"Listen closely," Claire said, her voice dropping into a deadly serious register. "I will now explain how the Ranking system and mechanics of the Tournament will work."

Before Claire could tap the holographic console to begin, the heavy oak doors of the executive suite hissed open.

Every head in the room turned. Standing in the doorway, looking absolutely miserable and dragging a sleek metallic suitcase behind her, was Evelyn. The Tamer’s usual white lab coat was missing, her hair was a messy, disorganized bun, and she possessed the dark, heavy under-eye bags of someone who had just survived a bureaucratic nightmare.

"Commercial flights are a literal curse upon humanity," Evelyn groaned, abandoning her suitcase by the door and trudging into the lounge. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to get high-tier Shikigami containment crystals past international customs? The Ufrifan border agents looked at me like I was smuggling a nuclear warhead."

Claire let out a bright, tension-breaking laugh, her stern demeanor vanishing for a brief moment. She crossed her arms, a smirk playing on her lips. "Well, look who finally decided to join us. I was beginning to think you’d missed the flight entirely."

Evelyn grumbled something incoherent, waving her hand dismissively as she collapsed face-first onto one of the plush leather sofas next to Rol.

"Anyway," Claire smiled, looking around the room. "Here we have our sixth member. With Evelyn here, we are only short one person for our official roster. But we can’t afford to wait. The clock is ticking, and you all need to understand exactly what we are walking into."

The brief moment of levity evaporated as Claire turned back to the tactical table. She tapped the glass surface. Instantly, the room darkened. A colossal, glowing blue holographic projection materialized in the center of the lounge, slowly rotating in the air.

It was a map of the world.

"The scale of the World Exterminator Tournament is absolute," Claire began, her red eyes reflecting the blue light of the hologram. She tapped the console, and the globe split into five distinct, color-coded landmasses. "There are five continents as I believe everyone of you knows. The Eastern Continent, the Southern Continent, the Western Continent, the Northern Continent, and the Central Continent."

Hide leaned forward in his chair, his blue eyes tracking the glowing landmasses. He recognized Varisus, their home country, nestled deep within the icy borders of the Southern Continent.

"From each of these five continents, exactly ten countries have been selected to participate," Claire explained, her voice echoing in the quiet room. "And each of those fifty countries has sent a single, elite Exterminator squad representing their National Agency."

Gideon let out a low whistle, his massive arms crossed over his chest. "Fifty squads... assuming everyone brought a full roster of seven, that’s..."

"Three hundred and fifty Exterminators," Sora finished, her dark eyes narrowing as she quickly did the math. "Three hundred and fifty of the new best fighters on the entire planet."

"Correct," Claire nodded grimly. "Three hundred and fifty independent variables, all armed to the teeth, all possessing high-tier talents, and all desperate to secure funding and glory for their home nations. And all of you will be competing over the exact same span of time: One month."

Claire tapped the console again. The globe dissolved, replaced by a massive, glowing digital calendar.

"The tournament is strictly divided into two distinct phases," she continued, pointing to the first block of dates. "The first twelve days are dedicated entirely to the Solo Rankings. During this period, you are not a squad. You do not fight together, you do not assist each other, and if you encounter one another in the biomes, you are officially competitors. There will be a total of five Solo rounds."

Evelyn, finally lifting her head from the sofa cushions, pushed her glasses up her nose. "How is the schedule paced? We need to calculate recovery times and other major issues."

"It’s brutal," Rol answered before Claire could, his lazy grey eyes staring blankly at the calendar. He had studied the historical formats of this tournament for years. "It’s designed to break you physically and mentally."

Claire nodded in agreement. "The first part of the Solo phase will cram two grueling rounds into the first six days. After that, you will be granted a single, twenty-four-hour holiday to heal. Immediately following that break, you will endure three back-to-back rounds over the next six days, followed by a two-day holiday."

Hide analyzed the calendar in silence. Two rounds in six days, then three rounds in six days. The fatigue wouldn’t just be linear; it would be exponential. Exterminators who relied on high-cost, explosive talents would burn out and die by round four. It was a format that heavily favored adaptability and stamina—two things his Universal Adaptation System and Predator’s Respite practically guaranteed.

"Following the Solo phase," Claire said, swiping the calendar to the next set of weeks, "we enter the Team Rounds. There are only two Team rounds, but they are massive, large-scale survival operations lasting six days each."

"Wait," Gideon interrupted, a deep frown creasing his forehead. "If we do the Solo rounds first, how do they decide who gets to fight in the Team rounds? Do we just group back up?"

Claire didn’t answer immediately. A heavy, suffocating silence descended over the room. She looked at Gideon, then at Sora, and finally at Hide.

"No," Claire said softly. "You don’t just group back up. To even be permitted to step foot into the Team rounds, a participant must amass a minimum of one thousand Points during their five Solo rounds."

Sora’s breath hitched. "A thousand points? And if we don’t?"

"If you don’t hit the one thousand point threshold, you are permanently eliminated from the tournament and sent home," Claire stated, her voice as cold as ice. "That is the cruelty of this stage. A country might send a full squad of seven, but if only two of their members manage to secure a thousand points... then that country must enter the Team survival rounds with only a two-man squad."