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CAD Types
Tropes that apply to each CAD type in general
Lancer
Spear or polearm-wielding CAD oriented towards Defense.
- Heavy Equipment Class: Some Lancers end up with serious heavy armor.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: The way they usually finish bouts. Bonus points go to pulling off tricks like getting their opponent to impale themselves.
- Mighty Glacier: Not as much as Phalanx-types, but still more defensive than offensive.
Mauler
A class specializing in using heavy weapons, such as axes and hammers. Heavily skewed towards offense and strength.
- Attack! Attack! Attack!: The role of a Mauler on a team is to attack head-on.
- The Big Guy: One Mauler's weapon is stated to weigh over 100 pounds, and he swings it around relatively easily.
Brawler
A Speed-oriented class that is good in close combat, as it has the shortest range of all the classes.
- Blade Below the Shoulder: A possible variation displayed by some of them.
- Fragile Speedster: Almost as much as Duelists. Brawler armor is light, so as to let them use their superior Speed specs.
- Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs: A standard method of attack for them, with their weapons attuned to let the punches do as much damage as possible.
- Super-Reflexes: They, like Duelists, depend on their Speed to avoid attacks, instead of taking hits. Their high Cognition lets them predict incoming attacks to make it easier to dodge or knock them aside.
- Pile Bunker: A possible weapon
Duelist
The fastest class of CAD, its distinguishing feature is that it has two weapons available, used one in each hand.
- Attack! Attack! Attack!: Low Defense specs mean Duelists tend to go in for attacking immediately, trying to quickly end their bouts.
- Dual Wielding: The class's most distinguishing feature. This comes in two flavors:
- Two identical weapons, such as rapiers
- Two similar, but still different weapons, such as a sword and a parrying dagger. This variant seems to be more common in lower-ranked Duelists.
- Fragile Speedster: Even more than Brawlers. This class has light armor, sometimes even having no armor in favor of just an underlayer in certain parts, but is blindingly fast.
Phalanx
A defensive specialist class, with high Endurance to boot. This is the only class to carry a shield, in addition to armor.
- The Big Guy: Can take this role, especially as their armor and defensive specs improve.
- Knightly Sword and Shield: The second variant, which combines a Saber-like sword with a shield, and goes for more close-range combat than spear wielding ones.
- Stone Wall: Tend to be able to take a ton of punishment because of their specs.
Saber
A versatile class that doesn't specialize in any specific stat.
- Jack of All Stats: Sabers don't really excel at anything, but are very balanced. Their users can, however, specialize.
- Master Swordsman: The primary weapon is a sword, and can either be one-handed like a Duelist's or a two-handed BFS that can have power similar to a Mauler's.
Atypical, or A-type
A class that may change as the user grows and has something that sets it apart from the others, such as unique weapons, armor or abilities.
- Morph Weapon: A possibility. A-types change more than other CADs, and are also more likely to develop Arsenal Shift.
- Renowned Selective Mentor: Because A-types are so rare, A-type instructors are difficult to find and expensive. Even a school like Galens doesn't have one specifically and A-types start training with the type their device most resembles at first.
- Unique Protagonist Asset: What sets them apart
- The Lasher looks like a Duelist, but has his Whip Swords.
- The Iron Bishop also looks like a Duelist, but has 8 externals, which allow her to float while in combat.
Students
Reidon "Rei" Ward
Reidon Ward is the main character of the Stormweaver series. He's a short, sickly boy who dreams of getting a CAD all his own one day. Beyond being a fan of the Simulated Combat Tournaments that CAD users routinely participate in, he also hopes that the advanced device's genetic correction ability will heal his extremely painful condition.
- Amazon Chaser: His first meeting with his love interest, Aria, involved them fighting and her turning him into a shish kebab with her spear.
- The Chosen One: He was chosen by the MIND AI to be an experiment.
- Delicate and Sickly: Rei's medical condition causes his soft tissues to calcify, requiring constant surgeries and resulting in him, at 18, being Covered in Scars. The frequent surgeries as a child also damaged his growth plates, leading him to be only 5'5" and 132 lb at age 18.
- Determinator: Rei's defining personality trait. Despite being sick, he's on his school's combat team prior to going to Galens and his pain tolerance is so high, he's able to withstand, with relative ease, pain levels that cause students with CADs that are multiple levels stronger than his to collapse.
- A major plot point is learning to moderate this impulse to constructive levels. Initially Rei left to his own devices will train for so many hours a day it's actually detrimental, leaving him dead on his feet.
- Fragile Speedster: His device manifests as a Brawler type. At first.
- Guile Hero: He has to be, in order to fight opponents stronger than he is due to his skewed stats. His first match with Aria at the Commencement is a particular strong example. At that point, his rank is E3, but if you take out his Growth spec, it averages more in the mid-Fs. Aria, on the other hand is a C0. Keep in mind, even a few levels of difference in rank can be decisive, and a full tier is usually an insurmountable advantage. Rei is facing an effective two-and-a-half tier disadvantage, and through nothing but his wits and a few dirty tricks, he's able to turn it into a fight. Aria even says later that if she didn't have Third Eye, she might have lost.
- Heartwarming Orphan: Or is he?
- Heroes Prefer Swords: His Type Shift ability gives him a sword.
- Loser Protagonist: At first, though it changes quickly thanks to his Growth spec.
- Meaningful Name: His CAD is called Shido, which sounds like (and means, in Japanese) Seed. What is the only thing seeds do? They grow.
- Meta Power-Up: One of two things that set his CAD apart from the rest is his unique, S-ranked Growth spec.
- Morph Weapon: His CAD Shido's unique ability, (and the second of two things that set him apart) Type Shift, lets Rei switch between entirely different types of CADs mid-battle.
- Mystical White Hair: His hair is pure white, possibly due to the stress of all the surgeries he endured as kid.
- Promoted Fanboy: In universe. He's a huge SCT fanboy and gets to live his dream fighting in the SCTs.
- Tiny Guy, Huge Girl: With Aria, sort of. At first, there's a substantial height difference between the two, with Rei being 5'5" and Aria being in the ballpark of 6'. However, the genetic corrections his CAD gives him includes slowly fixing the growth plate issue mentioned under Delicate and Sickly, and by the time they actually get together near the end, he's 5'7" and seems to still be growing. So it may no longer apply in the future.
- Weak, but Skilled: At first. He starts off extremely weak, with all but one of his non-Growth specs at F0, or equivalent to a normal human, and by the time he starts at Galens he's still much weaker than any other student. And yet, he has such a high level of combat skill and intelligence he's able to compete with people a full tier or more above his effective stats. As the book progresses, this becomes more and more downplayed, and by the end, he's on par with other high-level first-years.
- Wolverine Claws: Rei's primary weapons are a set of claws that protrude from each hand until he develops Type Shift and Shido turns into a Saber's sword.
Aria Laurent
The highest-ranked student in Galens Academy's incoming freshman class, the C-ranked Aria is the scion of an extremely influential family, and is expected to follow in her parents' and siblings' footsteps in the arena.
- The Ace: She enters the school with a rank of C0 and an ability (Third Eye) already having manifested. According to Rama Guest, that hasn't happened at Galens in a very, very long time. She herself later states that with that at entry, she was in the top 50 new assignees in the galaxy.
- Action Girl: She's a girl, is the highest ranked CAD user in the class, and enjoys a good fight.
- Awesomeness by Analysis: She has a talent for reading opponents in the middle of battle. It’s seen in her fight with Logan in the intra-school SCT, where she reads him like a book, allowing her to win.
- Badass Family: Youngest daughter of one where her father is a decorated veteran and athlete, her sister is on the front lines of a war, and her brother is an S-ranked fighter at the age of 22.
- Big, Screwed-Up Family: Aria's family is relationship with the above, and especially her mother, is complicated.
- Combat Clairvoyance: Her Third Eye ability lets her CAD predict the opponents move while she can't see it, and do something about it.
- Everybody Knew Already: She's REALLY bad at hiding things like her stalking of Rei and the fact that she's Colonel Guest's niece. Especially the latter, which she thinks she can hide, but doesn't realize that because of how influential her family is, there's literally a newspaper article announcing her birth and the fact that the Colonel is her godfather.
- Fiery Redhead: At times, especially when it comes to Rei or when in battle. This manifests in her implied future nickname: Aria of Flames.
- Meaningful Name: Not her, but her CAD, Hippolyta, named after the queen of the Amazons in Greek Mythology.
- Nepotism: Subverted, for the most part. She tries very hard to keep the fact that Galens' commanding officer is her honorary uncle secret from the other students. She's not, however, above using the fact that he is that in order to level the playing field for Rei.
- Statuesque Stunner: She's around six feet tall and is noted as being attractive.
Viviana "Viv" Arada
Rei's best friend from prep school, Viv's ranking is just short of the top 16 students who were invited to Galens' summer program. She's also from a well off and influential family.
- Action Girl: Like most girls in the book, she enjoys a good fight.
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: Viv gets together with Logan Grant, who bullies Rei for most of the book. She sees through it, however, and realizes he's really a Jerk with a Heart of Gold.
- Blood Knight: She's the one that's usually most eager for a fight.
- Bully Hunter: She defends Rei from bullies all the time, going as far as to pretend to date a boy only to brutally break his heart in order to get revenge for Rei.
- Dual Wielding: Her type, Duelist, lets her dual-wield swords in battle.
- Fanboy: Subverted. She's not as big an SCT fanboy as Rei and Catcher are, and so needs them to explain certain concepts to her.
- Statuesque Stunner: Being a designer baby and a CAD user, she's very tall and looks like a supermodel.
Layton "Catcher" Catchwick
Rei and Viv's roommate at Galens. He's just as big an SCT fanboy as Rei is, which helps them bond. He becomes the second student to learn about Rei's S-ranked growth.
- Can't Catch Up: He realizes he's this when it comes to Rei. He's jealous, but it doesn't affect him too much.
- Heir to the Dojo: He doesn't have a dojo, per say, but his mother is a highly ranked CAD user and has been fighting in the professional SCTs for years. He went to a military prep school and his mother drilled him in SCT skills from a young age.
- The Knights Who Say "Squee!": He fanboys over Valera Dent, The Lasher and Anatoli Sidorov the first time he sees them.
- Master Swordsman: He's a Saber type, so he's looking to become one. His technique is already noted to be excellent, and he's able to help give Rei a crash course in swordfighting when his ability Type Shift manifests.
- Momma's Boy: One of the first things he does when getting to Galens is to call his mother and tell her he got there alright, so she doesn't worry.
Logan Grant
The number 2 freshman in the school behind Aria. He and Rei don't really see eye to eye, to put it mildly.
- The Ace: He's ranked just below Aria, and above everyone else.
- The Big Guy: He's noted to be enormous, and his Mauler-type CAD is well suited for the sort of straightforward tactics Big Guys tend to use.
- The Berserker: Subverted. He's got the build, and the tendencies, plus likes to act the part. But it's all a façade. This first comes out when he gives an excellent critique of another student during training, and when he learns from his mistakes after his fight with Aria during the first round of the Intra-School.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's a bully, but he doesn't tolerate the sort of attack his posse makes on Rei. He'll fight and abuse Rei, but he'll do it fairly, inside the ring. Viv realizes this.
- Super Mode: His first ability is Overclock.
- Unstoppable Rage: Twice.
- First, when he first fights Rei and Rei insults his parentage. Logan hacks Rei in half with his Axe, then attacks him outside of the battlefield before being stopped by Valera.
- Second when he beats the everloving crap out of his gang of followers after they attack Rei together. His rage is so terrifying, Viv is traumatized for a bit.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: He's a jerkass, but he bullies Rei mercilessly. At the same time, he does this because he genuinely believes Rei being weak will bring everyone else in the school down, whereas he understands that everyone is trying to be the best. When he finally understands this not to be the case, he makes a Heel–Face Turn.
Christopher Lennon, The Lasher
A third-year student who Valera asks to help train Rei and his friends, in return for giving him private training. He's an A-type like Rei and is already on his way to being one of the strongest combatants Galens has ever produced.
- The Ace: He's this for Galens as a whole, as the top-ranked third year at A8, which puts him above some of the teachers. He may be this for the whole Astra system as whole.
- Big Brother Mentor: To a degree, for Rei. He's just as excited for Rei's growth as anyone else is. He also takes time out of his schedule to train Rei beyond what Valera asked him to do.
- Building Swing: Can do this using his swords, as he demonstrates in his first Intra-School fight.
- Impossibly Cool Clothes: His armor's externals, which allow him to float around in a way similar to Valera's, and which simply float around above him, unattached to anything.
- Lightning Bruiser: His CAD, Ouroboros, is built for Speed and Offense. Its Defense might suck, but you have to get through his defensive sword spinning, which, thanks to his Speed, is fast enough it can act as a shield.
- Marionette Master: One of his abilities, Invisible Hand, lets him sit back and control his swords remotely. He uses it to deadly effect in his first on-screen duel, where he adds that strength to his own and cuts his opponent, who is wearing a heavy suit of armor and is a Mighty Glacier into 4 pieces.
- Red Baron: It's mentioned that he's the only cadet at Galens to have an official field name, and even most officers don't.
- Unique Items: A-Types don't really fit into the accepted categories of CADs, but usually their weapons are similar to some other type, like Valera's swords, or Rei's Brawler-like Wolverine Claws. What makes the Lasher unique is that his weapons are a pair of Whip Swords.
Staff
Captain Valera Dent, The Iron Bishop
An S-ranked SCT and combat veteran who retires from active duty to take on the job of Chief Combat Instructor at Galens.
- Action Girl: The biggest one in the series, if somewhat off-screen. She saw 7 years of brutal combat and survived, though not in one piece.
- Butch Lesbian: Short cropped hair, action girl, and is implied to be dating the far more feminine Maddie.
- Badass Teacher: She’s an S-rank fighter and a beloved ex-pro. Every one of her students has a ton of respect for her.
- Casual Danger Dialogue: One of the ways she solidifies her credentials as a Badass Teacher is when she does a series of exhibition matches against her assistant instructors in order to teach the class. They're all high A-rank fighters, with Michael Bretz being an A9, just 1 level below S-rank himself and a level above The Lasher. They go full-tilt against her, and she not only barely breaks a sweat, she spends the fights narrating for the benefit of the students.
- Flight: Even more than other users of Externals. Her 8 allow her to float without touching the ground.
- Fragile Speedster: Unlike The Lasher, she doesn't have a spinning defense, so her lightly defended CAD really does fit this trope. She can be beaten, but she needs to be caught first.
- Lady of War: She retired from the SCT pro circuit to go to the front lines of the war with the Archons. She was there for 7 years, ranking up and earning an officer’s commission. Notably, she wants more powerful users on the front lines instead of in in the Pros.
- Mentor Archetype:
- Is this to Rei, as she’s the reason he was accepted into Galens in the first place, convincing the committee to let him in.
- Renowned Selective Mentor: To The Lasher. In return for him helping Rei and the group, she agrees to help train him, as they are both A-Types.
- Rugged Scar: She has one running across her face, courtesy of a combat injury that cost her most of her jaw and required a prosthesis to fix. She has many others as well, courtesy of 7 years at war.
- Super-Strength: She’s able to, with one hand and not wielding Kestral, pick up and toss Logan Grant into a wall with enough force to make him lose consciousness.
