The Fight Begins

The camera pans to the head organizer of the exams as he steps onto a stage. Where he is faced with a huge swarm of potential students. He strides in and carries a strange, however respectable, aura, which sends the swarm of students into a collective calm.

"Congrats to all that made it this far," he says, his voice mindful and charismatic. “And another congrats to those who will undoubtedly make it further.”

He delays his words for a brief minute, letting the weight sizzle.

“My name is Mizokushi Sarokuta,” he states doubtlessly. “And it shows up we've experienced a slight inconvenience.”

A pleased smile rises on his lips, but there's an indication of aggravation behind it. “12,000 students have enlisted for this year's entrance exam— the most ever recorded so far. Tragically, as it may, there are only 1200 rooms available to you.”

The swarm of students shifts anxiously.

“That means… in the event that you are doing the math, 10% of you are planning to make it into Kaida Institute. The rest will go back to your tamed lives at your homes for another year or so — on the off chance that they can go home,” he adds with a narcissistic grin.

His tone drops coldly and quickly, eyes narrowing:

“You're either here to win, or you're here to be the stepping stone for those who can. Select where you stand.”

Wheezes, mumbles, and on-edge whispers spread like a fierce blaze.

“Due to the numbers, we're dumping the regular composed written exams. Instead,” he raises a finger, “we're bouncing straight into a fight tournament.”

The swarm of students responds with wide eyes and sudden adrenaline spikes.

“If there are no questions,” he says, “I'll go over the rules.”

Behind the students, a loud THUMP shakes the ground. Heads turn as three gigantic 30x30 meter fight fields rise from underground, stadium-style seating encompassing each of them. As you can see, three fights at a time will be observed.

Mizokushi talks once more, clearly so everyone can hear:

Rule 1: Utilize your abilities to debilitate your rival or drive them to yield.

Rule 2: Murdering people is very much illegal.

Rule 3: You must find your own partner to begin.

Rule 4: Advanced Shinen Affinities are off-limits.

Rule 5: No weapons are allowed outside of the one granted to you by your Shinen Core.

“The beginning stage will be a 1 vs. 1, followed by a 2 vs. 2, and at last, a closing 1 vs. 1. You must battle distinctive rivals each time. Now… have fun finding your rivals.”

The camera pans to Sumato, who clearly hadn't listened to a single word. He gazes in amazement at the terrific foundation structure.

(I wonder if the cafeteria is as enormous as the arenas… Do they have a pool in the school? And what about their dorm roo—)

His daydream is cut short by an outstretched hand.

Standing in front of him is a rather plump boy in a monk's robe weaved with geometric designs.

“The name's Castimore Vladimus,” he says.

Sumato squints and sluggishly shakes his hand. “Sumato.”

Castimore eyes him up and down. “Let me guess… You weren't listening in at all, were you?”

“Not really,” Sumato shrugs.

Castimore murmurs. “You and I are matching up for the 2 vs. 2. Come on, let's figure out a game plan.”

Sumato, uninterested to contend, shrugs and follows him toward one of the fields.

But as the entryways hammer closed behind them, Sumato raises an eyebrow. “Wait… so who are we fighting?”

Castimore smiles.

“You're looking at him, you toolbag. You fairly got played.”

Sumato processes that for a minute and then smiles. “Oh. If you needed a beating, you could've bowed your head, sucked up your pride, and asked like a good boy. But if you did that, I wouldn't have a reason to go all out.”

Castamore's eyes gazed at Sumato as if he was cutting the air. "Let's see you try."

The referee then rings the bell, and the crowd explodes in response.

Castimore immediately climbed forward as Shinen flowed into his feet to launch him around at blinding speed.

Sumato stretches lazily, then stretches his fingers to create a pressurized windstream to push himself forward.

As the crowd screams to welcome him to the battle.

"Never learned Shinen Augmentation?" Castimore tries to mock Sumato.

Sumato shrugs his shoulders mid-sprint. "What will happen if I wasn't?"

Seeing Sumato unaffected by the insult, Castimore created a fireball and shot it towards Sumato, which Sumato absorbed effortlessly in response.

"I can also control fire as well," Sumato said. He slapped his palms on the ground. "And also add earth to that list."

A stone wall erupted from the fall, which momentarily stopped Catimore.

Taking advantage of the situation, Sumato rides his wind forward and delivers a punch to the stomach of Castimore, which was the first blow of the competition.

Castimore, now tearing up and mumbling something incoherent, says, “That’s it, I don’t care about the rules. You're Dead.”

Sumato smiles as he creates a giant L made of fire in the air to taunt Castimore.

Furious, Castimore took out his shining weapon—a giant bazooka close to the size of his chest.

Inside the Academy Control Center, Mizokushi looked at the fights with some other supervisor. A young supervisor, Queira, asked reluctantly. “What kind of weapon is Castimore using?”

Mizokushi, visibly surprised, asks. "Is this your first time reviewing a shinen battle?"

Queira nodded at the head as he summoned a simple dagger with a runic engraving on it. "I thought Shinen weapons were meant to be traditional weapons."

Mizokushi replies, amused. “That is a legend. Each person awakens a weapon associated with their soul. It could be a sword, a hammer, or even a bazooka.

Mizokushi continues by saying, "Shinen's core is divided into four parts: Beginner Affinities, Weaponized Affinities, Advanced Affinities, and the Miscellaneous.

“Beginner affinities are elements like fire, air, and water — basic stuff. They’re automatically paired with a Weaponized Affinity — your soul weapon. The basic affinity protects your body when your weaponized form is broken or missing. The weapon? That’s your battle instinct given form.”

Castimore launches fireballs at speeds rivaling sound. Sumato dodges with ease, still calm, still grinning.

Castimore roars and charges a blast that gleams with heat.

Sumato, instead of dodging, plants his feet.

The attack fires faster than light.

A barrier of glowing energy shimmers behind Sumato, absorbing the blast.

He smiles. “That was fun. But I’ve got exams to pass, so… sorry.”

He rockets forward at Mach 2 speeds.

But Castimore isn’t done. He forms his hand into a gun and fires.

BOOM.

The crowd gasps.

A clean hole burns through Sumato’s stomach. Blood spills. He stares down, then collapses into a fetal curl on the ground.

Castimore, panting, blows imaginary smoke from his fingers.

“Now who’s laughing?