A week later
The morning air was crisp as always, with a faint mist curling low across the academy grounds. Sunlight filtered through drifting clouds, casting pale gold rays across the massive stone structure of the Hunter Academy Arena.
Inside, the stands were already half-full despite the early hour. Students gathered in tight clusters, chatter rising into the cold air like smoke. The arena floor below was a wide circle of reinforced white stone, ringed by black iron barriers etched with suppression runes. Along the far walls, mana-lights pulsed softly, illuminating banners of the academy's five divisions.
On the highest terrace overlooking the arena stood a row of instructors, their coats drifting slightly in the breeze.
"This is stupid," Athena muttered, folding her arms over her chest. Her dark braid fell forward as she leaned against the railing, violet eyes watching the empty arena floor with bored precision. "What are they trying to prove with this spectacle?"
