As they stood near the radiant mana beam, Mr. Oliver suddenly spoke up.
"Mikage, I will support you in whatever path you choose, even if your father doesn't. But if it's something bad… well, then I'm with your father on that one."
Mikage chuckled. "Thank you, sir."
Mr. Oliver smiled before remembering something. "Oh, right. Your team has a mission tomorrow and another the day after. I'll send a detailed report to you and your squad later today."
Mikage nodded. "Understood, sir."
Mr. Oliver stretched. "We should head back."
"Oh—yes, sir."
As they stepped back through the shimmering doorway, the wall solidified once again, looking just as ordinary as before.
Before leaving, Mr. Oliver turned back to Mikage. "Oh, and don't tell anyone I showed you this."
With that, he walked away, leaving Mikage standing there in thought.
Edward walked through the hallway, replaying his sparring match with Akira in his mind. His fingers absently brushed over his wrist as he muttered,
"How the hell did he stop me from switching places? No one's ever done that before…"
Lost in thought, he accidentally bumped into someone.
"Watch where you're going, punk!" a voice snapped.
Edward looked up to see Kane, who quickly changed his tone upon recognizing him.
"Oh—hey, Edward. Thought you were some runt who didn't know his place."
Edward sighed. "It's fine." He started walking past Kane when the latter spoke up again.
"Hey, I heard you sparred with that Akira guy."
Edward tilted his head slightly. "So?"
Kane smirked. "Who won?"
Edward shrugged. "He's got experience in fighting, but I won."
Kane's grin widened. "And if it were a fight to the death?"
Edward didn't hesitate. "He'd be dead before he could conjure a weapon."
Kane burst into laughter. "That's what I like to hear."
Edward, unimpressed, turned to face him fully. "You should be ashamed of comparing yourself to someone who just discovered magic. You, me, and Mikage were trained by Sorcerer Supremes. Losing to someone like him would be an insult to our mentors."
Kane's expression darkened, his fists clenching as his mana flared up. "Watch your mouth, Edward."
Edward smirked. "And if I don't? What, you gonna shut me up?"
Kane remained silent, his glare burning.
Edward scoffed. "That's what I thought. It's disturbing that someone with incomplete genes thinks they can threaten me." He turned and walked away.
Kane's rage boiled over—he clenched his fist and slammed it into the wall, leaving a deep crater. Breathing heavily, he muttered under his breath,
"Just watch… Soon, all of you will beg just to get a whiff of my scent."
In her dorm room, Yukiko was stretching, practicing her splits while Trixie helped push her down further.
Trixie sighed. "Okay, Kiko, tell me again—why exactly are we doing this?"
Yukiko exhaled sharply. "I have a sparring session with my teammates, and I plan to destroy them. I need to establish myself as number one."
Trixie grinned. "You have a weird way of thinking, but I like it. You really think you can beat Mikage?"
Yukiko smirked. "That's why I'm stretching. Besides, I was trained by a Sorcerer Supreme too. If I play my cards right, I might just win."
Trixie chuckled before suddenly remembering something. She stood up abruptly. "Oh—sorry, Kiko. I have to go."
Yukiko raised a brow. "Where?"
Trixie hesitated. "To see Mr. Simon."
Yukiko sat up, eyes narrowing. "For what?"
Trixie scratched her cheek. "Can't tell you. Sorry."
Yukiko crossed her arms. "Wait a minute… are you and Mr. Simon a thing?"
Trixie froze. "What? No! Kiko, not at all!" She quickly grabbed her bag. "I'll tell you when the time is right, okay?"
With that, she rushed out, leaving Yukiko lying on the floor, staring at the ceiling.
"I'm bored," she muttered to herself.
Akira walked through the hallway, idly crafting little shapes with his shadow—a cube, a dagger, a spinning ring. His mind wandered.
"I wonder how versatile shadow magic really is… What are its destructive capabilities?" he muttered to himself. "Was Edward holding back? Nah… he struggled with me."
Just then, a blur of motion passed him. Akira blinked. "Was that Trixie?"
She sprinted down the hallway and stopped in front of a door, knocking quickly. Akira tilted his head curiously. Before he could call out to her, the door opened. Mr. Simon stood on the other side.
"Oh, you're already here?" Mr. Simon said. "Not late this time."
Trixie smiled. "Yeah."
"Come in." He stepped aside, and the door closed behind them with a click.
Akira raised a brow. Locked? That struck him as odd.
He approached the door and tried the handle—it didn't budge. Weird… Why lock it?
Suddenly, a thought sparked. That phasing trick I did when Kane's goon tried to hit me… Could I do it again?
Akira placed his hand on the door and squinted hard, trying to will his body through the surface. He stood still, focused, while students passed by behind him.
"Isn't he the new student?"
"What's he doing?"
"He's weird."
"Why's he hanging out with Mikage?"
The whispers stung like small cuts. Akira sighed. "Do these people not realize I can hear them?" he muttered, dropping his hand.
Giving up, he turned and walked off. "Whatever. I'll just ask Yukiko. She's best friends with Trixie."
He returned to his room. As he opened the door, he found Mikage stretching on the floor.
Mikage grinned. "So… how was your sparring match with Edward?"
Akira said nothing. He walked over to the table, picked up a chair, and placed it directly on Mikage's foot, pressing down hard.
"AGHH—HEY! WHAT THE HELL, AKIRA?!" Mikage yelled, writhing.
"You sold me to that deranged psycho!" Akira snapped.
"I didn't sell you off!" Mikage groaned. "You're still in my squad! Besides… didn't you learn something?"
Akira smirked. "You're right," he said, pressing harder.
"GAHH—I GET IT! See? Now let me go!"
"Five more minutes," Akira said calmly.
Eventually, after time passed, Akira released him. Mikage sat, rubbing his throbbing foot.
"Okay… now show me what you learned," he muttered.
Akira formed a brass knuckle, then a spear. "Turns out imagination is key with shadow manipulation," he said. "If you know how something works—like the inner mechanics of a gun—you can make it. I don't, so I'm sticking with basic weapons."
He grinned. "Oh, and I learned something else—'Shadow Step.'"
Mikage's eyes lit up. "Cool. Show me."
Akira nodded, took a breath, and focused. His shadow slithered across the floor until it linked with Mikage's.
Mikage smirked. He'll go for a surprise attack from behind. I'll catch him the moment he reappears.
In a flash, Akira vanished. Mikage spun around—only to find Akira beside him, lunging a dagger at his blind spot.
CRACK.
Mikage's skin turned crimson and hard like stone, shattering the dagger on contact. In that moment, his eyes shifted—wild, feral—and he raised his hand to strike… but stopped mid-swing. His skin returned to normal.
Akira stepped back, eyes wide. "Mikage… you good?"
Breathing heavily, Mikage forced a smile. "Yeah… excuse me. I need to wash my face."
He rushed into the bathroom and slammed the door. Akira tried the knob—locked.
He sighed and sat on the floor. "Feels like everyone's locking doors on me lately."
"You ever experienced something like that?" Akira asked, trying to lighten the mood.
"…No," Mikage replied through the door.
"See? Just a fluke. Nothing weird."
Mikage gave a shaky chuckle. "Yeah…"
A few moments later, the door unlocked. Mikage stepped out, rubbing his face with a towel. Akira, still sitting by the door, accidentally blocked it.
"Oh—my bad." Akira stood up.
"You good now?" he asked.
Mikage nodded. "Yeah. Listen, your Shadow Step—it's slow. And you're not in control of where you appear yet."
Akira frowned. How did he figure that out from one look?
Mikage dragged a chair into the center of the room. "Practice it until it becomes second nature."
Akira groaned. "Seriously?"
While Akira muttered and grumbled, Mikage stared at his own hands, his thoughts racing.
What happened to me back there…? he wondered. That urge… it was like something inside wanted me to take his life… He clenched his fists. I hope it was just a fluke.
After doing shadow steps for an hour, Akira collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. He turned to look at Mikage, who stared back at him with what looked like disappointment.
Akira frowned. "So a man can't get tired?"
Mikage crossed his arms. "Looks like you ran out of mana."
"That doesn't explain the look you gave me just now," Akira shot back.
"What do you mean? You must be seeing things," Mikage replied, feigning ignorance.
Akira leaned in, squinting suspiciously. "You sure about that?"
Mikage shoved his face away. "Of course I am."
He then glanced at the clock—it read 7:40 PM. "It's almost time."
"Really? Oh, let me shower and get changed," Akira said, springing up.
"Be quick."
Mikage tapped his foot, checking the time again—7:50 PM. Frustrated, he marched to the bathroom door and began pounding on it.
"Akira! Get out already!"
"Relax, dude! I'm almost done!"
"How long?!"
"Five more minutes!"
"I'm busting down the door."
"Wait, fine! I'll come out. But I promise you—when we get there, she'll show up twenty minutes late."
"Don't use that as an excuse. Get out!"
"Okay, okay. But time it."
When they arrived at the gym, the alarm Mikage had set went off.
Mikage looked down, paused, then glanced at Akira. "You weren't joking."
"Told you," Akira said smugly, sticking out his tongue. Under his breath, he muttered, "Just wait till we get back... I'll drop a whole table on your toe."
Mikage squinted. "What was that?"
Akira quickly smiled. "Nothing!"
Mikage shivered. Why do I suddenly feel the need to protect my toes?
Akira scanned the gym. "Why are there more people than usual?"
Just then, Yukiko entered. The moment she stepped in, all eyes turned to her. Whispers rippled through the crowd.
"You were right—she came."
"She looks too good in gym clothes."
"Is she single?"
"She probably has princes begging for her hand!"
"I'd be her slave any day."
"Brooo, what?!"
Mikage nudged Akira. "That answer your question?"
Akira chuckled nervously. "Do people in this school not know how to whisper?"
Yukiko glanced around, clearly searching for someone.
"I think she's looking for us," Mikage said.
Akira grinned and waved wildly. "YUKIKOOO!"
She noticed and walked over, sparking another round of whispers.
"Who's that guy calling the Ice Queen like that?"
"I think it's her squad mate."
"Damn... I wanted to be her squadmate..."
"He looks like a pervert."
"Bet he'll do something inappropriate."
"If he does, we'll have his head."
Akira muttered, "What part of me screams 'pervert'? I'm not even her only squadmate... Wait, are they scared of him?"
Yukiko arrived. "Am I late?"
Akira was about to respond, "Wha—" but Mikage cut in smoothly.
"Not at all. We just got here."
Akira muttered, "What do you mean? She's seriously late..."
Yukiko smiled. "Great. Can we get started?"
Mikage nodded. "Sure. First, let's talk about our magic. I'll go first—I control the element of fire."
Yukiko followed. "I control the element of ice."
Akira shrugged. "I control shadow... I guess."
"I'd like to see how good both of you are in a 1v1," Mikage said.
Yukiko raised a brow. "But I want to fight you. How will you know how good I am unless we face each other?"
Mikage smirked. "If you can beat Akira in five minutes, I'll spar with you next."
Akira thought, Does he actually believe I can win this? Well, if he does... I won't disappoint.
Yukiko sighed. "Okay. I agree."
Mikage added, "Let's try to keep damages to a minimum."
"Sure," Akira said, beginning to stretch.
Yukiko stepped forward. "I usually use a katana in battle. But since this is just a spar, I brought a wooden blade. Can I use it?"
"No issue," Mikage said.
"Fine with me," Akira added.
"Thank you," she said, then took a fighting stance. Her eyes emitted an icy glow, and her mana began to radiate. She exhaled—cold mist rolling from her lips.
Some students shivered. "Did it get cold in here?"
Akira grinned. His eyes darkened, and his shadow began wrapping around his fists, his own mana leaking into the air like a growing storm.