-488- An unexpected attacker?

And so, Rozen's life at Onmyo Academy began.

Although the main focus for first-year students was lectures, primarily imparting knowledge and with fewer practical courses testing the students' abilities, as Professor Ohtomo mentioned, practical courses were indeed available. Students continued to learn jujutsu, honing their abilities as an onmyoji.

It was said that second-year students sometimes attended classes with third-year students. However, first-year students didn't have many opportunities for interaction with students from other years, mostly studying within their own classes and year groups.

Regardless of being in the first, second, or third year, students learned the same jujutsu—〈Common-Style Onmyojutsu〉—a system designated by the authorities.

As for the 〈Imperial-Style Onmyojutsu〉, due to its excessive complexity, power, and utility, the qualifications required of practitioners were very high. If it were taught as a main course, hardly any onmyoji within the entire academy would grasp enough rituals to become a fully-fledged onmyoji.

Moreover, the 〈Imperial-Style Onmyojutsu〉 included some dangerous forbidden arts. Hence, the academy's instructors refrained from teaching them.

On the other hand, the 〈Common-Style Onmyojutsu〉 aimed to simplify and universalize the overly complex and powerful aspects of the 〈Imperial-Style Onmyojutsu〉. While it may not be as formidable and practical as the 〈Imperial-Style Onmyojutsu〉, it reduced the requirements for practitioners, allowing more aspiring onmyoji to successfully learn and ultimately become qualified onmyoji.

Thus, within Onmyo Academy, only the 〈Common-Style Onmyojutsu〉 were taught, and the secrets of the 〈Imperial-Style Onmyojutsu〉 were beyond the reach of student-level individuals.

After all this explanation, Rozen simply wanted to convey:

"You can't learn powerful jujutsu at Onmyo Academy."

That's the essence of it.

For a student aspiring to step into the world of jujutsu, Onmyo Academy was an essential stepping stone. However, for Rozen, the difficulty was quite low.

Learning the Common-Style, something even an ordinary person could master, was exceptionally easy for Rozen given his aptitude.

Additionally, with his ability to perceive the microcosm through his Mind's Eye, he had an unparalleled level of observation over phenomena, such as the flow of mana, the fluctuations in incantations, and the pulsations of jujutsu, during the instructors' demonstrations. Coupled with his ability to manipulate mana flawlessly and correct weaknesses, Rozen could easily learn any jujutsu that had been demonstrated before him.

At least, this was true for the Common-Style rituals.

Therefore, Rozen could only set aside new rituals, just as before, and focus on honing his own abilities once he acquired them.

Even so, Rozen remained the undisputed top student in his first year, consistently astounding everyone with his performance in practical classes. He effortlessly defeated all other students in jujutsu battles, so much so that he rarely needed to summon Hokuto, and the victories were almost trivial.

Incidentally, Kurahashi Kyouko challenged Rozen numerous times but was always intercepted by Natsume.

Eventually, these two young women, both on the brink of challenging each other, began a series of spirited jujutsu battles, captivating the students and showcasing the art of jujutsu.

And in the end, Natsume always emerged victorious.

This was only natural.

Being adept in the renowned and difficult-to-control lightning arts, combined with Hekireki's assistance, Natsume was a challenge even for professional onmyoji.

Although Kurahashi Kyouko possessed formidable strength and could control two Shikigami, when faced with Natsume's lightning arts, she continuously found herself on the losing end, without any suspense.

This left Kurahashi Kyouko very frustrated. Gradually, it seemed like she started to regard Natsume as a true rival or perhaps realized the reality—that she needed to defeat Natsume to challenge Rozen. Afterward, in each practical class, she would directly challenge Natsume.

This was how Rozen's life progressed within Onmyo Academy—occasional ripples but no major events.

However, outside of Onmyo Academy, Rozen did encounter some troubles.

Specifically, he faced attacks from the Yakou's fanatical followers on several occasions, leading to considerable annoyance for Rozen.

These one-sided individuals who treat others as their faith and even demand others to be their king, pursuing Rozen fanatically in the quest to reclaim their supposed rights and glory from the past, disgusted him to no end.

Therefore, every time he encountered the Yakou's fanatics, Rozen had no qualms about summoning Hokuto and using absolute power to crush these zealots, sending them all to the prison.

However, this situation couldn't be eradicated entirely. The Yakou's fanatics would still lurk in the shadows and keep a close eye on Rozen, wouldn't they?

Compared to these fanatics, the students who distanced themselves from Rozen due to rumors and avoided contact seemed much more pleasant.

"I might as well create some chaos at some point."

Rozen would occasionally have such thoughts.

In fact, he did exactly that. Every time he encountered the Yakou's fanatics, he would unhesitatingly summon Hokuto, causing the image of a true dragon to frequently appear in the skies over Tokyo, becoming a tale of interest and a quirky incident in the news.

In this manner, the first semester of the first year at Onmyo Academy came to an end.

The first summer vacation at Onmyo Academy was about to begin for Rozen.

The other students used this time to return to their hometowns, planning to come back during the summer break.

As for Rozen...

"To be honest, I don't really want to go back. It's not like there's anyone at home worth visiting anyway."

Sitting on the train, Rozen sighed slightly after changing out of his school uniform.

To this, Natsume could only smile wryly.

"Your relationship with your uncle is still quite strained, it seems."

Natsume could only comment this way.

This time, the two chose to go home mainly because Natsume wanted to visit her family.

Rozen, on the other hand, even if he went back, there was no one to visit.

"Never mind, think of it as accompanying you." Rozen sighed. "Besides, it's been a while since I've seen that stupid tiger. It wouldn't hurt to go back and see him."

"Thank you," Natsume said, smiling shyly.

So, the two boarded the train, embarking on the journey back home.

At this moment, Rozen had no idea.

This time, he would encounter an unexpected attacker.