Hi there! I think I should start with introducing myself first here. The name's Pearl and I am the second male to attend IS Academy. Wait a male at IS Academy, he must be another male to be able to use an IS you might think now. And you would be wrong. There still is only one male human capable of using an IS. So what is he doing on the IS Academy then? I will cover that question in a moment. I think it is important for you to know that I was originally a comrade of Laura Bodewig during her military career. When the IS was introduced she had her eye exchanged for that artificial eye and the group "Schwarzer Hase" was founded. I got myself a workplace in that group and started doing some research on an alternative for males so that we won't be inferior to women in combat. My results were promising and Miss Bodewig realized that this project had potential even though others deemed me as crazed. With her help I was allowed to construct a prototype, named 'Schneesturm' (snow storm), and follow Miss Bodewig to IS Academy where I would be tested. But I won't go into detail now. What else is important? Oh yes the most obvious things. I am 16 years old and am obviously from Germany. Follow me as I describe what life is like as an even more exotic person at IS than just a male.

Getting a permission to enter IS Academy alone was already a lot of work. Since I am indeed unable to operate an IS I was first rejected but after some help from "Schwarzer Hase" and an official declaration of the German government about my project they did let me attend this school. But since I was way too unusual for a Girls Academy I was stopped several times on my way to the office by teachers and students asking if I was lost and how I got into the school. No sign of Miss Bodewig yet even though I made sure to inform her about my arrival. Last time I saw her, and that is some months ago already, she has sworn to kill that Ichika Orimura who is our male IS wielder. Maybe something happened? But then again, she is a tough nut to crack which she has proven to me in several sparring matches. Too bad that in the last one she used her IS making it impossible to scratch her. But back to my first day. After a dozen stops I finally arrived at the office of the one who should become my homeroom teacher. The former IS champion Chifuyu Orimura. Even though I got a permission to study here from my own government it was decided that I could only stay here if I could convince my homeroom teacher that I would not drag my classmates down. Why making it easy for me if it could be simple...

Knocking at her door she opened almost immediately. "Enter."

"Thank you for taking your time"

"Wilhelm Pearl, member of the German special forces. So you are our new student at IS Academy? Or to put it better: you want to be at that Academy? What does someone like you, someone unable to use an IS, hope to learn at this school?"

"While it may be true that I can't use an IS, I have developed a new piece of technology that has the potential of an IS without being limited to the user's sex."

"I heard about some of your ideas from 'Schwarzer Hase' but have not heard any details other than that it exists and goes by name 'Schneesturm'. What is the 'piece of technology' you are talking about?"

"Simply put, it is a suit that uses a minimized version of a nuclear reactor to provide energy for itself. Specially developed projectiles allow it to even attack IS suits with a good chance to eventually knock them out. In terms of armor it relies on a simple protection without any shields."

"So I can imagine it as a body armor with new weapons and a power source. What consumes that energy and what kind of weapons are we talking about?"

"With the energy provided I can use an on-board computer similar to the ones used in an IS and it enhances the strength of the user. In terms of weapons I have developed a large caliber rifle and some smaller arms capable of using this new ammunition."

"And you think that you can fight an IS with that suit?"

"If I get to chose the location I will win a 1v1 against an IS user of your choice."

"A good idea. I will set up a match for you against one of our top students. Next weekend you will fight her and if you win, you will be a student of IS Academy. If you lose however, you will be send back and this topic will be closed."

"May I ask who I am going to fight?"

"You may ask so, and since I hope to see the full potential of this 'Schneesturm' of yours I will tell you who you will face: Cecilia Alcott."

"The British representative candidate?"

"A problem for you? You can back out if you want."

"No problem. I will fight her and show you what this weapon system can do."

"So it is settled then. I will assign you to a room without any other students in it. Make yourself comfortable as it will either be the beginning of your career here or your only time at IS Academy. And try to avoid unnecessary contact with these students. Since you are not officially part of IS Academy I don't want to create misunderstandings. And it goes without saying that any kind of opposite sex interactions are forbidden for now. Are we clear on that?"

"I understand."

"You are dismissed."

"Thank you."

I sure as hell was nervous about that match she put me in. Everyone knew what kind of opponent Cecilia would be. She was the only female attendant to defeat an instructor so unless I would find some good ideas to compensate my weaknesses she would kill me. What I didn't mention was that once I get hit I have no backup systems. A hit with a cannon like hers would kill me. Blowing a hole right through my chest like nothing. Protection against normal rifle calibers? Maybe. Against blasts fired from an IS? In my dreams. No chance at all. That is one of my main issues where even the best scientists couldn't help me.

Arriving at my room, which was at the far end of IS Academy (they sure made safe that I would not try to interact with other students that much), I was pleased to see that my entire equipment was delivered to it. In total six boxes large enough to hide a body in each of them. Also a drawback, I can't summon my suit like others do it with their IS. I have to carry it, all the time, until my work is done.

So regarding my match I have studied the files about Cecilia that were accessible via the computer that was located in my room. She is a true sniper, so if I hope to stand a chance against her I would have to force her into urban combat. So the location for our match is not a hard decision. I wrote a Mail to Miss Orimura asking if she could arrange something like that and it didn't even took half an hour for her to reply that the match would take place in an abandoned city near by. At least I got that one going for me.

Since I mentioned my weapons already I will just give you an impression what I have. My main weapon will be a converted .50 cal rifle. Tests against Training units concluded that a direct hit will reduce the Shield Energy by approximately 10 points. Not really much but it's the best I can offer. I also modified two P90 so I can attach them to my forearm. If I get close I will need them to deliver a good dose of damage. One clip with 50 rounds will eat up to 10 points as well. And if shit gets real I have also gotten my hands on some Glocks that will be my last resort. Damage is, as expected, poor but I can't be picky here. Maybe 1 point per 10 hits but it is obvious that they are no powerful weapon. Other than that I do have some other stuff that is interesting. The part about the atomic reactor was no lie, I have been able to reduce it's size to a mere 20x10x3cm box that is attached on my left forearm right next to the P90. I need it there because if this device decides to malfunction I need to get rid of it. Fast. Unless I want to be caught in an explosion that would destroy anything in a 50m radius. A positive side effect of this is that I can make this reactor malfunction if I want to. That allows it's usage as a bomb but it is far too expensive for common usage. Due to the enormous amount of power my reactor provides I was able to install a miniature version of a Computer that allows quick calculations and is also a good source for information if I need them. Last tool I have is a launcher attached to my shoulders. Four tubes that I can load with either a smoke projectile or with an explosive charge. I can fire them individually but reloading them is a hard work. Hence four of them. Usually I have two of each type with me so I can react to almost all situations.

In terms of armor I have a protected my torso from all sides, my legs from the front and the bottom of my arms with a special kind of armor composition. One layer of Kevlar and some Carbon to strengthen it alongside with some other fancy stuff I don't quite understand. Like I said it works against conventional weapons but not against IS armament.

Now that you got an impression on what I can offer how about we speak about my time until that faithful match. I didn't expect any visitors so I was even more surprised to find a well known face in front of my door: my old comrade Laura Bodewig.

"Hey Laura how are ya doing?"

"Wilhelm. I can't believe it to see you here." she said obviously surprised to actually find me here.

"Wanna enter?"

"Sure. It has been some time since we saw each other."

"Indeed." I replied while she entered and made herself comfortable. It was not hard to tell that she saw my arsenal of boxes laying around.

"So you have finished your project? Last time I saw it it was just a bunch of armor." she said with what I would judge as a smile. She rarely shows joy, so it is hard to tell.

"I think I am done, but I will see next weekend."

"My sources already told me about that match. And I hope you win. I made your project possible so a failure of it will be regarded as my failure."

"Don't worry, I have everything planned." I tried to calm her down.

"I hope so. But to made sure I have arranged a meeting for you with someone who had several sparring matches with Cecilia already." she replied while going towards the door.

"Who are we talking about?" I was obviously confused by her.

She opened the door and a boy of my age entered. I recognized him as Ichika Orimura since I read most of the students files before arriving at Japan.

"Is this who I think it is?" I asked with quite a confused tone.

"Yes it is. May I present to you: my bride." Laura presented him like in an advertisement. But wait a second...

"Isn't this the guy you wanted to kill?" I realized.

"Not anymore. But back to the topic he will advise you for your preparations for next weekend."

"Like I have a choice..." Ichika said while looking at Laura.

"I am sure you will have a good time. You my report to me later Ichika. And don't fail me." she said while paying no attention to his words. She left us alone in an awkward silence.

"So you... are the only male to operate an IS?" I tried to break the silence.

"Yeah I guess. It's nice to meet you, you may call me Ichika." he replied.

"Nice to meet you Ichika. I am Wilhelm Pearl, but since I hate that name you can call me Will." I said while reaching my hand out to him.

"Well then Will. Seems like I am not the only male anymore." He answered while we shook hands.

"That said, I am not an IS user. I don't know what Laura told you but you are still the only male capable of operating an IS."

"Eeeh what?" The confusion was not hard to read. "But you are at IS Academy so if you can't use an IS how do you plan to stay here? Not mentioning the fight against Cecilia next weekend."

Okay so he was unaware of who I was and what kind of equipment I use. I gave him a short summary of 'Schneesturm' and how I hoped to defeat Cecilia.

"So you have a plan already? That is good. Do you have any back up plans in case something goes wrong?" he answered after learning about my equipment.

"No. It is all in for me. If I lose I will die."

"And you want to do this? You know that there is no way back once you start?" he said while sounding a bit worried.

"I am already at a point of no return. It's now or never. But do you have any knowledge on her that could be useful?" I tried to change the topic.

"Yes indeed. She has a superiority complex and is carried away easily when she thinks that she can't lose. Against a non-IS user she will sure be confident of her victory so make sure to surprise her during that phase."

"That is a good idea Ichika. Thank you!" I was glad to hear that my chances would not be zero at all.

He eventually gave me some other ideas like avoiding a head-on attack but like that most of his information were not new to me.

I tried to live my four days until match day without getting seen to often but at some times it was unavoidable. For example I had to eat in the dining halls with the other students, sure no good place to hide. Ichika and Laura did help me there and avoided that someone would see me as an intruder and I got to know some of his friends. Of course all female. He introduced me as a friend of Laura that would be just visiting which is partially true. His friends however were weird. A French girl that was permanently trying to comfort Ichika, a shy blue haired girl that didn't even dare to raise her voice at all and three girls with an interesting attitude. While being affected to Ichika they constantly yelled at him and were arguing over who should share her lunch with him. That Cecilia Alcott was also one of these three and she knew that she was ordered to fight someone next weekend. Fortunately that was all she knew so she had no idea that it was me. Interesting people, but I guess when being surrounded by people of the opposite sex it's unavoidable to have a large group of followers. That being said some other girls did try to make contact with me. I had to refuse them for now since Miss Orimura was quite clear on that topic. Would I have to share Ichika's fate with that 'harem' if I joined IS Academy?

Unfortunately I was not allowed to enter the training area so I got a bit unsure whether or not I would be able to use 'Schneesturm' to it's full potential, but time would tell me.

The weekend came faster than expected and Miss Orimura ordered me to that abandoned town so I could get a view on it before the battle starts. It was a rather small town in comparison to what the normal size was now but still large enough to fit my purposes. 5 x 8 km and most buildings three stories high. No rivers or parks so I could sneak around without getting into the open. After an hour of investigation I got called back to let the battle begin. Cecilia already arrived curious to know who her opponent would be.

"It is you? Laura's friend? Do you even have an IS?" she asked with a mix of surprise and confusion in her voice.

"Yes me. And I won't need one to win."

"Miss Orimura, this is just a waste of time. This battle will be over within five minutes. Who is this guy and is he determined to die?"

"You will fight each other so I can see what he is capable of." Miss Orimura replied while pointing at me.

"Without an IS unit he will lose, but whatever. If you have enough, just start begging for your life and I might forgive you." was the only thing she managed to say while she turned around without looking back walking towards a caravan.

"I have taken some steps to ensure your safety if something goes wrong. I have deployed three of my students in this city of which two should be known to you: Orimura Ichika, Bodewig and Dunois." Miss Orimura told me while looking at the city. "If you get seriously injured they are authorized to interfere and protect you, but otherwise they will not participate in the battle. I hope this won't be necessary."

Great, a French student protecting me? This would be against my pride. One more reason to beat that arrogant British brat. "I will keep that in mind, thank you" I said more to myself because if I happened to fire at them I sure would be in trouble.

"Match will begin in 30 minutes. You are free to position yourself in this city in any way you want. A signal flare will announce the start then. Dismissed." she said while also turning around and going towards a truck that had a lot of antennas on top.

So I tried not to waste any time and went into the city. Since I had some time left I set out some speakers to allow a diversion if needed. I would need them for sure. On one of the rooftops I saw an orange IS watching my every movement. That must be that French girl then I thought.

Before I could think about whether or not to prepare other scenarios I heard the flare being fired. So it has begun, it is now or never. Victory or Death!

It didn't take long for my guest to arrive. Like I assumed she would not enter the city. Too bad that I didn't even need to get that close to be able to fire at her. I made some calculations on her suit and luckily she only has 300 shield points. So that means how much? 30 hits with my rifle? Even if I would be 100% accurate, and I can assume that she will start dodging, my ammunition would not be enough. I had one magazine with five rounds loaded and three more with me. But it would be a start for now.

"Where are you? Let's finish this quickly since I have other things to do tonight!" her voice raised above the city. She really is convinced of her victory. Ichika didn't fool me with that one.

Before she could start spouting more nonsense my first shot hit her. Obviously from a direction she didn't expect. Analysis said that I got a 9-point hit. Not bad for a first hit. And she agreed.

"What the- you will regret this!" she screamed as four parts of her IS detached and started shooting in the general direction of where my shot came from. Too bad that I already changed my position and took aim for the next shot. Next one also connected, perfect hit with 10 points reduced. Maybe I stood a chance after all.

I was able to pull that off another four times when she suddenly decided that she would not tolerate guerrilla warfare. Before I could change my position she fired dozens of rockets into my direction. Luckily I could get inside of a basement before the impact but her patience was at the end.

"Come out and fight me like a man! Or are you dead already?" She sure wants to beat me now. I was able to reduce her shield energy by 54 points already but if that she would continue with that barrage she would get me sooner or later. So loaded a new five round clip and decided to use some of my speakers.

"If you want to fight, then maybe stop hiding behind an armor like the coward British you are!" I said through these speakers knowing that her national pride would make her rage. And indeed, she did.

"I will make you swallow these words!" was the last thing I heard before the noise of missiles and guns dominated the volume. Being totally focused on the position of my speaker she did not see me taking aim with my rifle. I fire my entire magazine into her taking away a healthy dose of 49 points. Her face was priceless. She expected everything but not a shot into her back.

But she still had almost two thirds of her energy so I tried it a second time, this time with a speaker much closer to me.

After the same message she did not immediately started to shoot but first fired some missiles into the opposite direction as I planned. While she looked the other way I tried to fire another clip into her but had to stop after three shots since she reacted too fast. Now I need to get the fuck out of here and I started taking cover.

"Did you really think I would fall your dirty tricks a second time?" Well you did in a way. Ask your shield if you don't believe me. 180 points left I might do this.

I connected to another speaker when she suddenly fired into my direction with her rifle. While I did not get hit the round cam way too close for my taste striking into a building behind me.

"Don't you even dare to think I would not be able to track your signal down!" she yelled while her four IS suit things started firing in my direction. Time to use a diversion and I fired one of my smoke projectiles which created a smoke wall between her and me giving me a chance to escape.

"Another dirty trick of yours? Well let's see how you like this!" and another barrage of rockets came in. They exploded inside the smoke screen blowing it away. But it gave me enough time to change my position. I loaded my four round clip I had from earlier and tried to get some distance between us. The battle drew us to the edge of the city so if I would get into the opposite corner I would have enough time to withdraw before she could return fire.

However it took me some time to get there and Cecilia did not wait patiently at her position and started flying higher while shooting at possible sniping spots. Finally arriving at my corner I took aim at her while she was busy cleaning some houses she deemed as suspicious and I could fire two shots into her. 164 energy points remaining I realized that I would only have four rounds left now and that I would then have to start becoming creative. I loaded all four rounds into one clip while changing position and saw how she destroyed one of the few remaining spots I could use. I took aim from the street then hoping to strike from a position she would not expect and could fire three rounds before she realized that I could also fire from the open. What happened afterwards was of course not that funny.

It started with her four (I will call them) remote blasters which started firing at me. A barrage of rockets joined the party and she also fired with her rifle turning everything in her way into dust. Luckily I saw an opening into the sewers so I went for those since my options were limited. Hearing the impacts above me I started to look for an exit as far away as possible while still remaining inside the city. Why didn't I think of the sewers earlier? I thought as they really were a crucial part of my escape. I took aim and fired my last round leaving her at 129 points before she started directing all her fire at me. Since it worked once I again went into the sewers and hoped to be able to draw her into the city itself. Considering her rage she must get impatient now.

I left the sewers as I heard the noises stop and in fact she was between the buildings looking over the chaos she left.

"Are we done now?" she asked and I decided to go for my trump card, the reactor. I set that reactor to self destruct with a two minute timer and laid it into a smaller bunch of rubble while leaving the rifle there as well since it was out of ammo. Some smaller pieces of my armor were supposed to fake my presence there. With another speaker positioned beneath the rubble I started faking coughs which caught her attention.

"Aaah there you are my little bugger." she said while getting closer. She did thought that I would be below the rubble and would start begging for my life which caused her to punch away some of the pieces before she saw that there was no body.

"What is that? Oh shi-" was all she could say before the reactor blew up destroying pretty much everything around her. As the dust cleared she was sitting against wall and her screens were all red. She knocked out by the shock wave.

I got her pretty badly. I assumed that she would have around 20 points left but my on-board computer had no energy anymore so I made sure that she would get her shield to zero. I took my forearm sub-machine guns and started firing at her and reloaded them as well firing a total of 200 rounds from point blank range. A closer look at her screens then told me she was down to 001 points so I just took one of my Glocks and emptied it.

Her IS disappeared and she felt down on the ground while I saw Ichika, Laura and that French girl arriving. Ichika and Dunois took care of Cecilia carrying her out of the city towards the truck Miss Orimura was in while Laura helped me since the loss of the reactor meant that I would have to carry the entire suit without any help of it.

Miss Orimura waited in front of the truck as an ambulance joined her. Did she expect me to get injured here? Or has she called it in for Cecilia? Next to her was a green haired adult that I have seen at IS Academy earlier so she must be another teacher.

"I see that you have won. Maybe I was wrong about you after all." she greeted me. "I have called an ambulance for both of you since you don't look healthy either. Come to my office tomorrow." Now that she said it, I could feel some injuries. My left leg was cut open by some flying rubble during the explosion and I had several wounds from close hits.

Cecilia didn't wake up in the ambulance but the doctors said that she had no serious injuries. Maybe it was good that she did not wake up since she would've annoyed me even more. At IS Academy I made a short stop at the Nurse office and then went for my room. I found Ichika standing in front of it waiting for me.

"Hey Will, good to see you in one piece again" he greeted me with a smile.

"Hi Ichika, I guess a thank you would be appropriate since you gave me the idea for my last strike which was the reason I won."

"I have followed you through your battle and saw some interesting moves. Will you stay longer at IS Academy? Maybe we could learn from you since it was the first time I saw an IS getting defeated by a person without one."

"I don't know how long or even if I will stay. It is up to Miss Orimura to decide that tomorrow." I replied while opening the door inviting him to come in. "Say, is she somehow related to you?"

"Who? Chifuyu? Yes she is my sister. And the only one left of my family. What about you and Laura?"

"We? We were both part of the German special forces. She as a one-woman-army, me as an assassin. After the IS came up she got her new eye and joined 'Schwarzer Hase'. Since we both spent some time together she allowed me to join her squad where I started to develop my own weapon system you saw earlier. Want some coffee?"

"Coffee?" he was confused to hear that word.

"Something wrong with Coffee?" now he made me unsure.

"Is that what Germans drink during that age?"

"Aaah. No no. I just got the taste for it during my work when I worked for 20 hours straight. So I guess you don't drink Coffee so how about some team?"

"I would taste a cup of Coffee if you don't mind. Never had one before."

"Sure right away." I replied while starting to set up two cups of Coffee. I took the powder with me from Germany since I only heard negative of Japanese Coffee.

"So how do you feel at this school Ichika? Are you okay being surrounded by ladies all the time?"

"Well I hopefully won't any longer since you are here."

"Ever hoped to get a Girlfriend here?"

"I would not mind having one but the question is if a girl would want me."

Is he kidding me? He is surrounded by women that are all trying to win his heart and he doubts that he can find a girl wanting him? Is he stupid or what? "If you want we could help each other in that aspect if I am allowed to stay. I could help you getting a girlfriend and you might help me with 'Schneesturm'."

"Sounds good. So I will hope that you get to stay here. I could use someone like you here."

"I hope so as well. Oh the Coffee's ready!" I said while getting to the machine and took both cups. "Here have a taste of German Coffee, just as good as our engineering."

He took a sip of it "It's quite hot and intense. So this is what adults drink all day?"

"The ones without sleep do so yes. Most others in Germany drink it every morning to get ready for the day."

"I see, so it's like our green tea then."

"I must try green tea one day. If I get accepted I will look to come by your room and maybe I can try one?"

"Sure. Come over whenever you want. I am in room 1025." he replied with a smile on his face.

We both sat there for twenty minutes discussing about various topics. He seems to be a nice guy but he lacks something in his brain. He seems to be horrible in judging someone's mood and he doesn't get the references or hints women give to him all day.

When he left I felt too tired to do anything else so I decided to go to sleep and did so.

Next day was Sunday and schools usually don't have lessons on this day. IS Academy was no exception but still there was some kind of movement on the hallways. One was right behind me as a bunch of girls followed me, and some others were in the classrooms. Maybe supplementary lessons?

Arriving at the office of Miss Orimura she was waiting alongside with that green haired teacher. They called me in and it was similar to an interrogation.

"So, Wilhelm Pearl. You have won the battle against Cecilia Alcott. We have some questions as we need some further information on that match." Miss Orimura began.

"For example what happened at the end. You never told us about some sort of bomb. Not mentioning with that destructive power. What was that?" the green haired teacher asked.

"It was my power unit. It should say in these files that I have a small nuclear reactor with me. I can set that reactor to self destruct and create an explosion of that size." I replied.

"So you carry a miniature nuke with you? How high are the chances that it goes off without any influence from the outside. I am asking because we can't risk that it goes off inside our buildings here." Miss Orimura continued

"This reactor works only when I fuel it with Plutonium. So I can control the energy output it produces. Less fuel equals less power and once I give in too much for too long it will create a chain reaction that causes this explosion. So the only reasons for this reactor to blow up are an intentional overflow of Plutonium or a malfunction due to damage received. Still it announces this malfunction and tries to control it for some seconds. So unless someone stabs a knife into this reactor it should be fine." I explained while trying not to make it too complicated.

"Okay then. Only one more question if you may and I ask out of curiosity." That green haired teacher began "Why create a weapon system like 'Schneesturm' when we already have the IS?"

That was indeed a good question. A very good one. My personal aim was to recreate the balance between male and female since males were viewed as inferior but saying that into the face of two women might be problematic. "I have seen the dangers of IS and how few there are. A single IS unit no matter where can spread chaos. I also saw some of these IS running riot. They don't seem to be safe from hacking so I decided to create an alternative. 'Schneesturm' can't be hacked, it's only form of communication is with a conventional radio using old German technology. And it is impossible to hack over this radio."

"Interesting. And you think that one day your weapon system will be equal to an IS" Miss Orimura continued.

"I think yesterday was quite a clear message. If used correctly they can defeat an IS"

"You have a point. I think time will tell us whether or not your project will have success. And since your results look very promising, I see no reason to hold you back. You will be allowed to stay at IS Academy and will join Class one." Miss Orimura announced "Miss Yamada and myself are the homeroom teachers of said class and we will supervise you for the next years." she said while looking at that green hailed teacher.

"I am pleased to meet you Wilhelm Pearl, I hope we get along well" Miss Yamada smiled at me.

I did it. I have entered IS Academy and can now look forward to improving my suit. My dream, that one day males will no longer be inferior to women might come true.

"You are dismissed." Miss Orimura said while opening the door.

"Thank you!" I said while leaving, both relieved and happy.

A small crowd of students had gathered in front of the office.

"And, can he stay?" one asked

"Will we get another male student?" a second one shouted

"I can't wait to get to know him!" a third one was obviously overjoyed

What. The. Fuck? Are the girls here so persistent? I now know how Ichika must feel. That said I promised to come over to him. I should get moving now before anything happens here.

"Clear the hallway and keep quiet!" Miss Orimura ordered, being answered by a wave of disappointment by all these girls.

I went to Ichika's room and found him there together with his Harem, or let's say most of it. Cecilia was missing. Hardly a challenge to guess where she was.

"Hey Ichika!" I greeted him after he opened the door.

"Hey Will. And?" he asked curiously.

"I am allowed to stay!"

"Wait, you are?" Laura interrupted us.

"Yes Laura. IS Academy has allowed me to stay for the next years." I replied to her.

"So you are a new student?" Dunois asked, while the other two also came by.

"I forgot to properly introduce myself to you all. I am Wilhelm Pearl, my friends call me Will. I am glad to meet you!" I said quickly since I haven't really introduced myself to them last week.

"I am Charlotte Dunois. I watched you during your match against Cecilia from one of the rooftops." the French girl said. And I am glad that I was not in need of help from some French soldiers.

"I am Houki Shinonono, an old friend of Ichika. Pleased to meet you." a tall brown haired girl said.

"That is not true! I am Ichika's childhood friend! The name is Lingyin Huang, but you may call me Rin." the smallest of them called out.

"I was his first friend so I deserve that title!" Houki countered.

"Well? He slept and ate at my place more often than he did at yours!" Rin threw against her.

While these two started to fight on a verbal base I noted the last girl standing behind everyone else being too shy to speak up. I decided to end this conversation between these two.

"And who are you back there?" I said interrupting Houki and Rin.

"Eh, I am Kanzashi Sarashiki, pleased to meet you." she said while looking down.

A shy one. So we have every type of girl here. Arrogant, nice, shy, aggressive and honest.

"So, when will you get your personal IS like Ichika has?" Charlotte started.

"Never. I am not capable of operating an IS. That is still reserved to Ichika alone."

"And how did you defeat Cecilia then?" Rin asked.

"With a new developed weapon system that is nowhere close to an IS. Basically an armored suit equipped with tones of modified weapons and an energy source."

"He has developed a new kind of weapon at Germany with my support" Laura added.

"And you are here because you want to learn how to fight next to an IS?" Houki replied.

And of course how to fight against them "Cooperation with an IS could be an advantage for my project." I said without mentioning that I would look forward to fight against them in mock battles.

"If you want, we all have personal IS so if you need some technical data we can provide you with plenty. Even if she is shy about it Kanzashi has build up her own IS, so if anyone knows how an IS works it's her." Charlotte offered.

"That would be a good idea." I replied surprised of her kindness. French and Germans were enemies for quite some time. How comes that she is that helpful? "What could I offer you in return?" I asked looking at them.

"That suit of yours looks interesting. Maybe you could give us an idea of what you have. You gave me a summary but I am sure that everyone else here is interested into some detail." Ichika gave back.

"I have everything at my room, so maybe if you come over I can show it to you better." I offered them.

They liked that idea and followed me to my room. Or let's say that Ichika, Laura and Kanzashi liked that idea. While being unsure about Charlotte I could tell that Houki and Rin were not interested into technical details on my suit but they did follow us however mainly to stay with Ichika.

Upon arrival I started to present them what I had, my rifle (which I had to replace since the last one blew up), both of my sub-machine guns, the Glocks, the on-board computer (Kanzashi was quite interested here) and the power source.

"So you have to wear that suit all the time unlike us IS user? Poor you..." Rin commented.

"What kind of power source are you using?" Kanzashi asked.

"Imagine having a nuclear reactor attached to your body. It works on Plutonium and I can regulate the power flow using the fueling system. That allows me to gain more power for a short period on time." I replied.

"So if you have an increased Plutonium flow into the chamber, will the reactor be able to hold it or will it melt?" she continued.

"If I add too much of it for too long the fueling system will simply put melt and the entire Plutonium enters the chamber. That leads to a chain reaction like you saw yesterday."

"Could you stop that reaction if it happened? Something like an emergency switch?"

"Once the fueling system is down the only possible step one can take is backwards. But it only malfunctions after getting damaged or if I want it to explode."

"Why would you want that?"

"This entire suit has the potential of rivaling an IS. In the case of being captured the only way to prevent it's abuse is to blow he entire suit as well as the creator up. One could say that it is like the poison the ancient samurai carried with them, only far more deadly for everyone around you." Maybe this girl is not as shy as I thought she was.

"So a suicide bomb when everything fails. Aren't you afraid that your opponent might use this function to kill you? Can you ensure that he won't activate it by hacking your system?"

"For that he would need to hack my suit, and that is virtually impossible. Unlike an IS my suit is not connected to a network and is completely independent. The only way to get data on it is by using a classic USB connection which is in the inside of my suit, so also not accessible from the outside."

"How do you communicate then?"

"I have installed an analogue radio with a four meter wavelength which is only able to transfer sounds. No data transfers."

"Isn't that an outdated technology from the 20th century?" Kanzashi asked surprised.

"Yep. But is works and is safe since no one uses it anymore. Most vehicles I have seen so far are not able to receive these waves and I am using one of the less common frequencies."

"And how do you plan to communicate with us when we use completely different equipment?"

"Two options. One would be that we find an alternative, other would be that you try to install a four meter device on your IS. I can't equip you modern radios since my system doesn't support them."

We continued talking about the IS and 'Schneesturm' for an hour before the annoyed looks of Houki and Rin forced Kanzashi to leave with them. It was only 3PM, so no idea what their problem was.

But summarizing my first week, I have to say that it was a full success. I was part of the IS Academy, I found some friends that would help me out and I was sure to be treated with respect since I took out that representative candidate. That's all for now folks, next time I will talk about my first week at IS Academy.