Chapter 5: C-Rank!?

"...You look terrible."

"I feel terrible."

After what could have been the longest first day of school known to man, Wendy and Nagi found themselves walking back to their dorm side by side. His mood had tanked from the moment he had discovered his rank and had only gotten worse with each sequential class. Was he surprised? Maybe. Did he understand why he was C-Rank? Without a doubt.

Was he happy about it? Hell no! How could he be!? He let out a loud sigh, a fruitless attempt to let out his frustration. Wendy frowned, peering down at Nagi with furrowed brows.

"..." She then turned off to the side without saying a word, making her way down a side pass and leaving Nagi behind. The young man stopped in surprise.

"Huh? W-Wendy?" he called out, glancing between her and the path to the dorm. She didn't reply. He frowned, glanced at the way back more time, and then jogged over to her side to catch up to her. "Where are you going?"

"Vending machine."

"Oh. Hungry?"

"Mm."

He shrugged and continued to follow her. The two stopped at a vending machine just as she said… and one she seemed to visit often, with how she didn't bother to look as she inputted two codes. She held up a student card, and two items fell into the compartment at the bottom. A moment later, Wendy handed a bottle of vanilla-flavored milk to Nagi. "...Um. Wha—"

"To cheer you up," she replied before he could finish. Confused but not wanting to deny her charity, he took the bottle from her while Wendy opened up the second item—vanilla-flavored Pocky—and popped a stick in her mouth.

"...I owe you."

"Nah." Wendy waved him off immediately and took off walking again before he could respond. With a sigh, he followed after her, popping off the lid and tossing it into a nearby trash as they walked. He sipped at the drink, its sweet taste washing over his tongue. Despite being out of a vending machine, it was surprisingly cool. He kept drinking. "Like it?"

"...Yeah. It's not bad."

"That one's a good one. The machine," She continued. "No one visits it much, so it's always stocked. ...Don't tell anyone else, though."

"I didn't plan to…?" Wendy nodded, satisfied with his answer. He raised an eyebrow and shrugged, deciding to not question it as he continued to sip at his drink.

"Nagi."

"Hm?"

"The other day…" She began. "Um."

"W-What about it…?" He wasn't even sure what she was referring to. She looked conflicted, however, randomly looking between him and her palm without saying a word. "Wendy?"

Without warning, she pressed her palm against his forehead.

"W-Wha—!?" He gasped, stunned at the sudden contact before leaping back, his face red. Wendy's eyes went wide in surprise… but, not with him, it seemed. Instead, She gazed at her hand curiously, scrutinizing her palm and wiggling her fingers like she had just stuck it in something strange.

"Mm. That," She said with a nod, before showing him her palm… though it wasn't exactly like there was anything on it. "What is that?"

"H-Huh?" Nagi blinked a few times, utterly confused.

"That feeling. It happened yesterday as well. This." She shook her hand for extra emphasis. "It feels… nice. Weird, but in a good way."

"...Oh!" It suddenly clicked, his lips curling into a sheepish smile. How on Earth do I explain this… He awkwardly scratched his cheek, glancing around to make sure no one else was around. There were some students across the way, but none so close they could hear him. He turned back to her.

"So. I'm keeping your secret. Mind keeping mine?" She nodded, her eyes betraying her curiosity. He offered her his hand, which she took without hesitation. Her eyes flickered for just a moment. "That feeling, right?"

"Mm."

"So… well. Remember how I said I have something called mana?"

"Mhm."

"Well… that feeling. That's mana. I have… put simply, a crap ton of it inside my body. So much that it's constantly… leaking out of me, I guess?"

Not the best description but I'll go with it. "From what my parents have told me, the feeling itself is like… a massage, right? Or at least, as relaxing as one. To quote them exactly… 'the best massage they've ever had.' Dramatic, I know. Anyways, aches, minor pains, stiffness, even exhaustion… supposedly, that all goes away when I touch people and of course vice versa. From what family has told me, anyway." He smiled sheepishly. "They, uh… had me give them massages daily. I'm quite good at it now. I think."

"So… does that mean you always feel like this?"

"No. Well… maybe?" He frowned. "It's… well, I've never felt an ache before. Never felt stiff, never had a cramp. So I guess so; but rather than always feeling nice, it's just how I feel. I wouldn't know the difference. Ah! I said exhaustion, but that only applies to like… physical exhaustion. Nothing I can do about mental fatigue. I still need a good night's sleep... thus, not a morning person."

"..."

"...Um. Something up?"

"...You're talking normally." Nagi blinked, caught off guard.

"H-Huh…?"

"You aren't stuttering." She leaned in close, staring him in the eye. He in turn faltered, taking a step back as he felt strangely intimidated. "It's nice. You should talk like that more."

"W-What happened to your questions…" He said with a sigh. She just shrugged in response, which only added to Nagi's exasperation. She seemed to be considering something, but… it was hard to tell with this girl. "S-So… should we keep going?"

"Mm." She started forward once more, and he started forward to keep up. She stopped again without warning, a trait of hers that was quickly beginning to bug him. "Nagi?"

"Yes…?" She scratched her cheek.

"Would you be willing to give me a massage, then?"

"...Eh?" Well, I guess I should have expected that. "Well… sure, I don't mind. Right now, though?"

"No. Remember, I do sports. So… it'd help not having to… you know."

"...Ah." At least it's a good reason. "Yeah, that's fine. Just let me know when."

"Mm. Thank you." She seemed satisfied at last, earning another, quieter sigh from Nagi as the two of them began walking again.

Such an odd girl… He couldn't help but think. But as he looked at her, and then at the bottle of milk in his hand, he decided… though, not a bad one.

They arrived back at their dorm, but Wendy went straight off to her room. With Ana nowhere to be seen, Nagi followed Wendy's example. He stepped over to his bed and collapsed face-first onto the mattress, slowly rolling over onto his back with a deadpan expression.

"Man, I'm tired…" he muttered. First I have a panic attack, then I find out I was tossed in the 'bottom of the barrel' rank, and to top it all off, I barely understood half of what Himeko said in class… He let out a loud groan.

"Why didn't Rita tell me to begin with…?"

He thought of the meeting with Otto and the immediate aftermath. Sure said a lot only to stuff me into 'basically useless.' He wanted to close his eyes and just sleep, wake up in his bed back home, and forget all of this ever happened. It'd be less stressful than whatever the hell today was. There he lay in silence, the events of the day repeating again and again in his mind. In time, his eyes shut tight, his lips curled into an ugly frown.

…

…

"...Tsk." His eyes opened. Sleep wasn't going to cut it; not until he got rid of that nagging feeling in the back of his mind. He sat up and crossed his arms and legs, angrily tapping his finger against his arm as he ran events over in his mind again and again. "Why would she want me in the Immortal Blades if I'm only C-Rank…?" He toyed with the idea that even the best Valkyrie Squads required a support crew, but he shook that thought away. He couldn't explain it; that just… didn't seem right. She would have said if that was the case; not talk me up and get my hopes up… His finger stopped.

Just like that, it clicked.

She's testing me. He thought as his eyes opened wide. She said I had potential, not that I was using it… So she had them shove me in a low rank so I would either prove her right… or, stay at a low level where I can't screw things up.

"Why the heck didn't you just tell me, Rita!" He exclaimed in a fit of annoyance. He felt a spark inside his chest. "Fine. Fine! Fine. I'll take your test, miss S-Rank." Though I don't exactly have high hopes…

For starters, he didn't even know what entailed a rank-up, or if it was actually possible. After all, he was only theorizing. The only thing he knew for sure was that, as is, he wouldn't be doing combat tests, meaning he wouldn't be getting better. Which meant he had exactly one path to focus on for the time being.

He eyed the pile of textbooks in the corner.

…Studying. He stared at them for a moment longer. And then… frowned.

"Before that, I need to relieve some stress!" He turned his eyes from his textbooks to the important book… and smiled. He took a seat at his desk and set his eyes on his sketchbook.

Art. His greatest form of stress relief. He had even spent some hard cash specifically to have a brand new sketchbook just for his time at school. He flipped open to the first blank page, grabbed a pencil, and contemplated how to start. It didn't take long to figure out what he wanted to draw.

His mind flashed to the girl with the robot, Bronya. Specifically, her "Project: Bunny." His hands danced across the paper with a secret grace unbecoming of the otherwise awkward boy. After all, he had the perfect inspiration. Though… he wasn't some bastard plagiarist. He made sure to add his own spin onto the design as he planned out his concept.

Project: Bunny… y'know, it sure doesn't look like a bunny. Let's fix that~ Oh! I don't think I really need something to help me attack, though… why not something to keep me safe, instead? With a grin, he sketched out an outline of his idea.

His sketch was larger than Project: Bunny. Nearly twice the size, in fact, with bigger arms to boot. At that size, it could easily carry both him and that Bronya girl in each hand. Its forearms were designed with rounded plates, like shields built into its arms, which could easily protect anyone standing behind them. It had no legs, instead having scribbles sketched out beneath it to indicate that it was floating, allowing it to be able to operate in any terrain. Its limbs were all disconnected as well, connected by similar scribbles as before… for those, he had no special reason other than, 'It looked cool!'

Finally, its head was built almost like a helmet rather than a robotic head, with glowing eyes and lengthy protrusions reminiscent of bunny ears, to add that 'bunny' spin to the design. After about 20 minutes, his sketch was finished. Now, came the part he really enjoyed.

For the next 40 minutes, he sat there at his desk hyper-focused on his work. It was like the world outside of his sketchbook didn't exist; little more than a distraction. His eyes were all but glued to the page, his hands flowing across it like waves over sand. His pace was inhuman; sketch turned to lineart, and lineart turned to colored art in less than an hour. In that 40 minutes, his passion project was completed.

Its body had undergone a few changes in the process; smooth surfaces turned into plated armor, and its hands were given claws, alongside a single, small horn on the tip of its helmet. It was colored white and pink, reminiscent of a Honkai beast but not so much that it would be mistaken for one. With a long, satisfied sigh, Nagi leaned back in his chair and stretched his arms out above his head.

"Ahhh~ There we go." He said in a light-hearted tone, breaking the otherwise deafening silence. He looked across his finished work with pride. It had turned out exactly the way he had envisioned it, better even, with the small additions he had added along the way. He even added little sketches on the side in the meantime, such as a chibi Bronya with a stoic face standing beside her Project: Bunny on the corner of the page.

It had a small caption written right above it saying, "So cool!" Not only that, he had also sketched a chibi version of himself standing on the back of his creation. His expression was distorted and wicked, cackling wildly as he shot fireballs and lightning bolts from his hands at an unseen foe, with his creation stoic and unmoving amidst it all. "Ah! I forgot… it needs a name…" He felt a drop of sweat roll down the side of his head.

A-A name, huh… He scratched his cheek awkwardly as he scanned the page a second time. Nothing was coming to mind. He entertained the idea of naming it Project: Bunny 2. Come on, Nagi, that's not just obvious, it's stupid! Yet, wrack his brain as he might, he could only decide upon a very… straightforward name. He wrote at the top of the page in bold, metallic letters, the new name of his creation:

Armor.

He stared at it for a few moments. "I… guess it could be worse?" He shrugged. Despite that little hiccup, he was feeling much better than he had just a half-hour earlier. With his work complete, he closed his sketchbook, satisfied with his first creation of the school year. "Aaaaand now time for the boring stuff…" He closed the sketchbook and turned to the pile of textbooks. I don't wanna…

Despite his reluctance, it would be that, or remain in C-Rank forever… assuming he could even move up at all. He grabbed the first textbook and began his studies in earnest.

N-No more… I'm done… I need a break… His head pounded louder than any drum as he let it rest on his desk. Two hours had passed since Nagi began, and he had gone through and read three out of eight textbooks. So many words… so many concepts…

In his reading, he had discovered just how present Honkai was in everyday life. It was a force that existed everywhere, not just the name of supernatural invaders from another dimension. He had known some of the basics, such as the fact that Valkyries get their power from Honkai-fueled tattoos called Stigmata, but he had never known the full extent to which Honkai energy was used. Mechas, airships, stigmata, vehicles, weapons, all of these things had some amount of Honkai energy powering it, hell, some weapons and battle suits were made out of Honkai beasts.

Reminds me of a game I used to play… Beast Hunter? Something like that. He smiled at that thought, before shaking his head and clearing that thought from his mind.

But above all, he had learned how truly dangerous Honkai was. I guess the outbreak back home was small compared to the usual ones…

He glanced at the third textbook he had finished, one which detailed the more recent history of Schicksal, Honkai, and the splinter group Anti-Entropy. His smile was quickly replaced with a frown. There had been one thing that stuck out to him more than any other was the 2nd Eruption. A time when the entire world was in jeopardy, where Schicksal and Anti-Entropy and everyone who knew about Honkai were fighting for their lives. And I was just a kid playing wizard back then… He shook his head.

Enough of that. I need fresh air. He stood to his feet, stretched his limbs, and made his way out into the living room. Ana was nowhere to be seen, but Wendy was still in her room doing… whatever it was that she did. He took a moment to let her know where he was going and then left the dorms.

It was later in the evening now, about 7:00 PM (or about 19:00), and the sun had long set. The sky was clear, and full of stars with a lovely view of the moon. Despite the dark, the gentle light of the moon made it so that Nagi could wander about the campus without jumping at shadows. There was a chill in the air, but his sweater and jeans were more than enough to keep him plenty warm.

That reminds me... He glanced down at his clothing, which he had worn since the start of the day. I still need a uniform. The other Valkyries all had them, though he hadn't really been focused on it at the time.

Thankfully, Himeko had mentioned during their tour that he could spend the first few days without one, so he wasn't too worried. I should have asked where to even get it. Ugh, it better not cost me anything…

As he walked, he noticed the campus was surprisingly empty. It wasn't that late, he thought, but apparently, he was the only one with a mind for an evening stroll. His thoughts wandered to Ana. I guess she's out and about right now, isn't she. Wonder what she's up to. He decided to keep an eye out for her. Perhaps they could even walk together. She's certainly not bad company.

He took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the fresh, cold air. There was something about it that was just… refreshing compared to his home, and especially Arc City. It was some of the cleanest he had smelled in a while. I guess Honkai energy is clean energy. Who'd've guessed? he mused, before turning his gaze upwards. He focused on the moon, taking in its gentle light… and then, closed his eyes.

The day had been rough. One of his worst in a while, even… and just two weeks ago, he had taken a bullet through the skull. Arc City, the Overseer, school, it was a lot, and it came fast. His stress was piling up, to say the least. Expectations he wasn't ready for, school he had no experience with, tests he had no idea about… yet…

He felt… hopeful. Perhaps relaxed was a better word. It certainly wasn't feeling good or ready or anything like that. But he also wasn't feeling terrible about the future, either.

Is this what you wanted, May? The face of a woman he once knew passed through his mind. 'Find my flame,' right? God, I hope you know how hard it was to say that out loud… He let out a melancholic sigh. After a moment, he opened his eyes.

And then, realized that he had no idea where he was. He looked around a bit, just to make sure, but yes, indeed. He was lost.

"...Well. Crap..." He gulped nervously. Whether it was because it was still relatively dark or he had somehow managed to stumble into an area of campus he hadn't seen yet, he wasn't sure. But he knew for certain that he had no idea how to get back. However, he wasn't completely without hope. Down the way, he spotted a building where the lights were still on. With few other options, he made his way towards the building in question.

He realized upon arriving that it was a firing range. Guess I shouldn't be surprised they have one. Nagi thought as he glanced around the front room. To his surprise, even though the lights were on, no one was around tending the store. Did they forget to lock up? Seems pretty careless… don't these places usually have guns? He paused. Would guns even be a problem for a Valkyrie…? He shook his head and made his way further inside. Before long, he came across none other than Ana Schariac.

His eyes widened. She was the only person here as she stood across from the target signs on the opposite end of the range. She hadn't noticed him as she focused on the weapon in her hand—a weapon not unlike a musket, though its design was certainly more modern—cleaning it up with a light-hearted hum. There was a table on the other side of the room with a variety of firearms set out ready for use.

"Ana?"

"Eh!?" She jumped, caught off guard by the sudden sound of his voice. Despite her fright, however, her hold of the gun remained steady in her expert hold. "Izanagi? Goodness… where did you come from?"

"Oh, uh. I was on a walk clearing my head, and, well…" He gave an awkward smile. "K-Kinda got lost on the way… then I saw the lights were on so I came to ask for directions."

"Oh, I see." Ana let out a quiet sigh. "Was no one else here?"

"Nope."

"Hmm… Well, I can show you back if you'd like?" Nagi pondered her offer for a moment only to shake his head. "Huh? Why not?"

"W-Well…" He glanced at her display of firearms. "I saw Wendy fight earlier today… I was kinda curious if I could watch you a bit, too."

"Oh!" Ana bashfully scratched the back of her head. "W-Well… I suppose I can. I was just relieving some stress. Ah, but first…" She carefully set her rifle down, treating it like one would treat an infant child, before stepping over to a cabinet in the back of the room.

A moment later, she tossed him a pair of earmuffs. "Put those on; guns are loud, after all." He nodded and did just that as she took up her rifle once more. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure he was wearing them, before pressing a button on a nearby console.

The firing range roared to life as the targets surged about, moving at a speed far faster than he had expected. In addition to the targets, holographic Honkai beasts and Valkyries formed as well, flitting about between the targets with little regard for the rails.

He glanced at Ana and saw that her expression had taken on a chilling calm. Her face was devoid of all emotion whilst her eyes darted this way and that. Barely 5 seconds had passed when she took her first shot; the musket fired with all the force of a cannon, so loud that Nagi flinched even despite his ear muffs.

The bullet tore through a Honkai beast and two targets in a single shot, but before Nagi had even registered that she had hit, she fired a second, a third, a fourth shot. Every shot tore through a bare minimum of three targets at once, more often even more. Nagi quickly realized her rifle was, in fact, not a musket despite appearances… and far more durable than she seemed to treat, with enough recoil that Nagi could feel the air rushing past his face even when standing a few feet back.

In about twenty seconds, every target and Holo beast had been cleared from the arena, with a total of 10 shots from Ana herself. It seemed her Not-Musket had finally run out of ammo as the range began to reset. But by the time round two started, she had already reloaded and was ready to go again.

The second and third rounds went about the same, with her second round taking about 3 seconds longer, while with her third, she managed to shave off a full 5 seconds from her first time. With a satisfied sigh, she slipped off her ear muffs and turned to Nagi, who did the same.

"I think I have tinnitus, now…" he muttered, poking at his ear as Ana gave him an apologetic look.

"Sorry. That wasn't my best performance… I normally don't even have to reload between the first and second."

"...You're insane."

"E-Eh!?"

"...That's a compliment."

"R-Right..." Ana gave an awkward laugh. "S-Sorry, I hadn't heard that expression before." She glanced away as she spoke. "I don't think I'm that good, personally."

"Speak for yourself! If I shot that thing I'd probably go flying…"

"Well, you are C-Rank."

"So you knew too, huh…"

"Huh? Why do you say that?"

"I, uh. Did not know." He glanced away. "That I was C-Rank."

"Eh!?" Ana gasped, completely taken aback, a response to which Nagi could only give a dejected smile. "Did no one tell you?"

"Rita told me I had potential," he replied, sighing as he did. "But that's it." Ana pursed her lips.

"How strange… But I guess not out of character for her." Ana considered his words as her brows furrowed. "How much do you know…?"

"...Um. Good question?" He gave a sheepish smile.

"Oh my goodness." Ana set aside her rifle and crossed her arms. "I'll have to talk with Rita next time I see her… Nagi. You and I are going to have a long study session shortly!"

"Geh—" Nagi grimaced and crossed his arms defensively. "But I already have so much to catch up on!"

"Do you want to remain in C-Rank forever?"

"So… I can rank up?"

"Well, obviously!" Ana replied. His grimace turned into a smile as Ana gave him a strange look. "Did you think you couldn't…?"

"W-Well. I wasn't sure, at least…" Ana's lips curled into a pout. She leaned forward so that she could stare Nagi right in his eyes, only a few inches away from his face. He tried backing up as his cheeks turned red from the sudden closeness, but Ana stepped forward right along with him.

"Nevermind! This weekend! We're getting you fully up to date! You'll know all of the basics like the back of your hand by the time I'm done with you."

"Y-Yes, ma'am…" Her face flushed at his words.

"D-Don't call me ma'am!"

"S-Sorry…" Ana let out an exasperated sigh as she stood up straight, leaving Nagi's heart pounding like a drum. "Um. S-So. How do I rank up?"

"For C-Ranks, a rank up test. B-Rank and above, it's performance-based. You're evaluated by your test scores and combat scores, whether in actual missions or in training. Then you have to complete another rank-up test. Oh, but if you do bad enough on either side, you can actually get deranked." Nagi flinched at that. "Don't worry. Keep up your studies and your training and it won't be a problem."

"A test, huh… so. How do I train, then? I wasn't allowed to participate in a combat test."

"We have a simulation arena anyone can use to train during free hours. Here, let me just clean up here and I'll show you, though it's probably locked up by now."

She picked up her rifle and took out the ammo inside, placing it in the cabinet from earlier. She then checked to make sure there were no leftover bullets by pulling the trigger at a target and finally switched on the safety for good measure. After that, she methodically returned each weapon to its proper place, meticulously making sure each was unloaded and safe to handle. Nagi offered to help, but every time he tried, Ana denied him with a serious look.

Eventually, once Ana finished locking up the firing range—apparently, she spent enough time there she was given free rein over the building even when it was supposed to be closed—they were off. The simulator wasn't actually far from the firing range, little more than a 5-minute walk. The building itself was unassuming; Nagi remembered passing by it, thinking it was just another school hall, albeit bigger than the others. It seemed his guess had been wrong. Nonetheless, just as Ana had predicted, the building was closed for the night.

"Once you're inside, you can choose what you fight, how much, any handicaps, et cetera. It's handy for practicing against all kinds of enemies; I've heard you can even input other Valkyries or people in general as long as they're in Schicksal's database, though I've never tried. Though… I doubt you would, but I can't recommend trying to fight Rita or Bianka. Just because the simulations can't kill you doesn't mean you can't get hurt."

"Yeah, trust me, I had no plans to!" Considering his rank, he couldn't even imagine the thought of taking even a B-Rank on, certainly not either of Schicksal's best Valkyries.

"You'd be surprised how many people try…" Ana shook her head. "Honestly… I doubt all of them are just trying to train."

"What do you… oh." His lips curled into an awkward smile. "...W-Well. At least they learn their lesson fast…?"

"Sometimes… Anyways, I'd show you how it works, but…" She gestured to the locked door. "Not today, at least. If you have some time after class tomorrow, maybe the three of us can go; you, Wendy, and I."

"Oh. Yeah, I guess it'd be good to start training together, huh."

"Mm. Now… we should head back before curfew." She started off, but Nagi found himself staring at the door for just a bit longer.

The lock's electronic… He thought, an inkling of a bad idea suddenly filling his mind.

"Izanagi?" Ana's voice pulled him from his thoughts.

"Oh, uh… sorry." He turned around and quickly followed along behind her. They walked for a few minutes longer, arriving at the dorms at around eight o'clock. He took careful note of the path they took, setting it to memory, up until the moment they stepped inside the dorm building. "Oh, uh… I've suddenly got to use the bathroom, haha."

"Oh. Alright. I'll wait for you, then."

"O-Oh, no, you don't have to do that! I-I'll be up in a jiffy!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah! P-Promise." Ana gave him a strange look… not that he could blame her. After a moment, she shrugged.

"Alright. See you in a bit, then."

"M-Mm. Night, Ana." He waved her off and watched her go… before turning around and making his way right back outside. He set off for the Simulation hall, retracting their steps until he was right outside the door. Just a bit won't be bad, right? He thought with a devious grin, stopping in front of the door. After taking a few quick glances to make sure no one was around to watch, and that there were no security cameras, he placed his hand on the lock.

And now, one of the few tricks I do remember~ He closed his eyes and channeled his mana into the door itself. For a moment, nothing happened. But… click. The door suddenly unlocked itself and slid wide open. He smiled happily, shaking off the slight buzz in his hand before making his way inside. Told you it's not just energy, Rita. He paused. Only works on electric doors, though.

Was this a good idea? Certainly not. He honestly should have just waited. However, the young man was still sore from being so casually skipped over by Himeko that morning. So it was that Nagi was pushed forward by a burning desire to prove himself. Inside, the building was more like that of a sci-fi movie than the humble appearance outside. There were 12 chambers within, each leading to a lower facility with a massive, circular arena. And luckily for Nagi, all of them were unoccupied. He chose one of the chambers at random, where he found a pad before the door.

With a press of a button, it switched on, and after a moment of loading, asked for a username and password… one of the few things Nagi actually had been given. He quickly typed it in, and several options appeared before him: number of enemies, types, strength, rounds, environments, and more, alongside a search bar at the top for more specific choices.

Fancy. Let's see… the books said… psychics are good against Mech, right? Deciding to keep it simple, he selected a single Mech—the type he had seen used in class earlier—to be his opponent. The pad made a pleasant jingle before receding away into a personal compartment, followed by the door opening up. He stepped inside, curiously glancing around the hall to get adjusted to the arena. It was made of reinforced metals, more than sturdy enough to endure even the most heated conflicts, he imagined; the chamber had seen good use over the years as well. Dents, scrapes, and burns can be seen all across the floor.

Once he made it nearly halfway into the room, the door shut behind him, and a loud chime was played through the hall. He winced, hoping it could only be heard inside the hall. Otherwise… he was probably about to be in a lot of trouble.

Either way, he was stuck into it now, as a simulated mech deployed from the ceiling and landed with the same force as the real deal. It deployed and showed off its real height, a massive machine where even a single finger on its giant hands was almost as big as Nagi himself. As its singular mechanical eye locked onto Nagi and began to glow with an eerie red light, he found his heart beginning to pound. It was a terrifying sight, as the very earth shook beneath each of its steps, slowly making its way towards him.

But it wasn't that strong, he was certain; he had seen the other Valkyries tear through these things like butter. And, it was slow as hell. Even now, its steps were awkward and laborious, barely what he'd call an intimidating speed.

This was nothing. He could do this.

He channeled his energy through his arms, feeling the familiar warmth of mana surge through his arms. Two orbs formed in each palm as he took a deep breath to try and calm his nerves… it didn't do much, but it was better than nothing. And then—

The mech broke out into a sprint. This wasn't to say a sprint as compared to its previous speed. This was a full-on, earth-shaking charge that could put even a train to shame. Just like that, Nagi's concentration on the balls of mana in his hands was completely lost as his eyes widened in shock.

Wait, what—!? He wanted to shout, but the mech would not give him the time to do even that as it reared its arm back to attack. Nagi broke from his stupor just as the arm descended, barely leaping out of the way in time as the mech's clenched fist slammed into the ground. That only did so much, however, as a wave of kinetic energy surged out from where the mech had attacked and slammed right into Izanagi.

It hit with all the force of a truck, hurtling Nagi through the air like a rag doll before he hit the ground rolling. His body hurt like hell as he tried to push himself up, his mind disoriented from the sheer amount of blunt force that had struck him.

They… these people beat these things that easily…? Ran the panicked thought through his mind. He forced himself to his feet and saw the mech turning towards him like an icon of death. His face paled. I-It can't kill you, Nagi, it can't kill you… Ana said so… Yet, his body continued to tremble with fear. The mech took a step towards him, and he snapped back to reality. He forced himself to stand as the aches in his body were washed away, conjuring two more orbs in his hand with a grimace.

"Release!" He exclaimed, hurling the two orbs forward in sync, watching as they burned through the air on a collision course with the mech. The mech stopped the moment Nagi shouted, before suddenly twisting into a more compact form. Just as the orbs were about to strike, a shield made of hard light formed. Both orbs slammed into it only to be instantly deflected, launching in random directions as their energy diffused out into the air.

Oh, come on! With that, fear gave way to annoyance. Adrenaline was pumping hard, and flight was quickly turning to fight. The pain from the earlier impact was long gone, as well. As the mech unfolded itself, Nagi prepared another round of orbs. This time, he wouldn't miss.

The mech charged once more. "Release!" Izanagi shouted, his hands notably warmer as he hurled the balls of energy once again. The mech, still in the middle of charging, did not stop as the orbs made contact. The mech's mechanical body hissed as the orbs melted through its armored torso like a hot knife through butter…

But it did not stop. It stumbled for a moment, but its charge barely slowed. Oh, come on! He cursed again. The mech was faster than he was by far. He wouldn't be able to outrun it, and, going off the shockwave from before, he could only do so much to dodge, at that. All he had for options was to tank the shockwave. And so, rather than channel mana into orbs like before, he instead spread it across his body from head to toe. His face flushed red as the mana's warmth turned to an unpleasant heat, but he had no choice but to bear it. The mech closed the distance, and Nagi braced for the attack.

Only… its attack never came.

In the blink of an eye, the mech was struck from the side so fast and so hard that its body was scattered into countless bits of scrap and metal. Before any of it could even land on the floor, it deformed into weightless blue light, leaving not a trace of the mech behind as a victorious chime played on the arena's intercom. Nagi blinked once, twice. He hadn't done that. But after a moment, his confusion turned to realization… and realization soon turned to fear.

He turned to face the Valkyrie who had entered the arena without a sound. He recognized this girl… and it seemed she recognized him as well. A girl from his class. Specifically, the class monitor, an A-Rank Valkyrie who had blown away a squadron of the very same mech he was just struggling with in barely a fraction of the time.

Her name was Fu Hua. And she did not look happy.