116th Adversary: Grim Academy!

Grim Academy, an educational institution with a prestigiously long history. The story of how it came into existence can be dated back to over a thousand years ago. One day, a man came to the Silver Continent and took it by storm. This man's name was unknown, so everyone called him Grim because of the skull mask he would wear. Grim was strong enough to contest with some of the world's strongest, but he had a humble attitude. He never looked down on the weak, but instead taught them how to survive in the world of the strong. He taught them that there were all kinds of strength and that there were many ways for them to overcome the strong.

There was one incident when he helped a newborn country topple a powerful empire and took their land. It goes without saying that he was an amazing leader and tactician.

Grim had a catchphrase that became famous during that time.

"There's no such thing as limits for humans. Even if we don't see it, we will continue to grow until the day we die. So don't stop pushing, because the moment you do, only death awaits."

One day, Grim appeared in front of the then Emperor of the Dragna Empire and proposed creating an institution that will nurture the future for many generations to come. This institution wouldn't be the Dragna Empire's property but an institution that would be created by the collective effort of the most powerful countries on the continent. Surprisingly, the Dragna Emperor found the idea an interesting one and became interested in seeing if such an institution was possible. He gave Grim his support.

With the Dragna Empire's support gathering allies became a snap. Before long, a board was formed to create an institute that didn't belong to any country and welcomed everyone to attend. This institute would, like Grim desired, nurture the future of those on this continent. And such, Grim Academy was born!

"We're almost there."

Currently, Miko and others were traveling towards the academy inside a jet which left the capital. The reason they took a jet was they wanted Hina and the boys to feel like they were on a trip, so they didn't use the Teleportation Arrays at the capital.

"What is the academy like?"

Hina asked Miko who was sitting next to her.

"Huge, old, and uncomfortable. Kinda like a rusty bird cage, only for people."

"I've never heard someone describe a prestigious academy like that…."

Luka said. She then turned to Hina.

"Hinami Akume, right? I don't think we've ever talked before. I'm a huge fan of your work."

"Oh? Which ones?"

"Your books. They're just so exciting. I especially loved Golden Paradox, even though I never liked time travel stories."

"Why, thank you. It always feels good to be complimented by a fan. Oh, do you want to hear some ideas I have for a new book?"

"Sure!"

Hina and Luka quickly hit it off leaving Miko out of the conversation. He got up to give them space and sat next to Momo.

"I heard Krul and the others dropped out of the academy and are traveling the world gaining experience. How lucky."

"What? Do you wanna travel the world too? Even when it's crawling with people who want your head?"

"Isn't it the same for anyone? I'm not special in that regard. Everyone has enemies, it's how you face them that differentiates us."

"And how do you plan on facing your enemies?"

"I'll crush them into dust."

Miko clenched his fist and said. Momo shook her head and no longer paid him any attention. It was like this they arrived at the academy.

The jet landed at an airport and everyone checked in and registered in the airport's system.

"So which direction is the academy?"

Ace asked.

"What are you talking about? We're already at the academy."

Miko replied.

"But this is an airport…"

Miko nodded.

"The academy's airport. The moment we've touched down, we're at the academy."

"Seriously? I thought that we were in a country…."

The trio looked around and saw lots of people entering and leaving the airport. They were people of all ages and different races, so it wasn't wrong to believe that they were in a country instead of an academy.

"Well, you're not wrong. Grim Academy is pretty much a country that is located at the literal center of the Silver Continent. Those who built it calculated the center point of the continent just to build it here for symbolic significance."

Luka answered.

"It's built on the ruins of a destroyed kingdom and completely occupied that country's land, which is 20,000 Kilometer Square."

"All that space just for a school?"

"It's not just a school. It's one of the world's most prestigious institutions. Graduating from here will guarantee a successful future. That's because you'll be taught in every field out there that will help you on your professional path."

"Profession? What kind of profession do they offer?"

"Anything you can think of. For example, I'm taking classes on how to rule a country in the Kingship Course. There are also classes on how to conquer countries. Even commoners of different countries can learn how to be kings and conquerors here."

"How convenient. If it was me, I would use everything I learned to conquer everything around me and build my own empire and harem."

Ace said.

"Anyway, we should get going. I'll go get us a ride."

Luka left and returned with an unmanned autopilot bus. They got on the bus and it carried them toward where the institutions were.

"Since I know you three will have a lot of questions, I'll put the bus on tour guide mode."

Luka walked up to the front of the bus and took out a golden card with a skull on it. She placed the card in a slot and typed in a code on the keys in the dashboard.

(Welcome to Grim Academy. I hope that you all will have a great time during your visit or stay.)

A voice came from the speakers in the bus.

"What did you do?"

Miko asked.

"I used my student card to change the bus's setting to tour mode."

"We can do that?"

"You really never paid attention to anything when you were here huh?"

Luka sighed. The computerized voice was heard again.

(Please relax as I share with you all the great things about this academy.)

"Well, time to sleep."

Miko took out an eye mask and relaxed in his seat. The trio listened while the bus drove them through the academy.

"Miko get up, we're here."

After nearly an hour, Miko was woken up by Momo. He looked out the window and saw a huge office building with the words "Administration" on it.

The group of Miko, Ace, Sora, Hina, and Momo came off the bus.

"We're going to check in with administration and get ourselves registered. You three head back to your dorms in the meantime. We'll contact you when we're done."

Momo said.

"Alright, see you later."

Luka then pointed at Miko.

"Don't cause too much trouble on your first day."

"I can't make any promises. Well, I can but I'm probably gonna end up breaking them."

"Don't worry. I'll keep him in check."

Momo waved goodbye while dragging Miko by his collar towards the building. The trio followed closely behind. They entered the building and walked up to the front desk. The one who did the talking was Momo.

"Hi, I'm Momo Dragna and this is Gamiko Dragna the third."

"Ah, Professor Dragna. We've been awaiting your and Gamiko's arrival."

The one who answered them wasn't the person at the desk, but a woman who just came down the stairs. She was a beautiful dark-skinned woman with long black hair that turned red near the ends and red eyes. Her perfect body shape was in full view with her wearing a fitted grey dress suit.

"I'm Tiana Draxler. I'm an instructor here."

The woman approached Momo and shook her hands.

"I'll handle everything you need to settle in."

"Thank you. I really appreciate it."

Tiana turned and looked at Miko, who was staring at her with a curious gaze.

"You must be Miko. It's nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you from your brother and sister."

"You're the one who taught them Vita right?"

"That's right."

"Then, thank you for teaching them."

"No problem. It's my job to teach students after all."

"Yet I heard that you picked them specifically."

"What can I say? Every teacher has their favorites."

Tiana then looked back at Momo.

"Please follow me to the faculty office."

She then turned to the person behind the desk.

"Could you register these four for me? Also please equip them with their required gear and uniform."

"Yes, Ma'am. Right away."

"Well, I'll be going now. I'll see you around."

Tiana smiled at Miko and then left with Momo.

"What's wrong, Miko?"

Hina approached Miko after seeing how he was observing Tiana.

"Ah, it's nothing. Let's get registered."

Miko approached the desk while the trio had confused expression on their faces. Meanwhile, Tiana was on the second floor with a smile on her face as she walked beside Momo.

"So that's Miko? He seems like an interesting kid."

"Well, at least you won't get bored with him around."

"Yeah, I can see that he'll make the world an interesting place."

"Hm?"

Momo glanced up at Tiana and saw her smiling happily. For some reason, she felt that there was a deeper meaning behind that smile she wasn't getting.

Grim Academy had a total of 12 dorm buildings. The Primary, Junior, and Senior Divisions all had four dorms for themselves, 2 for each gender. The buildings for the Primary and Junior dorms were smaller in comparison to the dorms for the Senior Division. Even so, they were larger than the average mansion. The reason was because the Primary Division had over 6000 students spread across 6 grades, each having 10 classes. The age requirement for this division was from ages 6-12. The Junior Division had pretty much half that number of students with three grades with 10 classes. The age requirement was 13-15.

However, the Senior Division had only 500 students with 5 grades with one class for each grade. As you advance a grade the number of students will decrease to the point that one year only 20 students made it to the graduating grade with only half of that being able to graduate. So it went without saying that the Senior Division was hellish compared to the other divisions. Yet, it had by far the largest dorms. This was the academy's way of rewarding the students who made it this far.

Luka arrived at her dorm after parting with the twins. The moment she came off the bus the smile dropped from her face and the aura around her changed. She walked towards her dorm with her head held high and confident steps.

"Look, Luka Flameheart's back."

"The Academy's Princess."

Luka naturally drew the attention of everyone around her. She walked past her female classmates and entered the building.

"Welcome back, Princess."

The moment she entered she was greeted by a line of servants. Luka greeted them with a nod and made her way to her room which was located on the highest floor.

"...…"

She stopped in front her door and frowned. After a while, she sighed and opened the door.

"Hey, Lulu."

"Welcome back, Luka."

She was immediately greeted by two girls. One was laying in her bed reading a book while the other was eating a bag of chips on her sofa.

"Aya, Kana. Don't tell me you two have been using my room while I was gone? You have your own rooms, don't you?"

"We do, but yours a lot nicer. I expect nothing else from a top ranker."

The one who answered was girl laying on the bed. She had emerald hair and eyes which was similar to members of the Flameheart Clan. Her ears were pointy and her body was slender which were the characteristics of an elf.

"Not to mention your furniture are really comfortable. I've lost count of how many times I've fallen asleep in this sofa."

The other girl who was laying on the sofa, added. She had short blond hair and blue eyes. She was rather tall with long slender legs which was peeking out of her skirt. She looked completely human.

These two girls had a similar mark on the back of their right hands. It was the insignia of a dragon eating its own tail with a crown and different numbers. This was an Apostle's Crest and the insignia belonged to Ouroboros.

"More importantly, Luka."

The human girl laying in the sofa sat up.

"I heard things got crazy in your empire. I heard your fiancé was at the center of it all."

"You still love to gossip huh, Aya?"

Luka put down her luggage and started to change her clothes.

"Well, everything is settled and Miko even came here."

"No way. That gloomy guy came back?"

"Calling him gloomy is rude, Aya."

The elf girl stopped reading her book and said.

"Call him reserved. That way you won't lose your head if he snaps."

"You're still afraid of Miko, Kana?"

"If someone broke your arm with a punch when you were only 8, you tend to be afraid of that person. Especially if that person was only 6 at the time."

"Ah, I forgot about that. You challenged him when you heard that he was a monster back when we were in the Primary Division."

Aya seemed like she wanted to laugh.

"You better not be laughing. You ran away from him literally bawling your eyes out when you was chosen to be his sparring partner."

"Ahem…..I cant recall such a thing ever happening."

"Don't worry. I'm sure Miko doesn't even remember those events."

Luka had finished changing and was now wearing uniform which consisted of a white and black blazer and skirt with knee high boots.

"Besides, Miko's changed. He's a better person now."

"Oh! Did you see that look, Kana?!"

Aya suddenly got excited.

"I did. She looks like a girl talking about her crush."

The two girls approached Luka.

"Something happened between you two didn't it?"

"Come on, tell us everything."

"N-Never mind that."

Luka pushed them back.

"Did anything happen with the Dragon Stars while I was away?"

"Well, Yeah."

The girls gave Luka space.

"Kaido and Zora fought again in the ranking tournament."

Kana said.

"Result?"

"It was a draw but Kaido gained the judges' favor and moved up a rank."

"What about Tang and Klaus?"

"Tang didn't do much but Klaus challenged and defeated two graduates in a handicap match. Other than that, they've all been pretty quiet."

"Too quiet. It's gives me a bad feeling."

Aya said.

"What do you mean?"

"We believe that those four are planning something big and dangerous."

Somewhere in the academy. Someone was sitting alone watching a live feed of the administration building. On it they could see Miko and the others.

"So that's the infamous Miko that everyone in the Summit of the Gods wants to kill?"

This person smiled.

"It's great that he came here. I'll be able to see what the fuss is all about."