"War Race, First Part" (029)

"ENROKONAI CITY," a vast civilization teeming with Duelists vying for the top spot.

The 'Dueling Systems' itself are the most popular pastime in such a setting.

The Dueling Academy is recognized for producing the best Duelists, with newcomers rising through the ranks to become pros! People learn their essentials at this "School," which is filled by thousands of Duelists, but the most current activities are their training sessions, which are scheduled three times a week.

The Academy is made up of people of many races, with the bulk of them being Humans and a small number of them being Half-Demons. Dueling is a part of their traditional training sessions, often known as the 'War Race' or 'Five Versus Five.'

Despite the fact that the world appears to be in a state of chaos, the Dueling is mostly for entertainment, and no one is murdered. (Thanks to the 'Zero Watches' for casting Spiritual Shields.)

And the majority of Duelists are tasked with eliminating the top three Duelists!

- Number 3 on the leaderboard: whose title is "King" and whose true name is Tsuji Rokuro.

Then there's;

- Number 2 on the leaderboard: whose title is "Devil" and whose real name is Sakata Hisako!

And their top tier duelist, the legend himself and Number 1;

"Silver," whose real name is Takei Shigeo, managed to reach the highest ranking between both "King" and "Devil" for a massive amount of Battle Score.

Their championships are a sign of good luck, as none of them have ever lost to lower-tier ranks.

The three champions are known as the "Dueling Masters," and they battle with one another in order to maintain or lose their reign as champions.

- Enrokonai City (Dueling Academy), Tuesday, 9:25 am -

Only Tim and Nina were perplexed as Codey, Kiyoshi, Shigeru, Nina, and Takanori stood behind a barrier.

"Why am I standing in front of this goddamned wall? And why am I participating in this War Race in the first place? I'm not even carrying a weapon..." Tim groaned his arms in his pockets.

"That's because you'll be the one in charge of the game. You'll be acting as a referee until you obtain a Spiritual Blade... Does this seem appealing to you?" Tim's ears perked up as soon as he heard that.

"Wait... I've never officiated a duel..."

"That is why you have come to the Academy... To work as a referee..." Tim, on the other hand, was not pleased. "You love it, right?" Codey chuckled.

"I despise it..."

Nina, on the other hand, had whirling pupils and her hair was rising up as she shook. "Nina, what in the world happened to you? You appear to be shivering from the cold or something!" Kiyoshi called, amazed at how calm the others were.

"I'm sure she's simply nervous. She's new here, but I'm sure she'll be a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield!" Codey yelled, fist-pumping and giggling.

"Is that correct, Nina? You've got us covered!" When Nina's arms dangled down, Codey chuckled.

"...Uh-huh...." When she saw that the other squad was going with a team of Ayuka, Alpha, Yumi, Usagi, and Junya, she was horrified.

"Something doesn't feel right... Nina seems worried or something along those lines..."

"I'm confident she'll be OK... I'm sure she's simply tired..." Yumi spoke out while assuming a heroic stance. "I don't give a damn... I'm just ready to kick some ass..." Alpha said, her hilt resting on her back.

Tim was being taught how to be a referee while everyone else was conversing. Tim's eyes began to whirl with questions as he realized what he had to deal with: merging scores, counting their lives, swapping times of necessity, but the most dreaded thing he had to do was talk all the time.

"Do... Do I really have to talk throughout the rest of the War Race?"

"That's right... The referee's duty must be done precisely..."

"Yeah, I'm aware of this. But it's nonsense, I'm not doing it..." When Arthur chuckled, Tim pushed the papers back. "Don't be concerned. The only thing you'll have to be concerned about is receiving a poor grade."

"Ha?! Nobody told me I'd get a grade the next day! What's the point of that?!"

"Would you choose to flunk the year or keep going?" Arthur pondered as he held the paper in front of Tim's chest, but when he became unamused, Tim reached for the paper and took it carefully.

"I never intended to enroll in this Academy in the first place..." He took a step forward and seized the microphone.

"Okay, I have no idea what I'm doing, but it says I have to begin this goddamn countdown! Get your goddamn asses ready for the War Race, everyone!"

"Tim isn't quite ready to be a referee yet..." Ayuka added, her hair in her hands, held.

Tim yelled as he glanced at Nina. "Straighten yourself out! This isn't the time to be fooling around! Prepare to Duel by fixing your ass." Nina straightened up her stance as soon as she yelled, agitated but saluted.

"Yes, sir!"

"... That's OK, but don't wriggle too much or Elliot will get turned on..." Tim slammed a piece of paper against the microphone. "God fricking damn it!" While Elliot swore, his yelling could be heard over the microphone.

"Damn asshole, gotta put my name out, eh?"

"Okay, chickens, are you ready to Duel, or whatever this nonsense is? Let's start the countdown!"

When Tim clicked the button, a large holographic screen emerged over the field, providing all of the essential information.

"How can I disable that barrier?" Tim inquired gently, but he had forgotten to turn off the microphone. "Yeah, he's not the right person for the position..." Ayuka sighed.

"All you have to do now is push that button." When Tim clicked the green button, the barrier began to vibrate, signaling the start of the contest.

"I'm clicking all the buttons!"

"What was my score? Is there anything more you demand?" Tim demanded fiercely, but Arthur refused. "You didn't say anything about the rules."

"Well screw you too..."

The War Race finally began, with everyone dispersed in three directions: center, left, and right.

Nina, on the other hand, remained perplexed. "Wait, I have to go in?"

"Nina, keep the base safe! The assaulting team of our opponent will be dealt with by us." Codey screamed.

"Wah?! Come on, I have no idea what this stuff is about!"

"I'm confident you'll figure it out! I'm also a newbie here!" Nina was frozen in place as Codey dashed behind the wall. "However, I have no idea how to fight..."

"Tim, it's all right... At the very least, inform the audience about the regulations..." Tim moaned as he got bored.

"Sure..." Tim straightened his body, grabbed a ruler, and walked over to the whiteboard, slapping the ruler against it.

"So, first and foremost. I have no idea what I'll be talking about, beautiful viewers, but supposedly..." Tim took out the paper and began to read it. "It appears to proceed like this..."

Tim began after coughing.

"Due to a large number of participants, the War Race requires 10 Duelists (five Duelists on each side) to be operational. That is why the most usual way to participate, is at the Academies like this one."

"When everyone is ready with their weapons, the duel begins. They must run across the battlefield while dividing into three groups... the center, right, and left sides."

"The Duelists have the option of forming a single line or going alone, but the most preferred attack strategy is for everyone to break up and attack in different directions. The ideal lineup is two Duelists in the middle because that is the quickest way to the base, which is their primary goal to protect."

"The Duelists have 25 minutes to defeat the other team by destroying their base or eliminating their whole squad..."

"But isn't killing prohibited in Dueling?" you could object. - It is, indeed... The Zero Watches, on the other hand, offer them a Health Bar that decreases when they are attacked. They are deemed dead if the number decreases to zero."

"Isn't that amusing? Down to Zero... I'm not sure if that was convenient or something... Anyhow... As I previously stated, if that bar reaches zero, that Duelist is no longer able to compete and must instead watch from the seats, behind the barrier, or around the battlefield."

"Wait... what else?" Tim double-checked his work. "Oh, right... Duelists only experience little discomfort during the school tournament... That's all there is to know about it..."

"Man... Either these rules' author is mad or he's attempting to kill me for reading them..." Tim eventually grabbed the microphone after dropping the paper on the table.

"All right, let's get down to business!"

Due to his lead, Codey chose the middle path, carrying his boomerangs that he had rebuilt from a wormhole.

"Uh... Why isn't anybody else here?" In case someone concealed in the balloons, Codey was being patient and vigilant. After crossing the route, he began to run across the middle, closing in on the base.

Kiyoshi had to face Alpha on the right side of the lineup, who had opted to go single. "Look at that if that isn't the Academy's third-best student... Alpha, Yui Ogura! It's great to meet you, but a half-demon like you must be defeated..." Kiyoshi swung his sword to the side, his determination and confidence growing.

"Prepare yourselves, because I'm going all out!" Alpha, on the other hand, grabbed for her hilt and pointed it straight in front of Kiyoshi.

"It's a drag to be you... Because I'm not easing up on you either..." The duel began between them.

To begin their battle, Kiyoshi rushed across the floor and swiped with his sword, but Alpha instantly slicked back, stopping the swing nonchalantly, and a tremendous explosion erupted all the way across the right side, and Nina shrieked.

"They're literally duking it out! What the earth is happening on here? I'm so screwed up that I'm going to die!" Nina was trying to relax by clenching her fists.

After Alpha sliced her blade, Kiyoshi ducked and vanished from the scene, opting for a simple tactic of emerging behind her.

Alpha, on the other hand, moved her eyes to the side and noticed him, so she swiftly grabbed the longer blade and spun it behind her back, cutting it.

Kiyoshi shouted in terror and dove to escape being hit, then dashed back. "I'll see you later, sucker!" Kiyoshi went straight for their base.

"Hey! Get back here, damn it!" After charging energy close to her hip, Alpha grabbed for it and rushed at full speed. "Quick-Draw Wind!" Kiyoshi whirled around to see a dark blue explosion coming straight at him.

"Whoa! Chill!" Kiyoshi crouched to escape the bolting assault, then rolled to the side, readying his blade, and facing Alpha again.

"At the very least, it was worth a chance. I guess eliminating you from the scenario is my only choice..." The blade was positioned in front of his face after he held the ground with his hand, and a crimson shadow began to flare out from it.

Shigeru stood in front of three; Ayuka, Usagi, and Junya; while Alpha and Kiyoshi had already engaged each other all the way to the right.

"Ah, our adversary looks to have driven himself out of the line, ready to battle all three of us," After conjuring electricity, Junya struck a posture.

"For once in your life, do something helpful other than charge our phones," Usagi said, a scythe in her hand.

Ayuka swung her blade forward, tossed it, and twirled it in front of her before quickly catching it and releasing a large swarm of ice spikes towards Shigeru.

"It appears that the Ice Queen is prepared to battle!" Usagi ran at tremendous speed and leaped high over the ice wall, while Junya immediately pointed both of his arms forward and filled the frigid ice with electricity.

"... Extremely accurate..." After releasing a huge blast of darkness that shattered the ice, blew the electricity away, and knocked Usagi back into the floor, Shigeru whirled his right-handed blade and sliced it forward.

Shattered ice began to fall on the three Duelists, reducing their health bar by a significant amount.

Shigeru swung the blade to the side and unleashed a wave of darkness, which Ayuka had to fight in some way.

She immediately adjusted her posture after touching the floor and creating a giant ice wall to shield her friends.

"I'm guessing she's their best defensive and offensive performer... I think I'll be alright..." Shigeru swung the dagger, and their fight started.

To be continued...