Tsundere Rival: Part 2 [LP Spells and Archetypes]]

Step after step, I silently braced myself for what awaited me on the second story of the mansion. Within seconds, I would be inside yet another girl's room. Not just any girl, but a real princess tsundere. I was starting to understand why my friend, Sakuta Ryo, had given up attending Comiket with me and decided to spend his time with a girl instead. The feeling you get when staring at someone beautiful- well, it's a drug worth dying for.

I approached the doorway, already picking up delicate floral scents wafting from the air-conditioned room at the end of the hallway. As I entered, I was blinded by the elegant nature of her neatly arranged living space. Actually, I was blinded by something else entirely.

Whoa, why is it so bright in here?

I was literally being blinded. Hina-chan had been holding a lamp directly in my face, shining the LED rays into my unsuspecting eyes.

"Who are you, really?! Why do you know about magical girls, and what are your intentions with Matsui-san?!"
Hina-chan shouted in a hushed tone, using her foot to shut the door behind me as not to alert anybody to our conversation.

I raised my hand in front of my eyes, illuminating my Mark of the Phantom on complete accident. It wasn't as if I was trying to hide its existence, but revealing it so clumsily was a mistake befitting someone like Matsui Mai.

Before I could get a word out, Hina-chan began to speak again.
"The Mark of the Phantom?!"
She quickly put the pieces into place.
"So, you're the sorcerer boy that Matsui-san mentioned in the group chat!"

I groaned.
"Yeah, that's me. Mai-san said you would have some useful information about fighting the Mërks."
I lowered my hand as she lowered her lamp.

It was a long bout of silence before Hina-chan placed her hands on her hips and spoke.
"Hmph! Not to brag, but I'm pretty good at Mërk elimination. You'll be learning from the best!"

"Great, then I'm in good hands."
I extended my hand to shake Hina-chan's, but she simply swatted it away, returning to her stance.

"I didn't give you permission to touch me! Now, I'm sure you already know about archetypes, LP spells, proper transformation etiquette, and the usage of Novas, right?"
She smirked confidently.

What the hell is an LP spell?

I slumped my shoulders, knowing all too well that these all must be basics that Mai had entirely forgotten to mention.

"LP spell? Archetype?"
I scratched my head nervously.

"Geez! Did Matsui-san not teach you anything?! I'm surprised you even had a chance at defeating a Mërk without proper training!"
Hina-chan huffed loudly, still maintaining her authoritative stance with her hands placed on her hips.

"Don't say 'geez' to me!"
I shouted with a desperate expression.
"I'm stuck learning from a girl with the IQ of a cicada!"

"Huh?! Don't refer to Matsui-san as a cicada! Although, I kind of agree..."
She finally removed her hands from her hips.

I watched as she grabbed a tissue and approached me, holding her hand out with the soft paper covering her palm.

"What? Do I have something on my face?"
I pulled out my phone to examine my nose.

"No, you idiot! Place your hand on mine... I just didn't want your boy germs on my delicate skin!"
She frantically shoved her tissue-covered hand in my direction.

I gently placed my hand in her palm, letting her examine my Mark of the Phantom with careful analysis.

Before long, Hina-chan let out a soft sigh, letting my hand go and tossing her tainted tissue in the garbage.
"You have the nature archetype. Basically, your abilities help you control the powers of the earth."

She showed me her own palm. Her Mark of the Phantom bore a diamond in the center.
"I have what we refer to as a jewel archetype. I can essentially summon crystals and use their latent powers. Each gem has its own effect."

Hina-chan summoned her wand from thin air. It was bright pink with a perfectly cut diamond hovering in the center.
"For example, I can summon a diamond, which I can use to control light spells. Sapphire gems can control water spells and so on."

I see. So Mai-san was right when she told me that each Mark of the Phantom varies from person to person. But does that mean there are others with even stronger nature archetypes than myself?

"Furthermore,"
Hina-chan began to circle around me,
"Latent Power spells, or LP spells, are unique spells that a user can cast depending on their archetype. Kind of like... an ultimate move in a video game."

"That makes sense. So, how do I discover my LP spell? Does it just kind of come to me during a battle, or is it something I train gradually over time?"
I knew I was asking a rookie question, but Hina-chan was the best source of information I had. God forbid I ask Mai to explain an LP spell and she gives me a vague answer mid battle.

"What a dumb question! Obviously, you train it over time! I've never heard of a magical girl just suddenly obtaining an LP spell during a crisis. That's just some silly manga scenario that could never happen in real life!"
Hina-chan seemed frustrated by my lack of knowledge, but I wasn't about to let the yelling of a high school girl put a damper on my mood.

"I see. So, it's kind of like Nen?"
I said this with utmost confidence.

"Nen?! What the hell are you talking about?!"

A soft pillow hurled toward me, landing delicately against my face.

"You know, like when Gon and Killua trained their Nen abilities during the Heaven's Arena arc?!"
I tossed the pillow back to Hina-chan, who sidestepped it as to avoid touching my germs.

"Who the heck is Gon?!"
She stomped her foot.
"Anyway, an LP spell is something you have to slowly learn how to utilize over the course of many battles. You have to familiarize yourself with all of your archetype's latent powers and come up with an ultimate spell that can hastily wipe the floor with any Mërk that crosses your path."

Once again, Hina-chan was making perfect sense. While it pained me to admit, I was definitely obtaining better information than I had with Mai over the course of our past crazy day.

Speaking of Mai-san... I haven't seen her in a while. Come to think of it, I never saw her use an LP spell last night.

Just as I had remembered her, Matsui Mai appeared in the doorway, clutching four sleeves of cookies in her right hand.

Of course, she would be snacking during an important moment.

Hina-chan let out a gasp befitting someone who had just walked in on their loved one naked after a bath. Her face turned bright red with anger, and she shouted,
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH MY COOKIES?!"