Solminati Academy: a sprawling fortress of stone and ambition where kids from every corner of the continent chase dreams, glory, and the brutal ladder of merit. Fall behind on the grades, and you're tossed aside without a second glance. I was a second-year when I first stepped through those gates. Me, Nozomu Bountis, sitting alone on the sunny rooftop during lunch, letting the memories wash over me.
Two years ago, I left our little village with my two childhood friends. Ken Notis—my brother in everything but blood, the guy who'd always had my back. And Lisa Hounds—red ponytail, fiery eyes, the girl who owned my heart. She was my everything, my girlfriend. Bossy as hell, always picking fights with the local toughs, but never hated for it. I met her when I was eight, fishing by the river. She marched up, hands on hips, and asked, "Hey, you free right now?" My face burned. Love at first sight.
Her dad had died on some far-off journey, so she and her mom settled in our village. Lisa was a whirlwind—mischievous, stubborn, impossible to ignore. For some reason, she and I (along with that bully we called "General") were the only ones who ever really got under each other's skin.
Three years back, I couldn't hold it in anymore. I blurted out my feelings like an idiot. She froze, eyes wide, then started crying and said yes. That moment sealed it. She'd once told me, voice small, "I want to see the world like my dad did." I swore I'd help her. If the girl I loved had a dream, I'd carry it on my back. She hugged me, whispering, "Thank you… I'm so happy."
The lunch bell snapped me out of it. I stretched, shook off the ache in my chest, and headed to afternoon class—10th Class, the bottom of the barrel. I was the dropout of dropouts. The second I walked in, the sneers hit like stones.
"Look, the loser's back."
"Just disappear already."
"Drop out, why don't you?"
I kept my eyes down, slid into my seat. Three guys—Mars and his goons—crowded around.
"Still wasting space in the gutter class?" Mars growled.
"Yeah, quit dragging the rest of us down," one of the others spat.
The third grinned. "Got dumped by the Red-Haired Princess and still dreaming? Pathetic."
Laughter rippled through the room. Nobody stopped it. Not until the homeroom teacher walked in.
Yeah. Lisa dumped me. Summer of first year. No warning, no explanation—just "We're done," and she walked away. After that, she looked at me like I was trash. Word spread I'd cheated. Ken, my best friend, started dating her not long after. They looked perfect together. I looked like a fool.
---
**2:00 p.m. – Training Grounds**
"Hah!"
My katana knocked the automaton's dummy sword aside. I flicked the blade up toward its neck; the magic circuit triggered, and the puppet froze.
Practical training. The field was split into zones, each class running drills. Today: paired mock battles against automatons—puppets powered by magic arrays. Ours were junk, barely good enough for warm-ups.
Ms. Anri Var, our scatterbrained homeroom teacher, clapped her hands. "Pairs are set! Let's go~!"
She had long, wavy brown hair and kind eyes, but something was always a little… off. Still, she was a real teacher here, which meant she had skills.
My partner? Mars. Of course.
"This is bullshit," he muttered, drawing his massive greatsword. "Let's get it over with."
I unsheathed my katana—an eastern-style blade, light, razor-sharp in skilled hands. Rare on the continent, perfect for someone like me who couldn't rely on raw power.
"Start~!" Anri sang.
Mars roared and brought the greatsword down like a falling tree.
I parried, redirecting the force. The blade slammed into the dirt with a clang.
Stepping in, I slashed at his neck.
"Too slow!"
He blocked with his gauntlet. My training sword bounced off.
He swung a fist; I ducked. Tried to counter—too late. He wrenched the greatsword free with one hand and forced me back.
We danced like that for a while: him hacking, me slipping inside the arcs, looking for openings.
Then he muttered, "Time to crush you."
His aura flared. **Qi**—vital energy from the east, amplifying strength, speed, everything.
He lunged. Faster than before.
I triggered my own Qi to dodge, but his blade still tore up the ground where I'd been.
"Tch. Hesitated."
He yanked the sword free and came again.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
I held—barely. My Qi barely worked. My "skill," **Ability Suppression**, capped my growth. Strength, magic, stamina—all throttled. Items, spells, Qi… everything dulled. I was fighting with a fraction of what I should have.
Mars was strong, reckless, but strong. Most people couldn't touch him. I could—just enough to survive.
But surviving isn't winning.
His attacks grew wilder, angrier. I blocked, parried, retreated.
Then I slipped.
One heavy blow broke my guard. I tried to cross-blade it—too late.
"DIE!"
The greatsword caught me, hurled me into the wall. Air left my lungs. Vision went black.
"Hey, maggot. Pointless fight."
Then nothing.
---
**Infirmary – Later**
"It hurts…"
I woke on a cot, back screaming.
"Oh, you're up?"
A woman in a white coat adjusted her glasses at a desk. Norn Altina—school doctor, sharp, beautiful, and way too calm for this place.
She checked my eyes with a finger. "Consciousness clear. Any other pain?"
"Back and head. That's it."
"Good. I treated the bruising. Come back if it worsens, don't tough it out."
She smiled, warm like an older sister. No wonder everyone liked her.
The door burst open.
"Norn! How's Nozomu-kun?"
Anri bounced in, voice high and worried.
"Anri. School. Act like a teacher."
"Ehhh, no one's here~~~"
"He is."
The two were old classmates, thick as thieves. Anri fussed over me like a mother hen.
"He's fine," Norn said. "Bruised back, mild concussion."
Anri beamed. "I'm so glad~~~! I was so worried!"
Norn rolled her eyes. "He's not quitting over this."
"You're cold."
"I know what he does every day. Worry, yes. Smother, no. Let him grow."
I glanced at the window—sun was setting. Training time. My real training.
I grabbed my bag. "Thanks, Dr. Norn, Anri-sensei. Gotta go!"
I bolted.
As the door shut, Norn murmured, "So he's the one from the rumors."
Anri nodded, smiling softly. "Yup."
**Norn's POV**
Nozomu Bountis. Second-year dropout.
Rumor: cheated on Lisa Hounds, childhood sweetheart and top student. Got dumped, tanked his grades, became a joke.
But when I treated him today? Not sloppy. Not lazy.
I'd stripped his shirt to check injuries. His body was lean, sculpted, and terrifyingly honed. Muscles like coiled steel. Scars everywhere; old cuts, burns, and claw marks. Veteran adventurer level. No second-year trains like that. No one drowning in self-pity builds a body like a weapon.
And his skill: **Ability Suppression**.
A curse. Locks his potential strength, magic, spirit all capped low. Boosts barely work. He passed to the second year by cramming for written tests and retaking the practical twice.
Anri sees it. Everyone trashes him, but she watches. She feels the gap between the rumors and the boy who drags himself here every day, bleeding, and keeps going.
I don't know why he pushes this hard.
But as a teacher and as a person I want to root for him.
Just like my best friend already does.