began throwing out suggestions.
"Hm. Sounds like a plan to me." I smiled.
"Yusuka! Minena!" Mitsuho called out to us and raised her hand.
We walked over to her and Kiruri. Minena smiled at them and Mitsuho smiled at her back. Kiruri seemed uncomfortable, but it wasn't because of us. It was basically because of the sun. I looked at Kiruri then smiled and took off my jacket then placed it around her shoulders then put the hood on her head to block out the sun.
Kiruri looked a bit surprised and looked up at me. She blushed a bit then got a bit embarrassed and quickly walked inside of the building without saying anything.
"Huh. I haven't seen her be that embarrassed over a jacket." Mitsuho said then shrugged. "Let's head to the cafeteria. Get our morning started off right."
"Okie!~" Minena said then walked ahead and entered the building.
Mitsuho and I followed her inside. We walked into the cafeteria and got our breakfast and sat at table together. Juliana and Sumitori joined us at the table.
"I'm so frickin upset from yesterday!" Juliana groaned.
"It's okay to swear, you don't have to censor yourself." Mitsuho said and smiled.
"I know, but ugh! That Ibaru guy is such a pain! Whoever battles him should give him what for!" Juliana bellowed.
"I kinda lucked out that my opponent didn't even show up." Sumitori smiled and shrugged. "I somewhat feel like I don't even deserve my spot."
"Ohohoho!"
"What is that moronic laugh..?" Mitsuho asked.
Dahlia walked over to our table and placed her hand on her hip. "You are indeed correct that you do not deserve your spot! I, Dahlia Aurore D'Amboise II, deserve your spot in battle more than you, Miss Idol!"
"Damn even your name is annoying." Mitsuho said then closed her eyes and sighed.
"Silence, cretin!" Dahlia said.
Mitsuho looked mildly annoyed when she was called a cretin, aka a stupid person.
"I come for only one person!" Dahlia said then pointed at me. "You there, Yusuka Akashiro! I require your services as my teacher for the Cipher."
"Eh?!" The other women said in shock.
"Your friend seems to be a chick magnetic." August chuckled.
"He's incredibly smart, strong, and a charismatic guy with an amazing personality. Women flocking to him is a given." Ashiri smiled.
"You're no sloucher either when it comes to women either." Torushi said then took a sip of his orange juice.
"I mean yeah, my charms are irresistible." Ashiri chuckled.
"Yusuka is already my teacher!" Minena said then stood up.
"Ohohohoho!" Dahlia laughed in her ojou-sama pose. "You? A peasant like you is being trained by someone of Yusuka's status?"
"Y-Yeah.." Minena said.
"That was rhetorical! Of course your feeble mind wouldn't know! Someone like you shouldn't even have made it in this establishment nor should even be in the same presence as me! Ohoho-"
"Enough with that laugh." I said after finishing my breakfast. "You want me as a teacher? Show me what you've got."
Dahlia looked at me. "I've got money, fame, nobility! What more do you need for approval?"
"More than money, fame, and nobility." I said then looked at her.
"What do you want? Sex? My perfect breasts? A spot in my home kingdom in France? I can give all of that to you!" Dahlia said.
"Y-Yusuka! You're not asking her for sex in exchange for your teachings right?!" Sumitori asked in shock.
"Tempting, but no." I said then stood up. "I want to see your skills. To see if you're worth the time training."
"Eh?! You want to fight me?" Dahlia asked.
I nodded and looked at her. "I don't teach people inscriptions without knowing if they are worth the time. My family has a special skill when it comes to spell manipulation."
"Spell Manipulation..? Just who are your folks?" Dahlia asked then smirked and closed her eyes then flipped her hair. "Fine, but to let Miss Master of Arms know, I was simply holding back in the tournament."
Mitsuho's frown turned into a full on glare. She closed her eyes and turned away. "Yeah right, new money bitch. As if you were holding back, just admit I am better than you. It won't hurt your noble ego to admit that you are lesser!"
"Alright ladies let's all settle down." I said.
"Seems like he's got his hands caught up in some sweet feline drama." August chuckled.
"I'm curious about how this will end. Yusuka has never set a requirement for teaching someone." Ashiri smiled.
"Oh? This should be interesting then." August chuckled.
After everyone got done eating breakfast, we all headed over to the training grounds. Mitsuho and the others sat in the sidelines and watched. Dahlia stood in front of me wearing her training outfit which was a blue and black training bra and black leggings with blue and black tennis shoes.
She had her arms cross and looked at me with confidence. "Allow me, heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Volkweg, Dahlia Aurore D'Amboise II, to show you what I'm made of and when I do, you shall not deny me!"
"That's fair." I said then placed my hands in my pockets and smiled. "Now come at me."
Dahlia dashed to me and summoned her rapier then her Cipher activated. She began to strike my energy shield and multiple rapid stabs struck my shield as well then she used a burst of speed to appear behind me and went for multiple strikes, but my energy shield blocked the attacks from behind as well. She looked surprised and I smirked then closed my eyes.
"Come on, that's all you've got?" I taunted.
"No! I'm just getting started!" Dahlia bellowed and began to moved around me at high speeds and went for rapid strikes around my body, but my shield kept blocking her attacks. She appeared in front of me and panted. "I have to go faster and be stronger!"
Dahlia bellowed and her aura surged around her body powerfully then she launched herself at me then began dashing around me even faster, striking even faster.
"Look how fast she is!" Minena said and looked surprised.
Mitsuho grunted and frowned. "She was holding back.."
"Faster!" Dahlia bellowed and began to amplify her speed to become faster than my shield then struck my back. Her eyes glistened and she blew me away and appeared in front of me then began to rapidly strike my body in all directions.
"She actually hit him!" Juliana said in shock.
"She's really good, but what did I expect from a Princess.." Ashiri smirked.
"You don't sound too concerned that Yusuka will actually lose." August said and crossed his arms.
"Because he won't. Just watch. You'll see how amazing he is." Ashiri said.
Dahlia trapped me inside of a large ball of light energy and appeared above the ball. "Lambent Flash!" She bellowed and flew to the ball and pierced the ball of energy then it exploded.
"Yusuka!" Minena said in shock.
Dahlia landed on the ground and grunted then fell to one knee. She stood up and smirked and flipped her hair. She looked at the smoke cloud then watched it clear then her eyes widened. She heard me whistle and looked back then looked surprised.
"Reality Distortion. A powerful illusion technique that basically distorts the target's sensory abilities and makes them hallucinate without fail. The targets will perceive things differently from what they actually are, while Dahlia was attacking, she was striking an illusionary version of Yusuka but she believed it was the real one until Yusuka released the spell. In reality, Yusuka hasn't moved from that spot." Ashiri smirked.
"I guess it's my turn now." I said then vanished and cracked the ground.
"S-So fast!" Dahlia said then grunted then coughed when I struck her stomach sending her flying backwards.
I appeared behind her then summoned an energy rapier then began to rapidly strike her at high speeds then began to strike her in all directions of her body.
"That's her exact move!" Minena said in shock.
I appeared in front of Dahlia then twirled my rapier and made it vanish. Dahlia fell to her knees and panted heavily. I turned away and smirked. I walked off.
"What exactly is Yusuka..? He's practically unstoppable..!" August said then watched me.
"His Cipher is a powerful variation that only few has had before. His Cipher is called the Omni Cipher. A God Level Cipher that has the power to manipulate and use almost any spell the wielder wants. Although he is an Elite Level, his Cipher is probably the strongest Cipher a human can wield." Ashiri said then crossed his arms.
"Hey..!" Dahlia called out to me and held her arm as she stood up.
I stopped walking and looked back at Dahlia. "I like you. So yeah, I'll train you."
Dahlia blushed a bit and her eyes widened slowly. "Really..?!"
"Yep, but it'll have to wait until tomorrow or something along those lines. Until then, keep up the good work. I pretty much am impressed by your skills..~ Can't wait to see the type of progress that is made." I rose my hand then walked off.
Dahlia and the other women watched me walk off.
"He has no right being that cool." Juliana said.
"Agreed." Sumitori nodded.
Ibaru watched me then smirked.
The afternoon came and we all headed to the battle area and I noticed a crowd in the audience stands. Ashiri, Ibaru, Sumitori, and I were the only four in the sidelines.
"Miss Tokichi, why is there an audience?" Sumitori asked.
"Because the Semi Finals and the Finals are the most important part of a tournament! Everyone is coming to see this because this is the most excitement this academy's had in a while!" Tokichi answered and looked at the screen then randomized the matches. "Alright! Let's get this started! First Semi Finals match is Yusuka against Ibaru!"
I looked at Ibaru then stood up and walked out onto the battlefield. Ibaru smirked and walked onto the battlefield as well and the crowd cheered.
"Kick his ass, Yusuka!" Juliana bellowed.
"Y-Yeah! Kick his butt!" Minena shyly cheered.
"Ahh it must be nice having your little cheerleaders cheering you on, huh?" Ibaru asked and smirked.
"Heh, I sense a hint of jealousy in your tone. I'm willing to share but I'm afraid they all hate you." I shrugged and gave a smug smile, just to taunt him. "Y'know, I've suspected something about you, Ibaru and I think I figured it out."
"Oh? What did you find, Detective?" Ibaru asked.
"You're an Elite Level Cipher user." I smirked.
Juliana and the other women looked surprised, Ashiri and Sumitori looked surprised and even the students from our class were surprised.
Ibaru laughed and crossed his arms. He cocked his head back and laughed loudly. The audience looked at Ibaru and wondered why he was laughing. Ibaru stopped laughing and looked at me. "Which match gave you the final verdict?"
"The fight against Juliana. I could tell something was off. You had to have been holding back by a lot and now I understand it now." I said.
"Heh. So you know my secret. You think that's gonna help you win?" Ibaru asked.
"I have a person I have to fight at the end of this, and because of that...I will not be holding back." I said.
Ashiri smiled and watched.
"Begin!" Tokichi said.
Ibaru constructed an energy blade around his hand then dashed to me. He swiped his blade at me then looked surprised when he sliced an illusion in half. I appeared behind Ibaru then he slashed behind him and I blocked his attack. He awakened his Cipher and pushed me away. He dashed to me and used a burst of speed to move around me quickly. He formed multiple illusions and chuckled.
"A little skill I learned from Juliana!" Ibaru bellowed and struck my body then his illusions began to strike me as well.
The audience cheered loudly as the battle began to turn up with Ibaru striking me quickly with his illusions as well. Ibaru kicked me in the air then multiple orbs of light energy appeared behind him.
"Take this! Blade Hell!" Ibaru bellowed and launched a blizzard of blades at me.
I looked at the blades and the blades rippled through my body and Ibaru looked at me surprised. I descended to the ground then dusted myself off and I looked at Ibaru. "Your ability. You can copy anyone's technique huh."
"Heh! Yes I can! I call it the Perfect Copy!" Ibaru laughed then constructed energy whips from his fingertips then cracked them at me.
I vanished and Ibaru looked surprised then I appeared in front of him then punched his face. He grunted and went flying and crashed into the energy wall then landed on his face.
"Nngh.." Ibaru grunted and held his face. He looked up at me then smirked. "Oh...so you wanna play dirty...that's fine."
I looked at him and prepared myself. Ibaru held his hand out then slowed down time. He dashed to me and went to attack me, but his attack went through my body.
"What the- An a-" He froze in time and looked surprised.
I reappeared behind him then summoned a dome of orbs of energy around him. I looked at him then resumed time. "Dodge this."
Ibaru was able to move again then noticed the dome of orbs around him. Energy beams began shooting at him and he began to deflect the beams the best he could.
I snapped my fingers. "Fusillade: Obliteration." I said then all of the orbs shot at him at the same time and a massive explosion happened.
The audience watched with surprised looks on their faces. The smoke cleared and Ibaru fell to his knees and his Cipher deactivated.
"Ibaru is unable to battle! Yusuka moves on to the finals!" Tokichi said.
The crowd cheered loudly. Juliana and the other women celebrated and cheered. I looked at my hand and grunted softly then balled my hand into a fist. I didn't make any progress or leveled up meaning Ibaru had a lower Cipher Power than me despite being an Elite Level.
"He's so strong.." Sumitori said then watched me walk back to the sidelines.
"He is. After all, they didn't call him the Cipher King in highschool for nothing." Ashiri smirked.
"Cipher...King.." Sumitori said then watched me sit down. She got up and walked over to Tokichi and sat beside her. "I'm withdrawing from the Semi Finals. I'm nowhere near the level of Ashiri and frankly I'm not gonna reach that level any time soon without proper training. So please don't think any less of me!"
Tokichi smiled and looked at Sumitori then shook her head. "I don't think of you any less Sumitori. Don't worry. I had a feeling you'd do that so it's alright."
With Sumitori withdrawing from her match against Ashiri, the fated battle between me and Ashiri was guaranteed.
"Hey Yusuka." Ashiri started. "Do you remember our final battle in highschool yet?"
"I remember more of it, but I can't remember why we battled." I said and looked at Ashiri.
"We battled for the title of Cipher King and that's what I'm gonna be fighting for again this time. Our rivalry is still on and I will gain that title of Cipher King!" Ashiri smiled at me.
I had a flashback of the events. I closed my eyes.
「Flashback....」
"This is it Yusuka! A no holds barred fight for the ultimate title! I don't know how you got so strong in such a short amount of time, but this is where our rivalry peaks!" Ashiri said then pointed his energy sword at me.
"I earned this title by beating the best of the best in this power driven school. To be the best, you destroy the best. If you want this title...you're gonna have to prove to me that you deserve it!" I said then constructed my energy sword.
Lightning flashed and thunder boomed loudly. The rain was heavy and the wind blew hard. Ashiri and I bellowed as we dashed to one another.
「End of Flashback...」
I opened my eyes then looked at Ashiri. "I see...I remember now and my point still stands. You're not getting this title from me. Not now, not ever.."
"We shall see." Ashiri smirked.