...
The sound of a loud thud awoken me from my deep slumber.
With half-opened eyes, I raised my head to see that the teacher was already there.
"About 4 hours have passed, anyone knows the answer?"
Sounding as confident, if not cocky, He flashes the whole class an overly-confident grin. He thinks that none are too keen and observant to figure out his riddle.
That was not a riddle, but rather, a way to make students think about even the most meaningless things.
Or maybe I'm just missing something? I don't know.
"Hmm? None found the answer? I see. Well then, let me tell you-"
Just as he was about to continue, I raised my hand up.
"You know the answer, Kyosuke?"
He said, still with a smug look on his face.
"Just a guess but, is the answer, yes and no?"
I said, albeit with uncertainty.
Asahi's grin disappeared like a fragile bubble and was replaced by a serious face. He sat leaned on the table and crossed his arms as he looked at me.
"Well, that is a trick question, right? Well, just think back to what he said."
I added.
"What he said?" " Is there a secret meaning" "What does he mean by that?"
The whole class simultaneously mumbled to each other like a bee producing an irritating buzz sound.
Our teacher, looking surprised, lets out a sigh, before continuing to speak.
"I see. Well, let's head to another topic"
He turned around and faced the blackboard.
Then, one of the students raised their hand and asked,
"Sensei, aren't you gonna tell us the answer?"
After a short moment of silence, he turned his head around and said,
"He already said it."
He said before turning back and proceeding to write on the whiteboard. I could feel the onomatopoeia sound of their amazement all in unison.
Even I, myself am surprised at how dumb the answer is.
"Now, coming back to our topic, Today we'll start our lesson, shall we? Let's talk about... Magic"
In this world of new magic, words are much stronger than one would think. Words heavily influence the way magic is projected.
He began writing some simple chants on the board.
Most of them are on the basic line of "heed my call, Goddesses of lightning, thunder strike!", or something like that.
Usually, you can cast magic in three ways, this varies from the magician's overall amplitude and strength. One, if you are strong enough, you could just summon it without any chantings. Or two, you could use a chant about that certain magic, or three, you could use what's called the "one-word chant."
One good example would be our earlier example.
"Heed my call, Goddesses of Lightning, Thunderstrike!"
After using that chant, you are expected to release a lightning formation similar to a thunderbolt, but coming from your palms.
Lastly, there's a third way, which some could do. Those who belong to the "Middle Level" or simply those who have enough magic could do this.
This is where the one-word incantations come in. It doesn't fall under the concept of removing words from a chant, but rather it is by assigning a single chosen word to activate a magic.
Coming back to the given chant earlier,
"Heed my call, Goddesses of Lightning, Thunderstrike!"
A magician who has enough magic and overall strength could reduce this long chant to a single-word one.
One good example is by assigning the word "Thunderstrike". You could use a word outside the chant, however, it must be greatly connected to the magic itself.
You can't use troll words that don't have any connection. It simply won't work.
Ultimately, it all relies on the Magician's sheer magic strength. If someone had insufficient magic strength to reduce a chant to a "one-word incantation", it would fail and not work.
At least, that's the gist of what Sensei was saying.
I remember when I last used magic, I was at the level of using one-word incantation. Though, I'm not sure If I could do it again.
"Alright, now, let's have some chantless incantations."
Chantless incantations. In technicalities, spells are usually summoned through a chant. However, Sensei is at a level where he can chantless magic.
He raised his hands, and without chanting anything, a bright, orange flame came out of his palms.
"This is an example of a chantless magic. This is the standard if you want to pass this academy."
He continued, elaborating examples of different magic techniques, and such.
I feel kinda sleepy, as I already read most of what he's saying from a book.
And before I knew it, the whole day already passed by, and the sun was already setting.
The last teacher for the day finally ended his lesson, and it was time for us to go home.
I packed my bag up just like the rest of my class, stood up, and left.
...
I walked out of the classroom, yawning, with both my hands in my pocket as my pocket, and my bag slung around my right shoulder.
I walked through the academy's hallways and made my way outside the building.
The dormitory manager called me earlier during lunchtime, telling me that my room was already prepared. Moreover, All payments necessary and additional have already been taken care of by my Mom. She's very supportive, isn't she? Makes me want to exert some more effort into studying even though it's a real hassle.
I looked up at the sky while I pondered. The sky was already a mix of orange and blue hues, forming a beautiful divided colour of light and blue in the sky, accompanied by the unique shapes of the playful clouds. The sun was already setting at this hour, I should probably hurry up.
That being said, I promptly made my way towards the dormitory.
The dormitory had another place, just beside the school premises. It was a huge, white building, maybe about five floors. The place has a nice touch of aesthetic to it.
Now, what floor is my room again?
I grabbed my phone from my pocket and looked for a notification from the school.
Right, I'm on the second floor.
I entered the dormitory, with a luxurious interior greeting me.
I looked at the stairs at the end of the lounge area.
Every day taking those stairs, argh, what a hassle.
With unmotivated steps, I began making my way to my room. My room was at the far end of the hallway, meaning, I had to go through like twenty rooms before getting into mine.
Again, what a hassle.
...
I opened the door to my room. To my amazement, my room was spacious and neat, covered with white walls, and a red ceiling, along with some ceiling lights and accessories. It has a computer set on the side, a TV, a study desk, a comfortable bed, and everything a luxurious dormitory has.
The bed was at the end of the room, with the kitchen and dining area at the left, and the study area, with an empty bookshelf at the right side, while the bathroom was just near the entrance, to the right side.
"How can they afford this? What kind of sponsorships do they receive?"
I murmured under my breath as I looked around with glittering and excited eyes. I am unusually full of emotions today. Is it because of these many pieces of riches and luxury around me that I have access to 24/7?
I threw my bag on the table as I sat down.
"I wanna go home."
It's been just a day, yet I miss home like I've been away for so long.
I sighed to myself.
There's not much to do, and pretty much I'm not going anywhere so, to sleep it is.
With that in mind, I closed my eyes and laid my head on the wooden table.
...
...
...
*Ring, Ring*
Hmm...
Mnn...
Huh...?
I slowly opened my eyes, woken up by the annoying ringing of my phone. With half-closed eyes, I opened my phone.
"Mother."
"M-Mom...?"
Half-awake, I answered.
"What's up"
I answered, trying my best to sound awake.
"You sound like you've just woken up."
"Oh, Uhm... Not really, just tired."
"Alright, are you doing well at school?"
"It's been just a few days since I've entered, and it's still just the first day of school,"
"I know! I just want to know if you have any problems there if you have, just call me!"
"Yeah, Yeah,"
"Also, are you making some friends there?"
Friends... Huh? Well, I never thought of making one yet. But, I can't make her worry on the first days of school.
"Y-Yeah,"
"Is that so? That's great! Well then, see you soon!"
With those parting words, she hung up.
Friends... huh?
Now, I don't really feel sleepy. How long has it been?
I looked at the clock mounted on the wall.
It was exactly 10 pm.
"I slept for that long?!"
I blurted out in surprise. I know I am a heavy sleeper, but for just a nap that I thought to be just a few minutes, it has been five hours?!
Suddenly, my stomach growled.
Oh yeah, I haven't eaten anything yet. I believe this dormitory doesn't have any curfew hours, so It's probably the best idea to just grab something ready-made at the convenience store.
Well then, I should go.
I changed into casual clothing and got outside.
...
"Thank you for your purchase!"
The store clerk thanked me as I left the store. I grabbed some noodles and biscuits, with some soda and other juices. Come to think of it, this is also what I used to eat at home... Just the good old cup noodles...
I chuckled to myself as a memory resurfaced in my mind.
"Eek!"
Suddenly, my imagination was obliterated with a shriek I heard from the dark alley just near me. A girl, maybe?
I slightly peeked. Although the alley was filled with darkness, I was able to make out several figures in a circle, like a small crowd. As I looked closer, I noticed that the figures were lanky and gigantic, with muscles and everything. And looking a bit closer, I realized what they were doing. In the middle was someone with long hair, and a small body. I can't really see their appearance, but from my assumptions, It must be a girl.
A defenceless girl, against these monsters. I can't stand seeing this type of thing.
It makes me feel... disgusted.
With a fierce glare, I slowly walked towards them.
"Stop please!"
The girl pleaded once again in a fearful voice. Her voice was desperate for help.
"Stop? Are you sure?"
One of the gangsters said in a lecherous voice. He put his hands on the girl's defenceless body.
I will kill all of these monsters.
"Hey there,"
Their laughing stopped and they all turned around.
The moon shone at their faces. They were gangsters, with tattoos on their faces and bodies.
"What do you want brat?"
One of them said, followed by another one who grabbed me by my hair and raised my head.
Do they expect me to be scared? They reek of weakness.
Though, this hurts.
"Hey! Our prey is running!"
Maybe taking the opportunity, the girl ran away, her tears leaving her tracks as she ran.
"Hehe, don't worry about her, we have a much nicer prey here."
One of them then got behind me and took out a rope. It looks like they plan to tie me up.
While they may look all buffed and strong, they easily left an opening for me to attack.
In a battle, timing is everything. Brute strength is not everything.
One of them moved behind me, preparing to tie my hand with a rope, while the other was still holding me by my hair.
Well, I should probably wrap things up.
I swung my head, backwards and knocked the person behind me.
It kind of hurts, but it's fine.
Not that I'm free,
The look on their faces was of a surprised and disbelieving one.
"T-Tsk, what the hell, I'll kill you!"
One of them shouts. Then, he closed his fist and began swinging several punches in my direction.
They're so slow.
I easily dodged to the side, and upon finding the perfect timing, I landed a punch on his abdomen, a punch so strong that it threw him away from me.
"W-What the hell is that?!"
They look so terrified and nervous now. Well, you all brought this upon yourselves.
"You all, deserve to die."
Upon letting go of those words, I face the remaining ones with a murderous look on my eyes.
I opened my left hand and began exerting some magical energy.
Not long after, the sword that my Mother gave me slowly manifested in thin air through a golden shine.
As it fully manifested, I grabbed it by the hilt and pointed it at them.
"Tsk, you think you're the only magician, huh? You punk!"
With an empty, yet angry voice, he summoned a sword of his own through a chant.
"Die!"
He yelled out as he charged towards me with a sword infused with sparks of blue lightning.
"Seem like there is no other choice."
I took a deep breath, before looking at him in the eye.
Then, in a whispering voice, I murmured,
"Ablaze."
Just like magic, my blade released a fiery energy, a dancing orange flame covering the steel blade.
With this flame-engulfed blade, you are now dead."
"You think you can scare me with that?!
He shouted as he continued charging towards me recklessly.
Well, your funeral.
In a single, flowing, smooth swing, I parried his weak again with mine, sending him stuck towards the nearby wall.
The fiery force on my blade added another layer of strength, which caused them to unleash a powerful energy wave upon contact.
"A-Ah!!! T-This can't be!"
Completely defeated and humiliated, the last guy standing was already shaking all over.
"Now, it's your turn."
With the coldest voice I have, I promptly knocked him unconscious.
...
The next day.
The second day of classes has arrived. Well, I don't think those gangsters didn't see another light of the day now.
After the events of yesterday, I tied them up with their own rope and called the police. They kindly wrapped things up, and I returned to my dorm.
Another thing to notice is that I'm quite rusty in using magic now. Not using it much certainly did plenty to my skills.
Those events aside, I sat in my seat. The classroom was already filled with students, yet the teacher was nowhere to be seen.
Or so I thought. In the next second, the door barged open with a loud thud sound that caught the student's attention.
Entering was our teacher, with the same serious look on his face as yesterday.
He threw the books he was carrying on the table and looked at us with a straight face.
"Now that I have your attention, I want to announce something."
He paused for a moment, and his eyes travelled all around the room before continuing.
"The Seiei Academy naturally holds two entrance exams. One is the exam you just took to get here. And two, the next exam is the official exam, which would be the deciding factor on whether or not you're going to be an official student here. This is to give you all an opportunity to enhance your knowledge first before you take another exam. However, just as everyone knows, things here are decided by the "council", and for this year, with reasons unknown, the exam would be much earlier than scheduled."
The room began to fill with murmurs of uncertainty.
"The exam last year is a survival-based one, and for this year, it is the same. All of you would receive a badge, and that badge would act as your "lifeline" in the exam. If that gets destroyed by some way, that would mean instant failure, which cause you to lose your chance at this school. Now the exam would be challenging because a certain person from the council would act as a "hunter" to try and destroy your badge."
So, it's similar to an apocalyptic scene where we'll try to survive with a monster on the loose.
This would be a great opportunity to learn about the council.
"I'll bring in further announcements tomorrow. Are there any questions?
...
"Seems like there are no more questions. For now, let's continue into the lesson.
...
The bell rang, giving us the signal that it is already lunchtime.
I should probably get some sleep. I slept at around 4 am earlier, I could feel my eyes bulging out.
My head hurts, and everything in my body hurts. I want to lie down in bed so much!
Suddenly, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and came face to face with a blonde guy, a guy specifically with good looks: blue eyes and all that.
"You're Kyosuke-san, right?"
He asked in a pleasing, gentle voice.
"Yes, I am. What do you need?"
"I'm Haruto Sora. We are planning to make a small group for the upcoming annual test, and we are glad to have you. What do you say?"
He points out at a group of people across the room. I recognize one person, Ayane Hina.
Considering that this is a survival battle, a group would be great. Students are heartless and selfish just to be triumphant. However, it seems a little fishy. Maybe I'm just that distrustful? Either way, I should probably check them out before I make my final decision.
"Sure..."
"Great! We're glad to have you!"
He extends a handout, offering a handshake. Although reluctant, I returned his favour.