I continued to keep my head down in shame. The Instructor began to talk to August and Thomas in a lighter manner. After around 10 hellish minutes and a one-page essay, the Instructor let us go.

“I wonder why he took forever to let us go” August began skipping down the hallway back towards the room.

“It doesn’t matter we are out now.” I began to read my essay again. Thomas looked over at me and attempted to read my work. I quickly crumbled it into a ball and stuffed it into my pocket.

“Tch. That shit doesn’t even matter anymore.” Thomas sped up and entered the room first. When we arrived back, all the boys where playing cards.

“Do you guys wanna join? We can start over.” Dominic was laid down on the ground with around 6 cards in his hands.

“I’m good I’m calling it a day” Thomas didn’t seem interested any more and hopped into his bed.

August and I decided to join the others and play cards.

“It’s 10’ o’clock now. Let’s call it a day.” Noah began to pack up all the cards. I decided to help as well before heading to my bed. Everyone jumped into bed and the lights went off. The next day was finally around the corner.

…

“YAWN” Dominic was one of the first to arrive in the lobby. He seemed to be extremely tired despite getting a full night’s rest. “How the hell was anyone supposed to sleep through that?” He stomped his foot onto the ground.

“Sleep through what? What happened?”

Noah came around the corner and put his arm around me. “All I know is that someone kept farting. The room stunk by the time morning came around.”

I looked at them in shock. “I didn’t smell anything this morning.”

“That doesn’t matter anymore” Dominic began to swat his right arm in distress. “I’ll get my sleep on the bus.”

“That is if we don’t have to push it again.” Noah took off to the lounge where we were supposed to be. Dominic and I took off shortly after.

“GOOD MORNING SOON TO BE TRAINEES” The stupid Instructor was yelling into his megaphone again. “WE ARE HEADING TO THE CAPITAL RIGHT AFTER BREAKFAST. EVERYONE BE READY BEFORE 10 O’CLOCK.”

We all dispersed and headed towards the cafeteria. I sat down beside Charlie. “Once we get to the capital, I can finally switch to the medical branch.” He continuously stuffed his face with more food as he spoke.

“Really? What other branches are there to choose from?”

“I believe the three branches are Medic, Engineer, and Mage” Charlie began licking the sauce off his hands.

“Oh, I thought you had to go to the Academy to become a Mage.” I let out a big yawn before starting my second plate.

“You do, for Engineer and Medic, its like becoming a regular soldier. For Mages however, you must apply to the academy and test your magical aptitude.” That made a lot of sense.

Mealtime quickly finished.

We once again found ourselves in front of the terrorizing buses.

“Everyone get back inside your assigned bus.” We boarded the vehicles and headed back down the hill. I closed my eyes and decided to get a bit more rest before we reach the Capital.

After passing many small villages, we finally made it to the hub of State Ferron. The Capital. A large city with over 5 million inhabitants. Large gates block off the ‘poorer’ residential areas from the richer. The streets where littered with people who came here looking for an opportunity but failed to make the cut. It is also where my father is imprisoned.

After passing the poorer district of the city and heading down the opposite direction. A large building with the State Ferron flag, an eagle carrying a scroll, was towering in front of us. Many buses that had already arrived earlier from the other districts where scattered around in the parking lot.

The building was large and had a massive gate which went on for ever. We exited the bus and waited for instructions.

4 instructors where now in front of the building. Each represented one of the four districts in State Ferron. Western District, Eastern District, Northern District, and Southern District. A tall military general exited the building and stood in front of us.

His shaggy hair blocked any view of his face. Matched with his colossal structure, he was not someone to mess with. “Hello soon to be Trainees” He did not need a megaphone for his booming voice to be heard. “My name is Steve Balmore. I am in charge of this year’s draft.”

He pulled out a scroll and began to read the contents inside. “This is the challenge for today. It is quite simple, survive beyond the border for 15 days. Everyone looked around confused. The Capital was surrounded by the four districts. This made it the furthest from the borders.

“I already know what you are about to ask. How are we supposed to do that so far away from the borders?” He pointed towards a large gate that no one could see the end of.

“There are over a thousand Low-Class Demons in that compound.” He continued, “Each of you will receive a sword. Your goal is to either survive the 15 days or kill off all the Demons before that.”

Everyone looked around in excitement. Sword practice was common in school but fighting Demons this early on was definitely something to get hyped about. Steve chuckled “Easy enough right?” he snapped his fingers and the gates opened. “The demons won’t be out till later on today. Go prepare for now.

The inside of the center was pitch black. How are we supposed to see a creature that blends in with this environment??

Some of the previously excited people turned around and quit. All demons where pitch black, with red piercing eyes. They became stronger during the night and are protected in the day. The only way to kill these monsters is through decapitation. No one wanted to be at a disadvantage fighting these creatures.

I wiped the sweat off my face and approached the gate. Noah and Dominic where 2 of the best swordsmen at our school. I should be fine if I stick with them. We approached the gates to hell and began a quick prayer.

After this, all those who wanted to enter did so. The compound was large and had many trees and open plains. We decided to camp out further away from the large groups of people.

[System On]

A loudspeaker with an automated voice could be heard. It explained the rules that the general did again before announcing how many people entered.

[Currently 549 inhabitants left.]

“I never knew magic could do that.” Dominic began unpacking his gear as we set up camp.

[Currently 548 inhabitants left.]

We looked at each other in shock. The demons have yet to be released, and the gates where closed. How could people still be getting eliminated?

“Don’t worry” Noah seemed to sense my fear. “If we stay close, we should be fine for the most part.”

[3 hours until Demons released.]

Time began ticking down towards our first challenge.