Once again, Mirai found herself secluded near the wall. This time, she was peacefully eating lunch while a packet occupied her left hand. Gulping down the last bite of her food, she washed it down with water before reading the last passage of her text.
“Students are allowed to drop out of the Alteration class after his or her second year. Please note, the student might be required to take up remedial training if he or she cannot pass the end of year exam, which will force the student to take another year of the class whether or not he or she is planning on dropping out.” Reading silently, the girl closed up the packet and set it aside. “Alteration appears to be quite versatile, though if I can master the initial forging process for it, I will have little need for the class.” She thought, reflecting on all the content she had perused in the past ten minutes. “For now, it would be best to learn from Healer Amsing since she has a certified mastery in the subject. Afterward, the future is just a roll of the dice.”
Deciding that her time was finished, she flipped open her bag and took out a folder to put the packet in it. Then, she proceeded to gather up the remnants of her lunch. After those were discarded, she gazed over the room, picking apart every detail she knew without a doubt.
Initially, she spotted a few of her classmates in the crowd, most prominently of which was the brown-haired boy in a sweater. She could not recall his name though. From there, she made out three mops of red in the far distance, perhaps across the room. Passed that, she could only make a few notes of the people around her, save for the uniform that each person had adorned.
Drawing her attention away from the crowd, she left the cafeteria. From there, it took only a couple of minutes to cross the courtyard and arrive at the tallest of three buildings. With only a glance at the structure that towered above her, she passed through the first floor, where she had only seen two other people that had both paid her no mind. That was when she encountered the only problem.
“Mirai!”
Hearing her name called, the blue-eyed girl spotted a brunette man running up to her. Once he grew closer, she could see a pair of glasses and pointed ears. “Ah, headmaster, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?” She asked, looking up at the man.
Catching his breath, the tall man rubbed his eyes beneath his glasses. “I was contacted about a fair bit of trouble from Amsing. So I decided to come as soon as possible and make sure everything is settled,” he explained briefly, his eyes darting over the girl’s figure. “But it seems you are in perfect condition,” he mused dejectedly.
“I presume the trouble you speak of is that boy that demanded to duel me?” She guessed with a slight tilt of her head. When he nodded, she blinked a few times. “That problem was resolved by Mister Gnosis, though there may be some issues that arise in our dueling class.”
Scratching behind his right ear, the headmaster asked, “Do you remember his name?”
Trying to recall her memories for a few seconds, Mirai eventually ended up at “No,” with a shake of her head. “He only mentioned his name when he was declaring his duel, but at the time, I cared little for what he had to say. Although he was wearing a sweatshirt and had this arrogant attitude as if he believed he deserved the world, does that help?”
“Maybe if I ask around a bit,” the headmaster mused. “What did he want?”
“If I remember correctly, his terms were ‘the loser has to do everything the winner says for the rest of the year’. Obviously, his terms were against common law, but could easily be twisted to only last a few months.”
“Her father definitely left his mark,” the pointy-eared man thought to himself. “I’ll keep an eye out for him then. You should get going to your class. Klein usually favors his early students.”
“Thank you for the heads-up, sir,” Mirai gave the man a small nod before walking passed him.
Humming his response, Headmaster Cresselia glanced back at the girl trotting away. Turning back to the general studies building, his expression dropped into a scowl. “What is that girl thinking? What is her aim?”
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Back on Crestworth grounds, Mirai adjusted her bracelet. Just moments ago, it had shrunk and constrained her forearm, leaving a pale mark. Although it had returned back to its usual size, she still rubbed her wrist to ease blood back through it until her arm’s color had returned to its light tan.
If that had not been enough, she was walking into the smallest stadium her academy had to offer. Her stomach was fine, but there was a newfound caution about her. It came in the form of tense muscles and flickering eyes, the former of which would be terrible for any sort of training. The instructor only made it worse.
Walking along the railing of the stands, a shirtless man entertained himself with his dreads just flinging every which way. He did not even pay attention to anyone but himself.
“Excuse me, Mister Klein?” She spoke up from the entrance.
Turning around, the man hopped off the rail and ran up to her. “Ah, you’re one of my new students, right?” At her nod, he continued. “You’re here pretty early. I thought all the new firsties would be arriving together or something. That’s how it usually goes.”
“Unfortunately, I am not on good terms with one of my classmates and I do not know who the others are.” She replied, looking up at the shirtless man. “Why is everyone so tall?” Wondered Mirai, her thoughts trailing off.
Crossing his arms, the man said, “Tough luck then. Usually, two classes are enough to get a few groups set up. Guess I’ll have to wait.”
Deciding not to inquire, the blue-eyed girl went silent. Shifting the bag on her shoulder, she looked around at the training ground. It was just a barren field. All dirt with concrete and metal forging a physical barrier as tall as two people standing on top of one another.
Tired of the brief silence, Klein swung his arms behind his head and spun on his heel. Still not bringing anything out of her mouth, he began aimlessly walking about the field. “So, what’s your name, kid?”
Whipping around to look at the tanned man, she narrowed her eyes. Seeing him still being a careless wanderer, she just said, “Mirai Senshin.”
“Future, huh? Your parents have some cheesy naming sense.” He commented before jumping up to reach the edge of the concrete wall. Grabbing onto it, he pulled himself up to the rail, at which point he had started to climb up it. “Did they tell you stuff like you’re their future or something? Oh! Were you born during some war?”
“Not exactly, but it could be worse.” She replied while watching him jump across the railing with a wave of energy from his feet. “My mother was named Nikki because my grandmother’s most precious possession was her collection of diaries.”
“Must’ve been rough growing up,” he said in a detached tone. Letting it sink in for a few seconds, Mirai watched the man lose his balance when he finally recognized the names. Before he could fall down, he jumped down into the stands and sat down. “Holy shit! You’re the Rebel’s kid!”
“Excuse your language, sir,” she said, completely ignoring his small crisis.
“Come on! Your mom’s gotta be cursing up a storm! What makes me any different?” He shouted back from his seat.
“First of all, my mother has… elevated her vocabulary since I had spoken my first words. Second, it was your fault for failing to recognize me after I had been present on these grounds for a month,” she paused to glare at him with her sapphire orbs. “Third, you are the one teaching a group of seventeen teenagers.”
“Hey, old enough to kill, old enough to curse,” he waved off, laying back into his chair.
Gaping at the man’s response, she muttered, “You have absolutely terrible logic.”
Oblivious to her statement, the man hopped back up onto his feet and leaned forward on the railing. “So, you got some training gear, right?” She nodded. “How about you go get suited up for a duel? Bet it would be pretty cool to see you give a dueling demonstration.”
Again, she nodded. Then, turning back to the entrance-tunnel, she took a sharp left turn when she was halfway through the tunnel and trailed through it until she reached a door. Going in it, she found a locker room with about three rows of lockers, each reaching up to Mirai’s shoulder.
Wasting no time at all, she went down the third aisle and plopped herself down on a bench in front of the locker at the very end of the row. Unbuttoning her blouse, she was able to get down to the last button and open her locker without a single disturbance. Grabbing her stored clothes, she stripped the rest of her clothes off and dressed in her workout gear.
Now, she adorned a black tracksuit that sagged around her shoulders. There was a single white line going down the left and right sides of each article of clothing. Then, the young maiden fixed her short hair into a messy ponytail that had multiple strands of hair trapped between the folds of her hairband. Nevertheless, she did her best to untangle her hair while walking out of the locker room.
While on her way back to the training ground, Mirai brushed passed a group of girls. “The instructor likely told everyone to go change,” she thought before moving on. Peeking out of the tunnel, she saw the same shirtless professor jumping to inhumane heights. If she was any closer, she might be able to make a better estimate than “really high”.
Brushing the thought aside, she stepped into the dirt oval, crunching the ground beneath her feet. Despite that, the instructor kept doing aerial maneuvers. He went so far as to drop from above the stands and kicked off of an invisible platform to land in one of the seats.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
Rolling her eyes at the man’s antics, Mirai stepped back and began doing some simple stretches along the wall. Though not quite as spectacular as her instructor’s stunt, she made sure to ignore any onlookers, just as he had done so with her.
“What the hell are you wearing?”
Keeping her foot raised above her head, the blue-eyed girl turned to her right and spotted a mop of brown hair and too much leather. Although leather armor over a worn and stained tunic looked grotesque, it reminded Mirai that she was, in fact, in a dueling class, not in another track team meeting.
“Catalyst, I asked you what this rubbish you call clothing is!” The brunette shouted with annoyance vibrating from his very voice.
“It is called a tracksuit and it was built for exercising, though I doubt you know much about that,” she pointed to his caving-in stomach and dropped her foot. “Although that armor is certainly suited toward dueling. I would applaud you, but your wrong answer in Alteration is still the worst choice you have made today.”
“Why you…”
“Woah! Settle down, shrimp!” Instructor Klein shouted, dropping between the two teens. “If you want to start something, you can wait for our dueling demo, alright?”
“Fine,” he scoffed. “I’ll drive her into the ground, so don’t stop me, teach.”
“No promises, shrimp,” Klein crossed his arms, putting more of a threat behind his towering form.
Turning away, the brunette retreated back into the locker room at the same time that a group of three guys had trodded out into the training ground. After one incredulous look at the instructor, the three boys swiveled back and slipped into the stands, leaving Mirai and Professor Klein alone together.
“You have my thanks, professor.” The girl spoke softly, gazing up into the man’s soft brown eyes. “Although, I hope you reinforce one of the lighter dueling regimens.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll be sticking to Class C duels for the first semester. So, first to give up or injure the other.” He beamed down at her, flashing a toothy smile that showed off his canines.
Pausing for a second, Mirai asked, “Why not Class B? Class C regulations would be too light for either of our purposes.”
“That so?” Klein raised one of his eyebrows at the suggestion. “What are you planning to do?”
“I only hope to put a bully in his place, sir. Idle threats and a small showcase of power will contain little force against an ego of his caliber,” she reasoned out. “If given a larger window of opportunity, I will most assuredly show him not to mess with me.”
“Won’t he just target someone else?” The professor countered with a hand rubbing what little stubble his chin held.
“If that comes to pass, it is not my responsibility to stop it.” She answered as a shadow passed over her. At that very moment, the sun was blocked by a cloud.
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Menelaus Maes was furious. He had been insulted by the Catalyst yet again! To put salt on his wounds, an instructor had gotten involved! At least, this time, he had a chance to put that girl in her place without gaining the rightful ire of his elders.
So, he sauntered back into the locker room and opened his locker. Skipping over his clothes and the near-empty bag, he grabbed a crudely wrapped bundle hanging by a single hook and string. Without a word, he tugged on a separate string and watched the bindings unfold before his eyes.
There, in his hands, was a blade. An iron-cast blade with etchings along the flat edge of the blade, none deeper than a fingernail but each glowing a faint yellow now that he held it. Waving the weapon around, it slipped out of his grasp and clattered along the ground. Before anyone could get his grimy hands on his treasure, Menelaus grabbed the hilt, and swung it around again, though it made him fumble from the small spin. Nevertheless, the two other guys in the aisle backed away with their hands up.
Wearing a grin on his face, the young man rested one of the flat sides of the blade along his shoulder, glad that his shoulder pads stopped any small movements from the weapon. Almost skipping out of the locker room, he brushed passed the Catalyst girl. She stepped away before his shoulder knocked into her face though.
Following the instructions embedded into his mind, he stood at one end of the dueling ground and stuck the tip of his blade into the ground. From there, he just drew whatever mana he could and pumped it through the blade, causing the etchings to pulse with power. Each pulse, he felt a rush of power and confidence like nothing else. If only he could keep this up, but he knew better than to do something so foolish. Well, he had been told to do otherwise.
After a few more minutes, the rest of the class had padded out into the dueling grounds. All but he and Mirai had taken to the stands, as per the teacher’s request. As for the instructor, he took on the role of referee and leaned over the section of the railing that was above the entrance.
“Don’t start until an official challenge is spoken!” The man shouted to both of them. In response, both of the students nodded from their respective sides of the arena, but that was where Menelaus zoned out.
Rather than listen to the teacher’s drabble about whatever was appropriate for a duel, the brunette closed his eyes and straightened his back. Finding his core—a small shining blade that centered around his heart—he grabbed it and building a trail of energy between his arms and the blade. It took a few minutes, but the connection was built and his opponent still stood across the field, listening to the instructions of the topless teacher.
Without knowing it, his face split into sadistic glee at everything that would come next.
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On the other hand, Mirai had taken her place across from her opponent and turned her attention over to the dueling instructor. From his perch, he shouted, “Don’t start until an official challenge is spoken!”
Nodding at that, she glanced over to the brunette boy. For the life of her, she could not remember his name. It probably held little importance then. Despite that, she caught a glimpse of him closing his eyes and fixing his posture.
“Is he ignoring the professor?” She wondered for a brief second. Pushing that thought into the depths of her mind, she switched her attention back to the professor that her opponent was ignoring.
“You, firsties, are lucky to be sharing a class with these two!” He shouted with a wide smile. “Since both of them have to blow off some steam, we’ll be getting a demonstration on a Class B duel. But remember, don’t tell this to the other classes, otherwise I have to file a LOT more paperwork, alright?”
Everyone agreed with that, all except the brunette. Although it was quite doubtful none of the gathered students would speak of what was to come. Even Mirai herself would end up speaking to the headmaster about the ordeal.
“Good!” He kept smiling and shifted his eyes down upon the two fighters. “Remember, a Class B duel forbids all illegal magic and any that induce torture, poison, immediate death, and so on! From there, none of you should breach any of the limits! Any questions?!”
Immediately, two hands shot up into the air. Since Klein only knew the name of one student, he pointed to the student farthest to the left. “Sir, when does the duel stop?” She asked in the loudest voice she could muster.
“Ah, I completely forgot about that!” He laughed before answering, “The duel ends when a fighter either forfeits the match, is unable to fight, or is injured in any number of ways. I know what kind of injuries to look out for, so for now, we’ll save that lesson for next week.”
Turning to the next person, Klein caught a glimpse of the brunette girl raising her hand back up but ignored it. “Can we place bets on the winner?” One of the boys asked.
“Nope! Since this duel is only regulated by one school, no outside bets or rankings come into play. The only bets can be between the fighters.”
Now, the professor was back to the other girl. Without even pointing at her, she shot another question his way. “Sir, are weapons allowed in duels?”
“Another excellent question,” he commented, his tone making him seem unsure about what to make of the situation. “In a Class B duel, weapons are allowed. And for those of you who are first generations, weapons are like tools to enhance and channel your magic. That sword that the shrimp is holding is a modified weapon, which is basically just a sword turned into a magical tool.”
Once again, the girl shot her hand up. And again, she immediately shot off her question. “Sir, who’s most likely to win this duel?”
Scratching his chin, the tanned man gave her a shrug. “It could go either way. Mirai’s got the edge when it comes to raw power because of her parents, but the Shrimp’s weapon might be able to pull him to victory if he can use it right.”
This time, the girl looked away instead of asking another question. When she gained a pensive look, the professor took it as his signal to finally move onto the duel. Also as a signal to end his little lecture.
“Mirai! Issue the challenge!” He commanded from his post on the railing.
Accepting the order with a nod, the blue-eyed maiden stepped forward and cleared her throat. “Wait, Professor Klein, I do not know my opponent’s name,” she said after a second of collecting her thoughts.
“Then I’ll do it!” The brunette shouted shortly after he snapped back into reality. “Mirai Senshin, I, Menelaus Maes, challenge you to a duel! The loser of the duel has to do one favor for the winner! No matter what it is!”
Taking a sharp breath, Mirai said, “I accept these terms.”
That was when the duel began.
At first, neither made any large moves. Menelaus had grabbed onto the handle of his blade and caused it to lean forward. Meanwhile, Mirai looked onward with her right palm facing skyward. Even from the perspective of the inexperienced students, anyone could tell the two were waiting for the other to make the first move.
Yet neither did. The blue-eyed maiden was able to forge an entire orb of energy in her right hand. It was the size of a baseball and had its own light show within it. All before one of the fighters had taken a single step.
“Come on, bitch! You scared?!” Menelaus shouted with a steady hand gripping his blade. “Just take a step! I dare you!”
She rolled her eyes. Knowing the taunts were just simple bait, she ignored it and cupped her hands together instead. In an instant, the spell tripled in size and for the seconds after, it ballooned to the size of a beach ball. Then, she pushed it in front of her and aimed.
Seeing the oncoming attack, the brunette’s sadistic glee began slipping away. No more was the toothy grin. Now, he clenched his jaw and drew his sword out of the ground, stumbling a step back in the process. Though Mirai could not see any of this from her position.
Nevertheless, he held strong and shouted, “You think that puny spell scares me?! Test that shit! Let’s see you disappoint everyone!”
Aiming at her opponent, Mirai’s face kept a blank expression, which could only be expected on a doll. “Several taunts to provoke an opponent and cause a spell to fluctuate.” She reasoned out, “Though an excellent strategy, it will bring him nowhere against someone like me. Perhaps I have a problem.” Leaving that thought process aside, the young lady brought her hands down and stared over her spell.
For a moment, she simply stared at him. Her blue eyes bore into his brown ones. The former was observing and calculating. The latter was frantic and desperate.
“Come on!” He shouted with a shaky yet loud voice. “Why won’t you just give up and save us all the time! Then go cry to your mommy and daddy! You spoiled princess!” He was beginning to ramble on to the point that the crowd was unsure what he meant to say and what he just spat out at random.
That confusion had also reached Mirai, but instead of discerning the insult, she rolled with it. And to do that, she picked up her beach ball of energy and walked forward until she was only two meters away from Menelaus.
“A spoiled princess, you say,” she drawled out, her voice drawing away from its relaxed tone to a taunting manner that matched that of her opponent. “Your drabble befits your desperation, that I am certain of. Although your expectation of fighting a rampaging opponent has been shattered to pieces.” She paused to push her orb toward him. “Perhaps you should have learned from our previous encounters. I do not respond to meaningless threats and taunts with outright anger. But, still, I commend you for the attempt.”
With a wave of her hand, her orb closed the distance between it and Menelaus in the blink of an eye.
All of a sudden, the orb exploded and let loose a cloud of smoke over a quarter of the arena. Then, when the dust settled, Mirai stood unfazed, save for a bit of dust in her eyes. So, while rubbing her left eye, she formed another orb.
Meanwhile, Menelaus was comfortably contorted in the stands where a couple of seats should have been. Resting on broken chairs was definitely not good for him. But at the very least…
“Winner! Mirai Senshin!”