Entrance Ceremony (3): All Paths Are Open

All paths were open now. Thanks to Mir's help, there was nothing left that could stop me—at least not from the creature right in front of me. Woooong. I tightened my grip on the sword and channeled my mana. I had wondered if manipulating mana would feel difficult in the real world, but honestly, it wasn't hard at all. The method was exactly the same as in the game.

'Shall we begin, then?'

I wasn't sure how much I could replicate with this body yet, but my goal was simple: creating the skill. Once the skill was made, my trait would take care of the rest. Woooong.Creak.Rumble.

'This is seriously giving me chills.'

The vivid physical recoil I could never feel in the game. My skin trembled and the muscles in both arms screamed in protest. I recalled the skill from memory and reproduced it. I already remembered exactly how the mana flowed when the skill was used.

With the faint purple sword energy rising around my blade captured in my vision, I launched myself over the creature's head. Whoosh.

The Sand Snake's eyes burned with pure hostility as it watched me soar through the air. It was time to bring this fight to an end.

"Goodbye."

The skill of a certain yokai—the king of all monsters. Whoosh.

The sword, heavily saturated with purple sword energy, left a long afterimage following the motion of my right arm. To anyone watching, it would look like I was simply swinging at empty air. But that was nothing more than an illusion.

Never trust everything you see.

Slash!

An attack that should never have connected did. A long gash appeared on the Sand Snake's neck, spraying blood. But it was too shallow to claim its head.

"I've still got one more strike."

Fortunately, a second attack remained. And this one would be nothing like the first.

This was the true use of the skill, nothing like the light imitation from before.

Slice.

A quiet sound of something being severed echoed. Unlike the first attack, this was the perfect sound of something being completely cut through. In everyone's sight, the Sand Snake simply remained frozen. It showed no movement at all. No—it couldn't. Because its life had already ended by my hand.

The eyes that had burned with hostility lost their light, and its massive body collapsed helplessly.

BOOM!

The giant carcass hitting the ground kicked up a cloud of dust. Everyone stared blankly at the scene, and an unwanted lull fell over the auditorium.

"Is it... over...?"

"F-for real?"

"What the hell was that sword...?"

Then those who had regained their senses began to look at me one by one, their eyes filled with awe at the sight of the Sand Snake being slain in a single strike. Some felt fear toward my power. Others showed interest. Anger. Jealousy. Each pair of eyes gleamed with their own emotions.

'Yeah. A pretty satisfying result.'

The body's response wasn't bad either. I'd expected my condition to be worse after using the skill, but luckily there were no major issues. It was just a little stiff—no pain when I moved my arms.

Whoooosh.

"It ended faster than I expected."

Once the battle was over, Garein reappeared with the wind, as if he'd been waiting somewhere nearby. He glanced at the fallen Sand Snake, then looked over the students who had exerted themselves in the fight—Kenna, Reglia, Mir, and finally me—before speaking. His gaze lingered on me just a little ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠longer than the others, though.

"With this, the entrance ceremony is over. Everyone should head to your assigned dormitories and rest well. Your class assignments have been placed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in your personal rooms, so check them. Be sure to arrive at the academy by nine o'clock tomorrow morning. That is all."

The students looked flustered as Garein vanished without the slightest hesitation after delivering his message. Was it really ending just like that? As if to confirm their thoughts, he disappeared completely from the area along with the Sand Snake's corpse.

"Um... since it's over, we can go back, right?"

"The professor did say to go back."

"It feels kind of empty, though."

While the students were exchanging glances, one person left first.

"I'm heading out."

"I should go rest."

It was Kenna, the one who had unintentionally trolled everyone earlier. Reglia followed after him, and starting with those two, the rest of the students began streaming out of the area.

'I should head back soon too.'

In the game, I would have wandered around the surrounding area to familiarize myself with the geography, but there was no need this time. The layout of this place was already perfectly mapped in my head, so there was no point wasting time.

'I'll return to the dormitory and sort out my plans.'

It had been a long time since I'd played through the story, so my memories were hazy. I needed to organize everything. I'd also have to spend considerable time thinking about how to move based on Mir's—the protagonist's—actions.

"Um..."

"Yes?"

Just as I was about to return to the dormitory, someone called out to me. When I turned toward the voice, I saw a cute girl with gradient hair that began as pure white and faded into a light sky blue at the tips, along with matching blue eyes.

'Aria?'

She was the only spirit summoner among the new students. Having been able to see spirits since childhood, her affinity was high and her skills ranked at the top. But why was she speaking to me?

"I wanted to check if you got hurt during the fight. If you're injured, I can help."

"Ah, my arms are a bit stiff."

"Then I'll heal them for you!"

As soon as I spoke, Aria approached as if she'd been waiting and began treating me.

"I'd appreciate it."

At Aria's request, the spirit that had been hiding in her hair—Undine—appeared with a laugh. It flew toward my arms, sprinkled water droplets on them, and returned. A refreshing sensation washed over me, and the stiffness vanished completely. It was different from recovery through holy power. I found myself thinking that spirit arts truly were versatile thanks to their unique healing abilities.

"Thanks. I'm feeling much better now."

"No, I should be thanking you. I couldn't do anything, but you took down the Sand Snake all by yourself."

"It wasn't just me. The others helped too."

Well, even without their help I could have handled it, but still. If I had fought alone, I probably would have taken some injuries. And who knows what variables those injuries might have introduced.

"I-I'm Aria. As you can see, I'm a spirit summoner."

"I'm Zeon. A Spiritualist."

"Spiritualist?"

Aria tilted her head as if hearing the term for the first time. Don't look at me like that. It's my first time seeing this class too. From what I could tell by glancing at the skill, it seemed to be a job that involved seeing souls and borrowing their power, but I would need to look into it more thoroughly later.

"Oh, really?"

I didn't know exactly what the spirit had said, but Aria looked at me with genuine surprise.

"Undine says you smell incredibly friendly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to her."

"Smell?"

"Yeah. She says it's the first time she's smelled anything like it except from me."

So that's why she'd been glancing at me earlier. Undine clung tightly to Aria's shoulder but kept her gaze fixed on me. When I lightly waved at the small, animal-like spirit, it happily waved both hands back.

'How cute.'

Spirits had been popular in the game for their adorable appearances too.

"So, Zeon. Where are you planning to go ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠now?"

"I was going to head to the dormitory first."

"Me too! Want to walk together?"

"Sure, why not."

The men's and women's dormitories were separate anyway, so we'd be heading the same way until the path split.

"Undine, time to head back in."

"Seriously, you'll have to stay quiet so you don't get caught, okay?"

With Undine—who clearly didn't want to return to the spirit realm—climbing onto Aria's shoulder and hiding in her hair, we left the ruined auditorium behind.

"...Incredible."

"Indeed. It's hard to believe those were first-years."

"So that's why the restrictions on this Sand Snake were lighter than in previous years' entrance ceremonies."

"The children from Freyja and Ainstro were impressive too, but these two stand out the most, as expected."

"It's only natural for the eye to be drawn to an unseen raw gem rather than a well-known jewel."

While the students were leaving the auditorium, the professors had gathered in a separate location to review footage of the battle against the Sand Snake. They analyzed the students' adaptability, combat ability, judgment, and more, evaluating each one. Among them, two students in particular caught their attention.

The video showed Mir creating multiple weapons of light in the air, and Zeon floating through the sky, swinging his sword to sever the Sand Snake's neck.

"To shape mana with such precision, and in those quantities and forms... Considering the unique property of light as well, I'm already excited to think about how we'll teach her."

"It seems she could handle weapons directly in addition to projectile attacks. Like an all-master who uses the right weapon for every situation."

In Mir's case, it was an ability they'd never seen before, so they felt they needed more information. Her power clearly transcended the ordinary. Some professors looked forward to seeing how much further she could grow, while others were already worrying about how to properly guide such a student.

While most eyes were on Mir, one man silently stared at a paused frame of the video.

"Garein? Is something wrong?"

"...It's just that one thing has been bothering me."

"Ah, you mean student Zeon. That final sword he displayed is certainly the highlight of this entrance ceremony."

The other professors all nodded in agreement.

Zeon's final sword. Clearly, his blade had sliced through empty air without reaching the Sand Snake. So why had the creature died? No matter how many times they replayed the footage, it remained a bizarre phenomenon that defied understanding.

"......"

Only one person—Garein—continued watching Zeon's footage with eyes as cold as ice.