Prologue I: Introduction

"na....una.......YUUNA"

A female voice resonates through the area accompanied by a heavy rain, it sounds...familiar.

"Yuuna wake up! Please!"

I'm being held by someone. Her hands feel soft, she sounds desperate.

I slowly open my eyes, the view is blurry yet I'm still able to recognise the image before me.

The violet of an Annual Flower covers her hair as her forehead is drenched in blood.

"Le...na..."

A single faint word is all that exits my lips as I'm deprived of strength. Then, a sudden spring of joy can be heard through the girl's voice.

"Thank god, you are alive!"

She begins to cry as I get tightly hugged by her trembling body.

I use the last of my strength to lift my arm covered in blood and gently place my palm on the back of her head to comfort her.

I feel warmth, but it's not just her. As I inspect the surroundings, I'm presented with a bright burning view.

We are surrounded by ruins in flames indicating a fierce battle that has held place here. I try to remember but despite trying as hard as I can, there's nothing but a blank space.

Just what...happened here?

Life is a strange thing. At one moment you are living your life and the next, with just a snap of a finger, you are gone. Some take it for granted, but what makes life precious is that it ends, especially in a world with evil lurking behind every corner. The weak die and the strong survive. This is true but what people fail to realize is that the terms weak and strong don't describe a person physically only.

I chose to take the path of the strong. I chose to protect the weak and rid humanity of the evil opressing it.

I'm Yuuna Endou and this is my story.

[ 3 Years Earlier ]

"una....yuuna......."

I wake up from my slumber as I hear a voice calling out to me.

It is a beautiful day with a sky clear as the blue oceans and a gentle spring breeze. I often like to gaze upon it every morning as I lay beneath this cherry blossom tree, that is giving me a nice and cool shade.

I sit up and yawn

"Have you not slept? I was trying to wake you up for five minutes."

The voice comes from my right. I rotate my head to find my older sister crouching next to me.

"Oh...hey."

This is my older sister, Lena, currently at the age of sixteen. She has short hair, going just past her ears, purple as an Annual flower and orange, almost golden eyes. She's just a tiny bit taller than I am. Always dependable and kind, she puts her friend's well-being before her own. But there are certain people she can be mean to for no reason despite it being obvious she cares about them.

Someone starts yelling in the near distance. We look at the direction it's coming from. A girl is running towards us while waving.

"You are late."

Lena and I pronounce in unison with a voice showing disappointment.

It's my other sister, Charlotte, fifteen-years-old, "The Sleeping Beauty" of the trio. She's the tallest of us three. They call her "The Sleeping Beauty" for her school tardiness and laziness backed up by her obvious beauty. The long, black hair, reaching all the way to her hips. Crimson red eyes, just like roses fresh after blooming. A big rack though, and not just that, she's squishy in all the right places. She's often the target of jealousy. If only she wasn't so lazy...

She oversleeps so often that we usually don't bother waiting for her, but since it's the start of our school year, we make an exception.

"Sorry, sorry, won't happen again! Promise!"

Charlotte puts her hands in a praying position while closing one eye and slightly sticking her tongue out.

Lena looks at her with a serious expression for a few seconds and lets out a sigh.

"You say that every time... Now let's go, we don't want to be late for our first day at school, do we now?"

I pick myself up and follow my sister's lead. To reach our academy, we need to cross half of the town as we are at the very edge of it and our destination is located in the centre.

We live in the Tousumi town, the Hogo-sha district to be exact. Hogo-sha is a special district where people called "knights" live. We are the guardians of the town. Every single person living here either is or will be a knight. Your role in life is pretty much decided once you are born into this district.

When passing through the streets, you can see a lot of children being trained by their parents or masters. If a child refuses to become a knight, it is seen as disrespecting the god that has given us the power to slay and survive, to live in peace for quite a while now. We have been given abilities by this god. The children that are against becoming knights are sent to an orphanage outside of the district, or in the worst-case scenario, left homeless. It's pretty rough.

Of course, this town has knights that were born outside of the district and thus do not have any abilities. These knights are involved in taking care of the small threats while the knights from our district deal with bigger problems. The work involves stuff like escorting important people around the country, expeditions to expand our territory, guarding important buildings and such.

You might be wondering, what kind of powers have we been given? How or why did the power come to us? I couldn't tell you.

The power varies from person to person, one could be moving objects simply through mental effort while another could control flames or any form of heat. The power usually surfaces between the age of six and ten, but if that doesn't happen, the child is considered a failure and is sent out of the district. There have been cases of the powers surfacing past the age of ten, but it's quite the rarity.

The powers belong solely to knight district, so people aren't abusing them against powerless citizens or becoming a target of jealousy. For this purpose, a variety of security measures have been put in place, one of which is performing a ritual with anyone planning to move out of the district. It seals off their powers and prevents the person from using it in the outside world as they are no longer a citizen of the Hogo-sha district. Another one is walls being placed around the district, separating us from the rest of the town.

Now why would we need these powers?

You see, it is not people we fight, but monsters. Demons to be specific. Although in the last couple hundreds of years it has been pretty peaceful here. They take on many forms, someresemble humans, and some seem like otherworldly creatures.

Apparently, a long time ago, there was an all-out war between humanity and the demons. Supposedly, when humanity was on the brink of extinction, beams of light rained down on earth from heaven like arrows and wiped out thousands of demons, giving humanity another chance to push back the enemy and live.

Or so they say...It might be a myth for all I know.

There are still some demons that happen to occasionally wander into the town, but these days they are nowhere near being a real threat like they once were. There are a few other towns with districts like ours, but it really isn't many. They are spread around the continent which makes us the last hope for the people living within the radius of a few dozen kilometres or so.

What can make demons potentially dangerous is that they suddenly appear out of nowhere, crawling out of the ground to be more specific. Usually blowing it up and causing damage to the surroundings.

Obviously, they don't just come out of the ground in towns. They are also out where there's no civilization whatsoever. The further you go into the wild, the larger and deadlier the demons get.

Demons aren't all the same. We give them a class depending on their threat level, from F to S. F to C-Class are the demons currently emerging in the town, they are easily dealt with, especially considering their low intelligence, and are classified as "Mild Danger".

A six-year-old could easily take out an F-Class demon but it would take at least some training to get a C-Class one. For people living outside of our district that is.

B-Class are classified as "District Level Threat" demons and are further, lurking in the depths. They come out much less frequently. Unless you are a trained knight from the district and you somehow happen to meet one, it would be safe to say you can say goodbye to your precious life.

A-Class, otherwise known as "City Level Threat", demons are a rare sight, but if one ever appears, you would have to immediately evacuate the city, except for the knight districts. One A-Class demon has the power equal to fifty B-Class demons. Only a few selected squad leaders are strong enough to take them on solo.

And the S-Class...the "World Level Threat". So far it appears to be just a myth that once appeared in the Ancient War as nobody has seen it ever since.

Knights generally take pride in slaying demons and our family is one of those that especially do so, thus we have been trained by our parents since I can remember.

Oh right, I still haven't introduced myself. I'm Yuuna Endou, thirteen-years-old. My friends call me Yun-Yun. I have a bit darker blond hair, almost taking the colour of ripe oranges with eyes just like Lena's. I have a thing for ponytails, so I wear them often. I'm the shortest out of the trio, just a bit shorter than Lena. I don't talk with too many people, just with my friends. I have been interested in martial arts since I was a little kid and have trained for a couple years now. It's safe to say I'm decent at hand-to-hand combat.

I look around as we walk and spy the familiar cherry blossoms that are in full bloom whenever school starts. I never get bored of the sight.

The academy we are headed to is called Hogo-sha academy. We don't have the same grade system your average school has, instead we are put into classes based on our rank.

Knights are ranked in order to make their capabilities apparent, so someone that's twelve years old has a chance to be ranked higher than a useless seventeen-year-old.

The ranking has less of a value in our academy compared to its general value. For example, an S-Rank student is equal to an A-Rank soldier, A equals B and so on.

I'm currently a B-Rank with Charlotte, while Lena is working hard in the S-Rank.

It's becoming apparent we're getting close to the school as the number of uniformed students is increasing.

And after a few moments we arrive.

A three-story tall stone structure with wooden support and flooring. Basically the same as any other, or at least most buildings in the town.

A sudden wind blows and I feel a figure latch onto me.

I quickly turn my head around just to see Charlotte with a sulking expression.

"Yun-yuuuun, take me home! It's too cooold, all these people are draining my spiritual energy, I won't last much longer without a good nap in a comfortable bed!"

I look down for a moment to let out a sigh, then divert my gaze back to Charlotte with a disappointed expression.

"You have slept long enough..."

Charlotte starts sulking even louder while repeating my name.

Lena walks up to us with a tired expression, grabs Charlotte by one of her ears and drags her to the academy.

"Stop embarrassing us and get your butt inside before the bell rings."

"Lena wai- ouch ouch ouch, stop it! My ear will fall off!" Tears start to emerge from Charlotte's eyes.

I continue on walking, following Lena and her freshly caught prey to the school when I overhear a couple of students in the crowd chatting.

"Look look! It's Lena from the S-rank!"

"So cool! She's really kind and looks pretty too, I wish I could be like her!"

"Hey look, isn't that Charlotte?"

"Smoking hot! I wish I was in the same class as her..."

I nod twice as I walk forward

"Horny dogs."

Though, I completely forgot how popular those two are, yet they don't pay any attention to it.

"Hey, what about the younger sister? She's pretty hot too."

"No thanks dude. You know how she is, one wrong move and she would bite off my testicles."

The second I hear that I stop and investigate the direction. There's eye contact between me and the morons pretending they are whistling as I give them a deathly glare.

I walk into the classroom, there's nobody here yet.

I wonder where Charlotte ran off to again... Oh well.

I place my bag on the desk, do a one-eighty degree turn and kick the desk in front of me to the back of the classroom.

"Those little shits....Bite it off? NO, I WILL CARVE IT OUT WITH A KNIFE AND STUFF IT UP YOUR FACE! WHO WOULD WANT YOUR D*CKS ANYWAY?!"

I yell at the abused desk that has clearly done nothing wrong with nobody around to witness it.

Or so I think...

"Okay Yuuna, temper tantrum over."

I hear a bag drop on the ground from thedirection of the classroom's entrance. In response I rapidly turn around and give the person in the doorways my brightest smile, then pronounce with a cute voice.

"Oh hi! Isn't the weather lovely today?

There are two people standing there. Charlotte and a male student.

I really feel the fear in his eyes as he's holding his crotch with a single hand....

On the other hand, Charlotte is trying her best to contain her laughter-

I start giggling as I wish I could erase their memories.

The guy standing next to her is my childhood friend, a thirteen-year-old boy named Hidiku Sato. A bit taller guy with medium length black hair and dark blue eyes.

Our parents know each other well, and we don't live too far from one another either, so we hang out pretty often together with our other siblings. He also has two other siblings, the same ages as Charlotte and Lena.

"H-hey, you...okay?"

Hidiku asks out of concern as hesitation springs through his voice.

I nod twice as I keep the positive expression.

Noise starts coming from the hallways.

I look towards it with the others as we hear the students finally arriving to the classroom.

Charlotte turns their way and skips to the closest student.

I give Charlotte an intense stare because I know how much she loves to spread rumors.

She responds with a confused look.

"You two, class is about to start."

Hidiku sits behind the desk next to me.

Our previous homeroom teacher, Miss Hanabi, walks in. A tall, long black haired, busty woman with glasses and black circles beneath her eyes no matter when or where you see her. It makes you wonder what she does all the time. She also has a thing for lab coats, I don't think I've ever seen her wear anything else.

Also, her hair looks like seaweed.

"All right brats. Don't forget about tomorrow's physical tests. Miss out and you will get ranked down. That's it, you are dismissed for the rest of the period."

Miss Hanabi proceeds to lay her head down on her desk and go to sleep.

Right... I forgot to mention... She doesn't care too much for her lessons...

"She's the same as ever."

Hidiku giggles to himself.

I look at him for a few seconds with a surprised look and turn back.

"Cute...."

I silently mumble to myself.

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Prologue II: The Sato Siblings

During lunch break we all meet up in this class since we are the lowest ranks among our group, and it wouldn't feel right hanging out in the upper rank's classrooms. Though Lena usually has a hard time getting in as she gets swarmed by her little fangirls once she comes close to a lower rank's classroom.

We combine our desks and sit down, but two people are missing.

"Lena, where's my brother? Weren't you at his class to pick him up before coming here?"

Hidiku asks right before taking a bite of his tasty looking BLT sandwich.

"Ah, I did actually, but you know him...He didn't want to come into a class as crowded as this one... So, I left him there. I'm too hungry to deal with him right now."

She bites into her tasty looking baguette with homemade chicken nuggets.

I still wonder how she can eat this all the time without getting fat.

Hidiku sighs as he gets up to get his brother. Tracking him with my gaze, I catch a glimpse of someone peeking over the corner, staring us down.

That's him alright... You can really see how much he wants to join us. There's almost a dark aura of desire he's emitting.

Enmei Sato, an A-Rank and Hidiku's older brother. Currently at the age of fifteen. He's super tall. Light brown hair and yellow eyes. Also has some muscles to him, it's not any more visible than on his younger brother though.

[Hidiku's Perspective]

"Enmei... Just come and eat lunch with us if-"

I creep up behind my older brother in attempt to catch him off-guard.

Enmei swings his arm as he turns around, but I stop it.

"Oh, you're approaching me? Instead of enjoying your lunch with the others, you're coming to get me?"

"I can't drag your *** to the class without getting closer."

we lock eyes as we stand before each other with an intense atmosphere surrounding us.

Suddenly, a loud scream can be heard down the hallway. No. It is more like a war cry.

Both of us investigate the direction of the yelling person. As we spot the person causing the ruckus, sprinting our way, we quickly realize that at least one of us is screwed.

The person sprinting directly to us is our older sister, Himari Sato, but we call her Himarin. Also an A-Rank. Sixteen years old and just a little bit shorter than Yuuna. Despite being so short and our big sister by blood, she's like a big sister to all of us. Short crimson red hair, green eyes, and small breasts - "The Demon of Rank A". She's called a Demon for how she is when she loses her temper.

What's that like? You are about to find out.

I and Enmei switch to our defense stances but it's too late, Himarin is already in one of our faces. Don't let her short legs deceive you, she's fast.

The face she chooses to hit feels the severe pain of getting kneed by a person running at the speed of fifty kilometers per hour in an instant. And that face is Enmei's.

[Charlotte's Perspective]

"You are staring and my food pretty intensively....All you need to do is ask if you want some."

Lena smiles at Yuuna as she offers to share her lunch with her.

"Yes please!"

Yuuna extends her arm towards my sister's meal. I watch them when suddenly I barely witness something with the corner of my eye.

"Huh..."

I stay still as I stare at the open doorway.

"What's up? Has someone stopped you in time?"

Yuuna tries to crack a joke but I'm currently preoccupied by something.

"I think I just saw someone fly across the hallway...."

[Hidiku's Perspective]

Before Enmei even has the chance to process what just happened, Himarin is already holding his collar and proceeds to bang his head into the hallway's flooring. 

By the time the others get here, I'm already holding my older sister back, locking her arms up with my own... But that doesn't stop her from stomping on Enmei's testicles.

"HOW DARE YOU LAY YOUR FILTHY HANDS ON MY PRECIOUS LUNCH! I PUT A LOT OF EFFORT INTO MAKING THAT SO I COULD SHOW IT OFF TO EVERYONE! NOT FOR YOU TO EAT IT FOR BREAKFAST. HOW ABOUT YOU MAKE YOUR OWN DAMN FOOD FOR ONCE!?"

Enmei turns so he's lying on his side while holding his crotch to block his sister's stomping. I see the pain in his eyes, yet he still looks up at his sister with a smirk on his face.

"Heh, it is only right for kings to eat meals their subjects make for them. What do you think I pay you for?"

I looks up at the ceiling.

"So that's what he meant this morning."

***

I descend the stairs from the second floor, still in my sleeping clothes, as I see Enmei leaving unusually early.

"Where are you going this early? There's still time before school starts."

I ask with a sleepy voice while rubbing one of my eyes.

"Hidiku, I've just unleashed great evil into this world. That evil will soon awaken so I must prepare before I face it. It will be a tough and dangerous journey. Hidiku, remember no matter what happens, I will always be your brother."

He takes his exit through the window even though the door is literally next to it. Probably to look cool.

I am left standing on the staircase in confusion.

***

I gaze upon my older brother, tears are coming out of my eye sockets.

"I will never forget you, big bro!"

I lower his guard, giving Himarin an opening to slip out of my arm and deal the finishing blow to Enmei.

Himarin lands her foot flat on Enmei's face and sends him crashing two stories down. I get onall fours before the hole that has just been made as Himarin happily looks down at our, most likely, deceased brother.

I bursts into tears.

"BROTHEEEEER! IT'S ALL MY FAULT!"

[Yuuna's Perspective]

"MEDIC!"

 Charlotte yells out when I grab her and look into her eyes with a clearly disappointed expression.

"Hey...I thought you are able to heal."

Charlotte puts one of her arms behind her head, closes one eye and slightly sticks out her tongue.

"Teehe."

Next thing Charlotte knows, she's following the path Enmei once travelled through.

Lena let's out a sigh.

"What a troublesome brother you have."

"What are you talking about?"

Lena turns around to face Himarin standing behind her as she gives Lena a question. Himari looks up at Lena with her now lifeless eyes, as if she just witnessed her whole family being slaughtered.

"What are you talking about? That person is no brother of mine. I don't know him."

So much fuss over a stolen lunch...

After all that we finally sit down to our joined tables within the classroom. My sisters sit next to me with me being on the far-left side and Charlotte in-between us. The others sit from the opposite side, Hidiku being before me and Himarin between the two. Everyone starts eating, except for me. 

As I'm sitting here, realizing I forgot to make lunch today, my stomach begins to growl. I take a quick glance around to check if anyone notices. Luckily enough nobody does, and the embarrassment slowly fades.

Feeling relieved, I revert my eyes to their previous position, greeted by Hidiku's stare reaching deep into my soul.

Stareeeeeeeeee.

He heard it.

"Where's your lunch? Has Enmei eaten yours too?"

"Ah, no. I just forgot to make something."

Himarin leans over the desks to share her bought lunch with me. She's normally a kind person, it's just hard to believe once you see her lose her temper.

"Oh, thank you Himarin."

Himarin smiles and sits back. The moment she's back in her seat, Enmei stands up and starts yelling while pointing at his older sister.

"How come you share with her, but you don't even look at me while I'm also starving here! I'm your own flesh and blood!"

Himari jumps up and roundhouse kicks him in the stomach.

TKO.

Beneath the window with his eyes open wide and drool coming out of his mouth, Enmei almost looks as if his iris and pupils have faded. In response, Hidiku starts praying. Lena and I start saluting and Charlotte takes photos.

Himarin sits back down.

"Moving on. Are guys are prepared for tomorrow?" She says right before proceeding tofinish her lunch, acting as if nothing happened.

That's right, our physical tests take place tomorrow. They are somewhat different from the physical tests normal schools have. Here we get to display our abilities, and if we do well enough, we get to rank up otherwise we'll just be stuck in our current rank. There are some cases when they must rank a student down but that doesn't happen often.

"I wonder if I'll get to rank up."

Lena says as she stares at the ceiling. Everyone gives her a cold shoulder as nobody finds the joke funny.

Charlotte lays face down on the desk.

"Physical tests, huh? Sounds like a major pain..."

Charlotte says with a sluggish voice.

Lena grabs a nearby book and smacks her with it.

"Himarin, Enmei and I had to practice during the whole break. But I'm sure that comes as no surprise considering you all know how strict our father is when it comes to training. Especially with Enmei. Father is sure he would get de-ranked. Can't say I blame him though." 

"Man, I'm glad our dad isn't like that. I would have to leave the family."

Charlotte retorts with a relieved expression on her face.

Suddenly, feeling something on my head, I look to the left. It's Lena's hand reaching me over Charlotte, patting me.

"Yuun-Yuun was training hard too, I enjoyed watching her during my breaks. If only our sloppy sister would work this hard."

Lena sighs.

"No fair, how come she gets a pat? You never pat me!"

Charlotte pouts. Lena looks back at her.

"Then get off your lazy *** and do something for once."

Charlotte lays back down and sulks.

I knock Lena's hand off with my own, changing her expression to a surprised one and lean on my other arm placed on the desk.

"I wish I could become an S-Rank soon. I'd like to travel around the world, but they only let S-Ranked students since they are on an equal level as squad leaders... I'm sure I can take care of myself even now, thank you very much,"

"Now, now, you still have time. Wait two or three more years, I'm sure you will be an S-Rank by then!"

Himari smiles at me.

"Will they still let you even then? They will probably mistake you for a chil-"

I kick Hidiku in his kneecap before giving him a chance to continue, as I look at him with a sadistic smile.

"Sorry, were you mentioning my height? Don't forget I still have the photos hidden at home. You wouldn't want everyone else seeing them, would you now"

I say while still pushing the tip of my foot into his kneecap.

  "T-that's blackmailing!"

He gulps as he starts sweating.

There is noise in the hallway again, I wonder what's going on this time. Oh right, we left the big hole there.

A teacher walks into the classroom and looks directly at us.

"Hey, you brats, I've been told you are the cause of the mess outside."

It's the teacher in charge of tomorrow's physical tests, Mr. Takamura. He's big and ripped but right now he looks mad. Can't blame him though, the hole in the flooring of three stories must cost a lot to repair, not to mention the problems it will cause for schooling.

He takes a good look at every single of us sitting at the united desks until he gets to Himarin smiling at him. At that point cold sweat starts running down his face.

That's right, every teacher here knows who Himarin is because nobody here has control over her. So best believe, if Himarin is with us, we are untouchable.

"Yes we are, what of it?"

Himari continues to smile at the teacher.

"O-oh, is that right...."

Mr. Takamura looks at the windows next to them and notices the knocked-out student beneath it.

 "So, what about him?"

He points at the knocked-out student beneath the window. We totally forgot he is still there.

"Don't worry about him. Oh wait, do you want me to make it look like suicide?"

Himari pulls out a very sharp pencil. I think I know where this is going...

"Ah... No need.... This is... Fine. You kids have fun."

He leaves the classroom.

The bell is ringing as the next period starts and everyone gets back to their seats. It's the middle of the class and Enmei finally wakes up and gets back on his feet.

"Um, excuse me, we are in the middle of the class. Actually, what are you doing here in the first place?"

The teacher looks at Enmei with a confused expression.

Enmei clenches his fist before his chest.

"The dark lord is calling me. I must answer his call before it's too late."

He promptly runs out of the class leaving everyone confused except for Charlotte as she's sleeping on her desk.

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Chapter I: Here Come The Tests

Standing before the entrance, looking at the big sign with the academy's title hammered above the double doors makes me wonder...

"When will it be that I get to venture out into the vast world?"

As I make a single step towards the building, someone latches onto my back and tightly grips my right shoulder. I look back with cation and what I see is something you could call a common sight.

I see Charlotte in tears and a very annoyed looking Lena standing a bit further behind her.

"Yun-Yuuun, take me home, my body won't be able to handle the stress!" Charlotte yet again sobs to me.

I return my gaze to its previous position, showing an expression that clearly says, "please kill me.".

I'm having a severe case of Déjà vu...

This is exactly why I left home earlier than usual. I must have spent too much time strolling around the town.

The other half of the group arrives to the scene, greeting us with their "good mornings".

"A nap stand, perfect. I slept terribly last night."

Enmei says as he joins Charlotte by leaning over my left shoulder.

My temper ceases to exist.

I rapidly turn around, grab Enmei by one of his arms and leave Charlotte, that was holding onto my shoulder, to fly off my as I'm rotating. She hits the back of her head on the ground and knocks herself out cold on the spot.

I do a full turn around to gain momentum and drag Enmei with me, then let him fly off towards Lena.

"I had enough of your lazy asses!" Anger spreads through my vocal cords as I yell.

Without holding back, Lena throws a punch towards him and yells with a soft voice.

"Hands off my little sister!"

Enmei flies back a few meters and lands right next to Charlotte.

That makes two bodies at the crime scene...

"L-Lena."

Hidiku looks at her with a concerned expression on his face.

"Did you really need to hit him? You could have just dodged."

Lena turns around, raising her eyebrows as if she has no idea what he's saying.

"But it was self-defence. Wouldn't you protect yourself if a creep of a person flew at you out of nowhere?"

"No, no. You clearly yelled 'Hands off my little sister!' with the intention of hitting him!"

Lena gives him an oblivious smile.

Hidiku is left speechless and leans forward to let out a big loud sigh.

Himarin walks up to the group, joy lighting up her face.

"Now now, the numbskull had it coming."

"You guys... We are going to be late."

I remind everyone as they start panicking.

After all, we wouldn't want to miss our chance to rank up.

***

At last, it is time.

All the students are lined up by rank behindthe academy on its training field, awaiting our instructors' arrival.

It feels like everyone is walking on eggshells. Our instructor is someone you shouldn't mess with, he's the current top B-Rank Knight, Nolen Spriggan. His rank might not be the highest, but he has more experience to him than one could imagine.

It's a great opportunity to get yourself scouted for military squads and go out for explorations, exactly what I would love to do. I'm just a B-Rank right now but there is still a chance, even if it is much lower than the chance higher ranks have of course.

Despite all I've said, there are still some people showing absolutely no interest.

Take Charlotte for instance, falling asleep while standing in the row over there. It's like she's trying to get in some sleep any moment possible.

Then there are those like Enmei, with a huge grin on their face, finding it almost impossible to stay still due to the excitement. I can understand them though.

The instructor finally arrives. He climbs the stairs up to the porch, next to which some of the teachers are standing, and down from it he inspects us with his gaze.

Everyone salutes.

"Greetings, future soldiers. My name is Nolen Spriggan and I will be your instructor for today's physical tests. Here we will determine what rank you are qualified to hold, but keep in mind, that you have your fellow comrades on the field with you. Be aware of your surroundings to avoid harming anyone else. I'm hoping to see some promising students today. That is all from me, I wish you all the best of luck."

"Sir, yes sir!" The ranks chant in unison.

Everyone leaves directly to the changing rooms as the instructor walks down the previously climbed steps and meets up with the teachers. They know each other since he has come here to instruct for a few years now. They totally look like friends.

Averting my eyes from the instructor, I notice Charlotte walking in front of me, piercing the instructor with her stare. Apparently, she has a crush on him, she probably has been wide awake ever since he arrived.

I casually pass Charlotte.

"Look where you are going. You are going to hit something."

Immediately after entering the building, a long hallway with multiple doors can be seen. Every door has a sign on it, specifying the changing room for each rank and gender. It might seem a bit over the top to have everything separated into ranks, but at least like this, the place won't be stuffed.

I walk into my changing room and start changing into my combat clothing.

Despite being called "knights", we don't actually wear armour like your average knight. That's what the knights outside the Hogo-sha district wear. Instead of metal plating we wear gear specially designed to make it easier for our ability usage.

Then there's the core, deep within every knight of the district as they are born. This core slowly grows over the course of around our first 10 years. If a knight doesn't obtain any abilities, the core is defective. We call it the "spiritual core". It's located in the centre of our body. To destroy one's core, you would have to use a type of ability arts or a weapon that doesn't affect physical objects, but instead spiritual.

I finish changing into my combat suit.

It consists of a sleeveless black tight top made of polyester with two white lines running downmy torso, meeting in the middle of my chest area. The lines light up with the colour of my ability, which in my case is yellow. With the top I use additional single sleeves made of the same material. A short black skirt with a cape over its back and sides, reaching all the way to my ankles. A yellow rope wrapped around my waist with a bow at the back. White stockings reaching to the middle of my thighs and black with yellow half leather and half armour-plated shoes. Samurai-like yellow shoulder armour and hand bracers. To finish it off, the weapon I use is a Katana.

"I always wonder, isn't that top too tight?"

Charlotte asks as she stands behind me.

I turn my head to the side so I can see her with the corner of my eye.

Her right hand is on her waist, other arm left hanging, hips slightly moved towards the hand on waist, and an expression showing curiosity.

I fully turn around to have a better look at her.

She's wearing a modified black tunic dress with a whitened front part. The front part reaches to the middle of her thighs while the back part is split with the left side reaching all the way to her ankles and the right side only to the half of her calf. Red, white, and yellow lines following the edge of her extended back parts. The top front part reaches somewhere beneath her collarbone with a yellow line at the edge and the back part is open all the way down to the beginning of her waist, also with a yellow edge. Black stockings reaching up to the middle of her thighs with black armoured boots with red lines, and reinforced armour on the front part of the ankles, in which the front part goes over her knees while the back part only reaches to their beginning. Black armour starting on her hands, reaching to the half of her upper part of the arm and a black choker with yellow edges and a red line in the centre going from top to bottom.

I casually looked at her filled rack.

"You are the one to talk."

I retort as I slap it.

We stepped out of the changing rooms, Charlotte first and I right behind her. The rest of the group was already waiting for us outside of the building.

"Took you long enough."

Lena's gear includes a lightly armoured top and skirt with high combat boots and a bycoket. Everything's mainly white with some small purple parts. She uses ranged weapons.

"Sorry about that, Yun-Yun was feeling my boobs."

Charlotte pronounces with a smug face.

"I wasn't feeling them!"

I yell back at her in defence.

Enmei walks up to me and spreads his arms wide open.

"Come, you can feel mine too, but... be gentle."

He becomes the magnet of gazes filled with disappointment.

"The hell I would..."

Enmei's gear is composed of a big black hardened leather jacket that provides light protection. It is unbuttoned, showing some metal plating underneath for extra protection. Light leather gauntlets made to wield his sword. Darkish-gray baggy pants with many belts running down both legs (just for the looks). Along with a pair of long black leather boots nearly reaching his knees. His weapon is a greatsword, it looks pretty cool.

Hidiku grabs Enmei's left shoulder from behind.

"That's not right bro, you should leave that for someone who's special to you."

Enmei turns around."In that case... You can be the one to do it."

The disappointment level grows.

Hidiku's gear consists of a blueish-green tunic with light chainmail plating underneath as armour. It is specially designed for flexibility and mobility. A leather archery brace around the wrists with specially designed black pants to carry extra arrows, accompanied by a pair of leather boots.

His weapon is a custom longbow with metal plating as primary. And a sabre sword as a secondary weapon sheathed from the back near the hips.

"Sometimes I wish our parents hadn't decided to have more kids after having me..."

Himarin ponders.

Finally, Himarin's gear is made of a red silicone tight top and shorts, something like mine. On the top, she has a light metal plating for at least some protection and some metal plates on her sides. Metal plated boots reaching to her ankles and a forehead protector.

As her weapons she uses gauntlets, she fights with her fists and is actually pretty strong if you couldn't tell yet.

The ringing of a bell can be heard throughout the school grounds.

It is time to begin the tests.

The tests are divided into multiple parts. There are different categories for each ability group; long-range-combat, close- range-combat, and supports.

Some people can take tests for multiple categories if their abilities allow them to, like for example Himarin or Charlotte. While Himarin can do close-range-combat as well as support, Charlotte can do supporting, somewhat close-range-combat, and long-range combat.

Even if you don't have an aptitude for close-range-combat, you still must do it. You're required to know unarmed hand-to-hand-combat as you never know when you will get yourself into a situation that calls for it.

I can't do anything other than close-range-combat anyway.

Since everyone is supposed to do this test, it's the first one we do before everyone goes to do their own specific ones.

For this test, everyone is required to find a partner they will face. There will be multiple groups at once monitored by the teachers and the instructor. Getting beaten by your opponent doesn't mean you have failed or anything of the sort, it all depends on how you perform.

My partner is Himarin. She's well trained in hand- to-hand-combat. What's more, she has a habit of not holding back. It's not a bad habit... Actually, that depends on the situation, but I'm glad she won't hold back since it means I can also go all out.

The bell rings again. Time to start!

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