User:Shrysha

The Seven Princess Knights and the Dark Lord Hero (Original Light Novel Attempt)

 

Foreword:

This is a story about the knight rescuing the princess from the bad guys.

This seems to be a traditional plotline chock-full of overused clichés and tropes.

Except that the knight wasn’t one of those typical knights in shining armor. Perhaps he could be considered one of those bad guys. Maybe a villain. Wait, could he even be called a knight at this point? I think if I asked him, he would probably reject the “knight” designation.

And this story didn’t just have one princess. Actually there are seven. And did they even need rescuing?

Well there has to be bad guys in the story, right? Well, I’m not even sure if the bad guys could even be called bad guys. I mean, their intentions were good. Probably better than those of Mr. Knight. I suppose it is just a matter of perspective.

So, this is a story about the knight who wasn’t really a knight rescuing the princesses who didn’t need to be rescued from the bad guys who weren’t really bad guys.

I think I did a decent job with my summary.

Enjoy!

 

Prologue:

“Strong…”

These were the only words that the frail young white-haired slave child could mutter. Or rather a former slave. Despite lying collapsed on the ground and with skin covered with filth and body malnourished, and despite having watched the scene of carnage unfold before him, there was no fear in this child’s eyes.

Before the child was the back of a lone dark figure standing on crimson field. With a midnight-black hooded cloak concealing his entire body and a similarly colored long curved sword, he gave a very intimidating dark presence. Carrying the scent of blood and death around him, he could very well be mistaken for the grim reaper or angel of death himself. And those would be rather accurate guesses, as he was widely known to the rest of the world by the name <God of Death>, and not just for his physical appearance alone.

After all, he was the one responsible for having single-handedly staining this battlefield with the blood of hundreds of men.

Hundreds killed with only a single swing of his blade.

Perhaps instead of a battle, it would be better to have described what had transpired as a massacre, or perhaps a mass execution. The reaper was the judge, jury, and executioner.

But at the moment, he was the only truth in this part of the world where power was the only law, with no one left alive to oppose him.

Despite the <God of Death>’s actions, the child still did not fear him. To the child, this reaper was a savior, having killed the now former slave merchant owners and their bodyguards.

Perhaps this was too much of a biased view; it was truly a matter of perspective.

Contrary to his expectations, the child slowly crawled and reached for the hem of his cloak.

Perhaps having had his interest piqued, he patiently waited for the child’s next actions. This child who was on the steps of death’s door. This child whose life was in the hands of this “god” ruling over death itself.

“… Stronger.”

The child continued to speak while struggling to stand up.

“Please make me stronger!”

(Are you not scared?)

Suddenly a voice reverberated inside the child’s head. The intensity of the atmosphere suddenly rose to an oppressive level, completely overwhelming the child’s senses. The child suddenly collapsed back to the ground, seemingly crushed by an immense unknown pressure. But the child who had nothing left to lose, and nothing left to fear, only stared unwaveringly back.

Suddenly the pressure ceased, and the child could suddenly breathe gain. The <God of Death> turned around and full faced the child.

(Those are good eyes. How amusing… however I cannot save you.)

The child was not deterred and continued to glare back, showing his firm resolve. It may have been just a trick of the mind, but the child thought he felt the <God of Death> smile for just a moment. The voice continued.

(But power is something I can offer you. And the price…)

Without hesitation, with a single breath:

“My soul.”

 

Interlude 1:

Such a clichéd development.

A child’s soul offered to the devil in exchange for power.

But an unexpected response, like “It had already been paid for” or something anti-climatic like that, had been the immediate response. It left the child a bit speechless, which was to be expected.

To be prepared to sacrifice everything, not that it was much, and at the climax only to be told that someone else already paid the bill.

This was an eight-year-old memory that he hadn’t remembered for quite some time.

Perhaps even a fated reunion could occur.

Could this be what people commonly called a premonition?

 

Chapter 1:

Today was supposed to be a normal day, link any other.

What kind of ridiculous development was this?

“Uhmm, Shry, are you alright?”

A cute high-pitched voice interrupted him from his thoughts.

Trying to sort out his thoughts, Shry had absent-mindedly brought his right hand to hold his temples underneath his messy head of silver-white hair, which was quite the unusual color for an eighteen year-old student.

His school uniform was ordinary enough: a white blazer, shirt and pants with the school insignia on each. Although Shry felt uncomfortable wearing it, let alone it was a bit too flashy for his taste, it couldn’t be helped; as one of the most prestigious academic institutions worldwide, it was expected there would be an excess of unnecessary rules and regulations to maintain its lofty image to the rest of the world.

Asides from the standard-issue uniform, Shry’s appearance was altogether rather unnatural.

His left eye was covered with an eyepatch, mostly obscured by the longer left-side bangs of his unnaturally white hair. And when combined with the pair of rectangular glasses on his face, the eyepatch was almost unnoticeable, especially from further distances. He also had wrapped the entire length of his left arm in bandages as well, most of which was hidden unearth the sleeve of his uniform.

Overall, Shry’s appearance seemed to be one of a particularly unlucky accident-prone teenager.

If he had claimed to have been involved in a horrific accident that had injured most of his left side, and that this injury was the cause for his late enrollment to the school, most people would unquestionably believe him.

“I apologize. I’m just a little tired this morning, thanks.”

Shry in response to the question in regards to his well-being settled for a simple apology, which he thought would suffice.

Standing facing Shry was Professor Ruegger a comically petite teacher wearing an oversized white laboratory coat over her simple teaching attire, which only seemed to reinforce her rather child-like appearance. Contrary to how she looked, most students would unequivocally agree that she was an extremely knowledgeable well-liked teacher, always putting forth her best efforts for the sake of her students. Professor Reugger was looking up sternly at Shry with her large orange-hued eyes, but it was rather difficult for him to take her seriously when she had the face of an innocent child pouting. If asked to guess her age, which was one of the greatest mysteries within this academy, Shry would decline to comment.

Professor Ruegger smiled and, as expected, quickly accepted this apology. She turned back around and stated cheerfully, “Now please introduce yourself to the class.”

That’s right.

Shry and Professor Ruegger were now standing at the front of a small lecture hall, or rather what looked like a mini-theatre, in front of twenty or so seated students. Although it wasn’t particularly necessary, she thought it a good idea for Shry to take the opportunity to introduce himself as a new transfer student. There was quite a bit of whispering and murmuring in the classroom, which quieted down as Professor Ruegger took a step forward towards her students.

“So if you could, please introduce yourself.”

As Professor Reugger turned her head at back at Shry, he could feel the curious stares of the students being redirected at him.

As he thought earlier, this was a ridiculous scenario, being forced to attend school.

There could only be one culprit.

And that someone would definitely later on receive a punch to the face.

With no other choice for now, Shry decided to just go with the flow for now and accept his fate.

“My name is Shry Doe. Nice to meet everyone.”

With a glance at the teacher, Shry gave her a looking that said he was done with his introduction. Apparently she, nor the rest of the class, was satisfied with such a short, information-lacking introduction.

Shry sighed before stating, “I’m sorry but I’m quite terrible at this introduction thing. If anyone has any questions…”

Ms. Ru’s face suddenly paled. This was certainly the wrong approach for someone trying to maintain order within the classroom, not that Shry actually cared though.

As to be expected, the class erupted with noise and he was bombarded with questions and comments from all directions, without any opening for him to answer.

“Hey hey, where did you come from?”

“Why did you transfer? Did you get into an accident?”

“What was your former school?”

“You look pretty cute, do you have a girlfriend?”

“Say something about your hobbies or favorite activities!”

“Why did you transfer into our class? I thought that you couldn’t become an A-rank without ranking up.”

“Are the rumors true? Is it true you got top scores on the transfer exam?”

“Apparently he completely aced the written portion.”

“No way, that’s impossible!”

“How were his practical results?”

“Wait, I heard you beat an exam-proctor in a fight. Is that true?”

“Seriously?”

“Unless he’s at the level of the seven <Dragon Valkyrie> sisters…”

“Yeah, he doesn’t look that strong at all.”

“Did you get into an accident?”

It was complete chaos.

Shry made zero attempts to answer any of the questions or rumors being wildly thrown around. Not that he had the chance to. On the other hand, there was one person in the class valiantly trying to rein in this disorder.

“Enough, everyone! Can everyone please quiet down!”

Professor Ruegger tried to tame the growing ruckus, but to no avail. It seemed that she had very little control over her own students. Even though she was a very well-liked teacher, her competence in being able to direct her class was in question. Many teachers were brought in by this school primarily for magical research whereas others were hired for their outstanding combat abilities; teaching students, although still a core focus of any academic institution, seemed to have a backseat role here.

“Sniff…”

As Professor Ruegger started tearing up and looked like she was going to cry, the students stopped their questioning session and started to reprimand each other.

“Everyone quiet down!” a student called out to the rest of the class

“Stop bullying Ms. Ru guys!”

“Hey! Ms. Ru, don’t cry!”

“We’re sorry! We’ll promise to stop!”

Shry could only observe this strange phenomenon with silence. It seemed that the class didn’t see Professor Ruegger, or rather Ms. Ru, as a teacher but rather as a young child. But it was somewhat sadistic of the students to initially force her to the brink of tears before consoling her.

Well, it looked like Ms. Ru did the ability to control and direct her class, but not via traditional methods.

“H-Hmph. A-As long as you understand, then I’ll forgive you. I’m also your teacher! Please call my name properly!”

Ms. Ru stuttered a little as she wiped her eyes with her sleeves. Looking around the classroom, it didn’t look like her request would be easily fulfilled.

“So again, let’s do this properly. If anyone has any questions, please raise your hand…”

“Hey, transfer student. I heard you are strong.”

With those words, the rest of the classroom continued to remain silent.

Shry turned his gaze to the student standing up, who had earlier been sitting in the back of the classroom. Admittedly she had quite the dazzling appearance. Ignoring her rather pretty face and nice figure, she had bright crimson-colored shoulder-length hair and similarly-colored eyes, which were very hard to ignore. Despite the uniform requirement at this school, it seemed that students were still able to be quite liberal with their physical appearance. This student in particular wore her uniform very informally; her blazer was taken off and placed on her desk, her shirt was untucked with rolled-up shirt sleeves, and her skirt length was too short for what Shry expected from such a traditional-style school.

This student would be considered a very attractive lady, if it weren’t so difficult to picture her as anything other than a school delinquent or gangster.

Without question, this person had the most imposing presence in the classroom.

“Uhmm, Ms. Himika…”

Ms. Ru tried to interject, but the delinquent was focused solely on Shry and ignored her.

“To be transferred into our class immediately, your transfer exam scores must have been pretty good. I also heard that you beat the examiner during the practical test as well, is that true?”

For someone who looked and acted like a gangster, Shry found her to be quite eloquent.

Shry hesitated about how to answer before settling for a vague response.

“Who knows.”

“Haha, that’s a nice response!”

The delinquent laughed as she ran her hand through her hair before grinning widely at him.

“My name is Himika Cou, and I am the strongest in this room at Rank Three! And with my rank on the line, I challenge you to a duel!”

What a lame line. It sounded like some kid was trying to challenge him to a children’s card game, or something similar to that. But if what she said was true, at rank three, she was the third strongest student at this school amongst several thousands. And Himika’s surname “Cou” was one that belonged to the three great families. Given her innate talent, it was very likely she was one of the daughters of the Wei house. To engage in battle with one of the scions of the three great families was quite the interesting offer.

But in the end, it sounded too troublesome for his liking.

“I refuse.”

It wasn’t really in his personality to accept such a troublesome proposal.

Unfortunately for Shry, Himika was not deterred at all by this rejection.

“Make no mistake, transfer student. I’m not giving you a choice.”

Shry sighed softly at this reply.

“I thought I was allowed to turn down challenges freely”

“I see, so you don’t know the rules yet. Normally you’d be able to avoid this fight, but I have special privileges as a single digit ranker.”

How… annoying? Despite her delinquent appearance, it seemed that Himika was actually rule-abiding. Her forceful personality and ability to exploit the rules were completely separate matters.

Resigned to his fate, Shry thought it better to just get this matter done with.

“Where and when?”

“Someone who doesn’t mince words, that’s great. Are you prepared? And how does here and now sound?”

This delinquent was surprisingly considerate as well, showing the most basic of etiquettes of giving Shry time to find a weapon or determine an alternative time or place to have the duel. Ms. Ru looked like she wanted to make an objection to the fight taking place in the middle of a classroom, but both of them seemed to have completely relegated her to a background character at this time.

Shry raise both hands to show that he didn’t have, or need, any weapons.

“I accept, whenever you’re ready.”

At these words, the two badges pinned on each of the students’ shirts quickly flashed with light, which signified the school’s acknowledgement of the legitimacy of this duel.

“Great! Don’t go disappointing me!”

Without warning, Himika without warning leapt from her seat over the heads of his fellow students. To traverse the classroom in one step while also launching a heavy punch was actually quite the considerable feat.

Screams could be heard… only from Ms. Ru.

In this school, it was not uncommon to see fights, or rather these “duels”, breaking out randomly across the campus. Thus the rest of the class was already quite accustomed to this type of scene. However, most students would agree that Himika’s act of interrupting Ms. Ru’s class with a duel without asking permission first was quite rude.

On the contrary, Ms. Ru, no matter how many times she witnessed these duels, could never get used to them. She was never a big proponent of fighting and violence.

Despite this powerful preemptive attack, Shry predicted this kind of development to a certain extent. With the vast amount of accumulated experience he had gained fighting on multiple battlefields, to him an attack coming from the front was not much of a surprise, and dealing with it was mere child’s play.

Upon sidestepping the first attack, Shry was immediately met with another attack: a roundhouse kick to the face. This beautiful follow-up was met and easily deflected with Shry’s right hand.

Himika brought her leg down and grinned ferociously as Shry retreated by jumped back a meter or two.

“You’re skirt is too short. Aren’t you concerned that people will see what’s underneath?”

Shry thought that this question would cause Himika to be self-conscious and slightly throw off her fighting rhythm. Contrary to his expectations, she was completely unmoved by this inquiry and easily brushed his question aside.

“That’s so nice of you to be worried about me. If you have time for that, let’s see how you handle this!”

Her right arm was suddenly ignited with bright red flames.

And despite the intense heat these flames seemed to emit, Himika was completely unaffected.

Despite the duel taking place in the front of the classroom away from where the students were seated, there was no barrier or protection in place to prevent collateral damage from the fight should it come their way. But most of the students were quite unconcerned; most were quite happy to skip a boring class lecture to watch this high-level fight between this classroom’s strongest and the mysterious transfer student.

Although the fight had just barely started, there was a question that Shry still had in regards to her Himika’s motives.

“Your rank. Why are you willing to put that on the line for something like this pointless duel?”

“Rank, something uninteresting like that? I’m more than willing to give it up, but that’s only if you can entertain and defeat me!”

She responded as if this explanation was the most natural thing in the world.

Himika then quickly charged, again closing the gap between the two combatants.

 

Chapter 2:

As the two students continued to clash with each other, Ms. Ru could only scrunch into a ball and pout. She was now sitting in the front row of her classroom, after having been brought over by some of her students. A few of the female students were still by her side actively comfort the poor teacher. Although her skills and knowledge as a professor were real, she had neither authority nor respect in her own classroom. Rather than being looked up to as an older mentor, she was instead treated as an adorable younger sister to be teased and played with.

Unfortunately for Ms. Ru, with the exception of the authority from higher up, until the conclusion of the duel, no one was permitted to interrupt it once underway. Not even the teacher of her two students was allowed to interfere, which was why she had made multiple earlier, yet futile, attempts to stop the duel from starting.

Duels in this institution had three fundamental conditions.

First, there must be mutual consent, implicit or explicit, between the two dueling parties. Consent did not refer just to the duel itself, but also extended to the details and conditions attached to it as well. Forced duels and duels instigated by single digit rankers were the only exception.

Second, duels will only be recognized on the academy grounds. The badges given to each student upon enrollment allowed the academy to track and monitor each duel participant. This was especially important to resolve possible conflicts regarding the two parties should a dispute arise in regards to the duel’s conclusion.

Lastly, a duel is won once the opposing party has conceded defeat or is left unconscious. Killing the other party, however, is considered forbidden and is harshly punished, with very few outliers.

Asides from those three rules, everything was essentially unrestricted or fair game.

Power is the only truth.

With duels capable of deciding and resolving almost every matter in the school, power was indeed the absolute truth of this academy, or the International Combat Academy.

Despite the school’s name, this was a privately-run institution located on an exclusive island not belonging to any nation, independent from all international pressures. This academy was founded just only five years ago by a group of the most powerful people in the world and funded by a mysterious yet very wealthy backer. Despite all initial doubts, it had since then become the most famous and prestigious institution for producing the strongest warriors, magicians, and combatants.

As a result, and largely in part due to its strict international neutrality, nations worldwide sent many of their promising talents there to be raised and cultivated. And naturally those who achieved a high rank in the school system would be placed highly in the International Ranking System as well.

There are two types ranking systems at this school.

The first type of rank, and most important rank as a professional in the industry, was the international Ranking System.

With combat talent and abilities highly valued worldwide, there was a growing necessity to be able to rank people objectively and holistically on an international basis. The International Ranking Commission, comprised by a committee of professors and other highly qualified professionals, was set up to fulfill that informational requirement.

The vast majority of the students at the International Combat Academy were not ranked under the international system, and they would not be expected to have been assigned a rank until after graduation.

The second type of rank, and far more relevant rank as a student, was the interschool ranking system.

The interschool ranking was the method how students at this academy were assessed, which are similar to grades from a more traditional institution. Exemplary written and practical exams results were indeed important to achieving a higher rank. But ranking duels were the much more influential method of determining school-wide ranks. With ranking duels, one could fight another higher-ranking student and, if victorious, swap for their higher ranks.

Normally higher ranked students would not allow lower rankers to challenge them due to risks of accidentally losing and having their rank drop significantly, but there are a few exceptions.

The first and most common exception is that there exists an academy rule permitting those with lower ranks to “force” a duel from a slightly higher ranked, the methodology not stated here, with the purpose of encouraging more school-wide competition, thus the “forced duel” rule.

A second common scenario where a higher ranker will voluntarily accept a duel from a lower-ranked student is when another “prize” or condition is offered by the lower ranker as an additional compensation for the risk the higher ranker assumes.

There was also a rare third scenario. There are people in this academy who have enrolled for no other purpose other than to fight other powerful students, without care for his or her ranking. Ranks were just a means to an end. Such students in the academy were very few in number, and such a person was the high-ranked delinquent currently in front of Shry.

Having been on the receiving end of a few attacks, Shry had assessed Himika to be one of the strongest students in the academy, which was in line with her current rank. According to the ranking system, Himika should be the third strongest student in this academy. However, even that level strength was not enough to concern Shry.

When the duel initially started, Shry had earlier dodged Himika’s initial punch and blocked her following kick. Now, as Himika dashed in with a flame-clad fist, Shry this time around decided to take this attack head on. Himika did not expect such a response, and her crimson-red eyes widened in surprise as her fist was caught with a single bare hand.

She started laughing in enjoyment again.

“It doesn’t seem that you tree-lovers burn as easily as I thought!”

Shry stared back at Himika with his only visible violet-colored eye and smiled back wryly, understanding the deeper meaning of his words.

Each person born with a certain level of talent for magic also had affinity to at least one of the seven core elements or two sub elements that exist in this world. And a person’s primary elemental affinity was directly correlated with the color of his or her eyes. A person with red eyes, like Himika, was someone who excelled with fire magic. Likewise, a person with purple eyes was more skilled with wood and plant manipulation.

Additionally, certain elements were more “effective” than other elements in certain confrontations. In this case, to fight fire, wood was the absolute worst element to use.

In theory by just comparing their elemental affinities, Himika should have had a significant advantage in this matchup.

But by concentrating mana into his right arm, Shry was able to easily withstand Himika’s flame-infused punch. Mana, the source of power used by all magic and spells, in its natural state was neutral, or void of any elemental attributes.

“Oh? Your hand is still fine, but are you sure you’re fine with only using one?”

Himika had quickly glanced down at Shry’s bandaged left hand, which had largely remained motionless since the beginning of the fight. This could have been seen as a considerate gesture, had she not ignited flames in her other arm and thrown an elbow to side of his head. This action prompted Shry to quickly release Himika’s fist and sidestep the attack.

Shry was actually reasonably impressed with the quality and durability of the academy-issue combat-ready uniforms, as Himika’s clothing were largely unaffected by her flames. However, the uniform is no substitute battle-armor: its defensive properties were actually quite minimal. The material of the uniform was made to let magical and elemental attacks go through the cloth unobstructed rather than to block them, but that did little to stop sharp objects from easily cutting through them.

“One arm should be more than enough. No need to go easy on me.”

“Haha, that’s a great response!”

For several moments, Shry and Himika continued to trade blows. Or rather, it was Himika throwing an increasingly complex combination of attacks whereas Shry was continually on the defensive.

From the surrounding student spectators’ perspective, it seemed that Shry was continued being pressed back. It seemed logical that only being able to use one arm should be a crippling disadvantage to Shry in close quarters combat. It looked like only a matter of time before Shry’s impressive defense would reveal an opening, and for Himika to land a decisive attack to end the fight.

But this was not the same view that Himika held. Himika prided herself in her strength, and rightfully so as the third strongest student in the school. But she was quick to acknowledge and assess the strength of others with almost a beast-like instinct. After Shry effortlessly dodged his first punch at the start of the fight, she was made immediately aware that her opponent was skilled. His mana levels were nothing incredibly special and neither were his physical speed in strength; in fact it can be said that his stats were almost too average. However this one armed opponent was actually able to easily maneuver around Himika’s aggression with only the most basic of attacks or movements, which required an incredible amount of real combat experience and knowledge.

With each attack that was deflected or dodged, Himika’s estimation of Shry’s strength only rose. Where the seemingly increasing gap in power may have deterred other students, this only fueled Himika’s fighting appetite; she genuinely enjoyed fighting against this caliber of opponent. However, she felt that Shry was holding back his full strength against her, perhaps even just testing her.

“How annoying. So you’re one of those guys who won’t hit a girl?”

Himika, clearly displeasured that Shry refused to go on the offensive, continued to assault Shry with a flaming dropkick, which was neatly dodged. She was also irritated that she had yet to land a solid attack on him.

“I’m busy enough just trying not to get hit.”

“You’re such a bad liar. I know you’re stronger than you’re letting on. It’s just annoying that I can’t make you fight seriously unless I do so first.”

And with these words, Himika suddenly disengaged from close quarters combat by stepping back away from Shry and ceased all her flames.

For just a moment, Shry was caught off guard at Himika’s words. During his limited exchange of blows and words, he had expected Himika to be an all-brawn-no-brains type of character, as many of the student spectators had still labeled her. But she was much sharper than everyone gave her credit for, and this hot-headed idiot personality was perhaps merely a calculated façade to lower the enemy’s guard.

Whatever was the case, Shry mentally upgraded his evaluation of the opponent before him. Even though it looked that Himika still had a few trump cards up her sleeve.

“Dragon flames, ignite.”

Suddenly she released an enormous wave of pressure and heat, blowing away the air in her vicinity, before gathering in her hand a ball of raging red-white flames. These flames were on a much greater intensity than the smaller ones used when he was using them to enhance her attacks earlier.

Himika then stretched out that arm, and the flames gathered and condensed into the form of a blazing two-meter long sword.

Although he didn’t verbalize it, Shry was quite impressed at the level of Himika’s abilities, as she was still only of teen age. Even though he had fought numerous high-ranked fire-elementalists in the past, he could count those who could use higher-level flames on only one hand.

Although the sprinkler system was activated, it did absolutely nothing to mitigate the potency of these flames. This did awaken the student spectators from their trance-like state, having been bewitched just by watching this high level fight.

With this much higher level of fire magic being contained in such a relatively small classroom, the spectators started murmur with worry, and some even were on the verge of panicking. The potential collateral damage that could possibly result from the seemingly inevitable clash was on a level that could no longer be overlooked. It was extremely rare that such a fight between such high-ranked students should occur so informally inside a classroom. Usually they were schedule beforehand and fought in an appropriately-sized spectator-filled stadium, as it was very likely that larger scaled magic abilities were going to be used. Only relatively low power attacks had been used so far in the fight, but it looked like that would soon quickly change.

As a side note, Ms. Ru admirably tried to go forward to make a few last ditch attempts to interfere with and stop the fight. But as expected she was quickly stopped and carried off by her own students to safety.

Additionally in response to Himika’s dragon flames, a powerful water barrier was casted over the students to prevent damage from reaching to them. The caster of this magic, presumably named Yuki, was a pale blue-white haired student who was now standing with an arm outstretched. Her attractiveness was on the same scale as Himika’s, but she had a calm graceful elegance juxtaposed against Himika’s wild unrestrained beauty. But more importantly, Shry judged her to be just as powerful as Himika as well, most likely another single ranker.

He couldn’t help but think that there was quite the number of talented people in this classroom.

“Thanks Yuki!”

She responded to Himika with only a nod.

No longer worried about her flames reaching her fellow classmates, Himika again refocused her undivided attention backed to Shry. But he returned with a rather interesting remark.

“I’m surprised that you’re actually a pretty considerate person, taking the time to worry about your classmates.”

“Why would I be? It would just be annoying if they interfered in our fight. Enough of the small talk, it’s time to finish this!”

As if to confirm this statement, she pointed her flaming sword in Shry’s direction. Despite Himika’s fierce words, she was not very convincing in trying to hide her embarrassment.

First looks impressions were indeed quite a bit deceiving.

“Dragon flames… That sword looks a bit dangerous.”

“And yet you don’t look the least bit concerned.”

“Then you aren’t going to draw your real weapon?”

Shry tilted towards Himika’s seat in the back corner of the classroom, where a rather long, bulky package wrapped in bandages lay against the wall. Judging by the shape of the wrapped weapon and the current magic Himika was using, it should probably be a sword of similar proportions. And by wielding that weapon and channeling magic through it directly instead of fighting with her conjured flame sword, Shry estimated that Himika’s battle potential could easily increase at least two or three-fold.

As expected, his suggestion was readily turned down.

“That wouldn’t be fun. After all, you’re unarmed as well.”

“I see. Then brace yourself.”

With little effort, Shry rapidly concentrated his mana to the tips of his fingers. Noticing that Shry was preparing to go on the offensive for the first time this battle, Himika, who had raised her flame sword and was about to launch headlong into an all-out attack, suddenly stopped.

Dangerous.

Her instincts, which have rarely failed her and have helped her win fights time and time again, were loudly screaming to her that Shry was extremely dangerous. She felt as if the blade of a knife was being held to her throat. What kind of heavy killing intent was this?

If she made just even the slightest mistake, she felt that she that a single strike might be enough to even kill her.

Himika had fought her fair share of opponents, and only a handful had alerted her instincts as powerfully as Shry had. And none of them had been around her age, until now.

“Damn, just who exactly are you?”

In sharp contrast to Himika’s animal-like grin, Shry only responded with a light smile.

Both combatants, with just a few meters separating each other, waited for the other to make an opening. Or rather, it was Shry that waited for Himika to make the first move. Although Shry felt that his opponent had too many openings that he could exploit and that the fight was all but decided, he felt lenient enough to let the fight end on Himika’s terms.

Wild flames on one side on the classroom. Zen-like calmness on the other.

Everyone in the classroom was silent. The tension created by this standoff could be said to be thick enough to cut with a blade.

Inching ever closer, the two opponents…

…were rudely interrupted.

 

Chapter 3:

“This duel is declared null and void!”

The classroom door was loudly slammed wide open, completely disrupting the fight.

The tension in the room was killed immediately.

Reluctantly, Himika instantly extinguished her flames and dematerialized her sword. Similarly Shry dispersed the mana concentrated in his right arm along with his killing intent.

At the door of the entrance were two female students. Apparently they were either very popular or well known within the student body, or very likely both, as suddenly the classroom once again erupted into chatter and noise. It was also to be noted that they were also beauties of a very high level, similar yet different to those of Yuki and Himika.

Shry hadn’t expect so many people with model-like appearances to have attended this combat-oriented school, let alone be in the same classroom at once. He also hadn’t expected there to be so many talented students in the academy; the two female students who had just interrupted the duel looked to be rather skilled.

Also he made a mental note to himself that this classroom was really a chatterbox. Is this what a normal classroom was supposed to be like?

The first female student, presumably the one who had interrupted their fight, ignored the noise coming from the student spectators and confidently walked forward within inches to Himika, glaring at her accusingly. Like Himika and Yuki, she easily stood out from the rest of her students with her platinum silver hair matching her similarly colored eyes. And with a pauldron on her left shoulder and a sheathed longsword by her waste, she looked very much like a female knight. Although it was quite common to see students carry weapons within the school grounds, Shry felt that she was prepared to unsheathe and use it anytime at a moment’s notice. It was just a feeling, but Shry assessed that she was, if not only just slightly, stronger than Himika.

And if Shry had to make a first impression guess, he didn’t think this female knight and Himika got along well.

Unfortunately it seemed like Shry guessed correctly.

“As expected of you, Himika. Only you would cause this much trouble in the classroom.”

“Huh?”

Himika aggressively stared back, of course with a fearless smile. It seemed that they shared some history together given their current familiarity, although the relationship was probably not particularly amicable. These two female students had the compatibility of oil and water.

“I’ve done nothing. Aren’t you in the wrong for interrupting this duel?”

“Of course I have the proper authority. But to choose to fight in the middle of class? Especially in the middle of Ms. Ru, I mean Professor Ruegger’s lecture.”

This verbal slip didn’t escape Shry. Although

“That’s allowed, right? Tell me, where did I break the rules?”

“It’s not just rules. Etiquette is also important…”

“Etiquette. Oh please shut it, how can you be so stuck up?”

Shry turned his head away from the two female students. He wanted absolutely no part in this squabble.

While Ariana and Himika continued to verbally berate each other, two other female students approached Shry. The first was Yuki, who had earlier erected the high-level water barrier. The second was the other student who had entered the classroom with Ariana. The second of the two was the first to speak.

“My name is Ivy, Vice President of the Student Council. Shry, was it? It’s my pleasure to meet you.”

“And my name is Yuki. I must apologize for Himi’s rather rude behavior. It’s very nice to meet you.”

Himi was very likely Yuki’s personal nickname for Himiko, and it seemed that the two were on very good terms with each other. Whether “Himi” liked being called by that nickname was a different matter.

With a pretty peach-shaped face with waste-length raven-black hair outlining her rather curvy body, Ivy had quite the alluring appearance. With her charming smile and seductive violet eyes, and with her ability to easily manipulate men, she had all the traits of a dangerous femme fatale.

Yuki on the other hand seemed to have quite the traditional, graceful appearance, which seemed to match her rather reserved and shy personality. However, she gave Shry a rather strange yet curious stare, one he chose to ignore at this time.

“Yes that is correct. It is a pleasure meeting you two.”

Any other male student would have been entranced by talking to these two beauties, but Shry was immune to their charms. At least that is what he tried to convince himself with. But more-so than their appearances, he was even more interested in the power of these four female students: Himiko, Yuki, Ariana, and Ivy. They were extremely skilled, and to a much larger extent than every other student in the classroom, if not the entire school.

This was without a doubt a question he would have to bring up later.

“Ivy, may I ask why was it that you and Ariana, correct me if I’m wrong, came to interrupt our duel?”

Ivy showed a little surprise at being addressed in such a forthright manner with no hesitation. She probably wasn’t used to men being completely unmoved by her charms.

“Ah, I’m sorry to not have introduced Ariana earlier; she is the current Vice-Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee. Both of us came under the direct orders of the headmaster, and thus have his authority to end this duel.”

Shry couldn’t help but groan at this explanation.

“Rayl…”

“You are acquainted with Headmaster Rayl, I presume.”

Ivy gave him an inquisitive look, which he responded to with only a slight nod.

“He instructed the two of us to pass you, the new transfer student, a message.”

 

Chapter 4:

“You look pretty terrible, Shry. It seems like you had a nightmare last night, or did you just wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?”

The source of this deep yet gentle voice came from a rather handsome elderly man. His age was, however, betrayed by the wrinkles on his face and his grown out white hair and similarly colored goatee. Regardless, this man still had quite the imposing presence. Not only was he taller than the average man, he was also very physically fit and well-built, with his well-toned body still easily discernible underneath his hooded cloak. Behind the pair of round glasses, his soft grey-hued eyes seemed to kindly wait for a response.

Shry, with a lone violet-colored eye hidden behind the bangs of his white hair, sharply gazed back. While bringing his hand to his forehead as if he had a headache, he closed his eye and sighed.

“Wouldn’t you the cause?”

The elderly man smiled and showed an innocent-looking face that said he hadn’t the faintest idea what Shry was talking about.

That was of course a lie.

Backtracking a few moments earlier, Shry had received the following message earlier from the Vice President of the Student Council.

(I trust that you didn’t run into too much trouble this morning. Now that you’ve had time to get to know your classmates, please come by my office when you get the chance.)

From an outsider’s perspective, this message had little meaning. It seemed to just instruct the recipient of the message to stop by the headmaster’s office, presumably for a warm welcome.

But to Shry, it was just another annoyance.

“You know how badly I want to hit you in the face right now?

“Hey, hey. You know what they say about violence and it not solving anything!”

“But it’d be extremely satisfying at the moment.”

“I’m sure it would be.”

Despite Shry’s threat, Rayl was not disturbed at the slightest.

Shry found it difficult to stay cross with this smiling old man for long. After all, this man had a sincere light-hearted fun-loving personality that easily attracted people and brought them to his pace. Of the various people Shry encountered in his line of business, the old man’s presence was rather refreshing.

“Before we get started, I’m surprised that it already has been eight years. You’ve changed quite a bit since the last time I last saw you.”

“And you are surprised, because?”

“Ah, I wasn’t talking about your appearance. Although now that you mention it, it’s true you have grown taller. I mean you were only ten at the time, and now you’re almost as tall as me now.”

“Wouldn’t that be the thing most people would comment on first?”

“That might be true. I was actually quite surprised that your flow of mana feels quite different now. I almost couldn’t recognize you.”

Each individual was born with a certain talent in using and manipulating mana. Although it was common for a person to increase the amount and power of mana he or she was able to handle, it was almost unheard of, or rather considered impossible, for someone to change the composition of their mana.

Although being able to recognize a person by just sensing or feeling someone’s mana was considered a very high-level ability, this was child’s play to the two people sitting in the room. And having known Rayl for a very long time, Shry felt no need to hide this from now.

“So how does my mana feel now?”

“Hmm… It’s a bit difficult for me to verbalize it. Although it is weaker than before, it feels much more complex. I’d be very interested to hear about what you did these past years to change it.”

Shry again was made fully aware of the old man’s abilities to sense mana, as the number of people in the world who could had senses as good as his could be counted with a person’s two hands. Rayl smiled kindly at Shry, who could only nod back. Feeling somewhat uncomfortable at this unusually warm atmosphere, Shry quickly returned with his own remarks.

“I see you haven’t lost any of your sharpness since becoming headmaster. I thought you were supposed to grow more senile with age.”

Speaking of which, this room was rather bare and simple for a headmaster’s room. Asides from bookshelves full of thick ancient-looking books, plain wooden desk, a few chairs, and the large windows behind him, there was not much else in this room to speak of. Likewise, Rayl was a rather simple man, unconcerned with such extravagance and grandeur this school was supposed to reflect.

However, he was also of the belief that the headmaster should be the strongest in the school. Otherwise, in his own words, how can he be qualified to lead the next generation? Not just mentally, but Rayl’s physical and magical strength seemed to be as impressive as they were in the past.

Before Rayl could continue on his nostalgia trip, Shry decided to cut it short. He wasn’t against continuing this talk and catching up with an old acquaintance, but this wasn’t the purpose of his trip here.

“We will have to save catching up for another time. Now getting down to business, please tell me why you’ve called me here.”

The old man was completely unfazed by this change of pace, and he smiled while leaning forward bringing his hands together on top of his desk.

“I have a request to make of you.”

“A request?”

Suddenly Shry’s interest in the old man’s words increased considerably.

It wasn’t very often that Raly made a request from anyone. Normally he was the independent type of man that would never involve other people in his own troubles, and was also the sort of benevolent person who would accept other people’s requests without asking anything in return. So this request must involve a problem that must’ve been too difficult for Rayl to overcome alone, is what Shry surmised.

Shry’s conclusion was correct, but only to a certain extent.

“Yes. I apologize to have to ask this of you, but I want you to enroll at my academy.”

There was a brief moment of silence followed by a sigh. Shry felt that he’d been sighing too much lately.

“It’s not like you gave me a choice. But wouldn’t it be easier if you had explained yourself before?”

“Is it that strange?”

“Of course it is, to be told to come to your office just only to find a teacher standing outside telling me follow her. Wouldn’t it be more proper for you to have talked with me earlier?”

“But that wouldn’t be as much fun, now would it?”

There was another moment of silence. Shry felt another strong urge to clock the grinning old man in the face.

“About this entrance test requirement, I don’t recall ever having taken it.”

If he recalled correctly, some students in the class mentioned he had extraordinary high transfer exam results. Not that they weren’t difficult to achieve at all, but…

“Forged.”

A third moment of silence.

“For the headmaster to forge a student’s documents, wouldn’t that be quite the scandal if you were to be found out.”

“You think I’d ever be caught?”

Well let the old man have his fun. Shry, already prepared to carry out this request, decided to stop asking his tangential questions.

“Back to the main subject of my enrollment, I’m fairly certain that there is something more to this.”

“I just thought it would be great if you could somehow settle down and finally live the life of an ordinary student… is what I would like to say. But unfortunately things are a little bit more complicated.”

Rayl slowly got out of his chair and turned around, looking out the office windows. Outside was quite the grand view of the academy’s main campus. With his back facing Shry, Rayl continued where he left off.

“Shry. You are aware of the ranking system of this school?”

“It essentially mirrors that of the International Ranking System, correct?”

“Correct. With our approximately ten thousand students on the island across both our high school and university systems, this ranking system is a convenient compare and measure everyone’s combat prowess. Naturally those in higher grades, and hence the older students, are more mature and have had more time to learn and develop their abilities. Thus as you move up in grade, your rank will increase along as well.”

“So where are you getting at with this explanation.”

“Haha, forgive this old man for being so wordy.”

Rayl then turned back around and, while still standing, again faced Shry.

“As this ranking system only judges an individual by their ability alone, sometimes there are outliers where some young prodigies will be strong enough to surpass their upperclassmen’s ranks.”

“I see. In the class I went to, there was a student around my age who was highly ranked. Himika Cou was her name, if I recall.”

“I know.”

Because I sent you there purposely, is what Rayl’s mischievous eyes seem to say.

“How was she?”

“She was stronger than what I expected.”

“I meant as a potential girlfriend.”

A fourth moment of silence.

“Anyways…”

The headmaster decided to cut his joke short, as he felt that he would have been in imminent danger should he have continued.

“There are six more students like her who were gifted with immense powers, and each with a unique element. All of them are now in their final year of the high school curriculum, the same year as you, but they have recently completely monopolized the top seven ranks, surpassing every student at the university level.”

Rayl picked up the tablet on his desk and handed it to Shry. Before him was a public listing of the top ranking students at the academy.

Rank 1 | Leoi, Venus <Wind Dragon Valkyrie> | Grade: 12 | Gender: F | Element(s): Wind

Rank 2 | Syun, Ariana <Steel Dragon Valkyrie> | Grade: 12 | Gender: F | Element(s): Metal

Rank 3 | Cou, Himika <Flame Dragon Valkyrie> | Grade: 12 | Gender: F | Element(s): Fire

Rank 4 | Smith, Yuki <Ice Dragon Valkyrie | Grade: 12 | Gender: F | Element(s): Water

Rank 5 | Lau, Ivy <Rose Dragon Valkyrie> | Grade: 12 | Gender: F | Element(s): Wood

Rank 6 | Mari, Eliza <Lightning Dragon Valkyrie> | Grade: 12 | Gender: F | Element(s): Electric

Rank 7 | Clinton, Terra <Earth Dragon Valkyrie> | Grade: 12 | Gender: F | Element(s): Earth

Four of these names were familiar to Shry. These seven comprised the seven Dragon Valkyrie sisters, the term he had briefly heard from his classmates earlier. They had quite the grandiose nicknames, but admittedly they did have the power to back up their titles.

And along with Himika Cou, he also was able to pinpoint two other surnames belonging to the other two great families: Ariana Syun and Ivy Lau of the Wu and Shu houses respectively. As all three were blessed with incredible talents far surpassing their peers, it was likely that all three would succeed as the heads of their respective houses.

“Seven prodigies of similar age and the seven core elements, it shouldn’t be a coincidence…”

“As you and I have already surmised, this was most likely a result of Heaven’s Fall. Having taken place eighteen years ago, it is also the same year all of you were born.”

“So what does this have to do with your request?”

“I want you to protect them.”

What was with this stupid harem-type setting? Shry felt a mounting headache just listening to this request, and he had yet to carry these requests out.

“These girls are prodigies only seen once every few generations. And there are many international organizations and governments that would strongly desire to obtain their power, even if they had to take more forceful measures. The war-potential that each of these girls would add to any of these groups is not insignificant, especially as their talents mature. Additionally, a number of these girls are heiresses to well-established houses and families, and thus they have their fair share of enemies as well. However at the end of the day, they are still students of my school. And I have an obligation to protect them, at least until they graduate from the academy’s university. And as hired bodyguards are not permitted in the academy or academy-related events, it would be ideal if you could protect these girls behind the scenes as an undercover student.”

Shry had to admit that Rayl’s rationale was quite reasonable.

“Shouldn’t they already be strong enough to fend for themselves? And even then, no one should be strong or foolish enough to enter the <Silver Demonic Tiger>’s Den, right?”

Having fought one of the <Dragon Valkyries>, Shry estimated them to be on the level of a three-digit ranker in the International Ranking System. In other words, there were less than a thousand people in this world who could contest the <Dragon Valkyries> in a fair one-on-one fight.

But even in the event that someone stronger than them was to enter the campus grounds uninvited, they would have to somehow bypass the old man standing before Shry. This old man was the infamous <Silver Demonic Tiger>, whose name top rankers spoke in reverence and the one used to scare children during bedtime stories, was currently the fifth highest ranked person in the world.

The fifth strongest was not a title to be taken lightly.

“Typically I would agree with you, Shry. However, I cannot be everywhere at once. There will be times when our students will accept missions and assignments outside the academy grounds. And of course during these times, they will be outside the reach of my protection. And I want you to appropriately deal with anything that the <Dragon Valkyrie> sisters can’t handle.”

“Wait, there is something I want to clarify. Why now?”

Having been students at the academy for at least a year, the issue of protecting the <Dragon Valkyries> should have been addressed earlier.

“According to school policy, while the academic year is in session, students are not permitted to receive assignments requiring them to leave campus…”

And with some reluctance, Rayl slowly opened his mouth to finish his statement.

“…that is, until they reach their senior year of high school.”

Seeing where the conversation was going, Shry had pushed himself out of his chair and started to head out the door. It was true that he felt indebted to Rayl for having taken care of him in the past. But this extended bodyguard request was not something he anticipated, nor nothing he wanted to take part of.

“So this is not a one-time deal?”

“Please, Shry. There’s no one else I can ask.”

“Rayl, I honestly would like to help you. But you also know that I have no inclination to babysit them until they graduate from this academy’s university. Please find someone else.”

“This arrangement is also beneficial to you as well. Amongst the organizations and people targeting the <Dragon Valkyries>, <Nine Dragons God> is without a doubt one of them.”

Just as Shry touched the door’s handle, the mention of the name of that person caused him to stop his movements. Shry turned around and met Rayl’s eyes, which were unwavering and resolute. There were no lies behind his earnest words. Having been lured with that person’s name and with the obligation to at least hear him out, Shry walked back to the desk and stood face-to-face with Rayl.

“Fine, I’m listening.”

“One of the <Dragon Valkyries> is the only blood-related daughter of <Nine Dragons God>. So in time, as long as you are with them, that person will come and find you.”

There was too much information this story was lacking, and thus Shry continued to press forward with more inquiries.

“If that is the case, then why haven’t they reunited earlier?”

“That is because those two don’t know it, yet. One thought the daughter passed away at childbirth and the other thought she was abandoned as a baby. I was requested to keep the daughter’s lineage hidden away from her, but I cannot hide this fact forever and that person will definitely find out the truth.”

Although Rayl was a fun-loving old man who loved to joke around, he would never lie whenever he was serious. But this seemed to be a ridiculously improbable, if not impossible, situation that I’ve only read or heard about in fictional stories.

“In truth this theory sounds incredibly absurd. What’s your justification for it?””

“I have none.”

This is exactly as Shry thought; he found it very strange that Rayl should hold this much information and yet the two concerned parties had none. However, he did not expect Rayl’s follow-up response.

“But what if I told you that the information came directly from <Black-Flame Phoenix>?”

<Black-Flame Phoenix>. A mutual acquaintance whose information and intelligence Shry had never found to be wrong. It was person whose abilities Shry had absolute trust in.

“Okay Rayl, have it your way. You’ve convinced me to babysit these girls.”

Although Shry expected Rayl to break out in a relieved smile, his face remained unnaturally stoic.

“There’s one more thing I want you to look into.”

“Is this related to your current request? Or is this another one entirely?”

“I wouldn’t call this a request, but this is an issue that you will not ignore. Have you heard the recent rumors spreading around the underground.”

“You’re aware that I’ve been out of the country until just this morning, right?”

“I know, which is why I’ve taken the time to bring this topic up. Although both of know that this person… should have been dead for many years already, apparently he has somehow managed to come back from death’s doors.”

In regards to this subject matter, Rayl’s was uncharacteristically grave. All traces of his usual smile were completely erased.

“It’s been reported that he has recently been appointed as one of Revolutionary Army’s thirteen leaders.”

The Revolutionary Army was the largest organization seeking to overthrow the current empire. Their cause and efforts were widely supported by the vast majority of people disillusioned by the empire’s darkness and corruption. This army was a rather significant force that the empire could not afford to ignore, as they were supported by numerous two and three-digit rankers. It was also a well established fact that this organization was one of the major recruiters of the International Combat Academy’s students as well.

Despite the empire’s objections to this, they had no jurisdiction over this neutral island academy.

“And what of it? Are you implying I should be cautious of this imposter?”

“Perhaps. Well imposter or not, no one has yet had the power to step forth and contest his identity.”

“His name then?”

“It should be one you’re very familiar with. He’s returned…”

Shry was suddenly overcome with and overwhelming sense of foreboding. And at Rayl’s following words, Shry’s violet-colored eye widened for just an instant.

“…The <God of Death>.”  

Interlude 2:

<Nine Dragons God>

A person he had been hunting down for years.

The one being responsible for killing his master.

<God of Death>

A person who had long since been dead.

The one existence who was closest to him.

The seven <Dragon Valkyrie> sisters.

Students he was entrusted to protect.

The seven girls who had the potential to change the world.

Three troublesome issues.

Three sources for his headaches.

And what a stupid premonition the dream turned out to be.  

Chapter 5:

“Thanks for waiting, Student Council Vice President.”

As soon as Shry had left Rayl’s, or rather the headmaster’s, office, he was greeted outside by Ivy, the same person who had initially brought him here. Despite her behavior, she was actually quite the diligent student council officer, having waited patiently for him during the duration of his talk with Rayl. Apparently she was also entrusted with the duty to serve as his guide around the academy’s campus grounds.

“It was no trouble at all. Also, there’s no need to be so formal, you can just call me by my given name. After all we are in the same grade and class.”

“Is that so? That’s a bit surprising.”

“Both the Student Council and Disciplinary members have joint-morning meetings once a week, one of which was today.”

And that was why she was not present when Shry first arrived to our classroom, is what she seemed to imply.

“So Shry, I have been assigned to be your personal guide for the rest of this morning. Is there anywhere on campus you want me to take you? Or is there anything you want from me?”

With these words, the beautiful Student Council Vice President grabbed Shry’s right arm and lightly pulled it her way. At the same time, she tilted her head upwards at him with an alluringly smile. Whether her actions were subconscious or purposely calculated, even though this was already his second interaction with her, he thought she was acting a little too close. However, this could work to his advantage, as there was other information he wanted to ascertain from her.

“There is something I wanted to ask. What would be the fastest way to increase my rank?”

During Shry’s meeting with Rayl, he was informed that assignments and missions were given to pre-assigned groups of students, and these groupings were primarily based on their inter-school ranks. To ensure that he would be grouped with the other seven girls to more easily protect them, should the need arise, it was highly suggested for him to first raise his rank to the same single-digit level.

Thanks to the headmaster’s influence and the forged and nearly flawless transfer exam results, Shry was initially ranked 994, which, although barely a triple-digit rank, was already considered extraordinarily high for a student in the high school level.

Rayl had given him a two week timeframe for Shry to raise his rank to the same level of the seven <Dragon Valkyrie> sisters.

“Let’s see…”

Tilting her head upwards with a finger lightly pressed on her chin, she briefly hesitated to think before responding.

“The fastest way would be to win duels against high-ranked students. But most of them won’t accept unless you use the forced duel rule.”

According to the forced duel rule, as a triple-digit ranked student, Rayl could fight now force a duel from a student within ten percent of his rank, rounded down, or within 99 ranks of his Rank 994. As a double-digit ranker, that percentage would increase to twenty-five percent. And as a single-digit ranker, a student could only force a duel within two ranks of his or her own rank.

Assuming he could somehow pinpoint the exact students he wanted to force a duel with, the fastest and most efficient way he could achieve a single-digit rank was as follows:

Rank 994 -> Rank 895 -> Rank 806 -> Rank 726 -> Rank 654 -> Rank 589 -> Rank 531 -> Rank 478 -> Rank 431 -> Rank 388 -> Rank 350 -> Rank 315 -> Rank 284 -> Rank 256 -> Rank 231 -> Rank 208 -> Rank 188 -> Rank 170 -> Rank 153 -> Rank 138 -> Rank 125 -> Rank 113 -> Rank 102 -> Rank 92 -> Rank 69 -> Rank 52 -> Rank 39 -> Rank 30 -> Rank 23 -> Rank 18 -> Rank 14 -> Rank 11 -> Rank 9

To save the effort of counting:

32 duels. Minimum.

To accomplish this feat in two weeks looked to be a huge pain.

Having done these calculations mentally, Shry couldn’t help but groan internally.

There was a shortcut he had considered, but it would draw the entire academy’s attention unto him. Normally Shry would not attempt to take such a reckless gambit, as he preferred to keep his actions hidden in the shadows. But it would probably be easier to quickly get this task done and over with in one sitting, with the alternative being to spread the pain across two weeks by having to fight and win at least 32 duels.

Well, it couldn’t be helped.

“Although this seems like a somewhat unrelated question, what time does the joint-meeting end?”

“Sorry, but can you repeat yourself?”

Ivy heard the question the first time around quite clearly, but she tried to buy time to determine the relevance of Shry’s question.

“The joint-meeting between the Student Council and the Disciplinary Committee, at what time does it end?”

“Usually we can finish our discussions before noon.”

“I see. It looks like there is still about an hour left. Would it be too much trouble to attend whatever is left of this meeting?”