Chapter 7 First Day of School
After having taken control of the Edo gang, Zero arrived at the Hakuba Shrine in the evening. He greeted both Mina and her father, telling them he had gone to pick up his luggage but a problem occurred which caused him to be delayed until now. He also mentioned that his phone was broken and a replacement would arrive either tonight or tomorrow morning. He then went to take a bath.
He spent the next two hours sitting in the living room, chatting with the other two residents of the house. He knew he'd be interacting with them quite a bit, so he felt it would be best to have a general idea of their personalities. He found Mina to be a likable, cheery person who anyone could easily get along with, and Yuto was a man who rarely smiled but was quite kind, always making sure Zero was okay and adjusting well to the new environment.
He then excused himself to his room and went to sleep. Since his exhaustion from the first day was gone, he had a calm, peaceful sleep and managed to wake up early in the morning. He then took a bath, got dressed, and had breakfast with the Hakuba family.
Yuto then told him that it was time for them to head to school for registration. He led Zero down the stairs and towards a shed. Inside was a car, and they both got in, and the car drove to the school. It took about five minutes by car to arrive at the school. It was quite a small school that looked like it might fit 200 people. Yuto led the way, and Zero followed until they were at the main office. A receptionist told them that they would need to wait 15 minutes before being able to meet the principal.
They were then ushered into a medium-sized office where there sat a small, chubby man at a desk. Yuto spoke of Zero’s circumstances of not having applied to the school yet and had come to register, but the principal denied the notion, saying that registration was closed. Yuto seemed confused as he remembered Zero telling him his parent had already spoken with the man, and his registration wouldn’t be a problem.
It was then that Zero’s voice could be heard. “Uncle, it's okay. Why don’t you take a seat and disregard the conversation I’m about to have with the principal.” As he finished saying this, the man walked to a chair in the room and sat down. He then stared at the wall with a blank stare on his face.
Zero then turned to face the fat man and talked to him in an authoritative manner. “You will enroll me in this school under the name Zero Hakuba. Furthermore, you will place me in the same classes as the transfer student named Soma and make sure I’m seated next to him. Now, before that, when my uncle asks you about my enrollment again, you will tell him you made a mistake and that I’m already enrolled.” After giving his demand, the purple hue faded from Zero’s eyes, and a sense of dizziness washed over him.
He closed his eyes for a few seconds before telling Yuto that he may return to normal. After doing so, Yuto asked the principal if he had not spoken to Zero’s parents. The principal smiled and said he had made a mistake and that he had indeed spoken with them, and Zero’s enrollment was already processed, and that he could start school on Monday in two weeks’ time. Relief washed over Yuto as he was worried what he would tell Zero's parents if he couldn’t enroll him in school. Then a strange thought appeared in his mind as he couldn't remember which one of Zero’s parents was related to him. Since the young man was Mina’s cousin, then one of his parents would have to be his sibling. Then a strange thing occurred: all those thoughts vanished, and he didn’t remember what he was thinking about previously.
Having handled the enrollment, the two drove back home and let Mina know that she would be going to school with her cousin, which made her happy. Mina then let Zero know that his phone was dropped off by a delivery man while they were gone, and she placed it in his room. The three went to the living room to relax before the shrine would become busy during the day. Like this, an uneventful two weeks passed, and the first day of school was upon them.
Zero and Mina woke up early, excited for the first day of school, even though their reasons for excitement differed. Mina was looking forward to reuniting with her childhood friend, who had been abroad, while Zero was eager for the opportunity to gain the skill he sought. They both got dressed and were ready to leave for school. Mina's uniform consisted of a gray blazer with a matching knee-length skirt, while Zero wore a similar blazer in a men's size, accompanied by black pants.
Upon arriving at Hirosaki High School, the 198 students were ushered into the auditorium, where they were assigned to their individual homeroom teachers. Zero and Mina were assigned to a teacher named Yoko Belnades. Yoko was a beautiful young woman with snow-white skin, blonde hair, and striking blue-green eyes resembling ocean water. Zero was aware of her significance, as in his memories, there were three names that he had been cautious of: the Belmonts, the Belnades, and Alucard. He knew from his memories that the Belnades were a family of powerful witches who aided the Belmonts and Alucard in their quest to rid the world of Dracula.
'System, appraise her,' ordered Zero.
NAME: YOKO BELNADES
RACE: HUMAN
SOUL: WITCH/HUMAN
SOUL RANK: C-
LEVEL: 25
ATTRIBUTES: FIRE, WATER, EARTH, AIR, LIGHT
STRENGTH: 62
SPEED: 50
MAGIC ENERGY: 35,000
VITALITY: 800
SKILLS: MAGIC MASTERY, MAGIC SEALS MASTERY, WEAPON SYNTHESIS, SOUL MAGIC
SPELLS: HOLY FLAME, HOLY LIGHTNING, HOLY GALE ARROW, HOLY WATER, HOLY EARTH SHIELD, ETC…
MAGIC MASTERY: ABLE TO LEARN AND USE ALL ELEMENTAL MAGIC. DUE TO SOUL’S ORIGINAL AFFINITY TOWARDS THE LIGHT ATTRIBUTE ALL SPELLS ARE INFUSED WITH HOLY ELEMENT BECOMING HOLY ELEMENTAL SPELLS.
MAGIC SEAL MASTERY: ABLE TO LEARN AND USE ALL SEALING MAGIC. DUE TO SOUL’S ORIGINAL AFFINITY TOWARDS THE LIGHT ATTRIBUTE SEALS BECOME HOLY SEALS AND CAN EASILY SEAL THOSE OF THE DARK SOUL ATTRIBUTE
WEAPON SYNTHESIS: ABLE TO CRAFT ANY DESIRED WEAPON THROUGH THE USE OF MAGIC. THE MORE MANA IS PLACED INSIDE THE WEAPON THEN THE MORE POWERFUL IT WILL BE. DUE TO MULTI-ATTRIBUTE AFFINITY CAN INFUSE ANY ATTRIBUTE INTO WEAPONS. Requires Magic Energy of 10,000
SOUL MAGIC: MAGIC CAPABLE OF MANIPULATING THE SOULS OF OTHERS. USER’S SOUL MUST BE STRONGER THAN TARGET’S SOUL OR USER’S SOUL WILL BE DESTROYED AS A SIDE EFFECT. Requires Magic Energy of 30,000
Zero was stunned by what he saw. He had expected her stats and skills except for soul magic. It was a dangerous magic that could prove deadly to him.
'System, is it possible to use soul magic if I copy it?' Zero asked the system in his mind.
IT IS POSSIBLE TO GAIN THE SKILL, BUT THE HOST WILL BE UNABLE TO USE IT.
TO BETTER EXPLAIN, SYSTEM WILL NOW OPEN A SPELL TUTORIAL.
SPELL AND MAGIC TUTORIAL INITIATED
MAGIC IS THE ABILITY TO MANIPULATE MANA IN THE WORLD THROUGH THE USE OF SPELLS.
SPELLS ARE A RESULT OF YEARS OF STUDYING THE ART OF MAGIC.
MASTERY SKILLS IN MAGIC WORK THE SAME WAY AS WEAPON MASTERY SKILLS.
THEY REDUCE THE DIFFICULTY OF BOTH LEARNING AND USING SPELLS BUT DO NOT GRANT THEM.
HOST HAS NOT STUDIED THE ART OF MAGIC SO ANY MAGIC-RELATED SKILL IS CURRENTLY USELESS TO THE HOST.
HOST ALSO LACKS ANY ATTRIBUTES BESIDES THE SEALED ATTRIBUTE OF CHAOS, AND YOU MAY ONLY USE SPELLS THAT MATCH YOUR ATTRIBUTES.
SOUL MAGIC IS A TYPE OF MAGIC THAT REQUIRES NO ATTRIBUTES TO USE BUT REQUIRES MANY YEARS OF STUDY.
'So all her skills are useless to me in my current state. I don't even have the required magic energy to be able to use them anyway, so I'll just avoid going against her for now,' vowed Zero in his heart.
After Yoko led her 20 students to their classroom and assigned them their seats, Zero was placed in the right corner seat at the back. An empty seat was to his left. Mrs. Belnades brought in a young man into the classroom to introduce himself after everyone had taken their seats. Zero looked at this young man and smiled; this was the true beginning of his journey to become strong.