[First Class: Orientation | Time: 13:00, Classroom 1AE]

  I stare at the notification for a few moments before I realize that I have woken up. Lemon is crushing my legs with her body. She is a big bed hog, I might make her sleep on the floor from now on.

  I extricate myself from the predicament and stand up with a nice stretch. Only for my entire body to rebel as all my muscles scream out in agony. It seems that the system allows for rapid physical improvement, but not the removal of consequences.

  I check the time and immediately panic. 12:32 it says. Oh shit, I think I stayed up a bit too late training.

  I quickly rush through a shower and brush my hair. Then I throw on my armor and practically race down the hallways. I had to wake Lemon up from her slumber, which she was not happy about. I am glad she can't breathe aetherfire yet, or I may be a bit singed right about now.

  I enter the classroom at 12:58, right on time. The room is packed full of cadets, I count twenty six squadrons, meaning they split us into two classes. Most are wearing armor, but a few have opted for their uniforms instead, I wonder why. I spot Liv, Stephen and Moxie and they wave at me. I also spot Violet, sitting all by herself in the corner, a bunch of empty seats around her.

  So naturally, I go and sit down right next to Violet. “Why must you sit there? Go annoy someone else and fuck off.” Her signature scowl is in full force today, and it's as cute as always. I look at her for a few moments and then she simply turns away and ignores me. I have a feeling this is going to be a fun academy experience.

  A tall man with gray hair enters the room and stands behind the center lectern. The room goes quiet as the chatter quiets and I can practically hear Violet’s loathing for me.

  The man clears his throat and then introduces himself. “Greetings cadets, you may call me Professor Viealw. In this class, we will cover a few important things. But first, let me ask one question.” He clears his throat. “By show of hands, are you ready to die?”

  The room goes still.

  Until, very slowly, Violet raises her hand. No one else raises their hand.

  Viealw turns to Violet. “It appears Cadet Sharpe is the only one prepared to die. No matter, all of you will be raising your hands before long. If not, you will be dead anyways.” He turns to the wall behind him and starts writing out a bunch of complicated runes, far beyond anything I have ever seen. “Can anyone tell me what this inscription is for?”

  A girl with brown hair and glasses raises her hand and is called on. “That is a fissure rift inscription, sir.”

  “Correct, Cadet Gran. For those unaware, fissure rifts are the means by which we are able to fight back against the monsters in any meaningful capacity. It was thanks to the legendary ideas of the hero Leax, The Silly Scribe, that we have such technologies. Without fissures, we would be almost incapable of reclaiming territory lost to monster incursion.” He returns back to the pedestal. “As cadets of this academy, you will serve one term of two weeks on the frontlines, inside a fissure. Then you will have a four day term back at the academy. You will also have a three day rest period after fissure terms for a bit of relaxation. This ensures a blend of both practical and theoretical knowledge. Now, any questions?”

  “Where do the fissures lead exactly?” A boy asks.

  “Very simply, they lead to any place in the universe that has been overtaken by monsters. There are various ranks and grades of fissures. Some will take you directly into the betweenlands, where not even the headmaster dares venture. But rest assured, you cadets will only be taken to smaller ones on the frontlines.”

  “What happens if we get injured or die?” A girl asks.

  “Healing will be up to your squadron, however the proctor may dispense healing if they so choose. If you die, well, you die. There are no do-overs. If you die out there, you are dead. Yes, there are those that have abilities like Resurrection, but for all intents and purposes, such abilities do not exist. If you die, you are dead. Should part of a squadron fall, the remainder will be mixed with another partial squadron to form a whole. But fear not, only about thirty percent of cadets die by the end of the year, so you will most likely be fine.”

  At that last part, the cadets erupt into much discussion and the fear in the air intensifies. Which to be fair, makes sense. It is to be expected that people panic a bit when you tell them they have a 30% chance to die in the next year. But I think this group are all a bit stupid. We came to this academy to learn how to fight monsters. It is unlikely that any of us live past 30 years old anyways. Everyone here signed the contract detailing the risks. I am also pretty sure the death rate statistics were clearly laid out, so no one has any reason to complain at this point.

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  I turn to look at Violet and she seems to be perfectly calm as always. “Bet you aren't worried one bit. No way a monster is gonna take down the legendary fencer, eh?”

  “When the fuck did I say I wanted to talk to you?” She replies, as hostile as ever. I truly thought I had made progress after our sparring session yesterday. Guess it is right back to square one.

  “Well you didn't tell me to leave, so I figured that meant you wanted a conversation buddy.” I smile, only for it to bounce right off her armor of calmness.

  “I did explicitly tell you to fuck off. So fuck off.”

  “Hmm, I've gotten comfortable, so I think I shall stay right here.”

  She lets out a sigh and then resumes completely ignoring my presence. It is as though I am less than a spec of a dust to her. One day, I will make myself unignorable, then she will be forced to converse with me. Plus, I might get to stare into those lovely eyes of hers during our future conversations.

  Viealw waits for the class to quiet down and then continues. “Fear not, for if you simply try hard enough, your class might even manage to bring the average deaths down!” He says it trying to be comforting, but it really does not work and the class erupts into panic again. “Do not worry too much, you will each be sent out with a special proctor that will help keep you alive. It won't be really risky until much later when the proctor leaves you alone for your exams. That is when the most cadets die. So rest assured, you will likely be with your squadmates for the entire year!”

  I think there is something off about this professor guy. He really does not seem to be good at understanding the mind of teenagers. It does make me wonder why Violet answered his question so quickly though. But I feel like it would be a bad idea to pry right now.

  “Alright then, onto other things. How many people here know what The Dragon Guard’s purpose is?”

  “To slay monsters!” one boy shouts. “To protect humanity!” a girl shouts. “To get cool dragons!” another says.

  “Wrong, wrong and wrong.” Viealw states, a frown on his face. “Does anyone else have an idea?”

  I raise my hand. “To study the monsters so that we might one day eradicate them.”

  “Bingo. Cadet Ilemon gets one magical point of meaninglessness. We are not here solely to slay monsters. Sure, that is part of our duty, as is protecting humanity. But the fundamental purpose for The Dragon Guard’s formation was to research monsters.” Viealw clears off the wall and projects a picture. It is of a bookish looking guy, can't be more than twenty or so years old. He has blue eyes and white hair – an upper. In his hands he holds a staff, even with the picture it seems to convey an immense power. But that is not the shocking part. Behind him stands a dragon, a large dragon, it must be a stage 3 adult based on its size. “Alright, which of you can tell me who this figure is?”

  Surprisingly, Violet raises her hand. “That is Uqin, the voidbringer. The founder and first headmaster of The Academy, as well as the leader of the Hero’s Party.” She pauses for a second, as if considering whether she should say the next part. “He also just so happens to be my great-grandfather.”

  Unsurprisingly, the entire room erupts into many questions and speculations at such a statement. As well as more than a few insults flying around the room. I too have my own questions, but Violet seems to completely zone out, so I save them. It might not be a good idea to ask them. I am surprised she even revealed that last part, maybe she just wanted to flex being related to a hero or something.

  The class refuses to settle down until Viealw casts a spell that creates a loud sound. Everyone covers their ears and ducks for cover.

  “Alright class, quiet down for a moment. You can all have plenty of time to talk and such later. But yes, this is Uqin, the founder of the academy. Now, can anyone tell me what made Uqin the most special amongst the heroes?”

  Once again, Violet is the only one that tries to answer. “Despite being the strongest, he was completely unable to fight in combat.” Her scowl drops a bit, she must get some enjoyment out of answering hard questions. It is quite cute to watch her from so close. I am glad I sat next to her to have a front row seat to her awesomeness.

  Quite a few murmurs spread through the cadets, but Viealw quickly regains control. “That is indeed correct. It is not a very well known fact, good to see you do your research, Cadet Sharpe. In fact, many think that Uqin was quite violent. But as you can see from this picture, he was clearly not so. His true power came both from his dragon and his ability to predict monsters through a very special path. But enough of that, I think you all get the idea.” Viealw pauses for a moment, and then seems to remember what he was about to say before getting off track. “This class is now over, your next one will be tomorrow at 14:00. I believe this group has magical theory next, which should be an interesting class. Do be aware that there are no strict training guidelines assigned due to the uniqueness of everyone’s paths. But you are expected to train and seek self-improvement in whichever ways you see fit. Class dismissed.”

  All of the cadets quickly file out of the classroom. Violet, through some magic trick, manages to escape my sight. Such a shame, I was hoping to start another fight with her, to see if I have improved after my training at all. I guess it will have to wait for another day.

  I join up with the others and we head to a cafe that is located in the academy for a quick meal. Then Stephen and Liv drag me –kicking and screaming– into the gym for an intense training session. Moxie manages to slip through their clutches with her nimbleness and goes to concoct some super complex magic spells no doubt.

  Afterwards, Lemon and I crash into my bed like a pile of rocks. I practically melt into the divine comfort and quickly fall into a dreamless sleep. It seems like I am going to be quite busy with academy life, and I cannot wait to get a heck of a lot stronger.

  After all, there are monsters to eradicate.

  Next Chapter: What is Magic?

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