Chapter 4

I release a content sigh and put down the bowl.

"It is delicious."

"Right?!"

Karin gives me a big grin and gives Yuki a thumbs up. It looks like the owner of the place is busy with personal business and leaves Yuki to take care of the shop. By looking at it, the owner trusts her enough to leave the key to the shop and let her take care of the money.

"Are you the one making the broth, Yuki?"

"No. The owner is the one making the broth. It takes him three days to make it, you know?"

"Really? I guess I now know how it tastes so rich."

Yuki nods her head and smiles at me. However, it lasts short because another customer arrives and asks for Shoyu Ramen. Karin and I let her do her job while we enjoyed our ramen.

"Ne, Ryan~"

"Hmmm?" I slurp. "What is it, Karin?"

"There is a rumor of a devil coming to Kyoto."

"Oh? Are you sure you can talk about it here?"

"Don't worry. I use Youjutsu to make the mundane people not notice and hear what we are talking about."

"Very well. Continue."

Karin drinks a glass of water and says,

"I hear, one of the four satans will come to Kyoto to talk about something."

"Really? I thought that the relationship between Youkai and Devil is not good."

"Yup. Almost all problems that happen in Japan are because of the Devil and the rest usually happen from what the Fallen Angel is doing."

"Lady Yasaka, have it rough, huh?"

Karin nods in sadness.

"She is. Devils are a blight on our society."

"You really hate them, huh?"

"Yes. You might not know this, but all the problems come from that race. They are the one spawning all that Stray Devil that causes a lot of damage in this country and don't start with their greed. Have you heard of the Nekomata massacre?"

"Massacre?"

"Yes. It happens in the Underworld, where many Nekomata decided to stay because of their affinity with the underworld's energy. Anyway, one day, one of the Nekomata killed one of the nobles of the lord where they stayed. The noble who knew why she killed him decided that the Nekomata wanted to do a coup."

"A coup? Nekomata did not have the number and power to do it."

"Yes. The noble spread that rumor because they want to cover what the Naberius clan is doing with the nekomata they kidnap. It works. With the help of an organization called the Great King Faction, they kill most of Nekomata in the underworld. It is because of the effort of Lady Yasaka and her secret organization that the Satans admit that they are in the wrong."

"What happened next? What do they do after admitting their mistake? Killing the people who are responsible?"

"No. They arrest them, and they will be released in a hundred years."

"That's it? Devils have a long lifespan, right?"

"Yes. Lady Yasaka wants to ask for more punishment, but she cannot get them, and instead, they compensate the Youkai faction with a steady supply of material."

"That is not good enough, right? A thousand innocent people have died and they compensate you guys with material goods."

"And Lady Yasaka agreed. However, we cannot do anything. They have more numbers than us and more power than us. They have more money, political power, and strength than us so we cannot do anything. We can fight back if the Shinto faction backs us but the Gods and Goddess never want to get involved in our matter and decide to stay in their throne in Takamagahara."

Really? The Gods did not care for the Youkai? I know that in some mythology, Youkai is the enemy of the Gods but really? They let more than a thousand youkai die because they are too lazy?

I shake my head and say.

"That must be suck."

"Yeah. However, we decided to move on and continue our day. We will remember it and maybe one day we can hit them where it hurts."

I take the bowl and drink the broth. I release a content sigh after drinking all the broth.

"Haaaa… Thank you for the food."

~Three days later~

"Come on. Give me your all."

The monkey youkai in front of me is the Hand-to-Hand combat instructor. His name is Togashi Kaneyoshi. I've talked with the chancellor and some professors, who have granted me time to train my new magic.

"Yes! Here I come! Beast Soul: Weretiger!"

My body changes into a human-tiger hybrid. Unlike Elfman's form, which has yellow fur, I have white with a long strip from my head to my butt.

"Oh! Is this your magic? Transformation magic? However, the smell and the feeling of your life force are different. Interesting. You still have the smell of a dragon but it is overlapped by the smell of a tiger. Interesting! Come! Let me feel your magic!"

I nod and dash forward. I would be surprised by my new speed if not for my training. However, because of my training, I now know how to use my speed.

I arrive in front of him and throw my punch.

"Oh! Your speed increases! Three times! Maybe four."

I can see him smirking at me and keep dodging all of my attacks. I can hear him laughing at me.

"Come on! I teach you martial arts for a reason! Don't just attack! See, predict, and calculate!"

I jump away from him and nod my head. As much as I don't like his smug smile, he is right. I take a deep breath and dash once again. I threw another punch at him and read his movement. I continue to move for a minute before I notice something.

I throw a quick punch with my right hand, and when he dodges, I use my left leg to kick him. Because of his speed, he could not stop mid-jump, and my kick hit his body. However, to my surprise, he could move his hand to block my attack.

"Good! You are using your brain! Then let's get this to the next level! Here I come!"

My eyes widen when I see him disappear, and I barely manage to dodge his attack because of my instinct. I try to move, but like before, my instinct screams to dodge or brace for impact.

I decided to listen.

"Beast Soul: Lizardman!"

I change into my lizardman form and grit my teeth when I feel something heavy hit my body. I can see Instructor Togashi's hand smoking at the impact.

"Oh?! Other forms. By the look of it, this is your defensive form, huh? Lizardman, right? Then the previous one is a speed type. Any other form you want to show me?"

I ignore the numbing pain and shake my head.

"I have another form, but that form is not stable enough for me to use against an ally."

"Hmm… You should use it, but you are right. If it is not too stable, we need to prepare first. Come back in a month. I will make a special arena for you."

"Thank you, instructor."

I bow a little.

"Don't think about it. It is our duty as teachers to ensure our students' success."

I smile at him and nod.

"So, should we continue?"

"Nah. We should stop now. I have a lot of things to do. Continue to spar with your friend and increase the control of your magic. Your transformation magic combined with your Dragon magic can be a strong fighting style. Keep your good work and I think you can join the yearly tournament."

"A tournament?"

"Yes. It is a yearly tournament that all colleges do every year. Each college will send three people to fight in the name of their college. The winner will get money and equipment."

"What kind of equipment?"

"Weapons, armors, or even accessories. You can sell them for quite a lot of money, or you can use them because they are good equipment. Some of them are even good enough to be considered an heirloom."

"Woah. Really?"

"Yup. Anyway, train, and someday you can be a great warrior."

I nod at his words.

"You should probably come back. You still have a class, right?"

"Yup. The mundane kind."

"Then go ahead. Even though you have magic, this university is still a big university and needs its students to be the best."

"Yeah, yeah. I know. I am still studying hard for my mundane studies."

"Good! See you on Saturday!"

I smile and walk out of the training arena.