42 The first lesson 2

The sun gave its position to the moon, and the darkness covered the continent of Andromeda. In the Imperial Academy, the students who were walking around the villages started to return to the dorms, but a figure seemed to have other plans. It was a young man who was heading sneakily toward the Tower of War. The door wasn't locked even though the Department should have been closed after the evening. When the youth reached on the third floor he saw a suspicious light coming out from a room. He decisively put his hand on the knob and pushed the door forward.

"As expected from you. A new record..." a voice sounded with a mixture of laugh.

"It seems that I was right..." the boy said with an indifferent expression. He had brown hair and eyes, a person with no existent presence. It couldn't be anyone else other than John.

"So, how did you find out?" The voice asked with curiosity. It belonged to the fat middle-aged man from the morning.

"I was suspicious since yesterday when I read the note. The writing was formal, but when the hour of the class was mentioned, there wasn't any clarification if it was ante meridiem or post meridiem. When I heard your incomprehensible words in the morning, I realized that something was wrong. Taking into consideration of what is the common thing among us in the Rat-class made it easy for me to figure out the rest."

"Why don't you explain in detail?"

"So be it..." the boy replied, and he then started talking again after clearing his throat.

"I will start with what you said in the morning. You described us as outcasts that nobody wanted, but we somehow managed to pass the test. You also said that the Rat-class existed for people like us, but don't forget that this Academy was created by the Emperor. There is no way that the supreme leader of our country would waste money on people that the teachers didn't even have a purpose in educating them. We miraculously managed to pass? If we were truly useless, you wouldn't even let us enter the Academy no matter how well we did in the test. This is my guess, but I think that your words weren't to describe our situation, but our current identity. We are not weaker from the other first-year students, we have to be nonetheless. Since it's impossible in my situation because I defeated my examiner, you made up the story with teacher Daniela. Adding to the fact that everyone in my class has killed at least one person before, I believe that you plan on training us in the path of the Assassin, maybe and the spy. Am I correct?"

"You did well... The time of your class isn't in the morning but the evening. I also wanted to test your perception. You are outstanding as expected. However, how did you know that the others had killed before?" the man asked with doubt. He had investigated all his students, so he had an idea about their past. John couldn't have access to that kind of information.

"I could tell since I was a child. I realized later that it's because of my affinity with the element of Darkness. I can see the stain of blood in the souls of others."

"Oh, I see. Dark Magic and Light magic have a lot to do with the souls since the first one contains all kinds of curses and the other can purify them. It seems that you are a Chosen."

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"Chosen?"

"There are some people who feel connected to one element from the moment of their birth. That girlfriend of your brother is someone like that. They sometimes use unconsciously magic before they even discover its existence..." the middle-aged man commented with certainty.

'It makes sense...' the youth thought. Every magician could see the shape of the souls of the others, but the magicians of Darkness and Light could perceive them a little better. Because of that, some of the curses of the Dark magicians could be extremely fearful since it wasn't easy to counter them. Naturally, John wasn't even close to that level. He was, after all, only fourteen years old.

"So, what about the rest of the class?"

"Their deadline is two days. Those who'll fail after so much time to figure out what's the matter, are not needed here..." the man replied indifferently. He fell silent for a moment when he suddenly remembered something.

"I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Matias Hicks. I am the teacher in charge of the Rat-Class. The Rat-class consists of ten teachers together with me. We will teach you History, Magic, Foreign Languages, Strategy, Martial Arts, or whatever else needs an assassin or a spy. You'll be trained to carry the darkness of the Empire. Since not many people know about the reason for our existence, we'll have you sign a cursed contract so that you won't reveal anything to others unless the Emperor permits it. "

A cursed contract was something that John was familiar with as a Dark Magician since only a user of dark magic could create a product like that. Naturally, one had to be powerful enough to do it. The way it worked was that If one side broke the agreement of the contract, his soul would be destroyed. However, it had many disadvantages that one could exploit. First of all, if John was a stronger magician than the one who created the contact, he could resist with ease the curse. Most importantly, the terms of the contract had to be clear and logical. One couldn't become loyal to someone or fall in love just because he signed that he would do it, the curse wouldn't work in these cases either. Someone could also backlash if he hadn't been careful. For example, if John covenanted not to talk to anyone about the Rat-class, he could reveal it in other ways. The youth, of course, didn't have the delusion that something like this would happen.

"May I ask some questions?"

"Sure..."

"How should I act in public and what would be my identity after I graduate?"

"You can act as you want. You are, after all, a different case from the others. The reason you are here is because you 'provoked' someone, not because you are weak. As for your identity, unless we send you on a specific mission, it will remain the same. Since you are the foster son of Antony the Berserker, we can't manipulate you easily. In my opinion, if you do well, you'll work for the counter-espionage of our country. You'll have to prove your loyalty, of course, first."

"I was afraid that I would become cannon fodder..." John said with a sigh.

"You wouldn't be even if you weren't related to an S-ranked adventurer. We plan to make you elites who'll be assigned only special missions. For this reason, you have to be prepared for the worst. Even if you don't die during the training, you might go mad..." Matias commented with a laugh.

"Then, with your permission, I'll return now."

"Yes, you can go. Oh, I almost forgot. In this Academy, only the principal and Lloyd know about what we discussed. Of course, the students and teachers of the Rat-Class don't need to be mentioned."

"Lloyd? He is the supervisor of the Tower of War, right?"

"You met him during the test. The one who read the names of the freshmen yesterday."

"I see. Won't be then my story of being transferred here strange? Teacher Daniela doesn't know about the real situation, after all."

"It's better not to discuss this. You don't have to worry. You can go..." the middle-aged man said with a sigh. He couldn't help than recall what happened when the conference ended. Daniela who couldn't accept Lloyd's decision to put a talented youth in the worst class of the Academy continued protesting until they couldn't endure it anymore. Matias had to tell her that he wanted to make John his disciple to reassure her. Disciples were different than the students. They were given more attention from their teacher. Although the woman looked down on him, she had to respect his wish. She even agreed to go along with his story, so that the other students wouldn't alienate the brown-haired boy. He had told her that he wanted to keep his decision a secret so that the other students in the class wouldn't be jealous of John. He even asked her to pretend that she was the reason that he was put to the Rat-class to justify why the youth ended up in this place despite defeating a teacher. Seeing that Daniela didn't hesitate to stain her reputation for John's well-being made the man feel guilty.

"Yes, teacher!" the boy who was unaware of that story replied energetically.

******

'How should I proceed from now on?' John thought as he was walking toward the dorms.

'Next month, I have to return to the outer area and contact Irene. I was planning on controlling the darkness of the capital, but I might not need to do it anymore. However, I'll need a force that works in the shadows. I hope that my next prey will give me some information. Things might become clearer then. Oh, I arrived!'

He opened the door of the building and found a figure waiting for him in the living room. It was a blond girl with blue eyes and a bright smile. Her full name was Alexandra de Conley, a daughter of a Baronet, as well as one of the nobles here.

"Alexandra! Are you not sleeping yet?" he asked with doubt. It was already around eleven o'clock, so he didn't expect to find someone awake when he returned.

"I was waiting for you..." the girl replied with a smile.

"Why?"

"You realized something, didn't you? That's why you left so late at night."

"What do you mean?"

"Let's not waste time anymore. I am sure that you already know that I am talking about what happened in the morning. Tell me. How much you want to give me information?"

'I love this place!'