《LIFE WITH//OUT MAGIC》


 Introduction & Prologue

    Hello all,


    I am a light novel author that focused on fantasy and psychological genres.


    This is my light novel:


    Synopsis:


    Throughout history, humans had always occupied the top of food chains, but it changed after dimensional portal disaster happened around the world.


    The monster from another dimension began to invade the human¡¯s world.


    Along with these events, the supernatural power known as magic could also be used by humans.


    Were humans could resist the invasion of monsters or human¡¯s magic power would be used for their greed?


    Of course, I did not care about that!


    Because, I only care about one thing.


    That thing was¡­.


    # # #


    Title: LIFE WITH OUT // MAGIC


    Genres: Seinen, Fantasy, Adventure, Psychological, RPG, School life, Romance


    Point of view: First person point of view. This story will tell us about the struggle of the main character.


    Setting: Sendai City, Japan. Year 2100 +


    Author & Artist: Alfons A.P


    Nb:


    All illustrations were made by me using SAI software, but the background is taken from google maps and filtered using photoshop software.


    ################


    PROLOGUE : Dimensional Anomaly


    Throughout history, humans had always occupied the top of food chains.


    It was not because of the human physical strength, but because of their intelligence that made them could dominate other living creatures.


    But, were humans would forever dominate other living beings? Were there any creatures more intelligent than humans on this earth?


    Surely,  if we compared humans with other living beings on earth, then humans would be the winner.


    So, what if we compared humans with other living beings from the another dimension?


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Dimensional anomaly was an anomaly that caused instability between two different worlds.


    The impact of this was the opening of a portal that connected the earth with other parallel world.


    By opening a portal between two different worlds, creatures from other world could travel between two worlds.


    The most famous example was the Bermuda Triangle. The person who went there often disappeared or found in other places on earth.


    If it only happened in the Bermuda triangle, then it would not impact life on earth, because dimension anomaly just happened there.


    But, what if the dimensional anomalies occurred in all places on earth?


    That was the international disaster on Earth that happened in the year 2074, dimensional anomalies occurred at various places on earth.


    This dimensional anomalies was not like an anomaly that happened at the Bermuda Triangle. Humans did not disappear, but creatures from other worlds could travel to earth.


    If only  another world¡¯s creatures that appeared on earth were friendly, then it would not be a problem, but creatures that appeared from another world were the creatures that we known as ¡®monster¡¯.


    All kinds of monsters from the other world came out from dimensional portals. They began to dominate mountains and forests around the world.


    All country combined their military power to destroy the monster, but their weaponry were ineffective against the monster.


    Weapons such as guns, tanks, and missiles had been used to fight against the monster, but the effect was more harmful to humans, because it also caused damage to the forest and mountain.


    In addition to that disaster, dimensional anomaly also affected the human¡¯s aura. Because of that, the human could bring their hidden power within themselves.


    A variety of super powers that we knew as magic could be used by humans.


    But, that strength only appeared in humans under the age of 18 years old. That''s because human growth under the age of 18 years had not been stopped, so the aura in their body could still grow.


    Scientists began to develop a way to use the power within the human to fight against the monster.


    After passing through various experiments, humans began to use that power to war against the monster, and the results proved to be more effective than using an ordinary weapon.


    This was because the body of the monster equipped with a resistance layer formed from their aura, so only the attack that containing an aura could effectively penetrate their defense.


    The fight against monster from another dimension were still happening today, and humans had not lost their hope of winning.


    Could this power saved humans from monsters or it will be used for humans greed?


    Only history knew that answer.

 CHAPTER 1 - SOUL GATHERING

    Thirty four years had passed since the dimensional anomaly disaster, and in the year 2108, supernatural powers and human technology had grown.


    Nowadays, human could do supernatural powers such as telekinesis and elements control. They used that powers to fight the monster from other dimension, and to support their daily work.


    Even so, human had not abandoned conventional weapons such as guns and missiles, that weapons still used as a backup to fight the monster, although its attack were not as effective as supernatural powers.


    In general, human supernatural powers began to grow at 18 years old, and after 23 years old, its growth began to slow down, this was the same as the puberty process in human beings.


    If human supernatural powers opened after 23 years old, then that power could not be used to fight the monster or to support their works, because its strength was too weak.


    On the other hand, the development of human technology was more developed in the field of telecommunications. At this time, peoples were no longer used handphone, but they used a bracelet that could show a holographic display.


    That hologram bracelet known as Howlet.


    Howlet had been used for various communications activities such as calling, email, video calls, recording, streaming video, and other activities. Howlet discovered in 2058, and almost all human activities today¡¯s were done by the help of howlet.


    Howlet also equipped with a voice recognition ability, so all commands could be done by speaking a specific keyword. If you wanted to call, then just said ''CONTACT'' and instantly a hologram display would appear from howlet, afterwards you just mentioned the name of the person that you wished to call.


    Howlet could also be used to determine the user body condition, such as detecting heartbeat, breathing patterns, blood pressure, and supernatural energy levels.


    The government were fully subsidized howlet, so everyone could get a howlet for free. This was intended to increase the work efficiency, so the country¡¯s economy could grow faster.


    # # #


    The time was six o''clock in the morning, and my howlet that located on my left wrist activated the alarm system to woke me up.


    BEEP BEEP BEEP!


    I disabled my howlet¡¯s alarm system, and woke up from my sleep. After that I sat beside my futon. I didn¡¯t use a bed to sleep, because I didn¡¯t have a private bedroom.


    Everyday, our family had been sleeping using futon in the living room, because we  lived in a small apartment.


    There were only two rooms in our apartment, a bathroom and a storeroom. Therefore other activities carried out in the living room.


    There were only one television, a dining table that could be folded, and two cabinets in our living room. Although there were no entertainment devices such as playstation or computer, I could use my howlet devices for playing games or watching movies.


    I smoothed my futon and put it back in the cabinet. My mother was preparing our breakfast, while my father had gone to the office since five o¡¯clock in the morning.


    My father did not eat breakfast at home, because he had to catch the train to get to work on time. He always eating his breakfast in the office by purchasing a bread from minimarket near his office.


    My father worked at the shipping company that located in the city of Sendai, Japan. His salary was low, so our family had to scrimp, and I also had to worked part time to helped our family finances.


    DING!


    My Howlet gave a notification sounds , and displayed my activities for today.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>Good morning, Mr. Michio Taniguchi, today is April 3, 2108. You are now in the city of Sendai, Japan. Schedule for today are go to school at seven o''clock in the morning, and work part time at mini market 8TWELVE at four o''clock in the afternoon.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    After I got the notification from my howlet, I immediately went to the bathroom, and when I wanted to open the bathroom¡¯s door, it was locked from inside. It seemed my sister was still using the bathroom.


    I had a younger sister named Chika Taniguchi, she attended 9th grade at a junior high school.


    Next year, she wanted to attend the same school as mine, my school was Shirayuki Gakuen senior high school.  Her goal was to become a teacher like my mother. Of course, she had to study hard to achieved that goal.


    I decided to wait in front of the bathroom. I did not have to wait for a long time, because there was only a shower in my bathroom, and  my sister had a short hair too, so her bath¡¯s times would be faster.


    Fifteen minutes had passed, and finally I had finished showering.


    After that, I went to the storeroom to change my clothes.


    Today was the beginning of new school terms, and the beginning of spring season, so I used a black blazer with a white shirt, a red tie, and gray trousers for my school uniform.


    The stuff that I brought to school were umbrella, a water bottle, and a bread for lunch.


    Nowadays, all Japan students rarely used books for studying, because all data could be accessed via howlet. In class, we only had to listen to our teacher explanations and we did not need to take notes.


    The lessons that still used books were lessons like calligraphy and art. Although, we no longer needed to writing by hand, writing lessons like calligraphy still remained to preserve the culture and history of Japan.


    After I wore my school uniform and finished tidying up my bag, I left the storeroom to ate my breakfast.


    My mother was preparing our breakfast,  and she put the breakfast on the table that could be folded. This foldable table was very useful, because it could be folded and placed on the corner of the room when not in used.


    My sister was sitting besides me, and my mother sitting across from me.


    Our breakfast this morning were natto with a bowl of rice, and miso soup as a side dish.


    Natto was a traditional Japanese food, it made from fermented soy beans. In Japan, natto favored by people in the eastern region, including Kanto, Tohoku and Hokkaido.


    While we was eating, my mother began to pour hot tea into our cups.


    After that, she asked us about our activities for today.


    "Michio, today is the first day that you become a 11th grade student.  What major that you will take, soldier major or worker major? "


    Chika also immediately put down her chopsticks and rice bowl on the table, then she was looking at me with a serious look, she wanted to know the decision that I would take.


    "Ah.. I see ... today¡¯s brother will become a 11th grade student. What major that brother will take? Chika wants to know! "


    I immediately became speechless, and while I was continuing to ate my breakfast, I thought seriously about the major that I would take.


    After the dimensional portal disaster, all 11th grade students at Japan, who were aged 18 years old must choose between two main majors, ¡®Soldier¡¯ or ¡®Workers¡¯.


    Soldier major studied supernatural powers to fight against the monsters. Elements control, aura manipulation, and war skills would be learned by the students of soldier major.


    After graduating from senior high school, the soldier major student would be tasked to fight the monster and maintain the security of the country.


    Unlike soldier major, the worker major did not need to fight against the monster. Worker major students would be taught on how to used their supernatural powers to support their works.


    The most famous supernatural power of worker major was ¡®Triple Tasking¡¯. Someone who had the power of triple tasking could thinks three different things at the same time, so that power would be very useful for office work.


    After that, because I could not decide the major that I would take. I used my usual technique to changed the flow of conversation, I named this technique ¡®Diverting Attention¡¯.


    "Hmm¡­. What major that Mom has taken in the past? "


    I asked my mother that question to diverting her attention to herself,  so my mother would not focus her attention to me, and she would tell a story about her past.


    But¡­


    My mother immediately smiling, then she started to answer my question with a slight laugh.


    "Ha ha ha .. You want to change the subject? That trick will never work on me. But never mind, if you don¡¯t want to answer right now. I have taken worker major in the past, but because my supernatural power is not strong, I could not get a good job. "


    It seemed my mother already knew about my trick that I used frequently to change the conversation subject, maybe next time I had to used the other tricks.


    From my mother answer, I knew that she could not get a good job because her supernatural power was too weak. Human were not born equal, so there would be a supernatural power that was stronger than the others.


    My mother had a supernatural power in terms of calculations, she had the ability to counting faster than an ordinary person. But of course, when compared to other supernatural power users, her powers was considering weak.


    My mother worked as a private tutor for elementary to junior high school students, although her salary was not very high, but she was able to send us to school.


    My father had a supernatural power in the field of telekinesis. He could lift heavy objects using his mind. This power was useful for his job at delivery services company.


    But, If compared with the forklift machine, my father¡¯s telekinesis power surely lost.  At least, he could lift items up to 30 kg weights with his telekinesis power.


    Although, my mother and father were not born with a high supernatural power, we still had a hope, and that hope was my genius sister, Chika Taniguchi.


    Since childhood, she always got a ranking in her class, maybe it was because of her good memory and supernatural talent.


    When compared to me, I just a normal boy and I did not have a good physical appearance. My height was 170 cm, and with a thin body made me could not expect to had a good supernatural talent. My brain ability was normal, because I never had a ranking in my class.


    I finally answered my mother question with a neutral answer.


    "I don¡¯t know what major that I will choose. I will just look at my test results. "


    "Ohh.. Okay, just don¡¯t force yourself and choose the major that suit yourself."


    "Brother will be alright, Chika sure of it! Because brother will never give up! "


    My sister patted my shoulder, and looking at me with an optimistic view. She was convinced in my abilities.


    I rarely talked about my problems, because I did not want to made my family worried about me. Perhaps because of that, they were assuming that I was strong and independent person.


    I decided to end this conversation by showing a little smile in my face, and said the most common words to close the conversation.


    "Thank you all, I will do my best."


    The supports that were given by my mother and my sister, made me more eager to got a good test results.


    The test that I would take today was the test to determine a major for the students, whereas that students would be more suitable in soldier major or worker major. The test determined the major by analyzing the supernatural talent and physical status of that students.


    If the test result was showing the undesirable major, that student could still be free to choose between the two majors, but on the condition that the risks would be borne alone by that student.


    After I had finished my breakfast, I said goodbye to my mother and went to school.


    Our apartment located on the second floor, so I had to go down the stairs to go out of the apartment complex. In this apartment complex, no one had a car, so there were only motorcycles and bicycles in the parking lot of this apartement.


    My sister school was in the opposite directions, so we did not walk to school together. The distance of our apartment and my school was only 800 meters, so it only took 15 minutes walked to my school.


    Even so, there still a lot of students in my school who went to school by using a motorcycle. Perhaps, it because their homes were far away from the school or because they wanted to hangour after school. It could also for show off, so they could get a girlfriend easier.


    Finally, I said goodbye to Chika at our apartment¡¯s gate.


    After 5 minutes of walking, suddenly I heard a sound of person who greeted me from behind.


    "Good morning, Michio!"


    I quickly looking back, and saw the face of a young girl with blue hair that reached her shoulders, and she also had blue eyes.


    She was Aika Shimasaki.


    Aika was my childhood friend. I had known her since I still in elementary school.


    In the past, when I was playing at the park, my mother met her mother, and since then we had became a friend.


    Her blue hair and blue eyes were not because she was a descendant of a foreigner family, but it was because of the effect of her element¡¯s aura.


    Since dimensional anomaly disaster, the human eyes and hair color that born after that disaster had changed base on their element¡¯s aura. It seemed that Aika¡¯s element was water, so she had blue hair and blue eyes.


    Even so, I had black eyes and black hair, my parents also had black eyes and black hair, but unlike us, my sister had brown hair and brown eyes.


    Maybe black color indicated that the person supernatural powers were not too high, so it did not affect the hair pigment. But, when compared to other hair color, I would still choose black color, because this color did not make me too stand out.


    With blue hair and blue eyes made Aika looked more beautiful, because of that she became one of the popular girls in my school. She was also a smart girl, so I did not surprise, if many men would fall in love with her. Even so, she just had a relationship once, and that relationship had already broken.


    I immediately greeted Aika back, but I could not stare at her face for too long, because it could show my nervousness in front of her. Although she was my childhood friend, I rarely met her since 8th grade junior high school, so naturally I felt myself blushing to see her beautiful face.


    "Good morning ... Shimasaki. "


    After I said that, Aika immediately paused and puffed out her cheeks, it seems that she dissatisfied with my greeting.


    "Uuhhhh ... How many times that I have to told you to call me by my first name? Just call me Aika! We are childhood friend! "


    Aika was not satisfied with my greeting.


    In Japan there was a culture to called someone using their first or last name. Usually we called someone by their first names for close friends, girlfriend, and family.


    Calling someone by their last name used for people that we just met, ordinary friends, and coworkers.


    Of course, because I knew that culture, I would not call Aika by her first name.


    I immediately turned my face from her view, and looking for an excuse to end the conversation, then with a small laugh, I answered with the usual reasons that I used to avoid someone.


    "Ha ha .. I will think about it later. Err.. I have to pick up my friend to go to school together. So, goodbye, I don¡¯t want to be late to pick him up. "


    Afterwards I walking faster and heading to the alley in front of me, but it seemed Aika still following me from behind.


    I immediately stopped my step, and asked her.


    "Err .. why are you still following me?"


    Aika also stopped and stared at me, It seemed rather difficult to make her go away from me.


    "Let¡¯s go to school together with your friend as well. It¡¯s still early, so we wouldn¡¯t be late."


    "But, my friend''s house is far away, so I don¡¯t want you to be late to school."


    "Hmm ¡­ It¡¯s suspicious, are your friend a woman?"


    Aika was frowning and showing a sharp smile, her expression was like a journalist who had got a very interesting gossip.


    Apparently the talk was leading into the wrong direction, and Aika still insisted to going to school with me. So, I immediately used my ultimate technique that I used to avoid someone. I named this technique ''Dead-end Conversation''.


    "My friend is a man, and I have already known him since I was in 10th grade senior high school. His home is far away, and there is a fierce dog in his house. I have to go to his home to return his book that I borrowed from him, so I don¡¯t want you to be late to school.¡±


    After I said that, Aika immediately stopped talking and then she started to put her left hand on her chin, and then replying me with a little nervousness in her face.


    "Ahh ... He He .. okay, then I will go to school alone, and good luck with your choices today, I hope you get a good major."


    After saying that, Aika walked away from me, she seemed a little bit disappointed.


    This ''Dead-end Conversation'' technique was used to end the conversation by providing a strong reason so there was no room for questions, and by adding things that she feared would make her go away from me. Since childhood, Aika afraid of dogs so I used her fear of dogs to make my reasons stronger.


    I stayed away from Aika was not because I hated her, but because I wanted to avoid the attention of the people around her. I did this because I was bullied when I was still in junior high school, so I did not want to be a target of bullying again.


    I must avoid unnecessary attention to avoid being bullied again. An ordinary person like me that just had a normal look and low economic level must not too stand out.


    Someone became a target of bullying was not because he was weak, but because he was too stand out. If only he was too standout but he was strong and rich, then he could not become a bullying target. But, If he was weak and poor, then he could become a target of bullying from the people who envy him.


    The bullies envy him was not because of his weakness,  but because of his popularity. If he had a good physique or rich, then it would not be a problem. But, if that popular person came from the weak people so it would be a problem, because he was not worthy for such popularity and the bullies would get rid of his popularity.


    Just try to Imagine, if a weak person like me became a close friend with Aika, who was one of the popular girls in school. Of course, many students would be jealous and they would try to get rid of me, because they wanted to get Aika attention.


    Afterwards, I would definitely became a bullying target, and they would terrorize my mind until my personality destroyed so Aika would stay away from me. But, if I was a cool or rich person, the bullies would not dare to bully me because I was considered a worthy person to become Aika friends.


    With this way, I had not bullied since I entered senior high school. I would continue to maintain this lifestyle, so I could live in peace.


    After 18 minutes of walk, I arrived in front of my school gate.


    At the school gate, there was a big banner to welcome new students.


    [WELCOME TO SHIRAYUKI GAKUEN HIGH SCHOOL]


    Today was the start of the new school terms, so the new 10th grade students would enter into my senior high school. New students would attend the students orientation, that contained the introduction of school facilities, school culture, and school programs.


    I checked my howlet bracelet, and opening my email¡¯s inbox to see my class information.


    <table><tbody><tr><td>


    Name: Michio Taniguchi


    Date of birth: January 16, 2090


    Age: 18 years old


    School: Shirayuki Gakuen High Shool


    Class: 11 - A


    Data last updated on 2 April 2108 at 8 pm.</td></tr></tbody></table>


    From the information that transmitted by my school database, I was placed in class 11 A.


    Class 11 A was located on the second floor of the main building, and I also could see the map to my class.


    All school information could be accessed through howlet bracelet. This was done in order to saved more paper, so we would not cut down trees again to made a paper.


    My school was divided into six parts, the front yard, parking lot, main building, canteen, gymnasium and multi purpose field.


    In the front yard, there was a garden with Sakura trees. Now, it was early April, so the Sakura trees were blooming. This made my school looked more beautiful, and this also made me a little excited to go to school today.


    After walking through the front yard, I arrived at the main building.


    This building was divided into four floors, the first floor for 10th grade students, second floor for 11th grade students, third floor for 12th grade students, and the fourth floor used for the briefing and multipurpose room.


    Staff room, research room, library, and infirmary were on the first floor, that rooms were placed on the first floor to ease the access for students.


    There was only one elevator in the main building, and it used for carrying freight, so all students had to used ladders to move between floors.


    # # #


    Finally, I arrived at my class, which was located at the threshold of the second floor corridor.


    There were 36 seats in my classroom, and it divided into 6 rows laterally and 6 rows back.


    I immediately sat in the back rows near the door of my classroom. I chose to sat there, because I did not want to attract too much attentions.


    Usually, the teacher would focus their attention to the students who sat in the front row or back rows near the windows.


    While waiting for the class to began, I busied myself with watching news via my howlet. By speaking the word ¡®ENLARGE THE DISPLAY'' my howlet would display a larger holographic screen that could be used to watch videos.


    After that, I immediately took off my howlet''s display chip and put it on the table, I did this to adjust my howlet¡¯s holographic display, so it would be aligned with my vision.


    It seemed other students did the same thing as me while waiting for the class to begin, they were playing games, watching news broadcasts, and listening to songs, and its all done by using their howlet bracelet.


    While I was watching the news, suddenly I heard a very familiar voice. That voice was coming from the students who was talking with her friends at the front row seats.


    ¡° Hi Imagawa, it turns out that we are in the same class again this year."


    ¡° Yes, I don¡¯t think, we are going in the same class again, but the reality is different.. Ha Ha Ha.¡±


    That students who were speaking to each others were Aika Shimasaki and Hideki Imagawa.


    Hideki was one of the most popular student in my school. With a height of 180 cm, brown eyes, brown hair with undercut style, and masculine physique made him favored by many women.


    Obviously, people as cool as him would not be a problem, if he became a friend with Aika because they had a same dignity, that dignity was a ¡®high quality physical appearance¡¯.


    Human¡¯s dignity were divided into three aspects, that aspects were economic, physical, and fame. After that, it divided into three levels, lower, middle, and upper level. Someone could only associated with a person that had a same level as him or one level higher.


    If the person with a lower level dignity was hanging out with the person from upper level dignity, then there would be a conflict that led into social jealousy a.k.a bullying.


    I knew this knowledge from my bullying experience in the past, so I needed to know the person¡¯s dignity before becoming friends with them, it was done to avoid unnecessary conflicts.


    But something was wrong.


    Why Aika called Hideki by his last name?


    Maybe Aika did that to keep their distance and not giving excessive expectations. But of course, Hideki could attract the attention of any women, so he would not sweat over that minor issue.


    After that, another man was coming from behind and he approached Aika and Hideki who were talking to each other.


    "Wow! We are in the same class again! This year will be definitely more fun! "


    "Hello Fujimaki, hopefully we can help each other again."


    "Ha ha ha .. You seems in high spirit Ichirou, just don¡¯t fall asleep in class again."


    "No way! I will enter soldier major, so there will be no boring class again! "


    The man who approached Aika and Hideki was Ichirou Fujimaki.


    With a height of 178 cm, maroon eyes, muscular physique, and red hair with spike style made him as famous as Hideki. He was famous for having a good physique and passionate speech styles. He also one of the student that had the potential to become the frontline soldier.


    I was thinking that because usually a person supernatural power determined from their physical abilities and lifestyle. So, people like Ichirou would potentially had a great supernatural power to begin with.


    Even so, I hated him because he was one of the bullying perpetrators in this school. There were not many students that knew this, because he did a bullying so carefully, so even though he was reported to the teacher, he would not get into trouble, because the reports could not be processed due to insufficient evidences.


    He was also known as close friends of Aika and Hideki, so the victims of his bullying could not avenge him, because no one would believe that he was bullying other students.


    A person who was close friends with popular students like Aika and Hideki would certainly considered as a good person.


    I knew that he was bullying other students, because I often eating my lunch on the school rooftop. One day when I was in the 10th grade of senior high school, I saw him intimidate other student at the school¡¯s side yard.


    After I saw them chatting in the front row, I turned off my howlet¡¯s news display, and I pretended to be asleep by putting my face on the table and crossing my arms as its base.


    I did this so Aika could not see me because if she knew that I was in the same class as her, she would greet me.


    If only, she greeted me by my last name, of course it would not be a problem, but she certainly would greet me by my first name, so it would attract the attention of other students, and I could become Ichirou¡¯s bullying target.


    I would pretend to not know Aika, unless she greeted me first then I could not avoid her, but I would avoid her as much as possible.


    # # #


    5 minutes had passed, and my homeroom teacher entered into my classroom.


    My homeroom teacher was a 43-years old man named Mr. Watanabe.


    With a height of 183 cm, and a bald head with black beard made him feared by many students. Perhaps because of his physical appearance that looked like a bouncer made many students became afraid of him.


    He was not alone in getting into our classroom, there were two students who followed him. It seemed they were our upperclassman from the soldier and worker major.


    After that, Mr. Watanabe started our classes for today.


    "Hello students, you have turned 18 years old, and you will running a series of tests to determine your major. This test is only for reference and you are free to choose your own major, but it is highly recommended to choose your major based on the test results. "


    After giving his speech, Mr. Watanabe invited the upperclassman to introduce their majors.


    The first explanation came from the soldier major¡¯s upperclassman.


    "I am a 12th grade student who take soldier major. I just want to say one thing, that if you''re not talented and don¡¯t have the courage, you should not get into soldier major. The soldier major student will fight the monsters, so your lives will be at stake. "


    His statement made the whole class became silent. Of course, its because the warning that he gave, and indeed our lives would be at stake, if we chose soldier major.


    To lighten the tense atmosphere, the upperclassman from worker major began to gave his speech.


    "Ha ha ha .. Why the class become so silent? But It is true about what he said, that you must prioritize your own safety. If you don¡¯t want to become a soldier, then you can also support the government by working in various sectors. Worker major will teach you about how to use your supernatural power to support your work,  and make your work more efficient yet effective. "


    After that, the upperclassman stopped their speech, and Mr. Watanabe was directing the students in my class to go to the research room that  located on the 1st floor of the main building.


    I got up from my seat and followed other students to go to the research room. On the way to research room, other students were talking about their feelings, they could not wait to know about their true supernatural powers.


    I was also impatient to find out about my real supernatural power. Human¡¯s supernatural power awakened at the age of 18 years old, but its only just the power to felt the flow of the aura within the human body. So, to use the real supernatural power, our power should be opened with the help of technology.


    Finally, we arrived at the research room, this room size was two times the size of my classroom. In this room, there were three CT Scan tools, five hospital beds, and cabinets to store the research tools.


    These CT Scan tools had been modified so it could read the aura within the human body, and awaken the human¡¯s supernatural powers.


    After arriving in the research room, Mr. Watanabe immediately shook hands with the doctor and their assistants who was preparing the CT Scan tools.


    After that, the doctor welcoming us.


    "Good morning, students from class 11-A, you get the first turn today. Before we start the supernatural powers awakening session, please gather your howlet bracelet, I want to update your howlet system."


    All students in my class took off their howlet bracelet, and gave it to Mr. Watanabe.


    "We want to update your howlet system, so it can be used to read the potential of your supernatural power, also this update will make the skill explanation in howlet easier to read."


    Mr. Watanabe gave the student¡¯s howlet bracelets to the doctor assistant.


    "Okay, all howlet bracelets have been collected and its system will be updated. You will now be scanned with the CT Scan machines to awaken the true potential of your supernatural powers. Before that, are there any questions?"


    One of the student in our class raised her hands, and asked a question to the doctor.


    "Why our supernatural power must be awakened by using a CT scan machine? Could we awaken our supernatural powers in a natural way?"


    After hearing that question, the doctor stood up and walked toward that student.


    "That is a very good question! Human supernatural powers awaken at the age of 18 years old, but it¡¯s just the ability to sense the aura within the body, and it¡¯s usually takes 5 years of training to use that power for daily activities. But, by using this CT Scan machine, you could save that 5 years of training, and use that times to further develop your supernatural power. "


    "Are there any health risks? "


    "There are no health risks, because we have done various experiments, and there is no problem until now. In addition to that, your howlet bracelet¡¯s system will be updated to control your supernatural powers."


    "So, we have to use a howlet bracelet to control our supernatural powers?"


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    " You could also control your supernatural powers without the help of howlet, but it¡¯s better to control your supernatural powers using howlet to make it more efficient and safer. "


    "Okay thanks for the explanation, doctor."


    After the explanation completed, students in my class immediately lined up in front of the CT scan machines to awaken their supernatural powers.


    I lined up in front of the CT Scan machine number three in order to not attract too much attention, because CT Scan machine number three location was the farthest from the research desk and the room entrance, so after I got scanned then I could stand in the corner of the room.


    Finally, after waiting in line for 10 minutes, then came my turn to be scanned with the CT scan machine. I did not need to undress to be scanned with the CT scan machine, because this tool had been modified, so the radiation from this tool would only affect the aura within the body.


    The doctor¡¯s assistant gave me a blindfold to keep my eyes from the light radiation in the CT Scan machine, so my eyes would be safe from the radiation of this tool.


    After that, the supernatural power awakening process began, and my body was shined by violet lights that came from the CT Scan machine. That lights made my whole body felt like being jolt by a small electric current, and my body immediately steaming hot.


    This process took two minutes, and finally I got out from the CT Scan machine.


    The supernatural power awakening process had been completed.


    I saw my body steaming hot, and other students also experienced the same thing. It certainly made me panic, but the doctor¡¯s assistant explained that the release of steam from the body due to the awakening of supernatural power, and after 10 minutes the hot steam that came out of the body would stop and the body would return to normal.


    The doctor¡¯s assistant then gave us a medicine to recover our stamina. The process of supernatural power awakening made our stamina became depleted, so this medicine would bring our strength back.


    After all students had finished, Mr. Watanabe redistributed our howlet bracelet, and the doctor gave further explanation.


    " Your howlet bracelet system has been improved so it could explain all your physical and supernatural status. You could know the status of your Strength, Agility, Vitality and Intelligence, just like the RPG game that you often play with."


    Suddenly, the whole class became noisy due to the announcement of that system. We could know the status of ourself just like in the RPG games, this would  definitely made this world like a game.


    By knowing the status of ourselves, we could improve our status to became stronger. Obviously, this was very efficient, because we could focus on improving the status that we wanted.


    " Your status display will come out after 1.5 hours. Your status derived from the calculations between your physical condition and supernatural powers. Further details will be described by your teacher in their respective classes. We wish you get a good status and skills . "


    The doctors ended the supernatural powers awakening session for my class, because other students from different class had already been waiting in front of the door.


    "Okay students, now you have 1.5-hour rest period. I suggest all of you eat a lot of food so your stamina will fully recover."


    After that, Mr. Watanabe immediately directed us to return to our class.


    I arrived in my classroom and I opened my bag, then took a bread and a drinking bottle.


    Apparently, there were only a few students who returned to the class, since most of them went directly to the school canteen.


    My school canteen located in the middle of the school park. It sold a wide variety of food like sandwiches, bento, ramen, sushi, onigiri, and other Japanese foods. The canteen¡¯s tables and benches were made of wood to represent the nature concept.


    In the middle of the canteen¡¯s park, there was also a koi pond, wooden bench, and a variety of plants including Sakura trees. Students usually ordered the food from canteen and eating them by sitting in front of koi pond while enjoying the scenary of cherry blossoms.


    I certainly could not buy the food from my school¡¯s canteen, because its price was relatively more expensive. One ramen alone costing three times the price of my bread, and I had to downsize in order to not burdened my parents.


    I rushed to the school balcony that located on the top floor of the school main building. The school balcony was an open space, that fenced with green iron fences for safety. There were some wooden benches, trash cans, and plants that placed in a long pot made of stone.


    Only a few students that spent their resting time period on this school balcony, because this place was not attractive, far distance, and we had to climb the stairs to get here. Usually, only people who wanted to be alone that spent their resting time here.


    Because my class got the first turn at the supernatural powers awakening session, so there were no people here, and basically I was alone in here for today. Then, I opened my bread¡¯s wrap and stand behind iron fences to see the view of my school¡¯s front yard while eating my lunch.


    The bread that I ate today was a chocolate bread, I bought it last night from the mini market where I worked, so the bread was already hard and cold. Even so, I could get this bread at low prices, because breads that still unsold until night would be sold at half price.


    I only needed to chew my bread five times to finished my lunch, after that I went to the side part of the school balcony to throw my bread¡¯s warp into the trash can. After taking out the trash, I shifted my view down to see the sights of the school¡¯s side yard.


    The school¡¯s side yard only contained an electrical substation and a few garden tools. This place intended to store school¡¯s garden tools. A place like this was perfect for people who want to confess their love or doing the bullying.


    Suddenly, I saw a sight of two students, they were arguing with each other.


    It seemed that student was Ichirou who was intimidating other student. He held that student¡¯s collar and pushed his body against the wall. I knew that student was Ichirou, because there were not many students in this school who had red hair.


    From my analysis, It seemed Ichirou was bullying that student to get his money, and after that he would use that money to bought his lunch.


    My guess was right..


    The student who was bullied by Ichirou immediately went to the canteen, and a while later he was back with a lunch package on his hand and he gave it to Ichirou.


    In this era, many people rarely used paper money. We did not need to bring paper money again, because all payment transactions and transfer could be done via online through howlet bracelet.


    But for those who had not became an adult, then their money would be limited by their parents. All parents could limit their children spending limit, and they could know all transaction history that their children done.


    A child was said to had became an adult, if they already graduated from college or had a regular full time job. In the past, the child automatically became an adult when they reached 17 years old, but the government revised that policy and treat someone as an adult by looking at their independency not their ages.


    Despite of that regulation, my parents did not limit my spending, because they knew that I already got a part time job, and I always report to them the amount of money that I had.


    It seemed that Ichirou did the bullying because his spending was limited by his parents, so by doing that he could save his lunch money and allocated that budget to hangout with his friend or bought the things that he wanted.


    Ichirou did the bullying alone, because if he did that with his friends, it would arouses suspicion and many people would be involved. Also, his friend could betray him and it would lead him into the trouble.


    By doing the bullying alone, Ichirou could be more safe and the bullying target could not report it to the teacher, because there was no strong evidence.


    I could record the bullying that Ichirou had done with my howlet bracelet, but I could not do that because the distance was too far, and his face would not clearly seen in the video.


    Besides that, although I got a clear video about Ichirou¡¯s bullying, I still needed to told the teacher about the identity of the person who recorded Ichirou¡¯s bullying, and because of that my identity would be exposed and after that Ichirou¡¯s gang would attack me for sure.


    I need a lot of Ichirou¡¯s bullying video to got him expelled from this school, because only one record was not enough, and it  would be recognized as a normal fight between students, so it would be solved in a peaceful way.


    After seeing Ichirou¡¯s bullying scene, I walked to the wooden bench that located in the middle of school balcony, and laying down on it to slept. Then, I set my howlet alarm system to woke me up after 1 hour 15 minutes later.


    My body felt so tired, this was because of the supernatural awakening process that I just had. Also, I rarely did any sports activties and often came home at late night because of my work, so it was normal that I felt so tired and there were eye bags on my face.


    These eye bags made my face looked older, but I did not mind about it because the important things to me was I could get money, so I could help my family.


    ###


    BEEP BEEP BEEP!


    My alarm woke me up and it meant the class would be starting soon. It was already 1 hour and 15 minutes past, since I slept at school balcony wooden benches.


    My body condition was already normal and there were no changes at my physique, its just my aura felt stronger and I could control its flow.


    I immediately went to my classroom, and other students were already in the classroom.


    After that, the class began with Mr. Watanabe and two upperclassman from soldier and worker majors who gave the speech this morning .


    ¡° Okay students, these two upperclassman from soldier and worker majors will explain about how to see your status at howlet bracelet. They will also explain all attributes in that status, and you all free to ask them anything about the system.¡±


    That two upperclassman walked into the middle side of the classroom¡¯s front row, and they began to explain about the status system.


    ¡° Okay everyone, open your status display by saying the keyword ¡®STATUS¡¯ at your howlet bracelet.¡±


    All students in my class were saying that keyword, and after that the status display that described our physical attributes and supernatural powers came out in front of us.


    # # #


    <blockquote><cite>Quote:</cite>


    Name:  Michio Taniguchi


    Gender: Male


    JOB:


    - 11th Grade Student at  Shirayuki Gakuen Senior High School


    - Cashier at 8TWELVE Mini Market (Part Time)


    STATUS


    HP  : 100%


    MP :  102/102


    STR : 6


    AGI : 8


    VIT : 7


    INT : 11


    CHARACTER CLASS   :   UNKNOWN


    MAJOR RECOMMENDATION (SOLDIER / WORKER) : WORKER


    RANKING    :   E


    ELEMENT : NEUTRAL


    SKILL :


    SOUL GATHERING


    [Passive Skill]


    Take the soul of living beings who has just died. It cannot be used on living beings that still alive. (Need further use to determine the potential of this skill)


    JOB RECOMMENDATION:


    Grave Keeper.


    (Please ask the company that related to the business, whether this skill could be used for this type of work or not).


    TRACK RECORD : -</blockquote>


    # # #


    BLARRRR !!!


    It felt like struck by lightning at day light.


    I was shocked¡­


    My status was so bad!


    E rank was the lowest rank, and usually normal people would get a D rank, It meant my status was below average.


    Besides that, the skill that I got could not be used for normal works, because this skill could only be used for dead creatures.


    Also, my howlet bracelet seemed unsure about my job recommendation, because it did not sure whether I must took the grave keeper job or not.


    I immediately looked for other students reaction, who knew there were some students that got an E rank too, so I would not be alone.


    But, the reality was different¡­


    ¡° Wow, I get a D rank.¡±


    ¡° You get a D rank? Me too.¡±


    BLA BLA BLA¡­


    Wherever I heard, everybody always talked about the same thing, that they got a D rank.


    Suddenly, at the front row seats, there were some admiration sound, it seemed something happened in there.


    ¡° Wow!!!! Ichirou and Hideki get a C rank! ¡°


    ¡° What!? Is that true? Let me see their status! ¡°


    ¡° Wow, it¡¯s real! This is really great!¡±


    Almost all students in my class immediately walked to the front row seats, they wanted to see Ichirou and Hideki status. I also got up from my seat and walked to the front to see their skills.


    Of course, I still kept my distance between them so I would not get too close to them.


    After that, Ichirou and Hideki enlarged their howlet display status.


    # # #


    <blockquote><cite>Quote:</cite>


    Name:  Hideki Imagawa


    Gender: Male


    JOB    :


    - 11th Grade Student at  Shirayuki Gakuen Senior High School


    STATUS


    HP  : 100%


    MP :  157/157


    STR : 15


    AGI : 18


    VIT : 20


    INT : 15


    CHARACTER CLASS   :   DEFENDER


    MAJOR RECOMMENDATION (SOLDIER / WORKER) : SOLDIER


    RANKING    :   C


    ELEMENT : EARTH


    SKILL :


    -    DEFENSE FIELD


    MP COST = Depending on use.


    Enlarge the range of your aura to detect all incoming enemies attack.


    -    STEEL BODY


    MP COST = 20


    Increasing your defense for 10% for a period of 10 minutes. The defense that increased is the body¡¯s defense, not the armor defense.


    (Need further use to determine the potential of this skill)


    -    RECOVERY AURA


    MP COST = 30


    Focusing your aura to speed up the recovery process. This effect will last for 10 minutes.


    JOB RECOMMENDATION: SOLDIER ¨C Front Line Defender.


    TRACK RECORD : -</blockquote>


    # # # #


    <blockquote><cite>Quote:</cite>Name:  Ichirou Fujimaki


    Gender: Male


    JOB    :


    - 11th Grade Student at  Shirayuki Gakuen Senior High School


    STATUS


    HP  : 100%


    MP :  142/142


    STR : 16


    AGI : 20


    VIT : 17


    INT : 14


    CHARACTER CLASS   :   ATTACKER


    MAJOR RECOMMENDATION (SOLDIER / WORKER) : SOLDIER


    RANKING    :   C


    ELEMENT : FIRE


    SKILL :


    -    FIRE WEAPONARY


    MP COST = Depending on use.


    Add fire element to your attack.


    -    SHARPEN


    MP COST = Depending on use.


    Focusing your aura to your weapon to increase its durability and sharpness. This skill also reduces the weight of the weapon.


    (Need further use to determine the potential of this skill)


    -    ADRENALINE RUSH


    MP COST = 10 / minute


    Improve the performance of the adrenal glands in the body to speed up the process of receiving information, strengthen reflexes, and increase your speed.


    JOB RECOMMENDATION: SOLDIER ¨C Front Line Attacker.


    TRACK RECORD : -</blockquote>


    # # #


    Just as I expected, they would get good skills and an above average rank, It was because of their trained body and lifestyle.


    Hideki and Ichirou had a trained physique like an athlete, also with their ambitious attitude would make them stronger. Otherwise, it could have been they were a gifted child.


    Humans were not born equal, many factors would determine the difference between humans. A person who had a strong power from born would be called a genius. Supposedly, if there was a way to beat a genius person, whatever the condition I would certainly do it.


    After seeing crowd of students in front of the class, Mr. Watanabe immediately told them to return to their seats.


    Then, the upperclassman was preparing the holographic projector to explain about the details of our status.


    In this era, the projector was no longer needed to use a white wall as its base. The holographic projector could show the holographic display without any base, so its display would seem to be floating in the air.


    ¡° Everyone, please see this display, it explains all the attributes of your status, you can also access this information via howlet.


    A big holographic display screen with a blue frame appeared in front of Mr. Watanabe and the upperclassman.


    # # #


    Strength (STR) : this attribute measures your physical strength. The greater this attribute, then the ability to lift loads and your attack damage from punch will be even greater.


    Average human STR points: 8


    Agility (AGI) : this attribute measures your physical movement. The greater this attribute, the greater your reflex and response to the attack.


    Average human AGI  points: 10


    Vitality (VIT): this attribute measures your body¡¯s resistance. The greater this attribute, the greater the ability to withstand physical attack and disease.


    Average human VIT points: 8


    The abilities of STR, AGI and VIT can be improved by exercising or doing any sport activities.


    Intelligence (INT): this attribute is not measured the person¡¯s intellectual aspect, but it measured the person¡¯s supernatural power. Researchers called this attribute with the word ¡®Intelligence (INT)¡¯ because that word is widely used in RPG games, so everyone will be familiar with it.


    It is not known exactly how to improve intelligence status, because human supernatural powers cannot be exactly measured with an absolute number. The only known way known to improve intelligence status is by using your supernatural power constantly and creatively.


    The more creative in using your supernatural powers, your power will evolve and get stronger so your intelligence (INT) status will increase.


    Average human INT points : 15


    The status ratings also take the gender factor into account, so even though the status of men and women are equal, but still the men will be more powerful than the women.


    For examples, man and woman have the same strength status, which is 8 points, so that man still be stronger than the woman, but if that woman has the strength status of 9 points, then that woman is stronger than the man.


    The person¡¯s class is determined by analyzing their status, skills, lifestyle, and supernatural powers. For an example, someone who gets attacker class, it is usually due to their physical capabilities and skills that suit for battle.


    Class selection is done automatically by howlet system by matching the person¡¯s capabilities with a variety of research data that stored in the howlet database. That database are data from internet, literature, historical manuscripsts, gaming system and various other data.


    Each class will have different effects, for example ''accountant'' class from the worker type. The  accountant class will have the effect of increasing the ability to process numbers, so they can analyze the financial reports more quickly.


    Next is the element, there are nine elements in this world, that elements are fire, water, earth, electric, wind, metal, dark, light, and neutral. Your element is determined from birth and until now we still don¡¯t know the true origin of the element¡¯s assessment.


    Humans element would never change from birth until death, although there are some very rare cases in which the humans element had changed.


    The last and most important thing is the ranking.


    There are six ranking in this world, that are E, D, C, B, A, and S.


    The lowest rank is E and the highest rank is S. Most people usually get a D rank, except for those who get a skill that not commonly used for working or fighting the monsters, and get a below average status, then he will get an E rank.


    If a person got a C rank after their supernatural awakening session, then it¡¯s mean they have an above average skill and status.


    B rank to S rank can only be obtained by looking at the track record of that person.


    Soldiers must kill the monster and complete their mission to get promoted to a higher rank.


    Workers must get a good results at their job to get promoted to a higher rank.


    The assessment from your boss or supervisor will greatly affect your ranking assessment, so a good behavior and results are needed.


    S rank only applies for soldiers, and this ranking cannot be obtained in the usual way. Only the soldiers that have a superior ability, and completed a special mission, also had already become a leader for A rank squads, which can obtain a S rank.


    There are only 8 soldiers in Japan who had managed to get a S rank.


    # # #


    Finally the explanation was finished, and the upperclassman allowed us to ask some questions.


    In that instant, Hideki immediately raised his hand to ask.


    "Why Health Point (HP) attributes described in percent, as well as Attack (ATK) and Defense (DEF) attributes aren¡¯t displayed in the status? "


    " Health point cannot be explained in terms of numbers because the calculation will be more complicated, so howlet decided that health point must be presented in percent to indicate the condition of the body. If your health point showed 100%, that means your body is healthy and there are no injuries at all.


    Regarding the attack and defense attributes are not present in the status, because their calculation are depend on the enemy¡¯s attack and defense power, so it¡¯s impossible to determine the absolute calculation number of the enemy¡¯s attack and defense power. "


    After hearing that explanations, Hideki thanked the upperclassman and sat back to his chair.


    It seemed there were no students that wanted to ask again.


    ¡° Okay, before we close this session, we want to inform you that there is an additional feature on your howlet that feature is called ¡® HIDE SKILL ¡¯. This feature can hide your skill display, but you cannot hide all your skills, and you must leave one skill to be displayed. This feature is useful when you are being kidnapped by your enemy, so you can hide your true strength and waiting for a chance to escape.¡±


    Hearing that answer, the students who sat in the front row asked to the upperclassman.


    "Has there ever been a case where human were kidnapped by a monster?"


    "Until now, there have been several cases where a human was kidnapped by a monster, but it is a very rare case because monsters usually killed the human on spot.


    And, don¡¯t use ¡®HIDE SKILL¡¯ feature in ordinary circumstances, because your instructor or supervisor cannot see your skills, so it will affect your rank¡¯s assessment. "


    Finally, there were no students that asked a question again, and our class ended for today.


    Afterward, Mr. Watanabe gave the closing speech.


    ¡°Okay students, today¡¯s class is finished and you can go home now. Remember! You have one day to think about your major, and tomorrow you will decide your major whether you choose soldier major or worker major, it¡¯s all up to you. But, I suggest that you choose your major based on the Howlet suggestion.¡±


    Once Mr. Watanabe finished giving his closing speech, he left our classroom.


    Students in my class immediately walked to saw Hideki and Ichirou status again, and other students also comparing their status with each other.


    I decided to shut off my howlet display status in order to prevent other students saw my status, because the status and rank that I got was very bad.


    When I got up from my seat, I saw the person who sitting in front of me was frustrating while looking at his status. I  immediately walked behind him and focusing my gaze to saw his status.


    [ Name: Takuma Matsushita, Rank: E ]


    Waw¡­


    He also got an E rank.


    Takuma had brown hair with bangs on it, brown eyes, and height approximately 168 cm. He did not have a good physical and had the same body as thin as me.


    He also an E rank, maybe he sat on the back because of the same reason, that he did not want to attract too much attention from other students.


    Then, I called him to start a conversation.


    Of course, I called him in a whisper, so other students did not know the content of our conversation.


    ¡°Hey Takuma.¡±


    Takuma immediately shocked as I called his name from behind, and he turned off his status display, and after that he looked at me.


    ¡°Ahh¡­ Hello, where did you know my name?¡±


    Apparently, he did not know my name too. Well, that¡¯s normal, because I avoid other students attention while in the class, and also I was a quiet and introverted student.


    I answered his question with a small smile in my face.


    "I saw it from your howlet display and it seems you also get an E rank. We are the same then, I also got an E rank too. "


    "Uhh .. you also get an E rank?"


    "Yes, but don¡¯t tell anyone about this."


    I said that I got the same rank as him, so Takuma would be more open to me, because usually people would be more relaxed, if the interlocutor had a similar interest or came from the same level with them.


    Afterwards, I asked about the skills that he had.


    "What skills and major¡¯s recommendation that you got? "


    "Errr .. I get a worker major recommendation, and I just get one skill that is ¡®DOUBLE THINKING¡¯, usually people get a ¡®TRIPLE THINKING¡¯ , so I have to practice better to improve my skill. "


    "Good for you ... At least you get the skills that people have in general, and with a lot of practice you can get a D rank."


    " Yes..Indeed, what skills that you have?"


    "I get a ¡®SOUL GATHERING¡¯ skill, that skill is just useful for keeping the tomb, besides my status are below average, so because of that I get an E rank."


    "Ooo .... okay then. "


    At least, Takuma had gained the skills that possessed by other workers in general, and because his skill was slightly weaker than the average worker, so he got an E rank. But still, he was more fortunate than me, because my skill was totally useless for normal work.


    Finally, I decided to end the conversation, and after saying farewell to Takuma, I left my classroom.


    Because, the time was still showing at 12 noon, I decided to go to the school library.


    My school library was located on the 1st floor of the main building, so I just had to go down one floor to get there.


    There were three large white tables and four bookshelves in my school library. Books in this library were novels, literature, historical manuscripts, school data from the 20th century, and the research data from a century ago. In this era, just a very few people who still used book, so the library function in this era was for the data storage.


    I sat on the bench, which was located beside the bookshelves. I chose to sit there because it was far from the entrance, so other people could not see the data that I read.


    There were only nine people in this library, they were browsing and reading a book. I immediately took of my howlet bracelet and put it in the table¡¯s download terminal. By placing my howlet inside the download terminal, then I could download the research data from this school.


    The research data that downloaded from the school could only be read within a week, and after that the data would be automatically deleted. Students also should not upload the data to the internet, because that data were the property of the school.


    If all information could be found on the internet, then there would be no more people who wanted to go to school. Therefore, the government implemented this policy, so people still wanted to go to school.


    I decided to download data about the understanding of human spirit and magic tutorial based on the elements, I would read the data while I was working tonight.


    Afterwards, I went to the receptionist to fill in the data retrieval form. This was done to protect the data, so if there was a student that upload the data to the internet, then the uploader could be found and would be prosecuted.


    The time was already half past two in the afternoon, and my next step was to visit the only place I had in mind at this moment.


    I would visit this place to know the potential of my skill, the place that I would visit was the shrine.

 CHAPTER 2 - THE PATH THAT I CHOOSE

    I got on the bus that passed in front of my school to go to Sendai station.


    There was no driver in this bus, because in this era all buses were automatically controlled by the online system. Also, the government was fully subsidized all public transportation cost, so I did not need to pay.


    This bus used electricity as its power, and nowadays cars in Japan did not use gasoline for its fuel, they were using electricity as their power.


    After arriving at Sendai station, I walked 350 meters to get to the shrine that was located near the Sendai station.


    My purpose to go to this shrine was to know about the potential of my skill ¡®SOUL GATHERING¡¯.


    After 5 minutes of walking, I arrived in front of the shrine. This shrine building was surrounded by apartments.


    In that instant, I was greeted by a young girl, she dressed in a large white clothes, and with a red skirt that reached her ankle.


    She was a woman who devoted herself to the shrine as a shrine¡¯s maiden or a supplementary priestess, she was known as ¡®Miko¡¯.


    Miko tasked was to lead the ritual, dancing, selling temple tickets, selling good luck charms, and cleaning the temple.


    It seemed there were no people who visit this temple at this hour, because it was still at 2 pm in the afternoon, and usually people visited the temple at 4 pm.


    I used this chance to ask about my skill, because she apparently was not busy.


    I immediately greeted and bowed to her.


    "Hello good afternoon, I come here to ask about my supernatural ability. I just achieved this power¡¯s today, and tomorrow I have to choose my major. "


    She seemed to be surprised by my arrival, then she was bowing me back.


    In Japan, there was a culture of bowing to greet someone, this culture known as ¡®Ojigi¡¯.


    Bowing was considered extremely important in Japan, and children normally began learning on how to bow from a very young age, companies commonly provided training to their employees on how to execute bows correctly.


    Afterwards,  she was folding her hands and tapping her right elbow with his left hand¡¯s fingers. By seeing her movements, she seemed confuse with my question.


    " It was very rare for people who come here to ask about their supernatural abilities, but I will try to help you as much as possible, let me see your skill."


    I showed my skill and status display to her, and she began to give her opinion.


    "Hmmm .. I''ve never heard about this skill before. The funeral also doesn¡¯t need a supernatural power to take care tombs."


    "......."


    I could not say anything.


    And, I did not know what to do anymore.


    My skill was absolutely useless to be applied for a normal work, even the job that recommended by howlet as a grave keeper could not be done.


    But I still not give up, and I decided to ask more questions to her.


    "Is there anything else that I can do with this skill? Please help.. every opinion could be useful for me. "


    She immediately frowned, and holding her chin with her left hand, after that she scratched her head.


    She apparently did not know what to say anymore.


    "I don¡¯t know the job that you can do with this skill, but it seems that this skill only takes the energy of living beings that had already died, but not their spirit."


    Hearing this, I decided to dig that information deeper.


    "Hmm.. I see, so what is the difference between the soul and the spirit?"


    "Yes they are different, in the living body there are two different things, the soul and the spirit. "


    She started to use her hands to give an explanation about the difference between the soul and the spirit. Her left and right hand were using to give a parable explanations between two different things.


    ¡° The soul is the energy of living beings, they use that energy to maintain their life on earth. Whereas, the spirit is their consciousness, they use the spirit to control their energy while on earth.


    When someone dies, their spirit went straight to the afterlife, while their soul dispersed into nature, and their physique rotted "


    "So, what does my skill do?"


    ¡° Your skill takes the energy of living beings who has just died, so instead its dispersed into nature, you take their energy to be used by yourself.¡±


    Her explanation was rather complicated.


    But, I came to know about the things that I could do with this skill.


    Finally, I decided to ask the last question before I go.


    "Why should our supernatural power awakened by a CT scan machine?"


    She raised her eyebrows and smiling, it seemed she often heard this question.


    "Ah ... That''s because the aura is part of our soul. For example, a freshly cooked meat will be fuming, and imagines that steam is our aura. When the steam blows off, then the meat will be colder. So, the principle is the same as our aura, when our aura is affected then our soul will also be affected too. "


    "Okay .... Thanks for the explanation."


    Afterwards, I thanked her by bowing and smiling, then I decided to go out of the shrine.


    Now I know the basic principles of human supernatural power awakening, so by affecting the aura then our soul would be affected too, and the hidden supernatural power in the body would be awakened.


    Obviously, this knowledge was very useful, and with this knowledge I would be able to plan my next steps.


    # # #


    It was already half past three in the afternoon, and I decided to go to Sendai Asaichi market that located near the Sendai station. It only took five minutes walk from the station to get into this market.


    Sendai Asaichi market was known as the kitchen¡¯s of Sendai, because that market contained a wide variety of groceries for cooking. It was also known as the ''morning market'', but still there were many stores that still open till the night.


    There were many shophouse buildings that surrounded this market.


    I went through the main street which also quite narrow, because many sellers were selling their stuff on the street. However, the cleanliness in this market was maintained properly, it could be seen from the street that was very clean from trash.


    My purpose to go to this market was not to kill my times, but I wanted to know about my skill potential.


    My skill needed a living being who had just died, but I could not arbitrarily kill living beings, therefore I would use this skill to the living creature that commonly sold in this market such as chicken and fish. So, by killing chicken or fish, I could test my skill potential.


    It did not take a long time to find a fish shop in this market, I immediately noticed a store sign that saying ''Fresh Fish Shop''.


    This store also sold their goods on the street, and the inside of the store was used as a storage area and place for cutting fish.


    Many crowds of housewife were choosing fish in front of the store, then I decided to go inside and saw fish in the aquarium.


    After looking around, my attention was fixed on the catfish that was present in large quantities in one of the aquarium.


    The catfish was a species of freshwater fish that were widely available in Japan. This fish had a high durability and easily bred.


    I decided to buy one catfish, and spoke to one of the staff who were cutting the fish.


    "Hello sir, I want to buy a catfish, but can I be the one who killed it first?"


    After hearing that, the staff who was cutting the fish immediately stopped his work, it seemed he was surprised at my question.


    "Yes, you can kill the fish beforehand, but why you want to do that? "


    I answered his question with the reason that I had prepared before.


    "I have to be the one who killed the fish, so I can measure the meat density of that fish. I can know its density by stabbing a knife to the fish¡¯s body. I ¡®m doing this, because the more tender the meat, then its taste will be more delicious. "


    The reason that I made was certainly wrong,  but at least this reason would make me look like a fish expert.


    But...


    He was laughing at my answer.


    "Ha Ha Ha Ha ... where you learn that theory? I''ve never heard a theory like that. Anyways, I don¡¯t mind, if you killed it first.¡±


    "......... .."


    I ignored his laughter and kept looking into his eyes while smiling.


    I knew my theory was wrong, because I''m not a fish expert, but at least I made him laughed. A person who was laughing while doing a conversation usually be more willing to negotiate.


    After obtaining his agreement, I went to the catfish aquarium and choose the smallest catfish.


    The catfish price was determined by its weight, so the lighter, the cheaper it was.


    After that, the staff that was standing beside the aquarium, and he took his nets to catch the fish.


    Then, he took that catfish to the cutting table, and hit it with a wooden stick, so that fish would lose its consciousness.


    But, I stopped him, because if he hit it again then it could make that fish really died.


    "Stop, I''ll kill him with a knife."


    Then, he allowed me to kill that fish, and after taking a knife, I hold that catfish¡¯s body.


    I did not need to say a keyword to use my ''Soul Gathering'' skill, because this skill was a passive skills, so when I kill a living being then this skill will automatically active.


    I focused my attention to the fish¡¯s body and stabbed my knife into it, and I still say my skill¡¯s name in my mind.


    [SOUL GATHERING ACTIVE!]


    Sphhhlt!


    The catfish was dead, and in that instant I saw a white light particle flew out from its body.


    Then, without thinking too much, I decided to grab it.


    Once I held it, the particles were disappearing in the palm of my hand, it seemed that particles had been absorbed into my body.


    I then withdrew from the cutting table, so the staff could continue his work.


    The staff expression¡¯s looked normal, maybe he did not see the white light particles that came out from the catfish body.


    After that, I decided to wait in front of the store.


    While waiting, I opened my skill display to see the changing in my skill.


    #


    SKILL:


    - SOUL GATHERING


    [Passive Skill]


    Take the soul of living beings who had just died. It cannot be used on living beings that still alive.


    The amount of soul-owned : 0.1


    #


    Wow !!


    I was surprised by the changing in my skill.


    There was a new additional information on my skill, that information was the amount of soul that I had.


    The amount of soul that I had, was increased to 0.1 points, it was probably because that catfish was not too strong, maybe If I killed a stronger living creature then I would get more soul.


    # # #


    BEEP !!


    My howlet let out a notification sound, and it was already half past four in the afternoon.


    I immediately left the market to go to work at 8 TWELVE convenience store, which was located near my house.


    8 TWELVE convenience store had a very large network in the world, and this convenience store had lasted more than two centuries.


    I chose to work part time at this convenience store because it was close to my house, and also this company¡¯s name was already well known.


    The company''s brand influenced on the person¡¯s curriculum vitae, so if that person was working in the good company, then it would be not too difficult, if he wanted to move to other company.


    Finally, I got on the bus which was located in front of Sendai Asaichi market.


    The situation in the bus was crowded with people, but I ignored it and turned my eyes to the streets.


    Since this was still in early April, so there were many Sakura tree leaves that fell and scattered on the road. This scenery was so peaceful and it could make me feel more calm.


    It''s been a long time since I felt a sense of peace and calm moments, because I had been working, and had an obligation to support my family, so I rarely felt this kind of moments.


    If I was born in the rich family, maybe I had been going out with a girlfriend and enjoying good times with my friends.


    Life in this era was really hard for people who did not have a good supernatural power.


    If there was no supernatural power, then everyone could struggle and fight to get what they wanted just by their effort. But, because there was a supernatural power then people who had no talent would be eliminated.


    In the past, human greatness was measured by the amount of money that they had. But, in this era, it was not just about the amount of money that we had, but also the strength of our supernatural powers.


    If the supernatural power did not exist, then the difference of the power between humans would be balanced, and there was no more discrimination against people who had a weak supernatural power.


    I sank into my thoughts, and without realizing it, I had arrived at my work place.


    Upon arrival, I immediately went in and headed to the employees room to change into my uniforms. I changed my clothes with a red polo shirt that had a logo of 8 TWELVE convenience stores on its chest.


    Afterwards, I went straight to the cashier to run my afternoon shift.


    8 TWELVE convenience store was open 24 hours a day, and there were two cashiers to serve the customer.


    The working time was divided into four shifts in a single day, with 6 hours of work for each shift. All cashiers were part-time employees, and this was done to save the cost of employee salaries.


    A few moments later, my co-worker came and replaced the other cashier, then as usual, he greeted me and began serving the customer.


    My co-worker¡¯s name was Kayama Okura.


    He was in 10th grade at a senior high school, and he lived near the 8 TWELVE convenience store. I had been working since I was in 10th grade, so basically I was his senior at work.


    While preserving the cashier, we usually talked about topics such as entertainment and hobbies.


    But, today¡¯s topics seemed rather serious than the usual topic.


    " I have decided, I will take the worker major, and pursuit my goal as the manga artist. "


    Woah ...


    I was surprised to hear the declaration of his goals.


    He also already knew what departments that he should take, it was very different from me who did not know the major that I must take.


    Since the beginning, the topic of our conversation was about anime and manga.


    Manga was the term for comics in Japanese language, and anime was the term for cartoon in Japanese language.


    Japanese anime and manga were so famous throughout the world, and generate huge income for Japan.


    At this time, manga was not printed in the book form, but it was distributed throughout the world via online, and with howlet¡¯s translation technology made Japanese word could be read by everyone.


    The manga artist¡¯s income derived from the advertisement that displayed in the bottom of manga pages, and if someone clicked the ads, then the author would earn money, this system was known as the pay per click system.


    Being a manga artist was a very prospective job, especially if the manga could be made into an anime and aired throughout the world, then if that happened, the artist would become very rich.


    For example, the legendary manga named Naturo from a century ago, that manga became worldwide hits, and it was made into the anime series and movies with countless episodes. Of course, no one could imagine how much money that he got.


    But at this time, it was very difficult to be successful in the world of manga and anime, because the competition was so intense. Also, because of the existence of the supernatural power made the production of manga and anime became very fast, so a lot of new titles coming out every month.


    Kayama had been practicing to draw manga every day since he was still in junior high school. He used a holographic display in howlet to draw his manga.


    By combining howlet hologram display and touch screen pen, he could draw a manga without using a paper. In this way, he could also directly edit the image, so the process of drawing manga became faster.


    The supernatural power that possessed by many manga artists were ''Triple Thinking'' and ''Dual Hand''.


    By using ''Triple Thinking'' power, the manga artist could think three different scenes at the same time, so they could make a good and complex story. The ''Dual Hand'' skill could make manga artist to use both hands to draw different pictures at the same time.


    Ordinary manga artist who did not have these supernatural skills could not compete, because they would lose in term of speed and storyline.


    I finally answered Kayama¡¯s goal declaration with a mediocre answer.


    "Congratulations, I hope you can achieve those goals. If it¡¯s published, then contact me, I will read your manga for sure. "


    "Yes, thank you! I will inform you when it¡¯s getting published."


    Afterwards, we talked about anime and manga that was being aired.


    # # #


    Three hours had passed since I kept the cash register, and the time was shown already at 7 pm.


    My supervisor gave us a break for 15 minutes, so we could had our dinner, and we did not break at the same time.


    Kayama still continue to keep the cash register, and after I had finished eating I would replace Kayama, so at least there was one person who still continue keeping the cash register.


    Every employee here was given a free meal, and I got a bento for tonight¡¯s dinner.


    Bento was a single-portion takeout or home-packed meal common in Japanese cuisine. The bento that I ate tonight was white rice with seaweed sprinkles on top of it, chicken teriyaki, salad, and miso soup as the side dish.


    Although this dinner was fairly simple, but I was grateful because I could have a dinner for free, other than that I did not need to bother my sister to cook dinner for me.


    Everyday, my sister cooked dinner for her and my mother. This was because my mother taught private lessons until evening and usually go home at 8 pm. While my father and I had dinner outside, so there was no other person that could cook dinner at our house except Chika.


    Remembering about that thing while eating, absolutely made me sad, and  I also hated myself because I was powerless to change our family condition.


    If our family was richer, than Chika did not need to go home early every day. She also did not need to go to the market after school to buy the food ingredients, and because of that, she could hang out with her friends or attend any extracurricular activities that she wanted.


    Chika also did not need to help my mother to examine her student¡¯s homework.


    Chika also did not need to help my mother tutored her private tutor¡¯s students every Saturday and Sunday.


    Chika did not have time to gather and play with her friends at the weekend, because she had to help my mother to earn money.


    If only I had a lot of money!


    If only I had a great supernatural power!


    AGHHHH !!


    * BLAMM !!! *


    I pounded my fist on the table.


    It was because I was stressed and overflowing with emotions that I could not hold.


    "... .."


    "Hey Michio! Why did you pound the table? "


    Without realizing, my supervisor saw what I had done just now.


    I immediately look for a reason to cover my action, fortunately I used to make excuses, so it did not take a long time for me to find a reason.


    "Sorry sir, there was a mosquito on the table, so I pounded my fist on the table to kill it, but it seems my fist did not hit the target."


    "Oh ... Okay, next time don¡¯t do that, that makes me shocked!"


    Huff ...


    At least, he believed that reason.


    I immediately finished my dinner, and afterwards I went to keep the cash register again.


    After dinner, the time seemed to be faster, it was because of the influence of my full stomach, which made me sleepy.


    I stared blankly while looking at the cash register, my gaze went down slowly and focused on the numbers on the cash register machine, then my gaze shifted to a pile of money in the cash register.


    Money ... money ... and money.


    If .. I ... had .. a lot .. money ..


    Mo..ney ...


    ?????? !!!


    Ahh !!


    I immediately remembered about the major¡¯s selection process, then a very important question came into my mind.


    Which majors that would make me earned more money, soldier or worker major?


    Then, I opened my howlet¡¯s browser display, and typing the query in the Booble search. By typing my question in the search engine, I could figure out the best major in earning money


    I would search about the discussion from those who had graduated from high school and already working.


    Because time was already shown at 8:30 pm, people who visited this convenience store was lesser, so I could surfing the internet without much interference.


    I opened various sites, ranging from news sites, government sites, and eventually the forum. My attention was drawn to an international forum called Kaskus. It turned out this forum was made in Indonesia since a century ago. In this forum there were many discussions by people throughout the world.


    In that forum there were many discussion that compared the salary of the worker and soldier major.


    Thirty minutes had passed, and I had seen a lot of discussion, and the conclusion was indicating that a person''s salary was determined by their supernatural power. If someone had a good supernatural power, then he would certainly get a good salary.


    But, judging from the aspect of the competition between job seekers, the worker major¡¯s competition to get a job was certainly tougher. So, a person with a useless supernatural powers like me would be very difficult to get job at the normal company.


    So, there was no other way for me, if I wanted to get a decent salary, then I must choose the soldier major.


    Because of the world situation, every country was in dire need of new soldiers, and because of that, the soldier¡¯s salary was increased too. Also, from all the information that I had seen, the lowest salary earned by the student that graduated from soldier major was higher than the student that graduated from worker major.


    Okay, I would choose the soldier major. I chose this major so I would get a decent salary, so my family could live more happily.


    That was the purpose of my life for this moment, and I must reach it by using every possible way.


    DING DING !!


    My howlet let out notification sounds, because it was already past 10 pm, and that meant my work time had ended.


    Afterwards, I picked up my stuff, then said goodbye to my supervisor and co-workers.


    I went home by walking, because the distance between my house and workplace was close.


    The condition on the street was very safe, because crime was very rare in Japan at night. If there was a bad guy then just say ''SOS'' ,and the howlet system would give a GPS signal to the nearest police station, then the police would track down the howlet¡¯s owner near that SOS signal, so the criminal would be immediately discovered and arrested.


    After 15 minutes of walking, I finally arrived at my house.


    My mother was still awake and she was cleaning the kitchen. My father and sister were already asleep on their futon.


    I opened my bag and handed the catfish that I bought in the market today. My mother seemed a bit surprised, because I usually did not buy such thing.


    My mother then put that fish into the refrigerator, and afterwards she asked me.


    "Michio, so what major that you will take? "


    I could no longer avoid her question, and I looked into my mother''s face with all confidence.


    "I will choose soldier major, although my howlet has recommended the worker major, but I''ll still choose the soldier major."


    My mother was somewhat surprised to hear my answer, then she sighed and smiled.


    "Well, if that''s your decision, so what supernatural skills that you got?"


    I showed her my skill display, then she looked at it, and then she gave me her opinion.


    "Soul Gathering? Hmm.. that¡¯s an interesting skill. I never see that kind of skill, then why you want to choose the soldier major? "


    "Because, It¡¯s the major that I believe, and I will be successful in that major, so believe me, Mom!"


    My mother then gave me some advice to be cautious and aware of my limits.


    Our conversation eventually ended, then I rushed to shower and sleep afterwards.


    I certainly could not tell the real reason to my mother.


    # # #


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­¡­..


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    Dark¡­ Why it was so dark?


    Was I dreaming right now?


    I could not move my body and could not open my eyes, it looked like I was in a dream world, but why it was so dark.


    Suddenly¡­.


    There was a faint white light in the corner of the room, then that white light joined together, and resembled the shape of a ball.


    I approached that ball of light and touched it.


    BLARR !!!!!!!!!


    !!!!!!??


    Instantly that ball of light exploded, and then a white creature came out.


    The white creature''s body was made of light and resembled a human being, but he did not have a face.


    He then greeted me.


    "Hello there, it¡¯s been a long time since our last meeting.


    Do you still remember me?"


    The white creature was talking to me, but he did not talk with his mouth, instead his words were coming directly into my mind, maybe this was a telepathy power.


    I immediately replied to his question, but I could not move my mouth, then I tried to talk to him with my mind.


    " Who are you? I''ve never met you before. "


    Then, he became silent, and the white light that radiated from his body began to fade.


    "You seem to have forgotten me. It''s okay, I just wanted to give you an advice. Please, don¡¯t push  yourself, and choose the major that was recommended by your howlet. It¡¯s not good to choose a major by following your ego."


    "Hmm.. Then what will happen to me,  if I still choose the soldier major? "


    When I asked that question, his body was slowly vanishing and finally before disappearing he said the last sentence.


    "Befriend. "


    Finally, he disappeared, and the darkroom was exploded then I sucked into the black hole.


    I was swirling inside the black hole, and my consciousness was slowly vanishing.


    Then a bright white light exploding into my face.


    !!!??


    ¡° HUAAHHH !!! ¡°


    ¡° HAH¡­ HAHH¡­¡­¡­ HAA¡­.¡±


    I opened my eyes, and I saw my sister¡¯s face in front of me.


    She put her hands on top of my body, it seemed she was trying to wake me up. Also, there was a worried expression on her face, like she was seeing a sick person.


    "Brother, What happens? Why you were screaming while sleeping? Does brother get sick? "


    "Huh.. Did I scream while sleeping? Err ... what time is it? "


    "It''s half past 6 am. Are you alright? "


    "Ah yes, I¡¯m okay. Sorry,  if I woke you up, it looks like because I''m still tired from working. "


    I looked around, and it seemed my father had already gone to the office, and my mother was in the bathroom.


    Fortunately, my mother was in the bathroom, so she did not hear my screaming  earlier.


    Afterwards, I ate my breakfast as usual, and my sister did not talk about the thing that happened earlier to my mother.


    After breakfast, I deliberately go to school a bit late, I was doing this so I did not meet with Aika on the street.


    If I met with Aika, she would ask about my skill, my status, and the major that I chose, therefore I had to avoid her as much as possible.


    # # #


    DING DONG DING


    My school¡¯s bell rang, and the time was already seven o''clock in the morning.


    I managed to arrive at my classroom on time.


    After that, Mr. Watanabe went into my classroom, and he also accompanied by the upperclassman who gave speeches yesterday morning.


    Then, he started the class session for today.


    "All students open your howlet and click your status display. There was already a notification to select the major that you want. Please choose your major now, whether its soldier or worker major, it¡¯s all up to you. But, I suggest that you follow your howlet¡¯s recommendation, so you won¡¯t choose a wrong major."


    All students in my classroom opened their howlet¡¯s skill display, and I did the same thing.


    When the skill display opened, a menu to choose the major was  popped up.


    [Which majors that you want to choose? Soldier or Worker major? ]


    Hmm ...


    What major that I want to choose?


    That question came up again in my mind, even though I had been thinking of choosing the soldier major, but I was still in doubt.


    Moreover, I saw that strange creature in my dream last night, and he told me to follow my howlet¡¯s advice and choose the worker major.


    But, if I chose the worker major then I could not get a good job.


    Also, that strange creatures also gave a suggestion to "Befriend".


    Friends?


    What was a friend?


    Friend was just a fake concept, and  it would not last forever. I did not believe the existence of real friends that known as ¡°best friend¡±.


    When I was bullied at junior high school, there were no friends who helped me, even my close friends chose to stay away from me because they was afraid of being bullied too. If there were my real friends, then they should help me when I was bullied back then.


    Friends was only temporary, and after graduate we would be separated. Friends were formed because of the need and mutual benefit. For example, school friends were just a group of people that were bound in the same school and had the same goal which was to learn.


    When they had graduated, then they would not need old friends from the last school. They would be looking for new friends at new school.


    The best friend concept was actually very strange, just because someone already familiar and close for a long time then they declared themselves as best friends.


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    The true meaning of best friend was a friend who would help each other in any conditions. But, in reality it was not like that, if you were facing a minor problem then your friends would definitely help you out. But, if you were facing great difficulty, like you went into jail or involved in serious cases such as drugs, they would certainly break up and could not become friends again.


    Therefore, I thought friends were just a false illusion.


    Although I thought this way, it did not mean that I did not have a friend. Indeed, I had only a few friends and it could be counted with my fingers. But of course, even though I called them friends, I never believed that they would become my friend forever.


    For example, Aika as my childhood friend, despite I knew her for a long time, but I never think her as my best friend. Because, when we were graduating, then we would choose a different path, and after that we were hardly met each other again.


    I also never expected Aika to became my girlfriend, because the concept of childhood friends becoming a girlfriend was just an illusion that only appeared in the anime or manga. For the proof, Aika was already going out with another man, when she was still in junior high school.


    I knew Aika was going out with another man, because she told that things to me. Although, we were not in the same junior high school, but because our house was close to each other, then I often met her while I was going to school, and that¡¯s when she often talked about her experience at her junior high school.


    In conclusion, the strange creature that appeared in my dream last night was intended to deceive me, or it could be just my imagination.


    I would not hesitate again, I would choose the major that could change my life.


    I would choose the soldier major!


    [You chose the soldier major. Do you want to choose this? Your howlet¡¯s system recommends you to choose the worker major. ]


    I had no doubt, and I tapped my howlet¡¯s display screen again.


    [You have chosen the soldier major. Thank you for choosing.]


    [NOW LOADING ......]


    DING!


    ....


    [Name: Michio Taniguchi


    Major:  HYBRID]


    ....


    Huh !?


    Why the major that appeared was hybrid major?


    What happened? Was there a system error?


    I immediately opened the Booble search engine. I could not ask my teacher about this problem, because all students would know that I got the hybrid major, also I was sure almost all students would choose the major that recommended by their howlet.


    After two minutes of browsing, I finally found the meaning of hybrid major.


    [Hybrid major is a marker for people who didn¡¯t choose the major that recommended by their howlet. The purpose of this is to let their instructor, teacher, and teammate to know about their real recommended major. ]


    So, It was the true meaning of hybrid major.


    At least, now I knew that my howlet was still fine.


    After all students were finished selecting their majors, then Mr. Watanabe immediately got out of the classroom to see the situation in the other classroom.


    Ten minutes passed, and he returned to our classroom, and then he instructed all students in this classroom.


    "Now, all students in this class will move to another classroom, according to the major that you choose. The student who chooses the soldier major will still be in this classroom. The student who chooses the worker major will move to other classrooms, which are 11 C, 11D, and 11 E.¡±


    Students that selected the worker major in my classroom were beginning to stand up and left their seat. There were some students who said goodbye to their friends, that was because they choose a different major.


    I was sure that they would slowly stop talking to each other, because they no longer needed each other, and they would get new friends in the new classroom.


    I kept sitting in my chair that located at the back row near the classroom entrance.


    A moment later, students from another classrooms entered my classroom, they were students that chose the soldier major from different classrooms.


    I looked to the front row seats to see new students that entered my classroom,  but my vision was immediately focused on the left side of the classroom¡¯s front row.


    Huh !?


    Why Aika still in this classroom?


    Ah, I knew...


    It turned out that Aika also chose the soldier major, so it meant that she got a good supernatural power and recommended by her howlet to choose this major.


    My status might lose to Aika¡¯s status. That was normal, I lost to her because I rarely exercised or doing any sport activities. But, Aika since she was a kid, she often did sports, especially swimming that became her favorite sport.


    There were Aika, Hideki, and Ichirou who were talking to each other, and a moment later, there appeared a woman that approached them from behind.


    "Hey you guys! Now, we''re in the same classroom!"


    Her greeting was quite loud, so I could hear her, even though I was sitting in the back rows.


    After seeing her, Aika immediately showing a happy expression and she stood up to greet her.


    "Hey Komaki, we have finally become classmates! Ah.. I know why you¡¯re happy! You happy because now you are in the same classroom with Ichirou, right? .. He He. "


    Hideki also promptly responded to it by patting Ichriou¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡° Ha Ha Ha, It¡¯s good for you Ichirou, now you are in the same classroom as your girlfriend.¡±


    Ichirou was blushing, then he placed his arm around Komaki¡¯s shoulder and gave her a good firm squeeze.


    Komaki had maroon eyes, pink long hair down to her chest, and at the ends of her hair formed a spiral pattern, this might be called long spiral curls hairstyle.


    When compared with  Aika, Komaki¡¯s height was about 158 cm, because Aika height was about 165 cm, so by doing that I could estimate Komaki¡¯s height. Also, by judging from her pink hair and maroon eyes, then I could be sure that she had the fire element.


    If  Komaki knew the true nature of Ichirou that he liked to bullying people, then her feeling would be different. If I had a chance and proof, then I would tell the truth about Ichirou to Komaki.


    A moment later, Mr. Watanabe gave us an announcement.


    "Hello all students in this classroom, I still remain as your homeroom teacher, and from the total of 180 students in grade 11, there are 68 people who choose the soldier major and divided into classroom 11 A and 11 B. In addition, there are 112 people who choose the worker major and divided into classroom 11 C, 11D, and 11 E. "


    Then, he opened a holographic projector screen, and showing the daily schedule for our classes.


    [SCHEDULE of CLASS 11-A, SOLDIER MAJOR.


    School Days: Monday - Friday.


    School hours:  7 am - 3 pm.


    Lesson time:


    - 7 am - 10 am: Ordinary lessons


    -  10 am - 3 pm: Soldier major¡¯s training such as theoretical lessons, fighting techniques, and an expedition to fight against monsters.


    This schedule could change at any time depending on your instructor.


    NB: Lunch break times depending on your instructor¡¯s decision.]


    After seeing that schedule, the reaction of students was diverse, there were students who complain that there was still the regular subject, there were also other students who were confused, and students who were happy because the regular school hours were reduced.


    But, I did not care about this schedule, because the important thing for me was the school hours finished at 3pm, so I could still do my part time work.


    From 7 am to 10 am, there was a regular lesson time. Even though I had chosen the soldier major, it did not mean that I did not need to learn the ordinary lesson again. Subjects such as Language, Social Science, Math, Science, Physical Education, Arts, and Home Economics were still taught, but the content would not as deep as the worker major student.


    In the middle of the lesson activities, there was a student who asked to Mr. Watanabe.


    "Sir,  Are there any differences regarding the requirement to go to the next grade?"


    That student question immediately drawn Mr. Watanabe attention, because that question was a very important question.


    Then Mr. Watanabe answered that student¡¯s question.


    "Don¡¯t worry, the requirements to go to the next grade is still same, that you must have enough score in normal subject tests. But, the ranking system and track record in the soldier major will greatly affect your chance to get employed or join the military after graduating."


    The answer indeed clarifies the things that I feared.


    The student could go to the next grade, if they had enough tests score in normal subjects, but if they performance¡¯s was bad in the soldier major, then after graduating, it would be hard to get a job or join the military.


    After graduating, the worker major student could get into college, but the soldier major student only have two options, either chose a suitable job or did the military recruitment test to join into the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF).


    I was sure, there would be many soldier major¡¯s student who want to join JSDF. Therefore, the selection tests would be very difficult, and the initial selection would be viewed from the student status, skills, track record and ranking. So, the student who had the bad status and track record would be automatically eliminated in the initial selection.


    This was certainly bad for me, because my status and skill were already very bad, also I got the hybrid major. Then, my last hope was to improve my rankings and got a good track record, so I could be accepted in the JSDF.


    # # #


    Three hours passed and the next session began, the next session was the soldier major combat training.


    "Alright! We will now go to the school¡¯s sports field to do the soldier combat training, before that you will be given a special suit to fight against the monster, and also you can choose your weapon. Afterwards, you will be coached by the upperclassman and also by myself. "


    All students in my class began to go to the sports field that located at the back of the school.


    The school¡¯s sports field was also used for combat training, its base was only ground and rarely had grass on it, because the combat training activities would damage the soil, so naturally there was no grass on it.


    After arriving at the sport field, Mr. Watanabe and homeroom teacher from class 11 B were shaking hands and talking to each other.


    It seemed these training sessions would combine two different classes together, so this session would be attended by 68 students.


    Then Mr. Watanabe spoke to all students.


    "Now, please separate yourself according to your gender, we want to count the number of male and female students."


    Then students were splitting up by their gender, male students lined up on the left and women lined up on the right.


    Then our teachers calculated the number of students.


    ......


    "After we calculate it, there are 41 male and 27 female students. Next, we will move to the multi-purpose room that located at the end of the field. "


    We immediately went to the multi-purpose room that located at the end of the sports field.


    This room was divided into three parts; the first room was used to store combat equipment, the second room to store sports equipment, and the third was the shower and locker room.


    After arriving at the first room, all students in class 11 A and B were amazed to see the object that stored in this room.


    Naturally, students in my class were amazed to see the object in this room, because the student that could access this room was only 11th and 12th grade students from the soldier major, so this was their first experience of visiting this room.


    This combat equipment storage room was twice the size our classroom, so a lot of weapons could be stored in this room.


    Then, the homeroom teacher from class 11 B clapped his hands to divert the attention of students to him, and afterwards he began to speak.


    "Now, we will distribute your combat suit that you will use for training and hunting monsters.¡±


    After that, they showed us the combat suit of men and women.


    "This is the combat suit that you will use, Its shape was very simple, but the material of these clothes is very strong. Does anyone know what material that used to make these clothes? "


    The teacher was asking questions to the student, and suddenly the student who stood in the front  was raising his right hand, and answered the teacher''s question.


    "I know! That clothes are made of Nanocellulose. That material is eight times stronger than steel and stronger than Kevlar, besides that, its production cost is cheaper. "


    "Yes, you are right. This combat suit was made of Nanocellulose. That material was discovered in 1970, and after a lot of research, this material is already used in many goods throughout the world, including cars, howlet, and weaponry. "


    This combat suit¡¯s shape was almost like the usual sports clothing.


    The men¡¯s combat suit was black short-sleeve T-shirts, gray shorts, and there was white lines at the edge of the shirt and pants.


    The women¡¯s combat suit was black long-sleeve T-shirts, white shorts, and there was grey lines at the edge of the shirt and pants.


    Then Mr. Watanabe instructed students to line up.


    "There will be four sizes for this combat suit, that size are  S, M, L, and XL. These clothes are also elastic and it will adjust to your body size. So, you just need to mention your height, the small size (S) is for height under 170 cm, medium size (M) for height between 171 to 180 cm, large size (L) for height between 181 to 190 cm, and size extra large (XL) for height above 190 cm. But, from what I see, this class doesn¡¯t have the student that has a height above 190 cm, so the XL size will be unused. "


    The homeroom teacher from class 11 B also responded.


    "Let''s line up in front of us, and the student who have received this combat suit must go to the locker room. You are also to store your howlet bracelet at your locker, because we don¡¯t use howlet in the combat training session. "


    I immediately lined up in the back row, and I deliberately chose the last turn so I would not attract other students attention.


    After waiting for nearly ten minutes, then came my turn to receive the combat suit. Other students had gone to the locker room, so I was the last student in this room.


    Then, I mentioned my height to Mr. Watanabe.


    "My height is 170 cm, so I choose the medium size (M)."


    Mr. Watanabe gave me the medium size¡¯s combat suit, but just before he gave that combat suit to me, he stopped and stared at me.


    "Hmm .. Your height is 170 cm, but how much do you weigh? "


    I could not think clearly because of that sudden question, then I told him my real weight.


    "My weight is 52 kg."


    "What!? 52 kilograms? That was so thin, let me see your status. "


    Argh..  Damn!


    I could not lie to him, and my status would be checked. It would certainly be problematic, but I could not escape anymore.


    Afterwards, I showed him my status display, then Mr. Watanabe somewhat surprised to see my status.


    "Below average status, rank E, and hybrid major. Are you sure that you want to remain in this major? I¡¯m not insulting you, but you should change your major, because with this kind of status you will not be able to survive in the soldier major. So, while we still at the beginning of school terms, you should change your major before it''s too late. "


    I knew it¡­


    I was sure that Mr. Watanabe would say that.


    He asked my weight because my body was thin and certainly he would be suspicious of my status. The average strength (STR) of a normal person is 8 points, while my strength was just 6 points. It must be because of my weight was below the average and I was rarely exercising, so my physical status was below average.


    But, I would not give up that easily, I would still remain in the soldier major.


    "I will still choose this soldier major, even though my status is below average, but I will not give up! "


    Even after I said that, Mr. Watanabe still asked me to move to the worker major.


    "If you remain in this major then your life will be threatened, because your skill is below average, and I¡¯m sure that you cannot keep up with the other student. "


    I insisted and look at Mr. Watanabe''s face with a serious look.


    "Whatever you say, I will still stay in this major! But, please don¡¯t tell other students about my status and also don¡¯t treat me differently."


    Then, after a long debate, he finally sighed, and he seemed to give up.


    "Well, I cannot interfere with your decision, but I ¡®m just going to warn you about the risk. Also, I won¡¯t tell the other students about it, but please consider my suggestions. If you felt that you couldn¡¯t  survive in this department, then tell me and I will move you to the worker major. "


    ¡°Okay, thanks for your considerations.¡±


    I bowed to him and said thank you, after that I went into the locker room.


    Whatever other people¡¯s opinion about me, I did not care about it and I would never give up, because my only hope to get a decent salary was by entering this soldier major.


    At least, if I died in the line of duty, then I would get the insurance money. That insurance money value was greater than the value of people who work in the normal office.


    With that insurance money, I would be able to help my family. Of course, I would not died easily, and I must be successful by using every possible way.


    # # #


    Finally, I arrived at the men¡¯s locker room.


    When I  got here, I finally knew the reason why Mr. Watanabe concerned about my physical status, because almost all male students in here had athletic bodies and trained muscles.


    There was also some students who had the sixpack muscles. Surely, they had been training since the beginning, because they knew the soldier major required its students to had a strong body.


    I did not have any preparation, because since the beginning I did not plan to choose the soldier major. I chose this major because I was forced by my circumstances.


    After waiting a few minutes, the majority of male students in the locker room were already get out, then I quickly changed my clothes and headed back to the combat equipment room.


    # # #


    When I arrived at the combat equipment room, there seemed to be something different in all students combat suits, the stripe at the edge of their clothes was turned into a wide variety of colors.


    Then, our teachers immediately called the students to listen to their explanation.


    "You can see something different in your combat suit, the lines that previously had white or grey colors are already changing. The color of the line indicates the type of your element, its purpose is to let your teammates and instructors know about your element type, so it will be easier to prepare the strategy.


    The red color is the element of fire, blue is water, brown is earth, purple is electric, green is wind, gray is metal, black is darkness, yellow is light, and white is neutral. "


    I looked to the whole room, and it seemed the element of the student in this room were balanced, so there was no dominant element.


    The element that was rarely seen in this room were darkness, light, and neutral elements. Just a few students who had this kind of elements, including me, who had the neutral element.


    So, Was I a special person?


    Of course not, because I thought the element factor was not too important for hunting the monster.


    The monster out there had a diverse elements, so we could not rely on the element factor.


    For example, the water element would win against the fire element, but how many monsters out there that had the fire element? Surely, we could not count them, so the most important things to survive was a good status and skill.


    Afterwards, Mr. Watanabe walked to the weapons storage area.


    "Okay students, now you will choose the weapon that you want. There are only two types of weapons, melee and long range weapons, and certainly there are no guns in this room. "


    Hearing this, one of the student asked.


    "I often read in the history that a gun was useless against the monster, so why weapons such as swords and bows is more useful than a gun?


    Then, Mr. Watanabe explained the reason to that student.


    "A gun consists of various materials such as frame, barrel, and bullets, so there are so many elements inside the gun. Unlike guns, swords and bows only made of two types materials.


    So, which one is easier, flowing your aura to the weapon that made of many different materials and consist many types of elements, or to the weapon which only consists of two type materials and one element? "


    "It''s easier to flow my aura to the object that is only made of two materials."


    "Yes, that¡¯s right! Just imagine, if you have to flow your aura to the gun, and focus your aura to the bullet in the gun, certainly, it will be harder and time-consuming. While weapons such as swords and bows were made with two type materials, so it¡¯s easier to flow your aura into that weapon.¡±


    Afterwards, the homeroom teacher from class 11 B also added some explanations.


    "I also want to remind you, that all weapons such as swords in this era had been made heavier. An ordinary sword can weigh more than 10 kg, and it is made of solidified steel."


    "Why it was made heavier? Does the more lighter the weapon will be easier to use, and the attack speed will be faster?¡±


    "The monster¡¯s body has an outstanding resistance against physical attacks, so any sharpest sword, even guns would not give them serious injuries, maybe just a scratch. So, the scientist decided to use heavier weapons in order to give more impact against the monster.


    Just imagine, which is more effective, to beat someone with a barbell weighing 10 kg or 100 kg? Obviously, the heavier weapons will give more impact to attack.


    The monster¡¯s body could be penetrated by an attack that containing an aura, so by using a sword weighing 20 kg plus the aura that flow to the sword, then the attack can penetrate the body of the monster, and give 20 kg impact against it.


    So, the monster¡¯s stability will falter and fall.¡±


    "Then why the bomb could hurt the monster?"


    "The bomb explosion had the element of fire, and in fact a supernatural power is the power of elements. But, not all monsters are weak against the element of fire, and the result of bomb explosion cannot be focused to one point.


    Just Imagine, throwing a bomb to the ground and the ground is the monster skin,  when the bomb explodes, its explosion will blast to the air or outwards, and not all explosion will flow into the ground.


    It has the same principle with weapons that produces an explosion like rocket launcher, when the rocket launched is used against the monster, the rocket will touch the monster skin first and then exploded.


    But, the monster skin is resistant to physical attacks, so even if that rocket exploded, but the explosion will blast outwards and could not injure the inside of the monster''s body.


    So, with an attack using a sword that flowed by an aura, then the sword can penetrate the monster skin and give the element¡¯s attack to the monster body.¡±


    "Okay, thank you for the explanation."


    After the explanation of weapons mechanism was completed, then our teachers explained the team¡¯s position.


    "Well, this will be the final explanation before you choose your weapon. Next explanation is about the team position. There are three positions in the team, that positions are Attacker, Defender, and Supporter.


    Attacker is the person whose job is to attack monsters from close or long range.


    Defender is a person whose job is to distract the monster, and protect the attackers and supporters from the monster¡¯s attack.


    Supporter is a person whose job is to heal, look at the situation, and help to attack the monster.


    There are 5 students and 1 instructor in a team, usually the combination is 2 attackers, 2 defender, and 1 supporter.


    So, choose your weapon by considering the position that you want, but don¡¯t worry too much about it, because your instructor will adjust your position again. "


    # # #


    The teacher¡¯s explanation was finally completed, and after that, students immediately looked into the whole room and trying the weapon that they wanted.


    I also did the same, and after looking around, my attention was drawn to the weapon named ''Normal Sword (2)''.  This weapon had a length of about 110 cm so it was quite fitting for me.


    But ...


    As soon as I took it up, my hand immediately pushed down.


    This weapon was heavy!


    I immediately remembered my teacher¡¯s explanation who explained that most weapons in this era were made heavier.


    This sword weight was 12 kilograms, maybe this sword felt heavy because I had a below average strength.


    Then, I put that sword back into its place, and after that, there was another student who took that sword.


    When he took the sword that I tried before, he immediately said something by showing a surprised expression.


    "Wow, this sword is so light!"


    !!! ??


    What!?


    I immediately looked at him, and saw other students also say the same thing.


    "Yeah, you¡¯re right, why this weapon feels so light, but the teacher said this weapon is made heavier, are they wrong?"


    "Ooh, I know! Perhaps, it¡¯s because of our strength."


    "I see.. How much strength do you have?"


    "My strength is 11 points, how bout your strength?"


    "My strength is 10 points. It¡¯s indeed, because of our strength, so this sword that weighs 12 kg feels like only 2 kg. "


    ......


    Oh my gosh, so that''s it.


    From their conversation, I learned that strength affected the weight that could be lifted by us. That student¡¯s strength was 10 points, so he could lift objects weighing up to 10 kg to just feel like lifting objects weighing 1 kg.


    Because, he raised that sword weighing 12 kg, so there was a difference of 2 points, then he would feel the weight of that sword was only 2 kg


    So, I could only lift objects weighing up to 6 kg, in order to feel like lifting objects weighing 1 kg. Then, I must choose the weapon that had a maximum weight of 6kg.


    Then, I immediately searched, and after looking for a while, my attention was drawn to the weapons storage area that located at the corner of the room. There were weapons with a weight level of ¡®1¡¯ in that area.


    There were three levels of weight for weapons, number ¡®1¡¯ was for the lightest weapon, and number ¡®3¡¯ for the heaviest weapon.


    I stood in front of the weapon storage level ¡®1¡¯. There were katana swords and knives in this storage, but strangely there were no students who took these type of weapons.


    Luckily, Mr. Watanabe stood near the weapon storage level ¡®1¡¯.


    I used this chance to ask him.


    "Sir, why there are no students who chose katana swords and knives? "


    Mr. Watanabe saw me, and then he answered my question.


    "Katana sword was sharp and strong, but the monster can¡¯t be damaged by a mere physical attack. So, instead choosing a weapon by its sharpness, it¡¯s wiser to choose a weapon based on its weight, so the attack will be more effective because it has more impact.


    As for knives, It¡¯s rarely chosen because of its low range.¡±


    "Okay .. thank you sir."


    No wonder, if there was no male students who went to the weapons storage area level ¡®1¡¯, because they could use heavier weapons from levels ¡®2¡¯ to level ¡®3¡¯.


    Afterwards, I focused my attention to these two weapons, katana swords and knives.


    The katana sword had a length of 106 cm and a weight of 1 kg.


    The knife had a length of 30 cm and weighs about 0.5 kg.


    Indeed, the katana sword¡¯s reach was longer than the knife, but I also needed protection from the attack.


    In the anime and manga that I had seen, there was rarely a heroine that used katana sword and shield, because the katana sword was a two handed weapon.


    Therefore, I would take a knife because I also had to use a shield to protect myself. If I decided to use the katana sword, it would slow down my movements, and I could not be as flexible as when using a knife.


    Also, my strength was low, so instead I blocked the incoming attack, I preferred to avoid it.


    Then, I took two knives called ''Normal Combat Knife (1)''. I took two knives because I intended to keep one knife as a backup weapon.


    The knife blade and handle color were dark blue. In the middle of the knife¡¯s handle, there was a small indicator light.


    This knife also came with a blue colored sheath. The knife¡¯s sheath thickness was only about 2 millimeters, although it the thickness was very thin, but this sheath was made of elastic and strong materials.


    After that, I walked to the other side of the room to go to the shield storage area.


    The shield¡¯s storage was not divided by weight, and there were only two types of shield, big shield and small round shield.


    The big shield was called a ''Riot Shield'', it had a height of 87 cm and a weight of 7 kg, while the round shield was called a ''Buckler'', it had a diameter of 35 cm and a weight of 3 kg.


    I decided to choose the round shield that called the ''Buckler'', because this shield was not too heavy and not too large in size.


    So by using the Buckler, then I could easier avoid the attack, as well as defending against incoming attacks.


    # # #


    Finally, I had finished choosing my combat equipment, I chose two pieces of knife and one shield.


    Afterwards, I walked to the corner of the room to await for further instructions.


    While waiting, I was looking into the whole room, and after a while, my attention was focused on the Hideki and Ichirou.


    From what I saw, Hideki took ''Normal Sword (2)'' as his weapon, and ''Riot Shield'' for his shield. He chose to be a defender, so that equipment would suit him, because normally a defender would choose a sword and shield as their combat equipment.


    Then I looked into Ichirou, and apparently he took....


    !!?


    What!?


    I''m confused by what I saw ..


    Ichirou armed himself with two swords, that sword was ''Normal Sword (2)''.


    So, he would be using a dual sword technique, but I had only just seen that technique in anime. Was he inspired by the legendary anime Saber Art Online from a century ago? Because, since that anime was aired, many martial arts schools started teaching the dual sword technique.


    But, I did not worry about it..


    Because, certainly people like Ichirou already knew what he would do, and I was sure that he had learned that technique.


    After that, my attention was drawn to women in my class.


    There were only 27 women in this room, and they gathered in one corner of the room.


    They seemed to take a stick called ''Magic Wand (1)'' as their weapon.


    Naturally, women would take the ''Magic Wand'' as their weapon, because women could control the flow of supernatural power better than men. So, usually women who chose the soldier major would become a ''Magician''. The magician was the soldier who attacked the monster with their supernatural power from long distance.


    I could not use the magic wand as my weapon, because my element was a neutral element, and I just got one skill that was the ''Soul Gathering''. So, even though I focused my aura into the magic wand, it would certainly not generate any attack.


    Unless, I had other elements such as electricity, then with hard training, maybe I could pull out a small electric from that wand.


    A few moments later, all students had finished choosing their combat equipment, and after that the teacher directs students to the field.


    "Next, we will go to practice, for the male students you will be sparring against each other, and for female students you will train with the upperclassman about how to use the magic wand.


    In sparring, the male student should not open their weapon sheath, because it could seriously injure your sparring partner. Also, you should not afraid of getting injured, because the upperclassman and teachers will heal your wounds with our supernatural powers.


    Okay, Let¡¯s go to the field! "


    Finally, the things that I worried the most would about to begin, I hoped that I could go through all of this.


    < Chapter 3 coming soon >