"The Land of Gensokyo; a closed world with an exclusive history. It is also the home to countless Youkai with various powers. These powers are generally so epic that the fear of Gensokyo's collapse is constant. This concern lead to the birth of the Spell Card system. As a result, Youkai can cause trouble without fear of their powers decaying, and humans have the chance to contest such trouble. That is because of the Spell Card system's theory of balance. Brute strength does not dictate the power of a Spell Card. When it comes to this kind of skirmish, there is no power superior to beauty and thought."

Patchouli Knowledge continued to read details of Gensokyo in a professional and relaxing tone of voice. Once my eyes absorb enough of my mentor's lavender themed room, I start to close my eyes and let the peaceful atmosphere carry me.

The Road Paved in Concepts: (2-1) The Newcomer's Ambition

[BGM~SXc8O1z2qVc "Up in the Morning (Little Busters)"]

The way Patchouli is explaining the lore to me like this.. it sort of feels like I'm becoming accepted as a part of this strange place. Even though I did wind up victorious in a Spell Card battle recently, the whole idea of it feels unreal. Not to mention Gensokyo is only the tip of the iceberg...

"Louis, are you even listening?"

Ah, Patchouli is sporting quite the cute frown.. understandable since I nearly dozed off on the oak desk across from her. I think I wound up drooling on it.

"This is a lot to remember but I think I get it," I reply.

Patchouli lets off a lenient sigh. "I am suspecting you are just claiming to understand in order to appease to me."

"I was listening! You were saying that reason plays a large role in a Spell Card's power. It makes sense because back when I was fighting Ran, the only time I was able to do anything to her was after Mami and I made that Spell Card together."

"Ah.. that's right."

I surprised Patchouli with my 'special talent' just now. For ages, school teachers have called upon a sleeping figure named Louis Starsky in hopes to embarrass him, only for the student to give undeniable proof that he was paying attention. Unfortunately that awesome talent was only useful during lectures..

"I guess my reason was okay enough, but I was more lucky than anything else," I say aloud.

Patchouli nods. "The Unity Sign pulled through for you in a pinch."

"In all of its cheesy glory!"

My last random line made Patchouli chuckle a little. That's probably because even she realizes that whole scene felt like an action manga ripoff.

"T-There are multiple consequences for mocking your own Spell Cards!" she states while fighting off more laughter. "You should take your abilities more seriously!"

"I just disrespected Gensokyo customs didn't I? I'm sorry."

"You did not mean anything negative from it," Patchouli replies. "I am beginning to understand that your carefree nature is just a part of who you are."

"I'm trying to be serious though. I just never respond too well to lectures. I learn the most from practice and examples."

Patchouli slightly tilts her head before responding. "Is that so? Unfortunately this is not something that one can simply practice on a whim."

"So.. what, do I have to keep fighting people until I figure things out?"

"You don't just run around looking for trouble unless you're hoping to cause an incident."

Just thinking about that option bothers me somehow.. "I wouldn't want to do all that. Couldn't you just introduce me to some of your friends or something? At least let the residents here know that I've been staying here."

A familiar black dress enters Patchouli's room. Koakuma arrives with a tray of tea cups and a pitcher. She sets it in the middle of the desk that divides Patchouli and I.

"I'd rather not at the moment," Patchouli continues as Koakuma graces the room with a warm smile in the background.

"But if I got to formally introduce myself, that would save a lot of trouble for both of us wouldn't it?"

"Louis does have a point," Koakuma decides to add.

Patchouli gives a small frown that suggests that she feels outnumbered. "The direct approach is definitely the best approach in theory, but the fact of the matter is this: First impressions are very important, and I predict that as you are, Remilia would tire of you quickly."

"L-Lady Patchouli!"

Ouchies. "That sounds more like an opinion than a fact.. but you probably know what you're talking about.."

"Don't take it personally Louis," Patchouli replies with a trace of sympathy. "Remilia's attention span just happens to be extremely selective in general."

The truth is that I somewhat have that trait as well, especially when the topic involves something that does not interest me. Because of that I doubt that anyone here would discover that aspect about me since these guys couldn't possibly detract my attention. Hmm.. I wonder..

"Patchouli...If I happen to be someone that can beat Remilia's best friend with Spell Cards, then I have to be someone worth introducing to her, right?"

[Fade BGM]

Koakuma's eyes light up in response to the suggestion. Patchouli raises an eyebrow.

"Is that a challenge...? Very well then."

Of course my chances of coming out on top are most likely very low but now that I have the chance to meet a number of interesting people in this interesting world... I'm willing to take any chance that I got!

[BGM~pFKmtgGjM8A "Sorrowful Angel (Disgaea Hour of Darkness)"]

Winter. The season where Mother Nature paints landscapes all over the world with a pure white coat. It is this most wondrous sight that replaces the most colorful of flora. Snow. Is it beautiful or bleak? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and so the answer varies. There are many that long for the Spring to return all of the colorful leaves that the autumn has withered. There are others who are content with the evergreens that hold strong in the cold. And of course, there are a number of individuals who could not care less. These are the ones who purged beauty out of their perception of reality. As a result, sights such as forests are often ignored by the busy man. That is why a forest was chosen.

An area like that, one not visited by the average person is a perfect area.. An uncharted area to watch the snow fall from a unique perspective. The evergreens would catch and hold as much snow as possible before letting go or freezing over. A scene like that is more unpredictable than the norm. That is one of several appeals toward coming to such a place. As for another... this scene would not likely become interrupted by any force. The sight could go on forever if one desired as much...

[Fade BGM]

Here in the Scarlet Devil Mansion Library, in front of a large audience of old books (and Koakuma), a decisive battle is about to take place! In the red corner, the champion is none other than Patchouli Knowledge, the Library's lovely icon herself. Bringing up the blue corner is Louis Starsky, some random overconfident newbie. Who will bask in the glory of victory?

"You sure sound excited," says Koakuma with a chuckle.

"I must be if I said all of that out loud.."

"Each one of us are allowed to use only one Spell Card in this short duel," Patchouli starts while ignoring my randomness. "You wish to meet Remilia if you are victorious, correct?"

"Sakuya and Meiling too if possible," I add. "I'll force myself to forget the idea if I fail."

"..Your sudden confidence piques my interest. What are you planning?"

"I learned a lot about this place thanks to you guys and Ran Yakumo," I answer. "I don't have nearly as much experience as you do but as long as I have a clear goal in mind, I have at least a chance, right?"

Patchouli smirks. "That is correct, albeit roughly. Have you developed such a goal?"

I place my dominant hand above my heart before replying. "My goals are all right here. Check Em!"

I said my words and now it's time to back them up! A Japanese symbol different from the one I experienced with Mami glows in front of me. I quickly reach out to the symbol to absorb the light and grab the card hidden within. The properties of this new card are downloaded into my thoughts..

"Desire Sign: Expanding Inner Circle!"

[BGM~wu2VIHhUZNI "Beautiful Round Dance (Disgaea Hour of Darkness)"]

A bundle of light orbs spawn from the Spell Card and circle around me in a symmetrical fashion. The six spheres quickly morph into a series of different female figures all familiar to me. This is... similar to how I assumed my very first Spell Card would work!

My opponent eyes the two female figures that are standing directly in front of me in disbelief. "Remy..? Ms. Izayoi..? What is going on...?"

"Gensokyo is filled with tons of people that I'd love to meet in person," I answer with a large boost of morale. "The spirits of some of these people are now lending their powers to me until the day we will finally cross paths!"

My attack started directly after my line. The duo that Patchouli identified attacked first. The silver-haired maid with admirable poise (Sakuya Izayoi) launches a pocket watch in the air. The face of the item starts to rain dirk-shaped danmaku in a fixed direction. Shortly afterwards, the petite vampire princess (Remilia Scarlet) conjures a bat high above her. The creature starts to rain a bunch of red needles in a similar fashion.

Patchouli is forced on the defensive, hopping out of range of the barrages and distancing herself from the ground level shrapnel. "Tch! So much for holding back.."

"I can't hold back either; not if I really want what I'm fighting for."

Squad Two emerges from both my sides. First the robust Gatekeeper clad in green (Hong Meiling) summons a black & white yin-yang disc that showers a barrage of multicolored pins. As a follow-up, a fair blonde maiden with a modest blue dress (Alice Margatroid) levitates a medium-sized puppet attached to a string. The puppet generates a series of lesser dolls that detonate once they hit the floor. The chaotic mess at ground-level forces Patchouli to float off the ground. I quickly command the four illusions that attacked her to surround her while I keep the iconic Shrine Maiden (Reimu Hakurei) and a little bull demon girl that looks plastered out of her mind (Suika Ibuki) as reserves.

Patchouli surveys the waking situation around her and grins.

"You really did improve significantly, Louis."

It's the truth. Just the other day I was swinging blindly and failing all over the place. Now it looks like I'm close to overwhelming my instructor!

Patchouli pulls a Spell Card from her sleeve. That's right! She didn't even activate one yet! "The counter attack starts now. Metal/Wood Sign: Elemental Harvester!"

Aha, I remember this attack! Patchouli surrounds herself with magical spinning buzzsaws that proceed to mow down anything in her path. Out of all of Patchouli's attacks that I am aware of, I always found the concept behind this attack strange for a magician's spell. Despite that, I frequently used this spell in the fighting spin-offs while shouting 'ACE Hardware Attack!' at all of my victims..

Koakuma suddenly leaps in between the two of us, now wearing a slim button-down blouse with black and white vertical stripes and a short black skirt. When did she manage to slip into that?

"Both contestants' Spell Cards are now active!" Koakuma shouts after blowing a whistle. "The winner of this battle will be decided by the last Spell Card standing!"

"..Since when did Spell Card battles need referees?"

"Just ignore her," Patchouli sighs. "Koakuma is just in a rare mood.."

The low-cut blouse and features underneath is going to make ignoring her a challenge, but I do have battle to finish!

Patchouli twirls gracefully and hurls a buzzsaw at the Meiling replica, but she high-kicks it out of the way. Patchouli exhales worriedly and returns to ground level. I direct the Remilia replica to bombard Patchouli with more red danmaku. Patchouli glances at the assault before mobilizing one of her saws in front of her. The red daggers deflect themselves off of the spinning flat of Patchouli's weapon. The Sakuya replica sends out another barrage of knives only to meet the same fate to a different saw. So this is why Patchouli chose that card.. I'm going to have to change up my pattern!

Let's see.. the Meiling replica defended herself from Patchouli's attack earlier, so that must mean that these guys are also capable of melee attacks. I should put that to the test.

First I command the Meiling copy to bring down rainbow pins above Patchouli. My opponent deflects them as expected, so now I can have Alice go out and attack Patchouli's life points directly! Patchouli only manages to notice Alice's attack after Meiling's ends. Alice takes out a grimoire and begins to fan it in front of her with her eyes screwed shut. Patchouli counters by launching a saw at Alice's neck.. which connects and shatters the illusion! ...I messed that play up, but at least I have five left.

These replicas relatively act like themselves so I should keep peoples' strengths and weaknesses in mind next time. Hong Meiling is a martial artist so she would naturally excel in close range, but I have an even better idea!

It takes more movement for Patchouli to launch her saws, so I have a better chance to find an opening if I force those kind of motions out of her. With this thought in mind I send out a different replica, who merrily bounds into the fray with her arms sprawled out like airplane wings. Patchouli launches several accurate sawblades at the Suika replica but the latter manages to stumble out of the range of each projectile. She maneuvers her way into striking distance and tries to bash Patchouli with a giant gourd that seemingly came out of nowhere. Patchouli barely manages to strafe backwards before realizing that I directed the Meiling replica to infight as a follow-up. Now Patchouli is stuck avoiding the gatekeeper's forceful blows while Suika charges in with her gourd and the Remilia/Sakuya duo prepares another aerial barrage. A perfect setup causes for a perfect finale! Time to go all out!

...

[Fade BGM]

Patchouli ducks one of Meiling's jabs before getting into a familiar low stance. The instant she struck the pose, I felt an intense surge of energy and then.. the area where she stood suddenly became a vicious metallic cyclone! All of the replicas I sent after her became engulfed in an awesome blender. Koakuma and I could do nothing but stare in awe until the attack finished and all of the replicas involved were confirmed to be decimated. The remaining replica hugs my left arm tightly while quivering like a fragile puppy. Too bad I can't feel weight nor warmth from it..

I look the replica in the eye. "Don't worry, Reimu. This one's over."

With that phrase, the Hakurei replica vanishes after it gives a sigh of relief..

"That was amazing, Patchouli!" Koakuma exclaims in my place. "I've never seen you do a finisher like that before!"

Patchouli straightens her cap before replying. "That is because I conceived that counter on a whim. Watching that China replica in motion brought me back to a time where I attempted to learn some martial arts from the real one. Obviously my stamina did not last for very long, and my training was eventually reduced to various Bagua exercises. Credits go to Meiling for showing me the ways of the Eight Trigrams."

"Circular motions and round weapons go hand-in-hand.. Maybe that's why your Spell looks the way it does.."

[BGM~uBKJdlFLtFU "Eterna Forest (Pokemon D/P)"]

Patchouli emits a soft smile. "Chin up, Louis. I must confess you had me worried when your spell surrounded me with several familiar faces. But in the end, no matter how powerful, a Spell Card always has some sort of pattern that is meant to be deciphered. Each mirage used powers that resemble their actual selves. Even though each attack looked unique, they actually possessed nearly identical properties.."

"If my new Spell Card was that stale, then I guess the same could be said about my passion, huh?"

An alluring referee with two pairs of bat wings wraps an arm around my shoulder. "Oh don't be so hard on yourself, Louis! I've seen all sorts of Spell Cards, and that one you just drew is definitely a keeper."

"Do you really mean it?"

Patchouli nods in approval. "The illusions you displayed to me were flawless - from Remy to that red and white Shrine Maiden. Seeing all of them in motion helped me to understand your passion much more clearly. There are several people throughout Gensokyo that hold a significant place in your heart, and simply meeting them would make you very happy."

"You do understand.. does this mean you'll set me up after all?"

"Nope." An instant response!

"Ah..! B-But."

"Rules are rules Louis," Patchouli adamantly states. "Now drop the subject as you advertised."

"Yes, Patchouli-sensei.."

Her eyes widen at my last comment. "W-What.. sensei..?"

"That's the right honorific, right? You did teach me everything I know after all."

Patchouli starts to avoid eye contact. "Yes, but... A-Anyways Louis, I do not intend to permanently deny you from meeting my peers. There is simply no need to rush introductions at this time. There are more pressing matters to attend to. For example, we should conduct more investigations at the dimensional hub that we discovered recently, and we still have yet to answer Lulu's call from earlier."

"Ah, you're right.." I still wanted to win, though.

"Let us take a moment to recover and then we will set out for the hub. Do not slack for too long!"

With that statement, Patchouli Knowledge heads back towards her room. And so the skirmish comes to a bittersweet conclusion. Koakuma looms over my side, grabbing my attention.

"Lady Knowledge was truthful when she said that Mistress Remilia tires easily," she starts. "Not only that, but the two of them share that same trait."

Heh. "So basically... the reason she is certain that I would bore Remilia Scarlet is because I already bore Patchouli?"

Koakuma suddenly shakes her head vigorously in response. "Patchouli is definitely not bored of you! As long as you stay determined with your personal goals, she should never get bored of you! In that regard, however, the opposite is also true."

Honestly I gathered that was the case even before Koakuma tried to clarify. Nevertheless, "Thank you, Koakuma," is my response. It will be a little while longer before I meet other people from Gensokyo, so I might as well be thankful for the ones that I already know.

[BGM ~ "The Voice Someone Calls (Persona 3&4)"]

When one looks hard enough, valuable rewards can be attained even in defeat: An increase in power, a strengthening in bonds, and an improved resolve. But how much stronger has Louis Starsky truly become? Stay tuned in order to follow the road.