Later that day,

Satoshi and the others were a bit confused as to why they were traveling somewhere for their hero training. It was a nice clear day outside the school and they were led by Knighthawk towards a nearby school bus where they'd be riding for an indefinite amount of time. Of course, they didn't have time to ask questions since Knighthawk emphasized arriving there on time, wherever that is. And Satoshi, as the new class representative of Class 3-1, had to lead everyone in an orderly manner so there won't be any trouble that might irk Knighthawk the wrong way.

"Come on snails, what are you dilly-dallying around for? This ain't a field trip for crying out loud." Knighthawk was growing a bit impatient since everyone was moving rather slowly. And then there's Hiroshi who was still salty that he didn't become the class president of Class 3-1. Even when it already happened a few hours ago, he was still trying to rile up Satoshi just because he was democratically and unanimously chosen by everyone.

Once they got inside the bus, Knighthawk specifically told the driver to floor it. And before they knew it, they were already traveling downtown Tokyo to go to a certain place. Knighthawk then smiled a mischievous smile before heading down the row of seats and staring at Satoshi.

"Okay, now that you're the class representative for my class, you know what to do, right?" It's as if Knighthawk was putting everything on Satoshi's shoulders but it was clear he was trying to bully him. Whatever it is that Knigthhawk wanted him to do, it was obvious he wanted to put him in a bad light. Of course, it's not like Satoshi had any right to refuse since he had to go through it as the class representative anyways.

The school bus then continued down the road until it almost reached the edge of Tokyo. By now, Knighthawk still hasn't said anything aside from hinting that Satoshi had to do something. Everyone on the school bus was also curious as to what Knighthawk was referring to because they could feel the same intent from him.

"We're almost here." Finally, Knighthawk announced their inevitable arrival. His eyes then lit up as he clenched his fists in excitement. At long last, he would finally do something fitting as the teacher of the hero training. Needless to say, he was looking forward to what they were about to do. Furthermore, he wanted to surprise his students and that's why he just left a few crumbs here and there so they won't completely guess what's about to happen.

"CHOTTO!!! Is that what I think it is?!" Midori screamed as soon as a huge structure of a building came to view. Pressing his face against the windows to the sides of the school bus, he leaned in to get a better view and to confirm that it was really the place he knew. A gasp left his mouth as he was assured that the place was really the real deal. With pupils dilating, he stole a glance towards everyone's general direction before assessing what they were about to do there.

The structure was like a huge concrete dome with windows that filled every surface of it. From a distance, one could see that there were flashing lights inside and a commotion of screaming people could be heard. At first glance, Satoshi thought that maybe the place was something where people with superheroes party... but after thinking about it, he remembered a certain place where an incident of a superhero dying was reported.

The Concrete Arena.

With all sides filled with concrete, the arena is the very epitome of a gladiator's battlefield. Since there were laws regarding fight-to-the-death matches, the Concrete Arena is one of the few places on Earth where superheroes could fight to the death— well, not really. Before, that was a thing but now that the Concrete Arena is affiliated with the USA, there are a lot of medical experts in it monitoring the entire situation just in case some superheroes go amok. This is one of the few places where fighting superheroes is legal. Ever since that incident, no one had reportedly died in the Concrete Arena which is somewhat a good thing. But then again, the fights in the Concrete Arena are the real deal, and it is probably one of the few violent places on Earth when it comes to superhero clashes.

"The Concrete Arena," Satoshi said under his breath.

"Yeah, that! Said to have been built five decades ago by world-renowned engineers, they've specifically designed the place to be indestructible so superheroes could have the freedom to unleash their maximum potential in fights. There had only been one superhero who had died during one of the matches here in all of its history. This is pretty much an urban legend when it comes to superheroes due to how rich it is in history. It was even said that this is the reason why the SAO was founded— because there need to be laws and people monitoring the superheroes. But why are we here? Are we scheduled to have a match?"

"No, you're here for something else." Knighthawk said. "Don't worry, I won't let you watch the other matches where blood and gore is displayed. There are better arena stages in there where more casual fights are held. We're attending one of them right now, so don't worry. You won't be fighting anyone, at least, not today." Knighthawk continued. "I brought you here because I need you to watch some of the few matches from your upperclassmen."

"Ah, you mean third and fourth years from other schools? I did hear about rumors that if you're powerful enough, you can make easy money in the Concrete Arena. Who would've thought that someone took that seriously." Midori contemplated, wondering just how much they were earning in a day. "But then again, if I wanted to save up a lot of money in a snap of a finger, I'd have done the same thing. So who are we spectating, Knighthawk-sensei?"

"Oh, that. We'll be watching a pretty popular figure. Her name is Plume, and yes, she's a fourth-year at our school."

Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time.