The tension in the classroom was so thick you could cut it with a dull cutlass. King was vibrating with a mix of fury and disbelief, literally jumping onto his desk, his eyes bulging out of his head as if they might pop across the room. Across the aisle, Martis stood up slowly, the wood of his desk creaking under the pressure of his grip. His hand was clamped onto the hilt of his blade until his knuckles turned a ghostly, bloodless white.
To the students of the Pirate School, a 93-million-coin bounty wasn't just a number—it was a ghost story. It was the kind of bounty held by monsters who destroyed islands. And yet, the boy standing there didn't look like a monster.
Ato walked into the center of the room, looking at the shocked, angry, and hungry faces of his new classmates. He didn't look like a beast anymore. He looked like a King in training. His white hair caught the sunlight streaming through the high stone windows, and for a moment, the room felt smaller, as if his presence was pushing against the walls.
Ato: "Hi... I'm Ato. I like melons. And I'm going to be the one who surpasses the King."
The proclamation was so blunt, so simple, that it stunned the class into a second of pure silence. Then, the whispers started. "Is he serious?" "He likes melons?" "93 million for a melon-lover?"
Teacher Sabrina stepped forward, unfazed by the bounty or the bravado. She tapped a heavy iron rod against the floor to get their attention.
Teacher Sabrina: "Ok, ok everyone seat well and six of you go to the third row."
The class scrambled to make room. Nobody wanted to be the one standing in the way of the "No Name" crew. The six of them—Ato, Kojo, Manjo, Lemon, Faramis, and Poison—went to their seats and sat down. Ato immediately looked like his eyelids were made of lead.
Sabrina turned to the chalkboard, her voice echoing with the authority of someone who had seen real war.
Sabrina: "Now everyone today I'm going to tell you about all the ranks in Eden Government. If you want to survive as pirates, you need to know exactly who is hunting you."
She began to write, the chalk scratching loudly in the quiet room.
Sabrina: "So first rank is Soldiers. They work under soldiers leader and soldiers captain. They are the grunt forces, the ones you'll see in every port. Next are Commander Soldiers. They are ten times stronger than regular soldiers and they work under every commander rank."
Ato's head started to nod. He was already drifting off.
Sabrina: "Soldiers Leader: They are always with the Soldiers Captain and they are also known as the right hand man of the soldiers captain. Above them is the Soldiers Captain: They are the one who are allowed to have one warship with them, they also have soldiers leader and They also have Three hundred soldiers working under them."
Kojo leaned over to Manjo, whispering, "Three hundred men for one captain? We fought twenty times that many back at the docks."
Sabrina continued, ignoring the whispers.
Sabrina: "Vice Commander: When you are a soldiers captain and you complete fifty A-rank mission he is promoted to vice commander and now they sometime work under The Supremes but most of the time they get missions from the general. Then, Elite Commander: When a vice commander completes ten S-rank mission and if the other elite commanders acknowledge and tell that he is capable of being promoted to the rank Elite Commander then he is welcomed."
She circled the next word in heavy chalk.
Sabrina: "Commander: Now Commander are only picked four everytime but if one of the commander's defeated then he is chosen next year from the elite commanders and they are free to choose how many warships and how many Commander soldiers they want. From the Four Commander's two of the strongest commanders are chosen to be the Supreme commander. They are more free then commander."
Ato was now leaning his chin on his hand, his eyes completely closed.
Sabrina: "Senior Commander: Senior Commanders are chosen only and on the basis of the supreme commander who worked more than twenty years as the Supreme commander. Then they are promoted to senior Commander and they don't need to work but if it's too much important than they need to work."
She took a deep breath, her eyes turning cold as she reached the top of the list.
Sabrina: "General: This is the highest rank a normal person can reach. They are usually the backbone of Eden Government. They do every work giving missions to everyone and giving bounty to pirates but for real they are heck of a monster."
The students shivered. To a pirate, the word "General" was synonymous with "Executioner."
Sabrina: "Supremes: They are the only rank no one knows how they change and do they change? So that's it for today and now all of the students must go to the training ground."
The Journey to the Arena
The classroom erupted into movement. Students stood up, grabbing their practice gear and whispering about the "monsters" Sabrina had described. King stomped past Ato's desk, intentionally kicking it, but Ato didn't even flinch. He was deep in a dream about a giant, floating cantaloupe.
Everyone nodded and started going towards the training grounds. The walk was long, winding through the stone corridors of the school that overlooked the crashing waves of the Drowned World.
Kojo let out a loud, pained groan. He was hunched over, his face turning red as he hauled a limp body. Kojo was carrying Ato on his back as he slept the whole class.
Kojo: "Why do I have to carry him?"
Manjo laughed, walking beside them while flipping a small cooking knife in her hand. "Because you're the navigator, Kojo! You're supposed to know the way, and right now, the way involves a 93-million-coin backpack."
Lemon hovered slightly off the floor, his gravity powers making his footsteps silent. "He fought hard at the wall, Kojo. Let him sleep. Besides, if he wakes up now, he'll just ask for food we don't have yet."
Poison adjusted the hood of his dark cloak, walking silently on the other side. His sharp eyes darted toward the other students, noticing the way they gripped their practice staves. He leaned in closer to Kojo. "They're watching us. King hasn't taken his eyes off Ato's badge. They know killing is prohibited here, but they're going to try to break him during training."
Kojo shifted the weight, his boots heavy on the gravel path as they approached the wide, open combat pits.
Kojo: "Let them try. If they wake him up too early, they're the ones who are going to need a medic."
The Training Grounds
The training grounds were a massive arena of packed dirt and stone, surrounded by high observation decks. Hundreds of students were already there, sparring with wooden weapons or practicing their elemental bursts.
As the "No Name" crew entered, a path cleared. King was already in the center of the main pit, swinging a heavy iron practice sword that whistled through the air. Martis was nearby, leaning against a stone pillar, sharpening a wooden rapier that looked just as deadly as real steel.
Teacher Sabrina stood on the raised platform, her silver whistle gleaming.
Sabrina: "Listen up! The Drowned World doesn't care about your names. It cares about your strength! We are starting the Circle of Shadows. No killing, no permanent maiming—but everything else is fair game! If you lose your badge, you lose your rank!"
Kojo reached the edge of the pit and simply let go. THUD.
Ato hit the dirt face-first. He lay there for a second, then slowly pushed himself up, blinking at the bright sun. He looked at King, then at Martis, then back at his crew.
Ato: "Is it lunch time yet? I had a dream about a melon the size of a warship."
King let out a roar of frustration. "You're joking! You're really joking right now?! I'm going to knock those 93 million coins right out of your teeth, Dragonaid!"
Ato stood up, dusting off his white shirt. He looked at his badge, then back at King with a calm, sleepy smile.
Ato: "You can try. But I'm pretty heavy."