Parallel Memory

All the participants and professors slowly boarded the bus.

Some were nervous even after Hiro's speech though there was also a trace of excitement. With all those emotions, the participants were set to make a name for themselves.

Unlike students, most professors felt confident about this year's tournament. Even with all the slander against them and knowing that there would be a lot of enemies waiting for them, they were not that nervous.

They knew the level of their students better than anyone else. They could only say that the batch of participants that they have this year is the strongest that they have had in their history.

Even last year when the odds of winning were low, they managed to win. Not to say that this year, they had stronger participants.

Even if other schools had strong participants, they didn't think that it would be comparable to theirs. They were positive about their students, more so about Hiro and his team.

Hiro was ranked B and Zion, Lisa, and Sylvia were all ranked C +. Such a lineup was too dominating for the Tournament Of Academies. All four together would make it to the Top-5 of the tournament in terms of strength.

Even if other schools had schemes like last year, the Ace Academy professor believes that victory would still be theirs.

-CLAP! -CLAP!

"Listen everyone! This is it! The moment we have all been waiting for! Let's show everyone what we are made of and bring home the victory! Many people are waiting to see us fall. Let's show them why we are the number one Academy!"

Professor Theo shouted, raising the spirits of the participants.

This year, the professor responsible for the participants was Professor Mia Frostine. It should normally be her job to give a speech but since she was not good at riling emotion, she gave this job to Professor Theo.

-CLAP! -CLAP!

The participants applauded and they soon settled down.

Just like any other year, participants each had a mentor who would train them. Each mentor gave their disciple advice and also discussed some strategies.

Last year, Professor Mia was the mentor for Zero. However, this year she didn't pick anyone. The reason was that she didn't find any particular participant as interesting as Zero and she also had no free time.

Being Rank-S, she was occasionally called by The Authority to discuss the ongoing conflict with the Devils. While she was a professor, as Rank-S it was her privilege as well as her responsibility to attend such meetings.

Moreover, being the professor in charge of Ace Academy participants for the Tournament Of Academy meant that she had to make sure that they win the competition. As such, she needs to research and find the strength and weaknesses of their opponents as they strengthen their participants.

Professor Mia sat in an empty seat and looked at some data on her laptop. She also didn't think that there would be any problem winning this year's tournament. However, she needed to make sure not to make any mistakes.

Students occasionally glance in her direction. Despite being at Ace Academy and seeing her often, they can't help but admire her appearance. The title of 'Most Beautiful' wasn't just some title; she could manage to catch anyone's attention right away.

She was as beautiful and famous as ever, whether at school or outside of it. Even her fellow teachers respected her and found it an honor to work with her.

Not only was she very beautiful, but she was also a perfectionist at her job. She was someone that many people admired.

On her unofficial fan page on Twitflick, the number of people joining was already in the millions. Her popularity can't be less than those of the top stars in the entertainment industry.

However, with her cold demeanor, many find it hard to get close to her. Any hooligan who tries to take advantage of her would be dealt with by her Rank-S power.

Students as well as other professors had to show their best behavior in her presence.

Despite her intimidating demeanor, she was known to be fair and just in her dealings with students. She did not tolerate nonsense or mischief, but she also did not punish students unnecessarily. Her strictness was only matched by her unwavering devotion to her students and her school.

Soon, the bus started to make its way toward the location of the tournament. This year the place to hold the Tournament Of Academy was Luminia City. It's a vibrant city known for its shining lights and bustling energy. It is a hub of trade and commerce, attracting merchants and adventurers from all over the world.

The students were buzzing with excitement as they made their way to a different city. As a place for trade, there were many students who couldn't wait to go shopping and explore the city.

The distance of Luminia from Ace Academy was not very far and could be reached in three hours.

Although not very far, it took quite a while to reach. After quite some time, the students' excitement died down and they became bored of sitting. Many had already started to sleep.

*****

Soon enough the city of Luminia was in sight and students became excited. Even the students that were asleep woke up to look at the new scenery.

The bus approached the outskirts of the city, and students could see tall buildings and bright lights in the distance. The city was bustling with activity, and students could feel the energy even inside the bus.

"Look! It's the Ace Academy Bus!"

"They have finally arrived! I was expecting them!"

As soon as people spotted the bus, they knew that Ace Academy participants had arrived. They had seen many schools arrive and were also expecting Ace Academy. However, unlike other schools where they give little to no attention, Ace Academy was different.

"I still think that they are going to win this year!"

"Aiya! What do you know? Most of their seniors had left school. Even their top students had transferred. How can they win?"

"Humph! What do I know? Don't you know Ace Academy still has Hiro? He was one of the strongest last year. Even without their seniors, I think that he, alone, could beat other students easily." …

There was a lot of excitement to see them and there was also a lot of discussion surrounding Ace Academy's performance in the Tournament Of Academies.

Many were influenced by the media and felt that Ace Academy was not doing a good job teaching students. Mostly, the new learning method of Ace Academy was criticized and many felt that instead of doing their job, professors at Ace Academy were trying to make money without working.

Also, the fact that third-year students mostly went to other schools was known and people felt that Ace Academy would lose because of that.

As third-year students would be the strongest because of age and experience. With Ace Academy losing many third-year students, people felt that Ace Academy's power had decreased considerably and they would lose the tournament.

Nonetheless, there were also many people cheering for Ace Academy.

"Ace Academy, Best Of Luck!"

"I know you would still be the champion!"

"The Number One School!" …

As the best academy in the world, Ace Academy still had prestige and fame. Even with many people denouncing them, their brilliance had not faded at all.

Among doubt and cheers, the student felt encouraged by people's cheers. They felt overwhelmed by the popularity of their school.

Boosted by the people's cheers, they were determined to prove once again who was number one.