"Alrighty, class! We are going to be having our first combat training of this semester!” It was early in the morning. The cold, humid air permeated into the surroundings. It was fairly chilly. Our class stood at the entrance of Yildirim Woods alongside Kasumi, who was giving us a briefing. As I’ve never visited Yildirim Woods at daybreak before, it was truly a rare sight to behold. The entire atmosphere was bathed in a thick layer of fog and mist, meanwhile the soft scent of morning dew infiltrated our noses as quickly as we had arrived. The continuous and simultaneous bombardment of sights and sounds left a mercurial and majestic impression on everyone that was present. A little further away, a large glowing ball rose into the dull morning sky, imbuing the dark blue sky with a tinge of orange. Staring at the entrance, memories of my encounter with the assassin flooded my mind. Now that I think about it, What happened to the assassin? If Hideki said that no one was around and I was knocked out cold… While I was deep in thought, Kasumi started speaking. "Since fifteen years ago, schools are now mandated to include combat training as part of their curriculum, and only just a few years ago were they actually required to include combat instructors to aid in emphasizing specialization of this art." With an intense gaze, she sized up each and every one of us. “For the most part, all of you have only received basic training on hand-to-hand combat and alongside that, at most a beginner's level of control and understanding over your inner bodies’ energy, also known as Qi. Although some of you may have done extra curriculum involving the various types of weapons and tools, I assure you that its is not enough and thus, I’m here to help all of you improve!” I was considered an elite in this field at school by my peers because my mom and sister had trained me in the art of self-defense since I was young. However, recalling my recent encounter with an assassin, I doubt it was any good at all. My sister was already renown at my age as the 'Gatekeeper of Sigrun.' 'B' level assassins were manageable to her even then. I mentally committed myself to keep up with my sister in terms of strength. For if not, our Sigrun family could not hold our heads up as the guardians of secrets. "As we had missed some combat training sessions earlier this semester, we will have to speed up our evaluation and nurturing of your combat skills. I will be measuring your individual capabilities today and from that, think up with a semi-customized training schedule to boost your strengths while working on your weaknesses.” It was at this moment Kasumi formed a confident grin from the corners of her mouth. “I want all of you to come at me with everything you have. Yildirim Woods is about two thousand square miles, so we have a sizeable playground today, but don’t worry, we will not be using the entire forest. Before we arrived here, each of you were given a portable map and a compass for navigation. On the map, there is a red marker which points to the exit. As long as you are able to navigate towards the exit, our playground today would most likely only be about ten square miles in total. As each of you navigate through the woods, your objective is to land as many clean hits on me as you can before I reach the other exit, and the one who manages to impress me the most will get a reward. You can work individually or in groups, but I will assess you on an individual basis by the end of this exercise." Our class became instantly excited by the prospects of getting a reward. “What kind of rewards do you have in mind?” Kasumi placed her finger on her cheek and thought for a moment. “For the girls, would you like an exclusive date with Hideki if one of you wins?” “Kya~!” Wow, the girls were all fired up in unison! It was a nice reward, but I was not too sure if it was truly that amazing of a reward for me though. Meanwhile, Hideki was frowning at Kasumi’s suggestion. “Sis! How could you use me as a reward?!” Kasumi knuckled Hideki on the head without hesitation in response. “It’s Miss Mizushima or Teacher, and not Sis. What’s wrong with being the reward? It’s only an exclusive date with fully-paid expenditure by you for a day!” “I-It has to come from my own pocket too?!” “Stop whining. I gave you your allowance, remember?” The guys of our class were riled up now since the rewards were about going out on dates. “How about the guys, Miss Mizushima? Do we get a fully paid date with you as well?” “Mhm. I expect the guys in our class to act like gentlemens and to pay for the expenses of a girl on the first date.” That’s too cunning, Kasumi! This reward is entirely in your favor! “But yes, we can have that as a reward. I can even drop in a kiss if you want.” “YEAH!” Now the guys were on fire too! Except for Hideki and Gale. It was understandable for Hideki, but Gale didn’t even look impressed. Kasumi laughed at the spectacle of youth displayed in front of her. “Now, just like how there’s a reward, there is also a punishment if you do not try hard enough. I will personally judge that according to my own interpretation, so I want you all to do your best, alright?” Kasumi was looking straight at Gale when she said that, as if specifically referencing to him. No, she was specifically referencing him. Gale sighed in resignation and nodded back. As we were preparing our weapons and tools, Hideki came over to me to check how I was doing. “My sister is definitely an ‘A’ grade fighter, so we need not hold back on our punches at her.” Instead of using my extendable wooden brush, I brought out my custom-made alloy extendable fountain pen with the same length. It’s hardness was unmatched. It was able to parry against a sword made adamantite, one of the hardest materials known,without even scratching the blade-tip of the weapon. In addition, it was specially designed for my [Curse Ink Technique], where I would be able to generate magical ink for special techniques. As I took out my weapon, Hideki suddenly thought of something. ”Have you mastered the [Curse Ink Technique] yet?” I shook my head in disappointment. If I had, we wouldn’t be in so much trouble with the assassin previously. The [Curse Ink Technique] was a combination of calligraphy, martial arts, and magic, where I would produce magical ink on the tip of my pen using my inner energy imbued with magic to draw on my opponents. Various effects could be done to those drawn by the ink, with instances where the ink would burn, freeze or even stop the movement of those who were painted by the ink, depending on what was drawn and the intensity of energy put into it. At present, I couldn’t effectively convert energy into [Curse Ink] yet as it demanded a huge amount of energy to use the magic sequences that were embedded in my body for the conversion. Thus I was only able to use my fountain pen like a sword for the time being. On the other hand, my sister was an ‘S’ rank fighter who could fight using [Curse Ink] without even breaking a sweat. Just past the large bush, sat Gale’s body motionless and still. I peered over the bush to see what exactly my bodyguard was doing. Gale did not seem like he was going to use a weapon or a tool at all. His eyes were knitted shut as he leaned against a tree in a laid-back manner. It was as though he was trying to sleep even as the day just started. You really don’t seem to care, do you?! I wonder how Gale was going to fight against Kasumi when girls were his biggest weakness if he was actually serious. After approximately 15 minutes of preparation time, everyone gathered back at the entrance to Yildirim Woods to await for the start of the iminent combat trial ahead of them. ”At the drop of the coin, you guys can start coming after me.” Kasumi flipped a coin, and all of our eyes were glued to the coin. I took a quick check towards Gale and noticed that Gale had his eyes still closed. Is Gale that confident or is he not going to bother? ”Ding!” Kasumi immediately disappeared into the woods, and everyone ran in after her, except for Gale. Sheesh, he’s not going to treat this seriously, is he? Leaving Gale at the entrance, I too followed in with the rest of my class into the depths of Yildirim Woods. In the woods, Kasumi kept her pace just slightly ahead of us,skillfully avoiding the low lying branches, roots and uneven ground. After running for some time, I noticed that some of our classmates couldn’t keep up and began to slow down. Looks like she’s wearing us down by testing our stamina and endurance first. Eventually, one of our male classmates managed to catch up with Kasumi when she tried to make a sharp turn to juke my classmates. Equipped with a spear, he catapulted himself into the air by striking the ground with his spear and flung himself in the air. As he dived towards Kasumi with a ferocious thrust, Kasumi sidestepped him, pulled a 180 and punched him in his gut, using his momentum against him. However the thrust earlier by the student had caused her to abandon the safety of the higher ground in order to dodge it, returning her to the dangers that laid on the ground. ”You guys have to do better than that if you want to just scratch me!” Just as she said that, a series of shurikens were thrown towards where she was about to land, but Kasumi used her unsheathed katana to strike the ground before her, catapulting herself on to a nearby tree’s branch, while consequently leaving a large crater at where she had struck, imitating what the earlier male student had done. Isn’t that a just little bit too much for us beginners to be fighting against?! Arrows were shot at where she landed, but she jumped away gracefully. ”Alright, I’m gonna be separating you guys now~.” Kasumi clutched her hands and formed a hand seal. Suddenly a fog formed out of seemingly nowhere and shrouded our visibility. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing (or not seeing). ”Kasumi knows ninjutsu?!” I said, wide eyed at the scene playing before me. ”She said she picked up some tricks during her freelance work.” It wasn’t just the fog, but five silhouettes of Kasumi emerged suddenly and were running in completely different directions. I doubt any of us could tell which was the real Kasumi, so our classmates divided among themselves to pursue Kasumi. Hideki with Sang chose to follow along with me to chase after the nearest Kasumi. The fog eventually cleared up and dissipated into mist. Coincidentally, the silhouette we were following had also faded into thin air. It was at this moment that the thought of us losing Kasumi truly struck us. ”I doubt she will leave the woods without properly accessing our strength, so let’s not hurry to the other exit that quickly and survey around.” That was a good plan from Hideki. I too, was not very sure of where exactly we were in Yildirim Woods, and thus needed a few moments to reorient ourselves. We were surrounded by thick vegetation and our visibility was severely hindered as a result. Kasumi was very nimble and we, for one reason or another, had the ominous feeling that someone was watching over us. Suddenly, there was the sound of leaves rustling in the part of the forest not too far from us! Hideki, Sang and I looked at each other before proceeding to chase after that sound. As we got closer and closer, we realized that someone was running away from us. Sang immediately sprinted forward, putting himself within reach of the source of the rustling and threw a wild punch at it. ”Wham!” ”Oww!” As luck would have it, Sang had hit somebody, but it was a man’s voice! There was a series of tumbling noises that indicated that the guy who was struck was falling down a slope. We didn’t know who was punched, but we went towards the poor guy anyway and before long, found ourselves in a large open area. It was a luscious green space, that contrasted from the surrounding dense canopies and maze-like paths, instead opening a view towards the vast blue skies overhead. It would’ve been a serene setting to lay down and relax in if there weren’t a group of tough looking people wearing leather jackets and motorbikes everywhere! Those people seemed to preparing for a race event. Banners, maps and number tags on their motorbikes indicated that there was going to an illegal race nearby. But they were all interrupted by the large commotion we were making, causing their eyes to be diverted to a U.R.O (Unidentified Rolling Object) which came crashing down the slope! The poor guy who was punched seemed to have been knocked out cold, and those people looked at him for a moment, before turning their gazes at us. Is it just me, or am I sensing bloodlust from them? They looked like a biker gang, with the various accessories decorated over their bodies. It took me a few seconds to process and realize that we were headed headlong into trouble! “So why are three students from Aelfsige Academy here and why did you punch one of our guys?” A tall, muscular man with a scruffy voice said that with an interrogative tone. He was wearing a dark grey tank top and had tattoos running down the side of his left arm and body. However, his most noticeable feature was the twin silver chains that twined and twisted around both his arms, like a pair of snakes hungry for newfound prey. Is that his weapon? I asked myself as I stood both in awe and shock looking at his colossal figure. It wasn’t just him who was tall and burly. It was a trait that seemed like it ran through the people in his company too! The sight of them in front of us was terrifying enough to send countless shivers down my spine. Intimidated by these unbelievably behemoth-like people, I inadvertently started blurting out. ”We are so sorry!! We were having some combat training in these woods, and was having a competition with our combat instructor...” As I started blubbering everything that came to my mind, I took a deeper inspection of the leader and his company. They were all delinquents around our age. Rejects of society, looked down upon by the bourgeois, and even more by the upper class. These were the people who had nowhere to turn to but unto the streets. The modern day embodiment of thieves and thugs. And as for the leader, he had the scruffiest expression of all. His mohawk stood proudly and towering over the rest, expressing his dominance over his minions. He went to take a quick check on the unconscious person before coming to us. He came close. To the point where we were able to hear his calm but rough breathing before pulling back and speaking again in his rough tone. ”How the hell did you manage to attack a guy who was just trying to take a piss and mistake him for your combat training? Is it a poor excuse to look down on us here? You guys are rich people who get to study in an expensive private school. Right?!” I gulped. I was not sure if this uncouth person was going to talk reason at all and an altercation seemed unavoidable. ”No really, we heard some rustling in the bushes and —“ Sang got punched by another guy nearby, and crashed onto the ground while gesturing towards the unconscious guy to explain on our behalf. I hurriedly checked out Sang to see if he was alright. ”We got picked on by many rich people from your school before, and I believe one of them came from your school. If I recall, by the name of… Nakano Satori?” ”Yea! There was one time one of her guys tripped and stepped on one of us, and then had the cheek to say, ‘Oh I’m sorry, I didn’t notice there were bugs!’“ One by one, the delinquents started to chime in their opinions. Unable to withstand the false accusation places against them, Hideki stepped forward in anger. ”It was an honest mistake! We really apologize for attacking one of you guys by accident! We are not affiliated with Nakano Satori in any way, and surely you don’t have to take it out on us when all of your problems lie with her instead?!” That Leader then spat on the ground and walked towards Hideki. “Combat training huh? Want to have a go with me?” Hideki gripped his katana tightly at being provoked. I quickly helped Sang to stand and pulled Hideki back. ”This isn’t the time! Let’s just leave here and head towards the exit!” Without a word, Hideki, Sang and I backed out and head back from where we came from. Neither of them gave chase towards us. I heaved a sigh of relief at the notion that it could have been far worse. We definitely lost the mood of enjoying our combat training after that encounter, so we decided to make our way back to meet with the rest at the exit. Suddenly, Kasumi ambushed us out of nowhere and threw a punch at me! Startled, I reflexively used my fountain pen to block the punch, but it was a feint, and used her other hand to try and claw at my sides! I immediately jumped back and drew a [天] with my fountain pen. Using calligraphy strokes as swordplay, I somehow managed to stop Kasumi from unleashing her next wave of attacks. ”Nice reactions!” Kasumi said that with a thumbs up pose and a grin before facing Sang to unleash her next barrage of attacks. Just as she was poised to launch her attack on Sang, Hideki appeared at Kasumi’s back and launched a two-handed top-down vertical slash at her unguarded back. However, Kasumi saw through it and decided to not move, instead she drew both the sword in sheath forward together from her waist and extended it forward. With a quick flick of her wrist, she flipped the orientation of the blade into a backhanded position and thrusted it between her free arm and body. Kasumi’s attack was too well timed. She landed a clean hit into the abdomen of Hideki as hideki flinched in pain and missed Kasumi, slicing off the few stray strands of Kasumi’s silky hair.. ”That’s was a good try, but you need to be faster.” Sang knew he was in trouble and threw a series of desperate punches towards Kasumi. Kasumi dodged every single punch while moving forward and lightly tapped onto Sang’s chest with one of her hands. ”Your punches are okay, but you need to focus on where you are hitting.” Afterward, Kasumi jumped out of the area and shouted: ”I am done with you guys! Meet you at the exit~!” Hideki, and I looked at each other in bewilderment, while Sang was still rubbing the area that Kasumi tapped to check if it was alright. From his goggled eyes and mouth wide open, one could tell he was really shocked but yet relieved at the same time. “That was really quick!” We hadn’t walked for too long after our encounter with Kasumi, and found ourselves in yet another clearing near the exit. This time, the clearing wasn’t as huge as the one before and instead instilled a quieter and more enchanting feel. Just beyond the tall bush that separated us and the clearing was where Gale and Kasumi were facing off each other! It was a tense and chilling ambience that also at the same time, brimmed with excitement. With sharp and precise golden beams striking between the covers of the trees illuminating the battlefield. Soft emerald grass grew rampant around the ground and a quaint looking stump lied between Gale and Kasumi. It was all in sharp contrast to the violent and tumultuous scene that was about to unfold. ”So you finally decided to be serious, Gale?” “I had to be the last person for you to access. Otherwise, you might not be able to play with the rest of the class.” ”Feeling cocky eh? You think you could take me out early?” Gale reached into his pocket and grabbed what seemed to be like chocolate. ”For me to be serious, I need to eat this chocolate. Is that okay with you?” ”Sure, do whatever it takes.” That chocolate definitely looks very mysterious. Gale ate it, and his countenance became focused while he took a moment to hasten the absorption of the chocolate with his [qi]. Kasumi ran towards Gale after he looked like he was ready and Gale immediately crossed his arms just before Kasumi reached him. A dark mist gathered around him in an instant. That’s the same technique that Gale used to fight with the assassin! Kasumi threw many punches towards Gale, each one was filled with immense strength and was sent towards Gale’s weak spots with pin-point precision, but Gale deflected and redirected all these punches away from himself dexterously. All of a sudden, a palm struck on Kasumi’s chest in the midst of blows causing Kasumi to back up three paces. Despite pushing back Kasumi, it was only a light hit and Kasumi was uninjured. ”Wow, you are definitely good! I didn’t expect you to be so much better than me at unarmed combat!” With eyes closed, Gale stepped back and faded into the very aura he produced and came crashing from above with his palms open. His palms looked like they were brimming with a dark aura and that facing them head on probably was a bad idea. Kasumi immediately unsheathed her sword and unleashed her [Waterfall Slash]. I didn’t know how Gale did it, but he was able to side-step the slash attack in mid-air and unleash a dark energy blast into Kasumi’s left side with one of his palms. It was too sudden for Kasumi to dodge, so she had to block it with her blade and launch a series of last-ditch counter-attack slashes towards Gale. Although poorly aimed, they still boasted considerable power. Just getting hit by one would deal significant damage to Gale. However, Gale did not use his palms to meet the slashes. Instead, he targeted Kasumi’s hands as he was close enough to her and deflected every attack from there, while Kasumi tried to push forward with her slashes undeterred. No, she’s speeding up! Suddenly Gale tripped up, and Kasumi had an opening to land a clean hit. Taking advantage of this, she swung downwards but managed to stop just before her blade reached Gale as Gale lied on the floor. Our classmates happened to walk into the clearing at that exact moment, and they saw Kasumi with her blade over Gale. ”Wow Miss Mizushima! Looks like you defeated Gale!” That timing was too precise, and I was sure Kasumi noticed it as well. Kasumi gave a wry smile as she sheathed her blade. If I were her, I would also be pretty annoyed at Gale for giving away the match. Is he trying to be secretive again?! That signaled the end of the combat training session, and the class gathered at the exit for a final briefing. “Well, this is the end of our training session. Some of you guys turned out to be really good with combat! Wales, Serena, and Wiley! You guys were really outstanding!” Our class cheered and gave a round of applause. ”As you know, combat skills doesn’t give you an edge regarding academics. Even if you feel that you don’t excel in it, it shouldn’t stop you from chasing other passions and dreams. The only reason why anyone would want to pursue combat skills is if he or she wanted to work in very specialized areas such as the SPAW [2] team or the army. They are currently recruiting very heavily right now, and that’s why schools everywhere are required to provide a combat curriculum to fit the demand and filter out those who have innate talents in combat. We also have an annual competition held within our school, and the most talented student will be identified to compete as the representative for the school in the inter-school competition. I encourage all of you to give it your best shot, and make memories of your achievements!” With a pause to catch her breath, she shifted her gaze towards Serena, a unexpectedly petite young lady who performed very well during the combat trial. “Serena! You are going to have an exclusive date with Hideki!” The class erupted with cheers and cat-calls. Hideki sighed and joined in the cheering as well. “Gale, come forward.” Gale came before Kasumi. Without warning, Kasumi pressed her lips against Gale’s lips and kissed him. The class gasped out loud! I couldn’t contain the shock too! ”That’s your reward for being the best among the guys and your punishment for letting me win. I intended to kiss you in private, but you just had to pull off that stunt just now, didn’t you?” Gale was beet red with embarrassment, and the envious gazes of every one rested on Gale. Is it just me or can I also sense killing intent being emitted? “We will meet this Saturday at ten in the morning okay? Since you have to be a bodyguard to Clere, bring her along as well.” I finally realized Kasumi was actually serious and had taken a liking to Gale. As a result, I was just the cushion to prevent the others from thinking likewise. How despicable Kasumi!