Hitori woke up unusually early. A vague memory haunted him, like he had somewhere he needed to be. Probably because he did, thanks to Ms. Athens.

With nothing better to do, he geared up and headed to the North Gate. It looked like he wasn’t the only one starting early. He walked by at least a dozen teams on his way out, most likely hoping to claim a spot in the Training Center.

Hitori frowned. He hadn’t booked a room, and it wasn’t likely there would be any available. Not worth the bother to check. He sighed and shrugged. Perhaps he could think of something on the way.

Even at a meandering pace, Hitori was unable to solve his problem by the time he reached the North Gate. To make things worse his thoughts kept drifting to the Wychwood. He’d never been, except once on a training expedition. One of the few history lessons that—

Was there someone behind him?

Hitori spun to his six, lightly gripping the handle on his sword. It wasn’t uncommon for students to ambush each other, usually for fun, but for certain students it was perhaps less good natured. Being related to the infamous Maia Seishin made Hitori very popular with the latter sort.

Rather than anyone like that, Hitori was instead approached by what appeared to be a Shade. For a moment he thought it might even be Ms. Athens.

Except everything was wrong about them. They were wearing the all black armor and face mask, but instead of a set of daggers they were carrying a Duroterran style longsword. Also, a Shade that loud walking around would probably die from shame.

“Who are you?” Hitori asked.

As a response, the black figure thrust out their sword, aimed straight at Hitori’s heart. The gesture could only be taken as a challenge, so Hitori drew his own weapons and took a guarded stance.

Unsure what style to expect, Hitori let his opponent make the first move. As they closed the distance, Hitori noticed several weak points in their guard. The situation was so curious he decided to ignore them and follow his opponent’s lead.

Once in range, the Not-Shade led with a basic sword slash, delivered in so tentative a manner a child could dodge it. This continued for a few attacks, as his opponent became more confident.

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Having reached the extent of their technique, Hitori switched to the offensive. He could end the fight with a series of techs, but the urge to test his opponent’s skill stayed his hand. He made a few quick strikes of his own, increasing in speed until he was just fast enough to nick their armor.

Their defensive skill was decent, about C-Rank, Hitori guessed, but it seemed like this might be their first real fight. He couldn’t imagine why such a novice was on campus, let alone why they decided to attack him. It was like they started training a year ago.

Whatever the reason, Hitori was certain he’d seen everything they had. The only thing left was a good hit to deplete their Vital Energy and take them out of the fight.

When fighting, especially as a mercenary, it was important to finish off an opponent with the right amount of damage. Too much and you leave a body, too little a threat at your back. This was a rare chance to put theory into practice, so he couldn’t help but grin as he activated his attack.

Every tech was largely unique, but they did fall within certain paradigms. In this case Hitori used something called a Blitz Tech.

Under the control of his Vital Net, Hitori was able to move his body at speeds well in excess of anything humanly possible, even accounting for a VN’s normal enhancements. He bolted towards his opponent, bashing them in the chest hard enough to break ribs, and then finishing with a slash through the side.

The fake Shade spun in the air before landing on the pavement with a crunch. Their sword clattered on the ground as it bounced a short distance away. His attack went off perfectly. The last step was a quick interrogation to figure out what they were trying to do.

Except for the fact they were getting back to their feet.

Hitori took a step back and retook his guard. There should have been no way his opponent could recover so quickly. Unless they were a Paladin. Problem was, Hitori couldn’t imagine a single reason a Paladin in a stealth suit would attack him on a Saturday morning.

“Look, I don’t know who you are, but it’s pretty clear you’ve got nothing on me,” Hitori said, lowering his guard. “You might as well—“

What they might as well have done will forever remain a mystery, because Hitori’s dark clad assailant plucked an invisible thread from about their neck, and transformed it into a bolt of deadly flame to shoot at his chest.

Caught totally by surprise, Hitori could do nothing but accept the strike. A jolt of pain pierced his armor, explosively heating a chunk of flesh, rupturing his skin and searing his lungs. A sizable portion of his stored Vital Energy evaporated in an instant as a swarm of restructors rebuilt his chest cavity.

This cheeky little shit.

Before his assailant could prepare and launch another arte, Hitori triggered his Blitz Tech again, driving his opponent to the floor. This time he didn’t hesitate to flip them onto their back and pin them to the floor. He held the tip of his sword against their neck.

“Will you give it a fucking rest already!” Hitori took a deep breath. “What are you doing?”