Chapter 19: First day (2)

"—Let's begin with the first lesson," the professor nodded, "The seats you have chosen will be permanent from now on," she said, taking out a stone. "Now I will tell you the academy's rules."

The students' murmurs ceased entirely, and they fixed their gaze on the professor's beautiful, cold face.

"As you may know, the Sacred Academy of Light was established 1,000 years ago by the holy angel Michael. It was founded in the midst of a terrible war, during which our ancestors shed blood and dreams on the battlefield. Even so, the one who led the war against the demons left behind a legacy—this place. The floors, seats, and everything you see also hosted heroes of ancient times. The purpose of the academy is, in part, to forge students who can fight and kill demons, but it is also because of..." 

"The prophecy of the chosen one!" The boy who spoke had bright eyes...

Looking at him... a significant character, his name is Elias—brown hair and black eyes, he's like a secondary protagonist in the sense that he's very naive... stupid, in a few words, full of a sense of justice and other boring things... he almost dies at some point in the story but was saved by the protagonist. Since they both share the same mindset, they quickly became best friends... he didn't even care that the protagonist slept with his childhood friend... A shiver ran down my spine, how pathetic, this guy is definitely not right in the head. What will happen to him now that the protagonist is dead...

The professor looked over at him and slowly nodded, "According to the prophecy of the saint..."

The saint is not the young woman currently sitting in the first row, with golden hair and eyes of the same color, a kind smile on her lips, and a cross on her chest... in fact, she is the daughter of the saint, which makes her a candidate for sainthood in the future... but even so, she is a very important character later on, and by the way... her mother is one of the seraphim, teaching third-year students at the academy... both women are important to keep in mind...

"Every thousand years, one chosen by the holy Michael will come to our academy. After a thousand years, today, the prophecy is within our reach, so each of you is a strong candidate to be the hero of light..." The professor looked intently at each student with serious eyes...

Trying to appear as normal as possible... What will they think when the hero they so eagerly await was turned to ashes... furrowing my brow, acting seriously like the others...

"Throughout the semester, each of you will be tested physically and mentally. I must remind you that this academy is a competition and always will be. In every event that takes place, all classes will participate with the aim of earning points. If Class 2 earns more points than you, we will take their place as Class 2, and they will ascend to Class 1. This applies to the other classes as well, as they are all governed by the same rules. Of course, it goes without saying, but..." The professor's eyes sparkled, and the room grew much colder than usual: "I do not like having my reputation tarnished."

The students swallowed nervously, nodding like scared puppies... "For them, the professor must be terrifying..." I thought, looking at the pale faces of the students compared to Leslie's disdain, who, instead of listening, had been staring at me since we sat down, and the soft breathing of Evelyn next to me, who was deeply asleep...

"..."

The professor glanced at us but didn't comment... "I suppose it's the status of the women beside me. Like the professor, all three are from important ducal houses... Along with the saint, who was taking notes in her notebook, there are four significant houses in this room... Of course, I'm the only one out of place—a commoner... and a damned demon, damn it!

"The rules within the academy are very simple: no fighting among yourselves. Any disputes must be submitted as a request, and within two days at most, it will be reviewed to see if it's approved or not. Don't damage the academy's facilities, no murders or anything like that. I'm not your nanny to tell you what you shouldn't do. If you want to know, you can find it in the watches I will give you right now..." She snapped her fingers...

A watch appeared before me that looked quite expensive... it had white and black gold details and some precious stones around it. Let's say it's a mana watch, and the artifact given to every student to receive information... She nodded slightly...

"Huh!" The watch fell on Evelyn's head, she opened her eyes and licked her lips... at the same time, the watch she had in her hands disappeared into thin air... She briefly glanced at me before closing her eyes again...

"Now that I've told you some important things, let's move on to what truly matters to you." She looked at the screen behind her: "As I said, this academy is a competition, so only the best can rise to the top. Just like the height of the academy, students must also rise to the top. Therefore, in three days from today, Monday, the first event will take place on Wednesday."

The students shivered... The academy events are of great importance; the only way to stay at the top is to defend it tooth and nail from the four classes that will do everything they can to dethrone you... This is why some don't mind staying in the last class; you always have the opportunity to climb to the top, but likewise, students can also fall to the bottom of the barrel if they can't keep up with their peers... I'm number 18 in the class... if my performance is worse than number 19's, I will be demoted, and so on... if I keep falling, I'll drop to the second class, and eventually, I'll sink so low that I'll end up in Class 5, where the leftovers are...

The screen behind the professor changed...

[Imperial Calendar, Year 2801, First Month, Day 3]

[Event 1] [Event name...]