"W-Wait, break me? That escalated fast!"
Akari's crimson eyes locked onto mine like a heat-seeking missile.
She wasn't yelling. She wasn't even angry.
She was smiling—the kind of smile you see in horror games before the boss fight begins.
"You shouldn't exist here. But since you do… let's test if you can survive."
She stepped forward, her black ribbon fluttering behind her, and summoned a sleek obsidian wand from thin air. Magic pulsed from it like pressure in the air.
Astra-sensei crossed her arms. "Akari. No killing before lunch."
"I won't kill him. Probably."
That didn't help.
Before I could protest, a dueling platform rose from the classroom floor—what kind of school is this?! The other students scrambled out of the way, cheering like they were about to watch an anime episode come to life.
"You may be new, Mr. Anomaly," Astra said flatly, "but this is Yuri Academy. Challenge duels are allowed. You will defend yourself."
"Or die trying," someone added cheerfully from the back.
✦ Duel Initiated: Nox vs. Akari Velthra
I was thrown a wooden training wand. Rin stood by the edge, face pale.
"Don't fight her head-on! Akari is the number one ranked student for a reason!"
"Thanks, that makes me feel so much better!" I yelled, gripping the wand like it was a baseball bat.
Akari raised her wand.
"Blood Binding: Scarlet Veil!"
Dark red magic swirled around her like a blooming flower of knives. The platform beneath her cracked slightly.
I took one step back.
My heart pounded. I didn't know any spells. I didn't even know how to cast magic.
Okay Nox, think. You're the MC of an isekai. You've seen this in webnovels. You've got a mysterious power. It'll awaken, right...?
Akari lunged.
Her spell formed dozens of razor-thin chains of blood, slicing through the air toward me like whips.
I raised the wand out of instinct—CRACK!
A pulse exploded out of my body.
The chains stopped inches from my skin. No—they dissolved into dust.
Akari stumbled back, blinking. "...What?"
The classroom went silent. Even Astra looked... impressed? No, disturbed.
I looked at my hand. My wand had turned pitch black, humming faintly.
"What was that...?"
"[Magic Source: Unknown]." a robotic voice echoed in my head.
I froze. Did... did I just hear a system voice?
"[Threat Level Detected. Defensive Protocol Activated.]"
Akari stared at me, fists clenched.
"You have Void. That's impossible."
I didn't know what that meant—but I knew one thing for sure:
I'd just made a rival.
And possibly... revealed the one thing I was supposed to keep hidden.