Chapter: 120. Opening of the Academy League (4k2)
“Tsukimi, what are you looking for?”
In the bustling opening ceremony of the Academy League, Uemoto noticed something was off with Kanade.
His gaze continuously wandered through the crowd, as if searching for a target.
Uemoto furrowed his brows slightly and lowered his voice to ask.
What Kanade was searching for, of course, was the pink-haired girl he had accidentally glimpsed in front of the administrative building after sneaking out of the dormitory yesterday.
Kanade wanted to try to figure out which academy she was from in advance, to prepare for a possible encounter with her, but unexpectedly—after glancing around, he did not find that familiar figure.
At this moment, the gymnasium of Infinite Academy was packed with people, all the teachers and students, whether from Infinite Academy or from other artificial academy islands, had gathered here.
Whether it be the special course students or ordinary individuals who were unaware of the extraordinary world, they were all waiting for the opening ceremony.
After all, for them, this was the celebration of Infinite Academy’s campus festival.
Once the opening ceremony was over, the ordinary students would dive into the festivities of the campus festival, while the special course students would head to the real arena under the guise of an “Environmental Symposium”—this had been a tradition for many years.
However, Kanade’s gaze continued to traverse the vast crowd, yet he still did not spot that familiar figure.
“… Not here?”
He frowned slightly, a trace of doubt rising in his heart.
— Was that girl not a student from an artificial academy island?
The Academy League organized by the artificial academy islands under the special ring SEMA would only be jointly hosted by the schools of the countries it belonged to, and in Japan, there were a total of four artificial academy islands: “Ark Academy,” “Infinite Academy,” “Natural Academy,” and “Unnamed Academy.”
Although there were slight differences in the uniforms of the four academies, they were mainly white.
However, the girl he saw yesterday was wearing a black uniform.
Kanade belatedly realized this point.
— If she wasn’t a student from an artificial academy island, then who was she?
— Could she just be an esper who came to Infinite Academy for business that day?
Kanade gently exhaled, feeling slightly relieved.
At least this meant he wouldn’t have to face her as an enemy in the Academy League.
“Could it be…?” Uemoto’s voice sounded again, tinged with a teasing laugh: “Tsukimi, are you searching for a beautiful girl from another school whom you fell for at first sight?”
“Ha, ha?! No way—! Why do you suddenly say that…?”
“Because I’ve heard that boys from other schools are usually attracted to beautiful girls from these academies—”
“Then why weren’t you attracted, Uemoto?”
“Because they’re all a bit too skinny… I prefer more meat on the bones—”
“—Alright, let’s stop this conversation and not suddenly delve into personal preferences!”
While Kanade was complaining, he suddenly sensed a piercing stare from behind him, causing his heart to skip a beat.
He slowly turned his head—
Only to meet Nagi’s slightly puffed cheeks and her adorably almost rule-breaking “angry expression.”
— Oh no.
Kanade quickly waved his hands, trying to explain: “It’s a misunderstanding! Don’t listen to Uemoto’s nonsense—”
However, Nagi let out a soft “hmph,” deliberately turning her cute face away while pretending to act jealous: “I haven’t said anything yet~”
After a moment, she secretly glanced at Kanade from the corner of her eye, holding his gaze.
In her lake-like clear eyes, there hid a mischievous smile, and soon, the corners of her mouth curled up, revealing a sweet yet naughty grin.
Nagi’s standard “girlfriend gets jealous and then pouts” act successfully struck Kanade down.
Kanade’s cheeks flushed slightly, and he instinctively looked away.
Does that mean everyone else here knows that he and Kanade are in a relationship now? Nagi thought to herself.
Meanwhile, Mana, who was observing this “young couple interaction,” and the surrounding classmates watching the commotion could not help but shiver in unison.
————————————-
At the same time.
Above Infinite Academy, in the high sky.
Under the vast sky, a golden-haired little boy—Loki quietly floated in the air, wearing a silver robe adorned with shimmering blue lines. A perfect smile hung on his lips, gazing down at the academy festival venue like a strategist overlooking a chessboard.
“It’s finally time to meet once more… my protagonist.”
Loki whispered softly.
And behind him—
A massive creature slowly unfurled its wings.
A gigantic bone dragon—Nidhogg, with its pale, flame-filled eyes, looked down at Infinite Academy. It opened its soul-like ethereal mouth, letting out a deep, hoarse roar: “That… is actually the protagonist? If it weren’t for this magical reaction… I might not have recognized him…”
“Shall we take action?”
Naga’s body coiled atop Nidhogg’s skeletal claw, her scales shining with a chilling brilliance in the sunlight, while her cold snake-like eyes pierced through the clouds, surveying all of Infinite Academy.
“No, let’s observe a bit longer today.” Loki gently raised his hand, signaling them to hold off on action.
“What’s there to observe? Other than the protagonist, aren’t these guys all just small fries?” “Yeah, yeah, small fries, small fries!” “Loki, are you scared? Hahaha!”…
Countless illusory halos appeared in the air, and endless mocking voices echoed in the sky.
Loki smiled slightly and tilted his head: “Infinite, you’ve recovered quite quickly… I almost forgot how you fled last time.”
“Shut up! That time was just because I let my guard down!” “Right, right, exactly!” “There’s no way I could lose to small fries!”…
Loki ignored the incessant chatter from Infinite and addressed the other fantasy creatures: “We all know that this is our one and only opportunity.”
“We need a more refined plan and action, much like humans do…”
“If my guess is correct, down on the island, apart from the protagonist, there are 2 or 3 individuals who could pose a threat to us. Since it’s uncertain, we need to observe, ensuring that they won’t be an obstacle for us later—”
Loki’s gaze fell on the island below.
Upon hearing this, Nidhogg widened its pale eyes, murmuring in confusion: “There are that many?”
Loki nodded slightly and spoke slowly: “One of them has a contracted fantasy creature whose rank and power are above mine.”
At this point, his gaze gradually turned to a mass of dense fog nearby: “… So, that person is entrusted to you.”
The mass of fog slowly swelled and contracted, as if agreeing to Loki’s arrangement.
“Then there’s you, Infinite. If your power falls into the hands of the protagonist, it could become problematic. Just in case, you’ll lead my subordinates and control the other people on the island,” Loki added without waiting for Infinite’s reply, continuing to ask: “Does anyone have any questions?”
“……”
After a moment of silence, all the fantasy creatures finally had Naga speak as a representative: “Is this plan really effective?”
As she spoke, her gaze landed on the pink-haired girl floating quietly at the side.
“Of course.” Loki shifted his gaze toward her:
“She is our only way to defeat the protagonist.”
————————————-
In the audience, murmurs rose and fell.
In the spacious arena, a gigantic, dazzling manifestation of magical power hung in midair, projecting scenes from around the venue in real-time, vividly displaying every detail of the match.
Although this was underground in Infinite Academy, the blue sky displayed on the ceiling screens resembled a real sky.
Countless Infinite students sat in the audience, excitedly discussing the upcoming confrontations.
“Tsukimi Kanade? Never heard of that name…”
“Since he can team up with Harukata Mana, his strength should not be underestimated… What? The Beast of the Unnamed? His esper ability is so ordinary?!”
“So he’s just a loser hiding behind Harukata Mana?”
“Haha, it’s a pity that he faces our academy’s seed competitor in the first round of the solo match. He probably won’t last a few minutes, right?”
…
Kanade slightly squinted his eyes, standing in the center of the arena, clearly capturing the discussions in the audience.
It seemed Ark Academy’s secrecy was quite effective.
Within Infinite Academy, he was completely an unknown ordinary student.
Kanade took a deep breath, slowly exhaled, and redirected his focus, no longer paying attention to the audience’s chatter, but concentrating all his attention on the opponent in front of him.
From the opponent’s attire, he appeared to be a third-year student, and based on the introductions from the students in the audience, he was the seed competitor from Infinite Academy—“Imai Daisho.”
A man resembling a bear, with calm eyes and a composed demeanor, his uniform strained tightly against his muscles.
From his physique alone, he towered half a head over Kanade, and his broad shoulders and sturdy frame exuded a sense of pressure, the ground beneath him seemed to tremble slightly with each step he took.
Kanade had heard about him before; he was the president of the student council in Infinite Academy, and also No. 1 in Infinite Academy’s ranking system.
Generally speaking, students ranked in the top ten of the ranking system are recognized by the special ring SEMA and can directly obtain jobs after graduation.
— It seems like I’m facing the final boss right off the bat?
Kanade thought to himself.
The solo matches can be understood as an advanced version of the simulated combat from earlier; aside from lacking the rules of magical membranes, the victory conditions are: “loss of consciousness or combat ability” or “voluntarily surrendering.”
In a certain sense, the Academy League is SEMA’s “first practical lesson” prepared for students of the special course, so there won’t be too many restrictions set in various aspects, aiming to allow every student to experience the “real esper battlefield.”
“Solo Match A, Round 1—start!”
The moment the referee loudly announced the start of the match—
The air in the arena seemed to suddenly solidify.
Both of them bowed their heads and exchanged greetings.
Daisho’s expression was steady, his voice low and powerful: “It’s really unfortunate for you to run into me in the first round, junior. But don’t be discouraged; if you put in more effort in the subsequent matches, there’s still a chance for you to advance.”
As his words fell, his hands gradually came together, and the magic power within him surged like a whirlwind, stirring in the air.
“—Fantasy Armament, deploy.”
Boom—!
A shockwave of magical power erupted from Daisho, shaking the entire arena like thunder, eliciting screams from the spectators.
Immediately after, a massive battle axe took shape in his hands, its heavy blade sparkling with a chilling gleam.
That was a two-handed war axe, thick and enormous, swinging it could even cause a disturbance in the air.
Facing him, Kanade merely lifted his left hand silently—
Magic power surged and infused into his ring, forming a silver blade in his palm.
Compared to the gigantic battle axe Daisho held, Kanade’s generic silver blade appeared far too ordinary.
“Generic Armament? You haven’t awakened your fantasy armament yet?” Daisho glanced at the weapon in Kanade’s hand, frowning slightly.
He shook his head, with a hint of regret in his tone: “Junior, it seems your luck today really isn’t great.”
However, Kanade did not respond.
In fact, Kanade had not been listening to what his opponent was saying from the start.
The unexpectedness held no meaning for him.
He only had one thing to do—give his all and win the championship.
Kanade slowly raised the blade in his hand and gently closed his eyes.
Then, he opened them again.
Beast mode.
……
……
Daisho’s body crumpled like a marionette with its strings cut, crashing heavily to the ground.
The venue fell into silence due to this unexpected result.
“Beep—!!”
The referee’s whistle shattered the silence: “Imai Daisho has lost combat ability, the winner of this round is—Ark Academy, Tsukimi Kanade!”
Accompanied by the referee’s announcement was a burst of shocked commotion from the audience.
“What… what?!”
“The president Imai actually lost to…”
……
However, amidst everyone’s gasps of astonishment, Kanade merely looked down at the fallen Daisho before him, his expression tinged with confusion.
— He’s so weak?
In the backstage corridor of the arena, dimly lit.
As Kanade left the arena and walked towards the backstage, he felt a familiar gaze upon him.
He slowly stopped, seeing Kurokawa standing in the long corridor, seemingly having waited for a while.
Kurokawa slightly raised his head to look at Kanade and then sighed gently: “With that expression on your face, people from Infinite Academy might mistake it for a deliberate provocation.”
“Ah, no, I didn’t mean that—” Kanade quickly waved his hands in denial, but the confusion on his face remained unchanged.
Kurokawa just smiled faintly and spoke slowly:
“Are you thinking: ‘He should be the strongest student of Infinite Academy, yet he turned out to be weaker than expected’?”
Kanade’s mouth twitched slightly: “Eh? How does Mr. Kurokawa know…”
“Because I’ve had the fortune to see similar individuals to you.” Kurokawa replied, “It’s a simple truth, Tsukimi Kanade; the reasons are much simpler than you might think.”
Kurokawa’s smile disappeared, and he spoke earnestly: “No matter how strong he is, he still belongs to the category of students.”
“I’ve heard of Imai Daisho; he is indeed a talented individual with good potential.”
“But he is ultimately just a student who has never experienced real combat, not at the same level as an esper like you, Tsukimi Kanade, who has actually fought on a true battlefield.”
“You and your friends are far more powerful than ordinary students—”
……
On another stage.
“Beep—! Nakahira Misa and Tanaka Kanta are unable to continue fighting; the winners of this round are from Ark Academy, Tenjoin Aoi and Tsukimi Yako!”
In less than a minute into the team match, the two seed competitors from Natural Academy were obliterated by Aoi, while Yako had barely been a spectator throughout.
The students present could not help but display surprised expressions.
Even the teacher serving as the referee was taken aback by the power demonstrated by Aoi.
“What kind of monsters are coming from Ark Academy!?”
