Riku's POV

In hindsight, I should have seen this coming. Achieving Shikai is not common among Shinigami. This is the issue with relying on anime for information. In the anime, every bloody character has a Shikai, Bankai, or other whatever-else-kai that gives them power-ups. The typical Shinigami, Quincy or Hollow experience must be very different to the outliers the anime showed.

Taking the now-not-so-surprising promotion in my stride, I follow the Vice-Captain to get a detailed outline of my new responsibilities. And it's pretty much what you would expect - leading a team of lower-levelled officers, coordinating with other divisions, admin, etc. On the flip side, the job does have perks. Although the only perks that I care about are better dorms/houses and access to more knowledge. 'The knowledge, in particular, is appreciated since I'm essentially taking the wizard route.'

Initially, I thought every Shinigami had access to all Hadō apart from the ones numbered ninety and above. Getting laughed out of the academy library when I tried to get Hadō #61 was a painful reality check. 'Again, in hindsight, it would be ridiculous for the Gotei 13 to allow every Tom, Dick and Harry to have access to spells comparable, if not better than most Shikai's out there.'

Snapping out of my reverie, I focus on the zanpakutō on my lap. It was getting late in the day, so I was readying myself to perform Jinzen. Tuning out nature's background noise, I feel a pull and find myself in a white void. Ignoring the slight discomfort that comes with projecting my soul into my zanpakutō's inner space, I call out to Sōten ni zase.

Announcing his presence with an electric hum, Sōten ni zase materializes in front of me. I call Sōten ni zase 'him' because that's what I default to, and he hasn't bothered to correct me if he felt it necessary. Side-stepping that tangent, I approach him, "Let's begin with the simulations for Bakudō #61. Rikujōkōrō. I just got access to high-level Kidō, so we'll have quite a bit to sink our teeth in."

Seeing Sōten ni zase light up, I know he's starting to process my memories regarding high-level Kidō. Sitting in a meditative position, I reach out to make 'physical' contact with him to expand the memory transfer into a two-way channel. Sōten ni zase's simulations allow me to speed up my understanding of Kidō exponentially. Not just Kidō, though, but any form of energy manipulation.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

The kicker is he can't seem to simulate anything that's not pure energy manipulation, so shit like Hohō is out. But I am already grateful for this ability since his simulations are a side effect of his reishi control. He needs massive processing power to micro-control to the extent he does. Comparing Sōten ni zase's reiashi control to what I recall Quincies being capable of is like comparing an amateur blacksmith to a high-precision industrial tool. Although, I'll have to actually meet a Quincy to be sure.

Riku's POV. Five months later.

The next few months were spent with me coming to understand my duties. Still, more importantly, I finally had perfect command of all Kidō (except barriers and seals since my application for those is still under review) below ninety. Although I could only perform a Kidō above number seventy once before I bottomed out. It was still an impressive feat for a Seated Officer, which showed on my deployments. The number of Hollows that have fallen to my staff (Sōten ni zase's form in Shikai is a long magic staff) number in the dozens.

However, not everything has been smooth sailing. One persistent issue I've had is the former Tenth Seat, now Eleventh. The guy has been on a one-man crusade to undermine my work and position in the division. If this was the Eleventh division, I would have folded him like an omelette, but unfortunately, the Tenth division is more civilized. And he knows it... Complaining to the Vice-Captain would also be a win for him since it would showcase I can't resolve interpersonal conflicts adequately. And honestly, I just don't want to give him the satisfaction.

Fighting down a sign, I bring my focus to why I'm sitting in front Sōten ni zase. I've had an idea for a while now, but my lack of sufficient Kidō knowledge, theory on reishi, and raw reiryoku had me keeping the idea on the back burner. The idea was to speed up the process in which Shinigami grew their reiryoku amount. Typically Shinigami slowly draw atmospheric reishi into their bodies, and through some energy conversion, they transform that reishi into reiryoku. The problem is that the process is painfully slow. Shinigami are a long-lived species, so they don't care, but I'm not nearly that patient.

Forcefully pulling in reishi is an excellent way to get you're reiryoku tainted. Much of the available atmospheric reishi has a lingering 'will' attached to it. The 'will' isn't a problem when reishi is taken in small amounts or used in an external process - like empowering an existing Kidō spell. The phenomenon does have a technical term, but I understand it as a remnant will originating from spiritual beings, typically Shinigami in Soul Society. I think Quincies get around this corruption by using an external medium or keeping reishi attached to their skin. I'm probably missing a lot of context, but regardless, I plan on going a different route.

Taking inspiration from Magi and cultivators (conveniently ignoring cultivator cringe), I've been working with Sōten ni zase to build a Kido spell matrix I can implant in my body. The matrix will function as a high-speed converter - allowing me to rapidly increase my reiryoku volume. It's probably going to take a few months to build a workable prototype and maybe a few weeks to work out the kinks. But once it's done, I'll no longer be a one-pump chump. Thankfully, reiatsu control will not be a problem since that's my whole deal. Concealing my unnatural reiatsu jumps will also not be particularly difficult, since Shinigami almost always keep their reiatsu under control. Hearing the familiar hum, I know my partner is starting to lose his patience, 'Okay, I'll stop stalling. Let's get to work, buddy...'