194 LIFE AND DEATH CONTRACT
Dan blinked. "What the hell is that?"
Zairgid sighed. "It's the student ranking system. Duels decide who gets the best resources—sponsorships, research access, credits, all that… things we don't need…. But others do."
"But I didn't even join any ranking," Dan said, clearly annoyed.
Zairgid checked his datapad. His face went pale. "Uh… apparently, you're ranked number ten. Among the strongest in the university."
Dan frowned. "What? When did that happen?"
Zairgid shrugged. "Beats . But you must've pissed soone off. And the suspects… are many."
"This is going to be endless," Dan muttered, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I won't have a mont's peace."
Zairgid smirked. "Then just do what you always do… beat them all into the hospital. Don't tell you've gone soft?"
Dan shot him a glare. "? Soft? Never."
He flexed his arm dramatically, and Zairgid rolled his eyes.
"Seriously, though," Zairgid said, checking his holo-screen. "You've already got a dozen written challenges in your school chat. Word's spreading fast. Everyone wants a piece of you."
Dan groaned. "Great. The price of fa."
He looked around at the wrecked apartnt, the overturned furniture and smoke stains.
"Here's what we'll do. We'll head to New Owl. Your nurses can clean up this dump while I pretend not to exist."
Zairgid grinned. "Running away, huh?"
"I'm just too tired to deal with these scums now," Dan corrected. "Let the challengers stew for a while. The longer they wait, the more fun it'll be when I finally show up."
Zairgid laughed. "Fine by . I never say no to a party."
The two friends left the ruined apartnt behind, their laughter echoing down the corridor… while the digital notifications of new duel requests kept piling up one after another on Dan's student chat.
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[New Owl]
"I heard you made a ss again at the university. What have you done this ti?" Dorin asked, leaning back on the lounge chair with a glass of frostwine in hand.
Dan didn't even look at her. "Pulled a professor into the air," he said casually. "Almost killed him."
Dorin nearly spat her drink. "What?!"
But Dan's attention was elsewhere.
Through the tall glass windows overlooking the club's dance floor, his eyes scanned the crowd. He wasn't here to dance…he was updating his "mining list."
Silver City was crawling with powerful ta-humans. Even Rank Bs were common here, and a few auras he sensed were far above that—Rank BBBs, even As.
"lrose City really was a farm compared to this place," he murmured to himself.
"What?" Dorin asked, her brow raised.
He shrugged. "Nothing."
She gave him a knowing look. "You're a troublemaker, you know that?"
"What the hell is this university ranking thing anyway?" Dan said, turning toward the group. "I've been getting a flood of duel challenges all day."
"You already got that?" Lander blinked in disbelief. "You've only been there one day!"
"Can I kill them?" Dan asked flatly.
Everyone groaned.
"No," Lander said firmly. "You cannot kill them. And don't underestimate them either. Most of those students are heirs of major families…trained since childhood to rule this city."
Liorea, scrolling through her holo-pad, chid in. "Yeah, I checked the ssage boards. The top ten ranked students include Rank BBBs… and even a few Rank As."
Dan turned sharply. "There are Rank As among the students?"
"See?" Dorin said, smirking. "Now you're worried."
"Worried?" Dan grinned. "No…. Curious, maybe."
"Not gonna reply to the challengers, Big Brother?" Kail asked, half-grinning.
Dan leaned back in his chair. "What do you suggest?" he said, turning to Liorea … the sinister brain of the group.
She smirked. "Raise the wager. They'll choke."
Zairgid chuckled. "Classic move. He pulled the sa stunt back in high school. Won millions."
Dan snorted. "Yeah, but this ti, money's not enough to make 'em piss their pants."
He cracked his knuckles and started typing on his student ID chat.
"Challenge ? Sure. But get an Amnesty from the Court for a Life-and-Death duel first. I'm not wasting ti with the courts when I bloody kill you wimps."
The group watched as the feed exploded. Students spamd the chat — insults, curses, s. Everyone had sothing to say, but no one had the guts to click "accept".
After a few minutes, the noise died down.
Just like that there remained only silence.
Zairgid whistled. "Damn. You nailed 'em. Those wimps folded fast."
Dan smirked. "Talk's cheap. Dying's not so."
Then he turned to Kail. "I need a favor. Get an amnesty from the court for a life duel."
Kail blinked. "Wait, there is an actual thing like that?"
Liorea's lips curved. "There is. Rare …. but legal."
"Perfect." Dan's grin widened as he typed again.
"I, Dan Dark, officially challenge the Top Nine of this university to a duel to the death. Amnesty filed and certified and enclosed with seals. Co on over to seal it."
He attached the court-approved docunt …. bold, official, and impossible to ignore.
Then he leaned back, folding his arms with a lazy smile.
"Let's see who's got balls big enough to die trying."
------
The next morning Dan walked onto campus like he owned the pavent.
People parted around him as if he carried the plague, their whispers, sideways glances, faces gone pale.
Word was out: Dan Dark was a lunatic who'd filed for a life-and-death amnesty over ranking fights. Even the Top Ten kept their distance; their positions were safe, their incentives to fight him to death were nil.
Why bleed for his drama, even if they could defeat Dan Dark? It would only boost his ratings in the student chat.
"That boy!!!", Liric spat.
Professor Liric looked like he'd swallowed a bullet. His plan to bait the seniors into teaching Dan a lesson had fizzled; nobody wanted to get into the ss.
Then a voice cut through the classroom.
"You …. Dan Dark! How dare you covet my sister-in-law?"
Heads turned imdiately and a ripple of murmurs went around.
"That's Rey Nuralith, the campus troublemaker. Always fishing for fights."
"See what happens when the bully ets Dan Dark?" soone muttered. "Not everyone's easy to bully."
"Idiot, who's your sister-in-law?" Dan asked, not even looking up.
"Eryn Veyran. She's betrothed to my brother Carl. You've been… cheating with her." Rey's chest puffed as he stepped forward, his jaw tight.
Dan was inford of the engagent by Eryn, but she didn't agree to it. That's why Rey ca to give him trouble.
Dan's smile was lazy. "So?"
"Stay away from her," Rey warned.
Dan shrugged. "What if I say no?"
Rey cracked his knuckles. "Then I'll make you pay."
Dan held up a hand and stopped him like he was shooing a fly. "Have you confird the amnesty yet?"
"What amnesty?" Rey spluttered.
Zairgid, always one step ahead, projected a hologram of a crisp, official-looking court order floating between them. "Affirm it, and it's a life-and-death duel. Do you accept?" Zairgid's grin was all teeth.
Rey's bravado thinned.
He'd never seen anyone brandish one of those docunts in person. "What…?"
"Go ask your lawyers before you co back," Dan said, already turning away. "I'll wait."
Rey hesitated, the classroom buzzing as the ssage landed hard: this wasn't playground trash talk.
This Dan Dark was legal, official, and dangerously real.
-----
Before the day was over, soone stepped into Dan's class …. calm, collected, and wearing the confidence of a top dog.
The room went quiet.
It was the Ninth Rank on the university ranking board.
"You have a docunt for to sign?" he asked, his voice steady but sharp enough to slice through the silence.
Dan's eyes lit up, a slow grin spreading across his face.
"Finally, soone with the guts," he said.
With a flick of his wrist, a holo-window unfolded above his desk — the official Court Amnesty for a Life-and-Death Duel gleaming like a blade in digital light.
The ranked student didn't hesitate. He pressed his palm against the interface…. his ta-signature pulsed across the screen in silver arcs.
A sharp tone confird it — "Contract affird and filed."
The air in the room grew heavier, thick with disbelief and adrenaline. Students gasped.
Soone whispered, "Did he actually accepted…a life and death duel"
Another muttered, "That's a death contract. There's no backing out from it."
Dan leaned back in his chair, a half-smirk curling at the corner of his mouth.
"Good," he said softly. "At least one of you got balls."
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