Chapter 96: New Semester
Improving the soul was the most challenging aspect.
Whether through cultivation methods, items, or one-time celestial treasures - even those that could only slightly enhance soul strength - would attract fierce competition among powerful beings.
Haruto's already strong soul, after these periods of dual cultivation, reached new heights once again. His powerful soul enhanced his comprehension of sword arts, and his sword meditation level naturally advanced by one rank.
However, there was still considerable distance from the realm of unity between human and divine.
The personal panel's rating system was straightforward, progressing upward from the beginner level.
Haruto didn't know whether advanced sword meditation represented the realm of unity between human and divine, as he had never obtained an intermediate skill so far, let alone an advanced one.
As for whether there were ratings beyond advanced...
He believed there were, considering the Devil Bloodline had upper, highest, and Maou levels.
Though it seemed to refer more to strength later—the stronger one's strength, the stronger their bloodline naturally became.
There was another reason Haruto believed skills didn't stop at the advanced level. Sakura had once told him that, according to the notes, martial arts comprehension had five major realms.
Using the sword as an example, these were: Sword Gleam, Sword Qi, Sword Momentum, Sword Intent, and Unity of Man and Sword.
Unity of Man and Sword was the realm of the Sword Saint.
As for Sword God, Sakura's ancestors had never produced one, so there were naturally no records.
Temporarily setting aside breaking through to A-rank via magic power, Haruto devoted all his energy to martial arts, thinking that even if he couldn't successfully break through over the summer break, he could at least touch the threshold of A-rank.
Moreover, martial arts greatly amplified combat power, and since Haruto was currently stuck at a bottleneck, it was the perfect time to enhance his fighting ability.
...
Knowing that Haruto needed to break through his bottleneck, Rias didn't assign him any missions during the summer break, allowing him to focus on his training.
August 26th, less than a week before school started.
For nearly a month, Haruto had either been dual cultivating or delving into martial arts.
During this period, whenever Tsubaki returned from the devil world, he would pester her relentlessly for one or more sessions of dual cultivation.
Unfortunately, he still hadn't drawn the intermediate magic extraction skill.
Instead, he managed to draw Tsubaki's swordsmanship skill. Combined with his nearly month-long swordsmanship training, he successfully upgraded his Sword Meditation to the advanced level.
Just as Haruto had expected, advanced Sword Meditation had not yet reached the realm of Unity of Man and God.
It only allowed him to reach the master level in martial arts. To break through to A-rank, he still needed to continue comprehending the true meaning of martial arts.
Sakura's Sword Meditation was only at this level too, and due to factors like physical constitution, she hadn't officially stepped into the master level.
Without a 'master' to guide him, Haruto's progress in martial arts training stagnated.
By the time the second semester began, he still hadn't successfully broken through to A-rank, but his combat power had indeed been greatly enhanced.
September 1st, Kuoh Academy held its opening ceremony.
At 2 PM, Haruto packed his bag and headed to the Occult Research Club.
"President, Akeno-senpai, Koneko... uh, and Kiba too, good afternoon."
Pushing open the clubroom door, Haruto greeted them one by one.
When he saw a certain blond 'pretty boy,' he subconsciously paused for a moment. This guy, who usually had almost zero presence, was actually here today.
Yuuto responded with a gentle smile, "Haruto-kun, good afternoon."
Haruto shuddered, goosebumps rising all over his body.
Why did this blond guy feel increasingly effeminate after not seeing him for a while...
Haruto subtly moved closer to Rias and began observing Yuuto out of the corner of his eye.
His face was delicate and fair, his figure slender, about 170 cm tall—similar to Haruto's height. His Adam's apple... was that a throat or an Adam's apple?
His chest was indeed flat, even flatter than the white-haired loli's.
Overall, he looked more like a weak uke than Haruto did now and would probably look great in women's clothing.
Haruto was startled by his own sudden thought—he had no interest in crossdressers.
Shaking off the terrifying idea, he continued his observation.
The black uniform pants tightly wrapped around his thighs, only revealing a general leg shape.
Slender yet not lacking a sense of strength, the thighs were taut, clearly well-muscled.
After all, Yuuto specialized in physical combat, and his swordsmanship was far superior to Haruto, who had just started learning.
Suddenly, Haruto's gaze sharpened.
Wait... why does that area seem flat?
Since Rias and the others were wearing uniform skirts, Haruto could only lower his head to look at his own thighs.
There was a noticeable bulge, especially when sitting down—the uniform pants tightened even more, forming a small peak.
He glanced at Yuuto again…
Completely flat, not a single bump.
Could it be that Yuuto...
Yuuto had a developmental issue!
It must be a side effect of the Holy Sword experiments, leaving his "little brother" either very small or outright nonexistent!
The lack of an Adam's apple was probably for the same reason.
Haruto averted his gaze and slowly lowered his head, silently mourning poor Yuuto in his heart.
Due to preconceived notions, he didn't consider other possibilities.
One Yuki disguising her gender was enough—surely Yuuto, who had always been male in the anime, couldn't be hiding his gender too, right?!
And that character who only appeared on the cover but never in the story couldn't possibly be the real deal, could it?!
Haruto was the weakest in terms of strength among them, and what he thought was discreet observation was actually noticed by Rias and the others.
Seeing him sneak glances at Yuuto from time to time, Rias and the others were initially puzzled.
But following his line of sight and witnessing his incredibly expressive face, their expressions gradually turned strange.
"Haruto, are you misunderstanding—"
"President."
Yuuto forced a stiff smile. "After I resolve that matter… I'd like to explain it myself."
Rias sighed. "Alright. But you don't have to carry it alone—"
Yuuto lowered his head. "I understand, but I just can't."
Rias froze, then fell silent.
Yes, everyone understood the logic, but how many could actually act on it?
She was no different herself...
Hearing this, Akeno's expression darkened as well, turning completely blank.
Even Koneko, who had been snacking, stopped moving, her mood clearly dampened.
Haruto noticed the shift in atmosphere. Based on his memories, they must have been reminded of the unresolved burdens weighing on their hearts.
The oppressive mood instantly killed his curiosity about what Rias had been about to say.
"President, Akeno-senpai…"
Haruto mustered the courage to break the silence. "As much as we love vacation, isn't it a bit too gloomy to start the first day of school looking like we're at a funeral?"
"Honestly, to have our newest member be the one lifting the mood…"
Rias was the first to recover, pressing her lips together. "I've really failed as club president."
"My, my~ So even our great president makes mistakes~"
Akeno seized the chance to tease Rias, dispelling her earlier gloom.
Rias shot her a glare, silently warning the mischievous Akeno.
The two had lived together since they were seven or eight—if Akeno wanted to dig up old dirt, Rias wasn't afraid to retaliate.
Akeno knew when to stop and didn't push further, covering her mouth with a hand as she giggled to the side like a fox that had just stolen a chicken.
"Ahem."
Rias turned back to Haruto, composing herself. "Haruto, there's an entrance exam tomorrow. Though your skills are more than enough, we still have to go through the formalities."
"Entrance Test? For the Inner Academy?"
Haruto asked in confusion, "I did hear about tests last semester, but I never attended any."
Rias lifted her chin slightly and said leisurely, "Akeno, explain it to Haruto."
Akeno rolled her eyes gracefully and reluctantly took on the role of explainer.
As Rias's servant, she knew this was retaliation for her previous teasing, but she had no choice but to accept it.
"Since you joined midway and were originally an ordinary person, the remainder of last semester was considered an adaptation period for you," Akeno explained seriously to Haruto.
"The Inner Academy implements a bottom-ranking punishment system. We couldn't possibly have someone who knew nothing and had just developed magical power participate in tests with the others."
"Bottom-ranking punishment system..."
Haruto suddenly understood why Reina and the others had been so desperate back then, even resorting to force to conduct dual cultivation with him.
After using the Eye of Insight for so long, combined with his growing strength, his mastery of it was no worse than Reina's natural ability - perhaps even deeper.
"What's the punishment for being at the bottom?"
"The most severe punishment is expulsion. Generally, it involves special training," Akeno thought for a moment before adding, "The special training is very demanding. Those who can't endure it or refuse to participate will also be expelled."