《Bedrock 岩盤 Ganban》 Vol 1. Chapter 1 ¡°Kazuki! Come on, it¡¯s almost time to eat!¡± ¡°Alright mom, just gimme a second, I¡¯m almost done.¡± ¡°Fine. But you better hurry up. Your food is going to get cold.¡± Kazuki, a 13-year-old kid who attends the local middle school in his village. Ever since he was classed as Bedrock, Kazuki has been training his strength and improving his martial art skills every day. Despite all this, his rank never increased. Kazuki¡¯s ability is just too weak. ¡°Thanks for the food,¡± they all said. Kazuki looks at his meal and inwardly grimaces. His mom and dad are nice people, but they were never the best fighters. ¡°Here¡¯s your fruit, Kazuki,¡± said his mom as she floated an apple towards Kazuki¡¯s plate. Kazuki¡¯s dad sat down, ¡°Work was tough today,¡± he sighed. The forks and knives fell into their appropriate positions. Their abilities were barely enough to support the family, so Kazuki always works hard despite how weak he is. O O O Katsuo casually walked up to Kazuki. ¡°Hey, where¡¯s the money you promised me?¡± Kazuki apologized, ¡°I don¡¯t have it, sorry.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t lie to me, idiot. I can see right through your idiotness.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not a word, Katsuo.¡± Other students started to laugh. ¡°What did you just say to me, weakling? You lookin¡¯ for a fight?¡± ¡°N-No that¡¯s not what I meant,¡± Kazuki said nervously. Every day, Katsuo forces Kazuki to give him all of his coins, and no one can stand up to him because of his B class ability, earth magic. So instead, they try to get on his good side. Katsuo walked up to him and grabbed the collar of his shirt. ¡°I''m gonna beat you up worse than usual this time,¡± he sneered. Kazuki always tries to fight back against Katsuo, but he¡¯s powerless against him. His ability is the worst of the worst, F class. Kazuki¡¯s ability has been useless in every situation, and it¡¯s impossible to make it better. Kazuki¡¯s ability increases his strength stat every time he takes damage. This may sound useful, but Kazuki only has 100 health and 1 DMG takes away 1 HP. For every 1 DMG Kazuki takes, his STR stat only increases by 1/100, which means even if Kazuki takes 100 DMG and dies, his stat would only rise by 1. ¡°You¡¯ll never beat me with that useless power enhancement ability. There¡¯s a reason you¡¯re ranked Bedrock after all,¡± he mocked.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Kazuki gritted his teeth, ¡°This time I have a new fighting technique. I¡¯m not going to lose again!¡± O O O ¡°You can never beat me Kazuki. I¡¯m the strongest guy in this whole damn school. No matter what kind of stupid martial arts you learn, you can¡¯t compete with my raw magic power!¡± As usual, an audience gathers and begins to collect the winnings from their bets. ¡°Kazuki lost, as expected.¡± ¡°No wonder he has no friends.¡± ¡°You sure went hard on him this time Katsuo.¡± Kazuki, after being beaten to a pulp, was left defeated at the feet of an unharmed Katsuo. ¡°Now give me all your money.¡± ¡°I already told you I don¡¯t have any,¡± he groaned, sitting up from the floor. ¡°Don¡¯t lie to me!¡± he roared. Katsuo kicked Kazuki in the chest, knocking the air out of him and sending him backward. ¡°Maybe now you¡¯ve learned your lesson?¡± he laughed. Everyone walked to class, leaving a beaten Kazuki on the helpless on the ground. O O O ¡°Alright class, going into next semester you will have to pick a school that will train your specific abilities,¡± said Tamako-sensei, the teacher for eighth-grade students. ¡°I don¡¯t care about this school or that school. I already know where I¡¯m going.¡± Katsuo exclaimed. ¡°Straight to the most prestigious school in the world, N¨­ryoku High! Actually, screw it! I¡¯m leaving right now, See ya dweeps!¡± ¡°Katsuo, get back here!!¡± Sensei yelled as Katsuo dashed away. ¡°Well, the rest of you should think about what schools you¡¯re going to!¡± Sensei yelled from halfway down the hallway. She sighed before speaking again, ¡°Is anyone else thinking of going to N¨­ryoku? Or just Katsuo?¡± No one raised their hand. Everyone started looking around the room. ¡°Really, no one? Alright then, class is dismissed.¡± All of the students got up and started talking about the schools they wanted to go to. Kazuki was packing up his supplies when a random student walked up to Kazuki, ¡°Hey, Kazuki, what school are you going to?¡± ¡°W-Well, I was also thinking of trying to get into N¨­ryoku,¡± he stuttered. It went dead silent. Then everyone burst out with laughter. ¡°You? As if!¡± ¡°You¡¯re Bedrock! You can¡¯t even dream of getting to Dirt!¡± ¡°You and that F class ability? I¡¯d LOVE to see that!¡± Kazuki slumped down in his chair. ¡°I¡¯ll show you,¡± he muttered. O O O Kazuki headed to the dojo after school to train in martial arts. It¡¯s the only thing he¡¯s good at. ¡°Hello, Sota-sensei.¡± ¡°Hey Kazuki, have you had a rough day again?¡± Sensei said as he was training against a dummy. ¡°Yeah, just like usual,¡± Kazuki said as he put his school bag down. ¡°That¡®s why it¡¯s so important for you to keep training,¡± he responded. ¡°Well, what¡¯s even the point, I¡¯m not even close to being as strong as guys like Katsuo.¡± Kazuki sighed, ¡°If only I had a better ability¡­.¡± ¡°That¡¯s no way to think about it, kid. Training your body and mind will come in handy one day, you mark my words. Now get to work!¡± ¡°Yeah, whatever you say.¡± Kazuki is very skilled in martial arts, probably the second most skilled in the village. But because of his terrible ability, he can¡¯t utilize any of his training. That doesn¡¯t stop him from trying though. ¡°Man, martial arts is hard work, how do you do it when you¡¯re so old, Sensei?¡± ¡°Hey, I¡¯m not old!¡± Sensei exclaimed, ¡°Kazuki, my ability isn¡¯t very good either. You know it¡¯s an F class ability, I can change the color of my eyes and hair at will. The only things it¡¯s good for is infiltration and looking badass!¡± He ignored the latter remark. ¡°How are you so strong with an ability like that?¡± ¡°Well, that just goes to show how unimportant abilities really are. Forge your own destiny! Don¡¯t let others belittle you for your seemingly weak powers! Keep training and you can become just as strong as them!¡± Suddenly, an explosion went off outside. ¡°Huh, what is that? A monster?!¡± Kazuki started to panic. Sensei¡¯s face became pale. ¡°No ¡­ even worse. I can sense that it is one of them.¡± ¡°One of what?¡± ¡°An entity of death, a Demon Lord.¡± Vol. 1 Chapter 2 There was a loud bang outside. ¡°What was that!?¡± Kazuki exclaimed. ¡°An explosion! Kazuki, we have to evacuate the townspeople!¡± Sensei started grabbing things from the dojo and shoved the items into a duffle bag. He slung the bag over his shoulder and hurried towards the door. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we fight back, Sensei?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think you understand how powerful a Demon Lord is, Kazuki,¡± explains Sensei, ¡°just one of them has the power to wipe out an entire village in seconds.¡± Kazuki was at a loss for words. He paused to think before speaking. ¡°But that¡¯s insane. Why would something as powerful as that come to a village like ours? We have nothing valuable!¡± Sensei sighed before answering. ¡°Competition. They do it because they¡¯re always fighting, competing to see who¡¯s the strongest.¡± Kazuki looked at his sensei in disbelief. He couldn¡¯t believe what he was hearing. ¡°So, you¡¯re telling me they kill for fun?¡± Sensei slowly nodded. They both stand there in silence for a moment before Kazuki bolted out of the dojo and started to sprint towards his house. He could see massive flames in the distance. ¡°Wait, Kazuki!¡± Sensei shouted. He examined the sky and saw it, the Demon Lord. It put its hand out and something appeared in front of it. A massive beam shot out of it and exploded in the distance. ¡°This has to be a dream,¡± Kazuki thought. The tears were already flowing down his face making his vision blurry. ¡°Why, why is this happening to me?¡± Kazuki arrived at his house, which was now a pile of rubble. He fell to his knees. ¡°No way¡­.¡± In the rubble, he could hear a faint voice. ¡°Kazu¡­ ki¡­.¡± ¡°M-Mom!¡± Kazuki frantically started digging away at the wreckage. Kazuki¡¯s mom gripped at his shirt. ¡°Kazuki¡­ you have¡­ to run away¡­.¡± "No, Mom, I can''t just-" A massive explosion behind Kazuki blew him away from his mom and into a field. ¡°Damn¡­ it,¡± Kazuki said in frustration. He struggled to get up. That blast alone caused him to lose 30 HP. ¡°Why did I have to be born with such a useless ability?¡± He stood up and looked back at his village. It was practically gone; a massive crater was there where it used to be. Sensei was right, an entire village, gone, in a matter of seconds. A gust of wind came from above. ¡°Oh? It seems I missed one,¡± said a voice.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Kazuki looked up and saw him. ¡°You¡­ You did this!?¡± A grin split across the Demon Lord¡¯s face, ¡°Oh, what if I did? What will you do about it?¡± He put his arms out and stretched them into the air, ¡°Since you are the last survivor, I¡¯ll tell you my name. I am the Demon Lord, Shruke!¡± Kazuki wiped his tears away. Now¡¯s not the time to cry. ¡°Shruke huh? Well then, I have a request.¡± Shruke looked intrigued. ¡°Let¡¯s hear it, kid.¡± ¡°Fight me,¡± Kazuki pointed his thumb at his chest, ¡°in a fist to fist battle no abilities!¡± He put his fist out towards Shruke. Shruke glared at him, ¡°Really? That¡¯s a new one. Usually, people beg for their lives or try to attack me with all of their pent up frustration and anger, but you? You want to fight fist to fist, even though you have 100 HP?¡± Shruke lowered his body to the ground and adjusted himself into fighting stance Kazuki had never seen before. ¡°All right kid, let¡¯s go.¡± Kazuki lunged forward and faked a right hook. Shruke fell for it and attempted to block. He was caught off guard by a kick and clumsily dodged to the right. Kazuki used the momentum from his foot to left cross Shruke in the face. Shruke grabbed Kazuki¡¯s arm and slammed him into the ground. He then jumped into the air and attempted to land on Kazuki¡¯s stomach with his knees, but Kazuki rolled to the right. ¡°Not bad,¡± Shruke murmured as he stood back up. Kazuki prepared for the next assault. Shruke adjusted his fighting stance to a defensive one. Kazuki charged at him and unleashed a roundhouse kick. Shruke grabbed Kazuki¡¯s leg and pulled it up causing Kazuki to fall backward. He put his hands on the ground and used his other foot to kick Shruke in the face. Shruke dodged and let go of Kazuki¡¯s leg. Kazuki lowered his legs and used the force of the kick to spin on his hands and does another heel kick. Shruke blocked and Kazuki pushed off of his arms to stand up and gain some distance. How much longer can I keep this up? Kazuki thought. He wiped the blood from his face. It doesn¡¯t matter. I need to keep the pressure on!He immediately dashed toward Shuke, running practically parallel to the ground. Shruke put both of his hands together and attempted to slam Kazuki into the ground. Kazuki kept accelerating and slid under Shruke to his backside, putting Shruke into a neck lock. Kazuki pulled Shruke down from the throat and threw him into the ground. Kazuki attempted a kick at the beast, but Shruke swiped at Kazuki¡¯s leg causing him to retreat. Now! Kazuki lunged towards Shruke. ¡°That¡¯s not gonna work a second time, kid!¡± Shruke kicked at Kazuki who was still dashing to Shruke at full speed. But this time, Kazuki jumped and spun to gain momentum for a kick, then slammed his heel into Shruke¡¯s head. Shruke stumbled backwards, grabbing the side of his head. ¡°You know, you really surprised me,¡± he chuckled, rubbing his now injured head, ¡°I never knew there was someone besides him who was this good at martial arts! And because you¡¯re this talented, I¡¯ll kill you with the strongest attack in my arsenal.¡± Kazuki put his hands in front of him, ¡°Wait, that¡¯s breaking the rules! And, who¡¯s hi-¡± A black magic circle appeared in front of Shurke. ¡°This is my ultimate spell! ¡ºDemonic Rupture¡»¡± Something that appeared to be a black beam discharged from Shruke¡¯s magic circle, instantly penetrating Kazuki¡¯s chest. ¡°GUAAAAAAH!¡± There was a massive hole in Kazuki¡¯s torso and his shirt became drenched in blood. Kazuki fell to the ground and the last thing he saw was a number. A number that read, 190,000. Vol. 1 Chapter 3 ¡­ ¡­ ¡ºDivine Reawakening¡» The ground started to rumble with the pure power of the spell. The man in a white and gold robe holding a staff of sorts stood up from the rubble of the village. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here before anyone finds out we used this.¡± Another man in a white robe nodded, ¡°Yes if the council found out we¡¯d be in a heap of trouble.¡± O O O His eyes slowly opened as he adjusted to the bright lights above him. ¡°W-What¡¯s going on?¡± Kazuki muttered. ¡°Finally, you¡¯re awake,¡± said a voice. ¡°Huh? Where am I¡­?¡± questioned Kazuki as he looked around the room. ¡°You¡¯re in a hospital, I found you lying on the ground by a village,¡± said the mysterious individual. ¡°Who are you? What happened to my village?¡± Kazuki sat up and looked at the girl. She had green eyes and blonde hair with a blue hair tie streaming down the back. ¡°To answer your first question, my name is Ari, you¡¯ve been unconscious for a while. As for the latter, this hospital is... North of your village,¡± Ari pointed in the direction of what Kazuki presumed to be his village. ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you, Ari,¡± Kazuki said as he quickly got up and out of bed, ¡°but I have to go save my everyone!¡± Ari stood up. ¡°Slow down a bit! You¡¯ve been asleep for 3 days, don¡¯t just climb out of bed like that.¡± Kazuki ignored Ari and bolted out of the room to his village. ¡°Hey what the¡­? Come back here, I don¡¯t even know your name!¡± O O O Kazuki came across a giant crater where his village used to be.¡°N-No¡­ this¡­ this can¡¯t be real!¡± He fell to his knees. ¡°Why, WHY WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME!!!¡± Kazuki howled, striking the ground in anger. A massive crack formed in the ground where he punched. ¡°Wha-¡± He backed away slowly, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± He looked down at his hand, unscathed, steam coming off of it. ¡°Mom¡­ Dad¡­ Sensei¡­,¡± Kazuki cried as he looked around the desolate crater, ¡°someone, help¡­.¡± While still processing what happened, he heard a voice in the distance. ¡°How did you get here so fast?!¡± Ari called as she ran toward Kazuki. Kazuki wiped his eyes, ¡°Why did you follow me?¡±If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Ari paused while speaking to take breaths, ¡°You¡¯re injured! And I didn¡¯t even catch your name.¡± ¡°It¡¯s Kazuki,¡± he said looking at the remains of his village. ¡°How did this even happen? I mean, this place is insmithereens.¡± Kazuki scowled at the thought of him, ¡°It was a Demon Lord. He annihilated my village in a matter of seconds, my family included¡­.¡± Ari was shocked at his response. ¡°That¡¯s terrible. I¡¯ve never seen a Demon Lord, but I¡¯ve heard stories. It must be hard losing your family.¡± Kazuki sniffled, ¡°I don¡¯t even know where to go now. My whole life was in this village. But now¡­,¡± he sighs and turns so Ari can¡¯t see his tears. ¡°Well, I¡¯m applying for a school called N¨­ryoku Highschool, maybe we could go together?¡± Ari said as she smiled. ¡°N¨­ryoku High, I want to go there, but I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m good enough to apply,¡± Kazuki mumbled, talking into his hands. Ari walked up to him. ¡°Listen, Kazuki,¡± Ari said in a kind voice. ¡°I know this is hard for you. Loss always is. But what separates you from everyone else is how you push through it.¡± Ari put her hand out to Kazuki. ¡°It¡¯ll be hard at first, but I promise I¡¯ll help the best I can,¡± Ari said. "After all, I am the one who found you." Kazuki grabbed her hand and got up. ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± he said as he wiped the tears away from his face. ¡°I will get better, for my family, and I¡¯m going to get into N¨­ryoku High, no matter what!¡± O O O Ari and Kazuki started to walk back to the hospital and planned what they were going to do from there. ¡°We can gather supplies like water and food from the hospital,¡± said Kazuki. ¡°Oh shoot, I just realized I don¡¯t have any coins.¡± He grumbled, leaning back and put his hands over his face. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s no problem,¡± said Ari. ¡°I don¡¯t like telling people this, but I come from a noble family. My parents gave me coinsfor the trip to school.¡± Kazuki glared at her. ¡°So you¡¯re a noble? That explains a few things.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Ari queried. Kazuki started counting on his fingers, ¡°Well, first off, you¡¯re clothes are the fanciest I¡¯ve seen. Second, you speak formally for a kid, and third, the way look is way different.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with the way I look?!¡± Ari said angrily. Kazuki put his hands up in defense, ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant! I mean you look¡­ prettier than all of the girls I¡¯ve seen.¡± Her face became flushed, ¡°O-Oh. Sorry, I got the wrong idea.¡± ¡°Yeah, no problem,¡± Kazuki replied. It went silent for a few seconds. Ari coughed, ¡°Well, once we get back, I can get us food and other things.¡± O O O When theyarrived at the hospital the staff was scurrying around attempting to figure out what had happened to him. A doctor ran up to Kazuki, ¡°It¡¯s him! It¡¯s him!¡± He grabbed Kazuki by the shoulders and stared him dead in the eye, ¡°What were you thinking running off like that?¡± Ari spoke for Kazuki, ¡°He was just confused because he¡¯d been sleeping for so long. He¡¯s fine now though, I talked to him for a while.¡± The doctor turned to her, ¡°Thank you so much young miss. I hope this boy wasn¡¯t much trouble for you.¡± Kazuki walked up to the hospital room and laid down on the bed. I woke up around one and it¡¯s already night time. This has been a long day. Ari stepped into the room for a moment. ¡°I¡¯ll come to get you in the morning. We can leave when you¡¯re ready.¡± ¡°Thank, for everything,¡± said Kazuki. She smiled, ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± Kazuki turned the lights off and pulled the covers over himself. So much had happened in such a short amount of time. He barely got any sleep that night. Vol. 1 Chapter 4 ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go!¡± Ari exclaimed, standing at the door in excitement. She tightened the strap on her bag, ready to go. Kazuki yawned as he got out of the hospital bed, ¡°Alright, alright, I¡¯m coming.¡± Since Kazuki had no coins, he stayed another night in the hospital for free. Ari started to walk out of the room. ¡°Well hurry up. I want to get there as soon as possible!¡± ¡°Whatever you say,¡± Kazuki scratched his head then turned to her. ¡°By the way, do you even know where the high school is?¡± Ari glared at him. ¡°I¡¯m going to enroll there, of course I know where it is.¡± Kazuki shrugged, ¡°Alright, whatever you say.¡± Ari pouted, ¡±What''s that supposed to mean!¡± O O O It was only thirty minutes before Ari started to complain. ¡°This is taking too long,¡± Ari whined. ¡°If we don¡¯t hurry, the exams will start without us!¡± Sweat dripped down Kazuki''s face as he smiled, "I don''t think the exams are going to start that soon. And can¡¯t your air magic go faster than this?¡± ¡°Sorry, I''m not able to use it for a long period of time. It really drains my mana,¡± Ari explained. ¡°Well, either way, we should make it there on time," Kazuki reassured. ¡°Yes, I guess you''re right,¡± Ari replied. The expression on her face suddenly morphed into one of worry. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s that up there?¡± Kazuki pointed at several figures on the horizon, all of which were quickly approaching them. ¡°They look like adventurers, and it seems as if they¡¯re riding horses. Maybe they can help us get to school faster?¡± Ari said hopefully, squinting into the distance. As the band of travelers came closer, Kazuki noticed some features that seemed to suggest otherwise. Crap.¡°Ari, these guys don¡¯t look like adventurers. Look at all the weapons they have, and the stuff they¡¯re wearing. We may have to fight them.¡±At this point, the figures were closing in on their location. ¡°Bandits? Why would they be going after us?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± responded Kazuki, ¡°but make sure you don¡¯t let your guard down.¡± The figures stopped as they reached their location. One of them jumped off his horse landing a few meters away from Ari and Kazuki. ¡°Excuse me, young travelers, it appears to me that you have valuables in those bags of yours.¡± He pointed to the bags that Ari had been carrying with her air magic. ¡°How do you know what we have in our bags?¡± questioned Ari looking at the stranger who stood before her. He smiled, ¡°That¡¯s not important, what is important is that you give us everything in those bags this instant. Fulfill this simple request and no one has to get hurt.¡± He held up a strange metal box with a hole in the center and pointed it at them. Ari stepped back. She was frozen with fear. Kazuki grabbed her shoulder and pulled Ari behind him.Stolen novel; please report. ¡°Listen, we don¡¯t want any trouble. Just leave us alone no one gets hurt,¡± Kazuki said. It was silent for a second, then the bandits burst out with laughter. The leader was attempting to hold back his chuckle, ¡°No one gets hurt? Look at this! He actually believes he can defeat us!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Kazuki. I forgot to go around this area in my excitement,¡± Ari muttered guiltily. Kazuki cursed under his breath before looking at Ari reassuringly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯re going to be fine. C¡¯mon, think of this as training.¡± Ari nodded, before staring determinedly at the thieves. They were badly outnumbered, and all of the bandits most likely had strong abilities. Well, it¡¯s as good a time as any to test out my powers. Kazuki adjusted his stance. He was about to rush towards the bandit leader when he heard Ari let out a shrill scream. Kazuki spun around, ¡°Ari!¡± Somehow, a bandit got a hold of her and was holding her captive. ¡°Let go of her!¡± ¡°Sure, if you come with us.¡± The bandit said smugly. Kazuki gritted his teeth. He looked at Ari. Her eyes were wide with fear. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll go, but release her first.¡± The bandit shrugged, ¡°Okay then.¡± Kazuki felt a sharp pain on his neck and everything went dark. O O O The bandits threw Ari into one of their tents. ¡°You won¡¯t get away with this!¡± Ari said bitterly. The leader cackled, ¡°Oh, and who''s going to stop us? Your friend is dead. He was hit by our best fighter, Creed.¡± Ari gasped. It wasn¡¯t possible, surely they hadn¡¯t really killed him¡­ right? He started to walk away, then turned his head and said, ¡°By the way, these tents block magic, so don¡¯t even think of trying to use yours.¡± She gritted her teeth. I have to get out of here. O O O Kazuki jolted awake. ¡°Ari!¡± After rushing to get up and run after her, Kazuki realized he had no idea where the bandits had gone. Good thing that guy only hit a pressure point to knock me out. If he hit a vital spot I definitely would have died. ¡°Well, I guess I should check the forest first. It is the best place to hide in this area.¡± Kazuki headed toward the woods, unaware that he was being watched. ¡°Damn it. I have no idea where she could be,¡± Kazuki said to himself, pushing though tree branches. A voice came from the forest. ¡°You know, it can¡¯t be good talking to yourself like that.¡± Kazuki spun around, surprised someone was listening to him. ¡°Who¡¯s there? Show yourself!¡± he yelled, but he couldn¡¯t find anyone behind him either. ¡°I¡¯m up here.¡± A person dropped from the tree above Kazuki, landing in front of him. It appeared to be a human-raccoon hybrid, around Kazuki¡¯s age. He had brown hair and brown eyes, with two raccoon-like ears on his head. Kazuki lept back with shock and looked warily at the strange being. ¡°Wh-who are you? What do you want?¡± he stammered. The raccoon-human yawned. ¡°I¡¯m Shiki and I¡¯m here because this is my home.¡± ¡°You live in the woods?¡± Kazuki having recovered from his shock, now looked at Shiki with a renewed interest. He had heard stories about forest creatures from his parents but had never seen one up close before. ¡°Yeah, this is the territory of the Tanuki. I¡¯m supposed to be looking out for trespassers.¡± Kazuki reminded himself of the danger Ari was in and regained his focus. ¡°Look, none of this matters right now, my friend is in serious trouble! She¡¯s been kidnapped by bandits!¡± ¡°Oh, well if that¡¯s the problem then I don¡¯t care. We aren¡¯t supposed to mess with humans.¡± Kazuki scowled at Shiki, ¡°I don¡¯t care if you aren¡¯t going to help me, but don¡¯t talk about my friend like that.¡± He started to walk into the forest, in his pursuit of Ari. Kazuki turned to walk back into the forest but suddenly heard Shiki call out to him. ¡°Wait I know where the bandits are. I can take you to them.¡± He sighed and turned around. ¡°What¡¯s with the sudden change of heart?¡± ¡°Those bandits have been here for the past five days. No one in our home cares enough to do anything about it, because they stay away from humans. But I can¡¯t stand their presence, so I¡¯ll help you drive them out.¡± He looked at Kazuki hopefully. Kazuki smiled and gestured in front of himself. ¡°Show me where the bandits are.¡± Shiki grinned, ¡°You got it!¡± Vol. 1 Chapter 5 Shiki crept up beside Kazuki, ¡°Okay, be quiet we¡¯re almost there.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t even talking,¡± he replied. They had been walking for around a while, and he was starting to get tired of Shiki¡¯s constant chatter. ¡°This is so exciting! I¡¯ve never been on an adventure like this before!¡± Shiki exclaimed. ¡°I thought we were supposed to be quiet,¡± Kazuki sighed. In the distance, they could see the outlines of many tents. The bandit camp. ¡°Now that we¡¯re close I guess it¡¯s a good a time as any to ask you. What¡¯s the plan when we get there?¡± Shiki queried, looking at Kazuki with interest. Obviously, Kazuki¡¯s smart, so he should have a plan. ¡°Wait, you mean you don¡¯t already have one,¡± Kazuki replied looking at Shiki quizzically. He¡¯s the one who had been talking about how they were going to destroy the bandits this whole time. Obviously, he has a pretty good plan. ¡°You really don¡¯t have any idea on what to do?¡± Shiki looked at Kazuki incredulously. He thought this might have been one of Shiki¡¯s weird jokes, but he really didn''t have a plan. He shook his head. ¡°Look, clearly neither of us knows what we¡¯re doing, so let¡¯s just sneak in and out as best as we can. Okay?¡± They were both right outside of the bandit camp, so they crouched in a bush a ways away from one of the tents. ¡°No, that¡¯s a terrible idea,¡± Shiki whispered, hiding next to him. Kazuki crouched into place.¡°Really? Then what¡¯s yours?¡± Shiki looked at Kazuki triumphantly, ¡°March in and take them all on. It¡¯s way faster and easier than your stealth mission.¡± Kazuki sighed again. How had he ended up in this position? ¡°Do you really think we can take on that many bandits? These guys are grown men, and we¡¯re just two kids.¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Shiki cried, ¡°We can take them all on, easy. Are you really that unconfident about your own abilities?¡± Kazuki thought hard. On one hand, he could let Shiki go in and get captured, but there was no guarantee they would even spare him. He knew Shiki was never going to follow his plan, but could he really do something so reckless? He turned to look at Shiki, ¡°Well, if you really aren¡¯t going to change your mind, I might as well come with you.¡± Kazuki stood up from their hiding spot. ¡°All right!¡± Shiki got up next to Kazuki, ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about!¡± ¡°Hey! What are you kids doing here?¡± One of the bandits had just exited a tent near the two, spotting them. ¡°Crap, they already found us?!¡± Kazuki turned and ran. He put his hand up, ¡°Good luck, Shiki!¡± Shiki grinned. ¡°Time to show you what I can really do.¡± O O O There are so many tents! How am I gonna find out which one Ari¡¯s in? Everyone¡¯s focused on Shiki right now, so I should be able to hide for a short while. I can probably take them out a few bandits at a time, but I have no idea how I¡¯d fare against a large group.¡± Someone started to yell from a tent near Kazuki, ¡°Quiet down, you nuisance!¡± He stopped dead in his tracks. Shoot. Did they see me? The guy kept talking, ¡°We¡¯re having a little trouble out here with some brats, the last thing I need is your nonsense to top it off.¡± Kazuki let out a sigh of relief. Perfect. Kazuki heard a girl¡¯s voice, about his age, but definitely not Ari¡¯s. She was crying. ¡°Please, don¡¯t.¡± You could hear someone fall. ¡°Tch, just shut up, kid.¡± The man walked away.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Who¡¯s that? I thought the only person other than bandits here was Ari? Now there¡¯s someone else? This certainly complicates things. ¡°Oh? Well isn¡¯t this a nice little surprise.¡± Kazuki spun around and saw the bandit leader standing behind him. Damn it I was careless! He just stood there and looked at the leader, not knowing what to say. The bandit leader smirked, ¡°I¡¯m surprised. You come back from the dead, and the first thing you do is hobble on over to our camp? I mean, it¡¯s as if you want to die!¡± He threw a punch at Kazuki, aiming for his face. Luckily, the leader wasn¡¯t fast enough and Kazuki dodged then punched him with all his might. What he didn¡¯t expect was how far the leader be sent back. Instead of falling over and clenching his stomach, (which is what Kazuki expected), he sent the leader flying at least a hundred meters back through multiple tents leaving some very surprised bandits in his wake. The bandit leader hit a tree groaning in agony before passing out. Kazuki gawked at the damage left from his punch. How high could my strength stat be?! He flexed his hand a few times in disbelief, before clenching his fingers into a fist. I finally have the power I¡¯ve always wanted! But how did I get this strong? Did it have something to do with Shruke? Kazuki looked around, the bandits in shock. I can think about this later. Right now I need to worry about fighting. ¡°Who¡¯s next?¡± he said. ¡°I am,¡± said a voice from behind Kazuki. He turned around to someone swinging a thin blade at his throat. He quickly put both of his arms up successively blocking the attacker¡¯s forearm with his two wrists. Kazuki quickly grabbed the person¡¯s arm and swung him around into a headlock. He looked at the guy realizing who he was. ¡°You¡¯re the guy that knocked me out earlier!¡± He laughed, ¡°This time it¡¯ll be way worse than being knocked out.¡± The guy slipped out of Kazuki¡¯s grasp turning pitch black as he fell into the ground, slipping behind Kazuki¡¯s field of vision. He had become a shadow. As Kazuki looked on in shock, a different voice yelled out behind him, ¡°¡ºFlame Burst¡»¡± ¡°Oh shoo-¡± He jumped nearly twenty meters into the air, dodging the attack. A massive flare surged underneath him. ¡°Never let your guard down in a fight.¡± The shadow person lunged at Kazuki from behind with his kunai. Kazuki grabbed his arm and took the kunai using a disarming technique Sensei had taught him. ¡°Take this!¡± Kazuki wheel kicked the shadow guy into the nearby woods destroying several trees on impact. Kazuki then fell to the ground landing the rubble of the fire attack. This is crazy! I can¡¯t believe I have so much power! Kazuki put the kunai in his back pocket, leaving a hole in the bottom as a holding place so he could use it later. ¡°¡ºWater Slicer¡»,¡± someone cried. Kazuki turned around to see a curved blade of water racing towards him, and dodged to the right, ¡°I almost forgot about you. I didn¡¯t think there would be a bandit who could use both fire and water magic.¡± ¡°Tch!¡± The bandit cursed and ran back into the camp. He¡¯s going for backup, I¡¯d better go check what¡¯s going on in that tent. Kazuki ran back to the tent where he had heard that girl scream. O O O The bandit scrambled on the ground, ¡°N-No way. How are you so strong?!¡± Shiki cackled, ¡°How are you so weak?¡± A ball of pure white light materialized in Shiki¡¯s palm. ¡°Rahh!¡± A bandit tried attacking Shiki from behind. He swung a wooden club at his head, but because of Shiki¡¯s excellent hearing abilities, he ducked under it without even looking. ¡°¡ºLight Bomb¡»¡± ¡°Gah!¡± the ball of light hit the bandit square in the chest, sending him into the air before detonating into a huge flash. Shiki shielded his eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t worry that won¡¯t kill you, I made sure that you¡¯d fall into some trees before my bomb exploded. You probably won¡¯t be able to move for another hour though,¡± Shiki bragged to himself, turning around. ¡°Now, I¡¯d better go find this Ari person.¡± O O O Ari sat down, panting. ¡°Damn it, no matter what I do I can¡¯t seem to muster up any magic. From what I can tell, this is just a reinforced tent with anti-magic, maybe even anti-ability properties. I guess I should have taken that guy¡¯s word. Then I wouldn¡¯t have wasted all my energy. If only I had some kind of sharp object maybe I could-¡± Suddenly, a kunai pierced through the fabric directly across from Ari. ¡°How about here?¡± someone said from outside. Ari screamed. An eye peeked through the hole of the tent. ¡°Oh! You must be Ari!¡± said Shiki excitedly. He tore the tent open. ¡°W-Who are you?¡± Ari stuttered backing up against the tent wall. ¡°My name¡¯s Shiki, Kazuki and I¡¯ve come to get you out of here. Now let¡¯s get outta here.¡± ¡°R-Right.¡± Ari calmed down before grabbing the kunai Shiki threw and slicing the tent open. ¡°Here, let me help,¡± Shiki stuck out his hand, helping Ari out of the tent. ¡°Thank you very much. But, I¡¯m confused, how did you find me?¡± ¡°Well¡­.¡± Ari looked around and saw similarly, cut holes in all of the tents, some of them with knocked out bandits inside. ¡°Oh. I see.¡± ¡°Yeah, I thought it¡¯d be the fastest way. And it looks like it was.¡± Shiki grinned, ¡°Sometimes I amaze myself with my own intelligence.¡± ¡°Uh-huh. How did you even get all those kunai?¡± Ari wondered, staring at the other Shiki had with him. ¡°Huh? Oh, I took them from the bandits I defeated.¡± Ari did a double-take. ¡°Wait, you¡¯re telling me you beat all of those bandits?!¡± ¡°Oh come on, they weren¡¯t that strong. Kazuki¡¯s probably fighting the strongest guy so we should go help.¡± Shiki pointed his thumb in behind him, probably where Kazuki was. ¡°I guess I should help too,¡± Ari opened her palm, feeling the air around her, creating a small whirlwind. Vol. 1 Chapter 6 Haru sniffled. All of her attempts to escape this prison were futile. She knew this, but she kept believing someone would come for her. Surely someone would save her, someone would come to the rescue, right? Even though all of the pain and sadness, this one thought kept her going. Suddenly, Haru heard a bang behind her and yelped. It had been quiet for a while now and the noise startled her. Were they finally going to kill her after holding her hostage for so long? Haru started to cry. She didn¡¯t want to die. After all the hardships and struggles she¡¯s been through, she was just going to die? ¡°Pipe down there!¡± said one of the bandits who had been guarding her for all her time in the camp. He grabbed Haru¡¯s arm. ¡°We¡¯re having a little trouble out here with some brats, the last thing I need is your nonsense to top it off.¡± Haru pouted, ¡°Please, don¡¯t.¡± He let go of her and she fell to the ground. ¡°Tch, just shut up kid.¡± The bandit closed up the tent and left Haru in there. She curled up into a ball and whimpered in the corner. Haru sat there for a few minutes before the bandit guarding her suddenly started yelling. ¡°Hey what are you- Guah!¡± She heard him fall to the ground. There were leaves crunching as the person who knocked him out walked closer to the tent. Haru started quivering, her tail on end. ¡°No, stay away.¡± A blade punctured the tent and she was frozen in place. It started to tear through creating a gash. A boy''s head popped through the gap. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m here to help.¡± Haru looked at Kazuki in astonishment. Kazuki saw a girl with long silver hair and wolf-like ears with a tail sitting on the ground, shocked. Her complimentary silver eyes, wet with tears. A silver wolf? I¡¯ve never seen one before. They¡¯re said to have extraordinary abilities. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± he asked. She was still quivering, ¡°M-My name is Haru.¡± ¡°Well, Haru, it¡¯s good to meet you,¡± Kazuki said, putting out his hand. ¡°C¡¯ mon, let¡¯s get outta here.¡± Haru hesitated before grabbing his hand. ¡°We need to leave here before the bandits regain consciousness.¡± Kazuki turned and walked towards the exit of the bandit camp. Suddenly, he heard someone shout behind him. ¡°Watch out!¡± Kazuki whipped his head around, and a club swung towards his chest. Kazuki didn¡¯t have time to dodge, so he blocked it with his arms. He howled in pain. ¡°You really did a number on our camp, didn¡¯t you kid.¡± The bandit leader towered over Kazuki, grinning as he slowly transmuted his metal club into a dual-sided ax. ¡°But that all ends now. You got lucky once, it won¡¯t happen again.¡± Suddenly, the bandit leader heard a shout behind him. ¡°¡ºInferno¡»¡± ¡°Wha-¡± He was enveloped in a fiery tornado that had shredded through several trees nearby. Kazuki looked on in shock. He turned back around to see Haru, her hand extended casting the spell. Awesome. Kazuki started to lose consciousness from the blow he took. Oh, crap. My HP is really low. This doesn¡¯t look ¡­ good. Thud. O O O Kazuki awoke with a groan. ¡°You¡¯re finally awake,¡± said Haru. Kazuki sat up from the patch of grass he was lying in. ¡°They didn¡¯t hurt you, did they?¡± ¡°You¡¯re asking me if I¡¯m ok? Look at the state you¡¯re in.¡± Her tail started to sway. She was right. His arms were still bruised from the blow. ¡°Anyway, where are we? I thought we were in that bandit camp when I took a hit from the leader.¡± ¡°I used my fire magic to burn him. He didn¡¯t die, but was severely injured,¡± Haru stated. ¡°Right now we''re in the forest surrounding the camp.¡±This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°Ah, I¡¯m sorry I caused you so much trouble.¡± Haru brushed her hair back. ¡°The only reason I¡¯m not in that camp anymore is because of you. Something like that is nothing compared to what you¡¯ve done for me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure almost anyone would have tried to get you out of there in that situation,¡± Kazuki said as he tried to cheer Haru up. ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell me how you ended up here.¡± Haru hesitated before speaking. ¡°Up until I was ten, I lived in a small village with my kin. That village was my entire life, until,¡± Haru clenched her hands, ¡°a Demon Lord attacked.¡± Kazuki flinched. ¡°My parents locked me in our cellar to keep it from finding me. But it wasn¡¯t enough.¡± O O O The cellar door burst open. Haru was scared stiff. ¡°Well, well, well, what do we have here. Aren¡¯t you a precious little thing?¡± said the Demon Lord. She teared up. ¡°Where¡¯s Mom and Dad?¡± The Demon Lord shrugged, ¡°They¡¯re gone now.¡± Haru started to cry even louder. He scowled. ¡°I can¡¯t deal with crying.¡± He lifted his arm, preparing to strike. ¡°¡ºFlame Whip¡»¡± Haru could hear the burn sizzle on the Demon Lord¡¯s back. ¡°You wolves never know when to quit,¡± the Demon Lord sneered. ¡°Haru run!¡± cried Haru¡¯s dad. ¡°But-¡± ¡°Just run!¡± he screamed, attempting to fend off the beast. The Demon Lord stood up. ¡°You think I¡¯m going to let you-¡± ¡°¡ºLight Surge¡»¡± A blinding white light was being emitted from his body. ¡°Why you!¡± The Demon Lord clawed at his eyes. ¡°I am Shruke! Don¡¯t forget my name, kid, because I WILL kill you.¡± Haru ran away as fast as she could. The last thing she heard was an explosion before passing out. O O O Haru jolted awake. She was sitting in a clearing near her village. ¡°Ah, you¡¯re awake,¡± said a familiar voice. Haru looked at the man with surprise. ¡°Grandpa?¡± ¡°There was an explosion in the village and I found you passed out during the attack.¡± He winced. ¡°But no one else made it out alive.¡± Haru sat there, shocked. ¡°What¡¯re we going to do now?¡± she whimpered. He put his hand on her head. ¡°You can live with me until you are old enough to go out on your own. I know this is a lot to handle right now, but we must be prepared in case there is another attack. We are going to live in this forest for the time being where I will train you.¡± ¡°Train me in what?¡± He put his hand out as a spark lit in his hand, creating a flame. ¡°Magic.¡± O O O ¡°After that, my grandfather taught me how to use fire magic. It¡¯s the only magic I know.¡± Haru snapped her fingers and a flame appeared above them. ¡°But one day, I was out exploring the forest alone and was captured by the bandits. I don¡¯t know what happened to my grandpa.¡± Kazuki¡¯s mouth was wide open in shock. He was surprised to see someone go under the same suffering he had. ¡°My village...,¡± Kazuki stared at the ground, remembering what had happened just a few days ago. ¡°Was destroyed by Shruke.¡± Haru put her hands over her mouth. ¡°I won¡¯t get over it right away, but we have to move forward. We¡¯ll stop Shruke, and every other Demon Lord that wants to take us on.¡± ¡°I¡¯m with you. I¡¯ll get revenge on Shruke if it¡¯s the last thing I do,¡± Haru said. Suddenly, Shiki shoved his head into the tent and looked around, ¡°Seems like I interrupted something.¡± Kazuki jolted back in surprise, ¡°How¡¯d you find us?¡± Shiki smirked, ¡°I smelled you out.¡± ¡°Hey, I helped too you know.¡± Ari spouted. ¡°You¡¯re here too? You guys met each other?¡± Kazuki questioned. ¡°Yeah, I found her in one of the tents then we both came to find you.¡± Shiki glanced at Haru. ¡°Seems you made a new friend as well.¡± Shiki reached his hand out towards her. ¡°I¡¯m Shiki, pleasure to meet ya.¡± Haru hesitated at first but then shook his hand. Ari walked up to Haru. ¡°My name is Ari. Glad to be your acquaintance.¡± Kazuki thought for a second before finally speaking, ¡°Hey, guys, there¡¯s something I should probably tell you.¡± Ari looked at Kazuki, ¡°Oh?¡± O O O ¡°I see,¡± Shiki mumbled. ¡°That¡¯s horrible! Both of your villages were destroyed by the same Demon Lord?!¡± Ari yelled. Haru just sat there, looking at the ground. Kazuki clenched his teeth, ¡°Yeah, I''m gonna do something about it. There¡¯s no way I¡¯m letting him get away with this.¡± ¡°Well count me in,¡± Shiki said standing up. ¡°Beings like him don¡¯t deserve to live.¡± ¡°Me too!¡± Ari exclaimed. ¡°I can¡¯t let my friends suffer like this.¡± ¡°You guys,¡± said Kazuki. The wind started to blow, rustling the trees and causing bright colored leaves to shed from the branches. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s get outta here,¡± Shiki pointed away from the tent. First the first time since his village was destroyed, Kazuki genuinely smiled. ¡°You bet!¡± Vol. 1 Chapter 7 ¡°Wow, this place is really huge!¡± Kazuki looked around in wonder at the bustling streets, and many shops of the Capital. Haru and Shiki had similar looks of astonishment, while Ari was acting mostly normal. Some of the city folk were giving Haru and Shiki strange looks, but for the most part, they were completely ignored. ¡°So, where¡¯s this school you guys keep talking about,¡± Shiki said, hands behind his head, looking around at all of the buildings. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s right up here. Today is the big day for entrance exams, so there should be a pretty big line.¡± Ari said. The group turned a corner. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of people!¡± Kazuki exclaimed, looking at the hundreds of potential students crowded around the massive school. ¡°Yeah, how many people get accepted here again?¡± Shiki questioned, looking at the vast amount of applicants in shock. ¡°Around one percent,¡± Ari answered looking around excitedly. ¡°One percen-¡± Shiki sighed, ¡°Well, I guess it¡¯s worth a shot.¡± He gestured towards the line of people. ¡°Come on, we don¡¯t want to be last!¡± She led the group to the line of applicants. They waited in line for around half an hour, before being greeted by one of the proctors. ¡°Hello, welcome to N¨­ryoku High! I¡¯m Akari, one of the examiners.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you, I¡¯m Ari.¡± ¡°Kaori,¡± Akari called, ¡°I need you to get Ari and her friends'' examination cards.¡± ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡± Kaori responded. She turned to look at Ari, ¡°Could I get your first names please?¡± After everyone had their names written down, the receptionist asked for ID cards to copy into their exam cards. Everyone looked confused except for Ari. She casually walked up to Akari and handed her the ID. She printed the info on the ID to the exam card. ¡°Now you¡¯ll just walk through the door on the right. It¡¯ll lead you to the area where everyone will be given directions for the exam.¡± Kazuki looked at the receptionist, ¡°I lost my ID, what do I do?¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°Oh, well that¡¯s easy. All you have to do is tell me what village you¡¯re from or your first and last name. I¡¯ll be able to print you one,¡± said Kaori with smile. ¡°Oh, that''s it? Well, I¡¯m Kazuki Saito from Honakawa village.¡± She handed Kazuki the ID card. ¡°Thank you, but how do I check my stats?¡± ¡°You''ll see if you make it into the school," she winked. ¡°Ah, well thanks again.¡± Kazuki walked through the door and looked around at the other people in the room. There are already around a thousand kids in the room. Kazuki quickly scanned the room, and found Ari near the front of the door at one of the tables. ¡°There are so many people in this room,¡± said Kazuki in shock. ¡°I know right? There are about one hundred thousand people who apply every year,¡± exclaimed Ari. ¡°Really? I feel like there should be more. There are only around... a thousand people in this room?¡± Kazuki glided his hand through his hair. Shiki and Haru came in after they got their ID and examination cards then sat down with Kazuki and Ari. Once all the examinees came through and sat down, Akari came in and began explaining the exam. ¡°Welcome, everyone, to N¨­ryoku High. I am pleased to see you all and I can¡¯t wait to dive into this exam.¡± She unfolded a piece of paper, ¡°The exam will be a race where all participants will fight to make it to the end. It¡¯s not only the participants you¡¯ll be fighting, but also the many obstacles, and monsters. Each monster is rated on difficulty based on the material they are made of. Stone monsters will drop copper coins, iron monsters will drop silver coins, and obsidian monsters will drop gold coins. If you pass, you¡¯re allowed to use these coins for yourself. Not only is passing the exam the only way to get into N¨­ryoku High, but it is the best way to get coins early on for amateurs like you guys.¡± Akari directed the attention of the students to the board that shows the monsters that will be in the exam. ¡°That''s it? This exam is going to be way too easy,¡° said a guy wearing glasses. ¡°Shut up, you think you¡¯re cool just because you have glasses,¡± called another kid eating cheez bits from his seat. "You wanna go,¡± yelled another kid wearing a cape. ¡°This place is full of idiots,¡± said Shiki, kicking his feet up on the seat in front of him. The room quickly fell into hysterics, Akari tried to quiet everyone down but her voice was lost in the chaos. Suddenly an overpowering noise boomed across the area. It was so loud that some of the kids were on the ground. ¡°Pipe down all of you, or I can guarantee that no one is getting into our school this year!¡± A mysterious man in a black cloak, descended from the ceiling. ¡°Students this is Dark Eagle, a teacher and examiner,¡± said Akari as she gestured towards the man. He floated to the ground, ¡°Now listen up everyone these monsters may not be too hard to defeat, but if you get too cocky, you¡¯ll certainly fail.¡± Akari started to speak again, ¡°On everyone¡¯s card, there¡¯s a number on the back. They¡¯re labeled from one to seven. Each indicate when this week you¡¯ll be starting. Ones will start tomorrow, on Sunday, twos will start on Monday, and so forth. Everyone, make sure you get a good night¡¯s rest to prepare for the exam.¡± She smiled at the kids, ¡°Good luck!¡± Vol. 1 Chapter 8 As Kazuki and his friends left, another group was already heading in to get their exam cards. ¡°So I heard we can check our stats for free once we complete the exam,¡± said Shiki. ¡°Yes,¡± Ari responded, ¡°there is a status machine you can give one gold to check your stats.¡± ¡°Seriously?¡± Shiki groaned. ¡°We have to pay one whole gold to check our stats once?¡± ¡°No, if we¡¯re able to pass the exam,I heard there¡¯s a special way to check for free. That¡¯s one special thing about N¨­ryoku High.¡± ¡°Oh, well I guess we¡¯re fine then,¡± Shiki grinned. ¡°How easy do you think this exam is?¡± Haru questioned. ¡°I would say easy, but there¡¯s a reason only about one hundred people get in every exam,¡± said Kazuki as he looks at the back of his ID. He faked a smile, ¡°Looks like I¡¯m going first.¡± He showed the group his card. ¡°Me too!¡± Haru exclaimed seeing as she got to go with someone she knows. ¡°Seriously? I¡¯m going last,¡± Shiki groaned. ¡°Well I guess I¡¯m going with you then,¡± Ari flipped her card, ¡°I got last too.¡± Kazuki glared at Shiki, ¡°Wait how is going last worse than going first?¡± Shiki looked at Kazuki like he was stupid, ¡°It¡¯s gonna be so boring waiting a whole week to participate.¡± Kazuki sighed. ¡°Well whatever, we¡¯d better get back to the hotel and start preparing.¡± O O O After they wake up, Kazuki and Haru met up in the hotel lobby for breakfast. ¡°Here¡¯s what we should do,¡± Kazuki said while chewing, ¡°We¡¯re going to start off near the back so we have more room to move around. Then, I¡¯ll throw you into the air above everyone.¡± Kazuki put down his fork and looked at Haru, ¡°After that, I¡¯ll catch you, and we should be closer to the front.¡± Haru stopped eating, ¡°Wait, throw me?¡± ¡°Trust me,¡± he reasoned, ¡°I¡¯ll catch you.¡± Haru took a moment to think, then responded, ¡°All right. I¡¯ll trust you.¡± O O O As Kazuki and Haru are walking towards the location for the race, they see some of the other students that they¡¯re going up against. Haru gripped Kazuki¡¯s shirt. ¡°This is kind of nerve-wracking. There¡¯re so many people.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t let it get to your head,¡± Kazuki reassured. They both got to the starting line for the starting announcement. ¡°Good morning, contestants!¡± Akari exclaimed. ¡°How are you all today?¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. A groan came out from the crowd. ¡°Well, I know you¡¯re all tired or nervous, so we¡¯re gonna get this race started as fast as possible.¡± A massive wall collapsed behind where Akari was standing, revealing a forest. ¡°This is the race area. You¡¯ll all have two hours to get to the end. It¡¯s parallel from where we¡¯re standing and hard to miss. Rule number one: You must reach the finished in two hours in order to make it into the school. Rule number two: There is no killing, otherwise you¡¯ll be disqualified. That¡¯s it!¡± The crowd started whispering after hearing that there were only two rules. Akari shrugged, ¡°I know it seems too simple, but that¡¯s all there is to it.¡± Kazuki smiled, ¡°Well this makes things easier than I thought.¡± ¡°Well, we¡¯ll start the race.¡± She started to count down. ¡°Ready,¡± Everyone got prepared to start at the line, most getting in a running stance. Kazuki slowly walked towards the back. ¡°Set,¡± The people at the front were leaning so far forward they looked like they were going to fall over. The pressure was immense. ¡°GO!¡± Akari yelled. Some people stumbled and tripped at the remark, but Kazuki was ready. ¡°Haru!¡± Kazuki used his hand as a footstool and launched her into the air. She didn¡¯t hesitate, ¡°¡ºInferno¡»¡± A huge explosion of fire erupted beneath Haru, much larger than Kazuki expected, blowing him back. That¡¯s amazing! Kazuki quickly got up and ran to the spot where Haru was falling and jumped over everyone, successfully catching her. ¡°Nice job,¡± Kazuki grinned. Haru smiled and gave a thumbs up. Kazuki went into the trees and jumped across branches in order to avoid being seen. Until he slipped and fell. ¡°Ack!¡± He quickly held Haru tight and made sure his back hit the ground and not her. Damn, still not used to these powers. ¡°Sorry, Haru, you all right?¡± She rubbed her head, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m all good here.¡± He put his hand out to help her up, ¡°I guess we should get going. We should probably continue on the ground. I don¡¯t want to risk getting an injury from the trees. They ran through the forest for a couple of minutes, before something strange happened. Right when he passed another tree, he noticed something stuck to the back of it. His eyes widened. It started to glow. ¡°Oh sh-¡± An explosion sent him and Haru flying. Haru was thrown into some bushes, and Kazuki was blasted into a tree, knocking the wind out of him. A girl with long wavy pinkhair complemented with royalblueeyes appeared in front of Kazuki. She looked like some kind of noble based on the way she was dressed. ¡°¡ºGalactic Cluster¡»¡± A series of bright orbs surrounded Kazuki. She clenched her fist, ¡°Gather.¡± All of the orbs surrounding Kazuki immediately came towards him, each one exploding on impact, every blast bigger than the next. A guy came out from behind a tree and stood next to the girl. He was wearing glasses and he had black hair. Seemed to be another noble. ¡°Now,¡± he said, ¡°Give us all the coins you¡¯ve got.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± the girl said, ¡°Don¡¯t say that, Ichiro, we¡¯re not a band of thieves.¡± The guy who was presumably Ichiro laughed, ¡°I¡¯m joking, I¡¯m joking. We should probably get going though.¡± He started to walk off. The girl looked at the spot where Kazuki was hit, ¡°Sorry about this.¡± She bowed her head, before walking away. When the dust finally cleared, Kazuki was nowhere to be found. A kunai was suddenly flung from out from a tree, just missing the girl. ¡°Wha-¡± she cried. The kunai hit another tree that was behind the two, setting off an explosion on contact. ¡°Wow, I didn''t know the explosion was gonna be that big!¡± said Kazuki, surprised as he fell from the tree. ¡°Why you little-!¡± Ichiro yelled as he burst out from the smoke. ¡°Shiraiyuki, keep going, I¡¯ll take care of this trash,¡± His hand started to glow as he reached out to grab Kazuki. Vol. 1 Chapter 9 Suddenly, a chain shot out from his hand towards Kazuki. He tried to dodge, but he was caught off guard and the chain still grazed his cheek, leaving a small cut. Kazuki rubbed his hand against his face. ¡°The hell-, are you trying to kill me!¡± If that cut any deeper, I may have died! My strength may of boosted, but my heath and defense are still the same. Instead of responding, the boy flicked his wrist so that the chain curved back to wrap around Kazuki''s body. ¡°Seriously, what¡¯s your problem?!¡± Kazuki¡¯s arms were chained behind his back as he looked at Ichiro with anger. Once again he didn¡¯t respond and his other hand started to glow. ¡°You won¡¯t be messing with us again,¡± he said. But Kazuki was strong enough now to easily break out of the chains. He dodged the chain coming out of Ichiro¡¯s hand and punched him in the gut. ¡°You piece of trash!¡± He grunted in surprise, falling on the ground with his hands on his stomach. Kazuki leaped over his body and continued running through the forest. A couple of minutes later, he heard a loud crack, as one of the trees in front of him fell in his path. ¡°What the-¡° A large, muscular teenager picked up the fallen tree and swung at Kazuki. But Kazuki was able to dodge under and the momentum from the swing made the other boy lose his footing. Kazuki continued to make his way through the forest when suddenly a bunch of trees blocked his path. He turned around and saw a monster. It¡¯s stoney face was covered in cracks. It lunged at Kazuki with a shriek. It attempted to slash him in the chest, but was too slow. Kazuki dodged and punched the monster in the side causing it to conbust. Copper coins fell to the ground. So this is what they meant by monsters dropping coins. I¡¯ve never actually been monster hunting before. Suddenly, two monsters that looked like stone ones appeared behind Kazuki. Except for one difference, there were no cracks and metallic streaks ran through their bodies. One of them charged towards Kazuki, except it was zig-zagging side to side instead of charging head on like the stone monster. Kazuki jumped above the monster and struck it with his heel, crushing it just like the stone one. He quickly moved to both of the other monsters and swiftly took them out. All of them burst and spat out silver coins. Kazuki counted thirty-five in total. This really is a great way to earn money! But I can¡¯t keep collecting coins, or I may not finish in time. Kazuki ran out of the forest and entered a grassy clearing. All around him he saw pandemonium, monsters fighting students, students fighting students, and even some monsters fighting monsters. Even though he had only stood there for a second, he was immediately attacked by a group of kids using earth magic. One of them had made his feet sink into the earth, while the two others attacked him with rocks and branches from the forest. Kazuki quickly broke out of the earthy quicksand and punched one of the kids in the ribs, and banged the other two kids¡¯ heads together. ¡°I can¡¯t be here long,¡± he muttered to himself, as a stray fireball went hissing over his shoulder. As the fireball flew into the middle of the area, it exploded causing everyone in the field to take cover. As most of the students were distracted, Haru grabbed Kazuki and starting running for the finish line. Kazuki grinned. ¡°Perfect timing. And thanks for putting a spell on the kunai back there, really saved me.¡± ¡°I hid until you threw it so there was a smokescreen,¡± said Haru as they booked it for the finish line. Suddenly, a hand burst out of the earth and grabbed Kazuki''s leg. Kazuki jolted back in shock, ¡°What the-¡° The hand yanked on Kazuki''s leg, pulling him partly into the earth. The hand disappeared into the earth. ¡°Kazuki, are you all right?!¡± Haru tried pulling Kazuki''s leg out but it was stuck in the ground.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Kazuki tried to pull his leg even harder. What¡¯s going on! I can¡¯t get my leg out of this dirt even though it sunk in so easily!? The dirt opened and a small, skinny kid climbed out. ¡°Nice! Looks like I got another one,¡± he turned to Kazuki and grinned. ¡°Now if you¡¯ll excuse me, I have a race to finis- WHAA!!¡± While the kid had been talking, Kazuki had used his strength to pull out his leg. He burst toward the shocked examinee and punched him in the nose, sending him flying backwards. But even as he fell, he was still able to open the ground underneath him, and he disappeared into the dirt. ¡°Haru watch the ground!¡± Kazuki told her while scanning the earth for any signs of the kid. ¡°Okay.¡± Haru began to look at the dirt as well. Suddenly, right in front of Kazuki, the earth opened up again. Kazuki expected the kid to jump out, but nothing happened. Then he heard the ground open behind him and realized what was happening. ¡°A decoy?!¡± He tried to turn around, but wasn¡¯t fast enough and ended up getting punched in the jaw. Crap, looks like my defense is still the same, I¡¯ve taken a lot of damage during this exam. It¡¯s fine though, I think I¡¯ve figured this guy out. Kazuki stumbled backward as the boy burrowed back underground. ¡°It¡¯s over!¡± Instead of waiting, Kazuki smashed the ground with his fists right when it solidified, causing the other boy to be shot from his hole. Kazuki punched him in the ribs, shooting him into a tree and knocking him out. ¡°Haru, come on, we¡¯re almost at the finish line!¡± However, a black orb was sent flying over Kazuki¡¯s head, just barely missing. There was an explosion where the orb landed, taking out several trees. It was the girl from earlier. ¡°How dare you hurt my friend like that!¡± Shiraiyuki cried. ¡°¡ºHeavenHell Bomb¡»¡± A sphere of energy with light and dark elements to it spun out from her hand and shot at Kazuki. He quickly ducked and ran to the girl. ¡°You guys attacked us first!¡± he yelled as he threw a kick at the girl. She put her right hand up and blocked Kazuki¡¯s attack, ¡°¡ºLight Wall¡»¡± She then raised her left arm to attack. ¡°¡ºDark Surge¡»¡± A beam of darkness shot out from her hand, but Kazuki kicked off of the light wall and dodged the blast. This is bad. I don¡¯t know how much longer I can keep this up, and I¡¯m not prone to fighting women. Especially a noble like her. He turned around and ran to the finish line. ¡°Haru! Come on!¡± ¡°I¡¯m coming!¡± Haru said as she stood up from the ground. ¡°Hey! Get back here!¡± Shiraiyuki yelled. As the two passed the finish line, with Kazuki beating Haru by a couple of seconds, they noticed that they were the 4th and 5th to finish in the race. Kazuki looked at the three who got there before him and Haru. There were two guys and a girl, one of the guys had leather pants with a leather jacket to compliment it. He also high tops, and a black t-shirt underneath the jacket. There was an acoustic guitar slung around his back and he had black slicked-back hair with brown eyes. The other guy was wearing circular glasses and cargo shorts with a button-down shirt. His brown hair looked like he just woke up and he had brown eyes to go with it. The final person was a girl wearing a black and white dress. Her hair was also black with random white strands flowing through it. ¡°There¡¯s something different about that one girl but I can¡¯t put my finger on it,¡± said Kazuki to Haru. ¡°Well I¡¯m sure it¡¯s nothing important,¡± she replied. Shiraiyuki ran across the finish line, out of breath and panting. ¡°Hey! Why did you run off like that?¡± Kazuki shrugged and looked at Haru, ¡°Well anyway, we should get back to the hotel.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t just ignore me!¡± she cried. Kazuki and Haru made their way back, with Shiraiyuki trying to get them talk to her. Meanwhile, a discussion was taking place between the top two finishers in the entrance exam. ¡°Hey lady, you clearly cheated back there ya know,¡± The boy in leather leered at the girl. ¡°I did not. I finished the race fair just like you,¡± she argued. ¡°I still should have gotten first!¡± He said passionately, stamping his foot on the ground. ¡°From now on, I''ll show you who¡¯s the real strongest student in this school!¡± He marched off, and the girl quickly followed. The boy with messy hair was on his computer, typing down the events of the exam. ¡°Wow, I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d be able to see so many interesting abilities, this will be great for my research!¡± With that, the first day of the entrance exams drew to a close. Vol. 1 Chapter 10 ¡°So do you have a plan?¡± Ari asked during her breakfast with Shiki. Shiki leaned back in his chair, ¡°Why do we need a plan? Plans are pretty pointless since we¡¯re going to win anyway,¡± Shiki replied nonchalantly shoving another piece of food into his mouth. ¡°You should probably start taking this more seriously, we don¡¯t know what kind of people are going to show up. What if we meet someone who¡¯s crazy strong?¡± Ari glared at Shiki. ¡°How can you be so calm about this?¡± Shiki ignored the remark and pointed his fork at a kid with black hair wearing what was probably his middle school uniform. ¡°We¡¯ll beat that person up. It seems pretty simple to me.¡± The boy was laughing with his friends at a table near theirs. He¡¯s the kind of person you wouldn¡¯t usually notice in a crowd. ¡°How do you know he¡¯s not weak? He could have some amazing power we don¡¯t know about!¡± Shiki sighed. ¡°Look, you¡¯re getting scared over nothing, this exam is gonna be a cakewalk, trust me.¡± ¡°Well if you say so,¡± Ari replied, not reassured from Shiki¡¯s attitude. When the two arrived at the examination area, Shiki looked around at all the other examinees. ¡°See? Most of these guys look weak, I only see a couple of strong looking people, but I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll be fine,¡± Shiki said with a grin. ¡°Who do you think is strong?¡± Ari questioned nervously. Shiki pointed behind her. ¡°That guy over there.¡± Ari looked over and saw a tall guy with brown hair slouching on a tree. ¡°You¡¯re right he does look strong,¡± said Ari with a little bit of worry in her voice. Shiki shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Eh, I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll be fine, he might be strong, but even if he is we can still beat him. As I said, this is gonna be a cakewalk.¡± ¡°That makes no sense,¡± said Ari. Everyone walked up to the starting line and Akari started to explain the exam. ¡°Just like I¡¯ve said in all of the other exams, there are no rules, except for no killing and you must reach the finish in the allotted time, which is two hours. All you have to do is follow these two. Do that and you pass!¡± Akari grabbed what looked like a stopwatch out of her pocket. ¡°I¡¯ll count to three and the exam will start.¡± All of the examinees prepared to start, some shoving to get in front of others. Akari started the countdown. ¡°On your ma-¡± Suddenly, a massive slab of earth shot out of the ground launching the boy who was leaning against the tree from earlier into the air. ¡°See ya losers!¡± he shouted as he was soaring above the trees and into the dense forest. All of the kids became confused and a panic arose. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± one boy said. ¡°Hey I thought the exam hadn¡¯t started yet,¡± said another. Shiki¡¯s eyes widened. Crap! I¡¯m an idiot! ¡°Ari cast a speed spell on us now!¡± She was still mystified, looking at the sky where the boy was launched. Shiki shouted, ¡°Ari! Snap out of it!¡± Ari heard him this time, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± She looked just as confused as everyone else. Shiki grabbed her shoulders. ¡°Speed spell. Now.¡± He demanded. ¡°O-Ok. ¡ºGust¡»¡± He quickly grabbed her wrist and sprinted into the forest. Trees were practically flying past them. This spell is better than I thought. ¡°What are you doing! We¡¯re going to get disqualified!¡± Ari shouted. Shiki gritted his teeth. ¡°No, I¡¯m just an idiot. I should''ve realized it sooner.¡± Ari looked even more puzzled than she did before. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± They slid under a loose tree limb, ¡°There are no rules except no killing and reach the finish in the allotted time. Simple enough right?¡± Ari raised an eyebrow. ¡°Right?¡± she said slowly, follow close behind Shiki. He looked condescendingly at her. ¡°Wrong.¡± She got irritated at his response. ¡°Ok genius, then tell me what¡¯s so special about these-¡± Ari stopped speaking finally realizing what he was talking about. ¡°Oh. I did not think of that.¡± ¡°We can pretty much do anything we want as long as we don¡¯t break those two. This is also a test of wits.¡± Shiki grinned. ¡°And I¡¯ll definitely use mine.¡± Out of nowhere, a kid sprinted past them at surrounded by a faint lightning aura. He had blonde hair with blue eyes and appeared to be wearing what seemed to be a normal pair of athletic clothes. ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me!¡± Shiki watched the kid run past them and ended up slamming into a tree because he wasn¡¯t looking where he was going. ¡°Ugh,¡± he moaned. Ari leaned over the injured Shiki and smiled, ¡°Nice going. What were those wits you were talking about?¡± He stood up rubbing his forehead. ¡°Yeah, yeah, shut up would you?¡± The spell started to wear off. ¡°I¡¯m gonna find that kid. I¡¯ll make him pay for distracting me like that!¡± said Shiki as he started to get excited. ¡°Uh, I¡¯m pretty sure it was just you being stupid. Anyway, it''s probably not a good idea to get into a fight right now. What if it takes too long and we finish the race late?¡± said Ari as they started to jog through the forest. As Ari sped up using a little bit of wind magic she heard rustling in the trees above her and noticed Shiki bolt past her.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°Looks like I¡¯ll have to fight him quickly then,¡± said Shiki as he ran through the trees out of sight from Ari. ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me,¡± said Ari under her breath. ¡°¡ºGust¡»¡± She tried to get Shiki back in her sight. O O O After running through the forest, she reached an open area and saw Shiki and the lightning kid from earlier. I can¡¯t just leave him, but at the same time, I can tell he¡¯s going to fight regardless of what I have to say. That only leaves one option. She ran towards Shiki, before leaping into the air. ¡°¡ºHurricane¡»¡± she yelled, as a torrent of wind spiraled out of her hands, catching the other boy off guard. He stumbled backward, and Shiki seized the opportunity. ¡°¡ºLight Press¡»¡± A wall of light came out of his hands, completely knocking the kid off his feet. ¡°Shiki, we need to keep moving!¡± ¡°No way,¡± he said with a smirk. ¡°We¡¯ve got two hours and I¡¯m gonna use em¡¯.¡± The lightning boy stood up and pulled out what looked to be a kendo sword. Water sloshed out from the scabbard when he pulled his sword out. Shiki squinted at the blade, ¡°A wooden sword? Do you really think you can fight me with something like that? It¡¯s not even sharp!¡± It looked like a kendo sword, except instead of bamboo, it seemed to be replaced with very damp wood. Shiki started to laugh hysterically, ¡°What are you gonna do to me with that? It looks like it¡¯s about to snap in two!¡± A gust of wind seemed to surround the blade. ¡°Hot weather like this isn¡¯t my specialty, but I can¡¯t afford to lose.¡± He ran up to Shiki with the sword, ¡°Take this!¡± He thought the boy was joking when he swung the sword. Time seemed to move in slow motion. Right before the wooden blade hit Shiki, he realized what was going on. He barely dodged the sword and when it hit the ground a huge pulse of electricity blew him back. ¡°Ack!¡± He regained his footing and slid across the ground. ¡°Dang it,¡± the boy said. ¡°I was planning on ending it with one hit.¡± His sword sparked with electricity. Ari ran to Shiki, ¡°Hey are you ok?!¡± Without even looking, the boy swung his sword in the direction on Ari. A massive sword-like beam barely missed her head, only cutting a few hairs, then dispelled upon contact with the trees. ¡°Sorry, not happening. A two vs. one just isn¡¯t fair, right?¡± Ari stepped back, gritting her teeth. The boy put his hand up to the blade, another burst of wind surrounded it then disappeared. ¡°Why you little,¡± Shiki stood up. ¡°I guess it¡¯s finally time to try it.¡± Shiki exhaled slowly, ¡°¡ºSecret Art: Light Weaponry¡»¡± A circle of light appeared in front of Shiki. He put his hand to it. Ha, I¡¯ve never done this before so let¡¯s hope I don¡¯t screw it up. He cleared his throat. ¡°Give me the weapon most suited for me.¡± Silence. ¡°What¡¯s going on over there?¡± the boy asked. He started to walk over. His sword pulsed again. Crap crap crap crap crap. PLEASE WORK. Suddenly, a voice came from the portal. ¡°Granted. Weapon for user: Shiki, has been constructed. Distributing: ¡ºSecret Weapon: Light Staff¡»¡± What looked to be an illuminated bo staff fell from the circle. Shiki grabbed the staff, ¡°Not what I expected,¡± He spun the staff and adjusted it into an attack stance, ¡°but I¡¯ll roll with it,¡± he said gleefully. He lunged towards the boy staff in one hand. ¡°I don¡¯t think so!¡± the boy said, ¡°A small bolt of electricity shot from his hand. Shiki ducked, ¡°Not quick enough!¡± he slammed to pole down onto his head, but he only hit and electric mirage. The real boy dodged to the right of him. ¡°Nice dodge, but you¡¯re gonna have to do better than that if you wanna beat me!¡± Shiki may have missed, but a piece of the staff shot out of the side of it hitting the kid in the stomach shooting him into a tree. He fell to the ground grabbing his stomach. ¡°You may be fast,¡± Shiki said dispelling the staff. ¡°But my weapon is made from one hundred percent magic, which means I can manipulate it however I want.¡± He started to walk towards the injured boy. ¡°Shiki!¡± Ari cried, ¡°You beat him, enough is enough.¡± Shiki kept walking towards him. He was holding his side with one hand and the sword with his other. ¡°Don¡¯t come any closer¡­,¡± he whimpered, pointing the sword at Shiki. Shiki grabbed the blade. ¡°Hah! It really is wood,¡± he said with a grin. ¡°Wh-What?¡± the boy asked. ¡°Come on, we have a race to finish don¡¯t we?¡± Shiki asked. ¡°But I thou-¡± Shiki interrupted him, ¡°Don¡¯t sweat the small stuff, I mean, you do want to get into this school right? Plus I think you¡¯ll be a good friend to have considering no one knows each other.¡± He put his hand out to the boy. He grabbed Shiki¡¯s hand, ¡°Thanks.¡± He stumbled getting up. ¡°My name¡¯s Fujio.¡± ¡°Well I¡¯m Shiki, and this is Ari.¡± ¡°H-Hi, nice to meet you,¡± she stuttered. ¡°Yeah, you too,¡± said Fujio as he patted himself down. ¡°But why didn¡¯t you guys just leave me here?¡± Ari glared at Shiki. What were you thinking? Shiki laughed and scratched at the back of his head. ¡°Like I said earlier, I just thought it¡¯d be nice to meet a new friend!¡± ¡°I see. Well, it¡¯s nice to be your acquaintance, Shiki, Ari.¡± Ari cleared her throat, ¡°That¡¯s nice and all, but we still have a race to finish.¡± As the group pressed forward they saw the finish line in the distance. ¡°Hey, it looks like we got here first!¡± Shiki exclaimed as the three of them crossed the finish line. Shiki turned to Ari with a smug grin on his face. ¡°I told you it would be easy, didn¡¯t I?¡± As Shiki crosses the finish line, he noticed the boy who started early already finished. ¡°Damn, I can''t believe I lost to someone my age.¡± The boy overheard him. ¡°Oh? So you think you¡¯re better than me?¡± He grabbed Shiki¡¯s shirt. Shiki gripped the kid¡¯s wrist. ¡°Yeah, so what?¡± He grinned and threw Shiki to the ground, knocking the air out of him. He then swung Shiki into a tree and pulled his arm back for a punch. Shiki put his arms up for a block, but right before he got hit, ¡°¡ºFreeze¡»¡± A lady walked up right behind Akari. ¡°Were you just going to let these two boys fight, Akari,¡± said the woman. ¡°I was just about to stop them, but things were starting to look interesting,¡± said Akari as she looked at the kids, grinning. The lady sighed, ¡°Boys, the race is over now, there is no need to continue the fight.¡± She started walking away, before stopping after a few strides. ¡°Now please don¡¯t start anything, I don¡¯t want to have to expel students before they get into their dorms.¡± The two boys were let free of the spell and the other student walked away as Shiki fell to the ground. Damn, what the hell was that? His nose was runny from the cold spell. He sniffled, More importantly, why couldn¡¯t I get out of that spell? With my light magic, I should have easily been able to break out of a water type spell. ¡°Hey you,¡± Shiki yelled. The other boy turned around and glared at Shiki. ¡°What do you want.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your name, I at least need to know the name of the guy I¡¯m going to beat,¡± said Shiki as he stood up with a smirk on his face. ¡°It¡¯s Katsuo, and you¡¯ll never be as good as me.¡± He turned and walked away. Shiki smirked.This is going to be fun. Vol. 1 Chapter 11 On an unknown part of the planet, hidden away from human eyes, resides a hidden realm. The Demon Realm. It is a place filled with the most terrible creatures alive, ruled by the ten demon lords, and the Demon King, Akuma. In the center of the Demon Realm, rests a massive structure, hewn out of a pitch-black stone. It is adorned with banners and murals, depicting the many evil acts of the Demon Lords in great detail. The inside contains ten finely crafted thrones, each befitting of a king. This building, known as the Demon Temple, is a structure of great importance in the Demon Realm, the meeting place of the ten Demon Lords. On this day, the ten lords would meet to discuss developments on the outside world, and how to go about their destructive business. One of the Demon Lords was approaching at that very moment. His skin was the color of coal, his eyes were the color of magma. He was a massive figure, radiating destructive power. He entered the building, with three other Demon Lords already present. The first one to approach him was a massive yellow-skinned figure, who was fatter than he was tall. His mouth was bigger than any other part of his body, big enough to swallow most foods whole. In his hand was an extra-large bag of spicy chips. ¡°Oh, Shruke, glad to see you showed up, I heard you were roaming around destroying villages and whatnot. I mean, I guess it¡¯s in your title,¡± he said in a voice muffled by the food he was stuffing in his mouth. ¡°I see you haven¡¯t changed a bit Chizu,¡± Shruke replied, gazing at the other two Demon Lords already present. The first was a man with brown feathers on his body, and the eyes and beak of a hawk. The second was a man with pale purple skin, with scars on the majority of his body. The four waited for the rest of the Demon Lords to arrive, before starting the meeting. ¡°Alright, I guess we should get this thing going,¡± a short, blue-skinned creature with two horns on its head said, as it looked around the room. ¡°Looks like Akuma is missing again,¡± he mused, the chair at the front of the room was empty. ¡°Ah, that old fart is never here! It makes me wonder where the hell he runs off to,¡± said a massive man with brown skin and sharp teeth. ¡°Ah, Dobutsu, we shouldn¡¯t be questioning him, he is our king after all,¡± said Chizu, now eating an extra-large bag of pretzels. ¡°Oh go choke on that pretzel, you tub of lard,¡± he retorted irritably. As Chizu began to respond, another voice came from the corner of the room. ¡°Quiet,¡± Muttered a man with two blades, one large and one small on his back. The room instantly went silent. The blue-skinned creature cleared its throat and began addressing the room. ¡°First order of business, what do we do about the new Elite Wizard?¡± He gazed around the room, receiving looks that ranged from annoyed to disinterested, to completely confused. ¡°The new who now?¡± A heavily armored man asked, gazing confused at the blue-skinned man. ¡°Allow me to explain,¡± a voice from another part of the room cut in. Although instead of a demon, it was nothing more than a camera, with a microphone protruding from it.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Oh god, not another one of your boring explanations,¡± Dobutsu groaned. ¡°The new Elite Wizard Jizen has taken a bigger stand against us Demon Lords than any other member of the wizard council, in the past few centuries. In other words, he¡¯s planning to take us down, and it looks like he¡¯s already begun to make preparations.¡± The camera turned to face the wall. An image of a destroyed village was shown, with a robed man standing in the wreckage. ¡°That¡¯s the place I just annihilated!¡± Shruke said, ¡°Hona-what¡¯s-it village.¡± The voice in the camera cleared its voice. ¡°Honakawa village. Anyway, as you can see clearly from this photo I took in the wreckage of one of the villages recently attacked, it appears that Jizen is already taking steps against us. What those steps may be is unbeknownst to us at the moment.¡± The projector turned off. ¡°Are you done?¡± Dobutsu asked while yawning. ¡°...yes,¡± The camera responded, returning to its original position. ¡°Well I think that about sums it up, what should we do about it is the question,¡± the blue-skinned man asked, once again surveying the room. ¡°I can kill him if you want,¡± Shruke said, reclining on his chair. ¡°Well, he is an Elite Wizard, even us Demon Lords shouldn¡¯t take him lightly,¡± Chizu responded, now eating from a bag of cheese bits. ¡°You worry too much. The only difference between them and regular humans is the title. Crushing them is just as easy,¡± Shruke replied. ¡°Well how would you know, you¡¯ve never fought one,¡± Chizu continued to blow through his bag of cheese bits. ¡°Yeah? Well, I don¡¯t see you taking any down either you-¡° Shruke was cut off by a man with deep red skin. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know much about these Elite fellows, but I wouldn¡¯t worry too much. If he isn¡¯t directly attacking us, then I have no problem, and if he does, we will show him the full power of the Demon Lords.¡± Most of the demons nodded in agreement, and once again the room went quiet. The blue-skinned man spoke once again. ¡°Uh, thank you, Kaen. Alright, the next order of business, what do we do about the¡­ other village destroying the threat.¡± This time, almost every face was filled with confusion. ¡°Hahaha, you¡¯re getting too old Mekar,¡± Dobutsu chuckled, many of the other Demon Lords began to chuckle as well. ¡°Other village destroying threat? What nonsense are you talking about this time you ol-¡° ¡°If I may interject,¡± the camera cut in. ¡°Oh for fu-¡° ¡°As of recent, I have observed a large amount of villages being destroyed. At first, I thought it was the work of a Demon Lord, but something about it seemed unnatural. Massive claw marks, and charred corpses were scattered around the ruins. Now, this may seem a bit far fetched, but the only creatures other than Demon Lords, is dragons.¡± The camera finished. ¡°Of all the ridiculous things you¡¯ve said, this is the dumbest of them all!¡± Dobutsu roared with laughter, the other Demon Lords chuckling as well. ¡°Well, you haven¡¯t been wrong before, but even I must acknowledge how ridiculous this sounds,¡± the blue skinned Demon said through the laughter. He waited for the noise to die down before addressing the group again. ¡°Alright, last order of business, and the reason you¡¯ve all been called here. What do we do about the, well¡­ you know, THAT wizard.¡± This time, no one had a response. Vol. 1 Chapter 12 The restaurant in the hotel was bustling with people. ¡°So how did you guys do on the exam?¡± said Haru as she took a sip from her drink. ¡°Well I hate to brag, but I finished second,¡± Shiki boasted. Ari looked at Shiki. ¡°And I got fourth, behind this loser.¡± Shiki smirked, ¡°Doesn¡¯t that make you worse than a loser.¡± ¡°Why you-¡± ¡°Then you guys definitely got in.¡± Kazuki interrupted. ¡°The way the exam is scored is based on how fast you finished. We were done in about an hour,¡± said Ari. ¡°Well I think it¡¯s also based on how you placed,¡± said Shiki as he took a bite from his food. ¡°Think about it. If thirty people finished under two hours, they couldn¡¯t let them all in.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± said Kazuki. ¡°They were pretty serious about there only being two rules so I don¡¯t think they wouldn¡¯t let someone in who met those requirements.¡± ¡°You could be right, but we would¡¯ve finished a lot faster if someone didn¡¯t get into a fight with Fujio,¡± said Ari. ¡°Who¡¯s Fujio?¡± asked Haru. ¡°He¡¯s someone we met during the exams,¡± explained Ari. ¡°We can introduce you to him later. If he makes it in that is.¡± Shiki shrugged. ¡°You never know when you¡¯ll need allies. The problem is that Katsuo guy. He made the race a lot harder than it should¡¯ve been.¡± Ari took a bite of her food, ¡°Sure.¡± Kazuki looked at Shiki, ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t think I heard you correctly. What was that boy¡¯s name again?¡± Shiki glared at Kazuki. ¡°Yeah, it was this guy named Katsuo. He was a real brute that¡¯s for sure.¡± Kazuki buried his face into his hands and groaned. Shiki raised an eyebrow, ¡°What?¡± ¡°He was a kid who went to middle school with me. He¡¯s a huge jerk but no one could do anything about him because he was the strongest in our-¡± Kazuki stopped, remembering what happened during the attack. Wait, how did he survive? ¡°Strongest in our?¡± Shiki queried. ¡°Huh? Oh, sorry, strongest in my village.¡± ¡°He definitely wasn¡¯t weak,¡± said Ari, ¡°He was throwing Shiki around like a rag doll and didn¡¯t even use magic.¡± ¡°Damn muscle for brains. I can¡¯t believe I let him toss me around.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the thing. He isn¡¯t an idiot. Remember, he was the first one to start and he found out you only had to follow the two rules.¡± Shiki slumped into his chair and grumbled.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Just keep in mind, he is dangerous,¡± said Kazuki. ¡°He¡¯s going to become even stronger if he makes it in.¡± ¡°Which he probably will because he was the first finish,¡± Ari stated. Shiki sat up from his seat. ¡°On the other hand, how did the race go for the two of you?¡± Kazuki and Haru looked at each other. ¡°I¡¯d say we killed it, but we weren¡¯t the first to finish. We got fourth and fifth,¡± said Kazuki. ¡°But we finished in about an hour,¡± said Haru. ¡°So we should be fine.¡± Ari crossed her legs. ¡°You know what, I think we might all get in. All we have to do is wait for the results tomorrow.¡± ¡°Well in that case,¡± Kazuki got up from his seat, ¡°I¡¯m gonna get some sleep for tomorrow, I¡¯ll see you guys later.¡± ¡°Wait for me,¡± said Shiki as he shoved the rest of his food in his mouth and chased after Kazuki. ¡°We should probably leave as well,¡± said Ari. ¡°Sure,¡± said Haru as she stood up with her. ¡°I¡¯m so excited, I don¡¯t even know if I can sleep!¡± Shiki exclaimed. Kazuki smiled, ¡°I¡¯m just happy we don¡¯t have to pay for food since we¡¯re examinees.¡± O O O ¡°Good morning,¡± said Kazuki as he put his bag down. The hotel lobby was empty, save for the four of them. ¡°Morning, Kazuki,¡± said Haru as she yawned. Shiki stared at Haru, ¡°You have a serious case of bed head.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Haru sighed, ¡°This always happens to me.¡± ¡°Where were you two? We were supposed to meet half an hour ago,¡± Ari said. ¡°Shiki takes long showers,¡± Kazuki explained while rubbing his eyes. ¡°Anyway, why did you want to meet up so early, Ari?¡± questioned Shiki. ¡°It¡¯s best we get there early since the opening ceremony is in an hour in a half,¡± Ari responded. ¡°Well we¡¯d better start heading there now.¡± Shiki exclaimed while leaving. O O O Everyone from the exam met up in the cafeteria. It was the fanciest dining area Kazuki had ever seen. There were waiters handing out everything from drinks to snacks, and there was even an upstairs area with roof access. It was so big it could hold well over a thousand people with plenty of room to ??move around. After a few minutes, the intercom echoed throughout the area. ¡°Attention all race participants, please meet in the auditorium in ten minutes,¡± said Akari over the speaker. Kazuki signaled the others to follow him. When they came to the hallway there was an officer waiting at two separate doors. ¡°Name,¡± he said, looking at Kazuki. ¡°Kazuki,¡± he replied. The officer started flipping through the pages on the notebook. ¡°Take the door on the right.¡± Kazuki smiled and looked back at the others. ¡°I¡¯ll see you guys in a bit.¡± The room was filled with kids from the race, everyone on edge, waiting for the results. Kazuki found a row of empty seats and sat down. A little while later, the rest of the group walked in. ¡°Guys, over here,¡± yelled Kazuki. After a short while, the lights in the room dimmed and Akari appeared on stage. ¡°Good morning everyone, and welcome back,¡± she said into the microphone. ¡°Now that everyone has filed in, I am happy to announce that everyone has passed!¡± ¡°Hold on,¡± said a voice in the back. ¡°We all passed?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! One hundred and fifty people passed this year. That¡¯s fifty more that usual. It just goes to show how much talent we saw throughout all of the races,¡± Akari announced. The room erupted in excitement. ¡°We did it,¡± Kazuki smirked. ¡°I told you we¡¯d get in,¡± Shiki said nonchalantly. ¡°Now then,¡± said Akari flipping to the next page on her clipboard, ¡°everyone will be moving into their dorms tomorrow so make sure you bring everything you need. It is also required that you choose your roommate or they will be selected randomly. Make sure you choose the right person because you will be stuck with them for your entire time here.¡± ¡°Hold on,¡± yelled a boy from the back of the room. ¡°What happened to all the other kids.¡± She sighed, ¡°They¡¯ve already been informed that they didn¡¯t make it.¡± She handed the clipboard to an assistant standing next to her. ¡°That concludes the entrance ceremony. I¡¯ll see you all tomorrow.¡± Akari then walked off the stage and the lights flickered back on. Kazuki couldn¡¯t stop smiling. I can¡¯t believe I finally made it. This is where my journey begins, at Noryoku High! Vol. 2 Chapter 13 ¡°So, what do you think is gonna happen tomorrow?¡± asked Shiki while walking back to the hotel. ¡°I¡¯m guessing we¡¯ll be assigned to our rooms and classes. Speaking of rooms, Haru, do you want to be my roommate?¡± queried Ari. Haru¡¯s eyes lit up, ¡°Yeah, for sure!¡± Kazuki laughed, ¡°Well, Shiki, I guess I¡¯m with you then.¡± He grinned, ¡°I guess so.¡± ¡°The only problem is there¡¯s always the chance that we won¡¯t be in any of each other¡¯s classes,¡± Ari stated. Kazuki shrugged, ¡°We''ll cross that bridge when we get there.¡± ¡°Yeah, I guess you¡¯re right,¡± said Haru, ¡°there¡¯s no use wasting time on something we can¡¯t change.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll be fine for tomorrow,¡± Shiki reassured. ¡°I¡¯m telling you, only a hundred and fifty people passed so the chances of us getting in the same class are pretty high.¡± Kazuki pulled out one of the kunai blades he got from the bandit camp and spun it around his finger. ¡°Now what about the other people who finished the race? I don¡¯t understand how they finished so much faster than Haru and I,¡± ¡°Other people? What other people?¡± asked Shiki. ¡°There were these two boys and a girl who finished way before we did. It was really surprising considering we weren¡¯t slow at all,¡± explained Haru. Kazuki put his hands on his head. ¡°Yeah, I still have no idea on how they finished the race so fast. Maybe they had some kind of crazy transportation abilities.¡± Shiki¡¯s stomach started to rumble. ¡°Well, crazy powers or not, I¡¯m hungry. Let¡¯s go get some lunch!¡± O O O Shiki got into the hotel lobby and collapsed onto one of the couches. ¡°Ugh¡­ I think I¡¯m falling into a food coma.¡± ¡°Well at least you¡¯re not the one paying for fifteen bologna sandwiches,¡± Ari scowled. Kazuki laughed, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m pretty full too.¡± Haru sluggishly walking into the building and sat down in one of the chairs. ¡°I don¡¯t feel too good either.¡± Ari put her hand in her face and sighed. ¡°You two¡­. You aren¡¯t even paying for the food.¡± Shiki clapped his hands together while laying on the couch. ¡°Thanks for the food,¡± he groaned. ¡°Thanks, Ari,¡± Kazuki said. ¡°Sorry, we don¡¯t have the coins to pay you back. I promise I¡¯ll make it up to you.¡± She lifted her head and smiled, ¡°Well, at least there¡¯s one respectable person here.¡± Haru put her hand up and mumbled, ¡°Me too.¡± O O O The next morning, everyone went to the school to drop their items off in their dorms. ¡°I still can¡¯t get over how big this school is,¡± said Shiki, looking around the building. ¡°The dorms are in a different building on the school campus, so we aren¡¯t actually going into the school yet.¡± At the front desk, they were greeted with the Kaori, the woman who gave them their exam ids. ¡°Welcome new students, I assume that you are here to sign in and get your rooms,¡± said Kaori. ¡°May I get your names, please?¡± ¡°Kazuki,¡± he responded enthusiastically. I can¡¯t believe that I¡¯ve finally made it to Noryoku High! ¡°Here you are,¡± she said, passing Kazuki a room card with the number six hundred and twenty. ¡°The meeting that decides what classes you will be in will take place at one P.M., so you guys have time to do whatever you want around the building.¡± ¡°Kazuki, c¡¯mon, let¡¯s go check out our room!¡± Shiki said, running towards an elevator. They both stepped in and saw that there were seven buttons indicating the floors. A ¡°G¡± button for ground level, buttons numbered one through five used for student¡¯s dorms, and an ¡°R¡± button at the top, probably meaning roof access. ¡°Oh hey wait for us,¡± said Ari, signaling Haru to the elevator. A wicked grin grew across Shiki¡¯s face. ¡°Oh, we¡¯ll wait. Wait a few seconds that is!¡± He started spamming the close button. ¡°Why you little,¡± Both girls started to run to the now closing doors. ¡°You¡¯d better open up or else I¡¯ll-¡± The doors shut. Kazuki turned to Shiki and leaned back against the wall. ¡°I won¡¯t lie. That was a good one,¡± he grinned. Shiki raised his head triumphantly, ¡°I know.¡± They got to the sixth floor and the doors opened. They both walked to their room. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s check this room out,¡± said Kazuki. He swiped the card and the scanner became illuminated, turning green, signifying the card went through. They both walked in and their jaws dropped. The room was massive. There was a small lounge area with a sofa and a flat-screen TV in the middle of the room, big enough for a party. Across from that was a kitchen and in the other room were two king-sized beds. Kazuki dropped his bag onto one of the beds and started walking around. ¡°I can¡¯t believe how nice this place is!¡± Shiki was still in the doorway, looking around in shock. ¡°Yeah, I know. I never thought I¡¯d be somewhere like here. The best I¡¯ve had is an old hovel for a home.¡± He jumped on the bed and then collapsed into it. ¡°This is seriously awesome.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got that right.¡± Kazuki sat on the sofa and grabbed the remote from the table in front of him. ¡°We¡¯ve never had cable so I have no idea how this works.¡± Shiki hopped over the couch and sat next to Kazuki. ¡°Don¡¯t ask me, man, I didn¡¯t even have a TV. All I did was roam around the forest.¡± They both spent a couple of hours looking around the room and trying to get the TV to work. They both groaned and slouched back into the couch. ¡°It may have taken a while, but we finally got the TV to work,¡± said Kazuki. ¡°Yeah,¡± Shiki responded. ¡°I just hope it was worth it.¡±This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Kazuki turned around and glanced at the clock. ¡°Well, it¡¯s about time we head down. Don¡¯t want to be too late.¡± They took the elevator down to the ground floor, then walked to the meeting room. Two other kids had already got there and Kazuki recognized them as the second and third-place finishers of his race. Standing in front of the two boys who had already gotten there was a guard strapped with firearms and a tactical vest. ¡°Name?¡± he queried. ¡°What¡¯s the deal with all these guys asking my name, shouldn¡¯t you know who I am by now?¡± said the kid with the guitar impatiently. ¡°Just give the guard your name,¡± said the other student with glasses. ¡°He probably just needs it for security measures and identification.¡± The boy groaned. ¡°Fine, it¡¯s Sivle. Can we go now?¡± The guard wrote something down on a piece of paper he was holding and signaled Sivle into the auditorium. ¡°Next.¡± ¡°Brian,¡± said the other student. The guard wrote on the piece of paper again, before he signaled Brian into the auditorium. ¡°Next,¡± he repeated. ¡°It¡¯s Shiki,¡± he responded, walking into the auditorium. ¡°I¡¯ll get some seats, but Haru and Ari might already be there.¡± ¡°All right.¡± He glanced at the guard, ¡°It¡¯s Kazuki.¡± He nodded his head while presumably writing down Kazuki¡¯s name and pointed for him to go in. Kazuki walked into the room realizing that there were only around twenty people including him in the room. The room was fairly large, having enough seats to fit a few hundred people. He spotted Shiki sitting next to Haru and Ari waved. ¡°How do you think the classes are going to be decided,¡± said Kazuki sitting down next to Shiki. ¡°I think it has to be based on how well you did during the race,¡± Haru responded. Shiki reclined in his chair, ¡°I guess we¡¯ll see.¡± A few minutes passed and more students filed in. The guards closed the door and out of a portal, Akari appeared on stage. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you all again How is it going so far at Noryoku?¡± asked Akari. The room went silent. She laughed, ¡°Well it¡¯s expected that you¡¯re shocked by this, after all, it takes a while to get used to it here. Even upperclassmen get lost in the hallways.¡± This brought about a few giggles. ¡°Anyway, the way classes are going to be chosen is based on how well you all did during the race. We can¡¯t give you any official statistics on how they¡¯re decided, but I can tell you that it¡¯s based on how you performed.¡± ¡°How many people passed in total?¡± asked a girl from the other side of the room. Kazuki noticed that she was sitting with the girl who finished the race first in his race. ¡°In total, let¡¯s see,¡± said Akari as she grabbed a clipboard from her assistant. ¡°One hundred and fifty students passed, which is a lot more than a normal year. The acceptance rate was fairly high this year considering how many talented students there were.¡± ¡°Are you able to explain how the classes are structured?¡± asked Brian. ¡°You will learn basic subjects like math, science, and literature for two hours every morning. However, for the rest of the day you will all be learning how to use your abilities to their fullest,¡± said Akari. ¡°Also, every last Friday of the month there will be a special event where you can improve your ranks and collect rewards provided by the school. Any other questions?¡± Kazuki raised his hand, ¡°Why are we seeing you so often, weren¡¯t you just a proctor for the exam?¡± Akari laughed. ¡°You¡¯ve been seeing me around because this is my school. I am the principal after all.¡± She stood up from her desk and walked up to the wall creating a portal in front of her. She stepped off of the stage and came back a few seconds later with a man in a white and gold robe and another man in a plain white robe. They both stood to the side while Akari spoke again, ¡°You¡¯ve all probably heard how we allow you to check your stats free of charge, not having to pay a single gold coin. This is exactly right, however, we do things a bit different here.¡± She stepped back and the two men came forward. The man in the gold started to speak, his voice stern and unwavering, ¡°My subordinate and I will be granting you a type of ability called ''status.''¡± There was whispering in the crowd. A given ability? Was that even possible? He put his hand up, saying the word again, ¡°¡ºStatus¡»¡± This time what looked to be a metal plate suddenly appeared. He displayed the plate to the students, ¡°As you can see, by saying status I was able to conjure this item into reality. It displays a lot of information about you but the most important are your stats, rank, and ability rating.¡± There were cheers coming from the students. They couldn''t believe something like this existed. ¡°This is too cool,¡± said Shiki, waiting in line to get the ability. ¡°You get to see all of your stuff whenever you want!¡± There were two lines with both of them having one of the white-robed mages at the front. ¡°Stuff is an understatement. I haven¡¯t seen my stats for a long time,¡± responded Kazuki. ¡°Same for me,¡± Haru chimed in. ¡°The last time I saw them was before...,¡± Haru went quiet for a few seconds. Shiki broke the silence, ¡°Well, my village wasn¡¯t the most wealthy, so I only got to check mine a few times. The last time I saw em¡¯ was a couple of years ago.¡± ¡°Same for me,¡± responded Kazuki. ¡°Last time I checked it was, maybe twenty strength?¡± Everyone looked flustered. ¡°T-Twenty?¡± said Shiki. ¡°Is your ability some A-class strength-enhancing type of thing then?¡± ¡°Oh, no way,¡± he said. ¡°My ability is really bad, F class in fact.¡± The line started to move without them. You¡¯re kidding! they all thought. How is he so strong with an F class ability?! Shiki put his hand on Kazuki¡¯s shoulder and laughed, realizing what he was getting at, ¡°You got me! Nice joke, but seriously, what¡¯s your ability?¡± Kazuki looked confused, ¡°It¡¯s an F class. I can show you my stats once we get the card.¡± Shiki¡¯s jaw dropped. He¡¯s not kidding, is he? It was finally their turn. Shiki walked up to the man in the gold and white robe and he put his hand on his forehead. A light started to glow from the point of contact, then at the peak of its radiance, it faded away. I feel¡­ different. Shiki put his hand out and closed his eyes, ¡°¡ºStatus¡»¡± Just like before, a metal plate seeming phased into reality. His name was there plain as day, along with a hand full of other things. Shiki grinned, ¡°I¡¯ve gotten way stronger.¡± The card read as so, Shiki, Race: Raccoon Demi-Human, Age 14, Male. Special Ability: Light Magic, S-Class. Rank: Gold. Below this section was a list of his stats. HP: 600, STR: 320, DEF: 75, INT: 60, and MANA: 350. ¡°What?¡± Ari cried, ¡°How is your intelligence so high! It only goes up to one hundred and you¡¯re already at sixty?!¡± Shiki put his hands up and shrugged, ¡°I¡¯ve just got a big brain.¡± He looked at the card again and smirked. Gold rank, huh? Last time I checked I was bronze. I can¡¯t believe how much I¡¯ve improved. Haru stepped up next. ¡°Here I go, ¡ºStatus¡»¡± Similarly to Shiki, the plate appeared in front of her. Haru, Age 14, Female. HP: 400 STR: 140, DEF: 30, INT: 40, and MANA: 270. Everyone was shocked when they saw the ability portion. Inherited Ability: Silver Wolf¡¯s Blessing, Unusual Class. Special Ability: Dark Magic, S-Class. Uncommon Ability: Fire Magic, C-Class. Rank: Bronze. ¡°Haru, you can use dark magic?!¡± queried Ari, in shock after reading the card. Haru was just as surprised as her, ¡°I-I had no idea. I thought I was only able to use fire magic.¡± Shiki laughed to himself, ¡°I did not see that coming.¡± ¡°I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s because of the ¡®Silver Wolf¡¯s Blessing¡¯ ability.¡± Kazuki grinned, ¡°Either way this is awesome.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way I¡¯m topping that,¡± said Ari. ¡°¡ºStatus¡»¡± Ari, Age 14, Female. HP: 500, STR: 150, DEF: 30, INT: 45, and MANA: 400. Unique Ability: Wind Magic, A-Class. Rank: Gold. ¡°Ah, well it¡¯s not bad and I have gotten stronger since the last time I checked.¡± Shiki looked at her slyly, ¡°Oh? Only forty-five intelligence, huh?¡± Ari swung at Shiki and missed. ¡°Shut your face,¡± she said irritably. Kazuki exhaled nervously, ¡°Alright, I guess it¡¯s my turn.¡± He walked up to the man and the golden robe, and before he gave him the spell, his face turned to shock and his mouth opened, as if he was going to say something. He quickly covered it up and acted as if nothing happened. Kazuki ignored it and turned back to his friends. ¡°¡ºStatus¡»¡± Everyone¡¯s heads leaned in to see the card, and they couldn¡¯t believe it. ¡°Y-You¡¯re kidding,¡± stuttered Shiki. Ari couldn¡¯t believe it, ¡°This is insane.¡± Haru kept wiping her eyes to make sure the numbers were clear. It¡¯s over one thousand?! They all thought. Vol. 2 Chapter 14 Kazuki couldn¡¯t believe what he was seeing. His eyes started to burn from staring for so long. Eventually he turned around, Shiki, Haru, and Ari all had similar looks of astonishment on their faces. Shiki was the first one to break the silence. ¡°You¡¯re kidding, right?¡± he questioned. The plate read as follows: Kazuki, Age 14, Male. HP: 100, STR: 1920, DEF: 5, and INT: 65. Ability: Strength Stockpile, F-Class. Rank: Bedrock. "T-This is absurd,¡± Ari stuttered. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anything like this.¡± ¡°The warriors in my village could never dream of attaining this much strength,¡± Haru said out of shock. People started to crowd around Kazuki, trying to see what the commotion was about. He quickly dispersed the plate so no one could see his stats. ¡°We need to go somewhere else to talk,¡± he said, ¡°let¡¯s go to our room.¡± With that, they all exited the auditorium, and returned to Kazuki and Shiki¡¯s rooms in silence. When everyone finally entered they sat in silence for a few seconds before Shiki finally broke in. ¡°Alright, what the hell was that strength?¡± Shiki asked. ¡°I-I¡¯m not to sure myself honestly,¡± Kazuki said, his stupor finally wearing off enough for him to begin talking normally. ¡°Well, It''s not like being surprised is going to explain anything.¡± Ari said sitting down on the couch. I can¡¯t believe it. After all those years of nothing I finally have the power I wanted. It wasn¡¯t worth losing my family, but¡­ He gripped his shirt. A small part of me is glad. I won¡¯t put this power to waste. ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell us about your ability? Maybe that could give us a hint,¡± suggested Haru. ¡°Well, my ability is really bad,¡± Kazuki laughed. ¡°It¡¯s an F-Class ability that can increase my strength.¡± ¡°How is it F-Class if your stats are so high!¡± Ari said. ¡°Only one stat in particular. Everything besides my strength is way below average,¡± he corrected. Shiki sat up from the couch, ¡°Ok, but that still doesn¡¯t prove how your ability is F-Class.¡± ¡°Let me explain, my ability does ¡®enhance¡¯ my strength, but it¡¯s so minimal it practically makes no difference,¡± Kazuki said. ¡°Everytime I take one hundred damage, I get one strength in return.¡± ¡°Seriously? Well that¡¯s why all of your other stats are so low,¡± Shiki realized. ¡°You couldn¡¯t get any stronger because without a high defense every damage takes away one health. So even if you died-¡± ¡°You would only get one strength!¡± Ari interrupted. ¡°That makes it almost impossible to improve.¡± Shiki gave Ari an irritated look, in which she returned a smug one. ¡°Exactly, which is why I honed my skill into martial arts,¡± Kazuki said. Then how is it even possible for your strength to increase so much in such a short amount of time, Shiki thought. Everyone was stumped. ¡°I remember right before the Demon Lord Shruke hit me, I saw the number ¡®one hundred and ninety thousand¡¯ above me when I fell to the ground and passed out.¡±The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. The room went quiet. Ari started thinking to herself. What could that number mean? It can¡¯t be the damage because that¡¯s way too high. That much would be able to kill even elite mage apprentices. Shiki slumped in his seat. That number is way too high to be the damage. But what if¡­. ¡°No, that number is definitely the amount of damage you took, Kazuki,¡± claimed Haru. Shiki grinned after hearing her remark. ¡°But how!¡± Ari slammed her hands on the table. ¡°That number is way too high!¡± ¡°Exactly,¡± she said. ¡°That¡¯s the only possible explanation.¡± Ari gave her a confused look. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Shiki put his hand up to explain, ¡°What she¡¯s basically trying to say, is the fact that Kazuki died from the attack.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Kazuki and Ari said at the same time. ¡°I was thinking the same thing, but it seemed stupid considering if I died I obviously couldn¡¯t be here right now,¡± said Kazuki. Ari joined in, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s just common sense!¡± Shiki laughed, ¡°Well, it¡¯s common sense to most people. But I have a theory, and Haru probably has the same idea.¡± Haru grinned, ¡°Most likely. Have you two ever heard of ¡®Heavenly¡¯ or ¡®Abyssal¡¯ magic?¡± Kazuki and Ari looked at each other, ¡°No¡­?¡± ¡°Well, to put it simply, it¡¯s the ultimate form of light and dark magic respectively. Only one person can use each at the moment and both of them are elite mages on the magic council. Surprisingly, one of them was the man in the white cloak today who introduced the status plate,¡± Shiki explained. ¡°No way!¡± Ari exclaimed, ¡°That was one of the magic council members?¡± ¡°Yup,¡± he said pridefully. Kazuki sat up and glared at Shiki, ¡°How do you and Haru know all of this?¡± ¡°Well, Haru probably didn¡¯t know all of that stuff I said about the magic council and elite wizards. I learned that from reading books in our village library. I found a ton of hidden stuff on current day magic and abilities,¡± Shiki said. Kazuki gave him a condescending grin, ¡°You? Reading books? I can hardly believe it.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, can it would you,¡± he responded, then pointing to Kazuki. ¡°I¡¯m still trying to explain to you idiots how this guy got so damn strong.¡± He sighed, then continued speaking. ¡°Anyway, Haru was raised with strong people around her. I can¡¯t imagine how many light and dark users were among her kind. She must¡¯ve learned about heavenly and abyssal through them.¡± She nodded at his claim. ¡°On the other hand,¡± Shiki said, ¡°I learned about it because I myself can use light magic.¡± A ball of energy emerged above his palm. ¡°I studied on it and found out about them myself.¡± ¡°That¡¯s cool and all,¡± Kazuki commented, ¡°but how do these ¡®legendary magics¡¯ have to do with me dying?¡± ¡°Well this is the most important part,¡± Shiki stated, ¡°if you master conquer light or dark magic and learn heavenly or abyssal, you can use a forbidden magic called ¡®Resurrection Magic.¡¯¡± ¡°You¡¯re kidding,¡± Ari said. ¡°That stuff only exists in fairy tales.¡± ¡°And how do you think those fairy tales originated? The reason it¡¯s forbidden is because it¡¯s one of the easiest magics to abuse,¡± he said. ¡°So you guys think that one of the magic council members used this magic on me, even though it¡¯s forbidden. Why would they even be at a run down village like mine?¡± Kazuki queried. ¡°I mean, there was a Demon Lord there. There could be many different reasons for them to check out an attack,¡± Shiki responded. Kazuki retoreted, ¡°But there¡¯s only one heavenly magic and one abyssal magic user in the entire world. The odds just seem too low.¡± ¡°You may be right, but it¡¯s the only theory we¡¯ve got right now. I mean, all of the evidence adds up. You said the last number you saw was one hundred and ninety thousand. That must¡¯ve been the damage you took, adding nineteen hundred strength to whatever you had previously, which I¡¯m guessing was twenty considering its nineteen hundred and twenty right now,¡± Shiki explained. ¡°Hang on, you may be right.¡± Kazuki remembered when the man in the white and golden cloak¡¯s expression changed when he saw him. ¡°The man looked¡­ surprised to see me when he gave me the status ability.¡± Shiki grinned, ¡°And that¡¯s our first clue.¡± Vol. 2 Chapter 15 Kazuki finished brushing his teeth and put on the mandatory school uniform. It was a pair of black pants and a button-down white shirt with a black jacket over it. ¡°Shiki, come on, we¡¯re going to be late.¡± He yawned and got out of bed, ¡°Alright.¡± He quickly got ready before they both left to eat breakfast. Afterwards, they traveled to Noryoku and walked towards the receptionist to find out their classes. She handed them both their schedules, showing only three periods. ¡°Huh, so academic classes are first, then lunch and study hall, and we end the day with ability related things. That would mean each class is about two hours long!¡± Kazuki said, surprised. ¡°Who do you think we¡¯re gonna get in our class?¡± Shiki asked considering they had the same schedule. ¡°I don¡¯t care as long as it¡¯s not Katsuo.¡± Kazuki replied as he reached the door to their class. ¡°Well, I guess it would be nice if Haru and Ari could be here as well.¡± The room was ordinary, filled with desks in rows and a teacher¡¯s desk at the front, along with a whiteboard. Most of the other kids had already arrived, so Kazuki and Shiki took the nearest open seats towards the front of the room. Kazuki looked around. Seems like Katsuo isn¡¯t here, guess I lucked out. Kazuki noticed the girl with pink hair who had attacked him during his exam. I think her name was Shirai¡­ oh yeah, Shiraiyuki. He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see Shiki excitedly pointing at a student with blonde hair standing across the room. They both walked over to the student and Shiki introduced him. ¡°Kazuki, meet Fujio.¡± ¡°Hey,¡± said Kazuki with a smile. He realized this is the person Shiki must¡¯ve ran into in his exam. ¡°I¡¯ve heard about you a couple times and it feels good to finally meet you.¡± ¡°Oh really? I didn¡¯t know I was so popular,¡± he joked. They both laughed and started to talk. The teacher for their class hadn¡¯t arrived yet, so they just fooled around until they did. A few minutes later, a man with a rugged face and glasses entered the classroom. He appeared to be in his late twenties and looked like he hadn¡¯t slept in days. ¡°Good morning,¡± he said groggily. ¡°My name¡¯s Daishin and I¡¯m going to be your academic teacher for this school year.¡± He sat at his desk and sighed. ¡°I have one rule for this class. Just don¡¯t be loud, I can¡¯t deal with too much noise.¡± Is this guy serious? Kazuki expected an outgoing teacher that would be energetic and fun. This guy looked like he was forced to be here, in fact, Kazuki wouldn¡¯t be surprised if he was. At least, that¡¯s what he thought at the beginning of the class. Their teacher was surprisingly good, his lessons were easy to understand and he gave detailed explanations that made complete sense. Their teacher looked at the clock. ¡°Well, class is about to end, so let me tell you something before you leave.¡± He sat down and faced the students with a serious look on his face. ¡°Don¡¯t let your guard down at this school. Whether it be other students or some kind of ¡®test¡¯ the school enforced, there are a handful of dangerous things that take place on campus, so be on edge, or at least don¡¯t be stupid.¡± The bell rang and whispering and chatter spread throughout the room. Like the principle had said, this period was mostly basic school curriculum. By the end of it Shiki and Fujio looked like they were about to fall asleep. ¡°Well, glad that¡¯s over with,¡± said Fujio as they walked out of the classroom. ¡°What do we have next?¡± Shiki asked, yawning from the nap he took in class. ¡°Looks like a free period.¡± Kazuki responded as they walked around the school. ¡°We should probably meet up with Ari and Haru. Maybe we can get a head start on ability training!¡± he said excitedly. ¡°Yeah, but first we should get some lunch, I¡¯m starving,¡± Fujio replied. Soon after, the five of them walked into the cafeteria. Shiki and Haru sniffed the air in confusion. ¡°What¡¯s that smell?¡± Shiki asked, looking around the crowded cafeteria. ¡°I think that¡¯s called food, genius.¡± Ari replied as they walked towards the food line. ¡°Wow, look at all of this¡­ stuff!¡± Haru said in wonder, staring at all of the gourmet food choices. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve never seen food that looks this good.¡± Kazuki said, putting a slab of steak on his plate. They all walked over to an open table, before sitting down and talking about their days. ¡°So it looks like you guys learned the same stuff as us.¡± said Kazuki, his mouth watering as he shoved a piece of steak into his mouth. ¡°Well duh. It¡¯s just boring school stuff, obviously we¡¯re all gonna learn the same things.¡± Shiki replied with his mouth full. ¡°I wonder what the ability training is going to be like?¡± Ari questioned as she took a bite out of her salad. ¡°Well if I had to guess¡­¡± Kazuki trailed off as he noticed a familiar figure walking towards him. But for some reason, Kazuki didn¡¯t feel any of the dread he usually would as Katsuo approached his table. I guess being attacked by a demon lord really puts things into perspective, Kazuki thought as he stood up and faced Katsuo. ¡°Hey, you alright Kazuki?¡± Shiki asked, before looking in the direction he was facing. His face instantly darkened, as he stood up as well, both of his fists clenched. ¡°Oh it¡¯s this guy. I¡¯ve been waiting to kick his ass since the entrance exam.¡± Shiki started forward, before he felt a hand on his chest.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°Not right now Shiki. This is something I need to deal with myself.¡± Kazuki said, with a determined glint in his eyes. ¡°Are you sure? Because I have the urge to show him who¡¯s really the strongest,¡± Shiki replied. ¡°I¡¯m serious Shiki. If you want to talk to him, do it later.¡± ¡°Tch,¡± he sneered, stepping back. ¡°Fine.¡± Kazuki and Katsuo faced each other in the center of the cafeteria. ¡°So what did you do?¡± Katsuo asked, towered over Kazuki. His normal smug voice was replaced with one of anger. ¡°What did I do?¡± Kazuki repeated, confused as to what had triggered Katsuo¡¯s sudden personality change. ¡°I¡¯m not gonna ask again. What did you do? Did you pay off the principle? Maybe the teachers felt bad for you? What was it!?¡± Katsuo shouted in rage. Something¡¯s off. Sure, Katsuo would be surprised that I got in, but it feels like something else happened to make him this angry. Kazuki thought about what could have possibly made Katsuo this mad. I don¡¯t know what could have possibly made Katsuo this upset. The only thing he cares about is picking fights and being strong. Unless¡­ ¡°You lost a fight?!¡± Kazuki asked in shock. Sure, he knew that other strong kids came to Noryoku, but it was still hard to believe that someone as seemingly invincible as Katsuo had actually lost. ¡°Shut up! I didn¡¯t lose, I just got unlucky!¡± Katsuo roared. The entire cafeteria went silent, everyone turning to look at the standoff between the two boys. Katsuo ignored all of the people watching, still glaring at Kazuki. After a few seconds, he lunged at him. Kazuki prepared himself. He started to run towards Katsuo, but just as the two were about to make contact, a voice boomed across the cafeteria. ¡°Enough!¡± They both froze, mere feet away from each other. At first, the students thought the loud noise had stopped them, but then they noticed that both Kazuki and Katsuo¡¯s feet had sunk into the floor. A blonde, middle aged man wearing a suit walked up to the duo with a stern look on his face. Katsuo gritted his teeth as he tried to free himself from the ground. ¡°I don¡¯t know why you two are fighting, but you should know that any combat outside of school activities is prohibited. If you want to battle so badly, you¡¯ll have your opportunity later. Now, both of you sit down.¡± He said, releasing the spell that was binding the pair to the ground. Both of them stumbled forward at the sudden regaining of their movement. Katsuo turned around and started to walk away. He was pissed. ¡°This isn¡¯t over. When the time comes I¡¯m gonna kick the crap out of you,¡± Katsuo spat. ¡°Likewise,¡± Kazuki retorted, before they both returned to their seats, the volume in the cafeteria subsided as everyone started talking about what had just happened. ¡°So, I guess now you''ll have to watch out for that idiot,¡± Shiki said. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Kazuki, we¡¯ve got your back,¡± Ari said as she put her hand on Kazuki¡¯s shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Kazuki replied, his voice surprisingly calm. ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but for some reason I don¡¯t feel worried in the same way I used to about Katsuo. I just want him to stop messing with me. Of course,¡± a devilish grin emerged, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind showing him who¡¯s the stronger one this time around.¡± Shiki burst out laughing, ¡°That look does not suit your face!¡± He started slamming his hand on the table from laughter. His face reddened. ¡°Shut up!¡± He sat down and shoved a piece of meat into his mouth. Haru and Ari half laughed. I¡¯ve never seen him look that¡­ scary. They both thought. O O O Kazuki, Shiki, and Fujio walked down the hallway looking for the Ability Training Classroom. ¡°Damn, I can¡¯t find anything in this school. It¡¯s way too hard to navigate,¡± said Shiki as he looked around the various hallways. ¡°I think we¡¯ll find it before the next class starts.¡± Fujio commented. He was hauling a bag on his shoulder with his supplies from their first academic period, as well as his sword ??strapped on his back. ¡°I mean, we did leave the cafeteria thirty minutes before this class is supposed to start.¡± ¡°That¡¯s one thing I don¡¯t get,¡± he responded. ¡°Why do we have two whole hours for a ¡®study hall.¡¯ It¡¯s basically freetime, not that I¡¯m complaining.¡± ¡°We should have just waited for other people to leave and followed them,¡± Kazuki groaned. ¡°This is going to take ages.¡± ¡°Hey, c¡¯mon, don¡¯t be like that. Think of it as a chance to have some fun around here! It¡¯s like exploring a mansion, except, maybe a million times bigger,¡± Shiki said enthusiastically. A familiar voice started to speak from behind Shiki, ¡°Actually, the school is only around one hundred and twenty five times bigger than what is considered to be a ¡®mansion.¡¯ Well, only is an understatement.¡± ¡°Woah!¡± Shiki shouted out of surprise. ¡°Who the hell are you?!¡± He turned around and saw a boy with messy hair and glasses and a black backpack accompanied by another boy crossing his arms with slicked black hair and a guitar. ¡°You¡¯re the guys from the race!¡± Kazuki said, pointing at the two. He was surprised to see the second and third place finishers in a random place in the school like this. He introduced himself as well as his friends to the boys. ¡°Oh I remember you guys,¡± said Brian. ¡°You were behind us when we arrived at the auditorium.¡± ¡°That¡¯s cool and all¡­ but where are we going?¡± said Sivle. It went silent. ¡°Wait,¡± Shiki said. ¡°You guys don¡¯t know where you¡¯re going either?¡± ¡°Wha- Of course we know where we¡¯re going. Err, we knew where we were going,¡± said Sivle. ¡°We took a¡­ minor detour around the school and ended up here.¡± Brian started to speak for him, ¡°Actually, Sivle thought how cool the school looked and wanted to wander arou-¡± Sivle slammed his hand onto Brian''s back and there was an awkward pause. ¡°We aren¡¯t lost.¡± Another awkward pause. ¡°Well¡­ you guys lead the way then?¡± Fujio finally said, gesturing forward. ¡°Yeah, go ahead Bryan,¡± Sivle said expectantly, pushing Brian in front of him. They walked around the school for a few minutes, taking turns at seemingly random places. Kazuki started to have his doubts. Does this guy really know where he¡¯s going? Or is he just as confused as us? But, before he even realized it, they had arrived to the classroom. ¡°Wait, how did you know how to get here even though we were lost?¡± Kazuki asked Brian. Sivle responded for him, ¡°I told you, we weren¡¯t lost. We were on our way and just happened to run into you.¡± His reason changed, Kazuki and Shiki thought. ¡°Actually,¡± Brian started, ¡°it wasn¡¯t hard to memorize the layout of this school. It only took a couple minutes to know where everything is.¡± ¡°Wow, you seriously know where everything is?¡± Shiki queried. ¡°That¡¯s amazing! You¡¯ve gotta show me around this place sometime. It¡¯s way too big for me to picture in my head,¡± he laughed. ¡°Anyway, we should probably head into class. The bell will ring any minute now.¡± Everyone walked in and the first thing they saw was their teacher. Kazuki peered into the room, ¡°You¡¯re kidding me.¡± It was the same man who stopped the fight between him and Katsuo in the cafeteria. Shiki pointed into the room at the teacher. ¡°It¡¯s the same guy from lunch!¡± he shouted. Vol. 2 Chapter 16 The bell rang right as Kazuki and the others were about to enter the room. ¡°Tardy on the first day?!¡± said Kazuki, ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me.¡± Sivle glared at Shiki, ¡°Damn it! If you weren¡¯t blocking the doorway, we would¡¯ve arrived on time.¡± Instead of retorting, Shiki just looked at Sivle in fear. ¡°What? What¡¯s the matter!?¡± He looked behind him. ¡°Is the something behind me-¡± The teacher snagged Sivle¡¯s collar and gave him a furious look. ¡°Let me tell you this right now. Bickering between late students outside of my class is something I will not tolerate. Do it again and I¡¯ll make sure your actions won¡¯t go unpunished.¡± He let go of him and walked back to the class. ¡°Go take a seat, anywhere is fine.¡± The four of them staggered into the room, shocked at what had just happened, and chose to sit in the back corner of the room. Everyone stared at them as they walked toward their seats. Kazuki and Brian sighed and looked at each other. How did we get roped into this? Kazuki started to look around the room and noticed some people he already knew. Just like his first period, Shiraiyuki was here as well as her other noble friend, Ichiro. They were talking in the front of the room. Another interesting student was the girl who won Kazuki¡¯s race. He noticed her hair since it was black with white streaks in it, however, he only saw the back of her head since she was facing toward the front of the classroom. Also, instead of the frilly dress she was wearing during the exam, she had on the required school outfit, a black skirt with a white button-down shirt under a black uniform. Damn. Just thinking of training with these guys is getting me way too excited. He put his hand over his mouth to hide the grin on his face. The teacher sat at his desk in the front of the room. ¡°Good morning everyone, my name is Eito and I will be your ability training teacher for this school year. I hope we can all get along together.¡± He glanced at the four boys in the back of the room. ¡°Like all of the other classes, we won¡¯t actually be doing any training today. This is the first day I¡¯m meeting you, after all.¡± There were groans from all around the room. ¡°Seriously?¡± Shiki whispered to Kazuki, ¡°I was really looking forward to fighting people.¡± Eito started talking again, ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m supposed to say at least. However, I have other plans for you all.¡± He led all of the students outside and they entered a large building shaped like a dome, with a dirt floor. ¡°This is where ability training occurs. There are several areas like this around our campus and everything here is made to be as ability resistant as possible. All abilities come from the same genetic fibers, so by making something resilient to that, we have the potential to neutralize almost every power. That material is what these walls are made of so that students can train without any serious damage to the structure.¡± It¡¯s just like the bandit tents, Kazuki thought. ¡°Instead of learning about your abilities in a boring way, I¡¯d like to see how you apply them in a real-time situation.¡± he continued. ¡°Everyone will be divided into teams of four and the last team standing wins. Obviously, this is training, so don¡¯t attempt to severely hurt someone. I¡¯ll take notes of your abilities and we can figure out where to go from there.¡± He pointed to a box near the front entrance of the room, ¡°Everyone will be drawing lots to see who their teammates will be. This is another part of the test where I can study how you interact with unfamiliar people. And don¡¯t even try to use magic to choose what number you get.¡± Everyone got in a line behind the box to draw their lots. ¡°There will only be four teams as well, considering we have sixteen people in this class. He started pointing to different places in the room. ¡°Team one will go here, two here, and so on.¡± It was finally Kazuki¡¯s turn at the drawing box. He put his hand in and took a slip of paper, it had the number four on it. He looked at the area of the room where the fours were supposed to gather and saw his other three teammates. There was Shiraiyuki, Brian, and Sivle. He noticed Shiki was put with Fujio, Ichiro, and the girl who won his event. Shiraiyuki turned and noticed Kazuki. She gave him a hard glare. ¡°Oh? It looks like we¡¯re in the same group.¡± Kazuki acted as if she wasn¡¯t there. ¡°Looks like we got in the same group, Sivle, Brian. Let¡¯s not be bested by Shiki¡¯s team.¡± Sivle smirked at his statement, ¡°Why would we lose to a guy like him? As far as I¡¯m concerned, we¡¯re at least a hundred times better.¡± Shiraiyuki grabbed Kazuki¡¯s shirt. ¡°Hey, stop pretending I¡¯m not here!¡± Kazuki sighed, ¡°Fine, then why don¡¯t we introduce ourselves. The guy with the slicked hair is Sivle and the guy who looks like he just woke up is Brian.¡± He grinned, ¡°And I¡¯m Kazuki, the guy who beat you in the race.¡± She scowled, ¡°You just played dirty! Ichiro was really hurt after you hit him!¡± Kazuki retorted, ¡°I was playing dirty? Your ¡®friend¡¯ almost killed me!¡± ¡°Uh, guys,¡± Brian noted, ¡°I don¡¯t think we should be fighting before an event where we need to work together.¡± Their teacher raised his hand, signifying the battle was about to begin. ¡°Ready,¡± his hand dropped, ¡°Fight!¡± Chaos ensued as the students began to fight. ¡°Alright guys, we need to stay together. I¡¯d like to get a quick rundown on your abili-¡° said Brian. But before he finished his sentence, Kazuki and Shiraiyuki sprinted off to fight the other students. ¡°Well, so much for teamwork, not that I wanted to work with other people anyway,¡± commented Sivle as he also ran into the fray. ¡°W-Wait!¡± cried Brian, ¡°You know I can¡¯t fight by myself!¡± He chased after Sivle. Kazuki rushed into the middle of the battle to find someone to fight. He looked around and noticed a hawk flying over the arena. How did that get in here? Kazuki wondered. But just as he finished thinking, the bird suddenly dove towards him, talons outstretched. Kazuki dives out of the way, narrowly avoiding being cut. He rolled and sprung back up, looking around to see where the bird had gone. Instead he faced a plain looking boy with black hair and a brown t-shirt. ¡°You aren¡¯t bad, but I guess that¡¯s to be expected from a school as prestigious as this one,¡± he said, before growing in size, hair sprouting out of his body until it was that of a blackbears. He charged at Kazuki, swiping at him with his claws, but his size made him too slow to land any hits. Even so, he was still attacking fast enough to keep Kazuki from forming a significant counterattack. This continued until Kazuki finally landed a solid blow on the bear¡¯s nose, blowing him backwards. He turned back into a kid before standing and looking at Kazuki in interest, his nose dripping blood. ¡°You¡¯re able to do well, considering you have such a basic ability. Looks like it¡¯s time for plan B.¡± He shrunk in size, sprouting wings and a stinger. A bee? Damn it. What¡¯s he planning? Suddenly, what was once a single bee had turned into a whole swarm. Kazuki stumbled back in shock. Does he really have an ability like that? He readied himself, although he wasn¡¯t sure how he would deal with an entire swarm of bees, when he was suddenly hit in the back. He fell to the ground for a moment, but hastily got back up. He looked into the sky, but the swarm had disappeared, replaced with the kid in the brown t-shirt. Kazuki looked behind him to see another student with straight black hair and bright yellow eyes.Stolen story; please report. ¡°Nice job, I didn¡¯t think that idea would work, Hajime¡± said the shapeshifter to the other student. ¡°Well, I guess this means I¡¯m a genius,¡± Hajime said jokingly, as he went for another attack on Kazuki. But this time, Kazuki was ready, and went to grab the students hand, only to grasp nothing but air. The rest of his body disappeared, and once again, Kazuki was hit from behind. He sprung up and turned around to see Kento with a smirk on his face. ¡°See, Kento? I told you this would be easy,¡± said Hajime going for another attack, but instead of focusing on him, Kazuki turned and struck the other student, who had once again been approaching from behind. He struck him with an uppercut, sending him flying into the air. He crashed into the floor and stumbled back up, but he was clearly in no condition to fight for the time being. ¡°Wha, how did you figure it out?!¡± Kento gasped in shock. He morphed into a black bear, but Kazuki could see through his movements much easier after having already fought him once, as well as him being injured from the previous strike, and punched him in the gut, sending him flying backwards. He got up and gave the other student an apologetic glance, before morphing into a hawk and flying away. ¡°I guess that¡¯s it for him,¡± Kazuki muttered to himself, before turning back toward Hajime. ¡°Well I already knew something was up with that bee swarm, but after my hand passed through you it was pretty easy to figure out you were using some type of light magic to create illusions. After that, all I had to do was figure out where you were coming from, which wasn¡¯t too hard with your predictable movement pattern.¡± He finished with a grin. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s great and all, but if you think I¡¯m finished, then you¡¯ve got another thing coming,¡± the student said, who had now recovered enough to stand up straight. His body split into four exact copies of himself. ¡°¡ºQuadruple Illusion¡»¡± All four boys ran at Kazuki at once. Crap, how am I supposed to know which one is real? Kazuki thought. He tried to roundhouse kick all of them at once, but his leg passed through the first three copies, and was caught by the real student, who body checked him, sending him into the dirt. Wait a minute¡­. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? I thought I was predictable.¡± The kid taunted, as he sauntered over to Kazuki''s body on the floor. Kazuki sprung up and flung dirt onto the student and his copies, the dirt passed through the copies and hit the real version square in the face. ¡°What the?!¡± The kid said in shock, before being punched in the stomach, shooting him into the ground. That was close, I need to make sure I don¡¯t take too much damage. I wonder how Shiki is doing? Kazuki thought. O O O ¡°Woo hoo!¡± Shiki bounded over one of the students and shot out an orb of light onto them. ¡°¡ºLight Bomb¡»¡± The ball detonated on impact. ¡°This is too easy.¡± Sivle sprinted up to Shiki and took a swing at his head. ¡°Oh, so you wanna fight, huh?¡± said Shiki, dodging and backing away. ¡°¡ºSecret Weapon: Light Staff¡»¡± A staff shimmering in white and gold light appeared in Shiki¡¯s backhand. He spun the staff over his head and slammed it into the ground beside him. ¡°That¡¯s a neat weapon, but I prefer this,¡± said Sivle as he held up the guitar, gripping it by the neck. ¡°Ahaha! What do you think you¡¯re gonna do with a guitar? Play me something?¡± he kept laughing. ¡°Tch,¡± he gave Shiki an irritated look, ¡°I¡¯ll show you what I¡¯m made of.¡± ¡°Right back at cha¡¯,¡± said Shiki, twirling his staff. He sunk into a fighting stance. He rushed at Sivle and swung the staff at him. Sivle ducked and sweeped Shiki¡¯s legs, leaving him open for the overhead strike with the guitar. Shiki hit the ground and rolled before the guitar could hit him. ¡°Ha! What do you think you¡¯re doing? Now your precious instrument is bro-¡± Shiki glanced at Sivle and saw how the guitar was in pristine condition, no scratches, no nothing on it. ¡°Wait, what¡¯s going on? How is that thing perfectly fine!¡± Sivle chuckled, ¡°I guess it¡¯s time to show you just how strong I am.¡± He pulled his guitar out and adjusted it so he could play. He strummed the guitar, and sparks erupted from the top. Purple energy shot out, before forming into the shape of a wolf. ¡°Still think you can beat me?¡± Sivle asked cockily. ¡°Bring it,¡± Shiki replied, as he charged at the violet beast. O O O Kazuki was running back to find his team. Damn, I got too excited and left everyone behind. I should''ve stayed with Sivle and the others. As he was thinking of the best thing to do at this point in time, a massive beam of dark energy surged toward him. He noticed just in time and jumped to the side. The wave exploded when it hit the wall of the building, sending gusts out wind blowing relentlessly throughout the arena. His feet skidded to a halt and he put his hand on the side of his face. The magic had cut his cheek, causing blood to dribble down the side. That was way too close. The only person I know who can use dark magic is¡­. ¡°What the hell is your problem, Shiraiyu-¡± But it wasn¡¯t her. The one who attacked him was the girl who won his race. He grinned, ¡°I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d be going up against you so soon.¡± She didn¡¯t say anything. Instead, the girl just put her right hand up, preparing to fire another beam. Eito was watching from the sidelines, She¡¯s attacking another person. So far everyone she¡¯s gone up against hasn¡¯t put up anything resembling a fair fight. I wonder how this boy will do, against the strongest student in the school. He crossed his arms, Though, I don¡¯t expect much considering all I¡¯ve seen is minimal martial arts and some minor strength enhancements. Kazuki braced himself for another assault. I can¡¯t get hit anymore, I¡¯ve already taken a beating from the shapeshifter and light guy. He licked the blood on his cheek. After all, I¡¯d say I only have around seventy-five percent of my health left. I can¡¯t afford to be hit by someone this strong, or else it¡¯ll be like my fight with Shruke all over again. He clenched his fists together. And I won¡¯t let go of this chance I¡¯ve been given. As expected, the girl shot out another monstrously powerful wave of dark magic, except unlike the previous time, Kazuki was prepared. He dodged to the side and attempted to rush the girl and fight her in hand-to-hand combat, but she raised her other hand and another massive blast was sent toward him. Without thinking, he jumped as high as he could to avoid the attack, successfully outmaneuvering both beams. However, what he didn¡¯t expect was what happened next. The girl aimed her pointer and middle-finger behind Kazuki, summoning two magic portals that absorbed both dark magic beams. ¡°What the he-¡± Kazuki couldn¡¯t even finish his sentence when he understood what was going on. Two more portals showed up in front of him while he was airborne, and both energy waves simultaneously shot out from them. Damn it, it¡¯s a wormhole! Shiki stopped fighting the magic animals Sivle was unleashing and saw the fight taking place between Kazuki and the girl. In fact, everyone had stopped fighting to witness the absurd battle taking place between the two. To spectators, it seemed like a weakling was being targeted by an especially strong magician, for seemingly no reason. Sivle noticed the portals, Wormholes?! But that can only mean, she¡¯s a wielder of chaos magic! This is especially bad for Kazuki, no one here except me knows how weak he really is! Time seemed to slow down for Kazuki. Oh no, what do I do? What can I do? I can¡¯t dodge in mid-air, and it¡¯s not like I can just hit the magic! The beam grew closer. Wait maybe I can project myself to the side using wind pressure from my punches! The only problem is, I don¡¯t think I have the strength to move myself that quickly. He thought of a solution, If that¡¯s the case, he adjusted his body preparing for a strike, the beams were mere meters away from him. I¡¯ll use my legs! He swung his right foot parallel to the beams using all of his strength, sending his body flying to the side like a ragdoll due to his center of gravity not being stabilized like it is on the ground. He slammed into the wall across from him right as the magic shot past where his body would¡¯ve been. The girl¡¯s eyes widened with shock, as no one had ever avoided one of her most formidable assaults. However, she wasn¡¯t the only baffled one, practically everyone in the arena was dumbfounded at what had just occurred. Kazuki grumbled as he sat up. ¡°Ugh, what just happened?¡± He turned to look back where the beams were going to hit him, and to his utter disbelief, there was a massive hole in the wall that was ¡°supposed to¡± negate all magic. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±