Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

The first two students called out were named Christopher, one of the few males in the class, and a tall girl with green hair tied into a ponytail named Reise. They were both students of the Clock Tower who had rather complicated backgrounds and a very strong desire to liberate themselves from their familial circumstances.

Christopher was born the eldest son in his family but, due to the fact he only had a handful of Magic Circuits, his right of succession had been bestowed upon his sister. This alone wasn’t all that bad but, while his Magic Circuits left a lot to be desired, he had a unique Sorcery Trait that served as leverage for his family to essentially treat him as breeding stock. They had formed several contracts with other Magus families so, upon graduation, he was expected to serve each of these families for up to a year as a borderline slave...

Reise’s fate was arguably worse as she had been born into a branch family with loose relations to the Trambelio family. She had inherited the unique Magecraft of her family that allowed her to perform a partial beast transformation, similar to Flatt Escardos. The primary difference was that her Magecraft borrowed from a panther and, due to her inability to control it properly, it made her mind regress to an animalistic state.

This made her a prime target for those with more unique tastes so, shortly after she had awakened the ability, her family actually prevented her from mastering it after arranging her marriage with the progeny of a more powerful family. She was essentially being forced to become a much older Noble’s pet as, with the right stimulus, she could be forced to stay in her beast form for the rest of her life...

In order to seize control over their own destinies, the two had been among the first to try and enroll in the class. As most Magi had a very powerful enchantment cast on their mind, making it impossible to commit suicide, this was one of their only methods to liberate themselves from a terrible fate that had been decided for them. They experienced a significant amount of backlash from their families but, with the protections granted to them as students, they were virtually untouchable by such weak and despotic individuals...

Upon being called out, Christopher and Reise took to the field, the latter taking the initiative to shout, "My name is Reise Hartmann! This...this is my partner...F-Fluffy...!"

The moment Reise shouted out the name she had decided for her Companion, her face became beet red while the rest of the class, already silent, somehow became even quieter...

To help her out, Vahn gave a light cough to draw attention to himself before turning to Christopher and saying, "It is your turn. Please, introduce yourself properly."

Strangely, Christopher had paled almost immediately after his name had been called so Vahn wasn’t at all surprised when the boy stammered, "Y-Yes S-S-Sir...my name is C-Christopher! This is my C-C-Companion, Snow...Snowball..."

As could be expected, another heavy atmosphere descended upon the training field, not solely due to the names that Christopher and Riese had called out. Rather, many of the students had carelessly chosen names for their Companions as, despite the fact they were intelligent artificial creatures, most humans instinctually placed themselves above other races. This caused their minds to rationalize that Companions were closer in nature to pets, despite even the weakest Companion being a match for an Intermediate Tier Magus...

Being one of the only people with a placid and calm expression, Vahn broke the silence once again, stating, "Choosing a name can often be difficult. It is fine to be a little indecisive and make a mistake on the first go around. So long as you are sincere, the Companions don’t mind having their names changed a few times. Just make sure you figure something out in the next few days or it will interfere with your progress...now, shall we begin the first match? I’m certain everyone wants to return to the dorms and get to know each other a little better."

With Vahn’s ’reminder’, the children relaxed considerably while, on the battleground, Reise, Fluffy, Christopher, and Snowball prepared for battle. Fighting was an easy way to release stress and work away nerves and, as fourth-year students of the Clock Tower, they were both very familiar with the process of sparring and magical duels.

Seeing that both students were ready, Vahn sent a tiny burst of magical energy into the air to cause a very small explosion. He didn’t need to convey the meaning behind the loud sound so, even before the light had faded completely, Reise charged at Christopher with Fluffy riding her shoulder. She had visible circuit-like patterns running up her legs and thighs that indicated her skillful use of [Enhance] and [Reinforcement] Magecraft.

What none of the students, included Reise herself had expected, was for Fluffy, an adorable dog-like Companion with fluffy white hair, to open its tiny mouth far more than it ought to be able to as a beam of magical energy shot out. This was a modified version of [Gandr] that used Light Elemental energy as a base, something that Reise had learned how to do nearly two years prior.

As could be expected, Reise’s mind became tumultuous as she began to wonder why Fluffy was able to use her Magecraft but, after more than three years of practice, she was still able to focus on the duel. She just assumed that this is what her teachers meant when they explained that Companions were a catalyst that enhanced their Magecraft...

While Reise and the rest of the class were surprised, the one experiencing the greatest amount of shock was Christopher. He had taken a defensive stance to counter Reise’s charge, not even once considering that Fluffy would actually attack him. After all, none of them had fought alongside their Companions just yet so they had absolutely no idea what the adorable creatures were capable of.

Fortunately, as was customary, Christopher defended against the pale-white [Gandr] using a thin membrane of Magical Energy. This still pushed him back more than a meter but, before Reise was able to follow up, Snowball jumped between them. With its tiny paw-like hands, it created a large hexagonal barrier that easily arrested the momentum of Reise’s charge. This sent the girl leaping backward, giving Christopher enough time to regain his balance as he stared blankly at the tiny creature that had protected him...

Prior to the battle, most of the students hadn’t fully comprehended how useful Companions would be in everyday life. They were only now beginning to understand the true significance behind all the information they had been receiving about the tiny creatures and, while it was still hard to believe, the claims made about the Companions’ evolution suddenly excited many of them. Even those that previously thought the Companions were going to be annoying to take care of suddenly saw their adorable little partners in a new light...

It quickly became apparent to Reise and Christopher that their Companions were capable of using all the same Magecraft as them. They were also capable of taking independent action and using proper judgment, something that even advanced Familiars struggled with. This allowed them to focus more on the battle as, rather than nervousness, excitement began to well up inside them due to the rush of adrenaline and other factors.

Due to them being equally skilled, the battle between Reise and Christopher ran out the clock as they were more focused on learning how to cooperate with their new partners than trying to outright win the battle. They even seemed a little surprised and disappointed when the battle came to an end but Vahn improved their moods immediately by reminding, "You both have several other matches coming up. Remember, these duels are meant to allow you the opportunity to familiarize yourself with your Companions so you both did very well. It is actually difficult to determine which of you performed better but, as Chris was the only one to land a damaging blow, I’ll have to afford the victory to him this time around."

Both students’ mood improved upon hearing Vahn’s opening statement but, after he declared the winner, Reise became slightly deflated while Christopher actually felt a little awkward. Due to how much fun he was having, he completely forgot about the purpose of the battle and, until Vahn had brought up the outcome, it hadn’t really crossed his mind. Because of this, he decided to try and be a good sport about it and, with an awkward smile on his face, shook hands with Reise while telling her that it was a very close match.

Vahn gave an approving nod at the display of good sportsmanship but, as they were a little pressed for time, he had the two rejoin the other students before calling the next two names. This time, both participants were female but, considering the gender ratio in the class, this was going to be a trend. Vahn actually felt a little bad for the boys in class as, if they didn’t work hard, it was easy to imagine them feeling somewhat ostracized. After all, it took a lot of confidence for the average teen to even communicate with a member of the opposite sex due to hormonal surges and their inability to form platonic relationships.

Over time, Vahn was intending to break down such social constructs and gender walls but, as it was the backbone of most cultures, it would be a long and arduous process. After all, even he wasn’t that adept at maintaining platonic relationships as, due to his appreciation for the fairer sex, combined with his status and empathetic nature, most of the women around him quickly developed feelings for him...

Fortunately, while some would foolishly believe themselves blessed to be in the same position, the majority of his male students wouldn’t have to worry about juggling multiple relationships. While it wasn’t rare for a prominent Magi to have multiple wives and mistresses, it was borderline impossible for even a Noble to have multiple partners amongst students. Just knowing they had one girlfriend was enough for the majority of capable female Magi to distance themselves from them as, due to the culture of the magus community, independence was one of the most highly sought after and cherished constructs...

After the initial battle between Reise, Fluffy, Christopher, and Snowball, the rest of the students had some degree of expectation going into their own battles. Some even began to strategize and work directly with their Companions, attempting to pressure their opponents by chaining together several attacks. This further inspired everyone else so, by the time ten battles had taken place, things had started to become exciting on both the battlefield and along the periphery. After all, it was always exciting to watch intense battles, especially when both sides were capable of using flashy spells and high-speed movements.

Vahn was enjoying the matches just as much as the students but, not wanting to break the illusion of composure that he was trying to build up, he showed a casual smile with his hands neatly behind his back. He would properly referee each fight and, if things got out of hand, he displayed his power by intervening in the fight, stopping even full-powered attacks with a veritable wave of his hand. Since his power was one of the most heatedly discussed topics on the school’s secret BBS, it wasn’t all that surprising to see the students react with abject shock and borderline confusion when he could wave his hand and essentially erase a spell. What the students didn’t realize is that he already had control over nearly all the mana in the surroundings and, while he allowed them to use it, there was never a single moment when he wasn’t in control...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: ’Treat yo Companions with respect...!’,’RIP male students xD...’,’The Emperor reigns over all (UwU)...’)