The next morning, the front gate of Star Shine Academy was already crowded with activity.
Students stood in orderly lines, uniforms crisp and freshly pressed, their expressions varied yet restrained. Teachers and accompanying staff moved among them, checking attendance, issuing last-minute reminders, and projecting a calm that barely masked the tension underneath.
Only those participating in the Nine Academy Tournament—or assigned to escort them—were present, lending the usually open grounds a rare sense of exclusivity.
The air buzzed with anticipation.
Among them all, Aurora was practically vibrating with excitement.
She hovered beside Alex, hands clasped behind her back, translucent hair swaying as she leaned forward, peering at everything as if afraid she might miss a single detail.
Alex glanced sideways at her. "You seem unusually excited today."
Aurora turned to him instantly, eyes bright. "Of course I am. This is my first time being part of something like this."
He almost stumbled.
'…First time?'
That made absolutely no sense.
First, Aurora's existence was known to no one but him. Only he could see her. Only he could hear her. To everyone else, the space she occupied was empty air.
Second—she wasn't even a student. She was a wandering spirit bound to the academy grounds, not someone who should be feeling pre-tournament jitters or excitement.
He stared at her a moment too long.
Aurora narrowed her eyes. "You're thinking something rude about me again, aren't you?"
"What? No—" Alex started.
She huffed, floating closer until she was uncomfortably near his face. "I can tell. You get that stupid look when you start underestimating me."
'I didn't even say anything…'
She leaned back, crossing her arms with a dramatic little spin. "Anyway, don't overthink it. You're participating, which means I am too."
Alex blinked. "That logic doesn't—"
"So go show them what we can do." she finished brightly, cutting him off. "I want to see it up close."
He exhaled, then nodded. "Alright. I will." Aurora grinned, already acting as if the victory would be hers too.
As Alex stepped closer to the main group, familiar faces began to stand out.
And then—
He saw a flash of pink. Alex's gaze locked onto it immediately. The flash of pink that caught his attention could only belong to Sherry.
There was no mistaking her—soft pink hair, the same gentle hue mirrored in her eyes. She was the only person in the entire academy with that coloring. Standing a little apart from the others, she waited near the boarding area, hands clasped nervously in front of her.
Alex lifted a hand and waved.
It took her a second to notice. When she did, her eyes widened slightly, and she hurried toward him in small, quick steps—nearly tripping before stopping just short of arm's length.
"A-Alex," she said, her voice quiet but warm.
"Good morning, Sherry."
For a brief moment, neither of them spoke.
An awkward, familiar weight settled in Alex's chest.
He remembered the promise he had made after the Wilderness Survival Training—to help her search for her parents, to go with her once things calmed down. Instead, everything had spiraled, and he had bailed again.
He had explained. He had apologized.
And just like always, Sherry had accepted it far too easily.
"You're helping me already." she had said meekly back then. "You don't need to say sorry."
The memory left a bitter taste.
Seeing her here surprised him—but only a little.
"You're also participating?" he asked gently.
Sherry nodded, fingers tightening together. "Phase two… in the special events."
"I figured," Alex said with a small smile. "Still—that's impressive."
Her cheeks colored faintly at the praise, and she looked down, clearly flustered.
Aurora hovered just behind Alex's shoulder, arms crossed, watching the exchange with a thoughtful expression. "She's still way too nice." she muttered. "You're lucky she doesn't know how to be mad at you."
'I know.' Alex thought quietly.
A call rang out, signaling the group to board.
Large academy buses waited just beyond the gate. One by one, students and staff began taking their seats.
Elena approached from the side and gestured toward the front of one of the buses. "Alex. Sit here."
He nodded, then hesitated, glancing at Sherry. "You can come too, if you want."
Sherry looked startled. "I-Is that okay?"
Elena answered before Alex could. "Of course it is."
That seemed to settle it.
The front-row seats were arranged to swivel inward. Elena took one side, with Sherry and Alex on the other.
Sherry greeted Elena easily, already quite familiar with her.
Elena had always kept an eye on Sherry. Benefactor might have been too formal a word—but guardian wasn't far off.
The bus doors closed.
As it pulled away from the academy gates, the interior fell into an almost unnatural silence.
Alex became aware of the stares.
This bus held only a handful of students—none of them first-years. Second-years and third-years, all seniors.
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆
The bus ride turned out to be… tolerable.
At first, the murmurs hadn't stopped. Alex could hear his name drifting through half-whispered fragments, a few glances lingering a little too long.
But interest, like all things, eventually wandered.
The conversations shifted—from Alex to predictions, from predictions to rival academies. From there, they devolved into complaints about seating, debates over which events were worth watching live, and wildly exaggerated betting odds.
The tension eased.
Elena, for her part, had turned slightly toward Sherry. Their voices were low, but the exchange was warm—Elena offering occasional advice, Sherry listening intently, nodding along with quiet seriousness. Whatever nerves Sherry had carried earlier seemed to soften beneath the principal's calm presence.
Alex leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes, letting the noise blur.
At least, that's what it looked like.
In reality, his focus had shifted inward.
'System' he thought as he browsed through it.
About an hour later, the bus slowed. When it finally came to a stop and the doors hissed open, Alex opened his eyes.
The Lunar Grand Stadium rose before them like a colossal crown set into the heart of the city.
Even from the outside, it was overwhelming.
A vast, circular structure of pale stone and enchanted alloy dominated the skyline. Towers and spires rose at measured intervals, each bearing the insignia of Lunar City.
"Whoa… that's a stadium?" someone muttered nearby.
Alex pressed closer to the window.
Located at the very heart of Lunar City, the Lunar Grand Stadium was less a building and more a landmark—an institution. Its seating capacity alone surpassed three hundred thousand seats, layered in sweeping arcs that rose high enough to cast shadows across nearby districts.
The arena itself was even more absurd.
The central field spanned five hundred by five hundred meters—a vast, modular ground that could be reshaped at will. Forests, deserts, ruined cities, artificial lakes—entire terrains could be conjured, altered, or erased between matches. Surrounding it all was nearly nine hundred meters of reinforced space, engineered to withstand high-tier magic and catastrophic clashes.
Alex swallowed.
Everyone disembarked.
The moment Alex stepped down, the scale hit him properly. The stadium didn't just dominate the skyline—it dwarfed the people beneath it, reducing even seasoned instructors and elite students to specks in its shadow.
Elena gathered the participants quickly. "Stay close. Registration first."
They were guided through a series of guarded entrances and wide interior corridors, each lined with officials, enchantment scanners, and floating constructs that verified identity and academy affiliation.
Registration took longer than Alex expected. Once it was complete, the group was split.
Participants were escorted toward a secured waiting hall deep within the stadium, reserved exclusively for competitors. Instructors and non-participating students were guided instead toward the spectator seating.
Each academy had been allotted its own exclusive section—prime seats with clear, unobstructed views of the arena. Students and teachers from those academies could occupy them freely.
These seats weren't just good—they were obscene. They were absurdly valuable.
Alex overheard one official mutter something about ticket prices, and his eyebrows rose. The cost of a single seat rivaled months—if not years—of an average family's income.
'No wonder security was tight.'
Academy-allotted seating was strictly controlled. Non-affiliated spectators had to purchase tickets through official channels, and even then, availability was limited.
And if rumors were to be believed, some people would do anything to get their hands on one of those academy seats
Or at least sell it on the black market for an obscene profit.
As Alex was guided toward the participant hall, he glanced once more at the massive, sealed doors leading into the arena itself.
Beyond them waited the stage where everything would be decided.
Aurora drifted beside him, eyes sparkling. "Big. Flashy. Dramatic," she said approvingly. "I like it."
Alex exhaled slowly.
The tournament hadn't even begun yet—
And already, it felt larger than anything he had ever stepped into.