The Nine School Competition enters its third day, a critical juncture in both overt and covert ways.
Today's schedule: morning features semifinals (third round) for Ice Pillars Break and Battle Board, plus Battle Board's third-place playoffs; afternoon hosts Pillars Break's final league and Battle Board finals. Main events wrap up, with rookie matches starting tomorrow.
Yugen woke earlier than usual. Avoiding oversleeping, he brewed coffee, changed into comfortable clothes, and added milk and sugar to his cup.
Black coffee suits waking up, but Yugen dislikes its bitterness—a holdover from his past life. Call him childish; he doesn't mind. For tea, he prefers milk tea, struggling with straight tea at the Sibaha's once, earning curious looks from Tatsuya and Miyuki when he explained. They seemed to think him infallible.
Yet, he drinks green or matcha tea fine. Some call it odd, but it's just his Japanese side shining through.
Back to the competition: surviving players include two boys each in Pillars Break and Battle Board, Kanon in girls' Pillars Break, and all girls in Battle Board. Due to "Electronic Silkworm," five Battle Board players will use Silver Blossom series CADs.
The Silver Blossom series, used by Mayumi in Cloud Ball, drew crowds at the exhibition corner for its sleek design, her looks, and performance. A pop-up shop sold out, prompting Ushiyama to reorder. Yugen quipped, "Classic director," earning a retort.
Despite subsidies, units cost tens of thousands, boosted by Taurus Silver's name and exclusive competition logos. Mayumi's specialized CAD sold best, akin to "athlete-endorsed models." She later chewed Yugen out.
Unlike prior Taurus Silver designs, Silver Blossom stemmed from FLT's CAD Development Third Division, a "land of exile" for non-weapon-focused engineers. Yugen tapped their talent, birthing the series. The development head's wife disapproved, but Yugen shrugged—her team's loss.
Today's lineup: Katsuto in Pillars Break semifinal match 3, Kanon in match 1. Battle Board has Hattori in boys' semifinal race 1, Azumi and Kobayakawa in girls' race 1, and Mari in race 2 against Seventh and Third High seniors.
Mari's prelim strategy banned Mika's "Blitz Drift," passing with last year's lap times. Against Seventh High in semifinals, she'll likely unleash it. Mari's base speed now rivals Mika's, shaving over 10 seconds off last year's final lap. At the first sharp corner, Mari could exit as Seventh High decelerates, assuming no major start interference.
Yugen joined Miyuki's morning training—light jogging and strength exercises without a privacy barrier. He spotted Tatsuya and Honoka running together.
"He's probably assisting Honoka as tech staff… What's that, Miyuki? Clawing my back?"
"Just saying, look who's talking," she replied.
Miyuki knows Tatsuya isn't naive, and as her guardian, he's focused. She and her mother would welcome his romance, but her pointed smile at Yugen's jab left him speechless.
After breakfast, Mayumi summoned Yugen to the tent for a leadership meeting, part of executive training since day one. Still, Miyuki and Shizuku eyed him suspiciously, citing Mayumi's "untrustworthiness." Less untrustworthy, more relentless, Yugen thought.
"Yuu-kun, thinking something rude?" Mayumi asked.
"Nope, your imagination, President," Yugen replied, stone-faced from Gousan's training. She called him "Tatsuya-like" and unreadable.
The monitor showed Battle Board semifinal race 1 starting. "Tsugumin, Kobayakawa-san, and Ninth High. Tsugumin's first, based on prelim times," Mayumi mused.
The race began. Azumi enveloped her board in a thin air shield, reducing drag. Kobayakawa trailed, pulling away from Ninth High.
"That technique… your idea, Yuu-kun?" Mayumi asked.
"Why think that?"
"Normal mages can't sustain that psion cost early on," she said.
She had a point. Psion-heavy, but Azumi and Kobayakawa used only two spells, minimizing consumption. "Igarashi-senpai's using 'Aero Sail Shield,' a movement-vibration-acceleration spell from the 'Magic Compendium,'" Yugen explained.
True, it's in the Compendium, but Yugen refined it for Azumi, adding hardening magic to treat her and the board as one, enabling Mari-level runs. "It cuts air resistance, so Igarashi-senpai reaches the final, and Kobayakawa-san conserves for third-place. Suzune-senpai approved."
"Yuu-kun, I wasn't told," Mayumi huffed.
"Igarashi-senpai wanted to beat Watanabe-senpai. Suzune-senpai figured you'd object or leak to Watanabe," Yugen said.
Inspired by Mari's Blitz Drift, Azumi's rivalry—relayed by Touya—prompted Yugen to craft her custom final-ready activation sequence, a serious counter to Mika's Blitz Drift.
"Ugh, everyone's so selfish," Mayumi sighed.
"You're one to talk," Yugen shot back.
"I know!" she pouted.
Yugen watched the monitor. No interference beyond Electronic Silkworm, but caution remained. Kana, Mika, and Shuuji guarded girls' Battle Board; Tatsuya observed (per Mari's insistence). If needed, Yugen could use "Yata Mirror" to expose surveillance records. If Mari's canon crash wasn't a delayed spell, committee members might be Headless Dragon puppets or mind-controlled.
The mixer day's near-car-crash was deemed "malicious" by police. Shizuru provided mental care. First-year boys, simpler than Hattori, dodged yoga and emerged unscathed. No slight intended.
Some resented Yugen, Touya, and Tatsuya's bus crash heroics and tech staff roles, especially Tatsuya's. Morisaki's Monolith Code talks always circled back to Tatsuya, fueled by their shared disciplinary committee role and Bloom supremacy. Without bias, Morisaki's decent, as Shizuku and Honoka noted during April's attack. Honoka's "if only always" and Shizuku's "probably hopeless" rang true.
Girls' Battle Board semifinal race 1 hit lap two; Ninth High couldn't recover. Hattori's boys' race 1 was uncharacteristically chaotic. "Using 'Slithering Thunder' to blast waves with lightning… logical, but so unlike Hanzou-kun," Mayumi groaned, clutching her head.
(Hattori's stressed…)
Hattori's all-system mastery enabled this tactic, inimitable by others. His usual honor clashed with this wildness, amusing Yugen, a fellow student council member. Hattori's envy of Yugen was a silent factor.
Yugen caused this. When Suzune asked about boys' Battle Board strategy, Yugen half-jokingly suggested Hattori's "Slithering Thunder" could hit water diagonally to create waves. It was adopted, spurred by Kirihara's Cloud Ball runner-up finish. All involved were reckless.
Results: Azumi first, Kobayakawa second for girls' race 1, advancing to final and third-place playoff. Hattori won boys' race 1, advancing. Katsuto, watching from the Pillars Break lounge, nodded approvingly.
Simultaneously, in Yokohama's Chinatown, five men sat around a tea-laden round table in a gaudy, gold-and-red hotel penthouse, a dragon-embroidered tapestry on the wall. Their grim faces reflected the Battle Board semifinal results.
"What's this outcome!?" one barked.
"Only one girl advanced. As planned, we force Watanabe's 'withdrawal.' No Mirage Bat substitute," another replied.
Eurasian-mixed men spoke English, indifferent to Japan's mage youths, driven by self-preservation. Another shouted, "What about the boys? Why weren't they crushed? Electronic Silkworm was planted!"
"It activated, but Hattori's wave flipped them first. Lucky brat…"
Hattori's unexpected tactics foiled their sabotage. His advancement ensured at least second, unraveling their Third High victory plan. They'd rigged Cloud Ball's bracket, but Ninth High's win and Kirihara's second-place upset them.
"What about the 'Generator'?" one demanded.
"We infiltrated them, but all are missing. Only our guards remain," another admitted.
April's loaned Generators never returned, infuriating them. The "Boss" ordered more for the competition, grudgingly accepted to avoid headquarters' purges.
"We're all purge targets now," one said.
"No relying on 'him.' Big clients this time mean high payouts. It'll hit this quarter's 'business,'" another added.
"We need a move."
Obeying "him" led to ruin. Unaware, they'd already provoked the "Untouchable's" wrath.
Note: New story is out, if you want to check it out.
Search --> Transferred to Kivotos, I Solve Everything with My Fists
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