One year later

Time flew, and in the blink of an eye, a year had passed. During this year, Ichiro had become best friends with Urahara and Yoruichi. The two of them revealed their secretly constructed base to him, and in return, Ichiro told them about his alchemy, though he claimed it was something he brought from the World of the Living. Ichiro intentionally steered the explanation toward Fullbring, so Urahara didn't harbor much suspicion.

Of course, he still didn't mention that he could create spirit food that directly boosted Reiatsu; that was far too over-spec, a secret destined to rot in his gut.

However, that was the extent of Ichiro's interpersonal relationships during the year. Unlike him, while the others had lived for decades or even centuries, their mental maturity didn't seem to have kept pace. Ichiro showed signs of this as well, but having already matured before his transmigration, he still felt a significant generation gap, and his relationships remained strictly at the level of classmates.

In terms of strength, Ichiro had finished learning everything in the first three years of Shin'o Academy except for swordsmanship, and with the help of his alchemical spirit food, his Reiatsu had reached the level of a typical seated officer.

The only thing Ichiro regretted was that although he loved swordsmanship, he had absolutely no talent for it. His sword skills were still no different from a beginner's, and perhaps influenced by this, the release of his Zanpakuto remained a distant prospect.

However, Ichiro's talent for Kido was truly extraordinary. He had already mastered all Kido below number 30, and could perform them all without incantations—and he had self-taught everything above number 10!

This terrifying talent nearly scared Urahara to death. This was self-study! Both he and Yoruichi had only progressed so quickly because they had specialized tutors within their clans.

If he could reach number 30 through self-study, wouldn't he reach number 50 if he skipped grades?

Of course, due to Ichiro's appearance, the timeline had shifted slightly. Although Urahara's Kido wasn't as monstrous as Ichiro's, he had also learned Kido up to number 30 and could perform incantation-less casting for those below number 20.

While Urahara was slightly inferior to Ichiro in Kido, he left him far behind in swordsmanship. That guy had already achieved Shikai and, thanks to Ichiro's "unintentional" hints, was currently researching the convenient method for Bankai seen in the original work.

In other aspects, they were similar to Ichiro. Their Reiatsu hadn't been low before enrollment, and after receiving Ichiro's high-quality spirit food, their growth rate had accelerated even further.

Yoruichi's overall situation was similar to theirs, but her Hakuda and Shunpo far exceeded them. In overall strength, she was first, Urahara second, and Ichiro third...

But not many people in the academy knew their true strength, and they had no intention of skipping grades. To be precise, Urahara and Ichiro had no such plans, and Yoruichi was simply keeping them company.

Are you kidding? Aside from the title of "genius" and a life of corporate slavery, what else does graduating early get you?

Nothing at all. Those resources might look like rewards, but in reality, they were just being allocated ahead of time; if your strength is sufficient, they'll be yours anyway.

Therefore, after Ichiro's persuasion, Urahara decided to slack off with him at Shin'o Academy. They wouldn't graduate until at least six years had passed!

With room and board provided by the academy, free time outside of class, the ability to slack off during lectures, and teachers to ask when problems arose—what's not to love?

Why be in such a hurry to graduate?

It's not like they've got a hole in their heads!

"Hiss... ah... Urahara, what time is it?" In the dormitory, Ichiro hissed in pain, clutching his temples as he struggled to crawl up from the floor.

Yesterday, after their third-class exams finished, they held a party and drank through the night. Since they had been re-sorted into classes based on their historical grades, most people would be scattered.

Even though they weren't particularly close to everyone, Ichiro and the others had gone anyway—they were classmates, after all—and then they just got carried away...

"Ha... how would I know... hiss... my head hurts! What are you worried about? It's a holiday today, classes don't officially start until tomorrow..." Urahara hammered his head, his body collapsing back down halfway through the attempt to sit up.

This was another unique aspect of Shin'o Academy. It wasn't a normal school, so there were no real vacations; at most, they were given a day or two to recover and relax before a new round of studies began.

It was less of a school and more of a military camp with loose regulations.

"What if we overslept?" As he spoke, a pillow flew toward Urahara. "Hurry up and use Kido to check. Didn't you develop a Kido for recording time?"

"Pfft..."

"..." After a moment of silence, Urahara silently raised his hand to move the pillow covering his face and said listlessly, "Asshole, that's not how that Kido is used..."

However, despite his words, Urahara's hand involuntarily cast the Kido.

A blue light flashed, and Urahara buried his head back into his pillow. "Classes are tomorrow..."

"That's good..."

"Pfft..."

Hearing this news, Ichiro instantly felt relieved and collapsed back into his blankets. Tomorrow was the first day of their second year, and beyond that, they would be heading to the World of the Living for their first Konso training!

Starting from the second year, training in the World of the Living was added to their curriculum. Second and third-year students conducted Konso training for "Pluses," with the only difference being the spiritual grade of the location, which determined the probability of Hollows appearing.

From the fourth year on, they would begin Hollow-hunting training. Ichiro was most interested in the Konso practice in the World of the Living because, since he had to go there, he could finally test if his alchemy from his previous life would work.

Logically speaking, it should, because the World of the Living wasn't composed of Reishi; at the very least, the vast majority of matter was the same.

If his transmutation circles from his past life worked, it would be a huge boon for his alchemical research.

"Clang! Bang!"

"You two... just how long are you going to sleep!!!"

Suddenly, the dormitory door was violently kicked open, and Yoruichi roared at the top of her lungs.

"Ha... there's no class today, let us sleep a bit more..."

"School doesn't start until tomorrow, what's the rush... no hurry..."

Having said that, the two rolled over and went back to sleep.

Yoruichi, standing at the door, felt a vein throb in her forehead. She took a deep breath, exhaled, and expressionlessly extended her right hand, palm facing the two, and began to chant rapidly:

"Mask of flesh and bone, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium..."

"Oh crap!" x2

Ichiro and Urahara instantly sobered up. With no time to react further, they dove straight out the window!

"...sea-severing, reverse-flowing, march on! Way of Destruction No. 31: Shakkaho!"

"BOOM!!!"

"Hey! If we had been any later, we would've been dead!"

"Exactly! Plus, we'll have to pay for the damage to the dorm!"

"It's fine. Money is the one thing I have plenty of. Hurry up and tidy up; there's another gathering today."

Ichiro scratched his head and asked curiously, "Another one? With who?"

"New students. Barring any surprises, we'll be in the same class for the next five years, so someone suggested we all get together."

"What's the point of gathering? Honestly."

"Then why are you already dressed?" Ichiro ruthlessly called Urahara out.

"Aren't you?"

"I never said I wasn't going."

"Alright, you two, let's go."

"Oh~" x2

A new year had begun. Thanks to their ability to control their exam scores and a tiny bit of help from the Shihoin Clan, the three of them were in the same class again this year. However, it was still Class 3—a number that made Ichiro feel somewhat sensitive...