11 Chapter 10: Combat training in progress

I must not be disrespectful to my superiors.

I must not stand up for ruffians.

Professor Gregory is an asshat.

"Uhm, Ruby I don't think it's wise to write that." William sheepishly told the girl seated beside him.

"What? I'm merely writing the truth." Ruby stated it bluntly, as if what she was saying was a fact.

"I mean, she does have a point." Mikoto murmured as he wrote down another sentence on the paper.

"I guess, but isn't he going to be taking a look at these papers?" Mikoto just shrugged at his words.

"Dunno." He merely stated as he twirled his pen in his hand. "I'm pretty sure he just had us write all this down because he wanted to piss us off."

"That does sound like him," William muttered lowly as he heaved a sigh. Of course, William was related to the man, so he had an idea as to what his habits were and whatnot.

But luckily, they all did not really get a year's worth of detention; it seems that the Headmaster himself had intervened and lessened their sentence for whatever reason. William and Ruby only had a week, while he had two, as he did call his professor senile. But oh well, it could be worse; at least he would not have to be stuck in this place for a year.

"Still, though, this is pretty ass." Mikoto murmured as Ruby nodded her head rapidly in agreement. "I'm going for a walk; do you two want me to bring you anything?"

"Pie please." Ruby requested it as William sent him a worried glance.

"I know it's currently lunch break, but we still have detention; you might get a longer sentence." William stated worriedly as Mikoto shrugged.

"I'll take my chances." Mikoto spoke as he left his desk and then promptly the detention room. He found himself in the vast hallways of Luminare Academy. They were fairly crowded with a few students, but the majority were outside in the courtyard. He did not miss the stares he received as he moved through the vast hallways, whether it was due to his mask or due to the fact that him suggesting that Professor Gregory was senile was common knowledge.

Either way, he did not care; he easily navigated his way through the academy until he came to a stop at two large wooden doors. Sure, he has only been attending the academy for two days now, but it was easy to memorize the layout of the place, at least to him. So, pushing past the doors, he was introduced to the vast library.

The school's library was a vast room filled with towering bookshelves and study tables. There were rare manuscripts, spell books, and encyclopedias of magical creatures that were only found in this library. The library had comfortable chairs and reading nooks where students could spend hours reading and studying. Unfortunately, the place was much, much too large. On his first day here, he asked the local librarian if there were books on world travel, though she just looked at him as if he were insane.

Oh well, all hope is not lost just yet. Apparently there was a forbidden section in this overly large library; if this place as a whole had so much knowledge, just how much would the forbidden section hold? Mikoto glanced to the side at those large, dark oak wooden doors. Just beyond those doors lied so much sensitive knowledge. Knowledge just waiting to be gained, knowledge that just might be of help to him.

But unfortunately, for the time being, that knowledge will remain unreachable. The wards etched into the room were not of low caliber; in fact, they were quite absurd. Tier 4 ward's no doubt; the teachers he had met in class seemed plenty capable, so it could be either one responsible for these ward's. But apparently there was a way to gain entry. One needed permission from the Headmaster himself, it seemed; now Mikoto highly doubted he could stroll up to the man and demand access. Well, he could, but that was besides the point.

Mikoto hummed thoughtfully as he moved through the library. At his behest, several books flew from their shelves and into his arm's. They were nothing big, just a few works of fiction. He had to somehow keep himself entertained, and he did still have his phone. It was easy to charge when he got more used to using magic, but besides a few games that got boring quickly, he mainly kept it around because of all the memories he had stored in it. So it was not just something to be thrown away.

"Five books; this could keep me busy for the week." Mikoto murmured to himself as he swiftly exited the library, stepping into the hallways of the academy once more. It was a simple thing: if you wanted to borrow books from the library, you could. There was no reason to go through a lengthy ordeal; the books had charms on them. You could keep them for a week; after that, they 'poof' back into their shelves. Brilliantly simple.

"Holy shit!"

"That's her! That's freaking her!"

"By God's what a goddess!"

"Holy, it's actually her, Lucinda!"

"I have never seen someone so radiant."

Of course, with all these people yapping so hard, Mikoto could not help but see what was up. So he followed the gazes of the various teen boys; their eyes were as if they were staring at the epitome of perfection incarnate. Even some girls were staring at this Lucinda like she was the second coming of Christ, but Mikoto could not help but be confused by what he was seeing.

("Damn, that chick looks just like me for real.") When he said that, he quite literally meant it. It was as if she were just him, but with large blobs on her chest and much longer hair.

Mikoto studied her as she took graceful strides through the hallways, greeting her fellow students with a smile that could only be described as radiating. It had an immediate effect on anyone it was directed at; boys fell in love, and girls questioned their sexuality. With her long, flowing, and graceful locks of snow white hair that cascaded down her back and her ruby-red eyes that sat on a face that could only belong to an angel, she certainly stood out.

But Mikoto was much more focused on something else.

("Is that a katana?") He questioned as he spotted the weapon strapped to her back. That golden handle with intricate red patterns and that scabbard—yes, that was definitely a katana. ("Guess my fellow spawn has good taste.") He hummed as he began walking again; he was not really smitten with her with how much everyone else seemed to be. Though that fact is mainly attributed to them basically sharing a face, that was neither here nor there. He still had to pick up a pie for Ruby.

So as he walked through the hallways, he eventually passed the girl in question, and she sent him a smile along with a greeting.

"Good morning." She greeted him with an ever-radiant smile that would make any man's knees buckle.

"Sup." Apparently, his greeting was not well received by the girl's fan.

"Wah! How dare that fiend!"

"Such a lackluster greeting for Lady Lucinda!"

"Inconceivable!"

"How dare he!"

"Who does he think he is?"

Mikoto just shrugged their whining off as he continued moving, not really bothered by the fan girls and fan boys. He missed the curious gaze that came from Lucinda though.

____________________

The large training area was quite a sight to behold. The place exuded an aura of power with its towering walls made of solid stone that stood at least 20 feet high. The walls were uneven and had vines growing on them, which added to the old-fashioned feel of the training area. It also showed just how old the place was.

There was a vast expanse of land with tall trees that surrounded the entire area, casting a blanket of shade over the training ground. The ground was dirt, soft, and pliable underfoot, perfect for combat training. The dirt was uneven, with small hills and valleys everywhere, providing challenging terrain for people to train on.

The area was dotted with various weapons racks, featuring swords, spears, maces, hammers, and axes, all made of high-quality materials. The racks were arranged in an orderly manner, with each weapon carefully placed in its designated spot. The weapons had a rustic look to them, with tarnished metal, and the wood of the handles looked like they had been through countless battles. Though he was not quite sure what use there was to them, when magic was available, using normal and mundane weapons was hardly ever considered.

In the center of the training area stood a massive round sparring pit, at least ten feet deep and sixty feet in diameter. The pit stood on a paved ring with a border of finely crafted stone. The pit was filled with a soft cushioning material, perfect for practitioners to practice their spells or to spar in. Above the sparring pit, a towering viewing tower stood, allowing instructors and spectators to observe those that trained.

The far end of the training area had a small building. The building was made of wood, with a peaked roof that had moss growing on it. The building had two entrances: the front entrance, which was guarded by two wooden doors, and a side entrance that led to the training ground. The building housed a small blacksmith workshop that was fully equipped. It also had a room that served as a training room and had various dummies, both for target practice and for weapons training. He supposed that place was mainly for those who fancied weapons.

"Now listen up, you maggots!" Referring to the forty or so students' was an old man with long white hair tied into a ponytail and a face full of a perfectly trimmed beard. Of course, there was nothing quite ordinary about this man, as he was extremely large and pretty muscular. Extremely muscular, his muscles had muscles. The large man was dressed in a tight suit vest that barely kept his muscles contained. Along with that, he had black armguards and black slacks. Mikoto suddenly felt the last of his masculinity slip away. It seems this man was absorbing it all. "This right here is combat training!"

Their combat professor was Professor Fergus. Quite the manly name for a manly man.

Anyway, combat training was unique as it was a joint class that was shared by two classes. Class Wolf shared it with Class Griffin.

"You there, mask boy!" Professor Fergus suddenly addressed him, much to his confusion.

"Uh, yeah?"

"It's 'yes, sir' boy!" The large man corrected with a yell that seemed to be his passive tone. "Now give me twenty laps around the area!" The man ordered, and some fellow students giggled at his luck. Mikoto did not quite know why he was signaled out, but he just shrugged it off. Twenty laps were nothing, even in such an overly large area, so without a word, he got to running.

The professor gave him a sideways glance as he ran past before the man turned his attention back to the class.

"Poor Mikoto..." Ruby murmured as she watched the running Mikoto.

"Yeah, why was he even signaled out?" William, who stood beside her, could not help but question "He was not even doing anything."

"Now listen up! Cause I ain't repeating myself!" The man started speaking again, silencing any murmuring. "This here is all simple; you lot will be beating the shit out of each other!" He crudely started. "Here you will be evaluated in both your physical and magic performance! So if you runts don't improve, get lost! And also, don't expect to be coddled in my class! I don't care if your dad is rich or if he's the king! You hear that princess!!" He asked loudly as he leveled his gaze at someone particular.

Princess Mirabella who was a spawn of the God Aragorn. She had a head of long and wild dark blue hair that framed her otherworldly face perfectly, and her intense blue orbs stared right back at Professor Fergus.

"I care, not old man. For the trash that is in this academy, I need not exert much force anyway." She confidently stated that, of course, if she were anyone else, then her fellow students surrounding her might have been much more angry. But she was the princess and, above all else, someone not to be trifled with. But it seems there was someone who did not care for her status.

"Big word's, can you back them up, I wonder?" Agatha leveled a cold glare at the princess.

"A Gregory, hm? I might find some modicum of entertainment with you." Mirabella stated with a grin creeping onto her face.

"I think you'll find that I'll provide you with too much you can handle." Agatha shot back with a blank face. Of course, these two high-profile girls' practically challenging each other caused a slight uproar with their respective classmates.

"Lady Agatha just challenged Princess Mirabella!"

"By the God's! That would be a match of the century!"

"Between two spawns, no less!"

"But who would win?"

"I can't say."

"Alright, alright! Quiet down, you maggots!" Professor Fergus quickly shut everyone up. "I can tell you all are fi-"

"Done." A voice to his side suddenly caused him to blink in confusion with his single eyes. He turned to his side to see the masked Mikoto standing there.

"Bullshit lad! There's no way you ran and finished your laps so fast." The man stated it with obvious skepticism in his tone.

"You should've kept your eye on me." Mikoto said with a shrug. "But shouldn't we get on with the lesson?"

"Bah! Congratulations, Runt, for that lip, you get to go first!" He stated as Mikoto merely shrugged once more, much to his annoyance. "Fine, then, let us pick your opponent. Any volunteers!" Immediately, a few hands shot up; even Ruby was among them. He would send her a 'what's the deal' look, but unfortunately he had this mask on.

But back to the professor, it was obvious he was going to pick someone who did not raise their hands as his eye's stopped at Mirabella; it seems as though he did not quite like Mikoto.

"Come here, princess! Since you were so cocky, I imagine you would like to back up your words." The princess merely clicked her tongue in annoyance.

"Well, he's dead."

"No way he's even putting a scratch on Princess Mirabella."

"Yeah, I thought the guy was unlucky to get detention on his first day, but this is just sad."

"Damn, he has some crappy luck with the professors.

"Poor Mikoto..." Ruby murmured once again, as William could only agree. Princess Mirabella was a prodigy with both magic and martial arts; she already mastered spells that could be considered Master Class or Tier 3. Above that, she is a spawn and has access to Familial Arts, not to mention she did not even need glyphs or chants for her magic. William only knew Mikoto for a short while, and he had not gained a measure of the boy's strength.

"Let's hope the princess at least holds back." William murmured lowly and with worry laced in his tone. Mikoto was already a friend in his eyes, and the boy was so nice too. He did not put him on a pedestal due to his family lineage, nor did he treat him differently; he really hoped the boy would come out alive.

"You should give up." Mirabella stated it almost boredly as she stared at Mikoto with uninterested. "Your mana signature is so pathetic that I might actually cry. If we fight... " A chill went through the majority of the students spines as a bloodthirsty grin grew on her face. "Then I might actually kill you, on accident." Mikoto just smirked beneath his mask.

He did not want to stand out much in this academy. It was a simple process of just going through the academy's library and dipping, but there was that forbidden section that he needed to get into. However small, there was a chance that he could find what he was looking for. But there was only one way to gain entry: permission from the headmaster himself. Now to do that, he would need to win the man's favor. He did not quite know him, but from that short speech on the first day, he could tell that the man valued strength, so with that said...

Mikoto gazed right into the princess's eyes with a hidden smirk of his own as he uttered a few simple words.

"Nah I'll win."

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