Kira returned to her room that night more tired than she had ever been in the last few years. The Bladeworks Academy was definitely deserving of its reputation. In her class alone there were already a number of people expelled and a few that were dangerously close to it. The three different tests they’d endured on their very first day were to blame for this situation.

As the first one finished with the perception test, Kira had had some time to meditate and partially recover her expended Soul Energy. However, she was still both mentally and physically drained from the concentration she'd put into the perception test and her intense battle with Sora respectively. So much so that the moment she returned to her room, she collapsed on the bed and fell asleep immediately.

Teacher Kurokawa's Class 1-C was lined up orderly outside their classroom the next morning but almost none of them looked fully alert. The few who were slightly better off were those who'd stayed awake long enough to eat supper at the cafeteria and who'd woken up in time for breakfast. Overall, the previous day's activities had pushed them harder than they'd expected.

At Teacher Kurokawa's instruction, they entered the classroom in a daze, one that was shortly broken when she spoke, her words causing frost to gather on their spines, waking them all up immediately.

“I hope that you haven’t forgotten your homework. I’m feeling generous, so I’ll only deduct ten points from each of you who don’t give me a satisfactory answer.”

As expected, the students who were rapidly drawing close to losing all their points were the most nervous. But that didn’t stop the rest of the class from trembling as well. So far, there hadn’t been any opportunities they knew of to gain back the points they'd lost. At the rate they were going, weren't they all going to be expelled?

Not everyone was in such dire straits though. There were those who both won their class duel and had a satisfactory result in the perception test who were now sitting rather comfortably on their one hundred plus points.

Teacher Kurokawa once more pulled out her class scroll from her Storage Crystal and selected a name.

“Mizuno Kiyoshi, last time your answer was too technical. Do you have a better response for me today?”

“With all due respect, Teacher, I personally do not believe it to be better but this is my own opinion. The Twin Energies are nothing more than the tools we have that determine our status on this continent. The more we hone them, the greater the heights we will be able to reach.”

Teacher Kurokawa nodded before jumping around the list. As the students of Class 1-C hadn’t had much time to put thought into it, there was a single thread that ran through all of the answers given.

“Suzuki Kira.”

“Yes, Teacher. I believe that the Twin Energies are a miracle given to us from the heavens that allow us to surpass not just the limits of our worldly bodies but also give us the strength to challenge the Heavens themselves.”

Having had a few minutes to think, Kira ordered her thoughts and gave an honest answer. When she'd first discovered the existence of the Twin Energies in this world, after getting over her skepticism, she'd found them to be a natural wonder. She ended her answer with something she'd once read, but still had yet to fully believe, that the highest-ranked cultivators were like gods on earth.

“An ambitious answer. Do you truly wish to challenge the Heavens?”

Kira paused for a moment as she thought about it. In the end, her true enemies were those clans that almost drove her Heavenly Flame Lily Clan into extinction, those nine clans whose combined strength is said to shake the Heavens, those nine clans who supposedly inherited powerful weapons and Skills from the Wandering Sun and Moon themselves.

“Yes, I do.”

“Then you better not disappoint me.”

A chill spread up Kira’s body but from the reactions of her classmates, she was the only one that felt it. However, beside her, Sora twitched her nose slightly. When the homework check ended, Teacher Kurokawa spoke once again to her class.

“It seems that most of you gave satisfactory answers. Those who didn’t, without exception, simply repeated what others said, defeating the purpose of the exercise. What I wanted from you was for each of you to think about what the Twin Energies mean to you and you alone, and to describe it as best you could for your own understanding. In this rare case, there were no wrong answers other than those that weren’t your own. Points will be deducted accordingly.”

Those who copied others’ answers knew who they were. Too embarrassed to complain, they simply sat there uncomfortably. Meanwhile, the rest of the class breathed an internal sigh of relief. These points of theirs were quickly becoming a treasured commodity, and they hadn’t even spent any of them yet.

“Now that we’ve covered Twin Energies, we can move on to a more important topic, the essence of a weapon cultivator, Weapon Skills. Each of you will have learned the basics of these Skills and have learned and practiced a few yourself. If you managed to have been considered for enrolment here without having done so, I would be very surprised.”

Excitement started to rise in the class once again. This was it. Finally, they would be progressing with the most famous cultivation education course on the continent!

“That said, any Skill you’ve learnt may not be of the quality an eventual peak expert should have and Heavens forbid that you simply learned a Skill for its aesthetic value. Based on your performance during your duels and perception test yesterday, I’ve drawn up a fighting style profile on each of you which I will use to determine your individual curriculums. Even though your areas of focus will differ, you will still share the same class as building connections with each other is important, even if only as sparring partners. There is a saying that injuries are not the only things two fighters walk away with after battling each other. I’ve seen with my own eyes the friendships that develop over battles where one’s actions speak louder than words.”

Teacher Kurokawa’s eyes became misty while she spoke, as if recalling some event that happened many years ago but they soon recovered their previous clarity and coldness.

“Line up and go to the same duelling area as yesterday. We’ll continue the Skills class there.”

The students of Class 1-C obediently followed her order, moving quickly and quietly out of the room.

In the silence, Teacher Kurokawa sighed, her mask of indifference, similar to the one Kira wore for many years, cracked slightly as she remembered a certain red-haired man who always had a smile on his face that caused hearts to flutter.

‘No, he’s gone now. It was his own decision. My future lies here now, on my own.’

“Now, I want each of you to come up and show me the Skills which you’re comfortable with. The order you perform them doesn’t matter but, to give some sense of realism, you’ll be using me as a target.”

Teacher Kurokawa said before stepping up onto the duelling platform, folding fan in hand. As the class hierarchy hadn’t changed since the previous day, Kira was the first to go up. At that moment, however,

“Teacher, I have a question.”

“You may ask it, Mizuno.”

“Couldn’t our Skills be considered our most closely-guarded secrets? If we show them like this in public, that is, who knows if one of our classmates could become a potential enemy in the future? Especially if they are expelled for whatever reason.”

“Well noticed, you may have five points. What he said is true, a Weapon Cultivator’s greatest tools, at least before Soul Projector rank, are his or her Weapon Skills. That is why, this class is entirely optional. You may come up here and demonstrate your main Skills, secondary Skills, random Skills or no Skills. The choice is yours. But remember, the guidance I give you will be based on what you show me.”

Kiyoshi raised his hand once more.

“Then Teacher, wouldn’t it be best to take each of us for a private assessment? That way, we can each receive your guidance on the matter without revealing our secrets.”

“What would that teach you then? In the real world, there is always going to be risk attached to reward. This academy isn’t here to pamper you, and neither will I. My job is to prepare you for when you graduate and enter the real world, one that is far more unforgiving. Each of you, make your choice carefully as it’s one you’ll have to live with for the rest of your academy career at the very least.”

Kira pondered over her words as she walked up to the platform. Teacher Kurokawa was right in what she said, the real world was unforgiving and hard choices would have to be made. For Kira, once the reasoning behind the assessment became clear, she’d already made her decision.

It was likely that, in an academy like this, the Skills of students were discovered rather easily. There was the duelling arena itself, in which students could practice against each other or settle disputes, in which you would usually aim for victory and have to reveal certain abilities for it.

That said, the similarity between her Skills was very high and she had no believable explanation for it. Skill Creation and Skill Modification were lost arts, after all.

‘Let’s try it this way.’

Kira thought as she drew her katana and took up her stance.

“Made your choice? Then begin when you are ready.”

Kira nodded. Then suddenly kicked off the ground sideways as her pupils flashed gold. With a slash, she fired off a Wind Rending which Teacher Kurokawa easily blocked. After continually firing off more Wind Rendings, she paused slightly before circling around the other way and slashing at the air again. Only, this time,

‘Wind Rending: Storm.’

The blade of energy split into multiple parts which assaulted Teacher Kurokawa from all sides.

Click.

Teacher Kurokawa flicked her fan open before sweeping it in a wide arc. A chill breeze blew through the duelling area and Kira’s energy blades actually slowed down mid-flight, giving Teacher Kurokawa more than enough time to dodge them with short steps.

Kira hadn’t been keeping still during this time. Using the same manoeuvre as she did against Teacher Yama, she slipped into Teacher Kurokawa’s blind spot, her pupils flashing gold as she released the same Skill as she had at that time.

‘Wind Rending: Gale.’

The sharp whistle as the energy blade sliced through the air caused Teacher Kurokawa to turn around but, by then, the attack was already upon her. She whipped her fan closed with another ‘click’ before slamming the end into the palm of her other hand. Immediately, a layer of ice covered her body just before the energy blade hit.

Skrash!

Part of the ice shattered and she slid back slightly due to the ice on her feet but she didn’t appear to be injured. Whipping her fan open again, she actually took the initiative to attack Kira, rushing forward at an insane speed that left the remaining ice behind.

Kira, taken somewhat by surprise but expecting this kind of reaction, quickly widened her stance for stability before placing her left palm on the back of her katana, her pupils flashing gold. Teacher Kurokawa, noticing this, nodded appreciatively at the reaction before striking down with the fan.

‘Rejection.’

Kira released the normal version of her Rejection Skill. Teacher Kurokawa’s attack had seemed simple enough that she didn’t feel the need to use more power. However, the fan never landed on her blade. Instead, she felt a sharp pain on her back as a kick sent her tumbling.

‘A feint? Just how fast is she?’

Kira thought as she picked herself up from the ground. In ordinary circumstances, she could adapt quickly but this level of strength and speed was too much. The gap was simply too big.

“It seems that your style is one of harassing from long range and using defensive Skills to create distance. However, that defensive Skill is too limited. If this is the path you wish to follow, then your focus should be on finding better defensive Skills and offensive Skills that force your opponent’s hand. What confuses me is that for the class duel you chose to fight up close while now you chose to fight at range. Flexibility is good but attempting to be good at everything isn’t. Next!”

As Kira walked over to the seat she sat at yesterday, she was deep in thought over how best to conceal her true abilities as a Skill Creator. Also, the thought of a secondary profession came to mind. She hadn’t given it much thought the previous day but out of the three, there was one which she felt more attuned to than the others.

‘I wonder what I need to do once I’ve decided. I’ll ask Teacher Kurokawa later.’

Kira continued to observe the Skills class and tried to memories the abilities of some of her classmates. Sora’s arms that glowed with the colours of the Twin Energies continued to bewilder her. Apart from her strange duet of weapons, Sora’s demonstration contradicted everything she thought she knew about Twin Energies.

‘It seems that there truly is an exception to every rule.’

To Kira’s trained eye, none of Sora's techniques were Skills in the normal sense. Rather, they seemed to be direct applications of the raw energies themselves, instead of the usual, well-defined, Quintessence-based Skills. The closest thing she could compare it to were the different energies’ unique abilities, such as Life Energy's Accel Heal and Soul Energy's Soul Projection. However, Sora had access to these strange techniques at what Kira assumed was her own level of cultivation.

Other than Sora, the only other person who Kira paid close attention to was Kiyoshi. After their encounter in the library, the boy with the deep blue eyes made her think that there was more to him than what showed on the surface.

With a soft blue glow, he withdrew a bow from the Storage Crystal set in a ring on his right index finger. The bow wasn’t overly intricate, in fact, you could say that it was unremarkable in every way, the type of weapon you would expect a commoner to have. With one hand, his fingers traced the length of the bow like an old friend, his fingers lingering just a little longer than necessary, before taking up his position, his face as calm as a smooth lake. Almost leisurely, he pulled on the bowstring, drawing it all the way back as he took his aim.

Teacher Kurokawa watched him carefully, aware that there was nothing nocked on the bowstring. Then, Kiyoshi released the string, the softest flicker of blue light the only indicator that anything out of the ordinary had happened. Teacher Kurokawa whipped her fan open and a clang rang through the air followed by a metallic thud as something hit the ground.

While everyone was staring at the dark object on the ground, which turned out to be a black arrow with a pitch-black arrowhead, Kiyoshi hadn’t remained still. With clean and deft movements, he shot a number of arrows without any particular vigour which Teacher Kurokawa blocked effortlessly.

Without breaking his rhythm, Kiyoshi’s pupils flashed gold when he released his drawstring the next time. Three arcs of blue light materialised from his bow and a single bead of sweat dripped down his forehead as he pulled the string back once more.

Teacher Kurokawa moved almost imperceptibly, and none of the three light arcs found their mark, the arrows within them clattering harmlessly on the floor while she kept her focus on Kiyoshi the entire time.

From the first arrow, Kiyoshi was holding his bow directly in line with Teacher Kurokawa’s line of vision, making his exact moments of release unnoticeable. The only indication that any attack differed from the last was revealed only after the arrow was fired.

When the blue arcs had been about to reach their target, Kiyoshi released his bowstring and his Skill. A rush of air swept through the arena as a surge of blue energy flew straight out from Kiyoshi’s bow, the blue line instantaneously linking himself and Teacher Kurokawa.

Meanwhile, Kira, who was watching rather than meditating in the stands, couldn’t help but frown slightly.

‘Apart from his positioning, he’s basically copying the strategy I used earlier.’

But, the next few seconds caused her to feel shaken.

Teacher Kurokawa, having dodged the previous multi-directional attack, faced the attack head-on, her pupils flashing gold. This time, however, she didn’t use the same ice armour Skill that she'd used to block Kira’s attack. Instead, she simply flipped her fan open before her in the instant the blue energy was about to hit her.

Skrassh!

The sound of shattering ice was even more forceful than earlier as the energy blasted through Teacher Kurokawa. The class gasped in horror as chunks of ice fell to the ground where Teacher Kurokawa once stood.

‘There’s no way she’s dead, right?’

While the class was trying to figure out what had happened, Kiyoshi calmly lowered his bow.

“I lose.”

Kiyoshi murmured. The class’ eyes immediately turned to him and they breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Kiyoshi standing there, Teacher Kurokawa’s hand laid gently on his shoulder.

“While your strategy was sound, and although it was similar to Suzuki's, your flaws are different. Maintaining a shifting position is vital but your biggest mistake was assuming that, because your attack had succeeded, that your opponent would be defeated.”

Kiyoshi nodded. He was keenly aware of the fact that she could have blocked it through the raw strength of her Twin Energy cultivation but she chose to make an example of him. However,

“With respect, Teacher, wasn’t this simply meant to be a Skills class? If it were a combat class with Skill analysis as the focus, there are things I would have done differently.”

“Remember what I told those others yesterday. There are no second chances and you should always put in your best effort. Based purely on your weapon and Skill use, your sense of timing and accuracy are good but could still use some work. The power of that last Skill was noteworthy for your cultivation rank but you could probably only use it two or three times. Correct?”

“That’s right, Teacher.”

Kiyoshi replied with laboured breath. The only sign that he’d been exerting himself since the start of the Skills test. He left the platform and took a seat near to Kira. Thoughts nagging at her, Kira moved over to sit next to him.

“Ah, Classmate Suzuki, is there something you need?”

“Yes, Classmate Mizuno, I have a question. Why did you copy my strategy?”

“I’m a bow user, did you expect me to have another strategy?”

He replied plainly, without a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

“If anything, I should be more surprised that someone with such good close-combat ability decided to engage in ranged combat. Although I can see how the limited space of the classroom didn’t permit you to fully show off that kind of strategy, from what I saw, close combat is definitely your preference.”

Kiyoshi said while closing his eyes and removing his glasses. He took out a cloth from inside his breast pocket and began cleaning them as he spoke, his eyes closed the entire time. Meanwhile, Kira was impressed by his analytical ability and observational skills. He saw right through her intentions of passing off ranged combat as her speciality.

“This test aside, have you decided on a secondary profession yet?”

Kiyoshi asked.

“Yes, and you?”

“Of course. There’s only one that allows me fully utilise my abilities. Shall we head to the Profession Hall after class then?”

“Sure.”

Kira was somewhat surprised by the invitation but readily accepted. She wasn’t clear on his motives for the invitation, as they were still basically strangers, but perhaps this would give her a chance to get to know him better.

When the test concluded and Kira had witnessed a number of Skills that broadened her horizons on what was possible, Teacher Kurokawa said much of the same as Kiyoshi, that secondary profession classes would take place after lunch in the Profession Hall and that they should be there early to register. She also warned them to take into account the results of their perception test before making a decision on which of the professions to take up as those lessons were not repeated and catching up would be difficult if they switched mid-way. After that, she dismissed them.