The Classroom and the Primordial Elemental Elder Realm

"Just five more min - I'M LATE!"

Kimi exclaimed as she sat up from her traditional Japanese futon bed - pushing aside her fantasy anime logos patterned comforter without hesitancy, as she then arose fully from her bedding, making sure to roll up her futon, as well as to carefully store her comforter and body pillows out of an engrained sense of self discipline that was at times, selective to say the least. Taking a breath, Kimi calmed herself and focused on her morning routine, which consisted of getting her petite, lightweight, fair skinned body fresh and clean, straightening her shoulder-length, bright pink hair, and changing into her school uniform - which consisted of a short, navy blue shirt, a matching, waist length, short sleeved navy blue sailor top, and a white neckerchief, along with thigh high black stockings and a pair of simple, lightweight, black uniform shoes, which would promptly go into her locker once she was at school, in order for her to be able to change into her school shoes.

As Kimi headed down the flight of carpeted stairs in her and her parents’ two bedroom condo, she smiled to herself - thinking about how she was supposed to hear about the results of the cosplay and card design competition for the new fantasy card game from Imagination and Illusions Inc., Sorcerers and Slayers! In her room and on her desk was the laminated, staged cosplay photo of her as her original character - Sakura the Slayer Queen, as well as the also laminated, full color, manga style splash-sketches of the two locations that she’d designed: the Mountain Armory of Frost and Flame, and the Mountain Fortress of the Slayer Queen. 

Kimi's room was her sanctuary - the place where she really and truly felt most at peace. The interesting aspect was that it was both parts traditional and modern - with anime posters that were neatly framed and positioned on the walls, and various anime figures displayed in transparent plastic cases that sat evenly on both sides of her small desk. There was hardly speck of dust in her room as well, as she couldn't stand it not being clean, especially since she worked on her cosplay and card design artwork in her room, as could be seen by the simple dress form that was now moved to the corner of her room, near her dresser and across from her bed. Directly on either side of her dresser, two white bookshelves that were neatly decorated with anime stickers had pristine rows of organized manga on one of the sets of shelves, while on the other - light novels lined the shelves with just as much organization. 

By the time Kimi was halfway down the flight of carpeted stairs - she suddenly felt compelled to go back up and retrieve her cosplay photo and the two splash-sketches - feeling a sense that they may bring her good luck in terms of hearing the results of the competition! With that in mind, Kimi quickly made her way back up the stairs and retrieved the three artistic documents and placing them in a pink folder, before racing back downstairs! Not even a minute later, Kimi downed a glass of orange juice and hugged her parents - her mother, Yui, and her father, Kenzo. Yui had just finished buttering a piece of toast for Kimi, while Kenzo read the newspaper at the kitchen table, keenly interested in the current state of affairs in Japan.

“Thank you so much for the toast, mom!”

Kimi said as she then grabbed her school bag and put the folder with her artistic documents in it, before waving to her Kenzo and bolting out the door before either Yui or Kenzo could respond, though neither really minded, considering the situation. After all, they'd raised Kimi to believe in three core tenants for herself: to always believe in herself and to pursue her dreams without giving up, or giving into criticism from others, to always achieve academic excellence relentlessly for the sake of her own reputation and image, and that of the Tanaka family, and finally, to always remain humble, kind, and mindful of how her actions would affect the greater good above all else. Thereby, they saw Kimi rushing to get to school in a dedicated manner - even in a rush, as a sign that she'd taken these lessons to heart and that as a young woman, she had enough self discipline to take responsibility through her actions. 

As Kimi ran to school with the piece of buttered toast in her mouth, she couldn’t help but feel the sense of excitement once more, that she was supposed to see the results of the competition via mail that day! In Kimi's view, any sort of excitement, especially the kind that arose from situations that were out of the ordinary - like getting to participate in such a large scale cosplay and card design competition as the one put on by Imagination and Illusions Inc. - was simply the best! 

"Maybe I'll get to go to Tokyo one day!? If I get into the University of Tokyo and I get to settle there afterwards, I can truly live my dream and really experience it all to the fullest!"

Kimi said to herself as she smiled and nodded, while continuing to move in order to not be late to school, if she could avoid such a misfortune. It wasn't that Kimi disliked being from Sapporo, or that she was otherwise at odds with being from Hokkaido at large - but instead that she just wanted to experience more! She wanted to really go out and see other parts of her country, and really experience all that it had to offer! Little did she know, she'd be getting far, far more than just getting to see more of Japan soon enough!

As she continued her strong and quick pace, she ate more of her toast, finishing it just as she made it through her high school’s main gate, compelling the physical education teacher to mutter something to her, begrudging the fact that a student was late, in this case Kimi. It wasn't that Kimi was usually this late even, it was just that since her high school was already considered to be one of the best in all of Hokkaido, and the faculty and administration of the school were working on making it one of the best in all of Japan - even hoping to attract the positive attention of the Ministry of Education to coincide with such an honor! As such, while Kimi was hurriedly replacing her outside shoes with her school shoes at her locker - she couldn't help but feel a sense of pride that she was there, as much as that she was just grateful to not have been locked out of getting in, having just made it in time!

Soon enough, Kimi was in her classroom, sitting in the back corner seat in the interior of the classroom next to the window, which she loved because she got to look outside when she wasn’t taking notes, reading in front of the class, or answering a question. Kimi didn’t know it, but the lecture in her first class was oddly appropriate. The other student seemed to be in various states of interest and preoccupation alike - undoubtedly some of her classmates were considering the upcoming university entrance exams, as well as the various finals that they'd all have to be taking, along with the student rankings that would emerge as a result of these tests. At least, that's what Kimi deduced in her brief observations of the class that day, befog focusing fully on the lecture that was set to begin. 

“We as humans have always found a fondness in telling stories about other worlds, as well as mythical and legendary beings. Even in the Information Age, and the current year of 2025 - there is still a profound sense of wonder that we glean from these sorts of stories. With that said, can anyone provide an example of this phenomenon in the present day?”

The teacher - a pleasant, slender woman in her thirties named Aoi, wearing a tight, feminine business suit, said as she smiled at the class. there were days when multiple students would almost clamor for the chance to answer a question, and other times when there would be near complete silence, and today seemed to be one of those days. Like Kimi, Aoi suspected that the culprits were the usual suspects: university entrance exams, final exams, and the resulting class rankings that would come out of all of this. After taking a moment to politely look around the classroom, Kimi stood up, bowed to Aoi with the appropriate reverence, and then began to speak.

“We still see this phenomenon today, as evidenced by the creation and unveiling today of the new fantasy card game, Sorcerers and Slayers! I myself entered into the prerelease cosplay and card design competition held and sponsored by Imagination and Illusions Inc. - and judging by the excitement that I’ve seen around school, and while walking home, I’d say that stories about other worlds and mythical and legendary beings are as popular as ever! The medium of telling such stories through card games may be new, but the practice itself is as old as time!”

Kimi said with some excitement, though she was careful to maintain her professional composure as a student. Kimi then bowed and took her seat once more. Some of her classmates looked at her with respectful fascination, amazed at the uniqueness of her answer, while it was also very much on topic. Kimi felt proud of herself for being able to answer Aoi's question in such a manner - which caused her to momentarily consider if she could use such academic creativity in the personal essays that she'd have to write for her university entrance exams? She didn't know, but she hoped that Aoi would accept her answer and thus allow Kimi to get credit for participating in class that day.

“Very good, Kimi - and thank you for providing such a relatable contemporary example!”

Aoi said, as she then continued her lecture. Since it wasn’t time to take notes yet, Kimi took out her special folder and pulled out her three artistic documents, looking them over as she smiled. Kimi had been cosplaying since she was five, and now at eighteen, her cosplays were impeccable in terms of design and quality - probably helped by the fact that on the ground floor of their condo, her parents ran a cosplay materials shop! The staged photo of Kimi as her original character, Sakura the Slayer Queen, consisted of a full body suit of tight-fitting, lightweight, pink armor with white accents, and textured on the chest area - a pressed dragon’s face with Sakura blossoms all around it, along with two, head length, curved inward plates that were on the shoulders of her armor, with this same pattern on the outward facing side of both tall shoulder plates. 

Thus, between her parents' teachings and encouragement, as well as their professional ability to truly support her hobby in and outside of the physical space of the family business - Kimi felt truly grateful she was able to be as immersive and as creative as she was. That was the overall sentiment that Kimi felt as she gazed at this cosplay photo of her, the one that she'd been proud to submit a copy of for the competition. 

To complete the character’s look, Kimi had expertly made a prop sword that was almost as tall as she was! The sword was relatively straight, with some curves on the back side of the chrome silver blade, while the striking side of the blade was also curved, and the end of the blade sharply pointed in a standard fashion. The sword had a pink and white katana style grip, with a small, curved, emerging blade section with a point above the grip, which also had a short, downwards curve that connected it to the main blade section, which was also nicely curved. Looking at it from the side, the blade was wide, and it had glowing, pink and white kanji characters were neatly etched into it. Kimi had debated on how to properly design the sword for her character - wanting something that was indeed unmistakably Japanese - but which was still original and had the fantasy elements befitting the theme and feel of the Sorcerers and Slayers card game. 

Kimi then smiled at her two splash-sketches as she viewed them, while also listening to the lecture being given by Aoi. The Mountain Armory of Frost and Flame consisted of three parts: in the center, a long, burgundy and white, hand crank conveyor belt leading into a mountain cave that was converted into a furnace for forging simpler designers of swords modeled on the one that her original character had, with the tall cave getting thinner at its rising height above the furnace area - with an equally tall chimney built into it. To its left and its right, two identical smooth white brick - each with a traditional Japanese tiled roof in a pyramid sort of design that was burgundy in color - structures stood - they both being large, rectangular armories with the aforementioned kinds of swords that were forged there, secured neatly on carved wooden racks. Frost and snow were also seen both on the ground and on said structures, save for the conveyor belt and furnace with its chimney. 

The Mountain Fortress of the Slayer Queen depicted an identically-designed three-towered, fortress made of the same white bricks and with the same Japanese style of tiled roofs as shown in the Mountain Armory of Frost and Flame - yet also having two, tall, chrome silver main doors with the same pink and white pressing of the dragon face and sakura blossoms as seen on her original character’s armor, with the two halves of this design being completed in the center when the doors were closed. The towers on the left and right were shown to be defensive positions, while the tower in the center was for her original character’s throne - an elaborately carved throne made of the same white stone as the bricks. Frost and snow were also shown to be on the fortress and on the ground, with imposing winter mountains in the background. 

Before long, Kimi was home - and as she went to check her condo’s mailbox, she noticed a beautiful red and white envelope with formal, centered text on the envelope that said, Imagination and Illusions Inc. Kimi couldn’t believe her eyes - and with other joy, she quietly cheered, being careful not to bother anyone in the lobby area that also included some shops, including the shop owned by her parents’. As she opened the envelope - she’d seen that her designs had been made into cards - with the types being: Creature - Slayer/Queen; Location - Armory; and Location - Fortress.

Before Kimi could react, the ground floor of her condo faded away - revealing what seemed to be the convergence of four lands: a frosted, snowy mountainous area, a forbidding, blackened mire and ruin-strewn swamp area, a volcanic and ashen sanded beach area, and a golden, sunlight filled wheat area, while the Kimi noticed that she was wearing the armor of, and holding the sword of Sakura the Slayer Queen! As she looked around with a gasp, she saw other people her age, including three individuals in equally elaborate outfits, and countless others in more simple fantasy outfits that suited the area. Kimi didn't write know how ti feel in that moment - as she Wass all at once excited, panicked, curious, and shocked! Kimi then closed her eyes and pinched the side of her neck to see if she was dreaming - or had otherwise become hopelessly distracted? When she opened her eyes and saw that she was still there, she knew that this was indeed, not a dream or an illusion brought about by a distracted state of mind. 

“We’re - in Primordial Elemental Elder Realm!”

Kiki said to herself as she gasped once more, all eyes turning to a figure clad in similar armor to hers, but with a cream orange and white design, with four colorful and unique looking wingless dragons behind him.

“Welcome - Sorcerers, Slayers, and Common Folk.”

Akira said with his booming, confident voice and outstretched arms. It had begun!