“That’s the end of your one and only motivational speech for the year. Now, what can you tell me about the Twin Energies…”

The blue-haired Kiyoshi raised his hand before answering slowly and deliberately.

“The Twin Energies refer to Soul Energy and Life Energy. Soul Energy is created from energy we refine from the natural world around us while Life Energy is created from within us. Through combining these Twin Energies we’re able to perform powerful techniques, using a weapon as a medium, called Skills.”

“That’s correct…if I was expecting an answer straight out of a textbook. Can anyone give a more satisfactory explanation?”

Teacher Kurokawa was clearly not impressed and the temperature of the room dropped a few degrees. A girl towards to back of the class shyly raised her hand.

“Yes?”

“It’s…our power?”

“Are you asking me or telling me?”

“It’s our power…Teacher.”

“Compared to Kiyoshi’s answer, yours is lacking but on the right track.”

The rest of the class remained still. Was this teacher expecting some sort of middle-ground answer? The answers given already covered the extremes, right?

“It seems none of you actually understand it-”

A hand slowly raised into the air. This time, from the front of the class.

“They’re…like friends.”

That wild, tanned girl named Sora sitting next to Kira mumbled while avoiding eye contact with Teacher Kurokawa. Everyone stared at her as if she were crazy. Teacher Kurokawa instead showed an interested smile on her face as she broke the silence.

“Far from what I was looking for but I like the way you think. Very well, this will be your first homework task for tomorrow, to write down what Twin Energies mean. Think about it carefully. If I don’t get a satisfactory answer from each of you, I’m deducting 5 prestige points from all of you, and this is me being lenient. You’ll have a thirty minute recess after which we will be continuing class. Dismissed.”

This time she didn’t make a mention of how they should leave the room but some of the students of Class 1-C had already started to become wary and did what they thought they should do. Hence, the class was a mishmash of those who simply went for the door, those who bowed somewhat randomly and those who first waited to see what the others would do.

Kira, naturally, followed the habits instilled in her over many years and bowed first to the front, then to Teacher Kurokawa before leaving at a calm pace.

After leaving the classroom, Kira’s first destination was the Initiate Academy’s library. Although Teacher Kurokawa had said that scrolls on Skill Creation, if they existed, would be in the Elite Class’ Library, she was still curious as to what she could find there. After all, she hadn’t done much reading since leaving her home in the Suzuki Clan years ago.

Kira gazed in wonder at the inside of the library. While she was much taller than when she first asked the Suzuki Clan librarian to pass her scrolls, the shelves of the Academy’s library stretched all the way to the vaulted ceiling. Luckily, there were multiple sliding ladders mounted on the fixed bookcases that allowed easy access to the higher shelves, if you weren’t afraid of heights, that is.

Even after fully assimilating the Flame Blossom Trail cultivation route, Kira found that her energy control was still severely lacking. The reason she could get by was because the Skills she used were ones that she’d practiced dozens if not hundreds of times. In that respect, it made modifying her existing Skills a simple matter as the Skill remained essentially the same but with slight differences.

However, to create a Skill from scratch, as she had previously been tasked to do by her Uncle Tetsuya, was a much more painstaking task. To create the simplest of Skills took her an entire week to figure out, while developing her One Leaf Splits the Wind required almost two months. And that was for a Skill with no offensive ability in and of itself! This meant that, for now, it was simpler and more practical to learn Skills the normal way, from scrolls and practice.

After browsing the various other sections, Kira eventually found herself in the Skills section of the library. After skimming through the Skill Scrolls piled on the shelves, Kira found herself somewhat disappointed. The strongest Skill she could find was a high-level Advanced Skill which, although it was two whole steps up from her Wind Rending, was a brute force Skill that wasn’t compatible with her katana. Even if it was, from her experience with modifying her Skills, Kira could tell that it didn’t lend itself well to being changed.

“You won’t find them.”

While contemplating what to do next, Kira suddenly heard a voice.

The library was as silent as you’d expect which made the clearly-enunciated voice sound all the louder. Caught off-guard, Kira’s hands dropped immediately to her side, only to grasp at air.

The library had a strict policy against violence. All weapons had to be handed in at the reception and Storage Crystals had to be temporarily Sealed. This Sealing provided the added benefit of preventing theft as many of the library’s scrolls were rather valuable.

Kira turned and relaxed somewhat when she recognised who it was.

“Classmate Mizuno, it’s not good to sneak up on people. You may give them the wrong impression.”

“On the contrary, Classmate Suzuki, it is I who was here first. It is more likely that you’d have snuck up on me if I hadn’t been keeping track of you since you entered. Putting aside who snuck up on whom, the scrolls you’re looking for, you won’t find them here.”

“I thought as much. How can you be certain though? We left at about the same time and even if you went straight here, you wouldn’t have spent that much more time searching for them.”

There was no reason to feign ignorance. They were in the same class and were the only two to show any interest or knowledge on the topic of Skill Creation.

“You will just have to trust me.”

He said mysteriously.

‘Just who is he exactly? There’s clearly something noble-like about him yet he’s in our class…’

“How about a token of good faith then? On the third shelf over there, fourth from the right and on the second shelf, sixth from the left you should find two very interesting katana Skills. I will see you in class.”

Before Kira could ask why he’d memorised the exact locations and contents of Skill Scrolls that weren’t compatible with him, as he’d used a bow in the homeroom test, he’d already walked off.

In the end, she borrowed three scrolls from the library, one on Twin Energy theory and the two Skill Scrolls which Mizuno Kiyoshi had recommended. Taking a look at the time on the library’s timekeeping crystal, she rushed back to her classroom before filing in with the rest of her classmates.

“It seems none of you were foolish enough to lose your remaining points in this last half hour so that’s a good start. You new students are usually very hot-blooded but I’m glad at least some of you showed restraint.”

Teacher Kurokawa nodded in satisfaction.

“Seeing as there’s no point continuing the Twin Energies discussion until tomorrow, let’s move on to something unrelated.”

The class didn’t dare make a sound at this but they shared the same sentiment. Other than cultivation and Skills, what could possibly be important enough to talk about in the school dedicated to raising weapon cultivators.

“You’re probably thinking that what I’m about to say is unimportant but you better get it through your heads that just being strong isn’t important. To live, the hard truth is that you need to make money. Sure, with strength you can become a warrior in some underground betting arena but the only real money you’re going to make with just strength will be if you reach the peak and become a bodyguard for the Imperial families. Right now, that’s completely unrealistic and you’re going to be a pauper for most, if not all, of your life. As people without notable backgrounds, surely you understand the importance of money?”

She paused on this last statement and surveyed the faces looking at her. Barring exceptions such as Kira who wasn’t too concerned about such things, the faces of those commoner students turned serious. Indeed, making money was something too important to them to simply ignore.

“Which brings me to the topic of this lesson.”

Teacher Kurokawa turned around towards the only thing that seemed out of place in this dojo-like room, a large blackboard, and began to write on it in bold, neat characters.

Secondary Professions.

“While being a cultivator has a certain status, it’s not as rare as it was in the past. Almost anyone can become a low-ranked cultivator in time if they are provided with the knowledge to do so. These days, the ones who are successful are those with a broader range of skills that are supplemented by their strong cultivation.

There are 3 base professions: Blacksmith, Alchemist and Inscriptor. Each of these have their own unique sets of knowledge and techniques that you must learn and master in order to be successful. Only once you’ve reached a higher enough rank within them can you think about this next step:”

Teacher Kurokawa paused to write another phrase on the board.

Specialisations.

“To even have the qualifications to begin learning these, you need to have reached the appropriate ranks in two of the base professions. The time invested is well worth it as their unique abilities are in high demand. However, you’ll learn more about these later. For now, I’ll explain the base professions as reaching at least E-rank in a base profession is part of the passing requirements for this year.

To be a Blacksmith isn’t a glorious job, but it is one which built the foundation of this Bladeworks Continent. As you should all know, originally this continent was inhabited by the Weapon Tribes, clans of sorts who trained in specific weapons. The ones who created these weapons were the blacksmiths of old. As a blacksmith, most of your work involves refining and shaping metal which requires a large amount of physical strength, also known as Life Energy cultivation, especially as you ascend the ranks and work with rarer and tougher metals.

An Alchemist, for those who are not aware, is one who refines plants, crystals, Soul Beast cores and other ingredients and synthesises them into pills and elixirs which are of benefit. While most low-ranked Alchemists focus on various types of medicines, the ones who make the most money are undoubtedly the higher-ranked ones who can synthesise products that assist in cultivation. Most of these goods are usually bought by the large clans at astronomical prices for the sake of securing their power through the younger generations. Don’t be fooled, however, as the rarest alchemical ingredients have a value beyond money and the best alchemists don’t have even a 30% success rate with these ingredients.

Lastly, but far from the least, is the Inscriptor. This noble profession is one that pushes the limits of our world and what is possible. By inscribing formation arrays onto objects, we Inscriptors allow cultivators to interact with objects in new ways by using Soul Energy to activate arrays. The most common examples, that ordinary people often aren’t aware of, are Storage Crystals. They’re all made in a similar fashion, by using a power gem inscribed with a Spatial-type array, drawing on the gem’s energy to maintain a virtual space in which we can store objects. As an Inscriptor myself, I look forward to seeing who of you will join us.”

Teacher Kurokawa explained before pulling out the same scroll as she’d used to record our names and weapon specialities earlier.

“While certain unique qualities are needed for each of the three base professions, they all share a common one which determines how far you will be able to progress down the road. That quality is perception.

By perception, I don’t necessarily mean Soul Sense, although having a keen Soul Sense is vital as you reach the upper ranks of a profession. By perception, I’m referring to your instinctual awareness of things on both a large and small scale. Soul Sense alone isn’t able to detect all the changes a metal goes through or whether an inscription will be stable when activated or whether the ingredients you’re refining are about to turn to ash. With that, I have prepared an exercise to test your perception levels. Follow me.”

“Hah, look at them, it seems like that teacher is at least keeping that trash in line, literally. Hahaha.”

A loud male voice said enthusiastically as he watched the single-file procession outside the classroom window.

“Hey now, that’s no way to talk about your fellow grademates. That is the word, right? Ugh, this is such a pain.”

The green-haired man at the front of the room declared in voice that was completely devoid of enthusiasm.

“Teacher, I agree that Classmate Akamatsu’s words aren’t acceptable. However, isn’t it Teacher’s job to discipline him?”

A girl with long indigo hair that cascaded like waves down her shoulders spoke up. She was dressed in the same green uniform as the rest of the Initiate Academy’s students, but on her it seemed like a regal raiment, putting everyone else’s to shame. While she wore it humbly, it barely hid the beginnings of curves that had begun to form. What it couldn’t hide was her cute yet pretty face with its jade-like skin and sky-blue eyes. Hanging from her ears were intricately-designed, silver, dragon-shaped earrings.

“Eh? I probably should but it’s too much effort. Maybe one of you can do it?”

Sure enough, this was Class 1-A, the Noble class taught by Teacher Midorima. At his words, the Noble students looked at each other. Most of them held little regard for commoners, while those who held more didn’t care enough to make enemies of other nobility. However, a single voice was raised.

“Then I will do it.”

It was the same indigo-haired girl who'd asked the question earlier. She stood up from her seat and faced the offender who was attempting to look casual while leaning against the window.

“Ah, Classmate Kousen, I-I didn’t expect that you would actually volunteer. In that case, I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

His voice trembled, not out of fear but because she was by far the most beautiful girl in the class and he didn’t wish for her to see him in a bad light.

“It is a little too late. I agreed to discipline you and I shall. Let us take this outside. Fifty points should be enough to make Classmate Akamatsu get serious, right?”

Naturally, she was referring to having a staked duel with him.

“Very well, I agree. Let’s go-”

“No need to go outside.”

To everyone’s surprise, Teacher Midorima spoke up while clicking his fingers. Everything was silent for a moment as nothing happened.

“Sigh, there’s a trick to this…”

He clicked his fingers repeatedly until suddenly, all the desks in the room glided across the floor, with the students still seated in them, before neatly arranging themselves around the edges of the room and exposing the design of the polished floor in the centre of the room, a design made up of a number of concentric circles.

“I think for this duel, the standard size should be fine. The boundary is the red circle.”

“Teacher, this…”

“It’s only here because walking all of you to the duelling arena would be such an effort.”

“…”

The class could only breathe out a sigh. This teacher’s ability to avoid doing any work was on another level. The two students walked up to the centre of the room and gave each of their family’s traditional salutes.

“Kousen Nanase, eldest daughter of the Kousen family of the Ocean Blade Province. Are you ready?”

“Akamatsu Ken, second son of the Duke of Soaring Sword Province. Let us begin.”

Unlike the students of Kira’s class who had to keep their weapons on them, these nobles naturally were wealthy enough to afford at least a medium-sized Storage Crystal. Two lights, one orange and one a deep sea-blue, shone from Ken’s armband and Nanase’s ring respectively.

“This…you’re kidding right? Are you actually an entertainer?”

In Ken’s hand was a rather ornate-looking sword with a twisting serpent design. However, between Nanase’s hands was actually a simple royal-blue sash. Even though they looked up to her beauty, a few of the boys couldn’t help but snigger secretly.

‘She’s acting so tough but she doesn’t even have a real weapon!’

They thought. Well, all of them except one person. He had short blond hair and was fairly tall for his age, but at the sight of that blue sash, he shivered and shrank back.

‘Why? Why is she here? How is this supposed to be her punishment? She’s not the angel you think she is!’

However, he didn’t say any of this out loud, only feeling pity for his classmate who wasn’t sure whether she was serious or not. He soon made up his mind and ran forward to attack.

The next thing he saw was a flash of blue and then…

Whump!

He landed on the floor hard and his face made intimate contact with the ground.

“Ow!”

“I thought Classmate Akamatsu said he was ready. Also, it’s not good to look down on me just because I’m a girl. Like you, I earned the right to be here.”

Although Akamatsu Ken didn’t see what just happened, the rest of the class saw it clearly. The blue sash flew through the air like a bolt of lightning and wrapped around his wrist. Once it was secured, Nanase stepped in and swept his leg out from under him before throwing him onto the ground.

No, ‘stepped in’ wasn’t right. It would be more accurate to say that she twirled in.

After Ken got up he was wary as he refocused. However, he couldn’t help that Nanase’s appearance affected his concentration. But now he was certain that she shouldn’t be underestimated. Taking a deep breath, he brought his sword to his side before sweeping it above his head and leaping into the air, a flash of gold crossing his pupils.

‘Quake Slash.’

Although not as effective as a bashing weapon’s Quake Impact Skill, Quake Slash still had the added benefit that, even if it missed, the resulting shockwaves would unbalance any enemies in the close vicinity.

Of course, Nasase wouldn’t just stand still and take the attack. Instead she whipped her sash forward, wrapping it around Ken’s waist while he was still in mid-air. With a tug, she pulled him towards her while she, herself, flew up into the air.

‘Is she insane? Like this, there’s no way I can miss. Forgive me, Classmate Kousen.’

What he didn’t realise was that Nanase had actually pulled him slightly to the side so that, when Nanase’s waves of indigo hair narrowly passed by Ken in mid-air, he had a shocked look on his face.

Nanase moved quickly. Whipping the other end of the sash around Ken's extended wrists, she pulled hard on the sash while simultaneously planting her foot on the back of his neck, bending his body into a crescent shape. With this sudden tilt, instead of landing on his feet, Ken landed face-first into the ground and slid for a about a metre before stopping.

As Nanase walked off him, she spoke up, breaking the stunned silence.

“Teacher, I think he’s learned his lesson. Someone should take him to the infirmary.”

“Hmm, probably. I guess so. Any volunteers? No one?”

“It seems that I shall have to take him then.”

Nanase said when no one else offered, supporting Ken with one arm.

“I’ll go with ya then.”

A friendly voice spoke up from the crowd and a tall girl with a curly, shoulder-length brown bob happily skipped forward and supported his other arm.

“Kya! His nose is bleeding so much you’d think he just watched an ecchi scene.”

“Eh-chi?”

“Ah, don’t mind that. I’m Hatsune Usagi. Now, where’s the infirmary exactly?”

The girl named Usagi chattered incessantly with Nanase until their voices were no longer audible to the class of 1-A.

‘Not bad. She has some nice flow and her body intelligence is quite good.’

Teacher Midorima thought. He and the class shared a similar sentiment, that Nanase’s movements definitely couldn’t be considered something as vulgar as fighting techniques. They were far too graceful for that. In fact, Ken may have gotten it right the first time. Her movements were similar that of a dancer, beautiful, but at the same time extremely violent. However, her classmates had an additional thought:

‘That girl…is definitely a demon!’