Chapter 1: A New Student

Just twenty years ago, everyone thought magic was only for storybooks and movies. Pure fantasy, that was it.

That belief got shattered the day a powerful sorcerer suddenly showed up on Earth, arriving from another dimension. She performed miracles never before seen by humans.

Not long after she arrived, strange portals began to appear across Asia and parts of Eastern Europe. 

Out of those portals came terrifying monsters. Our best weapons were completely useless against them.

The sorcerer managed to fight one of the creatures in Japan and win, but then she collapsed and simply disappeared.

The rest of the monsters around the globe just stopped. They became dormant. People around the world could enjoy peace again.

Some time later, many people started having the exact same dream. They came across the sorcerer in it and she gave a warning: the monsters would wake up again in the future.

She also spoke of a gift called Magia, a sacred power that would naturally manifest inside certain humans. This would be their means to fight when the time came.

A year passed, and then it actually started happening. Some people began to awaken their Magia.

European nations moved fast. They started intensive research on Magia and built magic academies to get these gifted individuals ready for the coming battles.

Meanwhile, Japan chose a slightly different route. Instead of just relying on the power itself, their scientists tried to engineer it.

They were developing the Magia Combat Frame (MCF), a giant humanoid weapon using Magia-based systems.

Some believe the MCF will save humanity. Others doubt the need for it when everything seems fine.

***

“Keep going, Onii-chan! I’ll always cheer for you, the hero of humanity!” A girl’s bright voice came from the phone in the hand of a slim, black-haired young man.

His name was Sena. He walked down a quiet hallway. "I'm not a hero, Suzu. I’ve told you a hundred times. My magic just... woke up out of nowhere."

"Say whatever you want! You’re still a hero to me! One day, you’ll fight those sleeping monsters for real!"

Sena sighed. "They haven’t even finished building a combat-ready MCF yet..."

"Your girlfriend?"

The sudden voice startled Sena. The phone nearly slipped from his hand. He turned around and saw a young woman with neat formal attire and wavy brown hair. She was holding a folder against her chest.

"You must be Sena Sakazaki, right?" she said with a warm smile.

Sena froze. His gaze locked on her pretty face. Heat rushed to his cheeks, and his mind went blank.

"Onii-chan! Hey! Are you listening!?" Suzu’s voice kept echoing from the phone.

"Ah, so that’s your sister." The woman bent down a little and spoke toward the phone. "Nice to meet you. I’m Shiori Katagiri, your brother’s sensei."

"Eh? Oh... I-I’m Suzu Sakazaki, Sena’s little sister. Pleased to meet you!"

Realizing what was happening, Sena hurried to speak. "I’ll call you later, Suzu!"

He then bowed. "I’m Sena Sakazaki. Sorry for taking a call inside the school!"

"There’s no rule against that here," Shiori said with a small laugh. "Come on, let’s get to class before we’re late."

They walked together, and Sena’s face grew even redder. He’d never been alone with such a beautiful woman before, and her soft fragrance made his heart pound faster.

"How’s the dorm so far?" Shiori asked.

"Uh... well..." Sena scratched his head, flustered. "It’s pretty quiet, I guess."

"Yeah, unfortunately you’re the only new student this year," she said softly. "But I’m glad. It’s been a while since I last had someone to guide."

"I’m happy to hear that," Sena said with an awkward laugh.

Only two days had passed since the government took him away after his magic suddenly awakened. 

Now he found himself in this special academy, expected to learn how to control it and someday take part in the MCF experiments.

His head was still filled with fear and uncertainty. Everything had changed too fast.

What kind of people would he meet here? What kind of experiments were waiting for him? Could he really handle this new power everyone expected him to master?

But just a few minutes with Shiori made him feel a bit more at ease. He wasn’t fine yet, but he could relax a little. At least one of his teachers seemed kind.

They entered an empty classroom. Sena sat at one of the desks while Shiori stood in front, reading a document from her folder.

"Your power awakened at eighteen. That’s pretty late. Normally, Magia users manifest theirs before fifteen," she said.

Sena grimaced. "Is that... a bad thing?"

"We don’t know yet. There’s still so much mystery around Magia itself." Shiori closed the folder, smiled, turned to the board, and wrote the word “JMB” "Let’s start with a simple test. Do you know what this stands for?"

"It stands for Japan Magia Bureau, the government organization that researches Magia and trains its users," Sena replied.

"That’s right. They also develop weapons called MCFs powered by Magia. As you know, those monsters could awaken at any time, and Magia is our answer to fight them."

Shiori continued explaining about JMB and the academy under its control. The topic should’ve been boring, yet Sena found himself listening closely. 

Shiori’s soft voice made the lesson sound more like a bedtime story than a lecture.

"In short," Shiori said after a long explanation, stepping closer to Sena, "even now, JMB hasn’t found a fixed method to strengthen Magia inside the users. What works for one student might not work for another."

Sena raised his hand. "Then... does that mean I’m going to be part of an experiment?"

"You could say that," Shiori replied with a calm smile. "We’ll try to find the best method to enhance your Magia and control it. The final goal is to synchronize it with your MCF..."

Her words were cut off by a loud alarm.

"Attention, everyone! This is not a drill! JMB Base is under attack by an unidentified creature!" The announcement echoed through the room, freezing them both in place.