Introductions

Class D? There must have been some kind of mistake. There's no way I could be assigned to the lowest class. I looked around the auditorium and saw a variety of emotions on the faces of the other applicants. Some were giggling at me, others whispered to their friends, and a few showed no concern at all. One person, however, was hopping up and down, clapping with amazement in her eyes—Nina. She wore a look that said, 'That's my boy.'

"Please exit the stage so the next applicant can come on," a judge instructed me. 

I promptly exited the stage. As I left, I passed by the next applicant. He had red hair and exuded a menacing presence.

"Pathetic. Morons like you don't belong here," he whispered as we brushed past each other.

As he stepped onto the stage, everyone seemed captivated by him. The auditorium, once filled with chatter, fell silent as all eyes turned to this one person.

"Please state your name," a judge asked him.

"Rizor Starborn."

With those two words, the entire auditorium gasped, including me. 'Rizor' sounded like a ridiculous name. I would be embarrassed to say it out loud. Even the judges seemed taken aback by such a ludicrous name.

"Starborn, as in the noble family Starborn? I'm sorry, sir, but you're not required to take this test. A message was sent to all the noble houses; they won't need to participate in the admission test and will be accepted automatically," the judge proclaimed.

Well... Maybe they were focused on his last name but his first name was still ridiculous. 

"I know that, but I was curious about the people I would be attending school with. So far, though, I'm not impressed. The test itself is too simple; you should have them do a mock battle to test their strength. But don't worry, I'll liven up the place a bit."

With that, Rizor engulfed the stage in flames. Everyone visibly recoiled at his actions, and it looked like panic was about to set in. Just then, his flames were doused by ice that covered the stage where he stood. In front of him stood a single figure with white hair.

"Rizor, was it? Noble or not, you shouldn't go around causing problems for others."

At the boy's words, Rizor's face lit up with a menacing smile before he replied, "Who are you?"

"I'm Liam Cray. Its nice to meet you Rizor."

The guy named Liam smiled as if he were talking to an old friend. It seemed like he was just being friendly to help calm the situation. He must be a good person—that's the impression I got when I looked at him. His eyes radiated a certain purity, and just his presence was enough to soothe the once frightened crowd of applicants. Some of the girls looked downright smitten with him.

"Cray? I don't know of any noble family by that name."

"I never said I was a noble."

"Is that so?" Rizor said, his smile growing even wider. "Well, it looks like this school won't be as boring as I thought." Rizor hopped off the stage and strolled up to Liam. "I'll be looking forward to seeing you when the school year starts, Liam Cray. I hope you'll make it worthwhile." With that, he left the auditorium, and everything returned to normal.

After that, Nina and I made our way back home. The shop was closed for the day, so we went straight to our house. It was Thursday, and school would start in three days—on the following Monday. I sat in my room, browsing through the pamphlet they had given us, which contained information about the school and the courses they offered.

Tomorrow, we would receive a package containing our school uniforms and the key to the dorm room we'd be assigned to. The curriculum included subjects taught at a regular high schools, such as math, English, history, biology, physics, and chemistry. In addition to these, there were subjects not typically taught in regular high schools, including Supernatural Theory, Power Control and Mastery, and Combat Training. There was also a Transformation and Shapeshifting class for shapeshifters and a course called Special Arts for specialists.

Knock knock

A knock came from my bedroom door. I got up from where I was sitting and opened the door to find Nina standing outside holding a cake.

"Congratulations! My sweet baby boy!"

"Stop that."

"What? A mother can't congratulate her own child?"

"You can, but please address me by my name."

"Fine," she said, frowning at me. "Look, I even baked you a cake. Aren't you even a little bit happy?"

"I am happy, thank you, Nina."

"Really?" Her face lit up as she pushed past me and entered my room. "Let's eat it together!"

We sat on the floor, a few feet apart, and started eating the cake she had brought.

"So, did you call her?" Nina asked, staring at me with curiosity.

"Who are you referring to?"

"Come on, you know... that girl who gave you her number. She was a real cutie, wasn't she? I saw some of the other guys glaring at you while you two were talking."

"The same guys who were laughing when I got assigned to Class D?"

"They were just jealous. The school really messed up. I thought for sure you would be placed in Class A. I mean, the way you absolutely dominated that candle was so impressive."

"It's their screw-up. I'm sure they'll come to regret their decision later on."

"Did you see the guy who made a scene flaunting his power? The one with the red hair and the mean face. He said he was a noble... I think. And the guy who stepped up to stop him was so cool, and handsome too. Gosh, if I were twenty years younger, I would've... ahem."

Thank goodness she stopped talking before I threw up. Shameful, an old lady like her looking at a younger man. If this cake wasn't so good, I would've stopped eating to give her a piece of my mind.

"Girls are usually attracted to guys like that," she continued. "If the two of you became friends, you'd be extremely popular. You'd have to pry the girls off of you with a crowbar," she giggled.

"That sounds like a hassle."

"Only you would say something so dumb. Sin, what's your goal in attending this high school? I know I was the one who forced you, but still, it would be nice to know you have a goal you're trying to reach."

My goal, huh? At first, I thought this was just a waste of time, but now...

"My goal is to learn."

It might sound a little bland, but my goal is to learn. The purpose of ASTHS is to train individuals who possess supernatural abilities, and that's what I intend to use it for. I want to see how far I can go on my own, without anyone's help—without Lucifer or even Nina. I want to see how far I can reach. I used to be a small fish in a vast ocean, nothing but the pet dog of the mighty king of hell, but now...

I'll be the king.