Entrance Exam Preparations

The entrance exam has finally come. I woke up earlier than usual and prepared myself. And now, I find myself standing in the gymnasium, lined up with my classmates.

This gymnasium is surrounded by iron walls and several pieces of equipment. It's also very developed just like the other parts of the school, with high-tech windows along with huge screens on the sides.

All of the different classes are lined up together.

Since Takahashi and Akamine are in a different class, they are on a different line.

Now, I am just in front of Haruto, with Ayane and Fujimoto just a few distance away from us.

"Kyosuke-san, are you nervous?" Haruto asked with his tense voice.

"Not really. How about you?"

"That's amazing. You're not easily frazzled by things."

"What makes you say that?"

"I mean... Fujimoto-san challenged you to a fight. She is a very strong individual, we've all seen her skill. Yet, you didn't back down, and you even defeated her."

"Hmm, I guess so."

"I'm so envious, hehe."

Haruto was trying his best to maintain composure in his voice, however, it seemed like nervousness hugged him tightly. Not just him, even the bright and friendly Ayane Hina was staring emptily in front of her while fidgeting her fingers.

Moreover, the whole gymnasium isn't filled with the buzzing of overlapping voices. It is rather quiet, which is quite unsettling.

Just then, a loud echoing sound of slow, footsteps sounded throughout the gymnasium. It was so loud to the point where immediately, all attention shifted in front.

Walking at the front is a woman, wearing a white girl's uniform. The way she walked was of a queen, smooth and elegant, from the way she walked to her posture.

She seemed familiar... But, where did I see her...?

I just remembered. She's the girl from the rooftop. Her hair was insanely long, to the point where she had two female students behind her who carried her long, purplish hair, preventing it from touching the ground.

She also had the same, white hat that slightly obscured her face, yet still showed her pinkish, red eyes that stared in front coldly.

Then, she arrived in the middle.

One of the students gave her a mic. She took a look at everyone before proceeding to speak.

"Good morning to everyone in this gymnasium. I am Ayako Yukime, the Vice-President of Seiei Magic Academy, and the one in charge of this whole exam." A womanly, calm voice spoke.

"I am here to announce that we will begin our departure. Outside this gymnasium, there are a total of ten buses assigned for each respective section. To eliminate any confusion, the names of the sections are written on the front window of the bus. In a few moments, the iron doors will open, and you will be allowed to go out. The council greatly wishes the success of all of you."

Just then, the walls covering the room were all slowly lifted upwards, revealing the morning blue sky. Outside, there were ten buses in total lined up. And as she said, there are screens attached to the front window of the bus. The bus for our classroom was on the second-to-the-last place.

"Class 1-B, gather up!" Asahi-Sensei yelled to us from the front of the bus. We lined up and slowly and one by one got on the bus. I was assigned to the first and front row of the bus along with Kyouko. I sat near the window while she sat beside me, reading a book with her headphones on.

Just then, someone from across the bus called out to me. I looked to my side to see Ayane and Haruto across our seats, both waving their hands to me.

I only looked at them for a second before turning back to the window.

I'm quite sleepy. I crossed my arms before closing my eyes and letting my sleepiness take over me.

Although, it didn't last long. Just as I was almost falling into a deep slumber, the teacher's voice exterminated my sleepiness. I forced my eyes open and it seems like Asahi-sensei is reminding us of the things to do and the lessons he taught.

"Not planning on listening?" Kyouko surprisingly asked, without removing her eyes from her book.

"No. It's not like it's gonna help us."

"It will."

"How?"

"I don't know."

"That's some dumb answer."

"Are you nervous?"

"I'm not. What about you?"

"Not."

"That's great."

"Be nervous, Kyosuke." She warned, with a straight, serious voice.

"Why should I?"

"Because, we are all against Ryujin, the fourth seat." In that statement, she turned her gaze towards me.

I could feel as though her serious gaze could penetrate through my soul.

"Say, Fujimoto."

"What?" She replied as she turned back to her book.

"Are you from the council?"

There was a moment of silence before she replied.

"What if I am?"

"I have questions."

"Then, I'm not."

"Sounds like you're avoiding being questioned."

"Yes, you're certainly correct."

"Okay then." With those words, I turned my body slightly to the window side to close my eyes again and get some rest. Eventually, I fell into my deep slumber until the time we arrived at the venue. I slowly opened my eyes and the first thing I did was look out in the window.

We're in front of a huge, golden building, somewhat resembling a five-star hotel. Asahi-sensei then proceeded to stand up in front and began speaking.

"We've arrived at the venue. This is a hotel owned by our school. Behind that school is an enormous forest, also owned by our school. That's where the test will take place. We'll stay there for a total of five days. Day one, two, and three is a preparation day. You'll also gain access to a special training room, where you can hone your skills even further for the test. Day four is where the test will start at exactly 7 am until 12 pm. After that, the failed and passed will be announced. Remember, if ANYTHING happens to the badges we're gonna give you, you'll be considered as failed, even if it's only a mere scratch. Now for the last day, day five is the departure day. You'll be preparing to leave the venue and will be given a three-day break before going back to school. Any questions?... Looks like there are none. Without further ado, step out."

The door to the bus opened. Asahi-sensei was the first to step out, and we students soon followed. We lined up outside the bus per classroom and once all was settled down, we slowly marched our way towards the hotel. Arriving inside, it was glamorous, with expensive-looking chandeliers and a red carpeted floor.

The school assigned different floors for different sections. Luckily for us, Classes A and B are on this floor.

At the end of the hallway, we were separated from other classrooms and we turned to the right corner.

After some minutes, we arrived in front of a huge door. Asahi-Sensei slowly opened the door, revealing what lay inside. Inside was a very big room. Inside was like the inside of a million-dollar villa.

It wasn't just a room, but rather, almost a whole house. It is a luxurious, two-story room. Right now, we're on the second floor, and here, there are rooms to the side. And right down in the middle, there are a series of wide stairs that will bring us down towards the ground floor.

"Now. This is where you lads will reside during the preparation days. There are two floors in this room. The left side of this floor is the bedroom for the boys and vice-versa. Now, on the ground floor, you have everything you need. Remember what I said earlier on the bus about having access to a special training room? Well, let's go down."

We all proceeded to go down like a bunch of elementary students on a field trip. On the ground floor were the kitchen, the bathroom, the dining area, and a room called "Training grounds."

"There, at the far-right end, is the entrance to the basement training room. And another thing, if anything is broken inside this room, you'll pay double the amount of it, got it?"

"Understood!" Everyone answered in eagerness excluding me. Sensei then dismissed us and left us all alone. All were excited. Just imagine spending roughly 5 days inside a huge luxurious room for free. Aside from having to use this with twenty other students, I can't see any reason not to love this.

Well, that aside, it's our free time today, so I'll probably explore this place. I made my way towards the boy's bedroom. Inside were several beds lined up in a row, a row on each side, with a huge window at the end of the room, covered with a red curtain.

At the foot of the beds, there are names written on a glass screen. I found mine located near the window, just like my seat in the classroom. I threw myself on the bed and just stared at the ceiling.

I raised my hand and summoned my weapon. Held it in front of me and just stared at it, remembering the days when I used to wield this with my father, the good old days when everything around me seemed colorful and full of life. Now it's just a monochromatic view, plain and lifeless. It's amusing to think about how my life has changed ever since I stepped into the world of teens.

After my father passed away, I've had thoughts like this. Self-slaughter once crossed my mind, but my mother encouraged me to go on. Find someone to live for, someone to fight for, someone to protect, someone to care for and that life isn't always about downsides. She said that someday, I'll definitely find an inspiration to live on.

Someone tell me, just what life is...?

What does it mean, to live? To live to your fullest? Enjoying your life, and do everything you wanted...?

Maybe, I'll find some answers as I proceed on with my high school life.

I sighed as I retracted my weapon back. Just then, I heard a knock on my door.

"Come in!" I yelled out as I stood up from my bed.

The door opened and entering inside was Haruto with Ayane behind him.

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked,

"Oh, Akamine suggested we train, and we're here to see if you're up."

That'll be a good preparation for the upcoming battle with Kajiyashaki.

"Sure."

A pretty bland response, but, that'll do.

"Great! They are waiting downstairs, at the training grounds."

"Them? Akamine is from class A, right?"

"Oh, that. It's allowed for anyone to visit anyone's classroom."

"I see."

I left the room and followed downstairs and towards the training room. Before we enter, we are required to change into our battle outfit, in simple terms, our PE outfit, using the designated dressing rooms for separate genders. I quickly changed into my PE outfit, which was simple white jogging pants and a shirt.

Arriving there, we saw Akamine and Takahashi already waiting, sitting on the bench together as they watched the other students train.

The others went towards them to greet them. However, I split from the group and instead went towards the training area.

...

The five of them looked at Ryo as he went away towards the training area.

"Kyosuke-san's quite distant." Ayane murmured in a melancholic tone.

"That's because he's not friends with us, Hina." Airi smiled at Hina, which made her confused.

As a person who looks at everyone as her friend, she feels confused as to why Airi is flashing a smile in contradiction to her statement.

"I'm confused..." She replied,

"Well, we've talked to Kyosuke-san, right? He mentioned the uninterest in voluntarily talking to other people."

"Oh, yeah..."

"I don't think he looks at us as friends, but rather, as simple as classmates."

"Yeah, I understand. Sorry,"

"Don't apologize. I know you love making friends with everyone, however, each person is a different one, and has different ways of approaching things."

"I know..."

"So I suggest, if we can, we'll give him space for him to be alone since that's his preference. Though I'm not against the idea of talking to him a few times, maybe just ask if that's okay with him?"

"I agree with Airi. Personally, I think I'm getting on his nerves because I've been dragging him everywhere, I'll try to keep it to a minimum." Haruto said.

"Uh-huh, for the meantime since all of these are just from what we can see, I suggest just sticking to his preference."

Everyone nodded and smiled, before proceeding to do a training of their own.

...

Ryo, at the corner of the room, lookd at the technological gadgets in amusement. He grabbed a sword from the side, and based solely on its weight, it felt expensive.

I wonder how much this will cost if I break this.

He thought to himself as he stared at the metal blade that showed him a clear reflection of himself.

"Let's try some swings."

He got into a fighting stance and did some quick swings with the sword. Because of its lightweight, he was able to swing it with ease, even making it much quicker than his original sword.

"It's better than I expected" He murmured to himself.

The next thing he tried was the dummy feature. At the end of the room were several dummies standing in the middle of a small, rectangular training ring.

Seeing this piqued him with interest, as he then went over to the dummy.

To test his magic, he entered a specific stance, and like before, he chanted a specific word.

"Ablaze."

As that word left his lips, his sword began emitting fiery energy, enveloped in a blazing, hot flame.

Then, in a single, swift slash, he dashed through the dummy, and cleanly sliced its head, with his flames burning the body as it slowly turned into ashes.

"Wait, these aren't included in the things we'd pay for if we break them, right?" He nervously thought to himself.

Just as he pondered, a new dummy came from a mechanism underneath that automatically replaced the dummies.

"Alright, I won't be paying."

As he was about to swing again, at the corner of his eye, he noticed sparks exploding just a few meters to his side. He glances over and sees Airi and Kyouko fighting each other.

Kyouko's unparalleled speed danced around like a light, while still elegantly, Airi was able to defend by summoning different forms of ice all around.

On the other side were Arata and Hina, who did the same. Arata's stone-wielding skills enabled him to bend the stones around, while Hina defended using the roots of his wooden trees.

Suddenly, Haruto approached him.

"Sorry for disturbing you, are you busy?"

He said, Ryo's glance turning towards him.

"No, why?" Ryo replied nonchalantly.

"Wanna have a duel? If that's fine with you."

"A duel... Huh?"

Ryo pondered for a few seconds. Certainly, training with a real person is much better than just dummies.

"Okay." Ryo straightforwardly replied.

"Alright, pleased to be your opponent." Haruto bowed his head as he grabbed a training, metal sword.