The first day of the academy had arrived, and Leox woke up feeling prepared for the day. The sun had barely started to rise by the time he had finished washing and dressing himself, before making his way down to the cafeteria for breakfast.

  He ate with Laughter whilst keeping a close eye on all of the students in the area designated for first-year students. In his mind, he noted those who appeared powerful.

  Leox also found his eyes wandering over to the second and third year students. There were many fewer of them, as he had heard that many students didn't make it to the end of the academy. Some were also away on missions, which was common for developing students.

  After breakfast, they made their way to the classrooms. It was time for their first lessons.

  ---

  When Leox and the other students entered the Class Hall, they found Gutaru, the Judge, leaning back on a chair, sitting behind a desk placed on top of the lecturing platform. The man seemed dissociated, even after the children had filtered inside and started to find seats in the rows of stands.

  Leox sat down with Laughter at the back row, nervously excited for his first lesson. He noticed that around the room, many of the other students had also sat themselves down in groups or alone, yet all were distanced from one another.

  Astra sat with a girl, though in truth, it seemed like she was the one sitting with him. She had ginger hair, and her eyes constantly watched the boy as though she were a fan.

  The other child that stood out most was the dark-skinned boy with buzzed hair, and the tattoo of a purple crown on his forehead. The boy folded his muscular arms over each other and leaned back, as two other students sat beside him. One boy and one girl, both of darker complexion.

  As the students sat in the stands, not daring to speak, they waited for Gutaru, but the man didn't even look up from his desk. There was a piece of paper in front of him, which he had turned his attention to, and started to scribble down words using a feather.

  "Isn't that the same skill from before?" Laughter leaned over and whispered. "Tell me we're not going to be put in another trial. I don't want to fight you Leox, my best friend!"

  Leox laughed at his 'best friends' playful words, before suddenly, Gutaru spoke.

  "Good morning, and welcome to class one. As you probably know already, I am Gutaru, and I'll be in charge of you for the rest of the year, assuming that you're all still alive by the end of it."

  He didn't even let the words hang for a moment, but they seemed to put the students on edge.

  "Many of the other professors like to overcomplicate things. I, on the other hand, like to get straight to it. Facing danger is the only way to prepare you for what's to come, so there's no point in shying away from it."

  Gutaru glanced at his paper again. He had finished scribbling down whatever it was he was writing and seemed ready to present it to the class.

  "Prepare to bear witness." He suddenly spoke, and in an instant, the classroom... changed.

  Perhaps those who had never experienced the skill before would not be able to tell that a change had taken place, but all students of the academy had faced one of the judges' trials before. They all noticed that beyond the windows, the sky above had suddenly darkened. All noise that came from the hallways outside had been reduced to silence, and also... There was a white cat that suddenly appeared on the raised platform at the front of the room.

  Gutaru had used another of his skills to place the students of the classroom and himself into another dreamlike world. Before anything could continue, Leox examined his Overview, hoping to gather any information.

  If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  ---

  [Gutaru]

  [Awakening Stage: Fifth Stage]

  [Classes:]

  Judge

  [Class Skills:]

  Unknown

  ---

  It was extremely limited. He seemed to have known enough about the man to gather that he had the class 'Judge', yet he didn't know enough to confirm its rank, or any of its skills.

  The students focused closely on the white cat as it sat completely silently.

  "Students of Class One," Gutaru's voice came. "Your first assignment of the year will be to hunt, and take down a grade-one apocalypse demon, also known as an Imp."

  Suddenly, Pur the white cat's body arched, followed by a vicious cracking sound, which seemed to be its spine. Its body began to contort itself, taking on grotesque proportions. Even its white fur began to change, taking on black spots until it was entirely dark like shadows.

  Students leapt to their feet as they watched a demon appear before their eyes. Pur was no longer a white cat, but rather a small crocodile. It had six human-shaped legs, two of them facing backwards, another head growing on the side of its torso, and a curled horn coming out of the top of its skull.

  Before anyone could act, or attack, Gutaru's voice stopped them.

  "Don't be foolish, none of you are strong enough to kill Pur. Besides, he is not actually an Imp. I'm only using him to paint you all a picture."

  After hearing this, the students slowly settled down, yet remained on edge. They stared at the disgusting beast in front of them, feeling the urge to destroy it spreading throughout their bodies. Leox felt familiar with the beast and also didn't fear it at all. He had seen two of them with similar forms after all. It seemed that Imps were often animal-shaped, and tried to mimic the form of humans.

  "The Imps are the weakest of the demons, yet most common during the early stages of the apocalypse. The ancient scientist of the Third World, Yborn, had written about these demons extensively. They can appear from water, and would either be an animal shape attempting to take on the form of a human, or a human shape attempting to take on the form of an animal."

  As Gutaru explained this, things started to make sense to Leox. So far, he had seen three demons. First, on the Black Sea with Ivy: a demon with a fish head, human legs, and a human face on the side of its body. Second, during his travels to the Undying City, the three Collector Knights had faced off against a human-shaped demon with a shark fin for its arm. Third, in the sewers with Donn: a fat baby with the head of a pufferfish and sharp teeth.

  What do the stronger demons look like?

  Eventually, Pur's body started to return to its normal shape. A snow-white cat returned to the platform, licking itself clean.

  "By the end of the week, you will defeat one of these creatures, and bring me its heart. If you can't do this, then you should reconsider whether you are prepared to stay in the academy."

  "..."

  Gutaru returned the world to its normal state. The noise from the outside came back in full volume, and the sky outside was no longer darker than night. The Professor had started leaning back on his chair once again and seemed to have nothing left to say. This left the students in complete disbelief.

  Is the lesson done already?

  The students started to whisper complaints to one another, but the Professor didn't show any signs of caring. Only when a boy with a handsome face and slicked back blonde hair stood up and spoke did the professor look up from the paper on his desk.

  "With all due respect, Professor, I, and probably many others here, have already killed a grade-one demon. My father had taken me to kill one even before I had awakened. They might look scary, but they are incredibly weak. I can't help but think that this task is too easy for us. We want to learn more."

  As the boy spoke, Gutaru's expression didn't change. He noticed that some of the students around the class seemed to be nodding in agreement. He waited a few moments, to see if any of the other student showed fear after hearing their fellow classmate request a harder challenge.

  He looked at the feminine boy with brown hair.

  The muscular boy with the crown tattoo.

  The skinnier student with white hair.

  The strange kid with clown paint on his face, and a scarred eye.

  And a few more.

  None of these students seemed to show any signs of fear. It almost made Gutaru laugh.

  "Okay then," he said, summoning his feather and jotting something down on a piece of paper once again. "You are right. A grade-one demon is clearly too easy a task for you."

  The blonde-haired boy returned to his seat with surprise on his face. He hadn't expected the cold professor to agree with him.

  "Instead, you will be tasked with taking down a grade-two demon, also known as a Fallen Saint. Prepare to bear witness."

  Leox's heart froze as they were thrown into the Judge's mysterious world once again

  The White Cat stood at the centre of the platform, and its body began to contort disgustingly once again.