Boom!
With a resounding crash, Ren was sent flying backwards. He twisted his body mid-air to regain balance and landed, retreating several steps to disperse the impact. Finally, he skidded a short distance along the ground before coming to a stop.
Glancing at the bamboo sword in his hand—now broken into two pieces—he tossed it aside. Stretching his arm, still throbbing from the shock, he grinned. "Teacher, that didn't feel like a Level 17 spiritual pressure."
Fujimoto Hashira looked visibly embarrassed. Indeed, in that split second, his instincts had kicked in, prompting him to defend his vital points with his spiritual pressure. That unintentional defence was what sent Ren flying.
At this moment, Fujimoto realized his back was soaked with sweat. Their brief clash felt like a brush with death.
Despite Ren's apparent lack of strength, there was something about him—a suffocating, feral intensity that seemed poised to crush him. That overwhelming aura disrupted his nerves and triggered his body's self-preservation instincts.
"Ren-kun, you're quite impressive. Have you ever received any formal training in kendo?" Fujimoto asked after composing himself. As a teacher at the Shin'o Academy, he wasn't one to let such an incident anger him. Instead, he felt admiration for Ren's remarkable skills.
"Kendo? Never learned it," Ren replied, shaking his head honestly. He'd never trained in this world's 'kendo,' though he was somewhat familiar with swordsmanship.
Oh, if he went by the evaluation standards set by the Endspace System, he was rated as a master-level swordsman. Not bad at all.
In his original world, martial arts had long been in decline. Though he hated to admit it, the brutal truth was that those he killed represented the pinnacle of that era's martial prowess.
Even Wang Luo—the so-called 'King of Blades,' wielding a company-customized alloy-steel sword and enhanced by an exoskeleton—had lasted only ten moves against him. And Ren had used nothing more than a regular butcher's knife.
After slaying those so-called martial arts masters, Ren couldn't help but feel a certain despair toward his old world.
Now, the hushed murmurs in the dojo betrayed everyone's shock at the sparring match's outcome.
Amid the crowd, Aizen stood silently. Behind his black-rimmed glasses, his eyes gleamed with intrigue. His roommate, it seemed, was quite fascinating. Perhaps his years at the Shin'o Academy wouldn't be so dull after all.
"You mean to say… you've never learned kendo?" Fujimoto was stunned by Ren's answer. On second thought, it made sense—Ren was a drifter with no formal opportunities to study kendo.
But didn't that make his talent even more astounding?
With no formal training, he'd still managed to defeat a swordsmanship instructor at equal spiritual pressure levels. The child brought back by Captain Unohana might truly be a once-in-a-century prodigy.
As Ren nodded expressionlessly, Fujimoto's excitement grew—though it was tinged with a hint of frustration.
Excitement, because he'd discovered a rare genius. Frustration, because he doubted he could teach Ren much of anything.
Yes, he had to admit it: even if he'd been fully prepared and taken the match seriously, he still would've lost to Ren.
What impressed him most wasn't Ren's first strike, but his second. That follow-up slash, which harnessed the recoil to absorb and redirect the force, then flowed seamlessly into another strike at an unexpected angle—it was a display of mastery over force and technique.
Such refined skill was beyond anything Fujimoto himself could achieve. No kendo school in existence could teach this. The theory might exist, but executing it requires talent found only in one-in-a-million individuals.
Was this why Captain Unohana valued him so highly?
"Ren-kun, please take a seat. Today's lesson will start with some theory before moving on to practice," Fujimoto said, steadying his complex emotions. After all, the lesson must go on.
Under the curious, awestruck, or admiring gazes of his peers, Ren stepped into the crowd and sat beside Aizen.
"Ren-kun, you're really something. I've never seen anyone beat Instructor Fujimoto in a kendo class," Aizen remarked with a hint of admiration.
Ren chuckled. "Not even you, Sōsuke?"
Aizen's expression remained calm. "What are you saying, Ren-kun? My kendo scores may be decent, but I'm nowhere near ready to spar with Instructor Fujimoto. I'll have to rely on your guidance in the future."
Internally, Ren felt slightly annoyed. He didn't understand Aizen's enjoyment of playing the underdog or why he was hiding his strength. Was he already plotting his ascension to the throne even at this stage?
Perhaps.
To accommodate Ren's claim of having no kendo training, the rest of the class was focused on rehashing basic swordsmanship theory. Ren paid close attention. He realized that while the instructor might be mediocre, kendo itself had merits.
He began to wonder: how strong Captain Unohana Yachiru, rumoured to have mastered every style in the Soul Society, would truly be? Just imagining it thrilled him.
Of course, he wasn't foolish enough to challenge her, yet. The difference in their spiritual pressure levels was like heaven and earth. According to the Endspace stats, their attributes were likely separated by dozens, if not hundreds, of points.
For now, his goal was to grow stronger so he could face formidable opponents and savor the exhilaration of battle.
Currently, he'd completed the first stage of his main mission, and the second stage had just been issued:
[Main Mission: Stage 2 - Speedrun the Shin'o Academy]
Objective: Complete all courses at the Shin'o Academy within three months and graduate early, setting an unprecedented record.
Difficulty: Hard ~ Nightmare
Reward: 3000 Endspace Points, Asauchi, and return qualifications.
Failure Penalty: Erasure.
The difficulty ceiling was intimidating. As someone familiar with games, Ren understood that the term "Nightmare" wasn't used lightly.
Analyzing the challenge, it was clear that while the Shin'o Academy itself posed no physical dangers, achieving early graduation would require more than following conventional paths.
The Soul Society was vast, and the Shin'o Academy had been producing prodigies for generations. If the mission specified that this was an unprecedented feat, then the obstacles to "speedrunning" graduation would be formidable.
Generally, a member of the Gotei 13 only needed spiritual pressure equivalent to Level 20 to graduate. But possessing that level of power didn't guarantee immediate graduation.
For true prodigies, the academy preferred to nurture them further rather than rushing their development. Even exceptionally talented students were kept in the academy to maximize their potential before joining the Gotei 13.
Watching his classmates begin their sparring practice, Ren fell into deep thought.
What would be the greatest obstacle in completing this mission?