( Once in January 2095 )
In the backyard of the Yoshida family dojo, a certain young guy controlled CAD in the form of a mobile terminal with his usual hand movements.
There were no pauses in the movements of a guy working with both hands, as if sitting at a large terminal. After hundreds and thousands of repetitions, he mastered the technique so completely that the movements were natural to him.
A torch was installed in front of the guy. His gaze was glued to this unlit torch.
About 1 second after the guy finished manipulating CAD, the torch instantly burst into flames.
- Shit!
The guy cursed dirtyly.
- Slowly! Too slow! Why did I become such a brake !?
In preparation for the upcoming high school exams, this guy - Mikihiko - scolded himself.
After five months ago, Mikihiko woke up from a swoon, he could no longer properly use magic.
He could activate spells. Accuracy and power remained unchanged.
However, the speed seemed completely inappropriate.
No matter how much he repeated, he felt that it was too slow. He could not get the thought out of his head that he should use magic much faster.
Father said, "the reason is in your mind." Brother also said: "the reason is in your mind."
They both assured him that he was casting spells at his usual speed. His brother Motohiko tried to console Mikihiko by saying that it was simply because of the nervousness of the failure during the ritual.
However, Mikihiko could not agree with this. It bothered him.
"I should have finished casting the spell much faster."
"I should be able to use magic more freely."
Mikihiko was unreasonably worried about the fact that he could not achieve the desired result, and because of this, he really could not properly use magic.
His father Satihiko ordered him to take a break from training. He persuaded him that it was better to let the "hot head" cool, otherwise there would be no progress.
Skipping training, Mikihiko went to private lessons in magic.
He thought that if he studied modern magical science, he would be able to understand why he could not use magic normally. He felt distrust of his father and brother, claiming that nothing had changed in him, because in reality he could not use magic as before.
However, private lessons in magic did not live up to Mikihiko's expectations. These were courses for preparing for the high school exam for magic, and they did not intend to study advanced magic. In these preparatory courses, the basic theory and practice of activating system magic was studied, as well as the basics of CAD control and the basic practice of using CAD to call the simplest system magic.
Mikihiko independently studied books on the theory of magic. Using an outdated CAD model, he repeatedly practiced the activation of the simplest system magic. It was practiced hundreds and thousands of times. But his abilities still did not return to their original state.
Using the spirit of water, he put out the torch fire. After ordering the spirit to dry the moisture after this, Mikihiko returned to his original position to repeat the exercise.
When Mikihiko already wanted to activate CAD, his older brother called to him from behind.
“Mikihiko, don't be late for school.”
For some time, Mikihiko continued stubbornly staring at the torch, after which he sadly lowered his shoulders and turned around.
- Ani-ue, I'm very sorry.
Mikihiko tried not to let his anger go to his family. He did not throw tantrums. He erected a wall between himself and the others and behaved as politely as possible.
“Mikihiko, don't overdo it.” Everyone has their own setbacks.
He only bowed silently in response to these words of Motohiko, who wholeheartedly worried about his younger brother.
“Now you won’t get the result, even if you torture yourself.”
- I understand.
Mikihiko only verbally showed that he was taking the advice of his older brother. In fact, Motohiko also suffered from the consequences after the depletion of magical power from the call of the "god of the wind", which went beyond his abilities. However, Mikihiko did not notice this. He thought that only he himself suffered.
- Do not rush. Sometimes the best way is to bypass.
- Thank you very much for the advice.
Mikihiko bowed to his brother and turned towards the main building.
Peering into the living room and apologizing to his father and mother that he again skipped breakfast today, Mikihiko dressed in casual clothes and went to school.
( August 14, 2096 )
- Tatsuya, good morning.
“Good morning, Mikihiko.” Slept well?
“Haha, I’ve slept enough, and now I am in perfect condition.”
“Indeed, everything seems to be in order.”
Uncomfortable with Tatsuya's gaze, as usual seeing through him, Mikihiko at the same time felt trust in him.
“By the way, last year’s Nine School Tournament was the starting point in my recovery from that setback.”
The days of suffering he remembered last night. For some reason, these memories were not painful. For Mikihiko, this has all become past events. Instead, he was ashamed of those days when his misunderstanding caused distrust of the family, as a result of which he fenced off an invisible wall from them.
“What is it, Mikihiko?” So suddenly smiled.
- Uh? I'm smiling?
- Nice memories? You are a strange person.
- ... Tatsuya. When you hear from me that I am strange, it seems that you are talking seriously. To be honest, this is a little annoying.
“Of course I'm not serious.”
Mikihiko was even more annoyed when they answered him in a tone in which not a bit of a joke was noticeable.
Mikihiko remembered those days, it seemed that if now he can be upset by such trifles, then this is a pretty valuable life experience.
Mikihiko was not allowed to participate in last year's "Star Ceremony." Father told him “go and see where you should be” and forcibly sent him to the venue of the Nine School Tournament.
This year, the "Star Ceremony" will be held after the end of the Nine School Tournament, on August 24th. But Mikihiko himself planned to refuse to participate in the ritual this year. He did not even prepare to attend the ceremony. For him, the Nine Schools Tournament was more important.
- Okay, joke and that's enough. Let's start the final setup.
Tatsui's words brought Mikihiko's mind back from a state of thoughtfulness to reality. He went to the tuning device, put on his measuring glasses and laid his palms on the panel.
- ... It seems that you did not lie about the fact that in excellent condition. But you're obviously a little worried.
“Uh, did you understand that from a scan !?”
Tatsuya smiled slightly, seeing this surprised reaction of Mikihiko.
- For the emotions are responsible for the pushyons. Mizuki might have understood this, but this cannot be measured directly by the apparatus. But this can be guessed from the shape of psionic waves. Because the influence of emotions on thoughts cannot be avoided.
“You're amazing, as always.”
“Mikihiko, now is not the time to admire.”
Mikihiko expressed admiration for this advanced technique, and Tatsuya reminded him where they are now.
- It will be bad if you lose concentration under the gaze of such a crowd of spectators. You, the wizards of ancient magic, should know much better about the importance of maintaining a clear mind, right?
Mikihiko smiled tightly at Tatsui's words.
- Right. The psychological state has a stronger effect on ancient magic than on modern magic.
Mikihiko evened his breath. By the way, it was at the Tournament of nine schools last year that he was told that his magical and breathing techniques had become more natural than ever. Then he did not expect to hear such words from Erica. Although it surprised him, but now it has become a pleasant memory.
“Will it be like this?” - Mikihiko asked, once again putting his hands on the measuring panel.
- No problems. You quickly pulled yourself together, as expected of you.
"As expected from you, not from me," Mikihiko did not say it out loud. He was afraid that this might sound far-fetched if he paid attention to it.
Mikihiko was able to overcome his crisis because he participated in the Monolith Code on the same team with Tatsuya. To be more precise, because he could use CAD configured by Tatsuya in the Monolith Code.
And now he knew the reason for his decline in ability. At that time, he thought that he had lost his magical abilities, but, as his elder brother said, it turned out to be just a psychological decline.
The voice he heard while maintaining invocation magic during that ritual evening.
"Match me!"
This voice clearly belonged to the Dragon God. The giant independent information body to which he gained access caused a reverse flow of call magic, which required a data processing speed that was insufficient for him to maintain the connection. At that moment, the “God Dragon” demanded computational abilities that exceeded its usual level, and the magic calculation zone located in the subconscious region began to work at increased speed. His psionic exhaustion was then a side effect of the fact that the zone of calculation of magic, operating at a speed exceeding his intentions, continuously gave out sequences of magic one after another.
His belief that his magic activation speed had decreased was because he unconsciously compared it to the speed that was during that forced acceleration. Naturally, at the same time it seemed to him that it was slow. Of course, the usual speed of the magic calculation zone will seem slow when compared with a speed exceeding its capabilities. For example, when a car turns off the expressway onto a regular road with a speed limit, it also feels like you are driving slowly.
And since he was meaninglessly trying to change the functioning of a normally working zone for calculating magic, his feeling that his condition worsened was also natural. His efforts, made by mistake, could even destroy the results of past right efforts. As his father said, taking a break from training was the right choice.
Other First School students may not have noticed (if anyone noticed, it was only Miyuki-san), but the sequences of magic seriously worked out by Tatsuya forced the wizard to work to the limit of his abilities. The zone for calculating magic also functions in this case without downtime, because due to careful tuning to the user's magical characteristics, elimination of all unnecessary actions is achieved. Mikihiko understood that Tatsuya noticed that he was not a wizard of modern magic, relying on an activation sequence to build sequences of magic in his subconscious, but a wizard of ancient magic who builds sequences of magic on his own, although this is ineffective.
On last year’s Monolith Code, Mikihiko, using CAD configured by Tatsuya, also used his magic calculation area to the maximum, regardless of his will. The magic that he activated through the activation sequences processed by Tatsuya worked faster than the sequences of magic that the Dragon God forced him to process. Mikihiko, who, working at the true limit of his abilities, experienced a speed that was even higher than then, and finally was able to get rid of the misconceptions about his health caused by the “Dragon God”.
- Mikihiko, I made a small adjustment, try it.
- ... Already done? How to say it, it was fast.
After the words of Mikihiko, bitter smiles appeared on the faces of the engineers assigned to Hattori and Carey. They no longer showed a single drop of envy.
Mikihiko took CAD from Tatsui's hand and put it on his left hand. It was a small, thin and lightweight CAD for one-handed use with a thumb hole. He also had a wrist strap, so he won’t lose even if he slips out of his hand with heavy traffic. On one side he had five buttons located in an arc, and on the other side, right under his index finger, was a start button. Such a design indicated that instead of a variety of activation sequences, priority was given to usability.
He activated the activation sequence and stopped the magic a moment before it was activated. As Mikihiko expected, he felt a sense of best fit. He was even a little surprised at this.
- Everything is fine. With this, I can do my best today.
Smiling senpai engineers could not correctly understand the meaning of Mikihiko's words. He meant that "and today will be forced to use all his strength."
- Be careful with the tempo distribution. Only this parameter is regulated by the wizard himself.
- I understand. Today, fortunately, we will not have a match in the second morning round. First, the first morning match, then a break, then the second morning match, then everyone has a lunch break, and two more matches. For endurance, you can not worry.
- Right. We were lucky with the order of matches.
- It seems that luck is also on the list of your abilities.
Hattori and Carey continued following Mikihiko's words. The members of the First School team on the Monolith Code were relaxed and in a good mood.
In the first match, the First School opposed the Sixth School on the Open Plain battlefield.
The Open Plain battlefield has a very good view. To be honest, Mikihiko did not even have time to show himself particularly. The defense of the monolith survived the assault thanks to the perfect mastery of “neutralizing magic by balancing” Minaki Carey. Mikihiko only helped prevent one magic at the very beginning. At the same time, Hattori burst into the enemy camp and in one volley of his favorite combination knocked out the defenders of the Sixth School.
The first match of the second day ended with a confident victory of the First school.
In the third round, the First School was the second match for today, and, finally, it was a fateful confrontation against the Third School. Fortunately, this year’s rules do not allow participation in the second competition, except for Cross-country with obstacles. Ichijo Masaki participated in Destruction of the Pillars of Ice, so he did not appear on the Monolith Code.
There were no Ichijou Masaki or Kichijouji Shinkuro in the Third School team. However, this team was still a formidable opponent for the First School.
The match was held on the battlefield "Valley". This battlefield was surrounded on two sides by cliffs, and in the middle lay a long and narrow curved pond.
"Water...?"
The reason for his decline was the supreme divine spirit with a water attribute. However, water was still the attribute Mikihiko specialized in best.
- Yoshida, let's do it, as during the last year’s rookie division?
Carey suggested this with a mischievous smile immediately after it was decided that the match would take place on the Valley battlefield.
In the Monolith Code of the beginners' division last year, there was a match against the Ninth School on the Valley battlefield. Mikihiko covered the entire arena area with fog and brought victory alone without a single battle between the participants.
“Minakami, will the Third School not prepare for such a strategy?”
Hattori called for caution in his style.
- They will prepare or not, but I think that such a plan will be effective. I wonder what Shiba thinks?
Carey did not turn to Mikihiko himself, but to Tatsuya. Tatsuya and Mikihiko exchanged glances and smiled tightly. Mikihiko gave Tatsue the right to answer the question of a high school student. In addition, he himself wanted to hear Tatsui's answer.
- I believe that some agreements can be added, but in general this strategy will be effective.
- Something needs to be changed?
After a question, Hattori Tatsuya began explaining the strategy.
Immediately after the start of the match, dense fog covered the entire Valley area.
There was a noise on the spectator platform. Spectators who came to see the Tournament of nine schools with their own eyes remembered the division of beginners last year.
The third school probably foresaw this. Around their monolith was deployed anti-object barrier with a radius of 15 meters, not letting fog through.
The range of non-systemic magic, which is the "key" to the monolith, is 10 meters. The output power of this anti-objective barrier was reduced so as not to cause rapid exhaustion, so it could not prevent the direct entry of the participants from the First School match. However, at the time the barrier breaks down, the Third School player will find out where the opponent is coming from. All three players of the Third School gathered around their monolith, choosing the tactics of "war of attrition".
The idea of the Third School was not wrong. Normally, one cannot maintain the magic covering a large area for a long time. In fact, this tactic, used by the First School in the last year’s rookie division in the match against the Ninth School, brought victory in just 5 minutes.
However, when five minutes passed, and then ten minutes, the fog did not dissipate, but only became thicker.
Players of the Third School were not familiar with the nature of DC magic (spiritual beings). Spiritual magic, which modifies the phenomenon through independent information bodies, collects more and more independent information bodies over time, and the spell only intensifies.
Therefore, the "war of attrition" was in the hands of the First School.
This does not mean that Tatsuya was able to accurately predict the strategy of the Third School. His proposed strategy covered many options. He hypothesized the countermeasures that the Third School could take against the Mist Barrier. And then, for each proposed countermeasure, he proposed options for a response.
What Tatsuya did was not something special and extraordinary. He only developed the usual strategy. Predict enemy behavior and offer retaliatory actions. It’s just that this prediction turned out to be accurate, and the response actions were suitable.
His strategy ended up surprisingly successful. Although the Third School players changed and supported the barrier in turn, after 10 minutes, fatigue began to show itself. And among the players of the First School, not only Mikihiko performed the work. Hattori, too, was preparing step by step for the capture.
Hattori, who, despite the fog from Mikihiko's spell, was provided with a clear view, was approaching the Third School camp from behind, and was now 30 meters away. At this moment, it caused rain from dry ice, but not around the Third School’s anti-object barrier, but around it. Falling to the ground, granules of dry ice mixed with drops of fog, and moistened the stones lying around and the growing grass.
The sound of dry ice pellets falling to the ground was obscured by the sounds of thunder created by Carey. The echoes of thunder echoed off the cliffs surrounding this valley and greatly diminished morale among the players from the Third School.
The audience was delighted with the performance of Carey, who made rattling sounds, crushing rocks and hitting broken pieces on cliffs. Among these cheers from the crowd there were also fears for the players of the Third School.
When impatience made the Third School players begin to move, 15 minutes had passed since the start of the match. Having deployed a two-layer personal anti-object barrier, the player, initially responsible for the attack, went beyond the main barrier.
Immediately after that, he got into an electric shock network spread over the surface of the earth. Compound magic "Slippery Thunder", one of Hattori's strengths. The ideal result was not achieved because the clothes did not have time to get wet, but the time spent on preparation made the result sufficient to achieve the goal. The lack of efficiency was offset by high power.
Players from Third School who remained inside the barrier were greatly shocked when lightning flashed around the barrier. They lost their temper by not noticing that the enemy had come so close.
The object barrier shuddered and became unstable. At this moment, a gale of wind, containing small stones, fell upon him. It was a variation of Hattori's "Dust Stream" magic. Under the pressure of this magic, also called “Linear Sandstorm,” the third-school player’s anti-object barrier has broken.
The small stones that broke through the barrier were moistened with drops of mist mixed with carbon dioxide, previously obtained from a bombardment of dry ice. “Slippery Thunder” discovered this gap and slipped into the area around the Third School monolith. The fog that poured in at the same time was also completely saturated with carbon dioxide.
Beautiful and at the same time cruel light from lightning enveloped the players of the Third School. Hattori was now observing such a picture, crouching nearby under an insulating barrier.
Having defeated the Third School, the trio of Hattori, Carey and Mikihiko lined up in front of the stands of spectator support for the First School. The whole team waved their hands at the stands.
Among this support group, Mikihiko found Mizuki clapping his hands happily.
... A girl with "crystal eyes" that the Yoshida family could not find for more than two hundred years.
... Would that ritual have been successful 2 years ago, if she had been there?
... Will he be able to complete the "technique that can reach God" if it helps him?
Mikihiko waved his head slightly to expel these confused thoughts from consciousness.
This is not what he needs to think about now. Neither the Monolith Code nor the Tournament of nine schools in general have yet ended.
He was not the only one who thought so now. He had already told her about the "crystal eyes" and about the "technique that can reach God", and received consent to help.
This still remains to be done in the future.
He did not know what awaited him and Mizuki in the future. It was unclear whether they could continue to be close friends, as they are now.
Instead, answer her expectations right now. These were Mikihiko’s thoughts at the moment.
For the sake of Tatsui, who helped return his abilities to him, for the sake of Erica, who (although she didn’t admit it) worried about him and cared for him, for the sake of all his friends who somehow support him, he decided to give his best to justify them expectations.
Mikihiko vowed with all his heart to do it.
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