Five Thousand years later

“You need to stop getting up five minutes before school starts. It’d be more responsible if you actually gave yourself time in the morning!” Was the first thing Koryn said to me as I entered the school gates, mere seconds before they closed. “Look at yourself! Your uniform’s a mess!” She pouted. “Didn’t I iron it for you yesterday?”

“I wore it yesterday, so it got baggy.” I said, holding back a yawn.

Koryn was an old friend of mine. Her thick brim glasses were her trademark that hid her evergreen eyes, so too were her pigtails which kept her long red hair in place.

“You’re suppose to hang it up when your done wearing it.” She scolded some more, wagging her finger at me.

I shrugged, putting my earbuds back in, cranking up my music. Lately I’ve been a fan of alternative rock. It gets my blood pumping this early. Koryn continued to nag me; her voice drowned out by the sound of the guitar riff.

Koryn suddenly freezed up, before nudging my arm hard. I turned to around, coming face to face with the class president. I pulled out one ear bud.

Kurahara Tsukihi was a typical cold-hearted beauty. Compared to mine, her uniform was neatly pressed, to the point she could practically cut you the creases. Her black hair was neatly kept, tucked behind her ears. She stared me up and down with her icy eyes, clearly not impressed with the state I had come in.

“Aidan Crow, showing up again both tardy and with an embarrassing uniform.” She said, clicking her tongue as she jotted something down on her clipboard.

“Yeah, yeah. Thank you.” I took the slip. It was another uniform fine, about twenty Alms. The penalty starts at five, and increases by five each time you slipped up. My goal was to reach a hundred by the end of the year.

“You’re an embarrassment to this school, you know that.” She said, giving me a look of disgust.

“You should get your grandpa to kick me out.” I shot back, waving her off.

“I don’t need to. I heard how you did on the qualifiers. A complete zero.” She made a 0 with her fingers. “You won’t be able to graduate at this rate. Consider it a favor that I even bother to correct a lost cause like you at this point.”

“I’m honored. Now if you excuse me, Miss president, I have to get to class. Don’t wanna be late and get another fine.”

“I’m very sorry about him!” Koryn apologized frantically.

“Miss Vell, I don’t know why you even bother associating with him.” Tsukihi sighed. Koryn bowed, before running after me.

“Why do you do that?” Koryn asked me as we walked together to class.

“It’s not like I have any stake being at this school anyway.” I said. “You saw how I did. 0. No potential.”

“That’s not true. Your good at sports… if anything…”

“Stop. I stopped bothering about it already.”

“You can at least bolster your score by studying a bit. If you get really good grades, I guarantee you can at least get a score of 25 through academics alone.”

“You don’t get it.” I snapped, grabbing her by the arm. “What good is studying when I’m fighting up against a demon?”

Koryn conceded, looking down on at her feet.

Here at Anastrid Academy, students learn how become demon hunters. Demons had been mankind’s mortal enemy since Anastrid had created us. They are monsters that feast on our flesh, hunting us from the shadows. A select few individuals, known as Demon Hunters, protect the dominion of mankind. However, to become a Demon Hunter, one must have three things. Athletic ability, academic prowess, and the magical potential. However, without the last one, one cannot hope to fight against a demon. And of course, magical potential is the one thing I lacked.

“Without magic, I won’t be able to kill a demon. I can’t use a Divine weapon either.” I said. “It’s why I don’t see the point of trying. Academics, training, it doesn’t matter. I can’t become a Demon Hunter.”

“You’re pretty athletic though. It’s one of your good points.” Koryn said, trying to reassure me.

“That’s probably the only reason I haven’t been thrown out yet.” I sighed. “Too bad pure athletic ability doesn’t count towards score.”

“Magical potential, academic ability, and martial arts.” Koryn said, counting with her fingers. “Those three, in order from greatest to least factor into your score.”

“You’d think martial arts would be a little higher at least. I’d actually bother learning some if it was worth more.” I said.

“Even a gifted martial artist still only amounts to about 40.” Koryn replied. “In contrast to a powerful magic user, If one is powerful enough in that one aspect, it can total up to seventy.”

Just like the class president. Score:100. Of course, 100 is only the cap. Her martial arts alone would equal 40. And her academic ability 60. And course, her magical ability. 70. Maximum scores in every category.

Koryn is little lacking in the martial arts department. She bolsters a score of 60. 40 of which is academic, the other 20 magical.

“This is me.” I said, pointing to my classroom with my thumb.

“Try not to fall asleep, or else I won’t give you your lunch.”

“Wait! let’s negotiate this.” I protested, but already she was walking away.

It’s going to be a long day.