Chapter - 45 : Combat Class

(Location - Stadium Arena[1c])

(Continuation…)

(Third Person View)

.

Rai retraced his steps, heading back to his original destination in the last row of seats.

Yet, just as he regained sight of the seat he had laid his eyes on, he noticed that it was now taken by a random girl who had appeared during his brief interaction with Darrow.

He also noticed that the number of empty seats had significantly decreased since he first arrived.

Nevertheless, there was one other unoccupied seat right next to the one he had initially set his sights on.

So, without further delay, he decides to take the seat peacefully, without any unnecessary distractions again.

With his decision in mind, he continued walking past the remaining empty seats until he reached the spot where the girl was sitting in the seat he planned to take.

However, Rai was already over it and glanced at the empty seat beside her-

"Hm, exc–"(Rai)

Rai, who was about to ask the permission of the girl beside him, paused in his tracks as he noticed she was engrossed in writing something in her book.

Deciding not to disturb her, Rai simply settled himself into the empty seat, nonchalantly shrugging his shoulders.

"Eehh!!?"

Suddenly, the girl, who hadn't noticed Rai's presence until he made himself comfortable, was jolted by the unexpected intrusion.

Startled, she leaped in her seat like a frightened kitty, inadvertently dropping her notes and pen onto the ground.

Because of this clumsy act, Rai, who is currently in his lazy mood(:as always), actively watches the scene unfold in a bothersome way.

And just so happens the pen rolled to a stop near him, a little out of her reach.

As the young lady gathered her composure, she finally got a proper look at Rai, and her previous uncertain expression intensified seeing the rumored delinquent Prince in live.

Rai, who didn't see her state or, more likely, was unbothered, picked up the pen and extended it toward her.

However, the girl remained motionless, not accepting the pen like a statue, as if she had been petrified by shock and fear upon seeing him.

Receiving no response from her, Rai decided to place the pen on her seat and return to minding his own business.

There were still approximately twenty-five minutes left before the Combat Class was set to begin.

Coherently, Rai concluded it was the perfect time for a quick nap, or, as he liked to call it, a-meditation-to escape the disturbances of his surroundings.

With a gentle thud, Rai's body settled back into his seat, and he comfortably leaned back, closing his eyes with a sense of peace.

Rai's actions were clearly observed under the watchful eyes of the young girl, and she began to relax herself as well, slowly loosening her stiff posture.

She swiftly retrieved her book from the ground near her legs with a subtle crunching and stood up again in a slightly more composed manner.

The idea of changing her seat crossed her mind, but she realized that to do so, she would either have to leap over Rai's outstretched legs or request him to move them slightly, both of which would disturb him.

She shook her head in a slight left-to-right motion, choosing to remain where she was.

After settling back into her seat, she retrieved her pen and turned her attention toward the arena below, opening her small, notepad-like book.

Initially, she flipped to the last page of the book and started to jot something down.

Anyway who saw her agitated hands could tell whatever she was writing was rubbish, attempting to divert her focus.

However, midway through, she paused and glanced sideways at Rai, who appeared completely at ease in his relaxed position with his eyes closed.

"...um."(???)

There was a hint of hesitation in her eyes, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't find the words, as she carefully observed Rai, taking in his features.

–strike!

Nevertheless, she promptly redirected her gaze back to her writing and struck off wherever she wrote completely.

Her contemplation continued in silence, however-

"...sigh!"(???)

–With a subtle sigh, she regained her concentration and flipped her book upside down to its correct position.

As she opens her book, we can see neat and detailed diagrams of the Eight(:8) battle rings, which are exactly positioned and resembled to the ones present in the arena.

However, as she was about to turn to the next page, she abruptly halted once more.

She clenched her eyes tightly shut, gripping her pen firmly with her fist.

"...thanks, for the pen."(???)

She finally managed to say.

Her eyes squeezed even tighter at the end, revealing the underlying anxiety.

…

For a brief moment, she received no response, and her anxiety grew.

"Yeah, yeah.

–Rai responded in his same laid-back manner, breaking the silence. He added-

"Now stop looking at me and focus on what you are doing."(Rai)

–In the end, he revealed how he had noticed her gaze on him long before.

The young woman was initially taken aback by his unexpected response, her eyes widening in surprise.

"-...-

–This prompted her to remain silent once more.

"Umm..*nod."(???)

–But she nodded her head in acknowledgment of Rai's words.

Though Rai's annoyance was evident in his tone, she didn't mind it.

In fact, she respected him for at least responding to her.

Giving him one last look at his sleeping posture, she shifted her attention back to her book, with more concentration on her work.

Focusing back on her notes, she displayed the layout of the Eight(:8) battle rings currently divided in the arena, each assigned a calculated number of students.

It was evident that she was diligently recording everything happening during the Combat Class.

On the first page, alongside the rough sketches of the battle rings, she listed the eight instructors acting as referees in the arena for each designated battle ring.

Turning to the second page, a clearer depiction of one ring with additional information applicable to all the rings was revealed.

Each ring featured a box near the referee containing randomly assigned student Ranks, accompanied by a note specifying that-

-No Rank(:student) would be repeated-In more than one Box of the Eight(:8) rings.

Approximately Six Fifty(:650) out of Eight Hundred(:800) students registered for the Combat Class are divided into eight small groups labeled from Group{1} to Group{8}.

The eight rings present in the arena hosted simultaneous matches, independent of the battles taking place in other rings.

At the beginning of each match, the referees for the eight rings drew two slips.

The designated opponents were then summoned to their respective rings, and when brought face-to-face with each other, they were given the opportunity to withdraw before the battle commenced.

Either way, any student choosing to withdraw from a match, regardless of the reason, would be considered the loser and eliminated.

In the case of both students choosing to continue the winner will be decided with Dual and will be

However, right before the winning student's next opponent is determined, they will be given a similar choice to continue or withdraw.

Should the student choose to continue, another slip was drawn from the box, introducing a new student as a potential opponent.

This new student would also be offered the choice to withdraw or engage in combat.

This procedure was repeated until one student maintained the longest winning-Streak-and was declared the winner of their respective Group.

However, even a single loss would reset a student's Streak to Zero(:0).

Therefore, if a student lacked confidence in winning their next battle, the wise decision would be to withdraw while preserving their Streak.

In this manner, the eight victors of each Group were determined.

The last page remained blank, bearing a prominent question mark-

-Indicating that the final stage had yet to be decided or that the students had not been informed about it.

.

"Hey, wake me when Combat Class begins, will you?"(Rai)

Out of no whare Rai suddenly muttered in the direction of the Young women, who continued to observe the finishing touches in the arena.

"...!??

"Sure…"(???)

But she instinctively accepted his request after the initial jolt.

…

"But you don't even know my name…"(???)

Gazing at Rai who didn't even wait for her reply, the girl muttered as a complaint, in a low voice making sure he couldn't hear her.

Well but did she succeed though?

…who knows?

.

(To be continued…)

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[Author's Note: {Flow Chart} for the Matches for better understanding.]

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Chapter words : 1423

Total words : 65.97K