The sun was high, and those who had prepared their whole lives to enter the Academy today knelt.
It was an important day…
On the floor before each of the newly initiated child soldiers were the new weapons issued to them.
All of them were different shapes and sizes.
Some had their guns, others had their swords, but one stood out among the rest for its strangeness.
Even though this was a place where fledgling Dragoons earned their Rank, someone had actually brought a mere 'Pen' to the battlefield. It made some of the youth's fellow classmates chuckle.
Locking in their bullets and extending their sabres.
They held in their laughter. Now wasn't the time to break the somber moment. The teacher spoke:
"Congratulations for entering the AntiMartial Academy. You have done well these last few years.
You shall use your 'Limiter Inverters' to protect the peace, just as competent a Magus should.
If you want to change its shape, then earn enough money to pay for such an alteration. Remember that your lives will be connected to your weapon from now on." Her eyes stayed on the one youth who didn't get issued a 'weapon' and moved on.
Her words were no exaggeration.
Merely stating that their lives now connected to their tools. Something that happened only here.
In every new semester of this kind of school.
The woman looked at the boy with the pen.
When her eyes made contact with him, she could see a deep arrogance and hubris in his green eyes.
That, as well as a fiery will and burning resolve.
One could say that this was a pretty rare of an attitude to have among the new Cadets.
"Time to attach your Macro Converters." The class nodded and picked up another piece before them.
Most attached these micro-computers that did magical calculations for them on their weapons.
It was only a rare few who wore their miniature computers as accessories or part of their armour.
Since even bulletproof vests can be enhanced if they were willing to invest in learning those Skills.
Not that there were many who had done that.
It was clear what they prepared for…
"Now fight. Show what you're worth." The moment she spoke this, the class turned on each other.
Magic Bullets were sequenced, loaded and shot, while MagiBlade's condensed high density Mana.
This was a battle of reflexes and adaptability!
It was a chaotic battlefield where those who were hit got knocked unconscious. Within the large class of around 50 students, the examiners held high hopes for a few talented recruits this year.
...Only to be devastated when the battle royale between students ended within 10 minutes.
'What is this Skill?' One of the examiners watched from the safety of a higher platform above them.
Her thoughts entirely focused on a certain boy.
She shifted through a few of his papers given to her regarding this new batch of students here.
The youth with a pen, Fritz Lazrik, had been showing off his skill as the only 'Charm Caster' to be enrolled in history. The woman clearly saw the excitement in his eyes while moving erratically.
He laughed and defeated multiple classmates with ease using Paper Charms, but that wasn't all…
There was something about him.
His body turned illusionary one moment, and changed positions with another in the next.
In this particular exam, he was perhaps the one with the best suited skills needed to score marks.
The green-eyed youth was a monster…!
'Fritz Lazrik…' A sigh left the woman's mouth while thinking that this talent would've surely shined.
If only… If only he was the main character of today.
He specialised in crowd-fighting, so there wasn't much for the fanged tiger to do but to hunt.
To Fritz, the rest of them were just fresh meat to consume and grow stronger. He was an animal...
One that revelled in the delight of victory…
The teachers agreed that the youth wielding a MagiPen fought demonically; in a clear frenzy.
Agreeing that they had found a rare talent.
He was like a raw gemstone that needed carvings to truly shine. Like a unique diamond in the rough.
["I'll show you Charms are a legit sorcery!"]
He drew on many papers and threw them... Each effect was varied. Magnificent to those watching.
["I'm infallible! Guns and swords are useless."]
He had unbridled confidence in himself. A bright yellow horn was shining on his head like sunlight.
Talismans in one hand and a pen in the other.
No one could grasp him. No one could fight the sheer ferocity in each one of his dazzling moves.
The variability that made him hard to track.
Strong, precise, witty, adaptable, etc…
There was just one girl left...
The one many of the instructors had forgot about.
But when they realised who this girl was, they felt sorry for any genius chomped their fangs at her.
The next scene went just as they had expected.
["Even if you're a girl, I won't hold back!"]
Despite his prior confidence, a look of emptiness appeared in the youth's eyes moments later.
He hit the floor powerlessly in moments...
Not a gun, not a sword, but a fist was hanging above his face. Fresh blood dripped from his lips.
"But... but...!" Fritz couldn't accept the outcome.
His pride, his dreams, his everything… was crushed by a girl who defeated the class without weapons.
As if they weren't even worthy of her using them.
Everything he'd once had the ambition to do after climbing to the top of the Ranks vanished. The youth was forced to realise that in this world, there existed monsters who defied common sense.
In front of them, all his hard work was useless...
As the scarlet-haired Cadet looked down on Fritz emotionlessly, he averted his eyes in pure dread.
The MagiPen in his hand could no longer function anymore. The Macro Converter was broken...
There was only two words the beauty- No, the War Goddess spoke after seeing his last struggle:
"Accept defeat." The beauty's words were so cold that his face turned white, and his body shivered.
The winner was already decided...
The 'Tooth Extractor' in middle school had his fangs broken at his high school entrance ceremony. That name would fade along with his reputation after having his arrogance broken.
This incident happened a year ago, and to this very day, he never forgot it, even is it's a year later...
His Charms lost their strength that day...