The instructor froze for a moment, an expression of utter disbelief appearing on his face.
Before he could ask anything further, a dull thud suddenly echoed from the teleportation gate.
"Help! Help!!"
The heart-rending screams instantly drew the instructor's full attention. He rushed forward at once and caught the student as he collapsed.
"Mouris, wake up! What on earth did you encounter?"
However, the student named Mouris seemed completely unable to hear him, doing nothing but screaming nonstop.
Standing nearby, Caelan frowned slightly at the sight.
He recognized the student—it was one of Akura's two lackeys.
What Caelan couldn't understand was how the guy had ended up in such a miserable state, as if his mind had completely collapsed.
It was just a competition. Was this really necessary?
The instructor tried to calm him for a while, but to no avail. In the end, he had no choice but to use a skill to put the student into forced sleep.
Before he could even breathe a sigh of relief, the teleportation gate flashed again, and two more students were sent back.
On the surface, the two looked perfectly normal—but they were unconscious.
Their bodies trembled uncontrollably, pain clearly etched across their faces.
The instructor's face turned green with rage. He slammed his fist into the ground.
"Damn it! What exactly are you people trying to do?!"
What answered him was yet another student—mentally shattered, having even wet his pants.
In just a few short minutes,
the students who had been brimming with fighting spirit were sent back to the lounge one after another through the teleportation gate.
When they returned, each of them looked as though they had suffered extreme psychological trauma, completely incapable of normal communication.
At this point, Caelan also stepped forward, helping the instructor support them onto the sofas in the lounge.
"Where's Akura?"
"Why hasn't she come back yet?"
The instructor's voice carried a faint, barely perceptible tremor.
Even he hadn't expected things to spiral to this extent.
Had these people truly gone insane?
Just then, the teleportation gate flashed again.
Akura's figure emerged.
Her entire body was drenched in sweat, as though she had just endured an intense, life-and-death battle.
Yet strangely, there wasn't a single visible injury on her.
The instructor rushed over immediately and grabbed her arm.
"Akura, what did you encounter out there?"
Cold sweat poured down Akura's face. She clenched her teeth and, with great difficulty, forced out two words.
"Nightmare Grip."
What?!
The instructor's face went deathly pale. He staggered, nearly falling to the ground.
Had these bastards truly sunk to such a level of depravity?
What should he do now?
How was he supposed to explain this to the principal?
The group match hadn't even begun, and the team had already been wiped out?!
At that moment, the instructor noticed Caelan standing beside him.
"You're fine?"
"Didn't you encounter Nightmare Grip?"
Caelan looked completely confused and asked in return,
"What's Nightmare Grip?"
Just then, the one-eyed teacher arrived with the students from Karlo City, his face full of smug satisfaction.
He swept his gaze over the students from Mylanne City, a trace of excitement flashing in his eyes.
"I told you not to participate in the Ranked Match, but you refused to listen. Well? All wiped out now, aren't you?"
At that moment, the one-eyed teacher noticed Caelan. He frowned slightly, then quickly relaxed.
"Oh? There's still one fish that slipped through the net?"
"Kid, your luck isn't bad."
"But… your group match is already hopeless."
The instructor from Mylanne High School let out a soft sigh. Just as he was about to speak, Caelan suddenly said,
"How is it hopeless? Aren't there still Akura and me?"
The Karlo City team captain, Lory, couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out laughing.
"The group match requires eight participants. Are you two going to go embarrass yourselves?"
"Kid, don't think you're anything special just because you barely passed the preliminary round of the individual match. If we meet in the group match, I'll be the first to cripple you!"
Caelan narrowed his eyes slightly.
Threatening me, huh?
Fine. I'll remember you.
Not far away, the teleportation gate began to flicker again—this time with a red glow, signaling that the group match was about to begin.
The one-eyed teacher smiled smugly and patted Lory on the shoulder.
"Go on, Lory. Sweep them aside and take the championship!"
Caelan gave a disdainful chuckle.
"Win the championship?"
"In your dreams—why not just keep dreaming?"
Lory halted in his tracks, turning toward Caelan with a gaze full of savage cruelty.
"I'll show you just how terrifying Nightmare Grip really is!"
…
The instructor looked anxiously at Caelan and Akura.
"Maybe… you should forfeit the group match?"
"There are only the two of you left, and Akura, you—"
A trace of unwillingness flashed through Akura's eyes. Just as she was hesitating, about to give up, Caelan suddenly walked over.
"Akura, right?"
"Do you want to quit—or do you want to be a piece of equipment?"
Akura: "???"
…
When Caelan appeared once more on the massive arena,
there was an Akura standing beside him—reduced to little more than an accessory.
Opposite them stood a full team of eight.
The opposing team was momentarily stunned at the sight.
"You from Mylanne High School sent just the two of you for the group match?"
"So what'll it be—surrender immediately, or kneel and apologize?"
Caelan glanced at them indifferently, then raised the sword in his hand.
"Infinite Lightblade!"
The next instant, a miniature sun rose slowly above the enormous arena.
At the same time,
countless viewers watching the live broadcast were stunned by the scene before their eyes!
"Doesn't that little sun look kind of familiar to you guys??"
"Isn't that obvious?? A few days ago, when the blood mist descended, that same kind of sun wiped out that creepy armored thing!"
"Holy—are you saying that big shot is also participating in this Ranked Match?!"
But immediately afterward, a wave of objections appeared.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible! Ranked Matches are capped at level 100—how could someone who can one-shot level-300 monsters be here?"
"Then how do you explain the little sun appearing again?"
"Is it possible this is the big shot's student… or maybe his son??"
…
At this very moment, Akura stood on the arena, staring at Caelan's back in complete shock.
No—this is a skill a student can use?!
He just swung his sword once, and the opposing team was completely wiped out?!
If that's the case, then my existence really is nothing more than an accessory…
Thinking that, she looked at Caelan with a complicated expression.
"Caelan… you—"
Caelan held his sword in one hand, his gaze sweeping across the arena.
"Hurry up. I'm on a tight schedule."