The Academy’s Attention as well as the courtyard was silent. Students whispered among themselves, their eyes darting between Batman and Gigachad. “He’s really challenging him?” “He’s just an Unranked—” “Not anymore. He’s climbing fast.” Batman didn’t move. He had faced monsters before. Bane. Killer Croc. Cyface. Gigachad was no different. Gigachad cracked his knuckles, the sound echoing like thunder. “Here’s how this works, bat-boy. I challenge you to a ranked duel. You accept, we fight. If you lose—” His grin sharpened. “You drop down 1,000 ranks.” Batman’s mind processed the information instantly. 1,000 ranks? A loss like that would send him back to square one. But that wasn’t the real problem. No, the real issue was why Gigachad was doing this. This isn’t just about me. Someone wants me gone. Batman’s enemies never fought alone. There was always a bigger game at py. And right now, he was a piece on the board.

  The System’s Response

  [Ranked Challenge Issued]

  Challenger: Gigachad Maximillion (Rank 101) Opponent: Batman (Rank 4812) Accept or Decline? The system window hovered in front of him, waiting for a response. Gigachad smirked. “What’s wrong? Scared?” Deku stepped forward. “Batman, don’t—” But Batman had already accepted.

  [Challenge Accepted]

  Gasps rippled through the crowd. Gigachad ughed. “Oh-ho, you got guts, bat-boy. I like that.” The system buzzed again.

  [Duel Scheduled]

  Location: Colosseum Arena Time: Tonight, Midnight Midnight. That was fast. Batman gnced at the notification. Something was off. This wasn’t a normal duel. Someone wanted this to happen quickly. But he wasn’t about to back down. If they wanted a fight, they’d get one.

  Preparing for War As the crowd dispersed, Deku grabbed his arm. “Dude, are you insane? Gigachad is Rank 101. You’re not even Rank 4000 yet!” Batman didn’t reply. He just kept walking. Deku sighed, running after him. “At least have a pn, right? You do have a pn?” Batman stopped. “…I will.” He always did.

  The Mysterious Observer As Batman left, someone watched from the shadows. A figure in a dark cloak, golden eyes gleaming beneath the hood. They whispered to themselves. “So, the Unranked dares challenge a Titan?” A smirk. “This will be interesting.” ---