Weeks passed.
Inside the living room of the Onishima family's apartment, Ao was hunched over an old computer, typing away. His family stood behind him, watching with various levels of concern.
"Wait—A-chan, you're seriously doing this magic academy thing??" His mom asked, sounding half–exasperated, half–worried.
"For real."
Ao answered casually, like he was confirming what to eat for dinner.
On the monitor was the application page for Aspída Magic Academy's entrance exam. Ao continued filling out the form without hesitation.
"But you don't have magic, you know?! Are you really sure about choosing that path??"
Mom asked again, her voice rising a little.
"Don't worry. Beating people stronger than me isn't really a problem."
Ao grinned, absolutely pleased with himself.
"That's not the point… this could affect your future, you know?"
"If I don't get in, I'll just go normal-track. No big deal."
"Sigh... fine, do whatever you want."
His mom collapsed into the chair beside him, massaging her temples.
"If anything happens later, I'll handle it."
"...Right. Let's hope so."
A moment later, the registration button was clicked. All that was left was to prepare for the exam.
Aspída was one of the Four Grand Magic Schools, renowned worldwide for having the highest educational standards.
The Four Grand Schools consisted of: Aspída, Sabie-Sfântă, Eidikí-Lónchi, and Ieró-Tóxo.
And naturally, you couldn't just waltz into a world-class academy like this.
Millions competed for limited seats every year, which meant the exam pressure was insane.
Which was exactly why Ao ramped up his training.
He returned to the public training park— A place with old, worn-down equipment: practice targets, weighted mana-training tools, and busted machines.
It was early morning and almost no one was around. Ao started by warming up…
Then—BAM!!
A thunderous crack echoed across the park, startling the morning joggers. Heads snapped toward the noise.
Ao had just punched a decorative stone pillar as hard as he could.
The kid's back again, several people thought silently.
Another heavy impact followed. But this time, no one flinched.
Ao kept slamming his fists into the massive stone, face set in deep concentration.
The stone was dented with thousands of fist marks and stained with blood that no longer washed off.
His expression stayed serious, like he was thinking hard even while punching.
*Come to think of it…
Back then, my body suddenly felt light… what the hell was that? No way that was just adrenaline.
Did my magic awaken or something?!*
He froze mid-punch, eyes sparkling in excitement.
He sprinted to the spell target zone, raised his arm, and yelled:
"FIREBALL!!"
…Nothing happened.
People stared.
Ao wanted to evaporate on the spot.
He slunk back to the stone and kept punching.
I'm gonna die… this is so damn embarrassing…
Hours passed.
He punched the stone 100 times × 10 sets, Did mana-weight training in every body part (on a rotating schedule—otherwise he'd die),
And ran several kilometers trying to recreate the "light-body moment."
But no matter what he tried, he couldn't recreate that strange sensation— Only occasionally a brief flicker of it, no explanation in sight.
He was close, though. He knew he was.
But a message from his underclassman inviting him out during the weekend interrupted his thoughts.
Weekend
In front of a FamilyMart, Ao stood alone, checking the time on his watch.
A moment later, the people he was waiting for finally emerged from the crowd—
A confident girl waving enthusiastically, and Irino giving a tiny awkward wave from behind her.
"You're both late… you know that, right?"
"Ehh!? It was only two minutes!"
"Let's go. He's waiting."
"Awwww, senpai! So you were excited for today!"
"Shut up, Remi!!"
Ao's face flushed red instantly.
"Like I'd shut up just because you said so! Bleh—" She stuck her tongue out at him.
"I've never seen you act like this before, Onishima-san…" Irino murmured, genuinely startled.
"Just move already!!" Ao stormed ahead to hide his embarrassment.
"W-wait up, Onishima-san! I haven't even caught my breath yet!"
Maddy Montis Mall
The three arrived at the mall and headed toward the arcade where Slasth was waiting.
Slasth stood there alone, scrolling on his phone, until he spotted them.
"You're late, Onishima. One minute."
"Shut up, Slasth…"
"Alright then. Enough chit-chat. Let's get inside."
"I was gonna go in anyway!!"
"No need to scowl so much, senpai. Today's supposed to be fun, isn't it?"
"That's right, Onishima-san."
"We're not here to have fun!!
We're here to settle things.
Right, Slasth?"
"Obviously. That was the whole point."
The two glared at each other—electric sparks practically popping in the air.
"You two are being ridiculous… it's just an arcade."
"They're going in already, Remi. Let's follow before they start a war."
"Yes, yes, I know, Irino-senpai…"