A few days later on a Thursday after class, as Licht, Liebe, and Alysa were walking, Licht said, "What should we do today?"
Liebe said, "I'm way too bored to think."
Alysa said, "Since you wanted to join the battle club, how about we check it out today since they are having club sessions?"
Liebe said, "Sure."
Licht said, "By the way, have you guys heard that currently there are growing tensions between Eldoria and Baledia?"
Liebe said, "Yeah, I heard they want to invade us since our military power is so close and all. But it's because of three people that it isn't happening—firstly, our Grandmaster Astreous Chronous, then my mother, and finally the acting Grandmaster Asten. After what my mother did eight years ago, even Baledia is on edge. Suppressing two captains isn't something everyone can do, and that's why they have started to mass their ships near our eastern borders, which is about 700 km north from here, as an intimidation display. As of right now, there are about 257 ships or so."
Licht said, "To think you know so much."
Liebe said, "I'm far too bored to just wait."
Licht said, "I suppose it's true what they say, but oh well, nothing to do now."
Liebe said, "Even if war breaks out now, a mere 257 ships is something my mother can finish in a single day, so we are in no real threat."
As they reached the clubroom and sat down, the moderator of the club, Otis Orize, started his speech:
"Hello everyone and welcome to the Battle Club. Here we practice everything related to battle and combat in general—from hand-to-hand combat to tactics on large-scale warfare. In 11 months from now, the World Battle Championship will begin, where there will be a total of 128 nations participating in a total of 7 rounds. Each round will have a different type of combat. There will be ones where it will be just 1v1 and others where it will require more than 300 students. But in the center of it all will be a team consisting of 5 key members and 1 substitute. From next week onward, there will be a tournament among all of you, and the format for each round will be declared a total of 600 seconds before the actual match, as its main goal is to test your critical thinking.
Remember, the winner will be the leader of our team and have the honour of being the representative. The other 5 regular members and the substitute member will be decided from those who participated. Just winning won't ensure you are selected, but it will improve your chances. The first round will begin here tomorrow at exactly 3 p.m.
Allow me to introduce to you our current president of the Battle Club, Alice Zald, the aide to the current Fleet Admiral Yuna."
Alice said, "Hello everyone, I'm Alice, and this is our vice president Darel, one of the current three admirals."
Darel said, "Hello, ladies and gentlemen. As an admiral, it's my honour and privilege to serve as the vice captain and advisor of the Battle Club, and I wish all of you good luck for tomorrow."