The next morning at Douma High began like any other.
Inside Shido's classroom,
conversations drifted lazily. As some were reviewing notes, others were chatting about yesterday's Mock-Battles. The atmosphere was relatively calm.
Shido sat in his seat, leaning back slightly. His expression remained relaxed, but his mind was working.
Today should be interesting. As today's going to be 2nd day of combat training.
Yesterday had already shaken the class a little. His performance during the Mock-Battle had spread through the second year students, and even if most people didn't admit it openly, curiosity was growing.
Someone would likely challenge him soon.
In Douma High, Mock-Battles were more than practice. They were reputation builders.
If someone defeated a strong opponent publicly, their name would spread through the academy almost instantly. And their star ranking would increase.
Which meant sooner or later, someone confident in their ability would try.
Shido tapped his finger lightly on the desk.
He wasn't particularly excited.
But he wasn't bored either.
A challenge would at least be something.
At the front of the class instructor Halden was preparing the schedule for today's Mock-Battle practice.
"Alright everyone," Instructor Halden said while writing on the board. "Since yesterday was our first day of combat training, today we'll resume combat drills as well."
Several students straightened in their seats.
"Unlike yesterday. Today we'll focus on formal Mock-Battle etiquettes and structured combat exercises. The pairs will be—"
Before he could finish his sentence—
A loud siren echoed through the entire campus.
WOOOOOOO—!!
WOOOOOOO—!!
The sound was deep, mechanical, and impossible to ignore.
The classroom instantly erupted into confusion.
"What the hell was that?!"
"Did something happen?"
"That's not the normal alert system…"
Even instructor Halden stopped speaking.
His expression tightened.
Another siren blast followed.
WOOOOOOO—!!
WOOOOOOO—!!
Then the school-wide announcement system clicked on.
"All students of Douma High."
The voice belonged to the administrative office.
"Immediately proceed to the central assembly courtyard."
"Repeat."
"All students proceed to the central assembly courtyard immediately."
The classroom fell silent.
Students looked at one another.
"What's going on?"
"Why is everyone being called?"
Instructor Halden sighed.
"…Well. Looks like today's lesson just changed."
He closed the marker cap and turned to the class.
"Everyone stand. We're going to the courtyard."
A few minutes later, the entire student body of Douma High gathered in the massive central courtyard.
Rows upon rows of students filled the area.
First years.
Second years.
And also third years.
Everyone was here.
Shido stood among his classmates near the middle of the crowd. He scanned the area calmly.
'Interesting.'
The entire school had been assembled.
That rarely happened that's what he heard.
At the front of the courtyard stood the academy's administrative stage. Several faculty members were already present there, speaking quietly among themselves.
Then a tall, elderly man stepped forward.
The murmuring across the courtyard slowly quieted.
That man was the principal of Douma High.
His presence alone carried authority.
He looked across the massive student body before speaking.
"Students of Douma High."
His voice carried clearly across the courtyard.
"This morning, our academy received a formal challenge."
A ripple of whispers spread immediately.
"A challenge?"
"From who?"
"What type of challenge?"
The principal continued calmly. "A Royal Rumble has been declared against us."
For a moment, the courtyard froze.
Then chaos erupted.
"WHAT?!"
"No way!"
"Which school?!"
"A Royal Rumble?!"
Some students looked excited.
Others looked nervous.
Shido's eyes narrowed slightly.
'A Royal Rumble?'
He had heard the term mentioned briefly in class before from instructor Halden. But he didn't go into detail about it.
The principal raised a hand, and the courtyard slowly quieted again.
"A Royal Rumble," he said, "is a formal inter-academy battle request recognized by the Kingdom of Aldai's education council."
He paused briefly.
"It is a large-scale combat event between two or more schools."
"A request like this cannot be refused if both schools are within the same competitive ranking."
The students listened carefully.
"This rule exists to maintain balance among academies."
"If stronger schools were allowed to constantly challenge weaker ones, the system would collapse into bullying."
"Therefore, the rule is simple."
"If two schools are of equal ranking, neither side may refuse."
"If one school is weaker than another, only the weaker school may issue the challenge."
"The stronger school cannot."
Murmurs spread again.
"So someone challenged us?"
"Which school would do that?"
The principal answered immediately.
"The request came from Iruka-High."
The moment those words were spoken—
A wave of reactions swept through the crowd.
"Iruka-High?!"
"Those bastards?!"
"Are they serious?!"
Iruka-High was one of the top-10 academies that always competed directly with Douma High in the same ranking tier. Rivalries between the two schools had existed for years.
But a Royal Rumble was something else entirely.
The principal continued. "The challenge was issued by a student representative from Iruka-High."
He paused.
"According to the request, their representative has a personal matter he wishes to settle with a student from our academy."
Shido's expression remained calm.
But inside, he already understood.
'Ryuen's boss?' So he finally showed himself.
The principal folded his hands behind his back.
"Now, before this event can begin, several conditions must be negotiated between the two academies."
He began listing them.
"A Royal Rumble can take two different formats."
He raised one finger.
"The first is a Royal-Ring Battle."
"In this format, both schools gather their fighters inside a designated combat arena."
"The goal is simple."
"Knock your opponents out of the ring."
"The last side with enough standing fighters depending on the arrangement before wins."
He then raised a second finger. "The second format is known as a Royal-Area Battle."
This time, several students leaned forward slightly.
"In a Royal-Area Battle, combat occurs inside a designated territory."
"For example, a warehouse district, a forest zone, or an abandoned training ground."
"The battlefield is much larger."
"In this case, the victory conditions can vary."
He continued explaining. "Some battles require eliminating every opponent."
"Others require leaving at least five members standing."
"Some may even declare that only one final victor may remain."
The courtyard buzzed again.
Royal-Area Battles were far more chaotic.
Strategy mattered much more than raw strength in those cases.
The principal allowed the murmuring to settle before continuing.
"At this moment, Iruka-High has not yet finalized the format they wish to use."
"So negotiations will be required."
He stepped slightly away from the podium.
"Therefore, I will be selecting several student representatives to accompany the faculty delegation."
"These students will help observe and prepare for the battle arrangements."
Whispers started again.
"Students are going too?"
"That means fighters…"
The principal unfolded a sheet of paper.
Then he began reading names.
"Akuma Kuro."
Akuma walked out of Shido's class line than stepped forward calmly.
"Lena Arveth."
A girl with sharp blue eyes moved through the crowd.
"Darius Valen."
Another student followed.
Several more names were called.
Each time, a student stepped out of the crowd and walked toward the stage.
Shido remained where he stood.
His name wasn't called.
Not surprising.
He had only recently arrived at Douma High.
After the final name was read, the principal folded the paper again.
"These students will accompany the faculty delegation to Iruka-High."
"They will observe the negotiation process and begin preparing strategies."
He turned toward the rest of the student body. "As for the rest of you…"
"Return to your classes."
"Once the terms of the Royal Rumble are finalized, the academy will make a full announcement."
A wave of excitement spread across the courtyard.
Students began talking loudly again.
"A Royal Rumble…"
"This is going to be huge."
"Iruka-High is insane for doing this."
Faculty members began guiding the selected students toward the administrative building.
Meanwhile, the rest of the school slowly began returning to their classrooms.
Shido walked back with his class in silence.
Inside the classroom, students were still buzzing with excitement.
"Do you think it'll be a Royal-Area Battle?"
"I hope it's a ring battle!"
"Iruka-High better be ready!"
Shido returned to his seat and sat down quietly.
Then he rested his chin lightly on his hand.
So.
Iruka High finally made their move.
Ryuen's boss clearly wanted revenge badly enough to escalate things to an inter-school event.
Shido closed his eyes and thought to himself.
"Interesting. Very interesting. If this really turned into a Royal Rumble… Things at Douma High were about to become far more entertaining."
And for the first time that morning—
A faint smile appeared on his face.