Academy Tournament Organization Quest 7

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[1st of May, 2016]

>>Resume being Keiichi Hirayama.

Considering you have always been Keiichi Hirayama, except for those nine months you existed as a nameless fetus growing inside your mother’s womb, this is an incredibly easy task.

Your mentor’s demands in regards to your training are generally far less so.

The goal she set sounded simple. You were to hit all the moving familiars in front of you. Their stamina was lacking and were protected by simple shields, but it was nothing your Anti-Mana bullets can’t handle. You handled the first batch with ease.

You felt cautious, of course. Your mentor had a habit of springing nasty surprises on you during your training exercises. She demonstrated this trait as she proceeded to summon wave after wave of familiars until there was enough to fill a small army.

“Uh, isn’t this a little too much?”

“Did you ask if you wanted to clean out the storerooms again, boy?"

Which led to you stretching out your already mediocre-sized mana pool to its very limits while your mentor observed, utterly unfazed, as she ate snacks and talked to someone on the telephone. It was almost like she was a normal, human girl, except the snacks had alcohol in them and the topic of the call seemed to be about the interrogation of some poor sword spirit.

“Yes, you should try waterboarding. It’s very old, but it’s effective. The humans can attest to that. No, I will not offer any more tips. I have to watch my student, who is dangling precariously close to having to do chores for me. Goodbye, Yassine.”

You’d call your mentor a sadist, but that would mean she fully understood the concept of fun.

It’s now the last round.

Your Beretta trembles in your hand as you squeeze the trigger. A ripple of sound bursts through the air. The sour scent of gunpowder floods your nostrils. A bullet sails across the distance towards its target, a dull-eyed familiar strafing from left to right. There’s a glimmer as a shield erects itself in front of the target. A futile effort; the bullet plows straight through, cracking and shattering the magical barrier like glass. The familiar receives a hole in the center of its torso. It stumbles, collapses and vanishes in a puff of white smoke.

Right on target. You would be satisfied, except there are six more targets mockingly dodging and dashing in front of you. The timer is ticking down, with twenty seconds left on the clock. The effects of mana exhaustion beginning to settle upon you. Fatigue, faint-headedness and flecks of black in the corner of your vision. Three F’s.

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You contemplate quitting. A second later, you decide it’s a terrible idea. You like to think you someone who learns from his mistakes. Seriously, those obstacle courses are not meant for humans, no matter what certain spirits in funeral dresses claim otherwise.

With a quick shake of your head, you clear the wayward thoughts out of your head and analyze the situation. Looks like there’s little choice. If you’re going to get this exercise done—and there will be hell to pay if you don’t—you’ll have to combine some techniques.

Your teeth grits. If your magic circuits had a mouth, they’d be cursing at you.

Eight seconds remaining; soon to be seven. Your mentor’s gaze is burning a hole on your back.

Screw your magic circuits. You’re the boss here.

You inhale and exhale. You close your eyes and concentrate. You reach deep into your soul and grasp out the magic within. Sparks of energy from the center of your soul race down your magic circuits and reach your eyeballs. A burning sensation overwhelms them, like both were immersed into a pit of coals. You yank your eyelids open and look.

Color is unnecessary; thus it has been removed from the world. You gaze into an expanse of blacks, greys and whites. The familiars are sluggish now, their movements at half speed. Your body is at the same speed, but your mind certainly isn’t.

You drag your arm upwards, feeling as if it was submerged through mud. You press against the trigger of your handgun with a finger weighing a thousand kilograms. Then you filter the last vestiges of mana through your fingers and into the cartridges residing in the barrel and magazine, carefully aim and squeeze.

The bullets eject themselves out of the barrel. The sound of the blast is stretched out into a drawn-out roar. You release your hold on your magic and everything snaps back into place like a rubber band. The bullets whip forward and soar like tiny meteors towards the targets. Bang, crash, crunch and repeat. The familiars fall like badly-designed dominos. You smirk at the sight. Then whiplash washes over you like a tsunami of bricks and your knees threaten to buckle.

You resist, because your mentor is coming your way and you don’t to hear yet another aggravating passive-aggressive remark out of her smug mouth.

“I didn’t mention using bullet time.” She, Akasha-Alea—the spirit of firearms, observes, staring at the twitching familiars on the ground. Like the one you shot earlier, they too vanish into smoke.

“You never said anything about it.” You pant, sweat pouring down your back.

“True enough. I suppose you pass. Good work.” Akasha-Alea nods, her tone neutral, as if she anticipated the result in the first place. Knowing her, she probably did. There’s no way she would be blind to any form of gun-involving magic.

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Akasha-Alea gestures to a blonde-haired familiar patrolling around the field. It turns its head robotically and marches over, not a single step out of line.

“Clean that up.” She orders. The familiar nods, then whips out a wooden broom. It trudges over to the field and begins to tidy up the training field, piling up the spent casings into a neat little pile. Akasha-Alea turns to you. “As for you boy, come and sit with me.”

She takes you to a small pavilion at the edge of the training grounds, where you and her rest in front of a tea table. From here, you have a good view of the field, a stretch of barren earth pockmarked by shrunken trees, tufts of dry grass and training structures. Akasha-Alea may have won her land through her status and brutal crusades against her rival weapon spirits, but gardening was a concept that continued to elude her. Still, the view is picturesque in a rustic, desolate sort of way.

“Here.” There are two mugs of coffee steaming away on the table. The contents are black and dense as tar. You drink and it’s all bitter and little sweet. You gulp it down anyway, because Akasha-Alea rarely brews this special coffee of hers and you haven’t found any other drink in existence that’s better for restoring mana.

She’s either in a good mood or preparing for something serious. Probably the latter, knowing her.

“Hey, are we done for the day?” You ask, partially dreading the response. “Airi wants me back soon.”

“Patience, boy.” Akasha-Alea replies. “There is something we must discuss.”

“…is this going to take a while?”

“Depends on whether or not you decide to evade my questions.” She says, her tone almost accusing.

“That doesn’t happen.”

“Yes, it does. I’m not going to get into a debate with you over this, though. There are more pressing matters” Akasha-Alea leans slightly across the table-top. “Tell me, boy, have you at any point had any sort of aspirations or ambitions regarding your future?”

>“I think I have some idea.”
>“Considering all the incidents I’ve been in…”
>“I can't be bothered....”
>“The military, like my mom? I don’t know.”
>“Something peaceful and quiet. Like a desk job.”
>“None whatsoever.”
>Custom option.

>>1073165
>“I think I have some idea.”
>“Considering all the incidents I’ve been in…”

>>1073165
>“I think I have some idea.”
>“The military, like my mom? I don’t know.”

>>1073165
>“I think I have some idea.”
>“Considering all the incidents I’ve been in…

>>1073165
>“I think I have some idea.”
>>“Considering all the incidents I’ve been in…”
>“Something peaceful and quiet. Like a desk job.”

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“You’re concerned about that?”

“Of course I am.” Akasha-Alea says, a hint of disdain flashing through her violet eyes. “I am your mentor. It is my duty to provide adequate guidance along the course of your life, thus preventing you from making a total fool of yourself in public.”

That’s a yes, then. You cross your arms and think. Aspirations and ambitions…well, there was that time you wanted to be a fireman when you were five. It obviously doesn’t count anymore, and you think some more.

“I think I have some idea…” You say, slowly, “Considering all the incidents I’ve been in…”

“Go on.” Your mentor prompts.

“I’d like a job where I can fight and get paid for it. It’s what I do a lot.” No matter how much this admission rankles.

“And…?”

“…that’s it, I guess?”

“You don’t seem to have put a great deal of thought into this.”

You try to shield yourself from the snipe and fail. “Can you really blame me?” You argue, voice rising. “You spent two years training me and last year I got caught up in incident after incident. I didn’t have a lot of opportunities to think about my future.”

“Fair point, to which I shall provide an appropriate counter. On the contrary, you had plenty of opportunities to think about your future. You just spent them gallivanting with your friends. There should a limit to much time you spend playing those infantile games with that psychic girl, or shopping with that blonde, large-bosomed singer.”

You direct a look towards your mentor. “Hey, did you get up on the wrong side of bed, by any chance?”

“That has absolutely nothing to do with what we are talking about.” Akasha-Alea snaps. Okay, she’s getting irritated. Time to shut up and listen. “Back to the original topic, boy.”

“What exactly do you want me to say?” You groan.

“Something relevant to this discussion.” She sighs. “I suppose it is reassuring to know that your thoughts regarding your future are not completely blank. A single strand of thread, no matter how frail, is better than nothing. Fine, we shall brainstorm. Let us consider your qualities.”

Akasha-Alea crosses her arms. “you are well aware, your grades at school at rather mediocre, especially compared to your sister.”

Why did she have to bring that up? What purpose does it serve? Besides, you’ve been getting better. You scored an actual B on that last maths test…

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“Well, I knew you would end up like that from day one. Considering your skillset, I do not expect you to become an intellectual.”

Then why the hell did she mention it in the first place? You sigh and try to focus.

“If we’re talking about my skillset…” You muse. “I guess I’m good at shooting and aiming. I’ve got decent perception, I’m reasonably fit…”

“You are stubborn, honest and perceptive. You are shown to have learned my teachings in a short amount of time. You engage in fights a lot and come out victorious. I have seen you think on your feet. Now boy, what sort of job description do these qualities fit?”

You consider the question. “A driving instructor?”

“If that was a joke, it was an irreparably poor one.” Akasha-Alea growls. “Answer the question again and take it seriously.”

“A warrior?”

“In these modern times, a more appropriate term would be soldier.”

“You want me to join the military?” You blink.

“It is one of many career choices I would recommend. You have the talent for it. The discipline would do you some good. It would curb that snark of yours.”

“…so I guess you don’t want me taking a desk job?”

“Absolutely not.” Akasha-Alea fixates you with a powerful glare. “I will not have my only student waste his life behind a desk. You know full well you are not suitable for those types of jobs.”

>“I’m flattered.”
>“I’m getting a desk job, then.”
>“The military might not be that bad…”
>“Do I have to make a decision now?”
>“Ugh, I don’t like the military all that much…”
>“It would be peaceful, though…”
>Custom option.

>>1073323
>“I’m flattered.”
>“Do I have to make a decision now?”

>>1073323
>I'll keep thinking on it. A mercenary might be better, really.

>>1073323
>>>“The military might not be that bad…”
>>“Do I have to make a decision now?”

>>1073323
This: >>1073360

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“I’m flattered.” You grumble. Still, she has a point. You’ve seen businessmen walking along the streets of Shibuya and half of them have eyes as black and empty as the grave itself. Then there’s the fact that sitting at a desk in class is already something you consider mind-numbing as well.

“Hey, do I have to make a decision now?”

“You don’t have to at this very moment, but I do expect you to put some thought in over the next few weeks. What you choose as your future career will dictate a good portion of your life. Read some pamphlets, visit some workplaces, talk to your friends and family. Your mother might be a good place to start.” Akasha-Alea replies. “This counts as an assignment, by the way. You will take this seriously.”

“I can’t help but think this is rather mundane for you…”

“It is my responsibility.” Akasha-Alea says, firmly. “And I will carry it out, no matter how mundane it is.”

She gazes deeply into you.

“You school life has a little more than half a year left. Don’t waste it, boy.”

With that, she waves her hand and sends you back to the human world.

“Nine disciplines of magic spawned countless magic arts. Yet they shall lead magi to the same destination: that of ambition and violence.”

“Waffegeist: term given to spirits representing weapons, origins in the German language. All types of weapons created by humanity have been confirmed to have a Waffegeist equivalent, save for most contemporary ones—firearms, tanks, warships and the like.

“It is theorized that Waffegeists of contemporary weapons do exist, but all attempts to identify such spirits have failed, despite extensive efforts. Some suspect that there are higher powers in the Spirit World deliberately thwarting the attempts.”

“In an age where the gods and devils are constantly overlooking us, true privacy and anonymity are mere pipe-dreams.”

>>END OF BETA.

This is going to sound familiar to anybody who played Persona 2129 Quest. Due to a combination of me getting an actual job, studies and family issues, it is no longer feasible for me to run quests at the present. I’ve tried my hardest to find a way around it all but it seems that reality is determined to bar me from questing.

Some predicted this in the very first thread. I don’t blame them. All I can do is offer you my sincere apologies.

Still, I don’t think I’m ready to give up Keiichi, Airi, Akasha-Alea or the others. I think I’ve crafted something worth exploring more, as narcissistic as it may sound. So I’m calling a lengthy hiatus until I find the time to run again. Maybe they’ll appear in a different format, who knows.

Thank you to everybody who’s played and put up with me until now. Once again, I’m very sorry.

See you next time.

>>1073501
It's okay man. I've still been having fun, and if you need to break for a long while work and family reasons, it's alright.

>>1073501
It's been fun, thanks for running!

>>1073501
Aw. See you around.

>>1073501
Take care of the shit you need to take care of. We'll be waiting for more.

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>>1073501
Well.

This is certainly awkward. And going to make the previous post I made sound stupid in hindsight. Still, I'll continue.

he short version is that I've suddenly found an opportunity to run this quest again. There's a part of me that wants to claim that the previous resignation was a 'lol I was pretending hurr durr' moment, but I feel that would be disrespectful to my audience.

So here's a long version, which consists of me rambling out whatever thoughts spring into my head. Here it is:

Firstly, this opportunity's existence is thanks to sheer luck. I can't go into details due to privacy and stuff, but my family found a way to ease their burdens without needing the direct involvement of me and my parents. It frankly came out of nowhere, but I'm not about to turn down a gift horse in the mouth.

I guess I could have sat back and enjoyed my break, but I'm the type of guy who goes mad if he doesn't write anything worthwhile. I didn't start a new quest because, as I said in the previous post, I'm not ready to give up the stuff I've written and planned for this quest. The adventures of Keiichi, his twin sister, his snarky spirit mentor and the girls he hangs out with (and Hideki) shall continue. Poor them.

... I have something of a confession to make as well. When I made that 'resignation' post, I was feeling down due to a combination of stress and bad sleep. When I thought about the stuff I needed to write, I felt overwhelmed. So overwhelmed, that I wrote the resignation post. This was a mistake, as I found out when I spent the next twelve hours feeling empty inside, like a quitter.

I felt weak in heart. I didn't like that feeling. I missed my quest immediately (funny, that). I don't think I would like to experience those feelings again. The issues I had were legitimate, but it didn't change the fact that I saw myself as someone who gave up too easily.

Shit's not good. I wanted to correct that, hence this post.

All of that probably sounds awfully melodramatic and/or autistic. I must be one of the most unreliable QMs on this site right now. Some of you may not believe me and may even have dropped the quest as this point. I probably seem like an aboslute retard. Whatever the consequences are, I guess I deserve them, so I'll accept them. Dwelling on them for too long won't be too good either.

I'm happy to say that Academy Tournament Organization Quest will resume. There will be a few caveats, however. Threads will now start at 9:30pm UTC instead. Secondly, my job and studies haven't disappeared and those will take priority over my quest. Threads may not occur every week, but I'll try my hardest on this front.

The next thread will be on 25th of January. Hope to see you there.

tl;dr I'm back.

>>BETA PART 2: START.

>>1076870
Welcome back, champ.

>>1076870
Lol, good blog. 8/10, too many parentheticals but the vagueness brings it back up, I am tantalized.

Also, as someone who follows this quest when I can I appreciate that isn't just some idle pastime. Feeling empty or overwhelmed according to the ups or downs of an Indonesian basket weaving quest is a little worrying~!

>>1076870
Well kickass to hear.

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>>1076870

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>Persona beach episode never

>>1081436
Maybe we'll be lucky and Bird will write it out.