The battle royale had begun with a flurry of alliances, betrayals, and desperate struggles for dominance. Every student knew that survival alone wouldn't guarantee a place in the final eight. The evaluation system—the combined judgment of the Academy's AI, the professors, and mana-imbued monitoring devices—didn't simply reward endurance. It demanded excellence.
And so, strategies formed. Many of the weaker students sought to challenge the titans of Class 1-A, not because they expected to win, but because standing against the best was the surest way to prove their worth.
But this was not a battle they could win.
Class 1-A was on a different level, their prowess shaped by resources, talent, and sheer will. Most wielded Grade 5 arts granted by Mythos Academy itself, and some had inherited Grade 6 arts—the pinnacle of combat techniques—from their powerful families.
In the midst of these giants stood Arthur Nightingale, Rank 2, an enigma among the elite.
