A Loyal Dog

The weekend went by awfully fast. Before we knew it, it was already Monday. Just as Amy guessed, the real problems were starting to bloom. The moment class ended, lots of my classmates were already challenging each other to duels. Their hot-blooded words were loud.

"Hey! You! How about a duel?"

"You're on! No way that I 'm backing down!"

Almost everyone was at each other's throats like this. Only a few select people weren't engaged in the drama.

If I stayed here for too long, there was a chance someone would challenge me next. My low mana capacity made me seem like an easy target. Before that could happen, I decided to leave the room.

'It really is a free-for-all. Didn't expect it to be this bad.'

As I stepped into the hall, a student was launched across the air, landing against a wall. He was unconscious. But this wasn't the only crazy thing going on. As I turned my head, the scene became clear. All through-out the hall, people were fighting each other. Some were even throwing spells around at random. And some of those spells could kill if they hit a wrong spot.

I had to dodge around the stray spells as I made my way to the staircase.

When I headed down, the second floor was the same, people were battling. Then, there was the first floor, same thing was happening there. All the first-years were eager to increase their rankings, fighting anyone in their path.

Out in the courtyard was the only place I could get away from it all. My body relaxed against the wall of the library. With a book in hand, I began reading.

From the corner of my eye, I could see Professor Luis standing there. He was staring off into the distance, a smirk on his face. He was well-aware of what was happening inside the building.

"It's gotten crazy in there, hasn't it?"

"I guess you could say that. But that's an understatement." I answered.

It was more like Armageddon on campus. On a smaller scale.

"This is a common occurrence. It happens every-year. A very specific rule Is always ignored."

It was a rule that could easily be over-looked.

When mentioning duals, the rules clearly state that no damage must come to school buildings. As well as other property. With all the students throwing spells around indoors, it was bound to happen.

The penalty for breaking this rule was severe. You'd take a major reduction on your student-ranking. Or worse, you could be suspended. If you managed to make the damage bad enough, you might even be expelled.

"I'm honestly surprised." said Professor Luis, "Part of me expected you to be participating in those duels."

"What gives you that impression?"

"Out of all the first-years, I thought you would be the one who wanted to prove yourself the most."

That made sense. It was a logical conclusion to come to. Usually, the 'weakest' ones would want to try the hardest. My mana capacity was nothing to write home about. It was the lowest in the entire academy.

"I don't really have a reason to increase my ranking." I said.

"Why not? You should be giving it your all to rise. The higher your rank, the less likely you are to be kicked. If the academy deems you un-fit to be here, you'll be removed. Your low mana capacity is a big risk factor."

"...."

"I said this once. And I'll say it again. I don't expect a whole lot from you." The professor took a seat beside me, "I looked at your exam results. You were pretty exceptional in magic knowledge. However, that's not enough. How do you expect to cast magic with a low mana capacity? This is the reason you may not be fit for this academy."

Well, that was a bit harsh. He hadn't even given me a chance to prove myself. It's only my second day with him as my professor, yet, he had made a lot of assumptions.

"You know, professor. I noticed something about you. You have a specific belief, The belief that a mages mana capacity is what determines if they are great or not."

Sure, mana capacity was key factor to being great, but it wasn't everything.

"Then what does? From your perspective, what makes a mage great?"

A question like that. There wasn't a factual right answer. Depending on who you ask, you might end up with a different response. Like many things in this world, it all varied from person to person.

"From my perspective?" I asked, "Well. I'd say there are a few things that makes mage great. How they perceive the world. How they use and apply their knowledge on magic in the heat of a battle." All of these things could be traced back to one thing, "It all boils down to a person's mind. If they can master it, they can be a great mage."

"Hmm. Interesting way of thinking." The professor stared at me, intrigued. It was almost like his whole image of me had changed. Still, he had to disagree, "I have to disagree, nonetheless. The mind may be a key factor, but it means nothing if your enemy can cast magic twice as fast as you."

I had a different take on this.

"Speed is irrelevant. If you truly mastered your mind, you would know to already have your spell prepared, before your enemy had a chance to cast."

My response left the Professor in silence, wearing a smirk. He didn't seem to have anything left to debate this time. Almost as if he completely agreed.

"Kuro Kuragari. Looks like I judged you too quickly. You might not be the failure I thought you out to be." he gave me a certain look, but I wasn't sure what it meant. It was honestly hard to read. Before the professor headed off, he mentioned one more thing, "I can't say what your dreams are, or why you came to this academy. But I can say this much: If you wish to accomplish things, it's in your best interest to rank up. If not, I'm afraid your time here may be cut short."

What exactly did this mean? Was he trying to warn me about something?

I didn't get a chance to ask, the Professor was already far off in the distance, heading towards the academy's main building, where the office was.

____________

Later that day, there was quite a lot of damage done to the first-year building. Caused by all the duels that took place inside. There was an announcement, stating the names of all the students that were involved. Four were expelled, the rest were severely penalized.

From where I stood in the library, an announcement came from overhead, reporting an update.

"Due to the incidents in the first-year buildings today, a large number of students have been penalized. As a result, their rankings have been reduced. The leaderboards have been updated, please check to see where you stand."

I pulled out my smartphone and hopped on the academy's website. My finger flicked the button that would take me to view the rankings. There was huge change. My ranking had gone up dramatically.

[Kuro Kuragari #122]

"Cool."

I wondered how many students were involved in the duels. In order for the ranking to change this much, there had to have been a lot. No matter, it was a good thing. Saves me some trouble with ranking up.

The hairs on my neck stood up. I could sense a hand reaching out toward me. It was in my instincts to turn around and react, but I refrained. I could gather that this presence wasn't hostile. A soft hand tapped on my shoulder, followed by a girl's voice.

"E-excuse me." she had long blonde hair and purple eyes. I didn't know her name, but I recognized her as one of my classmates.

"What is it?" I asked.

"You're Kuro, right?"

"I am." I stared at her, observing her body language.

Her gaze was averted to the side, and I could see sweat forming down her cheek. She was up to something strange. At the same time, it was easy to see that she did not want to be here. So, what was the reason for this encounter?

The girl nervously unfolded a sentence.

"Umm...Could you come with me...somewhere?.."

"Can I ask where?" I shifted my eyes to focus on her wrist. There, a bruise was visible. But it wasn't clear if it was related to the situation.

"I-it's nowhere bad...I promise." said the girl, "Please. Will you come with me?"

As she asked once more, her eyes finally looked at me. To the normal person, it wasn't obvious, but as someone who seen this body language many times, I could tell that she needed me for something.

But why me in particular?

Ultimately, I ended up blindly agreeing.

"Alright. I guess I'll follow you."

For some reason, we ended up in the second-year building, which was odd. First-year's like us had no business here. The two of us stood at a dead end, isolated from view. The girl was standing with her backt turned, her face not being visible at all. As she spoke, I could hear the regret in her voice.

"I'm sorry. I truly am. But I had to bring you here. The upperclassmen call the shots. I had to learn that the hard way."

I assumed, that bruise on her wrist it was she was hinting at. As far as the upperclassmen went, it wasn't clear how they were involved.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

My ears picked up on multiple footsteps, walking up to me. Three people in total. Based off the sound alone, it was clear they were male.

As I turned my body to face them, one of them spoke.

"We'll answer that for you. You see, we used her to lure you here. She's our loyal dog, ready to follow any order."

A guy with brown hair and crazed eyes. It didn't take much to read into the kind of person he was. The wicked smirk on his face said it all, he was ready to resort to violence. Happily. The two guys by his side were different though. One had green hair, while the other had gray hair. Both of them had serious expressions. They were observing me, waiting to see how this played out.

There didn't seem to be any cameras in this area. These people chose this place to corner me on purpose. Still, it wasn't clear what any of this was about.

"And you are?" I asked.

The brown-haired guy replied.

"Right. I didn't introduce myself yet. I suppose that's a tad rude of me. I'm Jules, a second-year. Me and you have some business."

"Business? I don't know what you mean."

"I should be more specific." Jules grinned, "You beat a few of my boys to a pulp not too long ago. Right around the time you were taking entrance exams."

Now I understood. He's probably a friend of Fudo. It's true, I did give them a little beating. Originally, I tried to talk things out with them, in an attempt to get them to leave Yuji alone. But it didn't quite work out that way. Fudo and his gang attacked me right off the bat. That exchange ended with them hurt pretty badly. Honestly, it's not like I wanted that to happen, but it did.

Regardless of all of this, I denied it. Though, it seemed like Jules already knew for certain it was me.

"Huh. Must've been someone that looked like me."

"We both know it was you. Here, I have proof." Jules whipped out his smartphone, showing me a photo. It was a photo of me, standing over the injured bodies of Fudo and his gang. Not sure how he got it, but the proof was all there.

Confidently, Jules gazed at me without saying anything. He was giving me an opportunity to tell the truth. There wasn't any point in playing dumb.

A tiresome sigh escaped my mouth.

"It's true. That guy in the photo is me. Now, I'd like to know the point of bringing me here." I looked around, "As far as this area goes, there's no cameras around. I assume that's intentional."

Jules nodded, "That's right. You're decently aware." he went ahead and got to the point, "The reason for luring you here was so that I can have a word with you. Without anyone getting involved."

From the sound of it, there was a good chance this could turn violent. The two guys by his side walked behind me, where I couldn't see them directly. There were no moves made, but I could tell they were waiting to strike.

Jules continued.

"You see, Fudo may be a hot-headed guy, but he is exceptionally skilled in fire magic. I find it hard to imagine someone beating him so easily. Regardless, it is still a fact that you did so. This must mean you are pretty skilled yourself." he grinned wide, "I have a proposal. Join my little gang. We have over a hundred members at this academy. I can promise that you'll receive good scores. I do have connections to information, after all. So, what will it be?"

He stared at me intently, waiting for my answer.

If I refused, the guys behind me were likely to start attacking. Though, I didn't see any real reason to join his gang. I didn't desperately need information; I already knew someone that could provide me what that. Also, my instincts were telling me that there was an ulterior motive.

I wasn't exactly a pride-filled person, but I wasn't going to just bow down when faced with an issue.

My answer was that of rejection.

"Sorry. I don't really feel like joining a gang. I guess my answer is no."

"Ah." Jules let out a deep sigh, shaking his head in disappointment, "So be it, then. I tried to be nice by giving you a chance, but you went and tossed it down the drain. There's no telling if you may threat in the future. I will not take that chance. So, I'll have you dealt with in a way that you'll have no choice but to drop out."

In other words, I was going to receive some brutal injuries from a beating. I slightly turned my head, making sure the two guys behind me were in my peripheral view. As soon as Jules gave the signal, both of them rushed at me.

As I leaped to the side, two punches missed my face by an inch. My steps put distance between me and them.

Next, Jules lunged at me, throwing a strike toward my jaw. I leaned aside and countered with a punch of my own, but he was able to evade it. Following up, my palm was able to get through, shoving him back.

That was when it became apparent, the other two guys flanked me. Both of them came from the sides. Green hair kicked directly at my throat. Just in time, my body reacted and ducked. But there wasn't a chance to strike back, grey hair reached doubt to grab me. Firmly, my elbow smashed into his torso, throwing him off balance. I jumped back to avoid being overrun.

It was a brief moment of silence that me and my attackers shared. Although, the peace didn't last long. All three of them surrounded me and attacked from different angles. My reflexes allowed me to keep up with their patterns of jabs and kicks.

Their way of fighting wasn't just random, they knew what they were doing. Each of their strikes held a strong amount of force behind them. The times that I had a chance at striking one of them, another would maneuver around to my blind side, forcing me to shift my attention.

I guess these second-years were no joke. I've honestly seen combat mages on this level. This was probably the career they were prepping for.

The fight was a stalemate. We all realized that. The attacks slowly died down before eventually stopping all together. Me and these second years were left staring at each other.

Then finally, Jules spoke.

"From the way you fight. I can see that you hold some notable skill. I assume you came to this academy to hopefully become a combat mage. That would explain your knowledge on hand-to hand."

One of the requirements to become a combat mage was to know at least one fighting style. Without that, you weren't considered qualified. This wasn't my reason for being at this academy, but there was no harm in playing along.

"Yeah. Something like that." I replied.

"That's something we have in common." Jules turned his back, "You proved yourself to be formidable at close range. For now, we'll call this a draw." With a glare, he shot one last look in my direction, "But this doesn't mean you're off the hook. We'll get you sooner or later."

He strode off, followed by his two companions.

At first, I had thought highly of this academy. It was supposed to be the world's best rated for magic. In terms of magic and skill, that very well may be true. In addition, I had a new view. This place was filled with crazy people and corruption. To the rest of the public, this academy is seen as perfect. The officials of this campus must've gone through a lot to cover up its true nature.

'Welp. I might be in for some serious trouble down the line.

If everyone is this violent, it won't be long before I end up in another scuffle.'

The atmosphere grew awkward. The girl was still here, standing off to the side. The moment I looked at her, I realized that she was staring at me the whole time. Guilt was written on her face as she looked away in a hurry. All the same, I didn't blame her for this situation. She was obviously being force into luring me here. Though I wasn't aware of the specifics. Above all, I didn't hold any resentment toward her.

"I know this is awkward, but If you don't mind, I'd like to know abo-"

"--Don't talk to me!" The girl shut her eyes and screamed.

Following my attempt to talk with her, she ran away. Not sure if she was embarrassed by her actions, or if she was scared of me. Regardless of which, she had no intention of conversing. Leaving her lone was the best choice for now. Maybe somewhere in the future I could earn a better chance to talk with her. But now wasn't the time.

'Well, that happened. '