CHAPTER 33: HONOR

"What boy toy?! You! You dirty minded bas-" Professor Tsunaka was about to blast Akira into smithereens when she suddenly remembered that her multi million dollar bonus was in his hands!

"Ah, I meant. Akira-kun...! You’re such a magnificent student! Why would I want to send you to seduce old hags? Hahaha! That’s ridiculous!"

Professor Tsunaka laughed out loud boisterously to drive away the awkward silence that was ringing out louder than an air raid siren.

Her laughter boomed, echoing across the training field like an out-of-tune festival gong.

"You’re not a Perverted Gang Leader specializing in seduction just like the ugly middle aged man in that swimming pool over there?" Akira frowned suspiciously at Professor Tsunaka.

"Nonsense. I don’t know where you got such strange ideas from." Professor Tsunaka shamelessly adjusted her robe to be more modest. "But what I am doing is offering you a full scholarship to study in the Royal Academy of Japan, and a monthly allowance of $5000."

There was silence for a beat, before an uproar exploded from the members of her club.

"Full scholarship?! What the heck? My mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, aunties and uncles pleaded with her for two weeks, and I only got a 5% discount! Unfair!"

"Bloody hell! $5000 allowance? Is this a school or a professional club? Why is she paying him?"

"$5000 a month... that’s... that’s... 10 limited edition Hello Kitty Hologram Cards..."

"Unfair! I disagree!"

"I agree!"

"What?! You agree with her?!"

"No, I meant I agree with the person who disagreed!"

"Ah I see."

Professor Tsunaka’s eye twitched again. She stepped forward, her arms crossed beneath her now-smothered robe, and glared at the crowd.

"What, you little boys and girls disagree with my decision? Fine! I will give you a chance to prove to me that I am wrong. If you think you deserve the scholarship and allowance more than him, then step forward and beat him up! If you can do that, then the scholarship and allowance will be yours!"

Gasps rippled through the crowd.

"Hehhh? What? How did it turn out to be like this? I disagree! I protest! I am a peace loving law abiding handsome youn-"

"I, Shirogane Takamichi, will fight that little son of a bitch!" a sharp voice cut through the air.

A snively-faced young man with arrogant eyes and a hairstyle that looked too expensive to touch leapt forward, cracking his knuckles as he assumed a fighting stance.

He was the eldest son of a particularly successful businessman who had recently come into huge amounts of money from his businesses in Artificial Intelligence.

He was new money, and he was much more interested in fame than a measly $5000 a month.

"Ha! Senior Takamichi is a powerful second year dual element user! His water and wood element have been trained up to the top of the Class D. He will definitely have an easy victory!"

"Damn it. I am too slow. If Takamichi fails, I am next!"

"I’m third!"

"Fourth!"

A line immediately began forming near Akira as nearly every student in the vicinity scrambled to get in line.

They had all seen the same thing: flawless Ice Element control. Unnaturally sharp, unnaturally clean. But they also knew that control alone wasn’t everything.

In the world of elemental combat, true strength wasn’t measured by skillful displays alone.

It was determined by a combination of control, elemental purity, and elemental density. And most importantly, it was measured using a universally recognized metric.

Combat Ability Points, divided across Classes.

Human beings without any awakened elemental ability were classified as Class E, and all Class E combatants were ranked between 01 and 09 points.

This included martial artists, soldiers, and elite athletes.

No matter how physically strong or experienced in battle they were, if they couldn’t harness elemental energy, they would never move past Class E.

The moment a person awakened their elemental core, regardless of purity, control, or raw power, they immediately entered Class D, and were assigned a base Combat Ability of 10.

However, awakening was just the beginning.

A Class D individual was not considered a proper fighter until they passed their first Beginner Combat Challenge.

That was the key milestone. The first step on the path of a true elemental warrior.

Once a person passed that first Beginner Combat Challenge, they were officially registered as a fighter, and their progress was now dependent on combat performance.

From there, progression followed two tracks:

The first track are the Minor Combat Challenges.

These were individual tests, either simulated, matched against volunteer fighters, or sparring bots,designed to gauge growth within a Class.

Each victory would contribute to a gradual rise in Combat Ability Points. Fighters were ranked numerically within their Class, such as a D10, D 17 or C21, or B35, with each ten increments representing an increase in Class.

However, as one climbed higher within a Class, point increases became slower and more demanding.

The next track are the Major Combat Challenges, and are the more important of the two tracks.

To ascend to the next Class entirely, one had to pass a Major Combat Challenge.

These were formal, difficult affairs.

Highly regulated, carefully scored, and often overseen by combat instructors or elemental combat referees, Major Challenges pushed candidates to their limits.

Passing a Major Challenge meant demonstrating dominance in elemental usage, combat instincts, tactical judgment, and physical resilience.

More on this later.

And so, although Akira’s Ice Control had shocked the crowd, no one knew how dense his energy was, or how pure his Ice Element actually ranked.

His Combat Ability Points had not yet been officially evaluated. For all they knew, he could be a Class D fighter who just happened to have incredible control, but no real firepower.

That’s why the line was forming.

Everyone wanted to test him.

They didn’t believe in miracles. They believed in Class Strength.

And if Akira was all talk and no bite, then someone in that line would expose him, and receive a grand prize!

Akira, however, ignored the drama that was playing out nearby.

Instead, his eyes were narrowed and he was staring at Shirogane with a dangerous look on his face.

"What. Did. You. Say. About. My. Mother?!" He thundered angrily. "You called her... A bitch?!"

As an ancient Shinobi King, he had no experience with modern slang and curse words.

He had immediately taken the literal meaning of the phrase "Son of a Bitch" and took it as an insult to his mother.

As a fiercely loyal and protective member of his family, Akira could not accept the insult to his mother!

"That’s right." Shirogane continued to thrash talk and taunt him. "Your mother is a bitch, a slut, and a whore!"

Akira’s eyes widened in shock for a moment.

His complete lack of trolling experience caused him to take the full literal meaning of Shirogane’s insult personally.

"You stain my Royal Mother’s honor." Akira replied with a cold voice. "This stain can only be wiped clean... by your blood! Now... Die!"

Without any further warning, Akira’s full power exploded forth in the form of an Ice Spear. His razor sharp killing intent honed from decades of slaughtering his enemies in both secret assassinations and open warfare spilled out like a tidal wave.

"What the hell? This kid... He’s seriously using a killing move in this situation?!"

Professor Tsunaka’s eyes widened for a brief instant before she reacted.

A precise wave of similarly powered fire energy shot forward and smothered Akira’s deadly strike before it could tear through the training field and rip apart Shirogane Takamichi.

Professor Tsunaka could not believe her senses.

"Bloody hell! Is he a demon hiding within a little boy’s body?! I have never experienced such a dense killing intent before!"

Both Akira’s and Professor Tsunaka’s attacks were so blindingly fast that most of the students had no idea they even happened.

Only Shiina was able to glimpse a little bit of the exchange.