"Ding dong—"
The pleasant chime echoed through the open-style high-rise buildings designed in a modern architectural style, gradually filling the school campus with a lively and noisy atmosphere.
Students in uniform began streaming out of the school building—some chatting and laughing with one another, others hurrying by, all displaying youthful energy.
Among them, Aize blended in seamlessly with the crowd of students leaving class, appearing no different from any ordinary student.
That was because he too was now wearing the school uniform of this academy, and his outward appearance had become noticeably younger.
At the moment, Aize looked just like a typical high school student around seventeen or eighteen years old. His youthful figure strolled leisurely through the tree-lined paths, exuding a vibrant energy.
"I didn't expect entering a fantasy world would come with such perks."
Even Aize found it all quite novel. As he touched his own face, all he could feel was the fullness of collagen—smooth and free of any oily sheen.
While marveling at the change, Aize began to assess his current situation.
"There's no doubt—I'm in Asterisk now."
Asterisk, commonly referred to as the Hexagram,
is an artificial city floating above a massive impact crater lake. True to its name, it takes the form of a perfect hexagon.
The city's official name is Rikka, and it was constructed by a newly-emerged economic entity—the Integrated Enterprise Foundation—specifically for the purpose of hosting duels.
Of course, the "duels" here aren't like those in a certain Yu-Gi-Oh! world, where people play cards. Instead, they're intense, high-stakes combat matches fought with real weapons in live-action battles.
In this world, there's a hugely popular competitive event called the Festa of Star Wars (Seibusai).
The Festa of Star Wars is considered the most popular combat spectacle on the planet, with fans across the globe. It plays a major role in driving and stimulating the world's economic growth.
Asterisk serves as the main stage for hosting the Festa of Star Wars, and also functions as the primary facility for training its participants.
According to the rules of the Festa, only individuals aged 13 to 22—those belonging to the Starvein Generation—are eligible to participate.
And this generation, confined to that age range, is composed almost entirely of students.
As such, within this artificial city, six academies were established to train competitors. Each academy consists of a middle school division, a high school division, and a university division—covering the entire 13 to 22 age range of the Starvein Generation.
"And the academy I'm currently at is Seidoukan Academy."
Seidoukan Academy is not only one of the six major academies, but also the main stage where the protagonists of the original work made their mark.
According to the life experience chosen by Aize, he is now a first-year student in the upper division of Seidoukan Academy. His purpose in coming to Asterisk is to participate in the Festa.
That's not really anything worth mentioning.
After all, out of ten students who come here, seven or eight of them have some ambition related to the Festa. The remaining two or three came here for various other reasons.
Aize is now just one of the majority — nothing remarkable.
"Looks like the life I drew doesn't come with a protagonist background."
Aize thought this indifferently.
According to the settings of this life experience, his abilities are average by Seidoukan standards — not dead last, but not one of the elite contenders who can shine in the Festa either. Just plain and mediocre.
Still, Aize was already quite satisfied.
"Leaping straight to the top might feel great, but that's not very realistic."
As he walked, Aize arrived at a quiet corner of the courtyard.
It was sparsely populated, with only a gazebo standing there, surrounded by lawns and flowerbeds. Aside from the faint silhouettes of people walking in the distance, there was no other movement.
Upon arriving, Aize stretched his body a bit.
"Hmm... My physical condition really is much better than before."
Aize could clearly feel that his current body hadn't just become younger and more energetic — its overall capabilities had also improved significantly.
"With this kind of physical ability, I could easily become a world champion in multiple sports back in the real world... yet in this academy, it's only considered average..."
Aize sighed with emotion.
"So this is the Genestella generation, huh?"
Just like the instructor in class had explained, after the catastrophe known as the "Invertia" in the 20th century, humanity discovered an unknown element called mana from the meteorites. This discovery not only pushed scientific progress forward but also gave rise to a new generation of humans known as Genestella.
Affected by mana, they possessed physical abilities far superior to ordinary humans and had access to a special spiritual energy called "Prana."
This special energy could enhance a Genestella's offensive or defensive power, and especially offered significant boosts to their defense.
Ever since arriving in this world, Aize could feel at all times a unique power flowing within his new body.
Just like he did earlier in the classroom, Aize began to draw upon this power.
"Zheng..."
Accompanied by a scene like stardust dancing in the air, the Prana within Aize surged, wrapping his entire body in shimmering starlight.
As he watched this scene and sensed the changes in his body, Aize's eyes sparkled.
"With the way I am now, even if I got shot, I'd probably only feel a bit of the impact — I doubt I'd actually get hurt."
And yet, this is considered only average level among students at Seidoukan Academy?
It really shows just how powerful those truly exceptional Genestella are.
And having received such power for no reason at all — how could Aize not feel satisfied?
"It's a pity this kind of opportunity only happens once."
This was a special benefit granted during the first experience in the Life Simulation — a hidden perk where the administrator is given abilities that match the chosen life's background.
But this bonus only comes with the first simulation. It won't be available again in the future.
"If I had drawn a life background with an invincible setting on my first run, wouldn't I be invincible now?"
Thinking about it, Aize still felt that wasn't very realistic.
He had a hunch that, since the ultimate goal of the Fantasy Library was to pursue authentic worlds, it wouldn't allow things that completely disrupt the balance of those worlds.
Maybe even though the selection process for the Life Simulation is supposedly random, the probability might actually be influenced by the administrator's own capabilities.
If the administrator already had power considered nearly invincible within that fantasy world, then the chances of drawing an invincible life background would probably be higher.
Conversely, if the administrator was weak, then the odds of getting a mediocre or even a disastrous starting point would also be higher.
"And with my current abilities, it's probably going to be really hard to make this life experience exciting enough."
After confirming his current capabilities, Aize fell into deep thought.
The Fantasy Library had clearly stated: when a life experience ends, the administrator will be rewarded based on how exciting and eventful that life was.
In that case, Aize needed to live in this world in a way that was as vivid and dynamic as possible.
And what better way to do that than to participate in the Festa and duel with famous and powerful fighters?
But considering that Aize's ability only ranks as average within Seidoukan Academy, if he were to enter the Festa now, he'd most likely get eliminated in the first round.
"I have to find a way to get stronger."
But how?
Aize barely had to think before deciding on what he needed to do next.
"I need a weapon."
"A weapon powerful enough to make me strong as well."
It's true that everything about him right now is quite ordinary — but within his body slumbers an authority that surpasses even divine power, a force known as the Ultimate Authority.
This power applies only to the concept of "armament."
Therefore, if Aize wanted to quickly grow stronger, the fastest way would be to devise or obtain a powerful weapon.
"Looks like that's where I'll have to start."
Aize already had a preliminary plan in mind.
Before that, he needed to confirm the extent of the power granted to him.
At that moment, Aize shifted his gaze to his waist.
There, clipped to the belt of his uniform, was a cloth sheath.
Aize reached out and pulled something from the sheath.
It was a device embedded with a green crystal, shaped like the hilt of a sword.
"So this is a Lux?"
Aize studied it curiously, then moved his thoughts slightly.
"Zheng!"
Immediately, a long blade extended from the front of the sword-hilt device.