Encore 1 — Porcelain-ranked

[Kazuya, are you ready?]

Someone spoke over comms.

"Yeah."

I said, looking down at the horde of zombie Imperi.

[Don't forget the plan. You're the bait, then Isla will stun them and then I'll go wild with Yuichi.]

I still think this is a stupid plan.

I'm on a C+ ranked mission with my team. With two impatient people and one stupid sensei.

Our mission is to destroy this horde of zombie-variant Imperi before they march into Osaka.

There may be a lot of them but they're fairly weak. A normal human adult could beat one zombie in a one-on-one.

The two other people on my team are my friends but they're both impatient when it comes to battle. Yuichi is strong and is the best in a close-combat fight and Isla is fast and good for a battle of attrition or illusions. They're both Silver-ranked while I'm still Porcelain...

"Oh."

I tilted my head as a purple blast of mana came flying past me.

It came from the zombies.

"Oi, you guys better hurry up, the Spatial Composer can only absorb so much."

I talked on comms.

I was floating in the air above the horde of zombies. The black distorted platform I was standing on was a Spatial Composer, a piece of equipment that I designed myself. (I didn't make it, though.)

It allows anything with physical mass to stand on it, meanwhile, anything that does not have mass becomes absorbed.

Of course, it has a limit.

A limit that it's reaching.

I looked at the small box on my waist. The meter on it was 3/4 full.

"Oi, you guys better hurry up!"

I shouted.

[Don't worry, I'm here.]

I heard someone say on comms. The same voice also came from above me.

Someone dropped downwards towards the zombies.

The Imperi stopped shooting.

Another feature of my Spatial Composer is that I can expel anything that is absorbed, meaning...

I pressed a white button on the black box; purple mana came flooding out toward the horde of zombies.

It caused some of them to die and others became injured.

"Your turn, Isla."

[I know. Sakura Hysteria: Blossom.]

As the girl dropped, cherry blossoms followed her. They gave off a sweet scent. It didn't affect me but a large portion of the zombies were mesmerised by the smell.

Isla landed safely in the horde without anyone attacking.

Next up is the final step.

[Sacred Lightning.]

A flash.

What used to be a horde of zombies turned into two groups with a large parting down in the middle.

He wasn't supposed to use his.

Well, knowing him, Sacred Lightning hasn't tired him at all.

I don't match up to Yuichi at all. I'm far weaker than him. He has a Singularity, a good physique and is good with spells and close combat. Though, he isn't all that smart.

[I'll finish all of you off!]

Oh god, he's going to go crazy.

---

"That Spatial Composer's useful, isn't it?"

Ms Kin said, pointing at the small black box on my utility belt.

She had a smile on her face despite absolutely destroying those zombies with Yuichi. Not that it's a hard job for them.

"Yeah, I'm happy that Reina made it for me."

I said.

"Reina? Not Ashikaga?"

Isla asked, coming from behind.

"Why would you not request Ashikaga to do it instead? I mean, she's better than Reina."

That's what everyone says but it's just that people aren't giving her the right materials to use. They aren't that specific too.

"I just wanted to trust a friend."

I told them.

Yuichi walked toward us with his hands on his head.

"Is that so? Well, if you want to change your mind, I can get Ashikaga to make you a new one based on your thoughts and ideas."

He suggested.

"No thanks, I'm good."

Besides, Ashikaga and I don't have a good relationship. Gah, my relationship with girls in general is bad.

I'm only good with Reina, Isla and two others.

Maybe next time we hang out, I should ask Yuichi for advice with girls. He's like a girl magnet.

Not to mention, he's a girl magnet despite already having a girlfriend.

That person is the girl walking beside him right now, Isla.

I sighed.

"I can't wait to get back to school and have normal lessons."

---

8 years ago, the world suffered another impact. This one was on a smaller scale. It was limited to the areas of East Asia.

Ethereal Impact was the name given to it.

Though it affected the countries in East Asia, its source was Tokyo, Japan.

The whole city was wrecked by a single entity.

It was a human.

A naked man, glowing white, bearing a black horn and peering down at the city with mismatched black and white eyes. Even his hair was white. Though he seemed like some sort of angel, he was the harbinger of hell.

The devil.

Thanks to the efforts of a certain Magia, the Ethereal Impact was contained to East Asia. The Magia's name was Reiko Hinamachi, a famous Japanese Magia.

Though she contained it, it cost her her life.

And the glowing white devil, codenamed Alpha, disappeared. Never to be seen again.

Almost like an illusion. Though that was why it was called the Ethereal Impact, the casualties were certainly not 'ethereal.'

Lots of young children aspired to be Magi because their parents or family were killed in the Ethereal Impact.

That is also why I attend Interblade Academy, a place for aspiring Magi of all kinds.

Because the Ethereal Impact took my mother's life.

---

{May 9th, Wednesday, 2018}

Interblade Academy.

Interblade is an association which opened up 50 years ago, half a century ago, to allow young Streia to become Magi and protect public peace from Imperi.

I attend Interblade Academy as a second-year, in the Specialist course, because I want to kill Alpha with my own hands.

There are 4 courses in Interblade.

The Specialist course, battle-based, Industrial course, tech-based, Mechanical course, creation-based, and the Neutral course is a mix of all.

No matter what course you are in, there is a key detail that everyone needs to possess if they want to graduate successfully from Interblade.

That is being Gold-ranked.

Ranks are obtained through different tests. There are 6 ranks:

Porcelain, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Diamond and Platinum.

---

"Shiba!"

"Yes!"

I shot up from my seat as I was in a daze. I guess I was daydreaming for too long.

Students in the class chuckled slightly.

"I hope you don't think that your fantasies are more important than the first uprising after the Grand Impact."

Honestly... I do.

The teacher, Mr Matsumoto, glared at me with his stylus on the board.

"Uh... No, sir."

"You answered too slow! When did Cinderella first appear?"

"Uh, 2014, June!"

I answered as fast as I could.

Mr Matsumoto was surprised. His eyes narrowed as he thought of another question.

"How about the first raid against the Imperi?"

"1918, September."

"The result of the Streia war between America and the UK?"

"1965 June to 1969 December, ending in a stalemate."

"First appearance of one of the Three Deities and what was it?"

"First appearance was Nuri the Flame Dragon in Spain in 1999, 23rd August."

Suddenly, after his rapid-fire, Mr Matsumoto had stopped asking questions.

As he stared at me in awe, others in the class began clapping and cheering.

Especially Yuichi, who was in the seat behind me.

The bell rang and everyone packed their stuff and left without hearing another word from Mr Matsumoto.

I left with Yuichi and Isla, who is in the same class as me. It was now lunchtime.

"You did him in, Kazuya! It's amazing how you can remember all those dates."

Yuichi said.

"Maybe you should just study more."

Isla poked fun at Yuichi while poking his cheek.

"Well, maybe you should too, Isla. Because I don't think the first uprising was in 1907. That was before the Grand Impact."

I teased her as I turned to her.

She shivered. Her face turned red.

"Y-you... You looked?!"

She roared at me.

"Hey, chill out! It's not my fault you didn't put your book in your bag quick enough."

Isla was ready to pounce at me but she turned backwards.

"I'm going!"

She marched off.

Quite the impulsive girl.

Yuichi looked between me and Isla. I noticed this and began talking to him.

"You should probably chase after her. I'm fine with you leaving me but I don't think she'll be okay with you leaving her for me."

I advised him.

"You sure?"

I smiled.

"Go for it."

Yuichi seemed slightly unsure but he chased after her eventually.

"Now that I have them off of my case, I should probably go see Reina."

I proceeded toward the Mechanical course, second-year, corridor. I knocked on the door of class 2-H's door.

I opened it.

"Let's see, I'll put this here, and... Oh! This can go there!"

It was empty since everyone went to lunch. Everyone except one person.

A girl with navy blue hair and glasses on her head. She sat in a chair in the middle, modifying a small black box; my Spatial Composer, which I gave her after yesterday's mission.

I walked up to her.

"Hey, Reina."

I greeted her.

"If I could somehow increase the time that the Spatial Composer stays active for and how much can be held within it..."

She held the box in front of her, clearly in thought and unaffected by my words.

I touched her shoulder; she jumped.

"Ah!"

She burst up from her seat, throwing the Spatial Composer.

"No!"

I sighed.

As Reina attempted to catch it, I caught it and she jumped into my chest, face first.

"Hm? I'm not on the floor? What's this surface?"

Suddenly, the girl began touching my chest.

"It feels hard yet soft, almost like--!"

"Reina~!"

I sang, slightly irritated.

The girl moved from my chest and looked up at me with her innocent yellow eyes.

"Oh, it's you, Kazu-kun."

"Yeah, it's me."

"Was I spaced out again? Sorry."

She said.

Reina could tell from the tone of my voice that I wasn't very happy.

"I forgot to ask yesterday, how are Dusk and Dawn working for you? I made them with your thoughts in mind! I want to also ask how you managed to get your hands on some adamantite?"

"I didn't obtain it myself. Dad kind of saw my weapon plan and he insisted that it wouldn't work without adamantite since it's one of the only ores which can absorb or neutralise mana."

She snatched the black box out of my hand and spun like a ballerina.

"Of course! It was Tet-ossan!"

I chuckled.

"Did you really think that I could obtain adamantite with my abilities?"

"Hey, everyone has a secret or two."

"Yeah..."

I answered under my breath.

"So, how do Dusk and Dawn fit?"

The girl placed the black box on her desk.

"They're good. I'm happy that I can trust my friend with my weapon designs. The fact that you made Dusk with my key concepts in mind is incredible.

You went overboard with Dawn. The fact that you made Dawn so that I only have to imagine the spell and say the spell name before putting mana into it to activate it is amazing. It's faster than others' spellcasting if we consider the time it takes for the magic circle to activate."

I told my friend.

She turned with a satisfied smile on her face, though, it looked like she was trying to hold it back.

I can read her like an open book.

Reina chuckled with her mouth closed, making a 'hm hm' noise.

"I'm glad you liked it! I had to make it special for my only customer and friend!"

I smiled.

"But!"

"Hm?"

"You better advertise it somehow. This way, there's no way I'll be able to catch up to Ashikaga. It's crazy since we're in the same class. What do they see in her? Her big boobs? Mine are pretty big as well..."

I didn't mean to be indecent but I took a peak.

If we describe Ashikaga's boobs as 'mountains,' then we'll go with the description of 'hills' for Reina.

Abruptly, the classroom door was opened and slammed closed.

We both turned to the door.

Three people were standing in front of the door. One second-year and the other two were first-years. It was obvious due to their ties.

"Ah, the usual whiners."

Reina uttered to herself.

"Oi, Shinomiya! What's wrong with my sword?! There aren't any jet boosters on the blade?!"

The second-year shouted.

I recognised him. He's a transfer from England, Connor Smith.

Jet boosters on a sword? That's just ridiculous.

"Well, the main reason is that you didn't give me the right materials for it. It's not like I can put tech into the blade itself. I need sentient material like Orichalcum. At your squad level, D+, you won't be able to get anywhere."

Reina said.

Smith glared at me. He then walked over to us and snatched the Spatial Composer from the table.

"What's this black box? If you're wasting your time making this instead of my katana then I'll--"

Smith threw the Spatial Composer on the floor, grazing some of the outside. The meter on it disappeared.

From that, I could tell that it was broken. This guy just broke my Spatial Composer. He--.

"You fucker!"

Before I could get mad at him, Reina rushed over and slapped him. I hadn't even said a single word.

"You just broke the Spatial Composer that I made for Kazuya! You'll pay! You'll pay me back with adamantite, you hear me?!"

She screamed.

Smith was shaken and first but then he smirked.

"Why don't we duel then?"

"Huh?"

"What? Didn't you hear me, I said let's duel. If I win then you make the jet booster sword properly. And if you win, I'll pay you back with adamantite."

Tch. This is bad. Reina is in the Industrial course. She isn't accustomed to fighting. Well, I am kind of pissed at this guy for damaging my Spatial Composer.

"Hey,"

I put my hand on her shoulder.

"I duel him for you."

"Huh?! But, Kazuya, you--"

"You're in the Industrial course and don't know how to fight, right?"

"Yeah, but you're..."

"It's fine."

I told her.

"Oh, so you want to be brave, don't you? Okay, I'll accept it. He'll fight in your place."

"I see we agree."

"I can't wait until you utterly cry for mercy."

---

I accepted the duel and we moved outside into the small park within the school.

Students gave us space as we prepped ourselves for the duel. I handled Dusk and Dawn in gun holsters by my side.

"So, what're the conditions of the duel?"

Smith asked me.

"A normal 1v1."

[One-on-one combat confirmed. Win by either knocking the opponent unconscious or surrendering. Killing is prohibited. Armaments are allowed.]

A female articulate voice said.

That was from the blade badge of my trousers.

[Duel shall start in 10--]

"Ah, I forgot."

Smith expressed while brandishing the katana in his hand.

He's a sword wielder and I use guns. He's close-ranged and I'm long-ranged. It's for the best if I keep a distance from him.

"What rank are you, Japanese?"

Didn't even bother to ask for my name.

[6--]

"I'm Porcelain."

After hearing that, Smith began cackling. He seemed to be having the time of his life.

[3--]

"I'm Silver! I'll destroy you!"

[2... 1... BEGIN!]

As soon as the duel started, he skipped over to me, fast. He didn't give me time to draw my guns.

He sliced at my head with full force; I swung my head to the side.

Smith reacted with a few pierces at me. All were easily evaded.

"Stop running, you worm!"

As he swung his katana at me, each move became easy for me to see through.

He's using the wrong sword with the wrong sword style.

It's not difficult to tell that he does fencing. However, a katana isn't suited for stabs and pierces. If he was wielding a rapier, he would've been at least three times more of a threat than he is now.

Because of the contrast in his sword and his style, each swing he does leave him open.

After his next swing, I put my hand on Dawn, the gun on my left.

Then, the katana he was wielding burst into flames.

Upon seeing me put my hand on my weapon, he went for his chance with a flame attack.

If it was anyone else, he would beat them. But, unlucky for him, I have Dusk.

I drew Dusk and pulled the trigger.

"Huh?!"

Nothing came out of the gun as Smith gasped.

Instead, the flames of his sword were absorbed into Dusk.

That instant, Smith backed away.

"What did you do?!"

I took out Dawn and aimed at him.

"True Flame."

I said.

As I pulled the trigger on Dawn, a flame dart shot out at Smith. It hit his foot. He fell to the ground, gritting his teeth in pain.

The True Flame spell didn't pierce his foot since I amped the power down. This is a duel, there's no need for fatal injuries. Especially since he'll be supplying the adamantite needed for the Spatial Composer.

The blonde boy glared at me as he pierced his katana at me.

"You!"

I dodged and kicked his wrist. The sudden shock caused the katana to be knocked from his hand.

"Gah!"

Dawn clicked as I aimed her at him.

"So, do you give up?"

Smith's eyes were like daggers stabbing me as he attempted to get up.

"N-never..."

"Ah, is that so? Then..."

I fired some more True Flame spells at him, slightly increasing the input of mana.

I can't use spells which is why I use Dawn. I possess mana but the gates in my body can't openly exert the mana without a catalyst. I've tried using a staff but it just didn't feel right.

That's the whole reason I created drafts for Dusk and Dawn and sent the materials necessary to Reina. I couldn't trust anyone else with something so important.

"Ah! I--ah--I'm s-sorry! P-please stop!"

He began begging.

I stopped shooting.

"So, do you give up?"

Suddenly, a faint smirk appeared on his face.

Before he could say anything, I began firing at him again.

"I-I give up!"

He began shouting in English.

[Halt.]

The female voice began talking once more.

I sheathed Dawn and Dusk.

[Porcelain-ranked, Kazuya Shiba, wins the duel against Silver ranked, Connor Smith. The opponent must uphold the agreement made beforehand.]

"Well, that's that,"

I said.

It's a shame though. This guy couldn't give me a good fight either. All that talk and he's not even that strong.

"I won't let this be the end of it!"

From behind, Smith grabbed his katana and sliced at me, despite the duel being over.

I sighed and took Dusk out of her holster and pulled the trigger, aiming at his head.

"I didn't want to do this but... Hollow Void."

Black mana discharged itself from Dusk, firing at his head. It disappeared once it made contact with his head.

Smith fell over, unconscious.

"God..."

I exhaled, looking at Smith's body.

"Who would've thought I'd have to use that spell so suddenly? It takes up lots of mana though..."

I put Dusk back into my right holster.

Now that that's over...

"Kazuya Shiba."

"Hm?"

I turned.

A girl walked toward me. Judging from the colour of her tie, she was a third-year student.

Her hair was long and violet. Her eyes were crimson red, making me think that she was some sort of vampire. Her skin was pale too.

Most of all, she had an armband on her left arm. I couldn't see what it said but it was a white armband.

There's only one group of students who wear white armbands.

The Student Council.

"Disgraceful, even after the duel, you proceed to knock out your already beaten opponent."

Is that what she saw? I need to clear up this misunderstanding.

"Hey, it's a misunderstanding! He attacked me first, so I--"

"Silence!"

She yelled, unsheathing the two swords by her side. They were extremely thin and long. I don't see the benefit in wielding those swords.

"In the name of the Student Council, I shall take you in and make you pay for your misconduct."

"Girl, you didn't even see the whole thing."

I said, attempting to rile her up.

She nonchalantly stared at me, unfazed.

"My name is not 'girl,' I am Ichino Amakusa. The one who shall confine you."