「FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL」

For the city of Fayshade, it's a day like any other. The clock points to 8:10 a.m., and the streets are relatively empty. Most people on the streets are either adults who are on their way to their jobs or students in a hurry so they won't miss the opening day of their schools. It might sound a bit weird at first, but with the education having undergone great changes over the last decades, not feeling at least a little bit excited about going to school is something extremely rare.

A deep roar, accompanied by the sound of alarms going off and glasses being broken, disrupts the peaceful atmosphere. The source of the voice is a human-like creature 3-metres tall with white scales, a single blood red eye and a mouth filled with many sharp teeth. Some people stare at the monster with fear in their eyes, but most of them just start running. What's worth noting is that no screams are heard.

The creature doesn't seem to possess a shred of intelligence, as it just starts attacking the surrounding buildings and people, seemingly without a clear reason. While that's the kind of impression anyone would have, there is in fact a very specific reason as to why it acts that way: Being the most basic form of a monster, it posses only the ability to obey the single instinct engraved in its mind, [Destroy and Kill].

The creature's eye falls on a hooded person with a backpack, most likely a student, who is currently passing right beside it, seemingly unfazed by the chaos around him. It readies itself and leaps towards the figure at a speed incomparable to its size. A few moments later, the monster's head is separated from its neck. The last picture it sees are the claws dripping its own red blood and the icy glare emitted from the blue eyes under the hood, before finally surrendering its consciousness to the darkness.

This would've happened anyway, as somebody must have requested help and an expert would soon arrive to end its short life. Perhaps it would've been a better end for this creature.

°°°

'' This concludes my speech. I'm hoping you students can have a great time at this school and chase after your dreams. Please remember not to neglect your training so you can be stronger. But stronger to protect, not stronger to oppress. ''

A round of applause follows after the parting words of the woman standing on the platform on the one side of a relatively spacious room. She's the director and co-founder of the school, so she has the respect and admiration of both the students and the teachers.

One after another, the students get off their seats and move towards the exit. Most of them seem to have already made new friends or have met with the ones they probably knew from before. Their voices can be heard as they speak with great excitement, the subject of their conversations being mostly about the school.

'' I can't believe I got accepted here. It's like a dream come true. ''

'' I know right? But I can't help feeling nervous. ''

'' What's there to be nervous about? You know, besides the fact that we're going to be trained to fight blood-thirsty monsters? ''

Of course, not all of them are interested in the same subject.

'' Did you see how beautiful miss Clara was? ''

'' Not only is she beautiful, but she's also respected by everyone and appears to be a very pleasant person. ''

'' And let's not forget that she knows how to pick her clothes. That's a plus in my book. ''

'' Everyone dressed in beautiful clothes gets a plus in your book! '' teased someone from the group. '' As for me, she's been my idol for a long time. I can't wait the chance to talk with her face-to-face. ''

This is the kind of conversation a group of girls near the exit has right now. And the truth is, it's perfectly normal. Clara Clifton, the principal of the school, has been an ideal for women ever since the creation of the school. To start with, she's extremely beautiful. With light brown hair, emerald green eyes and a perfect slender figure, she has a womanly charm that makes envy meaningless. But even that beauty is not what makes her such a special existence among women.

Even though discrimination has been greatly mitigated and the social position of women has improved considerably, the way humans are thinking doesn't change so easily. Prejudices still exist and there's an abundance of people who refuse to accept that a woman can possess more power than a man. However, it's also a fact that society, over the long course of human history, has started to place more importance on ability, results and merit.

That being the case, high-ranked female officers are not that rare, but are not that common either. Among them, Clara Clifton is someone even more exceptional. She is a part of the so-called 'GoH' or 'HB'. Both respectively stand for 'Generation of Hope' and 'HopeBringers'.

During the age, which was named 'Fight for Survival', humanity was in an extremely dire situation. Inexplicably, the number of monsters skyrocketed. Waves after waves of monsters kept on attacking, and the little line of defence that the humans had managed to form was slowly falling to pieces. Of course, mankind at the time was not short on powerful individuals. But even they could not prevent the impending annihilation of the human race.

When everything seemed to be lost, they made their appearance. Teenagers, with unparalleled bravery and strength, stood at the very front lines and fought against the ever-growing number of monsters. They were the ones that carried the hopes of humanity, hence the names they were called.

But the fight was not easy. The battle, which had been raging for over 10 years, had exhausted them and a great number of them had lost their lives. But, as suddenly as they had appeared,the monsters stopped coming. Maybe that's not completely accurate, as the monsters never vanished, but it was a fact that those countless waves of monsters stopped appearing.

The fight was over. But the destruction it had caused was unimaginable. The human population had fallen to slightly above 40% of what it used to be and the land was either burned, polluted or completely destroyed. Many begun to lose hope again, thinking that nothing could be done anymore. And who could really blame them?

However, for one more time, the godsend generation took over to fix things. They founded the 'Global Management Association', an organization acting solely for the benefit of mankind. They helped in the restoration of the devastated land and helped in the reorganization of politics, economics and education. But most importantly, they created the 8 'Omni Schools'. They were the schools whose sole purpose was to facilitate the growth of the generations to come, all in order to prevent a similar tragedy from occurring.

Clara Clifton being appointed as a director here is no coincidence. The 'Global Management Association' used its own members to fulfill the roles of the instructors and directors of the schools. And so far, they have all proven themselves worthy of their positions.

Miss Clara's attention has the only student who hasn't left his seat. He appears to have fallen asleep but, as it seems, there's no need to do anything, so she turns around and leaves. With her back turned to him, it was impossible to see that the student had half-opened his eyes and was watching her leaving back.

°°°

'' Hey you, wake up! This is not a time to be sl...eh?! You're awake? Then why exactly aren't you getting of your seat? '' says a self-important voice.

The owner of the voice is a relatively small and plain-looking girl. She has black hair and big brown eyes. Nothing is notable from her appearance and the first impression anyone would have of her is that of a lost child. What prevents this is the light green badge with the emblem of the ' Eighth Omni School' she's wearing. The one she's addressing is the seated student who, even though everyone has already left the room, seems to be unwilling to follow suit.

''...''

The boy shoots a completely uninterested look on the girl before silently getting off his seat. In the brief moment their eyes had contact, the girl felt a chill running down her spine. There was something in his eyes, something that made her feel really uncomfortable. She wished from the bottom of her heart to never meet him again. But of course, in a school of a measly 200 students, that sort of wish is a just a pipe dream.