“Somewhere, in a dimension far off into space, lies a planet, a pathetic one that they call ‘Earth.' On Earth, there are square-shaped buildings with soft-looking beings called humans. They walk, talk, prosper, and live their daily, annoying, and mostly dull lives. However, way below the very lands they walk upon, comes a place that no human ever knows: The Monster World.

“Here in The Monster World, there stood an Academy, called Streterra, where non-humans would go to study and train. There was a purpose in studying and learning all kinds of magic. Students there thrived on being a master level in their class for whichever subjects they've chosen. And when said people succeed in them, they can use their full-fledged powers for good, evil, or even a bit of both.

“Earth also plays an integral part in this. As you pick your side, good, evil, or neutral, you could even fight alongside like teams; again, if you wanted to, it’s entirely optional. Also, you can compete with others to gain the right to control a planet of your choosing and even defend it against others who plan to take it for themselves with teamwork or fighting by themselves by using magic, combat, strategy, skills, etc.

“Legends say that whoever can conquer all of the planets of all worlds and defend them off from others the longest would reign supreme. “However, no one in any team has done such an impossible task for the longest time. A new champion might bestow someday, but it is unlikely that would happen soon.

“And that, to put it simply, is going to be me!” shouted a young dark magician named Benjamin, who read the book that laid upon a big brown podium in the center of the vast library room.

He slowly turned around and assumed a pose of importance, with the chin raised, and hands on his hips, as he announced his mission to his loyal animal sidekicks and no one else in the Mirage Library.

He allowed those final words to echo throughout the grand library. The resonating boom of his voice against the tall stacks of books and endless rows of dark shadows and dust sent chills through the animal’s fur.

“Woo-hoo! Bravo master, you have such a way with words” Harry, the talking hamster, exclaimed, trying to clap with his tiny little paws.

“Yeah, I agree!” The smaller guinea pig named Chi-Chi, added, hopping up and down on the table.

“Hey, where did you learn about all that info and make that amazing speech of yours?” Harry asked, beaming with curiosity.

“Why from this book, of course.” Benjamin explained while holding up the book, “They mostly tell about the history of our academy and its traditions surrounding them.”

“But master, don’t you already know that stuff? Why are you even rereading it?” Chi-Chi asked, raising her furry eyebrow.

“Isn’t it obvious? I'm reading this to check and see if there’s a quicker way to get to Earth!” Benjamin responded with impatience in his voice. “There was supposed to be an individual book in this library that holds magic portals that can lead to worlds beyond my imagination or so I’ve heard...”

“Oh, well, now that makes sense.” Chi-Chi wasn’t sure what it did, but she knew her master would get upset upon repeating himself. Best to go along with the plan for now.

“Wait, you mean the planet Earth? How will you exactly get to your goal, master?” Harry pondered, leaning on top of the countertop.

“How should I know? If I knew, I would have done it already!” Benjamin raised his hands in disbelief.

“Oh yeah, that’s right.” Chi-Chi snickered.

“Isn’t this against the rules though to read these without permission, however?” Harry whispered, unsure if they’d get caught and in trouble or not.

“Nah, I doubt they’ll find out.” Benjamin waved his arm as if to dismiss any notion of wrongdoing.

“Well, ok, if you say so.” The hamster glanced at Chi-Chi, wondering if she would say anything when-

AWOOOOOO!! A loud howl, acting as the school bell, bellowed through the room, startling the trio off their feet. When the sound stopped, the three got back on their feet and sighed collectively.

“That sure was scary, huh?” Chi-Chi looked over at Harry in exasperation.

“I know. It gets me every time.” Harry got embarrassed that the sound caught him off guard.

“Uh oh, I better hurry to my night class!” Benjamin said in a rush as he collected his books and ran for the nearest exit.

“Of course, go do your best, sir!” Harry and Chi-Chi exclaimed.

.-.-.-.

Down from the hall in the classroom, a teacher with curly gray hair wrapped in a bun; wearing a black and white dress with laces had already started the roll call for the class.

The lady picked up some sheets of papers and read them out loud. “Sebastian...”

“Present.” A blonde-haired boy raised his hand and spoke eloquently.

“Bridget...”

“Here, Miss.” A girl with shoulder-length, light brown wavy hair slowly raised her hand and replied.

“Lauren...”

“Here, I guess.” Another girl, having long mahogany hair and matching sunglasses, raised her hand and muttered without looking at the teacher in an almost non-caring matter.

“...And last but not least, Benjamin” Silence followed shortly after. The teacher glanced in the student's chair and noticed that it was unoccupied.

Now, where could he be?

Before she had time to ask the classmates, the doors to the room swung open, and everyone’s attention turned toward the guy that entered the classroom.

“The dark magician and future ruler of the Earth has arrived! You may now tremble in fear by my presence everyone.” Benjamin announced loudly as he abruptly opened the classroom door.

He stood right beside the doorway for a moment to let the effect of his arrival sink in with his classmates. A collective moan of disapproval and quiet laughter came from the students, while the teacher stayed unfazed by her theatric student.

“Ah, there you are. Hurry and take your seat; we’re about to start class now.”

“Will do, ma’am,” Benjamin replied with a bow and grin.

He headed toward his seat near the corner of the class. Even on the first day, he could easily recognize all of his classmates.

She must be so jealous of my talent that she doesn’t want to admit it yet. I’ll pass the class in no time. Benjamin thought to himself.

He couldn’t help but smile at the thought, knowing that he stood out from the rest of them by the flashing purple cape along with his magician-like appearance. What’s not to like?

The teacher introduced herself as Ms. Glenda before beginning her class.

“Now, you probably already know this, but for those who don’t know, you four are the only ones who are ahead of class so far.” She motioned toward Benjamin and his fellow seatmates. “You’ve all taken your beginner courses, exams, and tests and seem to know quite a lot, which is why moving on to the next phase. Mastering your weapon of either peace or destruction.”

As the word “weapon” hung in his ears, Benjamin carefully watched as Glenda reached into her dress pocket. She pulled out a small remote-looking device and aimed it straight at her desk. In an instant, a giant translucent hologram of the planet Earth appeared, hovering above her desk.

All the kids in the classroom were amazed and sighed a collective “oooh” at its massive appearance. The teacher continued to discuss how important it was to learn about the Earth to either help or conquer it.

Benjamin liked the sound of the latter, to be in charge of the entire Earth and other planets, and have all the inhabitants bow to his every wish. What a fantastic way to live. He hung onto every word, scratched the short brown hair on the back of his head as he wrote as much as possible for later review.

He had to learn all he could about this place, and that grown-up was the way to do it. As Glenda continued to speak about weapons and how to use them, Benjamin couldn’t help but smile.

Now we're talking.

As she carefully handed out the weapons and spheres to each of the kids, Benjamin looked on, eagerly awaiting whatever tool of mass destruction awaited him. Whether it could destroy cities, bring down mountains, control minds, or best of all – do all the above and more! His hand coated in sweat from the anticipation.

The Earth hologram then gave way to a large-scale demonstration, which covered the entire back wall in the classroom. Several older students used their weapons and spheres to show how to attack, heal, and defend.

One student had set himself on fire but didn’t get consumed by the flames. Another created a brick shield to defend against a student’s sword attack. Lastly, a third student healed the wounds of an unfortunate onlooker that got too close to the action. Benjamin got so engrossed in the presentation that he genuinely thought he had forgotten to breathe.

Ms. Glenda mentioned to the class that attacking yourself or others was not allowed for their current stage of training. Everyone else in the classroom acknowledged the instruction, everyone except Lauren, that is.

“So, does attacking on accident count?” Lauren asked sarcastically.

Glenda stared down at her from the rim of her glasses, glaring at her outspoken student.

“Yes,” She replied curtly.

“Can mayonnaise be a vital weapon?” Lauren chimed in.

The teacher calmly ignored the sarcasm and answered with a stern “No.”

Lauren continued without missing a beat. “How about horseradish?”

Glenda’s patience waned. “No,” She repeated, this time, more forcefully. She groaned out loud and rolled her eyes at the thought of having to deal with this kind of ignorance for the rest of the year. Hopefully, the Principal will see her in real favor for all that she is sacrificing for their cause. “Ok, moving on.”

She walked over to her desk beside the chalkboard, unlocked it, and opened the bottom drawer. The drawer creaked as it pulled open, almost as if complaining about its service after so many years. She took out a large glowing spherical ball of glass.

Everyone gasped, amazed, except for Lauren, who continued to appear disinterested in the whole affair. It became hard to tell if she was awake as her eyes hid behind dark sunglasses.

“This is a crystal sphere,” Glenda explained, “the one you will receive will differ depending on what supernatural being you are and what type of class you choose...”

However, as she discussed how to use the sphere and a weapon, Lauren sat up a little straighter in her chair. Now she grew interested in the subject matter. Benjamin grew annoyed at her fickle behavior.

She was not going to be a better student or a stronger magician than him. He was the destined one to conquer the Earth, not her. He quietly contemplated what he would be willing to do, as well as what could be necessary should she get in his way.

As Glenda explained how the sphere was something no one should take lightly, Lauren lost all hope of patience. She wanted the teacher to get to the important stuff and stop wasting her time. Lauren already hated school and didn’t want to spend time on trivial things. She wanted to learn the basics so she could move on to more important things. She had a plan and didn’t want to divert from it.

Benjamin found Lauren’s intrusion into the presentation annoying. Glenda moved on with the demonstration, much to Benjamin’s delight and relief. With a wand in one hand and a crystal sphere in the other, she joined them with a sleight of hand that left everyone dazed and confused as to how she had done that. Benjamin wished that he recorded the moment so that he could watch it and analyze it in slow motion.

He was about to raise his hand and request repeated demonstration so that he could get a better understanding of what happened when the teacher swirled the tool over her head. It made a whooshing sound that grew louder and louder, like an oncoming hurricane.

Books, papers, and other school supplies flew around the room, causing posters everywhere to get torn from the walls forcefully. A strange glow manifested around the teacher and twisted into a maniacal deformation of her original gentle smile.

It felt as the air expanded and forced the classroom walls outward. For a split second, Benjamin contemplated running from the room for fear of his life, but his pride stopped him from appearing cowardly in front of everyone else. Ironically, the other students were struggling with the same thing.

When the energy surge became almost unbearable, Glenda threw the device down against the floor with a loud and resonated “boom.” Items on her desk fell to the ground as it shook the very building under their feet.

Benjamin was speechless. He thought for a split second that maybe he would have to change his underpants, but fortunately, nothing was out of place. That was a close one. This sphere was just what he needed to realize his plans for domination. Ready to receive his weapon of power, Benjamin quickly got out of his chair the moment Glenda asked them to form a line. But Lauren beat him to it.

Lauren accepted her weapon and sphere and looked at the teacher with a mischievous smirk on her face. The teacher dismissed her with a look that declared a stable “no.” She didn’t have the energy, patience, or time to deal with any more of Lauren’s shenanigans. Benjamin was next in line. He grasped his wand and sphere in both hands and waited for the surge of energy to consume his body.

He closed his eyes and focused on the image in his mind. He imagined himself atop a mountain, raining down fear and misery on all that would oppose him. After a few minutes of nothing, he opened his eyes and realized everyone was staring at him. Embarrassed by the whole event, he quietly approached the teacher to ask how the two were supposed to interact and create the spectacle she demonstrated.

“Hey, uh, how do I merge and make them more powerful?”

“Well, that’s part of the assignment,” Ms. Glenda replied.

“Really? It is?” Benjamin couldn’t believe his ears. Much to his shock and dismay, he soon discovered this was a part of his assignment.

“There are many different ways to do it, depending on you and your weapon,” The teacher continued. “You just need to discover it.”

“But—”

“You have a week. Good luck.” She dismissed.

Benjamin sighed. Well, this task was going to be a lot harder than he thought.