After two hours, the exam ended. The injured and deceased examinees were stretchered out. The remaining examinees went home, and a few days later, they returned to the academy.
"Welcome all of you wonderful, young magicians," says Ubel. "I am the headmaster of this Magus Academy. Beside me are the Vice-headmaster, Elizabeth Blade, Professor Cielo Dominic, Professor Naia Ren, and Professor Azrael. These four will be the class teachers for the four first-year classes. If your name is called, you are placed in the 1D class…."
The headmaster calls the twenty-five students in the D class. The class teacher, Naia Ren. The next group of twenty-five falls to the class teacher of class 1C, Cielo Dominic. Class 1B's teacher is the Vice-headmaster, Elizabeth Blade. And finally, class 1A, led by Azrael.
"These will be the four classes of year one. I hope you bring honour to this academy."
"So, as the headmaster said, I am your class teacher. My name is Azrael, and I will be teaching you all practical and magical studies," says Azrael after they were escorted to their classroom. "Let us do introductions. We will begin with the student at the bottom of the class list. Seat twenty-five: Calliope Nida."
Students attending Magus Academy have to complete five years to become scholars. Each year has four classes. Classes 1A, B, C, and D. The D class is considered the lowest rank in the year, and the A class is the highest. In the first-year classes, there are twenty-five students in each class. These twenty-five students are ranked by ability and knowledge, with twenty-five being the lowest in class and one being the highest. Every six months, there is an exam where the students can raise their ranks in both the class and the year. If a student from the lower rank classes does better than a student from the higher rank classes, they will be promoted, and the other student will be demoted.
"Next will be rank three: Arthur Pendragon."
Arthur gets up and with a bright smile, says, "Hey, everyone. My name is Arthur Pendragon. Treat me well."
After he takes his seat, Azrael says, "Thank you, Arthur. Next, rank two: Scarlett Flare."
A girl with bright crimson hair and eyes gets up and says, "I am Scarlett Flare. I only have one thing to say," she points at a boy with sky blue hair, "I am coming for the number one spot," and sits back down.
"Love the enthusiasm, Scarlett. And finally, seat rank one: Yukio Blaze."
The sky-blue-haired boy gets up. The air becomes colder, and the room slowly freezes. He opens his mouth, and mist appears. "My name is Yukio." His voice is soft and barely audible. He looks at Scarlett and says, "You can have the first position in this school; however, I will always be the best despite my rank."
Scarlett's body emanates a crimson light and the room heats up. "Is that so?" she asks, smiling like a beast who found its prey.
They stare each other down, with their menacing auras clashing. The class becomes restless. "That's enough," says Azrael. He claps his hands once, and silence fills the room like a wave.
"Sorry," they say in unison.
"No, friendly competition is good," says Azrael nodding. "There is no better feeling than that of rivals competing for the title of best. However, it would be best not to forget that twenty-three other beasts also aim for the top spot in this classroom." Yukio and Scarlette turn to their classmates, who stare at them like beasts starving for their positions. Scarlette smirks, ready to accept the challenge. Yukio looks out the window, ignoring them. "Now then," he says in a menacing tone, "we have five minutes left. Let me end this class by asking a question. He looks around the class and says, "Seat rank nine: Karren Silverwood."
"Yes, sir," she says, getting up.
"Tell me, what do you think is mana?"
"What is… mana?" She thinks for a while before saying, "Mana is life essence."
"Oh, that's a good one. Indeed, mana is the essence of all life. Without it, life will not exist… is what I would say, but…." He looks around again and says, "Seat rank fifteen: Tokino Ixquic. Is mana the only essence of life?"
A girl with velvet hair and eyes gets up. "Yes, it is. Although mana is called many other names in different parts of the world, it all refers to mana or life essence."
"You are right and wrong," says Azrael. He walks to the board and grabs the chalk. He draws three circles under each other. "There exists three realms." He points to the top circle and says, "The first realm is called The Beginning. Following that is The Mortal Realm, and finally, The End. The Beginning is the gods' realm, and The End is the Realm of demons. These two realms, like the Mortal Realm, exist as energy clusters. The Beginning is an endless stream of Aether Energy. The Mortal Realm is Magical Energy, and The End is filled with Nether Energy." He walks away from the board and says, "Although each of these realms has something known as Life Energy, mana is the weakest of the three."
A boy jumps up and screams, "How dare you…!?"
"Seat rank 20: Tyson Fury, right?"
"Yes."
"I cannot use magic." The class becomes rowdy. They start talking amongst themselves.
"Then how are you a lecturer at Magus Academy? An academy of magicians?" asks Karren.
"Let me correct myself. I have a low affinity for mana. However, I can manipulate nether energy."
"Nether energy? The life energy of The End?" asks Scarlett, irritated.
"Yes, the same energy demons use."
"Demons. The enemy of humanity. The fallen angel, Lucifer Morningstar, leads them. You're saying that you use the same life energy as them?"
"Yes. My compatibility with nether energy exceeds that of most demons. However, I don't understand why." The bell tolls. "Perfect," he continues, "We will continue our discussion in practical studies this afternoon." As the students exit the classroom, Azrael's eyes remain fixed on the back of the room. "You can reveal yourself, Ubel," he says.
"So, you can detect me even when I use an invisibility cloak?" asks Ubel as he appears from thin air. "Fascinating."
"I was not the only one who noticed," says Azrael, "Yukio, Scarlett, Arthur, and a few others noticed your presence in the class as well. Next time, you should mask your mana."
"Oh? And here I thought I masked it quite well. Is it not because this class is filled with irregulars?"
"Irregulars?"
"There comes the point when many geniuses are born in a single generation. Yukio is of noble lineage. His father is a well-known magic swordsman. Yukio has a talent that surpasses his father. Scarlett as well. As for your other students, the reasons vary."
"I see you investigated all your students… No, you investigated your favourite tools."
"Tools?" he asks innocently. His innocent mask morphs into a sinister smile, "That word makes me sound evil, Azrael."
"What did you find out about Arthur and me?" He says nothing, only shoots me a glare. The classroom is soon filled with students and Ubel hides once more.
"Welcome. I am Azrael, your new Magic Studies professor," he says with a hollow smile.