In the city, where its streets gave a crystalline glow, Ace woke up giving it a nice greeting. The city which was quiet sent tension flying in the air, as if an event of high mystique had occurred.
The golden orb we know as the sun slowly made its way above the horizon. The city, cool in the night had suddenly evolved to a burning furnace. The unusual heat made itself known as a bad omen to the native elders of the area.
Ace grabbed his bag, took breakfast, and started departing his home. He set his eyes on a mythical excursion previously announced by the school, to a hidden realm.
The Infinite Realm, is a place null and void basking in the birth of the demons. It was located somewhere at the outskirts, lying beside the ancient rocks in Japan. This area, was a battleground of new students and a foundation and stronghold of the demons.
Ace rode to school in the shimmering car of his father. The wind forced itself through the windows of the car, providing a natural air conditioner for the family.
Upon their arrival, they were welcomed by the gatekeepers of the school. The Ryker family being rich and influential figures obtained special treatment from the staff.
Unlike previous days, Ace's parents went to the director's office seeking information for their current endeavor for the excursion.
After a few minutes, the door opened and William and Nichole exited the room, giving him some words of encouragement and welfare before they departed.
An educator by the name, of Keita called Ace to the class room. The gathering commenced in the class, and the educator instructed them to head to the school bus, which would be used for the voyage.
The students were counted and soon after, the journey to the Infinite Realm began. All students on the bus could attest to the length of the journey. They all sat in the bus, with boredom fearfully expressed on their faces.
Surely, the conclusion of the journey brought smiles to their faces and they alighted the bus.
The educator, Keita took them into the Infinite Realm. Funny enough, the environment was nothing more than a normal forest brimming with life.
"In what way, could demons be birthed here." The soliloquy could be heard by all the students as they went further into the forest.
[2 hours later]
"Ahhhhhh." Screams escaped the bushes of the forest.
Irritating creatures spawned all around the forest. Bats soaring the sky, and malicious humanoid creatures moved around on the grounds of the once life-filled forest.
The students swayed and swung hands and sticks aimlessly at the creatures attempting to kill them, but to no avail. As the students continued in their struggles, a voice spoke from far away,
"Fight as much as you can. This is a test to test your Spectrum."
"You were informed during your last lesson. Weren't you?"
The students looked in the direction of the voice and immediately recognized that it was the voice of their teacher, Keita. They looked around in surprise, as they remembered the words of the previous teacher,
"All of you here have the Spectrum, but your power needs to be determined before you can join the Slay Corp."
The teacher continued his speech saying,
"Depending on the injuries you'll have. That's how we'll determine your Spectrum power."
"A pretty crude method, I know. But trust me it's highly effective."
At this point, all the students started glaring at their bodies, inspecting the marks on it. To their surprise, marks had been placed on their bodies without them noticing them. They could neither recall when they were placed nor feel pain in the affected areas.
Suddenly, Ace struck the last demon down. His classmates were left dumbfounded, not at his physical prowess but by the fact that no demon was left.
"You can depart the forest now." The voice of the teacher echoed.
They all came out and he looked at the students' marks. Out of 370 students brought to the forest, 110 students, including Ace left without passing the maximum amount of marks made by the demons, passing the test.
"Grade 1 demons gave you guys a tough time? How then will you fight Great 2 demons." The teacher said while distributing a special potion to the students to heal their wounds.
Demons, the creatures ravaging the world are ranked. This system was made to determine the kind of individuals to send to the battlefield.
From Grade 1 to 5, these demons are ranked depending on their power levels. And out of these Grades, Ace and his mates had a rough time handling Grade 1s.
Immediately, the teacher brought out a strange device, as he saw the students were not fully enlightened. As Tokyo was developed, different technologies were created.
As soon as he dropped the device it spoke,
[System Initiating]
[Lesson 1 - Demons]
All the students immediately recognized the device was an assistant, but to their surprise, as soon as their teacher laid his hand on it, their surroundings suddenly changed.
A strange white cover started to envelope the students. Soon after, the process was complete and they found themselves in a completely void environment.
[Lesson is about to commence] The device spoke once again.
[Grade 1 - They are usually in the form of bats as you previously witnessed. But on rare occasions, humanoid demons can spawn in the Infinite Realm.]
[Grade 2 - These creatures are much like grade 1s, but they tend to be more human figures than bats. You have to go through strict training to distinguish Grade 1s, and Grade 2s.]
[Grade 3 - More human figures, with strange glowing red eyes.]
Immediately, Ace recalled the event he witnessed with his parents and his sister.
"The strange demon that spawned was a Grade 3 demon," Ace said as he continued to observe his surroundings, spontaneously listening to the system.
[Grade 4 - These demons are well known for their ability to adapt to their environments, shapeshift and clone themselves. To be able to defeat these demons, their main body must be exorcised.]
[Grade 5 - Strange creatures possessing wings. Not much information about them is present in my database, so that is all the information I could give. Notably, these demons are extremely rare and therefore extremely strong.]
[Lesson 1 complete]
[Commencing shut down process]
The white vail that enveloped them was slowly lifted, restoring their surroundings. They looked around and expelled a sigh of relief, as they were free from the shackles of the system.
As the students observed the system, a student asked,
"Master, who are those deemed worthy as members of Slay Corp?"
The teacher looked back at the boy in misunderstanding, chuckled, and burst into laughter.
"Oh. This wasn't the actual test. I wanted to see those with the potential to join."
"Those who passed this test have more potential than those who didn't pass." The teacher said while trying to control his laughter.
All those who passed, looked away in disappointment while those who failed couldn't help but have mixed feelings about the situation.
Continued in Chapter 6.