Two weeks after Dorothy obtained the Picture Scroll, the third request seems to be going well.

  The conversation went like this.

  “Aya here is a youkai, and she can get stronger by gathering fear. So, my request is, aid her. I already have a pn, that being, urban legends.”

  “Urban legends? I see… So, you want me to go around and spread rumours about Aya?”

  Dorothy, who had researched up on youkai after their encounter, was able to understand Aya’s situation.

  ”Not necessary just Aya. See, there are plenty of youkai sealed within the Scroll, and we can use them instead, which gives us a lot of freedom as to what we can do. But…” Michi pushes up her gsses.

  “The main requirement is, our stories need to be directed towards Aya, or the youkai sealed in her. Else, another youkai is going to receive what is meant to be Aya’s, or worse, a new youkai will be born. It’s best if Aya can send her youkai to actively participate in the stories.”

  “And of course, it should be good rumours that are easy to trick people into believing. It should also be something that can spread fast, but at the same time doesn’t harm anyone. The professors will crack us down immediately if anything unsavory happens.”

  “Do you have any idea, Miss Dorothy?”

  It turns out, this Magician is quite a crafty one. She has read the Scroll for a few days, and with her limited knowledge about the sealed youkai, she’s able to come up with some pretty scary urban legends.

  “Well, these can’t really be used inside the Academy though. But I can spread it on my weekend outing.”

  “That is fine, Miss Dorothy. You are really creative, being able to come up with such interesting stories.”

  “You are too kind, Miss Michi. I just read a lot.” Dorothy says with a giggle.

  “But…” She continues. “What about the Academy? Surely you wouldn’t want to miss out on all the strong students here?”

  Of course not, and Michi has some pns for the students here. That being, the School Mysteries.

  This is quite a popur concept in Japan, and Michi wants to bring them here too. She has taken some ideas that can be implemented here.

  Aya has quite a few youkai at her disposal, and among them, there’s a cherry blossom tree. A perfect spot for confession, and a simple rumour that confessions under this particur cherry blossom tree will always succeed will be sure to attract attention.

  Incidentally, this cherry blossom tree that’s sealed inside Aya is the Saigyou Ayakashi. This evil sakura tree that attracts people to die under its roots exists in this world too.

  Michi can simply repce one of the existing sakura trees around the school, and as for how to make people believe in the rumour? A youkai that can manipute emotion would suffice. There’s a Menreiki in the Scroll that’s perfect for the job.

  And as for the rumours not being scary? It doesn’t matter. What Aya needs is for people to believe in the Urban Legends’ existence. Michi has only used ‘fear’ as a catch-all term.

  There’s also another youkai that’s perfect for Urban Legends. Named after the sound of its cries, a Nue’s true form is unidentifiable to anyone. Not even Michi and Aya. A perfect fit to bring the fear of the unknown to the students.

  The Nue doesn’t even have to do anything. It can simply just walk around, and any students who encounter it will start to spread the rumours of strange moving objects.

  Thus, the Saigyou Ayakashi and the Nue shall be active here within the Academy, with the help of the Menreiki.

  Next up is Neverwinter city. Let’s just pick a few basic Youkai… Like a Kitsune, a Tanuki and a Baku. Well, the st one is nowhere near the level of the former two, but let’s ignore that.

  Oh, and our Rokurokubi seems to want a piece of the action in Neverwinter city too. She seems to be developing some sort of personality, which… is actually a welcome change for Michi. She likes this girl quite a lot.

  Now, today’s a weekend, and with Dorothy finally having returned Aya back, Michi can finally have some fun banter between the two. Admittedly, she has missed Aya quite a bit.

  “It seems like 2 weeks is already enough to see progress, huh?” Michi says while inspecting the 4 youkai standing in the room.

  “It seems so. I am quite a bit stronger than before now.” Well, counting Aya, it should be 5 youkai.

  The youkai have been producing good results. Including her only named youkai, Nazuki the Rokurokubi. Floating heads and extremely long necks can be quite scary.

  The aforementioned girl’s head is in Michi’s p. Pying with Nazuki’s nine heads has become a way for her to pass the time when Aya isn’t around.

  “Hey, Michi… I have a question.” Aya suddenly says.

  “What is it?”

  “Why didn’t you absorb the Hyakki Yakou Picture Scroll? You should know what kind of power it can bring, without side effects too.”

  “…” Michi falls quiet.

  And she only speaks again a few minutes ter.

  “If you really want to know… I still treasure my humanity. Becoming a youkai now… I don’t think I can do it.”

  Even if Michi chooses to absorb only a single drawing of the Picture Scroll, becoming a youkai is an unavoidable fate.

  “Plus, even if I do want to do it someday, wouldn’t I want to strengthen all the youkai before doing it? In short, that won’t happen anytime soon.”

  “Is that so?” Again, with her noncommittal voice, Aya leaves a simple reply as she reseals the youkai still standing in the room.

  Michi can feel the increase in power from Aya as she absorbs the st two weeks worth of urban legends.

  “Well, and the feedback from you is already plenty. Another two weeks, and I can do my Tier 1 Advancement Ritual.”

  She can feel her power increasing too. Once she ranks up, all of her Esper Abilities should have a big boost.

  For people who possess multiple Abilities like her, one Advancement Ritual is enough to break the bottleneck for every Ability. So, once her Water Control and Word of Power reaches peak Tier 0, there won’t be a need for another Ritual, since she has already reached Tier 1 with Wind Control.

  How does she know this? Well, this is publicly recorded information for the Esper css.

  Having multiple Esper Abilities, while rare, isn’t something unheard of. For example, the Empress of the Elements, a Tier 7 Esper who can control most conventional elements. Or Biological Terror, a criminal Tier 6 Esper that can control both flesh and pnt matter.

  In any case, her Advancement is still two weeks away, and that is if the urban legends continue to work well. For now, Michi needs to focus on increasing her proficiency with Wind Control.

  And, on her own Schor css lessons. Dorothy has been a big help. The girl has read a lot, seeing how it quite literally makes her stronger, and her ability makes it easier for her to learn.

  Though, ever since lending Dorothy the chronicle of the Youkai Country, she has been quite occupied with reading it over anything else.

  “You know, all the first year combat csses are holding a tournament at the end of the month. The rewards seem quite good.” Kurami pulls Michi over to talk during one of their breaks. Well, and to get Michi’s help with assignments too.

  “Well, our professors will announce it to us soon enough, so why the buzz?”

  That’s true, the two of them are having Sir Calvus’s css this afternoon, and he’s probably going to announce it there.

  Speaking of the tournament, Michi has a pretty good guess as to who the champion might be. It would be either the protagonist, Leonard, who she has almost forgotten about, or Dorothy, who has received a massive boost from the Picture Scroll and the chronicle.

  “Kurami, will you participate?”

  “Um? Not sure? What about you?”

  ”Me? I will join. I should reach Tier 1 soon, I think I will be able to perform well. I think you should join as well. No reason not to just give it a try.”

  In fact, not just her strength, her combat skill has improved as well. As a beginner, she can still make a lot of visible progress. Now, she is able to hold her own wits together and not get instantly trashed like before.

  “I see. Well, as you said, no reason not to try. I will join too, then.”

  ”Nice! Oh, it’s time for Professor Yamakawa’s Enchanting css. Let’s go.”

  Michi has also got a lot of knowledge from her own specialized css, and realizes that this can be of help in the tournament too. While the Academy requires the use of standard equipment in official events, if the students can craft or enchant their own gear, that is allowed too after verification.

  Two weeks pass by in a fsh. It’s another Saturday, and Michi is, as always, hanging out with Aya in her room, just that this time, there’s another guest, that being Dorothy.

  ”Woah, her hair is so smooth! I wish mine could be like this.” She’s currently pying with one of Nazuki’s heads too. The Rokurokubi’s body shifts uncomfortably when Dorothy runs her fingers through her hair.

  “Don’t rough up her hair like that. Be more gentle!” Michi reminds an excited Dorothy.

  Then, she turns to Aya. “Well, it’s about time, isn’t it?”

  “Right away, Michi.” Aya, once again reseals the youkai that has been let loose for the past few weeks, and absorbs everything they have gathered.

  The aura of youkai on her thickens, and Michi can feel the feedback immediately. Meanwhile, Dorothy is sitting there staring wide-eyed at the process.

  “Haa… And here I thought my ability is powerful…” She ments.

  “No, no, like, your Ability is plenty good. You are still Tier 0 now, but your Cantrips are as strong as a Spell already!” Michi reassures the girl. In fact, she doubts she can beat Dorothy even after her advancement.

  As the magic power inside Michi stabilizes, she reaches for her school bag, and takes out a small wooden box.

  And inside is a small gss bottle containing a gleaming blue liquid.

  “Wait, right now? Hold up…” Dorothy says with surprise.

  This blue liquid is the Tier 1 Advancement Potion. It’s a standardized potion for all Magicians, and since Espers are Magicians, Michi can use it too.

  For the Knight path, there is the Breakthrough Potion instead, which has an entirely different manufacturing process.

  Normally, these potions are quite expensive, and from Tier 3 onward, are hard to manufacture and can’t even be bought with money. Though, here at Qualia Academy, the Tier 1 Potion is provided for free when a student needs it, while the Tier 2 and 3 Potions can be exchanged with school credits or by completing assignments.

  Michi has applied for the potion in advance, and now, all that’s left is…

  She down the entire bottle, and changes start to happen to her body. A cloud of mana starts to converge around her.

  Aya, whose book is starting to get ruffled by the wind, sighs before waving her hand, casting a barrier around Michi.

  Dorothy, too, gives out a sigh as she looks at the scene. “Did she forget that we aren’t supposed to do this in the dormitory?”

  “Probably.” Aya replies.

  With her barrier in pce, it should be fine. It’s actually quite sturdy, and if one were to cssify it, even a Tier 2 Spell wouldn’t be this tough. How strong is Aya, really? Even Michi has no clue.

  Around 15 minutes ter, the storm of magic power gradually dies down, revealing Michi, who, aside from her disheveled clothes and hair, looks exactly the same as before.

  “Woah, this feels awesome!” The girl excims.

  What Michi is feeling right now isn’t overflowing strength, but a sense of control. The air and water molecules around her seem to be listening to her every thought.

  Though, when she tries to mobilize her two Abilities, she soon realizes that she can’t control them to that extent yet. This is a common occurrence for Espers after their advancements.

  Another change is, Michi can now feel a stronger connection with the Picture Scroll. Summoning it from far away should now be possible, and she can also unseal youkai as long as the Scroll is nearby. Before, she needs to be touching it.

  Her Word of Power is stronger too, but that’s something she only ever uses for Enchanting.

  ”Oh yeah, now that I am Tier 1, I should get some enchanted gear to use.” She excims as she finishes assessing the changes to herself.

  “Are you done, Michi?”

  “Oh, Dorothy! Well, as you can see! I am now a proud Tier 1 Esper!”

  “Right… Need I remind you that the Academy prohibits any breakthrough outside of designated areas?”

  As Michi is starting to sweat, wondering if anyone has noticed the commotion she caused, Aya throws her a lifeline.

  “Don’t worry, I took care of it. And Dorothy here won’t snitch.”

  Well, and that’s that. Michi soon moves on to other matters, mainly to prepare for the upcoming tournament. The top 4 will get prizes, and she feels that her chances are quite high.

  With ample preparation and some luck, even if top 2 is out of the question, top 4 should be achievable. And so, after seeing her guest off, Michi starts to get to work.

  A/N:

  SpoilerThe tournament thing is kinda arbitrary, I just had a spontaneous impulse to put one in.

  Next, the Urban Legends and the School Mysteries. These should not be unknown concept, there are a lot of them in Japanese media, like Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun or Dandadan for example.

  Saigyou Ayakashi is written as 西行妖. It's not part of Japanese mythology at all. Instead, it is just a piece of Touhou lore that's connected to a real life figure, that is, the poet Saigyou Houshi (西行法師). Saigyou (西行) means 'heading westward'. Houshi (法師) means 'Buddhist priest'.The lore for the Saigyou Ayakashi is extracted from the Touhou Wiki below.

  """A long time ago, there lived a divinely talented poet who traveled around Gensokyo. When the poet became aware that the hour of his death drew near, he chose to begin his eternal rest under the most beautiful cherry tree he could find. After the poet's death, word of the beauty of the cherry tree began to spread across the nd. That cherry tree has grown even more beautiful since then, charming many people into choosing to rest in peace beneath its blossoms.

  After absorbing the blood of so many people, it turned into a youkai cherry tree with the ability to lure people to their death on its own, and came to be known as the Saigyou Ayakashi. Eventually, the beautiful blossoms of the Saigyou Ayakashi were sealed away, using the bodies of Yuyuko and several others buried beneath it, and now remains within Hakugyokurou."""

  Next up, the Nue (鵺). 鵺 means 'chimera', a creature that consists of parts from multiple animals. The Youkai itself is also described as such, though with many variations. Even in Japanese mythology though, the Youkai is also described as a monster whose true nature is unknown. It's not just a Touhou thing.

  Next is the Kitsune (狐) and Tanuki (狸). I would be surprised if anyone does not know these two. Kitsune means 'fox', and Tanuki is 'racoon'. Though, I am so used to just calling Tanuki 'tanuki'. I won't expin much about these two. Do I need to?

  Finally, the Baku, written as 貘 or 獏, though 貘 is rarely used. It basically means 'tapir'. Sadly, unlike a certain other Tapir, our Baku isn't green. In mythology, Baku are known to devour dreams and nightmares, though the nightmare part seems to be used more.

  [colpse]