Chapter VI: Monster Studies

Circe was led toward the fancifully carved marble double door of the Grand Pavilion. It stood behind the magnificent Greek building and it connected the complex webbed sidewalks to it. He kept getting kicked on his ankles by Malik, whose face was carved by a fixed malicious rictus as he treaded behind him. He stopped and backpedaled, knocking Malik to the ground.

"Hey!" Malik shouted, rubbing the dirt away from his trousers.

But this trick came at a cost to Circe because he had blindly run into an eighth year Sorcerer who had emerged out of the door. He had dropped all of his books and scowled at Circe as he started to scoop them back up.

"Sorry," Circe mumbled nervously.

"Stop playing around you two!" Ulrik growled once the eighth year left. "You've already come off the dungeons, don't give another reason to put you back."

"Malik started it, he keeps kicking me!"

"I'd like to see you prove it, Chimer. You're simply overreacting!"

"Shutup! I don't want to hear a single word from both of you," snarled the goblin.

"Where are we going, anyway? Class is that way you dumb goblin!" Malik retorted.

"First years are required to attend a General Information Assembly before the start of class. It's a chance to give you an overview of the school and the staff. Which reminds me…" Ulrik snapped his grimy, broken, green finger and two golden scrolls appeared in midair. "These are your schedules for the start of the fall term."

Circe's scroll landed smoothly in his hand as he reached out to grab it. The words were written in glowing emerald cursive letters against a golden parchment.

2022-2023Y Avalium University Fall and Spring Sem Courses

Student: Circe Chimer

RCS House: Monster

Expected Graduation Date: June 15th, 2035

Degree: Monsterology

Head: Tobias L. Raufman

Senior: Bellamy Duluth, Tenth Year

1001 Monster Studies: Tobias Raufman, 8:00-9:30 am. Taught by Tobias Lausdorf Raufman, Monster Studies is a rigorous course that delves deep into the abilities, psychology, and origins of monsters. You'll learn what a monster truly is and the many powers and tactics that they use against humans. This course is also a prerequisite for any first year Monster who wishes to start shadowing in their second year. You will attend this class with your fellow Sorcerers, Mechas, and Heroes.

1004 Monster History: David Elvengaard, 9:30-11:00 am. Taught by our very own elf, David Elvengaard, Monster History is a course that goes deeper into the origin of monsters by focusing heavily on their history, background, country, and the many wars and political decisions they've formed with humans over the years. This course is a prerequisite for Monster Languages. You will only attend this class with your Monster peers.

1010 Monster Transformation: Nate Newtdragon, 11:00-12:00 pm. Taught by Nate Newtdragon, this course aims in teaching you how to control your transformation powers as well as to build upon it by adding more agility, strength, intelligence, levels, and overall prowess to your monster. You will be competing in duels, drill exercises, power exercises, simulations, and plenty more to get a better handle on your monster transformation. You will only attend this class with your Monster peers.

Lunch: 12:00-1:00 pm. First years are not permitted to go anywhere else in the city besides Darplenty Hall or the Avalium University campus. The goblins will be monitoring the perimeters to make sure this doesn't occur. Fights or any unauthorized use of powers outside of class will not be tolerated, if this occurs you will surely be sent to detention. If this becomes a recurring habit, you will be expelled.

EC 1024 Hero Studies: Leona Summers, 1:00-2:30 pm. Taught by Leona, this extracurricular course focuses on the different powers that heroes have, the way heroes communicate, diplomacy, government and politics, and the study of the many notable heroes that Avalium has had in the past. You will attend this class with your fellow Hero, Mecha, and Sorcerer peers.

EC 1031 Tech Studies: Lewella Plus, 2:30-4:00 pm. Taught by Lewella Plus, this extracurricular course will aim to teach you about the different powers that Mechas have, the tools they use to build cities, the origin and creation of robots and supernatural androids, and the relevance of Tech Hospitals. You will attend this class with your Hero and Mecha peers.

By the looks of it, the only thing that Circe felt would be worthwhile were his first three classes. He was especially looking forward to Monster Studies, but then again, Monster History couldn't be that bad if Elven would be teaching it. Perhaps strange, but it definitely wouldn't be boring. Circe frowned, tossing Malik a glance, It sucked that they had to share classes with the other houses because by the tight conventions of the schedule, he would have to share two classes with Malik, and one of them was speculatively his favorite.

Circe had forgotten how vast and white the Grand Pavillion was as they entered the marble halls. It had a lot of huge mullioned windows that permeated a soft, pearly morning glow into the extensive establishment. The building was ornamented by the bulwarks of the chalky sculptures that stood garishly tall against the stairway elbows and the four corners of the building, by the mahogany oil painted portraits, the abstract cracks of mosaics on the walls, and the colorful lockers of purple, red, yellow, and blue. Circe felt as if he was inside a museum and a massive high school all at once. Circe noticed the typical purple banners with the single silver eye in the middle dance in the breeze attached to the dual white columns that stretched magnificently high toward the ceiling. Ulrik, Circe, and Malik swept down a spiral of stairs that led them into another large sweeping room, but this chamber was a bit dimmer and lit by torches. The flambeaus stretched along the dim hallways until they disappeared at the very war wing of the building.

"This level of the building is where the older students take their classes, you'll never need to come down here unless it's for an assembly," said Ulrik knowledgeably. "You guys probably won't be sent down here until your fifth year."

"Why's that?" Circe asked.

"The classes are much darker. They deal with more dangerous occultic lessons, stuff that younger students shouldn't have to think about. Like dualities, for instance."

"What's dualities?" Circe and Malik asked, their eyes bobbing out of their sockets.

"My point exactly. You'll figure it out one day. This way now,"

They entered an arched door that led them into a dark room. The blackened mouth suddenly became lit with torches again and Circe could make out the population of tiny heads below them and a large monitor floating into the darkness. It appeared the assembly was just about to begin.

"Quickly find your seats you two," the goblin goaded.

Circe saw two hands waving frantically at him, he hastily stripped down the dark aisle, past the sea of seats, and found his way to the row Avery and Zebulon were sitting in. He plopped himself in the middle.

"Where were you?" Avery asked. Circe could make out her gentle, slim silhouette. The faint torchlight smeared her abundant dirty freckles and her tender blue eyes squinted unsettlingly.

"I had detention, remember?" Circe said.

"Bro, I heard you got sent to the dungeons," said Zebulon incredulously. "And that there was—"

"A Dragon? Yup and yup. His name's Dragos, and he was pretty nice–erm calm, actually. But then Malik fucked it up by insulting him and we almost got burned alive."

Zebulon gulped. "And here I am thinking that detention is just a walk away from our dorm."

Avery rolled her eyes. "You're overreacting. It looks to me like the dragon seemed pretty peaceful until it was provoked."

"Oh, you try staying in the same room with a fire breathing dragon without making it angry!" Zebulon retorted. "It's a cakewalk."

"Shhh! I think the assembly is starting," Circe said, motioning with his hands. The hovering monitoring displayed Zenithclad and Professor Sempra, staring rather grimly at the students. The flaming torchlights and the unrelenting darkness made their gazes and their overall presence all the more sinister. Circe had always found this school sinister and strange, concealing a dizzying maze of dark secrets within its walls. He still hadn't told Avery and Zebulon what he'd seen inside the Hall of Mysteries, and he wasn't planning to anytime soon.

It wasn't until Zenithclad had grabbed the mic that he forced a smile on his face. He wasn't wearing his hood, so the exposure of his animallike face was a bit galling and scandalizing for some of the students and it earned a bout of murmurs, gasps, and silent snickers. His black eyes twinkled behind his matted black hair and the torchlight grazed his harsh sallow skin (sprayed unforgivingly with pink craters), his curly black beard, and the two hoary bull horns which poked out of his forehead.

"Good morning first years, I'd like to happily welcome you to Avalium University and wish you a wealthy congratulations for successfully being sorted into your house, I'm sure you guys will be a great addition to the school and make this university proud in the years to come," said Zenithclad, his voice booming across the vast auditorium, crinkling down to a fine echo. " My name is Professor Oswald Zenithclad or simply Zenithclad, and I'm the Dean of this fine school. The purpose of this assembly is to do some groundskeeping and go over some general information about the school and some safety procedures. My dear Professor Sempra will be sure to hone in on any information I forgot to add or simply supplement any information I might proffer."

The white blonde outline of Professor Sempra stood oddly rigid. A single cough echoed from the audience and the fiery torches were beginning to lose their dance. Circe could've sworn that he heard a strange humming coming from the walls.

"Let us begin with safety; students are not allowed to go frolicking on their own into the city. We've had many students do that in the past and they've either ended up dead, lost, or simply gone and never to return. We value each student here so we implore you to stay inside the campus."

"And if you refuse to listen to this warning, the goblins will be out on deck to track you guys and if they catch it's in the dungeons you go," boomed Professor Sempra's shrill warbling voice. A few students shivered.

"When it comes to fights and using your powers outside of class, we kindly advise you to abstain. We prefer for every student to feel safe and we want to prevent as many accidents as possible. When you're in class, be sure to be respectful to your professors, be kind and accommodating to the older students, be sure to keep the tables clean when you've finished eating in the Darkplenty Hall, don't stay out too long at night, and overall be sure to keep a pleasant attitude all around. A happy people is a happy place,' said Zenithclad.

Circe snorted. He was sure the last rule would go unchecked. People didn't always tend to follow the rules anyway. He could see a couple of Sorcerers a few rows down from him lolling back, snoring.

"And by no fights, we mean no fights. If we catch you fighting more than once, you will surely be expelled," Professor Sempra snapped, her teeth grinding.

"Please do," said a black mixed girl. She had been sitting stoically behind Circe and her friends were snickering. "With your bitch ass of course we would."

"Now that we got that out of the way, let's get on with the information that we're all assembled here for. Students should note that at Avalium we don't grade exams by letter grades but instead by stamped seals. You'll either receive a cum laude which is a passing grade, a magna cum laude which is an above average grade, and a summa cum laude which is a perfect or an almost perfect passing grade. If you fail, the stamp will simply just tell you that you failed."

"As if it would say anything else, otherwise," Avery muttered.

"It is also worth mentioning," said Professor Sempra, "that once you have graduated your first year, you will receive your alma mater badges. This will give you license to perks such as the permit to explore the city without supervision, free food in the city, a free working license to do dangerous work with cops, and plenty more. But you only get this once you have finished your first year. And it can be easily taken away when used irresponsibly."

"You may have heard that we have a dungeon where we keep a dragon, so please be most prudent and try not to get into too much trouble in class," Zenithclad said, grinning. "And my final announcement is that the Games are coming up. Monsterball, Heroball, Sorcererball, and Mechaball applications for tryouts will be handed soon later this week by your Seniors. That is all! If you have any other questions about Avalium University or you need any type of assistance, be sure to contact the Fates at the library, they'll be more than happy to help. And now, please enjoy this quick promotional video about Avalium, you'll find it's quite entertaining!"

It wasn't as fun as Zenithclad promised it to be. The video showed a clueless fifth year actor walking around the campus with a hefty voice skulking behind him narrating everything he sees. Then it cut to a bunch of third years, sixth years, and fourth years who talked about their rousing experiences at Avalium. Circe's favorite was Nayala Taylor who wore such a gray deadpanned expression that it was hard to take her seriously.

Finally, Zenithclad announced to the juvenile masses that it was time to go to class and they were all led by Professor Sempra back into the huge halls of the Grand Pavilion until they had been properly escorted into their classes. This tricky act also came in great aid from the goblins who helped lead the lost students to their classes.

"You guys have your schedules, right?" Circe asked, holding out his scroll.

"No, we gobbled it up for breakfast," said Zebulon brandishing out his golden scroll.

"Bellamy handed it out this morning before the assembly," Avery added. "I honestly wish we did have breakfast. Lunch isn't until twelve."

"Boo hoo," said Zebulon. "Do you want to dry your tears on my parchment?" He flourished his scroll but Avery gave him a rough kick deep into his shins.

"Ow!" Zebulon wailed, hopping on one foot.

"I have Monster Studies first," Avery said, leaning toward Circe. "Same as yours, right?"

"It looks like," Circe grinned. "I'm guessing we all have the same classes then."

"Those and those without any limbs," muttered Zebulon.

They arrived at room 1001 which was on the far right side of the Grand Pavilion near a tall marble statue and the highly glossed purple lockers.

"I always wonder when we're gonna get one of these," Avery thought out loud as they swept into the room. It seemed more and more kids were piling in after them.

The room was incredibly spacious and oddly blue. A deep metallic blue that sunk into the long granite desks. The desks were long and curvy and they rose in levels all the way to the back of the room. The led lights were pearly white but they tinged a slight blue. But most of the chalky morning light seemed to emanate from the wide mullioned window that stretched in a wide rectangle across the room, providing a clear vista of the campus and the many students scurrying to their Centers. There was a huge metallic gray monitor that stood in front of the building and two more that hung in the very back of the seats.

Seeing all this overwhelmingly reminded Circe that he was still attending a university and not just some run-of-the-mill high school or middle school—even though it did come close to feeling like that at times. Then there was still the strange humming noise that he had picked up earlier that was haunting him back all the way to this room. Was that just part of some eccentric decoration that the school had?

Circe spotted Lorraine Silva sitting on a second level seat near the bright window, waving enthusiastically at them. There was a small cat group of Heroes sitting behind her who had been whispering something in her ears. They must've been her friends.

Circe moved toward Lorraine's direction, gesturing for Zebulon and Avery to join him. "Come on!"

"Ehh," mumbled Avery.

"Don't be like that! Hey Phineas,"

A gangly boy with flaming red hair and large bifocal glasses walked into the room, somewhat puzzled and goggly-eyed. "Hi," he said somewhat distantly.

"Look who decided to join us now," Avery snarled, crossing her arms defiantly as more students swept past her. The seats seemed to be gradually filling up.

"What?" said Phineas, snapping out of his existential daze.

"Ignore her," said Circe.

"Where are you guys sitting?"

"By Lorraine, it looks like," said Zebulon, pointing in the girl's direction. "If it doesn't get filled up."

They went and sat by Lorraine Silva, calmly chatting among themselves. A few more students poured in including Malik, who stuck two middle fingers by his face and poked his tongue out at Circe. He and his two new friends, the white blonde Swedish girl, Jasmine Jezelberg, and the mixed black girl Circe saw at the auditorium named Naphtali Simmons, sat in the back. Circe noticed that Aviv Parastroka and Jamie Soo were sitting in the back and whispering to each other. Then there was a blonde kid Circe hadn't seen before that seemed to be capturing the eyes of a handful of girls in the class, including Lorraine's.

"Whose the blonde kid?" Circe asked. Even he couldn't help from staring.

"Oh him?" Phineas laughed, a cut of light shimmering across his glasses. "That's Conrad Skeely one of the popular geezers in this school. I share a dorm with him in the Hero Center and he's kind of an annoying asshat.

"You're just jealous he's Australian," said Lorraine dreamily.

"By my dead body maybe I would be."

Circe and Zebulon snickered. Then the last student swaggered forth into the room. She had bright strawberry red hair, dimples, and a mixed Caucasian Japanese look. To Circe she carried a cool jocular aura that screamed that she liked to clown around a lot.

"Oh great, the shapeshifter girl," Zebulon muttered. Circi grinned. "She asked me for your number you know."

"Shut it,"

Carrow Katakowa walked toward them beaming. "Sweet, you guys are in this class! It might not be a shit show after all! Hey Jethreel!" Carrow waved as she rose to the fourth level seats.

The black kid named Jethreel remained silent. He seemed rather sulky and simply wasn't in the business to be bothered. He straightened his striped red tie as Carrow slumped into a seat beside him, grinning childishly.

The classroom was infested with chatter until the door burst open and a tall man in dark purple robes entered the building. He had short gray hair, cloudy gray eyes, a gangly, sticklike disposition that made him appear taller than he actually was, and a lot of lines on his miserable gaunt face. Behind the purple robes, he wore a regular suit with a purple striped tie. He oddly reminded Circe of Mr. Brixon but with a drop of style. The door shut quickly and loudly and the gray haired man snappishly turned to his students, void of cracking a smile on his dry face.

"Welcome to first period Monster Studies, my name is Tobias Raufman or simply Professor Raufman, and I will be your Monster Studies teacher for this year and hopefully the later ones as well." He said all this as he prowled back and forth across the room. His voice was dry and mechanical and Circe got the feeling that he really wasn't looking forward to seeing them next year or this year at all. Raufman stared across the room with his cold, gray wolfish eyes until it finally landed on Circe.

"Circe Chimer," said Raufman. "It seems we have our very own monster in the room."

A few snickers unleashed and Circe could hear Malik's at the forefront.

"I've met your father, not exactly the best role model is he?"

The class roared with laughter as Circe flushed, clenching his fists. Phineas readjusted his glasses and looked down at the table and Zebulon nervously fiddled with his fingers.

"I don't think it's any of your business who his father is," said Avery. "Leave him alone."

Professor stared at Avery carefully, his noxious, scathing gray eyes shaking. "Right". Then he resumed his dry, mechanical drawl as he prowled around like a gray snow wolf. Circe wouldn't have been surprised if he transformed into one on the spot and ate everyone.

"I was born and raised in the cold pines of Dresden and as I grew up, I slowly discovered the world of monsters. My parents were very successful Shadowers in Germany but they never taught me much about the creatures they fought. I had to figure that stuff out on my own. I wish I had a university like this when I was your age, it would've magnificently simplified things for me."

Professor Raufman stopped his intimidating, predatory prowl, and stood in front of his metallic blue glass desk, carefully screening the room. Then he went up to the blackboard and scrawled up the word Monster.

"A monster," he said calmly, yet icily to the class. "What is it? What makes something a monster?"

There was a cool silky silence in the room, the kids swapped looks but no one raised their hands.

Carrow shot her hands in the air. "Oooh!"

"Yes?" said Professor Raufman.

"A monster is like something that kills people, right?"

"Sort of. That is one of the things that constitutes a monster, but that's not who they are entirely. What a monster truly is at heart is a creature who will go to any lengths to get what they desire. It's all about them right? It's all about desire."

"Oooh," said Carrow again, her eyes dancing excitedly. A few Mecha and Hero students looked nervous. Lorraine shifted in her seat uncomfortably.

"But everyone has desires," said Avery snorted skeptically. "How can that make you a monster?"

"Because it comes from the self, it's prideful. And when that selfish desire grows and becomes stronger, it leads to evil acts to obtain it," Raufman continued to prowl across the room, putting his hands in his trousers. "A monster isn't just a two dimensional creature that kills people just because it wants to, it has an objective. A monster starts from the inside and is out to obtain something, to achieve a desire that it's always wanted from a young age. And those desires aren't concrete things like food, money, women, houses, or cars. No, these desires are spiritual abstract things. Lust, love, respect, fame, and happiness. That's why you'll find that a monster isn't just a three headed creature or a demon, no, a monster can also be a human. And every monster has their own abstract desires or jewels, as us Shadowers call them."

Raufman walked back to his desk, crossing his arms. "My aim in this class is to specifically teach you about what these monsters are and the many jewels that they value because there are more than just five. I only listed the basic ones. Today, and basically this week we're going to be talking about the Unkillables. Does anyone know what that is? I'll give you a hint, there's one sitting in this room."

Lorraine and Avery's hands shot into the air.

"Yes," Professor Raufman pointed at Lorraine.

"An Unkillable is a monster that's very difficult to kill. Or impossible to kill. And they also cause the most destruction than any other monster."

"They're also very rare to find," added Avery. "They don't like being in public too much which is why they come around once in a blue moon."

"I'm impressed. The four Unkillables that we'll be looking into are the Chimera, the Nine Tailed Fox, the Hydra, and the Leviathan. But these are the ones that are well documented, there are plenty more out that you'll learn about in your later years. For this unit we will also focus on studying the Erchitu; a white ox humanoid, the Simargle; a winged wolf, dog, or lion, the Indrik; one horned bull with deer legs and horse face, the Teju Jagua; a lizard dog hybrid, and plenty more. We will have a total of four units in this class, starting off with the Unkillables and Class One monsters, then we'll move on to the Originals (Class Two Monsters), then the Numerals (Class Three monsters), and finally the Jewels. You will have quizzes and tests, you will be reading from textbooks, and you will also watch videos and take a few trips about the lessons that we talk about. You will be assigned your own textbooks so be sure to take them to your lockers or dorms. After class today, you will also be assigned your own locker and locker combinations so be sure to not lose any of these things. Does anyone have any questions?"

The still silence crept across the room. A few students looked at each other trying not to laugh and a few blinked like a nonchalant, unperturbed owl.

"I must also say that throughout your educational journey as Shadower and as you begin to fight monsters in your later that you will come across the Spirit. I'd advise you to not be swayed by the Spirit and stick to your own principles. Many Shadowers have followed the Spirit's path and ended up dead, desensitized to the world, or completely paranoid."

"What exactly is the Spirit?" Phineas asked.

"I wish I had an answer to prop up Mr. Dempsey, but unfortunately it's not so simple to describe. You'll just have to live through it to understand, it catches the best of us."

A few seconds later textbooks with a notebook and pen crystallized onto the desks,

"Now turn your textbooks to page forty three, we will start reading about the Chimera. Starting with its origins and first sightings in Thessaloniki, Greece. I'll need someone to read, how about you Chimer? It fits in nicely, doesn't it?" Raufman grinned, showing his bent and broken yellow teeth.

Resisting the urge to retort, Circe read off the first paragraph. "Chimeras have always been around since the day of ancient Greece. Back when there was only one, back before the days of the saints when they would sweep the country through cities like Corinth and Thessaloniki indoctrinating the Greeks into their filthy Christian beliefs. Back in the ancient days when the country worshipped its own gods, the Chimera was highly respected and would prowl through the streets in the form of man. The first one was born in the city of Thessaloniki—"

"Speak louder Chimer and hold your book straight," said Raufman lazily. "Perhaps you should've combed your hair as well."

The class roared with laughter. Malik's raucous laugh rang out the loudest.

"Hey Chimer, turn around!" Malik warbled. Crumpled balls of paper were being tossed behind Circe's head.

"Shut up!" Circe shouted, banging his fist on the table as he got up. His face was red and his eyes were dancing with rage as a lonely tear trickled down his cheek. He ignored Avery's urgent silent mouthing to sit down. His textbook was lifting into the harsh exciting air and some of the students around him stared at him with their penciled eyebrows raised.

Conrad Skeely stared.

"You think you can just say anything you want because you're a teacher but you're just a bully. You're a hurt miserable bully who doesn't have any friends! And you'll never be likable Professor Raufman."

The class withered in silence, nervous looks being traded more than drugs from a cartel. Even they knew Circe had taken it too far. Avery tried not to smile, Aviv was giggling to herself.

"Burn," muttered Carrow.

"Silence!" Professor Raufman growled. "Detention for you Mr. Chimer and I want to see you at my desk after class. If I ever see this tongue from you again, I will be sure to drag you by the scruff of your neck and kick you out of this class myself. Now sit down!"

Circe remained standing. "Circe, remember what you told me? Please sit down," Avery whispered earnestly.

It took every bone in Circe's body to force him to sit down but he eventually slipped back into his seat.

"Fahreed, pick up where Chimer left off."

The class sunk into a stupor as they listened to the middle eastern Mecha read off from the textbook. For the rest of the class, they took notes, watched Professor Raufman write down the different battles the Chimera had through history, and then they watched a quick video toward the end of class. When the bell rang, everyone got up and trickled out of the classroom.

"Chimer!" Professor Raufman called when everyone had left.

Circe gloomily walked to the blue desk.

"If I ever see you speak to me like that, I will be sure to expel you. Or worse. I'll be informing Ulrik of your detention and Zenithclad of your sudden cheek. Watch your tongue Chimer or eventually someone will have to cut it and you better hope it's not me. Now get out of my sight!"

Grumbling to himself, Circe stormed away, fuming. The door automatically slammed once he reached the crowded hallways. Surely, out of all the odds, Circe thought, there were better professors that could've been picked to teach Monster Studies.