Two Cards and a Girl Before Spaghettification

An ID card is useful in multiple ways. One is how it succinctly communicates the most basic yet relevant facts about the user. Mine was hard for me to look at:

Kurosawa Kuramiti

Date of Birth: January 28th, 6051 — 16 years of age

Aptitudes:                           Current Occupation: Student

Mage — Praelusor            Expiration Date: January 28th, 6057

Gunman — Discens          Paper Cut Experiences: 0

Today, that last number and occupation change!

It has been four days since we got our ID cards. Now, as if to commemorate that 4-day anniversary, all the classes at Stranfhash Academy of my age will be entering their first paper cut. Since the minimum age requirement is 16 years old, we were the first from our school to enter a paper cut.

“Students! I am Mr. Hayashi, and I am glad that all of you who came have made the tough decision to be present for your first-ever paper cut exploration. It may seem formidable or daunting, but rest assured that the staff of Stra…”

“Hey, Kuramiti!”

He barely whispered, tapping on my shoulder. It was Ichikawa Sora, another friend of mine — he was about as talented as Haruki, although more prideful.

“Hey, how are you doing, Sora? You need to tell me how your tests went!”

“What matters is that I am proud of myself, just so you know.”

I blankly stared at him.

“Alright! For physical dexterity, I got rank 4, Artifex, one above the average strength of a muscleman. As for wizardry, I achieved rank 5, Acerbus, also one rank above the average intelligence of a wizard. It may seem redundant to have both mage and wizard aptitudes, but they actually cover two different bases. A mage is someone who possesses an affinity for magic, while a wizard is someone who is born with the potential to pursue inhuman intelligence.”

“...I know. Although I can’t imagine lifting and reading. It must, at least, feel awkward.”

“Nothing like lifting books when reading them, I guess.”

I turned to look back at Mr. Hayashi. After all, I need to hear some of what he says.

“...now, students, as you can see behind me, there are multiple lists printed out displaying groups A through J and their respective members. As I finish up, keep in mind to observe in an orderly fashion and to head to your respective groups as swiftly as you can. And…that is it. Alright, stay safe and have fun!”

As soon as Mr. Hayashi finished, around 95% of the students ran to the printed sheets; the other 5% were almost asleep. Sora forced me to join the 95%, grabbing me by the wrist and dragging me at a surprisingly fast speed towards the lists, swiftly observing until he, again surprisingly fast, found his name. My name was right under it.

“...

Takahashi Ren

Fujimoto Yui

Ichikawa Sora

Kurosawa Kuramiti

Aihara Mei

Shinomiya Haruki

…”

“What a group!”

“Seriously, it’s crazy to have either Takahashi or Fujimoto, but both? Is that…good?”

As I said that, Haruki placed his hand firmly on my shoulder, catching me off guard.

“Oh, hey. I assume you heard me, huh? We got quite a group.”

Haruki took a second to read the group:

“Woah! I wonder how this will play out.”

***

Each group had around 30 students, each student purposefully placed in the group they’re in to create an effective balance of aptitudes and their ranks.

That might explain why I, ranked below average, am in Group B with multiple highly skilled students. If I am already with the most notable students, I might as well use this chance to observe them. They are the most likely to be outstanding, so I should at least take mental notes to keep in mind how those types of people maintain success.

“Hello.”

I turned to see who spoke to me. It was a feminine voice, so I had turned rather quickly.

“I am Aihara Mei: I was the name under yours in the list.”

“O-Oh, right! It’s nice to meet you.”

“Likewise. I wanted to at least get acquainted with you to make sure I know who each person is and their role in the expedition, just in case.”

She’s got a point. In an event like this, a proper understanding of each other can facilitate success through improving communication and organization. Plus, she is quite attractive. Her tone was not identifiably social, but it was not quiet or passive enough to be deemed shy. Her long, black hair seems to suit her.

“Let’s swap ID cards. Here’s mine.”

Aihara Mei

Date of Birth: February 16th, 6051 — 16 years of age

Aptitudes:                                     Current Occupation: Student

Swordsman — Discens              Expiration Date: February 16th, 6057

Mage — Praelusor                       Paper Cut Experiences: 0

Communicator — Novicius

Interesting. It’s common for people with more than two aptitudes to be at or below average mastery for each. Furthermore, you can tell a lot about someone from their masteries of their aptitudes.

She is most skilled at magic, so she probably puts most of her time into that, whilst her spare time goes into swordsmanship. Furthermore, she probably does not converse enough to be considered social, as she is Rank 1, Novicius in communication. Now that I think about it, she reminds me of a young, studious la—

“You are…quite an interesting person,”

She remarked. I did not ask for elaboration, as that had most likely meant ‘you’re weak.’

“You too, Aihara. You have Ranks 1, 2, and 3: a unique combination.”

We traded ID cards again. She nodded and walked away, probably to glean more intel.

Admirable

“Hey, hey, look! Group A is heading in!”

“I wonder if they’re going in first because they’re the strongest.”

The commotion got me to turn around. I finally took a good look at the paper cut, enthralled by it within a few seconds.

Wow…what a shape. It looks like a half of a yo-yo that was painted like a starless sky with its almost-but-not-complete black. It also bends inwards into a blinding white that perfectly reflects every color. Its streaks of slightly brighter blue and purple, speckled with white, twist and warp inwards, ultimately disappearing into its silky white crater.

Before I knew it, the last student walked into the paper cut, followed by an instructor. As they left us behind, the bodies stretched from front to back and became more and more transparent, finally gone as they visually snapped into the paper cut’s white core.

“Group B, prepare to enter!”

It’s time to explore!