In this first Kidō class, the instructor taught a total of three Kidō.
These three Kidō were two Hadō and one Bakudō.
Among the two Hadō, aside from #1: Shō, there was also #4: Byakurai.
This is a Hadō that releases a bolt of lightning from the fingertip. Though its power isn’t great, its piercing ability is high, and it can cause the target’s body to enter a paralyzed state. Though still considered a low-level Hadō, it already possesses real threat potential and can be used in combat.
The Bakudō was #1: Sai, which forces the opponent’s arms behind their back, restraining their movement—just like #1: Shō, it is the most basic, introductory-level Bakudō.
All three Kidō had very low learning difficulty. Every student, including Kaiser, successfully learned them—though some were more proficient than others.
Through this Kidō class, Kaiser came to a general understanding.
"To learn Kidō well, one must first master Incantation, and second, have strong control over Reiryoku."
These two are the foundation. As long as they’re not lacking, one can basically learn Kidō well.
Especially Reiryoku—only with sufficient Reiryoku can one support the casting and release of Kidō. In fact, as long as the Reiryoku is strong enough, even high-level Kidō can be learned.
Those lacking talent in Kidō either have insufficient Reiryoku or poor control over it.
As for Incantation—so long as one practices diligently, even rote memorization will do.
Coincidentally, Kaiser’s Reiryoku was strong, and his control over it was not inferior to anyone.
Back in the Asterisk War world, in order to prevent his power from spiraling out of control due to rapid growth, Kaiser had put in considerable effort to refine and stabilize it. After converting his power system through Authority, and bringing over his mastery along with it, his control over Reiryoku became quite impressive as well.
Thus, Kaiser’s process of learning Kidō could be described as smooth sailing—aside from a few hiccups caused by his overly strong Reiryoku, there were basically no difficulties.
The Kidō instructor also said that, following Class One’s learning pace, it would take only about half a year to teach everyone up to around the 30s in mid-level Kidō.
Of course, this referred only to Hadō and Bakudō, not Kaidō.
Kaidō is a very special form of Kidō—it has no numbering, and unlike Hadō or Bakudō which come in various colorful forms, it essentially serves one purpose: healing and recovery.
The best way to learn Kaidō is to join Division 4 of the Gotei 13 after graduation.
Division 4 is responsible for medical care. As long as one joins, they will be able to learn Kaidō.
Shin’ō Academy rarely includes Kaidō in its curriculum. In fact, it barely touches on high-level Kidō above #60. Truly powerful Kidō is either in the hands of the Gotei 13 or the Kidō Corps. The academy, after all, is merely a place for training reserve Shinigami. Naturally, it doesn’t offer high-end techniques.
Kaiser, however, wasn’t disappointed.
Because he wasn’t in a rush.
It was just the beginning, after all.
Hadō and Bakudō together number nearly two hundred. Even if the academy doesn’t cover high-level Kidō, there are still over a hundred to learn.
He had only learned three so far—why be in a hurry to get to the rest?
Anyway, he was only a first-year. Graduation was still a long six years away. There was no need to rush.
So taking it slow was fine.
The Kidō class wrapped up around noon, and the students of Class One left the training field.
Lunch was eaten in the dorms of Shin’ō Academy.
Shin’ō Academy doesn’t charge newly admitted students any money. In fact, it fully covers food and lodging—especially the latter.
Why? Because every student of Shin’ō Academy is a soul with Reiryoku.
Reiryoku means the need to eat. Outside Seireitei, food shortages are common. Many can’t even afford to eat. If Shin’ō Academy didn’t provide meals, most students wouldn’t be able to focus on their studies—they’d be too busy trying to survive.
With the academy supplying food, students could enjoy a worry-free learning life, and focus on serious study and training.
Though the academy’s meals weren’t luxurious feasts, calling them hearty was absolutely reasonable.
Kaiser, for one, found the meal quite satisfying.
"Definitely better than those lousy hard bread and rice balls in Zaraki."
After lunch, following about an hour of rest, the afternoon Kendō class began.
In this class, Kaiser’s performance could be summed up in two words—
The light wooden sword sliced through the air, falling like a hammer onto a hastily raised wooden sword, producing a heavy thud.
The male student who tried to block was struck with such overwhelming force that he was knocked flying, sliding a good distance across the Kendō field’s floor before coming to a stop.
The fallen student quickly cried out his surrender.
Kaiser, holding a wooden sword, stood there with a relaxed expression, showing no sign of strain—making it hard to believe that such a powerful strike was delivered one-handed by him.
Around him, the students of Class One had gathered, all watching this scene in amazement.
"How many is that now?"
"I think that was number seventeen?"
"So he’s won seventeen matches in a row?"
The spectators were full of admiration, and their gazes toward Kaiser were filled with reverence and awe.
It had only been half an hour since Kendō class began, and already this rising star had defeated seventeen first-year students in a row, completely dominating the training field.
All seventeen who had fought so far hadn’t even made him break a sweat. From start to finish, he remained calm and composed—sometimes even his eyes wandered, clearly showing he hadn’t gotten serious.
Such a display not only left the students astonished—even the Kendō instructor was sweating a bit.
"This is someone who came from District 80 of North Rukongai?" the Kendō instructor said with a bitter smile. "That level of swordsmanship... it’s probably far beyond even the regular Squad Members or Seated Officers of the Gotei 13."
What was he even doing here?
What could he possibly teach?
Forget teaching—if he got up there himself, he probably wouldn’t fare any better than that student who got smacked flying with one hit.
What the hell is there left to teach!?
"Anyone else want to step up?"
Kaiser ignored the Kendō instructor’s thoughts and turned to the crowd, his gaze sweeping across the students.
"N-Nope!" ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ ɴovᴇl(F)ɪre.ɴet
"No way I can beat that!"
"You guys go ahead—I’m definitely not going."
The crowd all panicked and started making excuses, no one daring to go up against Kaiser.
You’ve got to be kidding—seventeen straight wins, and all of them looked so easy and casual. Who would dare challenge that?
Even those who were confident in their sword skills and had wanted to take down the record-breaking genius gave up on their reckless thoughts and chose to back off quietly.
"Really? No one?" Kaiser didn’t seem to care. He glanced at a few students who had looked eager before but were now shrinking away, and said with a half-smile, "This is your best chance to beat me. Once I get stronger, it’ll be even harder. You’ll regret not taking your shot now."
Hearing that, everyone internally cursed.
What, as if it’s easy to beat you now?
If you were even slightly out of breath when you said that, it might be more convincing!
Is this what they call baiting your opponent into a trap!?
Who would fall for that!?
As the crowd was collectively grumbling in their minds, a voice rang out.
With that shout, a boy jumped out.
Everyone was stunned.
"There’s actually a fool who took the bait!?"
Someone couldn’t help blurting out what was on their mind, and was immediately glared at by the one who stepped forward.
"You’re the fool, dumbass!"
The one shouting in such indignation was a boy with fiery red hair tied back with a headband, looking a bit rough, a bit aggressive, and exuding a delinquent-like aura.
It was the same boy who had a rougher time in Kidō class earlier than everyone else.
Looking at the boy’s bright red hair, Kaiser felt more and more like he looked familiar.
...Could this be someone like Rias’s little brother crossing worlds or something?
As Kaiser’s thoughts began to drift, the red-haired boy hoisted his wooden sword and stared at him like a tiger eyeing prey, then loudly introduced himself.
"I’m Abarai. Renji Abarai."
That name struck Kaiser’s mind like lightning, instantly bringing all his memories to the surface.
"You’re Renji Abarai?"
Kaiser looked at him in surprise.
Renji Abarai clearly didn’t expect such a response from Kaiser and was momentarily stunned.
Kaiser scratched his face while answering, sighing internally.
"At least in this world, we shouldn’t know each other yet."
Now that he knew the boy in front of him was Renji Abarai—and that they were both first-year Academy Students at the same time—Kaiser finally realized where in the timeline he was.
"Renji Abarai is still studying at Shin’ō Academy—and he’s in the same year as me?"
"Then doesn’t that mean the main story hasn’t started yet—there’s still several decades to go?"
"Are you kidding me?"
Kaiser was speechless.
On the other hand, Renji Abarai wore a fearless smile.
"It’s fine if you don’t know me now. You will soon."
"After I defeat you."