The First Game, The First Night

Having returned from the nearby empty rooms designated for changing, all of the Mors department students were sitting in their seats once again. This time, however, each and every one of them were sitting as far as they could from one another.

"That looks better, almost as if you were not mostly inept" said Caligo whilst pretending to give an applause.

"Even his praise is simply an insult, just that one cannot detect it fully unless they know that he cannot see" thought Cyrus, exasperated as to how committed Caligo is.

"Normally we would undergo some kind of introduction, but quite frankly I threw the list with your names on it away. There are only two people in this class whose names I know…" he then turned to look at Cyrus with his silver eyes.

"Cyrus of the wasteland, ranked fifth on the banner."

He then turned towards the white-haired youth who was still sitting front and center, his eyes closed and his stature straight.

"Caliban, also of the wasteland. Ranked fourth on the banner."

His eyes glowing ever so slightly, Caligo took note of how each and every student began to examine the two with their senses, perhaps trying to glean any kind of possible information.

"You may be wondering why I only approve of these two, while there are more than a few on the banner present besides them. The answer is simple,"

Without warning an air of death and despair began to emanate from Caligo, causing those of weaker minds to hallucinate their untimely deaths or to pass out from fear or shock. Those with stronger mind and will experienced less of an effect but were still visibly shaken from the sheer pressure of a Master Magus.

Sensing the rapidly dimming focus and sense of most of the students, he scoffed in disappointment.

"Useless, that is why. I am a man of the battlefield, where every day is a fight for survival. Piss ants like you who can barely tolerate a little spook, hah, to me you are nothing" he then pointed towards the two whose wills were still shining bright, like stars in the otherwise pitch back night sky, and said

"Look upon these two, they do not even blink at this meagre amount of despair. I think Caliban might even be dozing off, look how bored he is hahaha."

The students, those who were still conscious anyways, were as expected deeply humiliated and ashamed at the exposure of their flaws. With eyes burning of self-loathing and anger, they looked at the Cyrus and Caliban not with respect but jealousy and ire.

"As expected of humans, such useless emotions they have at times. Perhaps instead of coveting the strengths of others they should instead fix their weaknesses" derided Cyrus within.

"Housing will be provided for all students, which is located in the two small buildings behind the main building. You can choose the room that you want, they are all the same anyways. Except for those in the basement area of course, they come with…certain benefits. Areas similar to these can be purchased with Fidem, with the very best being available to the top 5 on the banner, oh if only there was a way for failures like you lot to earn Fidem or get a high rank" ended Caligo with a sadistic smile.

He then walked towards the exit while saying in passing as he left,

"Oh yeah, make sure to read at least the first page of the rule and regulations book, else you might get accidentally killed by me. Other than that, have fun!"

After the door closed behind him, everyone in the room immediately pulled out the mentioned rulebook and read quickly.

Cyrus was no exception and quickly read the first few pages in no time at all.

"Rules and Regulations? I doubt the integrity of this name, this does not limit us at all. Essentially, so long as we do not break Imperial Law or disrupt the functions of the Academy we have free reign in what we can do… I do not think Gabriel had this in mind when he referred to the Academy as a game, but, this is surely a game I can get behind."

Excited for the future, Cyrus stood up and made for the door in order to satiate his curiosity of what kind of room he would be given although he was still careful to note the happenings around him.

As expected, the moment he exited the room several people began shadowing him as he walked through the halls. Thinking for a moment, he turned a corner and opened a door to a room outwards to the hall. With a simple gesture, he disappeared into thin air behind the door. His pursuers, being mages themselves, could clearly tell that a spell was just used but not what had specifically been done. Heightening their caution and walking carefully, while also being vigilant against their sudden temporary allies, they continued down the path and turned the corner as well.

They saw the open door and extended their pitifully short ranged sense behind the door to see if anything was there, not seeing anything, they checked the room to see if he had hidden inside. Two stayed outside, just incase it was some kind of trap, which was quite smart of the impromptu group.

It mattered little to Cyrus, though, who with a slight stir in the shadow that the door was casting easily appeared behind the two guards and brought down his fist like a hammer on the back of their heads. Catching them as the two fell, he carried the two into the room with him before closing the door.

"8 of them all in one room with the only light source creating plenty of shadows. I never thought so many of my fellow students would be so kind to deliver onto me such gifts. I may need to readjust my previous thinking, perhaps being at the top is not so bad after all" thought Cyrus as he lightly closed the door behind him.

He set the two down on the ground and with unheard steps, began to stalk towards the rest of the students. Fast but silent, he made it closer than he should have until one of the eight finally noticed him and sounded a cry.

"I have to agree with Caligo, these guys are useless. Is this the cost of peace?" wondered Cyrus as he broke into a fast sprint, not even bothering to use magic for the fight.

His quick burst of speed shocked the rabble, and in a hurry they each began casting various spells while some even tried to fumble for a weapon. Pointless it all was, as Cyrus simply struck without technique with his bare hands and knocked out those who had weapons on hand first. As for those casting various Mors spells, he ignored them. When the last one he came across managed to successfully bring out a dense mist of decay, Cyrus almost automatically used his Vita domain to offset the drain of his enemy's spell. Then, with one simple punch to his foes chin he knocked out the poor sod in one clean hit. Catching his fallen foe once more, as he had done with all the rest, he quickly searched him for the directive then set him on the floor.

"The only annoying thing about all of this is that I am not allowed to kill them. It really increases the difficulty, alas, so long as I run into fools like these it matters not even if the usage of my arms are restricted" thought Cyrus as he looted the directives of all of the unconscious men on the floor.

He then brought out a spare belt from his storage and tied the now 11 directives together so as to carry them in easy fashion. With one last sweep over the fallen, once again making sure that none of them would die any time soon…much to his annoyance… he left the room in a hurry as his curiosity towards his lodging was growing ever more with each passing second.