After finishing his meal, Kazuya arrived at school early and sat down at his desk, taking out exercises to study the math problem he didn't solve yesterday. Of course, Toratoro was left locked in the apartment. Before leaving, he warned it that if he found anything damaged or dirty in the house upon his return, he would drive it away without hesitation.
Kazuya bit the end of his pen and pondered the solution. He had been in university for almost two years, and while he remembered most formulas, the ideas for problem-solving had faded from his memory. More and more classmates arrived before the class began. The classroom gradually became noisy.
"Good morning!" Yuma greeted as he hung his backpack on the side of his desk, catching Kazuya in his studies. Without looking up, he asked, "How are you?"
"I'm fine" Yuma replied. "Is Shin here?"
"I haven't seen him."
Seeing that Kazuya was busy with his exercises, Yuma didn't disturb him and went to find someone else for information about someone who was in the same middle school as Haruka Sakura. Since he had beated by her yesterday, he was likely planning some revenge. Kazuya didn't care and continued with his own tasks.
There was a morning meeting today, and the monitor conveyed the latest announcements from the student council. He announced a series of club recruitment exhibitions to be held in the gymnasium for three days after school. This didn't concern Kazuya, but the noise in the class intensified, making it difficult for him to focus. He had to give up on the exercises, looking at the newly unlocked available skill [Meditation Battle], planning to have a try.
This skill was obtained when his [Ancient Swordsmanship] reached level 5, offering a method of mental training through meditation and visualization of duels, aiming to improve adaptability in real combat.
He closed his eyes and activated the skill. Suddenly, he felt his soul leaving his body, finding himself in a dilapidated temple surrounded by a faint mist. Cold winds occasionally swirled around, and looking down, he noticed his attire remained the same, but he now held a real sword.
He moved his arms and found everything felt the same as in reality. Raising the sword, he observed the sharp cold light flashing from the blade. This was a real sword. He felt a bit anxious. What if there were enemies, and he got actually cut?
A wandering swordsman dressed in a ronin's(a type of warrior who had no lord or master) attire slowly emerged from the mist, holding a sword with a carefree attitude, a piece of grass dangling from his mouth. He stood not far from Kazuya.
Kazuya stared at him for a moment, and an introduction appeared above the swordsman's head: Shintoryu Swordsman, Good at Kashima Shinden swordsmanship.
The mobile game wasn't too outrageous. It set opponents based on his skill level. Kazuya thought and activated the skill [Ancient Swordsmanship], feeling an immediate connection between the sword and his body.
The swordsman on the other side remained silent, unsheathing his sword and adopting an upper stance, coldly looking at Kazuya. The cold wind swept over as the two slowly approached each other. Kazuya kept his eyes on the opponent.
It was his first battle, so he didn't think about launching an aggressive attack. But even though he was careful, he suddenly realized that the opponent had disappeared. He was surprised, but the knowledge of the swordsmanship was vivid in his mind. Almost instantly, he understood that the opponent had used the triangular step, also known as the "space-shrinking" technique. It allowed fast movement to enter the opponent's blind spot and then rush to their side like teleportation. One point for the opponent, one point for the blind spot, and one point for himself. They formed a triangle, hence the name triangular step.
Losing track of the opponent, he instinctively became a bit flustered. Without thinking, he swung the sword randomly, hoping for a lucky strike. However, his abdomen suddenly felt cold. When he looked down, he saw that the opponent had already rolled on the spot, avoiding his possible counterattack. The opponent still hold the grass in his mouth with a cold expression and slowly sheathed the sword. As for himself, he saw a horizontal line on his abdomen and blood spurting out. At that moment, pain set in. With rapid blood loss, his strength seemed to rapidly dissipate. He couldn't see anything andreturned to the classroom.
Kazuya sat there in a daze for a while. If not calculating the time of approaching, he died under the opponent's blade in less than a second... It turned out that leveling up simply skills didn't mean everything would be fine. The game had changed and it was different from before. In the past, once a skill was learned, using it had a consistent effect. But now, it required coordination with the body. Unfortunately, what he thought and what his body did were not aligning.
The scariest part wasn't the slow reaction but the lack of experience. Faced with an opponent, he actually panicked. Although he knew he shouldn't attack randomly, he couldn't control his own hands. In the face of fear, he lost control of his body. His movements were stiff and severely distorted, and he even closed his eyes at the moment of the fatal strike, losing the opportunity counterattack.
Kazuya felt somewhat uneasy throughout the morning. A few times, he couldn't help but lower his head to check if his intestines were spilling out. The death had been too swift, so the sensation of dying wasn't particularly strong. Upon reflection, it gave him a chilling feeling. Those who dedicated themselves to study in those times might have piled dozens or even hundreds of corpses behind each seemingly insignificant skill.
He endured the discomfort and finished classes. During lunchtime, their small group went to the cafeteria together. Yuma, noticed his complexion, "Matsuoka, are you ok? Your face look so bad."
Kazuya shook his head. "It's nothing. Probably didn't get enough rest last night."
Yuma misunderstood and exclaimed with resentment, "I got angrier the more I thought about it last night. That shorty played us! She clearly planed to be ruthless but pretended to have a smiling face. After that, she even came over to boast. Damn it!"
Kazuya was speechless. You haven't fared much better. You're arrogant in a different way! Moreover, even if you take it seriously, Haruka probably has the capability to beat you. Kazuya changed the topic, "I noticed you going in and out during the break. Did you find out anything?"
"Of course!" Yuma confidently smiled. "I never paid attention to the class rankings before. I asked around and found out that Haruka Sakura is one of the top three in our grade... one from each class in the top fifteen, and she's the one in Class C!"
Kazuya had some ideas, "Does she hate me because she lost in the entrance exam rankings?" Just to be sure, he asked, "Who is ranked first in the entrance exam? Did Sakura make trouble with that person too?"
Yuma, doing well in gathering information, quickly replied, "The first is Saori Hayami from Class A, but she can't cause trouble for her... I heard she has health issues and hasn't shown up since the beginning of the school year."
It was difficult to judge in this case. Kazuya pondered for a while. He immediately thought of possible interests involved. He asked uncertainly, "Could it be that I took away Sakura's free scholarship spot?"
Private school tuition in Japan was quite expensive. If he caused her to lose a significant amount of money, it might explain why she was causing trouble for him.
Yuma clarified, "No, she's also on a scholarship. Full tuition waiver, and there's even a scholarship for being in the top ten in the major exams." He added with a hint of jealousy, "It's really unfair. I have to pay for my education, and you guys not only don't have to pay, but you can also earn money."
Kazuya ignored his complaints. If you want a scholarship, stop focusing on sexy rankings or cup rankings, and make effort on learning. He asked with some confusion, "If it's not because of that, then why would it be?"
Yuma spoke firmly, "I haven't found out yet. I think she's just a lunatic! By the way, Matsuoka, what do you think if I spread rumors that the shorty is clearly 145 cm tall but insists on saying 150 cm, deceiving everyone? And due to inherent vanity and acquired inferiority, it led to a dark psychology. She's an absolute danger in the campus, a potential violent offender. Maybe in a few days, she'll start attacking people, and we should isolate her."
Kazuya was at a loss for words. Aren't you the one who just scolded her for being underhanded? He didn't want to go along with such a plan. "Forget it. Even if you say that, no one will believe you."
Normal people would know whom to trust after looking at the appearances of Haruka Sakura and Yuma Uchida: It has to say that the little radish still looked cute. As for Yuma, he fit the template of a standard cunning person.