What A Dream Wants

He woke up.

. . .

"Alright class, settle down." Ms. Happi clasped her hands together.

'She just loves using that phrase, doesn't she?'

"Guess what day it is?" She asked with vigor.

A few hands raised in the air.

"Yes. Uh... Curry?" Ms. Happi pointed at him. "Your name's Curry, right? I love curry! Curry is just so spicy and delicious! I like potatoes, chicken, and carrots! When these three ingredients are used in curry, they combine perfectly, creating a savory, mouthwatering dish!"

Steven agreed. A few students nodded.

Curry stared at the teacher for a moment, before replying, "The start of the freshmen duel."

"Ding Ding Ding!" Ms. Happi squealed, barely able to contain her joy. "Alright, as your wonderful homeroom teacher, I will introduce you to the duel schedule! The duels start at nine in the morning, then temporarily end at twelve for a lunch break, and finally continue from one to six pm."

"The tournament spans over a period of 7 days. First, you'll be pitted against members of the other classes!" Ms. Happi exclaimed happily. "The days are separated into different leagues. Day 1 and 2 represent the bronze league. You have to win one match out of these two days in order to move on. Day 3 and 4 represent the Silver League. You have to in one of the matches to move on. Day 5, 6, and 7 respectively represent the Gold, Diamond, and Platinum leagues.

Fun school fact, they used to give each participant a trophy made out of the materials representing their league. The platinum trophy was a life-size sculpture of the participant who won it! Isn't that cool? Wonder why they stopped giving those trophies out..."

"Those who win a fight will move up to the next league, and those who lose a fight stay in the same league. Also, if you lose your first duel of the day, you can choose to participate in a second fight with others that have lost, but only if there is still time left."

"The duels will be held in two different arenas. Once, your duel is over, you can leave the arena!"

Ms. Happi handed out a pamphlet to everyone. "This pamphlet tells the order, along with the arena you will be fighting in. You can go online to our school website to check the today's schedule. The fights at both arenas will also be streamed online. At midnight, the duel schedules for the next day are uploaded depending on your previous performance."

"Good luck!" She punched her hands in the air. "I'll be rooting for you guys as a homeroom teacher~"

. . .

"Welcome to our annual 'Freshmen Duel'!" A man blasted into a microphone. "I'm your host, Mr. Bruyant!"

The crowd cheered loudly. The arena was pretty decently sized, filled to the brim. Freshmen sat at the front.

"The other arena's host is Mr. Agacant, but he's really rude." He loudly shouted.

Meanwhile at the other arena...

"Welcome to our annual 'Freshmen Duel'!" A man blasted into a microphone. "I'm your host, Mr. Agacant! The better host."

The crowd cheered loudly. The second arena was identical to the first.

"The other arena's host is Mr. Bruyant, but he's really loud." He softly whispered.

. . .

"This year, we accepted 212 students, and out of those students, 168 students signed up for this duel." Mr. Bruyant continued.

"We will have 42 matches in this arena, and 42 matches in the other arena."

. . .

"This also means 48 students didn't sign up for the duel. What a shame..." Mr. Agacant, in the other arena, wiped his eyes mournfully. Yet, a tinge of disdain was heard in his voice.

. . .

"Today, we have multiple special guests! In this arena, we have the vice president of the Nota Corp, the co-founder of an entertainment company! Please welcome Mr. Yin." Mr. Bruyant announced, quite loudly.

A masked man stood up in the VIP box.

A wave of applause sounded through the arena.

. . .

"We have the two *cooler* representatives from Auraemechas, an engineering company. Please welcome Mr. Deitraum and Mr. Nachtmerje, the two founders of Aurae Mecha." Mr. Agacant announced.

This was quite rude to the representatives in the other arena.

A crimson-haired man and a blonde-haired man stood up in the VIP box. They appeared to be quite young, but it was hard to tell from the distance.

The arena clapped vigorously for the honored guests.

They bowed and sat down.

. . .

"The first day, the Bronze League, represents the start of a glorious event! Every racer has to start somewhere. To get a bronze medal means the start of greater things! First off, we'll start by listing off the rules..."

. . .

"Of course, let's not forget about the history of these duels. They started because..."

. . .

"Let's have a moment of silence for all the troubles and worries our school had to face in the long years that have passed since the school's founding..."

Steven quietly yawned.

. . .

"One interesting tidbit, our school founder, the progenitor, decided..."

. . .

"Let's introduce our wonderful teachers here at this school make learning possible..."

. . .

"But let's not forget our students who strive to learn! Here are the success stories of those who have graduated from our school! Let's welcome some alumni..."

. . .