Boom—!
With a violent crash, Gusion was sent flying backward. He twisted in midair, landed, and took several quick steps to bleed off the impact, finally stopping after sliding some distance across the floor.
He glanced at the bamboo sword in his hand, now broken in two, tossed it aside, and flexed his sore, numbed arm with a grin. "Sensei, that wasn't level-17 spiritual pressure, was it?"
Mr. Fujimoto looked a little embarrassed. Yes, in that crucial instant, his instincts had kicked in to protect his vital points, and he'd used his full spiritual pressure to defend himself—only then had he managed to send Gusion flying.
He now realized his back was drenched in sweat. That brief clash felt like a brush with death.
Even though his opponent was quite weak, in that instant he'd felt a sort of overwhelming pressure—the kind of wild, crushing aura that short-circuited his nerves and triggered his body's self-defense mechanisms.
"Gusion-kun, you're very talented. Have you studied kendo before?"
After getting his emotions under control, Mr. Fujimoto asked curiously. After all, as an instructor at Shin'ō Academy, he wasn't so petty as to get angry over this—in fact, he greatly admired Gusion's exceptional kendo ability.
"Kendo? Never studied it," Gusion replied, shaking his head. He was telling the truth; he'd never studied this world's kendo. But as for swordsmanship, he did know a thing or two.
According to the Endspace menu's evaluation, he was at master level in swordsmanship specialization. Not bad at all.
In his original world, almost no one practiced martial arts anymore.
Though he hated to admit it, the sad truth was that the people he'd killed represented the absolute peak of that era's martial arts.
Even with exoskeletons boosting their bodies, the famed Ling, the Cyan Finch had only lasted ten moves against him.
Ling wielded a custom alloy sword from the company, but Gusion had killed him with nothing more than a regular butcher's knife.
So, after killing all those so-called martial arts masters, he'd grown disillusioned with his old world.
In the dojo, whispers filled the air—everyone was shocked by the outcome of the sparring match.
In the crowd, Aizen's eyes flashed with a certain light behind his black-rimmed glasses. He thought to himself that his roommate seemed quite interesting; it looked like his years at Shin'ō Academy wouldn't be boring.
"You're saying… you've never studied kendo?" Mr. Fujimoto was shocked by Gusion's answer. Then again, as a vagrant, Gusion had no way to get formal training.
But didn't that just prove Gusion's talent even more?
He'd never had formal instruction, yet could defeat the academy's kendo instructor in a fair match at the same spiritual pressure level. Gusion might be a once-in-a-century super-genius!
Seeing Gusion nod expressionlessly, Mr. Fujimoto grew even more excited, but also a bit disappointed.
He was excited to discover a super-genius, but disappointed because… it seemed he couldn't teach Gusion anything.
He had to admit—even if he hadn't underestimated Gusion, and had fought strictly at the same level, he would still have lost.
What truly amazed him wasn't Gusion's first strike, but his second. That second slash absorbed recoil to withdraw and deflect, then, like water flowing, redirected the force and launched a follow-up attack from an unexpected angle.
Such mastery of force and exquisite technique wasn't something Mr. Fujimoto could achieve. No kendo school could teach such a skill. Maybe the theory existed, but only one in a million could do it.
Was this why Captain Unohana valued him so highly…?
"Gusion-kun, take your seat. Today we'll start with some theory, then move on to sparring," Mr. Fujimoto said, calming himself. After all, the class had to go on.
Gusion walked through the crowd—faces filled with shock, curiosity, or admiration—and sat beside Aizen.
"Gusion-kun is strong. I've never seen anyone beat Mr. Fujimoto in Kendo class before," Aizen said with a sigh.
Gusion smiled and asked, "Not even you, Sōsuke?"
Aizen's expression was perfectly natural. "What are you saying, Gusion-kun? My kendo grades are decent, but I'm still nowhere near Mr. Fujimoto's level. I'll need to rely on your guidance in the future."
Gusion found this a bit much. He didn't get the appeal of Aizen's wolf in sheep's clothing act, nor did he know why Aizen was hiding his strength—was he already plotting for the throne, even now?
Maybe he just wanted to make sure Gusion, who had never studied kendo, didn't feel pressured. The rest of the class was all basic kendo theory from Mr. Fujimoto.
Gusion listened attentively. He found there was something to learn from this world's kendo; it wasn't that kendo was weak, just that Mr. Fujimoto was. He couldn't help but wonder: if Unohana Yachiru, said to have mastered all Soul Society's sword styles, used her kendo, just how strong would it be? The thought alone made him excited.
Of course, he wasn't stupid enough to challenge Captain Unohana—her spiritual pressure was on a different level. In Endspace panel terms, her stats might be dozens or even a hundred points above his.
For now, what he needed to do was grow stronger—then, he could challenge these true experts and enjoy the thrill of battle.
His main quest, the first phase, was already complete. The second phase had just been issued:
Main Quest Phase 2: Speedrun Shin'ō Academy
Mission: The Explorer must complete all Shin'ō Academy courses within three months and graduate early, achieving a record speed never before seen in the academy's history.
Difficulty: Hard ~ Nightmare
Reward: 3,000 Endspace Coins, Asauchi, Right to Return
Failure: Erasure
This mission's difficulty ceiling was pretty high. Gusion had played games before—"Nightmare" sounded like a real challenge.
Looking at it simply, he probably wouldn't face much danger in the academy itself, but if he wanted to graduate early, the usual path wouldn't work.
Soul Society was a huge place, and countless geniuses had passed through Shin'ō Academy over the years. Since the mission description said this was an unprecedented achievement, breaking the speed record wouldn't be easy.
Most regular Gotei 13 members only had level-20 spiritual pressure, but that didn't mean you could graduate immediately just by reaching that level.
If someone was truly talented, the academy would want to nurture them carefully, not rush them through. Even if a student was very gifted, they'd be kept in the academy to develop further before being allowed to join the Gotei 13.
Gusion watched his classmates begin their sparring, lost in thought. He wondered what his biggest obstacle would be in completing this quest.