Whoosh!

The light blue sky fills the world above with clouds, fluffy as cotton.

A passenger airplane flies off straight past the fluffy cloud.

A city filled with high-rise buildings, skyscrapers, and strange futuristic holograms covers a few as they advertise everyday brand products.

Loudspeaker evokes a bell-ringing sound as students walk through the gate of a large, semi-modern rectangular school building.

Students wearing uniquely-designed school uniforms chattered in their own little circles. 

Their uniform design is a slick, thin white blazer with a long slender dark line that stretches across the entire top sleeve with a white undershirt and black tie. Females wear a skirt slightly above the knee, with two small black stripes on the lower part of their garment. Some wear different lengths of stockings ranging from their ankles to all the way to above their knees, while the males have black slacks worn with a fit and tight black synthetic leather shoes that fit the overall outfit.

"Hoooly moly. This school is freaking massive!" Commented one guy as he looked at the huge academy building.

His appearance is an oversized chubby man with a bowl haircut, wide pupils, and thin-framed glasses. He looked like a giant onion as, a small layer of fat protruding through his uniform above the belt area.

"This is it. The Academy of Ares. When I get here, I'm gonna be studying in peace, and I'll be graduating in no time. I'll be better than the previous school. Hopefully that one year break would be worth it," he monologued as he watched in awe at the beautiful futuristic architecture of the school building.

"Aresian students! Welcome to AA, where you will become great generals, leaders that will compete to become our best assets!"

"W-what?" The chubby guy exclaimed.

"Students are trained to become the best version of themselves and have their combat prowess measured and their great usage of their full potential."

"H-huhhh?" He looked around at the other students; most of them also looked like first years. Some were shaking in excitement, some were chatting to their buddies, and even someone released a particle beam of light.

A beam of light?

Other students had certainly weird entries as one raised his hand, and a small beam of light revealed, and a few seconds later showed an unusual-shaped object.

It looked more like a weapon.

"Weapons? What the fuck is this? Some type of magic weapon shit?" He thought out loud.

That same student looked his way and raised his eyebrow.

The others looked at him in confusion as well.

"U-uh... Yeah, t-that's what we're here for, right? To become great weapons of uh... mass... I mean, great warriors?" He awkwardly followed it up.

A few nodded and carried on as they walked to the school building halls.

Some looked disgusted by him as they turned a side-eye.

"Tsk... I didn't know this school allowed 'fit' as an option," One of them murmured.

As he entered the school premises, his eyes widened as he saw the open area.

 

The very first thing he saw was not the school grounds but a group of freshmen encircled in the middle of the passage.

"Y-You, I challenge you to a duel, you freaking p-p-pervert!" A loud and feminine voice stuttered as she pointed at the perpetrator.

"N-n-no, no, no, I didn't mean to do that. I got lost, and I couldn't find the bathroom, so I assumed that was a male's bathroom!"

The voice of a slightly timid but energetic boy replied as his face looked away from the girl.

"Woah, check it out. There's an ongoing duel," one of the students commented as they approached the conflict.

One is a beautiful, tall, slender lady with long blonde straight hair and bangs above her eyebrows; the other is a confused-looking guy of above-average height with dark medium-length hair. 

"I-is that Lina Remilla?"

"Who's that?"

"Ehh... You didn't know? Well, all you have to know is her sister was the top five percent of the academy,"

"Huh... What's so great about that?"

"She's also beautiful, so who doesn't want to see a hot lady ready to fight against a pervert,"

"Oh... Who's the other guy?"

"I don't know, some pervert?"

The blonde lady raised her hand sideways, and particles lit up from her palms, revealing a slender-shaped blade, particularly a rapier.

She aligns her rapier parallel to her face and gazed at her opponent with eyes locked on his upper body, then elegantly dances in a smooth motion and points her weapon toward him.

"En garde!"

"Tsk, can't we just settle this in another way?" He shrugged.

"If you don't accept my challenge in a duel, I demand you to throw your school's crest for you dared to enter the prestigious school with lustful intent,"

"That doesn't make sense. It's just an accident-"

"There are no accidents! Y-You maliciously opened the bathroom door knowing someone was there,"

"But I don't eve-"

"Accept the duel or leave!"

"Fine," 

BZZZT!

Dark black sparks are released from his lower left hip. His hand closes into the light and pulls out a Black Uchigatana. A Japanese katana variant with a straighter edge.

"W-what is that weapon?" The audience asked.

"That's just a black katana. Everyone has their own 'Relix' manifested by their own power," 

What the fuck is a 'Relix'? The chubby guy thought.

The two dashed toward each other, and their weapons clashed.

CLANG!

Sparks flashed as their weapons made contact with each other.

A few seconds later, more sparks explode from different directions as the two move in a circle with great speed.

"W-What the hell is going on? These guys are insane!" The chubby guy exclaimed as he watched the two, distancing himself from the circle.

What type of school have I entered? I don't want to get hit by those things. The chubby guy thought.

The entire circle watched in awe at the duel.

"My eyes can't keep up with their speed. You sure that the other guy's just some guy?" One of the guys in the audience commented.

"Look at his uniform; he's also a first-year," The other replied

"They're both first years; what's the difference?" They asked.

"Lina's known in school for her beauty as soon as she was enrolled, then her power has been noticed until everyone realizes she's one of the most potential knights in her prestigious family, next to her older sister,"

After each multiple strikes against each other, countered by their dodges, they distanced themselves, sweating and catching their breath.

"You have some great reflexes and speed, rookie. What's your name,"

"Dosanko Keisuke. Kei, in short. Those are some nice movements from that 'Rose Stance' you learned,"

"You... Who taught you that?" she raised her rapier.

"I did my research..." he smiled.

"Tch! Hiyaa!"

The two went back to striking each other, but every time one swung their sword, the other parried it, resulting in a beautiful rhythm of metal clanging.

She performed a standing stance with her other arm behind her and stabbed the torso of Keisuke, but his reflexes helped him move away from the blade only by mere centimeters as he performed a flexible back sway.

"I-Impossible!" She thought as she continued performing multiple stab attack stances.

Each thrust leaves Keisuke slightly off-balance as he tries to recover from her precise fencing attacks.

She smiles as she finds Keisuke about to fall from his feet after the crazy amount of thrusts she attempted at him.

She stepped forward and placed her rapier in front of her chest, facing sideways towards her opponent, aimed directly at the school crest located at Keisuke's left chest.

She thrust forward with one swoop.

"I win," she whispered.

The whole audience gasped at what they saw.

She looked around, but no one cheered at her. They looked at her in shock as she looked back again to her opponent.

His sword has made contact with her crest, and with one slice, Rina and Keisuke's crests are sliced in half at the same time.

"DRAW!!!" The entire audience cheered.

"W-What? D-d-draw!?" Lina stuttered in shock.

"You heard that? This is the first time someone had reached a draw against Remilla Family's swordsmanship," 

"Oh... Draw? Jeez, I guess we are both on par, uh... Lina?"

"I... I..." Lina gritted her teeth, and her eye twitched.

"Should we get some food? I'm kind of-"

"I disagree with this. We will have a rematch duel! A rematch!" She puffed her cheeks and stomped her feet.

"Enough, students! Go back to your class! These freshmen are making a commotion this early in the morning," a loud yet formal voice echoed across the school ground.

The students who circled around the two looked in the direction of the noise.

The woman, dressed in a clean office outfit, with dark hair tied in a high bun and circular glasses, gazed at the student body. She holds a yellow clipboard in her right hand.

"Psst, who's that?" One of the rookies whispered.

"Didn't know even the staff are gorgeous here," They whispered as they left.

Everyone in the passage left the place in a hurry.

"You two, come with me to the office," she pointed at the two who caused the commotion.

The unsuspecting chubby guy left together with the circle as the two perpetrators were left behind, scolded by the gorgeous teacher.

---

AA Freshmen's Ceremony

'All Freshmen are required to attend the ceremony to celebrate the arrival of a new batch.'

Everyone take a seat from the large rows of soft red silk chairs while waiting for the hosts to prepare for the ceremony.

Mr. Big chubby guy takes his own seat next to... No one.

He scans around the audience's area as each of them has, at least, a friend or someone to talk to. 

Being with no one just makes him feel a bit... awkward and lonely.

"Good morning, AA students!" The hostess in the distance opened enthusiastically.

The freshmen applaud as the hostess happily presents the school.

"U-umm... May I sit here?" A shy, timid voice coming from his right politely asked the puffy-faced guy.

"Sure, no one else's sits here,"

"Okay," her voice changes to a happier tone, and she playfully sits beside him.

 

The ceremony then proceeds with the introduction of the school's places and tours along the school premises. It was pretty dull, as some freshmen tried to keep their heads up.

"Argh, where is the best part? I don't want to sit here listening to this. I want to train!" The red-headed girl uttered.

"There's actual training here?"

"Yeah. We're gonna showcase our abilities and show how capable I am,"

"Huh... That's going to be..."

"Say, I didn't catch your name, big guy,"

"Ahaha... It's Nito, Nito Trover,"

"Alice Fontaine. I hope to see your skills in the upcoming training,"

"I... M-maybe when I get to show mine once I get..."

"Stronger? Aww, you're probably hiding it. You shouldn't be conserving your energy, you know," she pointed at his stomach and dug her finger through his belly.

Soft...

"Hey, stop, you're tickling me,"

"What? Really?" She continued to dig through his belly again, but Nito couldn't contain his laughter.

"Oi, will you fucks tone down?" The other guy sitting beside Nito, irritated by his laughter, intervened.

"S-sorry..." Nito said as the two stopped what they were doing.

"Tch! they even brought defectives here," he murmured as he returned to sleep. 

He looks like a typical hot-headed guy. His thick eyebrows looked like it's on fire, and his buzz haircut make him look like a used eraser.

"What's this guy's problem?" Nito asked Alice as he turned his head towards her.

"You talking to me? Fatty?" The other guy raised his head.

"Yipes!"

"First, you interrupt my sleep; now you talk behind my back?"

"Hey, we're sorry; I didn't mean to wake you up; I couldn't even see you sitting beside him in the first place," Alice apologized.

A few seconds later, her eyes widened after thinking it through what she said.

"I mean... I could've seen you, but he was on the wa-"

Nito stared at Alice with his eyes squinted.

"Argh... Fuck, just tell me when this thing is done," the hot-tempered guy rested his head on the back of the chair.

---

As the ceremony ended, an announcement came.

"Attention, freshmen of AA. Your ongoing classes will be postponed for today to make way for your first training. This will be the evaluation of your abilities in order to make up for the upcoming Mock Tournament: Valerian. It is a tradition of AAs to overcome the abilities of each other to build a bond and understand their own capabilities. After the Tournament, Valeria, you will be finally tested on Gladius. Your first training will not be graded, but it will help you understand your batchmates,"

"Finally!" Alice stood up, leaning her head in front of the chair as she stood excited about the upcoming task.

The freshmen left the theater and headed to the school's training grounds.

The training ground looked like a huge dome of glass that was as huge as three football fields. It's so massive that it can fit at least one thousand persons evenly spaced.

"Alright, freshmen, my name is Professor Jonathan Eubanks! I'll be evaluating your abilities, and by the end of this session, your rank will be based on your performance. So if you are behind, you will become at the bottom of the food chain. This is not a playground. This is a battle, All-in-all good luck,"

The training ground scenario had suddenly changed with slight traces of hexagon-like screens, turning the place from a modern lab white ceramic background to an uncharted lush green forest.

"Pair yourself with a partner, and if you don't have one, the unlucky one will have to fight me,"

Everyone had paired up with perhaps their friend or newly met friend. 

Nito, however, searches for Alice as she is the only one he talks to the entire time in the ceremony.

When he finds Alice, she is paired up with the eraserhead.

"Hey, I thought we could pair up,"

"S-sorry, Nito, I already got a pair," she sweats as she awkwardly looks the other way.

"Ahh. Damn," he continued looking for other potential pairs as he walked around the open lush green forest,

"W-Why would I pair up with this guy? This no-use monkey with a deformed katana is the worst person to pair up with," a familiar voice echoed near Nito's right.

He gazed at the general direction to his right and found a certain pair he remembered seeing right after entering the school.

"If you don't like him, pair up with me instead!"

"Yeah, that guy's a pervert anyway; how about you pair up with me!" The other guy said as they approached Lina.

One by one, they encircled her.

The amount of guys that wanted to pair up with Lina is growing.

Nito, seeing the amount of unpaired people means he might get himself someone to be his partner in this session.

He approached a nearby guy.

"Hey, let's be partners!" Nito placed his hand on the nearby guy just behind the circle.

He looked the other way and ignored him on purpose.

Nito went to the next guy, but he turned a side eye on him.

He went to another one,

and another one...

No one wanted to pair up with him.

"N-No! I'm not accepting your offer," Lina ran to Keisuke again and hugged his arm.

"He'll be my pair... For now," She glanced at Keisuke.

The circle, slightly irritated by what happened, left them. Some of them paired each other up instead.

Those two looked like they were straight out of a main protagonist couple.

Meanwhile, Nito hasn't been able to get one, as everyone had already paired up.

"It seems most of you have a partner now. You! The big guy in the middle. Step up," Jonathan pointed at Nito as he stood in the middle without any other person to accompany him.

"You and your partner will be sparring with your Relix. You'll gain maximum points if one of you wins. The loser will be strictly evaluated based on how well they fight. This way, your lost points will be mitigated even if you fight an evenly-matched opponent."

"Hey, I thought this isn't graded," one of the rookies complained. 

"Those points will be your initial points. It's not part of your finals!

Shit, then if I'm paired up with the prof, I'll be screwed! Nito gulped.

"Ready your Relix, Freshmen," Professor Jonathan raised his stance and his Relix appeared from his hand, revealing a long purple and elongated triangular-shaped scythe. Its handle's length is twice and half as tall as Jonathan, and he is 6'2 (1.84 meters). The fact that he's handling a long weapon made Nito's skin crawl.

Shit, how do I do this?

"Where is your Relix, Freshman?" the professor asked.

"R-R-relix?"

"Summon your weapon now. We shall spar!"

"I-I-I probably left it at home," Nito lied, knowing how futile that excuse is. He gets the gist of what a Relix is, but does he have one?

"This is no joking manner, or I will proceed to engage with or without your Relix,"

"I-I'll try, but I don't--"

WHOOOSH!

The scythe's sharp blades slightly cut a small portion of Nito's hair.

Prof Jonathan stands there with his scythe pointed at him.

H-How? That distance! W-why is he fighting me?

Nito turns his back on Pr. Jonathan.

"AAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHH!" Nito screams as he gets chased off by his teacher.

The freshmen around him looked at his direction as they saw a big chubby dude being chased by his professor wielding a large scythe.

It looked straight out of a chasing scene in an old cartoon.

"Why the hell is that guy running?"

"Where's his Relix?"

The more they ask, the more confused they are. 

"Get back here. This is a training ground, not a running marathon!"

Nito, despite sprinting with all his might, Sir Jonathan gained up on him and reached his scythe towards his foot, tripping him in the process.

Huff... Huff! Agh! Wheeze....!

Nito catches his breath and falls to the ground, profusely sweating as his back rests on the artificial dirt.

Come on, I probably have a Relix! He thought.

He raised his arm and made a grabbing motion.

Quick, imagine a sword. A greatsword... Anything, a freaking weapon! He closed his eyes while panting heavily.

"Urgh! Come on, Relix!" He imagined harder, gripping his head as he imagined any weapon he liked.

A katana, great axe, spear! Guan Dao! Yari! Come on! A stick!

"Are you constipated, freshman?" Professor Jonathan asked.

"GAH!" Nito opened his eyes.

Slightly blinded by the artificial sun, he sees the silhouette of a fit man in a sleeveless outfit.

Huff...!

The professor arrived and crossed his arms, shaking his head as he looked down at him disappointedly.

"Tsk tsk... If you keep this up, it's better if you drop sooner or later,"

He left and watched the rest of the students spar against each other.

There are rare occasions where some used their special magic abilities while wielding their Relix.

SWOOSH!

A blazing lick of fire rises from the ground.

"Why... Can't... You. Stop... Moving!" The Eraserhead swings his fists left and right as his forearms and hands are covered in orange burning fire. He wears some strange golden gauntlet that reaches near his forearms, and the first area is covered in spikes.

"You have to be faster than that! Brock," Alice replied as she dodged the incoming fists with incredible speed.

Brock closes in as his body has reached a few centimeters near Alice. He attempted to grab hold of her by the shoulder, but he got kicked off, staggering him in the process.

Alice raised her white, shining saber. Its length is as tall as her. She holds the saber with both her hands and places her feet in a diagonal pattern.

She pushed herself forward, leaving a trail of dust as she closed in for a kill on Brock.

The guy with a buzz cut blocked the slash with his hands crossed, leaving the two in a stalemate.

Brock attempted a low sweep kick.

The red-haired girl reacted it with a jump. She landed on the shoulders of Brock.

"Hey! What the~?"

Brock attempted to grab her legs with his burning gauntlet, but she hopped away from him.

This time, she landed behind him and kicked behind his knee.

He fell to his knee, and Alice placed her saber near his throat.

"Surrender, now!"

"Grrr... F-fu~" Brock stared at Alice, unyielding to her offer.

He glanced around for any possibility while the saber is merely inches away from his throat. Wherever he looked, there was no possibility of winning this position.

He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. 

"F-Fine, I surrender," Brock raised his hands, and the fire from his gauntlets extinguished.

"Yippee! I won!" She clapped and hopped in joy as her saber disappeared right after that.

"Tsk, I'll freaking get you again next time, Alice! I swear. Shit, I can't believe I lost against a girl," Brock stood up from his knees and walked away from her.

By now, most of the freshmen are done with their sparring.

The last remaining who are still fighting are Lina Remilla and Dosanko Keisuke.

They still brought up their last fight as they continued their ongoing duel with fantastic skill. They are both first years, but the fact that their skill level is so different compared to the other rookies even gained attention from the professors and the staff who are watching from their screens.

They replayed the footage as they watched in awe of their duel, both from the earlier fight and the current training.

"The rookies of this year do clearly have some potential. If we nurture them over time, they'll be ripened to be the best warriors for this generation," A man with a well-trimmed beard, dressed in a fancy and neat casual. With red long buttoned sleeves, topped with a slim black blazer, dark gray slacks, and a pair of leather shoes, sits behind the wooden desk.

"Every year, we always get certainly unique people. Look at the way he fights. It's as if he knows exactly where to place his sword. He doesn't even flinch and look at how he holds his breath and relaxed stance. That is not an amateur swordsman," The other is a woman, tied in a high bun and in an office outfit.

"Let's not forget about our most potential fencer. Lina. Selene may be our best alumni, but her younger sister is a diamond in the rough. She clearly took in the lessons she got from her and Selene's master,"

"They both display strength, skill, and precision, indeed,"

"Unfortunately, we do have some few that might not make it to Valerian,"

"Bah, that's to be expected, Diana. They'll drop soon anyway before they even reach Valerian,"

"Some slackers are present in their sparring. If they continue acting like this, they might as well not fight,"

"Hmph... They think enrolling in a prestigious academy will further their careers just by merely staying and just graduating here?"

"It's not that but we only have one non-Relix user in the current batch. Sooner or later, he'll drop before he causes harm to himself,"

"Hmph... I suppose we should implement a rule to only allow Relix users in this school once he leaves. No students of AA can overcome our challenges without one's own mana and magical power,"

"It is true. Based on data gathered, the graduates of Aresian Academy for non-Relix users is... close to zero percent. Also the fact that there's a drastic decrease of non-Relix users in the past years admitted to this school,"

"It is as expected. The talentless and those without hard work cannot pass the Valerian,"

"Relix is only a tool of one's own soul. A farmer may be able to wield or gain one, but it does not mean it is needed. What is it for? Cutting wheat? We have the technology to make greater output yield even without a Relix. It is a power used as an extension of one's own ability,"

"What about someone with no Relix,"

"They're no better than ordinary people. The common may not have the mental capacity or even the power to stay in this school longer. Only those who have extraordinary talent and skill will stay,"

"I see; that poor fellow gave that Non-Relix user a lesson,"

"We can just ignore them. He'll be gone after a week... At most," 

"The rookies look exhausted. Their stamina is not the same as the last batch,"

"We have some potential freshmen anyway. Let them have their rest,"

---

Meanwhile in AA's Training Grounds

"For your next session, you wi-"

Professor Jonathan flinches away to his right, and holds a metal earpiece from his left ear, interrupted by a loud buzz.

"D-Damn... T-The current training session will continue tomorrow. The Dean requests you take a break for today. Your performance today will be marked for your upcoming initial ranks. You may proceed to your dormitory,"

The green forest's scenario changed back to its white lab-like training ground.

Some students pick themselves up as they leave the training grounds.

"Damn, right from the start? Fuck, I can't believe he hit my shin with that,"

One of the students whispered as he limped outside.

Some were excited, and some felt in defeat.

Nito left the building, head hanging on his shoulder as he felt his weight feel more encumbered.

"Nito!" Alice called as she approached Nito.

"H-hey...?" He waved.

"I'm sorry we couldn't be partners... But hey, you better show off when we pair up soon, alright?"

"I. I guess," He looked away, scratching his head.

"You see that big guy running away from his prof? He was scared shitless," 

"Hahahaha. It's like a cartoon scene. Getting chased like a cat and mouse,"

"That's an oversized mouse if you ask me,"

The two nearby guys chuckled as they walked passed Nito and Alice.

Alice picked up on what they said and stared at the big guy with eyes squinted.

He avoided eye contact with Alice and scratched the back of his head, 

"..."

"..."

Five seconds have passed.

"Umm. Actually, I'll be heading to my dorm now. I'll be seeing you tomorrow, haha" She awkwardly waved him as her leg nudged behind.

"Ye-yeah, I... I'll be going to my dorm as well," Nito smiled as he also positioned his leg away from Alice.

They both awkwardly waved as they separate ways.

Now that I think about it, where is the dorm? Nito thought.

He grabbed his phone and, checked the map, ran to the male's dorm with his head down.