Chapter 3: Point Zero

Wow… so this is Arcaria Academy.
It’s almost like a palace.

Shiro stared up at the massive structure

“So beautiful…”
Shindo said, admiring the extravagant building.

"I hope this place’s reputation lives up to how it looks!"
Sachi exclaimed, almost making it sound like a demand — like the school better not dare disappoint her.

"Do you take everything as a challenge?"

"Yes. You got a problem with that, starry boy?"

Hmmmm, depending how I answer, I might get sent packing.

"Correct, you will," the disembodied voice answered casually.

Go away, you crazy voice. Mind your own damn business.

Sachi raised her fist threateningly.
"Don't make me send you packing. You know I can."

Ughhhh. Stupid omnipotent god or whatever.

"No problem with it.
Just wondering."

"Oi, Shiro! You made it!"
A loud voice echoed across the courtyard — almost as loud as Sachi’s earlier, but way more friendly.

A boy was flailing his arms wildly, waving at the group.

"Yo Daichi, you got in?"
"I thought you might have failed the entrance exam or something."

"Hey hey, don't make it sound like I'm that bad!"
"Not when I'm standing in front of some pretty ladies."

Shindo turned a slight hint of pink at his comment.
Sachi, on the other hand, looked disgusted.

"Oh, he’s definitely hitting on us. He’s gonna get it."

Sachi dropped into an offensive stance, like she was charging up some kind of Karo blast in her palm.

"Wait!"
"Don’t overreact so quickly, Sachi. He’s just trying to be nice."
"I think…"

Shindo quickly defused the situation before we got a 1-to-1 repeat of this morning’s incident.

"Dude, what was she doing?"

"Honestly, Daichi, just shut up and don't question it."
"It’ll keep you alive."

Good deed done for the day: preventing someone from getting hurt.
Check that off the list of things I didn’t expect to be doing today.

“Yo, I’m Daichi Kawamura, first-year.”

He introduced himself to the girls in a rather oddly excited attitude. The girls also introduced themselves well one of them did it begrudgingly though.

"So… how did you manage to pick up two girls?"

Daichi whispered like he was about to uncover the secret of life itself.

"Well…"
"Wait, no, I didn’t pick up anyone! I just met them on the way here!"

"Sure you did..."
"One guy. Two girls. Casually walking to school together."

"I’m being serious!"

"So am I."

Damn, I didn’t know Shiro had game like that. Two girls at once?
Round of applause, everyone.

"Yes, beautiful. Absolutely stunning work."

Disembodied voice clapped somewhere off in the distance.

Somehow.

Daichi froze.
Where the hell did that clapping come from?
Am I going insane!?
What the hell was that voice!?

Shiro looked a little concerned.
"Dude, you good?"
"You looked like you heard voices in your head."

Daichi just stared at Shiro, brain processing at 5 FPS.

"Oh..."
"Looks like I hit bullseye."
"Yeah… that happens sometimes. I’m trying to ignore it."

(He is going insane having to hear it at every given moment.
If he could, he’d permanently mute the voice.)

Aaaaaaaaah!

Sudden cheers erupted from the southern gate.

Shiro’s ears perked up at the commotion.
"What’s all that about?"

Daichi smirked and nodded toward the southern gate.
"Seems the main attractions have arrived."

"Wait…"
"You don’t mean those six, right?"

"Who else but them could pull this much attention?"

The girls quickly cut into their conversation.

"They’ve arrived. The strongest Fate users of our generation," Sachi said, practically vibrating with excitement.
Probably already thinking about facing them.

"They say their powers are comparable to the Council."

"If they were born a few generations earlier..."
"They would have been the Council."

Shindo said, holding her breath until her face turned a shade of red.

"They’re as strong as The Council of 13 Fates?"
Shiro muttered to himself.

"...Interesting."

Gen Zero! Gen Zero! Gen Zero!

The crowd chanted wildly.
Generation Zero — the strongest of the current generation.

If you listened closely, you could hear the whispers too:

"Have you heard? The six of them are personally trained by six members of the Council."

"Yeah, I heard it’s because they have similar Fates to the Council members."

"Scary, right? Not just the powers, even their appearances are eerily close...
Honestly, the only difference between them and the originals is age."

The first of the six walked through the gate.
He exuded such a tremendous aura it made you want to kneel — like a peasant paying respects to an emperor.

"That’s him.
The leader of Gen Zero."

"Known as the second-smartest mind in the world.
The only person ahead of him is Shion — The Visionary Tactician."

"They say he’s always calculating every outcome.
Every possibility.
Always aiming for the absolute result."

The Strategist - Ryo Takami.

He scanned the area like he was preparing for a counterattack.

"A 12.8% increase in student population compared to last year…"
"And a 5.2% increase in fans too."

(Yeah, those numbers are legit.
This guy’s basically a human calculator.)

The temperature suddenly rose by ten degrees.

Fwoooosh.

A vortex of fire spiraled through the gates — before fading away.

Strutting in flamboyantly came a girl, grinning like she owned the world.

"Yo, she’s hot.
And I mean that literally and figuratively."

"Shhhh. Don't speak so loud — she can hear you."

"She’s well known as the Human Flare.
Not just for her power but her personality too.
Only Renka — The Crimson Radiant — surpasses her in that sense."

"What are my chances of scoring a date?"

"Good luck.
Last year she crushed a senior’s confession — literally and emotionally.
Told him, and I quote: ‘A flicker like you wouldn’t survive my flame.’"

The Flame Empress - Ayuri Shiokawa.

She looked around with a deadly, mischievous smirk.
If guys weren’t so scared of looking creepy, half of them would’ve been bowing already.

"How cute. They actually think they have a chance."
"Well… let them dream, I guess."

Omg, the new first-years are so cute.
Look at them all starry-eyed.
I need to act like a good senior or something.

Then suddenly—

Fwshhhh.

The temperature dropped. Hard.
By double the amount.

A cold breeze crept through the gates — before fading away.

Walking through was a boy who looked like he couldn’t care less about the world.

"Ice cold and feared by many.
Girls love him.
Guys... not so much."

"He’s known as the perfect number two.
Ironic, right?
The only one above him is Kaien — The Arctic Sovereign."

"Wait, why ‘perfect number two’?
Isn’t everyone supposed to aim for number one?"

"I heard from an upperclassman...
He once said, ‘I’d rather assist someone to the top than stand there myself.’
Not sure if that’s true though."

The Arctic Hell - Rukimi Mizuno.

He glared at the crowd, like they were making too much noise just by breathing.

"So loud…"
He muttered to himself.

He moved his hands slightly — only to get immediately stopped.

"Nope. Ice boy. You’re not doing that again,"
Ayuri scolded, almost teasing him.
"We do not need a repeat of last year’s incident."

Tch.
"Annoying…"

Disembodied voice, somewhere far away.

"Weak."

Rukimi stopped mid-step.

What the hell was that?
And who the hell does it think it is calling me weak?

Pause.

"Aight, that was me, obviously."

"We're gonna skip the part where he questions my existence."
"It’s time to introduce the next person."

(What type of narrator constantly cuts in and skips parts…?)

"Is your name 'Narrator'?
No?
Didn’t think so."

"So deal with it."

(Stupid dumb narrator and dumb worldbuilding.)

Unpause.

Fwwsh.

A silent breeze flowed through the gates.
And in a blink — a girl appeared.
Standing there like a ghost.
Not a single sound came from her footsteps.

"She exists!?"

"Obviously, there’s six of them after all."

"She’s known as the ghost of Gen Zero.
Not much is known about her.
Most people have never even seen her up close."

"The only one more mysterious than her would be Saeko — The Whisper of the Veil."

"Have you ever actually seen the real her?"

"Are you insane!?
Rumor says anyone who gets too close mysteriously disappears.
Besides, who even knows which is the real her?"

The Simulacra - Ichika Kazashi.

She glided past the crowd, heading toward Ryo without making a sound.
Silent. Like an apparition.

"…Boo."

Ryo, who was still busy analyzing the crowd, almost jumped.

"Wha—!"

Cough.

"I-I would like a detailed explanation on why you did that.
There’s been a 3.2% spike in blood pressure, and my BPM has risen significantly—"

Ichika just stared blankly into his eyes.
Deadpan. Calm.
Almost like she was trying to hypnotize him.

"Cute," she muttered.

Ryo's brain:
Complete system failure.
Short-circuiting.
Blue screen of death.

What just happened.
That’s not good for my health.
My BPM is skyrocketing. HELP.

"Leader of Gen Zero, everybody.
This guy’s the leader, and he can’t even handle being talked to by a girl.

Disembodied voice shook his imaginary head in disappointment.

(It was his idea, by the way.)

DWOOM.

Suddenly, the gravity around the academy spiked hard.

Through the gates floated a girl.
Literally levitating.

Her glare?
So intense, it could vaporize someone where they stood.

Even Rukimi’s ice-cold glare looked like a baby’s pout in comparison.

"Wow… she could crush me with gravity anytime."

"Dude. Word of advice.
Don’t.
Ask.
The seniors. They’ll cry telling you about it."

"Besides, someone as stoic as her wouldn’t even look at you.
Her mentor is Ryusei — The Zenith Anchor, after all."

"Rumor has it… she does have a soft spot for a certain puppy though.
But uh, don't ask her about it unless you have a death wish."

"…Good to know."

The Stillborn Star - Haru Yukihara.

She hovered above the crowd slightly, looking absolutely annoyed at the noise.

"Ughhh.
So irritating.
Why do people feel the need to comment on every little thing?"

I swear — whoever said that thing about a puppy?
You better count your days.
When I find you—

BOOM.

A huge explosion rocked the entrance.

Smoke everywhere.

When it cleared, standing there was a boy.
Bright-eyed.
Grinning like he thought the world was made of sunshine and rainbows.

A literal walking ball of sunshine.

"Woooooo! He’s here!"
"The most unserious member of the group!"

"A literal bomb of sunshine.
No, seriously. A literal bomb."

"The only one who can match his energy is Yumeko — The Forgeheart Vanguard."

"Dude, I swear.
He’s like a golden retriever."

"I even heard he’s basically dating Haru.
Always follows her around like a puppy."

The Jolly Boomstick - Keigo Naruki.

He grinned wildly at the crowd — before immediately making a beeline toward Haru.

"Haru! Haru!"
"Did you hear? They think I’m like a golden retriever!"

He bounced around her like he was wagging an invisible tail.

Slowly inching closer.

Whuff.

Haru — using her Fate — gently pushed him back.

"Have you ever heard of something called personal space!?"

She asked, annoyed and looking away like she was trying not to show she was a little flustered.

"Sorry Haru…
It won’t happen again…"
Keigo looked down, like a scolded puppy.

Ughhh.

This idiot.
How am I supposed to stay mad when he acts like that!?

"Fine, just… don’t ever do that again without warning."

"Yay! Thank you, Haru! I love you!"

Whoosh.

(He got sent flying straight into a nearby wall.)

"Stupid idiot, don't say stuff like that!!"

Ryo calmly observed the chaos.

"By my calculations, that’s 500 Xales in property damage."

(Xales = Currency.)

"...Rukimi."

Sigh.

"Yeah, yeah. I know.
I’m paying for it."

"Why do they always do this…?"

Ichika and Ayuri side-eyed each other.

"Boys… they just don’t get it."

They muttered under their breaths.

Meanwhile, back to the group watching the circus unfold from a safe distance.

"They’re supposed to be the strongest of our generation?"

Shiro questioned, utterly flabbergasted.

"Dude, I think we’re better off not questioning it,"
Daichi said, sweating nervously.

"For our own safety."

Well.
Cross those girls off the list of potential chances.

Pause.

"Honestly, Daichi’s got a good head on his shoulders."

"Knows when to give up."

Disembodied voice nodded in approval.

"Anyway, let’s move on to the next part before more property damage happens."

Unpause.