The cafeteria at lunchtime was a buzzing hive of activity. Students from various grades walked together, making it much livelier than the morning.
Suō Tsukasa navigated through the crowd, carrying a tray with a serving size that was, as usual, astonishingly large, drawing the gaze of passersby.
He sat down alone by the window, claiming a corner for himself in the midst of the noisy environment.
Holding his chopsticks in his right hand, he picked up a mouthful of rice and put it in his mouth. While chewing, his left hand casually flipped a page in his book.
As his fingers turned a crucial page, Tsukasa's gaze paused on it.
"Incantation Abandonment and Spoken-After Incantation."
He put down his chopsticks and focused his mind on the description in the text, reading through the most essential content in the Kido Chanting Techniques word by word.
Incantation Abandonment allows one to cast Kido without the chant, greatly reducing the casting time for mid-to-high level Kido, making it a very practical combat technique.
Spoken-After Incantation is a reinforcing measure based on Incantation Abandonment, allowing the caster to compensate for reduced power by supplementing the incantation after the Kido has been released.
"With these two methods, the use of Kido in combat will be much more flexible."
"However, though the techniques are good, they consume more spiritual power. It still depends on grasping the right timing."
"It's a pity that this book doesn't mention the even higher-level Kido techniques." Tsukasa finished the book in his hand, closed the cover, and mused.
High-level abilities like these are likely closely guarded secrets of the Four Great Noble Clans; otherwise, not so few people would use them.
After his search this morning, Tsukasa understood that the books he held were likely the limit of the knowledge he could access at the Shin'ō Academy.
While thinking, his hands didn't stop moving. He picked up the warm miso soup and took a light sip.
He replaced the finished book on his left with a thicker new one.
A Complete Explanation of Kido Spells was mostly content that required rote memorization.
Unlike the previous book, which focused on technique, this one contained mostly incantation entries that needed to be memorized and related content on the spiritual power construction for Kido formation.
With Tsukasa's memory, it was easy to record the key points, and his left hand flipped through the pages at a rapid speed.
The commotion of the crowd did not affect Tsukasa's eating or reading pace.
However, some discordant voices still penetrated the noise and entered his ears.
"Hey, look at him. He's reading a book while eating."
"Flipping through it that fast, how can he remember anything?"
"Trying to show off. Such an eyesore!"
Not far from the adjacent table, a boy with meticulously styled side-swept hair nudged his companion with his elbow.
He whispered their discussion about Tsukasa's obviously unconventional behavior in the crowded setting.
"Exactly. He came from the Rukongai after all. He's eating the cafeteria food so heartily, as if he's never eaten anything before."
His companion, a boy with a parted hairstyle, echoed him in a low, mocking voice, his gaze sweeping between Tsukasa and the meal tray in front of him.
They seemed to have found a point of attack, attempting to belittle him with it.
"Exactly."
"The little silver-haired guy isn't with him for lunch. Maybe he can't stand this weirdo anymore."
"Haha."
The side-swept hair boy seemed to recall something, his voice involuntarily getting a little louder due to a sudden surge of malicious speculation and joy.
The two exchanged a look that confirmed their thoughts and immediately began to snicker quietly.
The two students' discussion was neither too loud nor too soft, just enough to drift into the ears of the keenly perceptive Tsukasa.
He looked up, quickly scanning the two gossiping students, and soon identified them.
They were peers from the elite class, with a decent spiritual pressure level, ranking in the middle-to-upper tier. They came from the Seireitei but had no family crest on their clothing, clearly not nobles.
The Spiritual Pressure level system was a standard used by the noble clans in the old era to measure strength. Even they, being from the Seireitei, found it difficult to clearly understand the difference represented by the numbers.
In the perception of these ordinary students, the gap between them and him was only a minute difference between the numbers six and twelve or thirteen, but the chasm in strength was entirely unmeasurable by mere numbers.
In their eyes, having received instruction in the four Shinigami skills from family elders since childhood, this slight difference in spiritual pressure could be entirely compensated for by technique.
Their inherent superiority and blindness to true strength were their capital for provoking and mocking Tsukasa.
Tsukasa's gaze lingered on the two for only a brief moment before returning to the book in his hands.
People of this caliber were not worth his time.
"Too... too arrogant!"
The peaceful look in his eyes made the gossiping pair uneasy. Tsukasa's gaze seemed to pierce through their feigned sense of superiority.
The feeling of being ignored was like a tiny thorn pricking their hearts.
Their laughter abruptly stopped. A strange discomfort and jealousy spread through their chests.
"You..."
The side-swept hair boy, with less composure, immediately stood up, intending to retaliate against Tsukasa's rude glance.
"Calm down, have you forgotten the school rules!"
Before he could speak, the parted hair boy quickly grabbed his arm, pulling him back into his seat and whispering.
He was much calmer than the side-swept hair boy. One of the Shin'ō Academy's rules strictly forbade students from engaging in private duels.
"Hold it in. Official classes start tomorrow morning."
"When the time comes for Swordsmanship class, with your swordsmanship level, dealing with him will be easy."
"Challenge him to a practice match, and make him lose face in front of more people."
The parted hair boy then leaned into his companion's ear, quietly detailing the idea he had just formulated.
Hearing this, the side-swept hair boy's eyes lit up. The anger on his face was gradually replaced by anticipation and ill-concealed excitement.
"You're right!"
The two eagerly discussed the details for tomorrow for a few minutes, such as how to 'casually' propose a practice match, and how to 'accidentally' lose control and make the other person even more embarrassed.
Finally, in high spirits, the two, with happy expressions and their heads held high, left their seats, carrying their scarcely touched meal trays.
Tsukasa paid no attention to their departure.
Academy, freshman, provocation, practice match, humiliation.
He had long anticipated that this kind of tired, third-rate script would play out with him.
It was like reading a familiar novel for the umpteenth time; he could guess what the next page would say without flipping it.
It was nothing more than people relying on their background and perceived strength to suppress and exclude those they saw as weaker, just to reinforce that tiny bit of self-esteem deep in their hearts.
"I might as well play along with them tomorrow."
Since the other party was so determined to have him co-star in this boring drama, he was happy to oblige.
After all, a small interlude once in a while could help relieve the monotony of this structured academy life.
Thud—
He closed the book next to him and finished the last bite of food on his tray.
While the cafeteria chef's skills weren't top-notch, the ingredients were fresh, the seasoning was moderate, and the portions were large and filling.
As a chef himself, he didn't have the habit of wasting food.
Standing up, he returned the tray to the collection point, secured his textbook, and walked out of the cafeteria with light steps.
-----------------------------------------------
I handpick only the finest and most captivating novels for you. Don't forget to check out my other novels!
p@treon HongMengZi