"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.
The 'Dueling Academies' had been placed on lockdown following an incident a few weeks ago, and were set to reopen in the next month before running into difficulty.
Many Duelists were unable to enroll at the school as a result of this, but one of them was successful.
- Enrokonai City, Sunday, 2:00 pm -
A young girl who had recently transferred from a traditional high school was humming and getting ready to enroll.
"The last event seriously messed with people's ranks... Fortunately, the president repaired it and paid for it," two men said, standing near the television set.
"Hello!" exclaimed a woman behind the counter as she greeted the visitor. "Hello, young girl; have you come here to enroll in the 'Enrokonai City's Academy?'" The girl had long blonde hair, glasses, and dressed differently than the rest.
"Yup! My name is Yoshioka Nina, and I've transferred here from Ronda City's High School. I've moved here with my parents, and we had to select a school for me to attend."
"We only heard there were three near this region, so we chose the 'Hayashi Academy.' Nina laughed and handed her the ID,
"I've heard it was the most popular among the schools."
"But, that school it's an Academy full of Duelists. Are you certain this is the school you want to enroll in?"
"Don't worry," Nina said after the woman took her ID card.
"I've heard a lot about it, but I just think of them as student names! I'll manage."
"No, I really DO mean that the School is overrun by Duelists."
"Just sign me up, please!" Nina grinned as she adjusted her glasses, as well as a tense expression on her face. "Uh... Okay..." Nina couldn't back out because the ID had already been registered with the Duelist Social Network.
"Here are your books and suit; you'll need them if you wish to enter the Academy," she said without knowing how to do so.
"Thank you very much."
"You're welcome. School starts tomorrow, so make sure you're available; oh, and if you ever need more information, we're always here."
Nina thanked one more time before entering the vast City, which she could explore whenever she pleased.
And, while she was open to all areas of the City, it was far too large for her to dislike it, and she began to notice people talking, some even interacting with the holographic screens that allowed them to use the web, as well as search for needed information or details about Duelists, everywhere she looked.
"Wow, this city appears to be densely inhabited with technology, in stark contrast to the city from which I came. I'm curious as to why people use it, other from web searches."
However, because she was clumsy, she collided with someone, causing the boy to lose his drink and seem astonished when he saw the female sitting on the floor.
Nina moved her hair to the side, displaying her blue eyes and gazing up at the kid. "S-Sorry! My apologies, I wasn't looking. Are you all right?" Nina pondered while looking up at the boy.
He had his hair dyed white, and Nina was pleased by his blue eyes, which he had knocked on the floor. "N-no, it's fine. I wasn't looking either," Nina said, noticing the boy's arm stretched out in front of her. "Let me assist you here."
The boy assisted her in standing up and picking up the books. "Thank you; I'm alright," the youngster said, but then, the boy's eyes widening as he gazed at the book. Nina looked at him, uneasy. "You're a new student at the 'Dueling Academy?'"
When the boy handed her the book back, she said, "Dueling Academy?"
"Yeah, it's exactly what its name implies: an academy where Duelists assemble. Fun fact: I'm one of those students, and the moment I see the Dueling Notebook, I immediately know where someone joined up."
Nina's eyes were squiggly, and she didn't understand what he was saying. She was so desperate to be perplexed that the question marks above her head began to shake.
"But you choose to participate in this school? Shouldn't you be aware of it?"
"N-No, not really... D-Do you think you could explain?" "Sure," the youngster said, but before he could, a female voice called his name.
"Tim! Don't take too much time! We're freezing our buns!" said the white-haired girl, standing next to a purple-haired female.
"Yeah! I'll be right there! Hey, s-sorry... I'm in a hurry. You can find everything about the Academy on the Dueling Social Network, which is linked to your Zero Watch. I'll get going, my friends are getting impatient. We'll meet up tomorrow at school," Tim's clothing, his blue jacket, and orange scarf. both waved.
"Sorry for running into you again! My name is Tim, and I'll see you tomorrow if you don't change your mind!" Finally, Tim approached the two girls, moving alongside them.
"You like wasting time, huh..."
"S-Sorry, Ayuka. I accidentally bumped into that girl.
"Let's get going now," she said, scratching the back of her head after leaving Nina behind, bewildered.
"Dueling Academy, he said? Now I'm skeptical... But I'm sure he was just fooling around, right?" Nina, on the other hand, returned home by walking through the street.
- Enrokonai City, Sunday, 2:30 pm -
"Mitsuru unbelievably scored a devastating hit with a massive burst of his Aura! But look at that! Chiasa successfully diverted the attack and generated a mirror point!"
"And there he goes, the final strike, his primary move, the Dragon Assault! Mitsuru's situation appears to be worse, and... Exactly! Mitsuru's Spiritual Shield was totally pierced by the strike!"
"Is that a typical occurrence? Are they allowed to fight? Is that what they mean by Dueling... B-but, how could someone give such attacks?"
"It's nothing like normal martial arts! That's sheer enchantment!" Nina called, worried.
"And there we had it!" The man exclaimed, standing behind a large gathering of people who had also been watching the Duel on television but were cheering it on.
"Chiasa managed to win with his Spiritual Shield hardly scratched! There appears to be a winner!"
"They used to be enemies, but now they're like best friends... I-I guess that stadium allows them to use those attacks because no normal human could do that..." Because she was unstable and unaware of the Dueling, she assumed it was just a money-making hobby until she came across another group of children, who were surrounding two others in the middle.
Nina walked up to their parents and saw two boys carrying what seemed to be a real blade, and her heart sank at the sight of toddlers wielding it. "S-Sir! Isn't this dangerous? W-Why are you, parents, allowing children to use actual weapons?!" Nina dared to inquire, hoping for an answer.
"Oh, don't worry. It's just sparring for their amusement," the woman said before Nina returned her gaze to the kids. "What do you mean, they're battling for fun? They're using REAL weapons?"
"Calm down, sweetheart. I guess you're not from around here. You see, dueling for children doesn't involve any sort of injuries or harm; all they have to do is shatter that shield, and because the shield is usually much tougher than children of such age, they don't feel any pain, whereas the Dueling System is actually harmful to older teenagers and adults."
"However, because Dueling rewards them daily payment for winning a real Duel, they receive a Battle Score as well as around 500 of payment for every win, so technically speaking, they can get 500 of payment in less than 10 minutes, whereas children only need to land hits on their shield, which does not harm them but reduces their shield's life."
Nina gulped and still didn't understand, but she persisted. Nina froze in fear, covering her body with her arms, but the flames were prevented by an unseen forcefield that surrounded the two youngsters.
Children were cheerful and peaceful while leaping on the spot, with their parents supporting their shoulders, who were equally calm and joyful.
The child who had been the opponent grinned and thrust his sword into the ground, producing a strong earth wall that prevented the flames, but the youngster who could use Fire easily went past it and seized the blade with both hands.
"Oh no! If he hits a strike, I'm going to lose!" said the youngster as he swung his sword. "Bang!"
Nina shielded her eyes when she realized the kid would be cut, but there were no screams, and when she peered, she observed the Spiritual Shield cracked and disintegrated into particles, allowing the child who scored a blow to win.
When the other youngster groaned but grinned, the boy said, "Haha! I won, this was fun!"
"Wow, Thomas, that was incredible! Could you show me how to do that?"
Nina's eyes flinched and she was horrified. "What the hell?! Both of them are OK, not wounded, and excited even after watching that?!?"
"We told you. The Children's Style of Dueling System is nothing to be concerned about."
"It was designed to allow children to compete with one another while having fun. Imagine children watching a cartoon or something. They want to do the same thing, so the Dueling System implanted Children's Only Duel in Zero Watch, giving them a chance to feel like a Hero or cool."
Nina was taken aback and said, "So you mean to tell me there are other Dueling Systems?"
"That's true. The one you just saw was a 'Children's Duel - One vs One.' They chose that, and the combat zone adjusted it to their age, so everyone was OK."
"B-But what if they choose the wrong Dueling System and choose for adults or teenagers?" Nina wondered as she watched them. "That's not going to work; even if both kids try, the Zero Watch will give them a strike."
"It checks into its Social Network to see their age, and if they are under 13 years of age, they will automatically receive a strike, and if they continue to try, the five strikes will fill up, and they will be banned."
"S-So, you mean to tell me that the Duel I saw on TV was real?" Nina stepped back slowly after gulping her own saliva. "Oh, sure! That was a real Duel, in the sense that everything they did hurt the opponent to the point of knocking each other out."
"And you mean to suggest that these kinds of 'Dueling' happen all over the world?" the woman said, confused.
"That's right? Wait, how could you not know about it? Are you from Ronda City?" Nina raced away, as the two Children Duelists continued to converse.
"How did you learn that technique, Thomas?"
"Man, your guy must be so great! Do you mind if I meet him someday?"
"Aha! Did you know he and his buddies managed to stop the Demon God himself?"
"Seriously?! That's so cool! No surprise this World became cleaner!"
"Man, I need to meet him so badly! Can I, someday?"
"S-Sure, if he wants!" Thomas laughed.
- Enrokonai City, Sunday, 2:35 pm -
"Who would invent such games? Children fighting one other? That's so terrible!" Nina eventually came to a halt in her race and began to take deep breaths to regain her stamina.
"What took you so long, Nina? I and your father were worried!" her mother and father said as they approached her.
"We were worried you got lost or got into some type of difficulty; are you all right? Nobody molested you, right?" Mother asked, holding her shoulders and staring at her.
"I'm alright! Eheheh, I was only drawn to something strange! I swear I'll be fine!"
Her parents ultimately took her home, attempting to conceal what she had learned, and Nina remained concerned as they drove through the city.
She groaned as she looked out the car window and saw several children excitedly linking their Zero Watches. "Did I really sign up for the wrong School?" she wondered, and her first day in the 'Dueling Universe' had exceeded her expectations. Her stress levels rise when she is accepted into the Dueling Academy, where Duelists remain.
"I mean, even if I did, it shouldn't be that terrifying, right?" She paused for a few moments before speaking.
"Who am I kidding... I'm done!" she said, her head drooping and her eyes closed.