Chapter 1: Mana Core
Daddy's home! Home for me!
Yes, it is indeed rewrite time.
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Kuoh Academy, Class 3-A.
Rays of sunlight permeated through the windows of the classroom, illuminating the westernmost side of the area, and forcing those unfortunate enough to be seated on that row to raise their open palms to the side of their face in an effort to protect themself from the blinding light.
Accursed ball of fire! Most of the rays were concentrated at the front of the row, where a youth with brown hair fashioned in a soft, shaggy curtain style was exceptionally unfortunate to be sat. His only saving grace being the fact that his black, square-framed glasses were protecting him from most of the onslaught of light.
His pupils were hazel in color, with the shaping of his eyes being somewhat droopy in nature, giving him a rather disarming and gentle look—a person most, if not all would find easy to approach.
His name was Ashikaga Takauji, or Taka for short, which is what the majority of people who knew him opted to use. He was an 18 year old, third-year student at Kuoh Academy. A school that had once been exclusively an all-girl's private school, but had been revitalized as a co-ed one at some point in recent history.
He and his younger sister, Ashikaga Murayama, both attended the school. With the latter being the Captain of the Girls' Kendo Club—and the former being the Vice-Captain of the Track & Field Club, albeit, whether he was a part of that club of his own volition could be left up to debate.
"It looks like it'll be rather torrid today," Class 3-A's teacher, Katsunori Shiba, a middle-aged man with short black hair and blue eyes, said. "Ashikaga-kun, would you mind putting down the blinds? I'll go turn on the lights."
"Gladly," he chuckled lightly, doing as Shiba instructed and protecting himself and the rest of his peers from the wrath of their solar system's central component so they could live to see another day.
Much better, he sat down and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Wimp," a voice muttered, immediately putting an end to Takauji's sense of relaxation. The voice stemming from the person sitting beside him, or more accurately, the person who had been sitting beside him ever since he was a first-year.
She was a bespectacled young woman with a slim figure, black hair styled in a bob cut, and strangely colored violet-pupils that Takauji assumed were a part of some strange cosplay fetish she had, or at least he believed she had—his agenda taking precedence over reality 99% of the time when it came to this particular individual.
Just like how he refused to believe the purple-rimmed glasses she wore were real, even though she had proven to him multiple times that they in fact—were.
Her name was Shitori Souna, the Student Council President, and the third most popular girl in the entire school—only behind the "Two Great Ladies", Rias Gremory, and Akeno Himejima. Both of them being favoured more for their, aesthetics, rather than what was in their head.
Both she and Takauji were renowned as the top-students of Kuoh Academy academics-wise, but more importantly, the two of them had been involved in an academic rivalry that had been going on ever since they were first year students. A rivalry that quite literally every student knew of, whether they had learned it through word of mouth, or through watching Souna and Takauji bicker at one another in front of the results board after every exam.
And by every exam, it quite literally meant every exam. It didn't matter if it was a gym exam, a cooking exam during home economics, or a university-level test they found online, that had absolutely nothing to do with Kuoh's curriculum whatsoever.
Their scores during their first and second-year at Kuoh had both ended at 30-30, but Takauji refused to allow his final year of high school to end the same. Right now the score was 23-22 in Takauji's favour, neither of them had ever gained a lead of more than one point on the other before, but once their up-coming mid-term began—that was when he would strike.
He would emerge the victor!
"You're awfully brazen for someone who's losing," Takauji glared at her, those who were seated behind them immediately letting out a series of exasperated sighs, knowing full well that they were in store for yet another scuffle between the two.
She clicked her tongue, "Way to jump to conclusions, Ashikaga-san." She said his name with a noticeable amount of venom, "I'm only letting you get ahead for a short while so your fragile ego remains intact, consider it an extension of mercy on behalf of the Student Council."
In the middle row of the classroom sat another bespectacled young woman, with long, silky, neatly-combed black hair that extended all the way down to her knees, and heterochromic eyes that were a mix of violet and light-brown.
Here we go again, she too let out a sigh upon watching Souna and Takauji begin their umpteenth argument. Her name was Tsubaki Shinra, the Vice-President of the Student Council. "Shiba-sensei!" She raised her hand, "They're having a lover's spat again!" She had long since understood that embarrassing them was the only way to make them settle down.
Takauji and Souna's faces flushed red with embarrassment, just as Tsubaki had hoped. "We're not lovers!" They both shouted in unison, tempted to hurl something at the Vice-President's face in retribution.
Laughter resounded amongst their classmates, followed by Shiba clapping his hands to get their attention shortly after. "That's enough. Ashikaga-kun, Shitori-kun, we've already had multiple conversations about your in-classroom conduct haven't we?"
"Yes, Shiba-sensei." They both huffed, folding their arms and leaning back into their seats, very clearly still glaring at one another.
Good grief, what I'd give to be young again. Shiba groaned, picking up his chalk and continuing his lesson as planned, praying internally that another spat wouldn't flare up between them while they were under his clock.
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Once class was over, Takauji made his way over to the boy's locker-room, switching out of his normal uniform into his sports attire in preparation to attend his Track & Field session.
Slap! He felt an open palm strike him on the back, the stinging sensation it left behind being all too familiar to him.
"Yo, Taka." He turned around, facing a muscular figure with spiky maroon hair, strangely fashioned eyebrows, a band-aid over his nose, and the sleeves of his sports uniform rolled up. "I heard you and your girlfriend were having another argument during class."
His name was Kineshi Hairo, the Captain of the Track & Field Club, and the person who had endlessly pestered Takauji until he joined the team during his first-year, his reasoning being that he sensed untapped potential emanating off him.
And as most of the student body had now learned, Hairo's persistence was supernatural. If he had to wait outside your house waving a sign for weeks on end to get you to do something, he'd do that without hesitation. Especially when he thought you were wasting your potential, a word he absolutely adored throwing around like he was handing out free candy.
"She's not my girlfriend!" He threw his gym bag at Hairo's face, which didn't seem to phase his monstrous physique in the slightest. The same physique which he kept trying to force Takauji to keep up with, an endeavor that had ended up causing Takauji to spend countless days walking around the campus as if he were a dog with swimmer syndrome.
But at the same time, that torturous training had also led Takauji to become the second-best runner in the entire school, on top of keeping the bookworm in exceptional shape and form.
"There's no need to be so bashful around me," he chuckled, slinging his arm around Takauji's neck. "Just make sure I'm the best man at your wedding alright? You can count on me to keep your children in good shape, Uncle Hairo will mold them into olympic-level athletes!"
Smack! Takauji threw his right school shoe at him. "You're insufferable," he finished tying his sneakers, leaving the locker-room to head towards the field so he could start leading the warm-up for the rest of the club members.
"You can name your firstborn after me as well if you want!" He called out to him before he had fully stepped out of the locker-room.
Smack! This time it was the left shoe.
"Or second-born, that's alright as well." He remained unphased as ever.
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Takauji jogged all the way back home once Hairo finally decided to grant his team the mercy of ending their training session, which had left Takauji's respiratory system burning, and his legs feeling as if a hot knife had been twisted into them as per usual. I should've just taken a cab, he lamented his own lack of foresight upon arriving at his doorstep, keeling over and taking a moment to catch his breath.
He reached for his keys, opening the door and kicking off his shoes before entering inside. "I'm home," he greeted casually, knowing that there was only ever one other person in the house—Murayama.
Their mother had gone overseas to work as an investment banker after their parents divorced, her position abroad allowing her to earn a good enough salary to support both of them with a above-average quality of living on her lonesome.
She wasn't a fan of letting them keep in touch with their father, allowing them to message one another, and meet up outside of their household every now and then, as well as attending school events that required a guardian present.
But never permitting him to stay in the house with them—ever.
Even though she was reluctant to disclose the reason for their splitting, Takauji was fairly confident that it had something to do with their father being unfaithful. Not that he cared to pressure his hard-working mother into answering him, or pursue that line of inquiry with his father. Life was good as is, and he had no desire to complicate anything.
Takauji had been entrusted to take care of himself and his sister, which wasn't that much of a challenge for him, and certainly not a task he minded. For example, his cooking competitions with Souna had turned him into quite the apt chef even if unintentionally, meaning he could easily handle preparing their three meals a day.
"Took you long enough," Murayama, who was waiting in the living room, pouted with her hands on her hips. "I'm hungry!"
He sighed, "I already told you that I had training today. You know how long Hairo's sessions are," he threw his belongings onto the couch, walking to the kitchen and thoroughly washing his hands. "Besides, isn't it about time you learn to cook for yourself as well? How else do you plan on scoring Yuuto-kun with the amount of girls in your grade vying for him? It's important for you to stand out."
Her face flushed beet red, in spite of the fact that being a girl with a crush on Yuuto Kiba, Kuoh Academy's Prince, was about as unique as having two arms, two legs, and a head on your shoulders.
"I told you not to mention that out loud!" She threw her Shinai (kendo training sword) at him, which he effortlessly caught merely out of reflex, a result of the hundreds of times she had thrown it at him before.
The Ashikaga bloodline had a strange talent and tendency for throwing things at people for some reason.
"Be careful with that thing, you'll end up breaking mom's cutlery." He casually admonished her, reaching into the fridge and pulling out the ingredients to make Tempura.
"Hmph, I don't need relationship advice from someone who still hasn't sealed the deal with the Student Presi—"
Takauji raised his kitchen knife, closing his eyes and tilting his head in a threatening manner, the sharpness of the knife's alloy glistening under the kitchen light.
"—Nevermind," she gulped nervously, once again being reminded to never step on that specific land-mine with her older brother. Unless she wanted a dose of red chillies which she was completely incapable of handling in her food—again.
After eating dinner together, Takauji retired to his bedroom, sitting on the office chair in front of his desk and leaning back—proceeding to stare up at the ceiling with a profound sense of boredom plaguing him. Boredom that he always found himself under the influence of when his duties were completed.
Get dressed, cook, argue with Souna, train with Hairo, cook, sleep. Again and again, he had tried to find a hobby that he could both genuinely invest himself in, but also not end up using more energy than he could afford to spare—however, that endeavor had failed horribly. Nothing seemed to stick, nothing seemed to get him moving.
I could just study some more, I need to make sure I get that point lead on Souna after all. He spun around in his chair, letting himself get absorbed in his own train of thought. I could also just go to bed early.
And then something strange happened, a blue light hit his face, the same type of light you'd get from staring at a computer screen. Even though he didn't have his phone in his hand, nor did he recall turning his computer on.
[Would you like to awaken your Mana Core? Y/N.]
Words written in perfect Kanji appeared in front of him out of nowhere, causing him to flinch out of shock before leaning forward and adjusting glasses, to confirm if what he was seeing was actually grounded in reality or not.
What the hell? Did I fall asleep in my chair without realizing it? He assumed he was dreaming, slowly reaching his hand out to touch the floating letters, surprising him even further upon realizing that he could actually feel them, and in much clearer detail than what you usually experienced during a dream.
I'm so confused, dreams are usually distant imitations of things you've experienced in real life. What could I possibly have done to warrant something like this?
He didn't play very many video games as a result of his tight schedule, but he had read a few fantasy books here and there, familiarizing him with the term Mana. A term usually affiliated with magic or sorcery.
Ah, what the hell—there's no use trying to make sense of a dream. He shrugged, reaching out to the textbox in front of him and haphazardly clicking the "Yes" option.
Whelp, that was underwhelming. Nothing happened, the window simply disappearing as he sat there in silence, his fingers rhythmically tapping his desk as he waited for something to happen.
[Your Mana Core will now be awakened.]
"Kuh—!" He clutched his stomach, feeling a scorching sensation assault his abdominal region out of the blue. The intensity of which was potent enough to make him completely forget about the soreness in his lower body, as if someone were trying to create a trefoil knot out of his intestine.
Yet at the same time, the rest of his body was invaded with a much colder, frigid sensation in spite of it being a warmer season, added with the fact that neither his air conditioning nor his fan was on. Like someone had injected ice-cold water into his veins.
It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! Even though the pain only persisted for half a minute, the severity of it was more than enough to make him feel as if it had gone on for at least quadruple the time.
Fortunately, Murayama had already gone to bed, and the walls were more than thick enough to keep the sound of his muffled groans away from her. That pain was a little bit too real for a dream!
He held onto the rim of his chair, slowly hauling himself to his feet with beads of sweat starting from all over his skin—centralized around his forehead area.
[Mana Core successfully awakened. Affinity; Dark.]
[You are now a 1st Circle Magician.]
More prompts appeared in front of him, both of which disappeared shortly after and transformed into one much larger screen filled with a wide array of numbers and words that he had yet to find himself in a clear enough state of mind to start making sense of.
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Name: Ashikaga Takauji
Race: Human
Rank: 1st Circle Magician (10/100)
Elemental Affinity: Dark (Level 1)
Sub-Class: Reach 20 MANA to unlock
HP: 170/170
MP: 100/100
Stat Sheet:
(Strength) STR: 12
(Vitality) VIT: 17
(Intelligence) INT: 24
(Dexterity) DEX: 10
(Speed) SPD: 22
(Mana) MANA: 10
───
Like something straight out of an MMORPG, a page displaying statistics supposedly belonging to him appeared out of nowhere. Causing Takauji to blink repeatedly and rub his eyes, his mouth hanging open in stunned stupor as he once again questioned if he was dreaming.
He pinched himself, yet the sensation of pain felt just as real as it did while he was squirming on the floor. His hand reached out to touch the screen once more, and the confirmation that it was in fact a physical object right in front of him sinking in even further.
I'm speechless, I'm completely speechless.
It didn't matter where he turned to look, or how he positioned his body. The screen would always be right in front of him, centered to perfection.
The screen was real—there wasn't a single experiment he could perform to disprove that.
And before he could have the opportunity to properly glance over the statistics in front of him, more notifications decided to make their presence known.
[Skill Awakened — (Neutral) Mana Sense; scales with INT and MANA. Send a pulse of Mana into your surroundings to get a better read of your surroundings, as well as objects/entities with magical properties.]
[Skill Awakened — (Neutral) Meditation; scales with your INT and MANA. Progressively compress the density of MANA, and quantity of MP stored within your Mana Core.]
[Skill Awakened — (Dark) Blind; scales with MANA and the level of your elemental affinity. Covers a small area with black flog, used to disorient an opponent.]
[Skill Awakened — (Dark) Shadow Step; scales with your SPD and MANA. Create small circles composed of Mana under your feet, stepping on them will propel you in your desired direction. Those with a lower MANA stat than you will not be able to predict your movements.]
He exhaled, falling back into his chair in stunned silence—and finally having a chance to actually comprehend what he was being shown.
I can't believe this, whatever this thing is, popped up while I was in the middle of brooding over how bored I was. Is this supposed to be the answer to that boredom? Assuming that I'm not wrong about this all not being a dream.
He ran his fingers through his air, letting out a flat chuckle as he realized that there was a pretty easy method to test whether this was all real or not—beyond checking if it was a dream.
Mana Sense, he thought of the first ability the floating screen had shown him.
Like clockwork—he felt something cool repulse out his body, his mind suddenly becoming aware of objects that weren't within his field of view, the location of the cutlery, the positions of the belongings in his closet, where Murayama was.
He was seeing without seeing—he was sensing.
[MP: 99/100]
[MP: 98/100]
[MP: 97/100]
The value of his MP started to deplete tick by tick while he had the strange ability activated, the mechanics of which were easy to deduce on the surface level as long as your comprehension level wasn't that of a goldfish.
There's a torrent of equations being shoved into my head—some of which I understand, for example, this "Shadow Step" thing involves an application of physics. But the rest of it? I don't have the faintest clue as to what some of these values are supposed to represent.
Deactivating the ability only required another thought, halting the depletion of his MP, and allowing it to slowly recover. The sensation being akin to air being drawn into his abdomen through the pores on his skin.
"I don't understand what's happening to me, but—" The corners of his mouth started to slowly curl upwards, Takauji finding himself unable to withhold the grin that was crawling up his face. "—I think this just might be what I've been looking for."
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Hello! I hope those of you who were in favour of the rewrite are looking forward to where I'm taking this story, and welcome to those who are just finding it as well! I'd just like to take a moment to clarify and announce some things in this little after-section.
There's a lot of things I wish to change from the old version of this story, such as the needless amount of edge, the villainy that added basically nothing to the story—and the dragon plot that just caused the whole thing to go downhill. So I can guarantee all that's going to be fixed, of course—if you have something else you'd like to question/suggest, feel free to leave them here.
As most of you have noticed, there's now a system—so let me explain why I chose to opt for that instead.
For a story called "Magician of Darkness", I think we all can agree there was a distinct lack of Magic in the original version. Which is something I'm definitely going to fix here.
The progression and Takauji's abilities were all over the place in the last, so I think this'll keep everything more streamlined and actually legible for people.
This isn't going to be an OP quest/shop type-system. It exists to enable him to do Magic, and make the power progression in this story cleaner. You're not going to see some nonsense like Low-Class to Ultimate-Class in record time. I will take my time to make sure everything's fleshed out, and comprehensible.
I want him to stay human for most, if not all the story (don't take this at face value, because I have absolutely no idea how I'm going to tackle this yet—feel free to suggest though.) but I also want him to keep up with the supernatural cast without giving him a Longinus (since this is a Mage story for real this time), and without giving him a golden finger that enables him to fart the world out of existence.
Now if you happen to be reading this on a public site (primarily Webnovel), this won't actually be regularly updated until late Feb-March since I need to write all the Advance Chapters on Patreon, and keep up with updating TPD.
The only reason I'm putting Chapter 1 out now, is because some people were worried I wouldn't actually follow through with rewriting—so this will be here now to let you all know that I wasn't just putting that out there for fun. I am genuinely going to commit to this.
Even if you don't plan on becoming a paid member, I suggest you join my Patreon as a free one so you can at least keep track of how many chapters are out at what time, which'll give you a better idea of when public releases will begin properly.
patreon.com/Accel14
If you're having problems reaching me, or I miss your questions here then you can also join my Discord since I never miss anything there.
Invite Code: wNzT9AEsaz
That's all I have for now, thank you for supporting me as usual, y'all have no idea how much motivation I get from seeing comments and people interacting with my work. Truly, you have my appreciation.
(You could also help boost the reviews of this story if you want, but I'm following through with writing this either way so don't worry about it too much.)
Bye! Bye! (for now).