I.3

Walking down the sidewalk, Shinjiro's expression was twisted into a grimace.

Without enough time to study the book too closely, he hadn't made much, if any, progress in the realm of utilizing magic.

And to make things worse, ever since he'd left the basement there was an ever-present buzzing that hadn't left him no matter what he did. In fact, it only seemed to grow in intensity as time went on.

It wasn't sound, per se, but something he couldn't quite describe in with physical sensations. A sixth sense, perhaps, that wouldn't stop badgering him without pause.

For a while he suspected that maybe bleeding all over a mysterious, clearly magical, book wasn't a good idea. That he'd been inflicted with some sort of... curse.

But, now that he was on his way to school, it was starting to come back to him.

This sensation wasn't something he was unfamiliar with. It wasn't a burgeoning affliction born from a cursed tome or anything like that. No, he'd felt this sensation a very, very long time ago.

In the void. The gap between worlds.

It was the sound he'd frequently enjoyed listening to. The infinite catalogue of songs which had no end. The raging silence. The silent cacophony.

He... wasn't sure what it was, actually.

Don't get him wrong, he'd definitely felt it before. But he still didn't exactly know where the 'sound' came from, nor did he know what it represented. It was just... something he was accustomed to.

Knowing the broad strokes of how his world functioned on a visceral level didn't account for knowledge of the soul. Trying to put the machinations of the void into words was... like trying to put the ocean into a cup.

Which, ironically, was the exact problem he was currently having.

The void was infinite, and as such, it contained all things within it. In layman's terms, the 'sounds' canceled each other out, resulting in nothing. Reality, though? It was finite.

Which meant, as he walked past the school gates with a small grimace on his face-

He froze, holding back a powerful wince.

-that the sound only increased in intensity, an unyielding cacophony of sounds that overlapped and battled in intensity. The sound's origin was made abundantly clear to him in that moment, as the bustle of people bumped into him and went about their business in droves.

The sound was coming from people. From himself.

Just... wow.

He clenched his fist, forcefully loosening his expression and took one step in front of the other. The piercing nature of the 'sound' meant he was rewarded a heavy migraine for his efforts. Just walking through the double doors of the academy was a feat all on its own.

That didn't matter though. He wasn't focused on school at the moment anymore. With how much effort it took just to get in the door, he needed to find a place to... calm down. Right. Calm down and... get his bearings. Find a way to endure.

Endure.

Endure.

Endure.

With that mantra repeating in his head, he focused on simply walking, getting one foot in front of the other. Keep his head down and ignore those around him. Steps up and steps down, doors open and doors closed. His destination didn't matter, just that he got control of himself.

He wasn't sure how long it took, but eventually he snapped put of his trance and realized he was... on the roof?

Why were the doors to get up here even unlocked...?

He scowled. Now he had find out where the hell the way to the auditorium was all by himself.

A sudden buzz of sound made him wince.

But maybe he could just... stay up here for a few more minutes. The sound was still there, but it was muted so high up.

--[+]--

It didn't actually take too long to find the auditorium. With the buzzing increasing in intensity the closer he got, he could effectively sense where the other students were gathered.

When he thought about it that way, this was technically his first actual supernatural ability. If only it wasn't so painful.

Taking a random seat in the back, he was planning to spend his time studying the Mana guide. None besides himself would be able to read it, after all. And if he was asked to explain what he was doing then he had a decent explanation already.

But, well-

The moment his eyes glanced at the stage he saw...

-He didn't know what the hell he was looking at, if he was honest. Why was school of all things turning out to be genuinely interesting?

Standing at the forefront of the podium was a man with long, bright red hair. And if one ignored his unnaturally good looks, they'd come to realize the man was wearing full royal regalia as if this was some cosplay convention.

And... he was just talking? Like a normal school board member. About how working hard as a student would give them benefits later on in life.

Shinjiro had no words.

Did not a single person think this was odd besides him...?

And now that he was thinking about it, most of the 'sounds' were still muted. There was one above them all, though, as if all the students had lowered their own 'songs' to listen to the man's masterpiece of a symphony. Almost like they were subdu-

Oh.

Oh.

His attention snapped to one of the few male students who seemed not infatuated with the man.

"-Stupid handsome normie, stupid perfect suit. What's he know about hard work? All normies should just go explo-" The boy grumbled to himself, arms crossed.

Turning his attention to the female side of the population pretty much confirmed his suspicions.

...The less said about their dreamy sighs and exaggerated swooning the better.

So he was apparently immune to being hypnotized now. But... why? Why was the man so lazy he couldn't just wear a suit instead of hypnotizing people? And why couldn't he be hypnotized in the first place?

Was it because his soul finally synchronized? Then that would mean his inability to be subdued would be a result of his soul.

And if it was apart of his soul, then... well, it's not like he had a plethora of soul-born abilities. It had to be a side effect of the system.

Which meant...

Skills.

▽

[Innate Abilities]

-"The skill which encompasses the advantages available to the user from birth." Some techniques may need to be unlocked depending on upbringing-

△

▽

[Innate Abilities: Voidborn]

-"An abnormal soul dwells within an abnormal mind, and an abnormal body." Conceals the user's prescense. Massively improves the user's resistance to mntal attacks. Massively enhances sensitivity to emanations from the soul-

△

Ah.

As he didn't have any other skills, he wasn't sure if this was weak or strong. It certainly seemed strong at a general level.

And it would actually explain his whole damn day.

Because his soul hadn't been fully synchronized with his body and mind before, he'd been functionally just a normal human. But now that it was, it was seemingly spreading that weirdness to his physical existence.

So that meant he could sense other souls. And sense what they were doing with their soul, even if it wasn't an exact science.

Therefore, the reason he couldn't be hypnotized wasn't really because of the system, but because it was hard to manipulate a mind that functions in an abnormal manner.

Didn't that mean he would be instantly noticed by anyone trying to hypnotize a large group like this?

Or, wait, the skill also concealed his prescense. Hopefully that extended to supernatural senses. Being a blank spot is miles better than being a blaring alarm.

He narrowed his eyes at the adult who was still yapping on and on. The man didn't seem to notice him in particular, his eyes simply glazing over all of the students equally. A part of him, an excessively paranoid part, questioned whether the man could be watching him without his bare eyes. That even if he didn't physically see it, the man was still watching him.

Internally, he let out a sigh. Hopefully he'd have more studying time whenever lunch time was. And whoever the man was would just... leave him alone.

School was supposed to be the boring part of his life, not overtly stressful.

--

A/N: And that's a wrap. Y'all got any Skill ideas?

I've got a hand full of skills in my reservoir, but his full planned skill list seems a bit... barren. For who he's eventually going to be fighting, that doesn't really add up.