"Snap—"
A crisp snap of fingers echoed beside the guard's ear, and subsequently, the light vanished from the eyes of the security guard watching over Senba Academy.
"Could I trouble you to take me to the archives room?"
In the guard's perception, the youth who should have been the headmaster of Senba Academy chuckled lightly.
Although he was very young, still wearing the uniform of some unknown school, and looked completely out of place for roles like teacher or headmaster.
But the guard still believed him to be Senba Academy's headmaster, not even doubting the suspicious points in this.
"Understood."
Although he didn't understand why the headmaster, who should know the layout and function of every area in the school, needed him to lead the way, Mr. Guard still gave an affirmative reply.
For ordinary people whose bodies didn't circulate special powers like mana or cursed energy, a minor spell was more than enough to easily alter their perception.
Led by the guard, Mr. Magus very easily found Senba Academy's archives room, then waved his hand to dismiss the guard.
He looked at the archives room, its door likely made of blast-proof material to prevent data leakage, and took a deep breath.
He clenched his fist, unified his waist and stance, coiled his spine, then explosively straightened it.
Like an arrow loosed from a bow, his fist, glowing with reinforcement magecraft, struck out fiercely.
The metal security door twisted under the immense force, emitting the characteristic sharp screech of metal fatigue.
"Boom—"
Another straight punch slammed into it. The entire security door trembled violently, its central part completely pierced through.
Then came the third punch.
Much like Lu Zhishen's three punches that demolished Butcher Guan back in the day, this door, never intended to resist such abnormal forces, utterly disintegrated under the magus's magecraft (physical) assault.
"Brother, are you... really a magus?"
The System-kun, seemingly shocked by someone's actions and only now catching its breath, stammered.
If it remembered correctly, its host was supposed to be a magus, right?
Aren't magi a profession renowned for their wisdom and spells? Why was its host so off-brand?
"Please, hand-to-hand combat is a compulsory course for modern magi. If you don't pass, you lose credits."
Li Zihan, who had always worried that the damned old geezer might suddenly toss him into a magic-less or magic-difficult Dharma Ending Age and had therefore diligently trained his martial arts, pursed his lips and said.
"You should have used a gentler method."
The system kindly reminded.
It didn't quite understand why its host, who could clearly use magical means to open the archive door, insisted on physically destroying it, leaving a mess behind.
"Leaving some traces shows I've been here, ah."
The host's reply was quite erratic, even giving off a somewhat unhinged vibe.
After saying all this, Li Zihan very naturally clapped his hands and then walked through the shattered doorway into the archives room.
Since he had already accepted the mission, he naturally needed to understand some information about the Third Herrscher.
With this in mind, Li Zihan quickly found the archive storage point for the second-year high school students and began searching for Raiden Mei's file.
"Phew~, found it."
With almost no effort, Li Zihan easily pulled Raiden Mei's file from the neatly arranged archives.
"So she lives here?"
Briefly flipping through the file, the youth, having pinpointed Miss Mei's residence, took out a map and cross-referenced the route from the academy to her home.
Li Zihan waved his hand, and subsequently, a familiar stored in his spatial pouch drilled out from the shadow beneath his feet and flew towards the outside.
These familiars would become his eyes, locking down the environment of his prey's location.
"Eh—, she hasn't reached home yet?"
Before long, the youth, who had surveyed the entire route from Raiden Mei's home to Senba Academy through the borrowed vision of his familiars, was somewhat astonished.
"What are you doing now?"
The system, not quite understanding what its host was up to, hesitated for a moment and asked.
"Preparing for a kidnapping, of course."
The host of the Hero Cultivation System stated thusly.
========Line Break=======
Raiden Mei carried an oversized tennis bag on her back, walking home alone.
Her home was very close to Senba Academy; there was absolutely no need for a driver to pick her up.
Raiden Mei was a very solitary person, or rather, someone forced to become solitary.
After her father, Raiden Ryoma, was imprisoned due to an economic scandal, the classmates who once flocked around her turned cold. Unable to adapt to this situation, Raiden Mei became reclusive, just like anyone else who has been isolated.
This situation only alleviated when Kiana, whose heart was equally lonely but who always acted full of energy, arrived in this city and met her.
However, Kiana couldn't possibly stay by her side at all times. When Kiana left, Raiden Mei reverted to her solitary state.
"I'm a little unused to it now, huh."
The girl, somewhat nostalgic for the time spent with Kiana, let out a self-deprecating laugh.
She looked at a grocery store by the roadside and stopped.
Kiana was going to investigate matters related to the Honkai Source recently; it would be very tough, so she needed to replenish her energy properly.
Thinking this, she naturally turned and walked towards the grocery store.
As she turned, a black taxi also turned the corner from behind her and stopped.
The taxi's engine let out an extremely harsh roar as it cut off, causing Raiden Mei to frown involuntarily and look back.
Subsequently, a youth in a British-style school uniform emerged from the back seat of the car and walked towards Raiden Mei.
His pace was unhurried, like a hunter approaching its prey.
He held a file bag, seemingly taken from Senba Academy's archives, and from it, he pulled out a photograph, comparing it with the girl not far away.
His demeanor was somewhat reminiscent of someone in a story searching for a long-lost relative across a thousand li.
However, Raiden Mei did not think so.
The moment she saw the youth emerge, Raiden Mei's gaze was captured by him, and her heartbeat suddenly accelerated.
It was absolutely not for a superficial reason like love at first sight due to his excellent appearance, but rather an intense sense of crisis was approaching, causing her body to react instinctively.
"Excuse me, are you Miss Raiden Mei?"
The seemingly harmless youth smiled, his smile as warm as the first ray of sunlight in a harsh winter.
"Would you mind coming with me for a bit?"
Is it someone seeking revenge because my father isn't around?
Raiden Mei, who was not encountering this situation for the first time, her expression hardened.
"I'm very sorry, someone is waiting for me at home."
The girl, sensing the ill intent of the newcomer, very tactfully refused the request, her hand also reaching towards her back.
Just like Senior Brother Chu from Dragon Raja, Raiden Mei kept her weapon—a wooden sword—hidden in the oversized tennis bag on her back.
Raiden Mei had never been a weak woman. Exceptionally gifted in kendo, she was a top-tier master of the Hokushin Ittō-ryū, an undisputed sword master-level character!
Combined with the slight physical enhancement from her sealed Stigmata, she could even take on ten opponents consecutively.
"I'm very sorry, Miss Raiden, but you must come with me now."
Facing the sword master girl who was clearly in a state of alert, Mr. Magus showed no signs of reacting, but rather stated a fact.
"After all, the matter we need to discuss concerns a great many people."
"I'm sorry, my answer is still refusal."
Undoubtedly, one or two sentences were not enough to persuade Raiden Mei.
Raiden Mei's expression also turned cold.
Even though it couldn't be sharpened, the wooden sword, still formidable enough as a weapon, slid out from the tennis bag behind her, grasped by the girl's fair, slender hand.
"Further talk is useless."
Upon grasping the wooden sword, a sharp fighting spirit surged from the seemingly delicate girl, inspiring awe.
"Hokushin Ittō-ryū, Menkyo Kaiden, Raiden Mei, at your service!"
The moment her voice fell, the girl's figure moved. The longsword, due to its high-speed movement, seemed to transform into a wooden-colored rainbow.
And its target was the youth who had yet to assume any defensive posture.
Just as the wooden sword was about to reach his face, the youth, locked by her hostility, finally drew his weapon.
"Bang—!"
The muzzle of a large-caliber pistol spat out a scorching hot projectile, accurately hitting the ground by the girl's feet.
The charging sword master girl froze instantly, the imposing aura around her dissipating with her.
"Ashina Sword Style, Menkyo Kaiden, Ashina Isshin, is here!"
The magus, holding dual pistols, smiled and extended an invitation to the beautiful girl before him.
"Excuse me, Miss Raiden Mei, are you willing to come with me now?"