Spellcraft 101 [Kazuma/Closed]

Today's Kidō class was a bit different from the usual ones. The class had followed their instructor out to the yard where many wooden targets had been set up. Ah, that must have meant that today would be about casting the Kidō instead of merely studying. Kazuma enjoyed all of the Kidō classes, they were definitely the subject he was most adept with, but the practical classes were his favorite.

The oddest thing about today's class wasn't that they were outdoors, but their instructor himself! Instead of one of the usual instructors, a man Kazuma didn't know was here. He had short brown hair and was a bit taller than Kazuma, and once they got out into the yard he instructed the students to line up in front of the targets. Kazuma did as such, and the man finally introduced himself. He was Zenji Hatayama of the First Division. Hatayama? Ooh, they were being instructed by a noble today!

Zenji began the class by covering some of the basics of Kidō. Kazuma let out a soft chuckle when he called it the more important of the Shinigami arts. It was his favorite, but they were each important. Specifically, Zenji went over Eishōhaki, Nijū Eishō, and Kōjutsu Eishō. They were three methods of casting Kidō that Kazuma was familiar with, but not necessarily far along enough in his training to have ever attempted. If Zenji was going to be teaching the class how to use them today, then Kazuma has never been be more excited to have a substitute teacher!

Sure enough, Zenji wanted to teach the class Eishōhaki. Awesome! They would be using Shakkahō for their demonstrations, and that made sense considering it was basically the go-to Hado for most Shinigami. Zenji asked for a volunteer to step forward, so Kazuma immediately asked to be picked. Who wouldn't want to learn something like this first-hand?!

"I'll do it! I know Shakkahō well if that matters!"

Hopefully, Zenji would pick him for whatever demonstration he had planned. If not, Kazuma would just have to watch closely to whatever they did next.

When Zenji accepted Kazuma as a volunteer, the student pumped his fist in excitement. He stepped forward as his instructor let him know that Shakkahō would work fine and asked for his name. Even though this man was nobility, Kazuma had no shame for his name. After all, they were the people who had accepted him and taken him in when he was still a new soul.

"Alright! Name's Kazuma, Kazuka Nakere."

Zenji then told the class the purpose of this exercise, how it made the concept easier to understand with a physical demonstration. Zenji instructed Kazuma to move over near the wall as he moved to an opposite spot. Then, once in position, the man asked Kazuma to fire upon him with a full incantation Shakkahō. Wait, what? It was a strong spell, but surely this man knew what he was doing, right?

"Well, if you're sure about this, here goes!"

Kazuma began chanting the full verse for the Hado spell. It was one of the spells he had memorized during his time at the academy, so that part wasn't difficult at all. When it was finished, a crimson ball formed in the palm of his hand, which Kazuma launched as a beam of fire towards Zenji's chest.

"Hado 31: Shakkahō!"

After firing the Shakkahō at Zenji, Kazuma watched eagerly to see what would happen next. This was all kinds of dangerous, but who was he to question an instructor? Though, as the man just stood there while the ball of flame rushed towards him, Kazuma couldn't help but feel anxious. Oh no, he couldn't be responsible for mangling an instructor! What would happen to his grades?!

Fortunately, Zenji was talented. Before the Shakkahō slammed into his body, Zenji softly activated a Kidō of his own, Dankū. Kazuma watched in awe as a shimmering barrier came into being between himself and his instructor, completely stopping the Shakkahō in its tracks while remaining unbroken. What a brilliant spell! Kazuma couldn't cast any of that caliber yet, but for this man to do so without even chanting?! It was magnificent! It took a moment for the dust to settle, but before it did Kazuma heard his instructor shout.

"Uh oh."

Hainawa, unlike Dankū, was a spell that Kazuma knew very well, and that meant he knew exactly what was coming. Sure enough, a rope of energy shot out from the dust cloud and wrapped itself around his body. Kazuma was trapped, held in place for a few moments in front of the whole class. It was probably pretty funny, and he had volunteered for this, so he didn't mind. Eventually, Zenji canceled the spell, causing the energy robe to fade away into nothing with a small glow.

"That was so cool!"

Zenji rejoined the rest of the students and signaled for Kazuma to rejoin them, so the student did as such. This demonstration had only served to make him even more excited to learn Eishōhaki! He couldn't wait to find all kinds of niche and useful ways to utilize the spellcasting technique.

Hearing Zenji compliment Kazuma on both his Kidō usage and his spirit pressure made the student blush. He rubbed the back of his head and denied the claims, of course, but he was ecstatic on the inside. If Zenji was telling the truth and Kazuma really did have spiritual pressure on par with other Shinigami, then the rest of his time at the academy should be a breeze! He was still going to be putting his best foot forward, of course, but it was nice to hear the compliment nonetheless.

"Who, me? Aw, well, I dunno about that but thanks!"

Zenji silenced the class and continued to discuss Eishōhaki. In a real duel, Kazuma had no doubt that Zenji would come out triumphant, and that it would probably be fairly one-sided. Like he said and demonstrated with a Byakurai, he could have simply fired off his own spell while Kazuma was chanting and that would be that. Eishōhaki was truly such an advantage that Kazuma was sure his spellcraft would improve greatly once he learned it! And not only his spellcraft would improve, but other aspects of being a Shinigami would be easier with Eishōhaki as well. Zenji gave the example of using a quick Kidō in the middle of a melee confrontation, a perfect place to use such a technique.

Once that part of the lecture was over, Zenji had Kazuma and the other students line up in front of the targets. They were going to try Shakkahō without an incantation! Not everyone would be going at once due to the limited amount of targets, but Kazuma absolutely wanted to try his hand at Eishōhaki so he made sure to pick a line where he could go first. Zenji gave some advice on how to go about this procedure before finally shaking his staff as a signal to begin. Kazuma hadn’t really noticed the staff until just then, but wow was that thing loud! Was that his Zanpakuto? Everyone’s Zanpakuto had a different form, though most still kept a basic katana shape like Kazuma’s own.

Kazuma placed a hand on the handle of his Zanpakuto and took a breath. He knew that the Shinigami swords had spirits within them, but he had yet to hear the voice of his own. Still, it was a grounding experience. He was ready for some Eishōhaki practice! Zenji’s advice sounded good, so Kazuma followed it. He focused on the incantation words for Shakkahō but remained silent while letting the spiritual power rise within him. He knew what the spell looked like, and what it felt like, so now it was just a matter of letting it loose! Aiming his hand at the target, Kazuma visualized the Shakkahō forming and shouted it’s name.

"Hado 31: Shakkahō!"

The fiery ball formed in Kazuma’s hand and he launched it forward… but it wasn’t nearly as impressive as before. It managed to leave a little scorch mark on the target, but it was obvious that he still had some practice to do. Kazuma snapped and scoffed at the result and moved to the back of his line. He had to think now; what sort of things could he do to see some improvement in his results..?

At the back of the line, Kazuma's attention was given mostly towards his thoughts. He didn't pay much mind to the people practicing around him because he was smart enough not to walk into a hazardeous area. He would just move when the person in front of him did, easily enough. This meant Kazuma had time for reflection!

Why hadn't his Shakkahō been powerful enough to destroy the target? Obviously, Eishōhaki was a technique that inherently lowered the power of Kidō... but Zenji had burned a hole straight through a target with a simple Eishōhaki Byakurai, so Kazuma should be able to manage a stronger Shakkaho! Maybe his mental image hadn't been strong enough? He had though about the words to the incantation, but maybe it would help to fully recite the spell internally before launching it. Yes, that sounded like something that might work!

Kazuma's attention was pulled away from his reflection when Zenji called out to him. The instructor asked if Kazuma had prior experience with Eishōhaki... Oh no, had he been watching? Sometimes certain instructors called out students when they made mistakes, but it always sucked when you were the one who was being called out and critized! He had hoped to have been impressive and seen as a good student for volunteering earlier, but maybe he already blew that chance with this substitude instructor...

"Wh- No, sorry, I didn't even break the target... I-I'll do better on the next one!"

Kazuma hoped Zenji wouldn't call him out any more, and he really did plan on doing better the next round. Though, oddly, it didn't seem like the line had moved too much.. but he would absolutely do better! He was already thinking of way to improve, it was just a matter of trial and error until he found out what worked!

The way Zenji responded… maybe he wasn't trying to pick on Kazuma, but was genuinely curious? Taking a look around the yard, Kazuma finally realized just where everyone else's progression was at. The target he had scorched was the only target that had been damaged. All the other students Shakkahō's were barely even forming! Zenji wasn't criticizing Kazuma, on the contrary; he had been surprised that his Shakkahō had succeeded! What a huge relief that was.

The student at the front of Kazuma's line managed to create a few glimpses of light before moving to the back of the line to give someone else a try. The next student in line similarly spent a while "charging" the spell before also only creating some flickering lights. When the last student in front of Kazuma stepped forward, he was worried that they'd be going down the same path, so he tried to offer a bit of advice.

"Make sure to really visualize the spell, see the red ball of energy forming in your hand."

Kazuma couldn't really tell if the student was taking his advice, but this time when the student shouted the name of the Kidō, a tiny orb of energy briefly formed in his hand. It didn't last long before dispersing, but the student seemed really happy about it and gave Kazuma a thumbs up when he moved to the back of the line.

Now it was Kazuma's turn to try the Eishōhaki a second time. He stepped up in front of the target and repeated the same steps from earlier. Pool the spiritual power, visualize the spell forming, aim his hands at the target, and…

"Hado 31: Shakkahō!"

The red ball of energy formed in his hand and spun forward once again. He was proud of it this time around, even though it didn't actually seem to be any stronger than the first time he attempted it. In fact, there even seemed to be less scorch marks than before. What had he done differently this time to make it less effective? Maybe his confidence caused him to make a mistake that went unnoticed? It was still impressive compared to the other students, sure, but that was no excuse for a decrease in power. Kazuma thought about this and pondered it internally as he moved to the back of the line.

The Nobleman waited until the students had moved on before asking Kazuma to join him off to one side. The young man had shown great talent and Zenji didn’t want to allow that to go to waste or unnourished. Considering the poor quality of tuition he’d noticed during his visit at the Academy he’d rather noticed that the tutors were a poor shadow of what they had been in his day.

He gave the young man some advice about pursuing his studies in the Demon Arts as well as making an offer for him to visit the Hatayama Estate if he wished, Zenji could get him some access to the Library of the Clan for some further academic pursuits in Kido if he wanted.

Once he was done he told Kazuma to hurry on to prepare for the next class.

Zenji travelled across the department to the office of the Head of the Kido Department to have a quick discussion about the class, and to emphasise Kazuma’s talent, before informing the man that he’d be leaving the academy grounds to return to the First Division.

Upon returning to his own office an hour later the Nobleman decided to pen a report on his observations at the Academy for the Chief Administrator. Perhaps the Third Seat would take action to deal with the poor quality of tuition he'd observed at the academy although he wouldn't hold his breath.



//Thread End - Thread Partner Confirmed Inactive.