So that's what it is.

It was a Kendo club.

The famous sport doing which people beat each other with wooden sticks.

But that was strange.

Shouldn't there be many people applying for that club?

I mean, fighting with swords has always been popular. Why, then, no one is trying to apply?

I was wondering about that when suddenly I noticed that there was an arm splint on the hand of the sword-wielding boy.

...So that's what was the problem. I see. All the other clubs were already quite scary. And in this one, the only representative was a cripple. So of course no one was trying to get in. There couldn't be a worse advertisement than that. What's more, the boy himself with his head full of messy red hair looked hard to approach.

Soon, all the onlookers started to leave.

At that moment I saw desperation appear in the eyes of the swordsmen. He tried to swing his wooden stick even faster — it was making quite a sound — and yet it was of no use. People were leaving. I was also about to go away when suddenly… I had a thought.

All this time I was trying to find something as safe as possible. Well, of course I did. But maybe I was mistaken in that approach of mine? What if I should have been doing just the opposite?

No matter how scary a sport can be, I doubt that it will kill me. But something else can do it. I saw fantasy, horror, and even battle-shonen on the Wheel of Genres. All of that was dangerous as hell. Maybe before I get myself into all that stuff, I should try to prepare? By training, for example.

With a sword.

That way I will be more ready for the future.

Yes, that's right. I clicked my tongue. The more I was thinking about it, the more correct this decision appeared to me.

It was logical. Scary, but logical.

  After mulling over it some more, I breathed in and walked forward.

A saying appeared in my mind:

...You should work for the sake of your future. Passivity leads to death.

People around me gasped. They were surprised that someone finally tried to apply. They were looking at me the way you look at an insane person.

The red-haired guy didn't notice my approach. He was completely absorbed in swinging his sword. I coughed to attract his attention, and only then did he gaze at me.

I asked:

"Can I apply?"

Once again, the people around gasped.

The red-haired person also seemed surprised, but very soon a smile was plastered on his shocked face.

"Yes… Yes, of course, you can… Wait, I… Just let me…" he lowered the sword he was holding with one hand and placed it on the table. Then, he took an application list and passed it to me. The list turned out to be almost completely empty. I wrote down my name on the first line.

After I gave the list back, the guy, Takeshi Toma – his name also had been written there — smiled at it as if it was some sort of a treasure.

"Welcome," he said and stretched to me his sweaty hand. I was about to shake it when suddenly, a voice full of contempt sounded behind my back:

"What the hell are you doing here… Gaijin?"

That voice was familiar. I turned and saw the guy who had been cursing me in the classroom. His friends also were here, with him.

The guy with shiny black hair walked toward me and Takeshi. There were two of his friends with him. Other children immediately made a way once they approached, to the great delight of that group. They smiled, visibly enjoying their power. Then the leader of that group, the only one with a height comparable to mine, looked at me and said:

"What are you doing here, gaijin? It's our sport. F*ck off."

His eyes were full of contempt.

I silently looked around. There were no teachers nearby, though I doubt any one of them could provide any help. The same could be said about other pupils. Just like back in the classroom, they were pretending that nothing bad was going on. Several of them were even smiling, enjoying the show, it seems.

"So? Why are you still standing here?"

"F*ck off!"

The trio still was trying to drive me away.

I looked at them calmly. Really now… I don't like getting into that sort of situations. Of course, I wasn't going to just walk away. However, neither could I fight them. They were provoking me, trying to make me the first one to punch, so that way they feel free to beat me up…

When people are trying to make you angry, the only right approach is to ignore them.

I turned away and asked the red-haired guy, who also was looking somewhat tense:

"So, where is the clubroom?"

Once again, some surprised voices sounded from the crowd.

The guy with glossy hair and his friends weren't expecting me to simply ignore them. First, they were surprised. Then, they started to get angry. The leader of the group tried to put me on fire with his fiery gaze — to no success.

Seeing that I wasn't going to do anything, he changed his target, shifting his gaze toward the swordsmen.

The glossy haired guy looked away and started talking, seemingly just voicing his thoughts, but actually talking to the crowd:

"Whatever, what else could you expect from THAT club. During the last year's competition, they were almost beaten to death. Almost everyone quit after that. Now they just letting anyone in to fill up numbers."

Takeshi lowered his head. The guy with glossy haired went silent for a second, but then, seeing that his approach was working, started talking again:

"I also had been thinking about joining you. But now? To hell with it. Wasn't there an exam to apply to the club previously? What? Have you given up on that as well?"

"Yeah, tell him, Siro," said one of the other guys.

Seems like the leader's name was Siro.

Takeshi became completely dejected. Well, whatever. It wasn't my problem anymore.

Or at least that I thought, when suddenly…

'Join a club — mission accomplished! 3 Points and a Beginner's package granted!'

'New mission detected: pass the exam to join the club. Reward — 6 Points!'

'New mission detected: get yourself a rival. Reward — 6 Points!'

I froze for a second. Then, I made some calculations in my head. I got 3 Points, so now my Genre Score should be 3/9.

Also, now I had two more missions. To get a rival... Hah, Now that's quite a typical trope for the SpoCon genre.

I wasn't sure how I should get myself one, so for now, my only choice was the other mission.

I sighed, looked at the dejected red-haired guy, and said, in a loud voice so even the crowd around would hear me:

"What exam is that? I want to try passing it."

Takeshi lifted his head and looked at me with a great surprise in his brown eyes. Siro had a similar reaction. At first, he was surprised. Then, suddenly, his face twisted with such anger that I felt he was about to punch me. He managed to restrain himself and said:

"Kendo team has always been the most popular in the school before everything that happened during the last year. Usually, only one person out of forty could pass the exam. Still gonna try, gaijin?"

Everyone in the crowd was surprised by his word. Me included. And my surprise was far from a pleasant one. All of us looked at Takeshi for confirmation. He made an awkward smile and then nodded.

Great… So the ratio was right? One out of forty?

I'm f*…

"So," I asked while trying to calm down:

"What should I do?"

"Well… That…" Takeshi pondered, seemingly trying to find the right words to describe the exam. To no success, it seems, because pretty soon he just shook his head.

"Let me show it to you…" he said and picked up his sword from the table…