9:00 A.M

"All of you are going to need to listen to what I have to say, as undoubtedly somebody will forget a rule, or how to advance. This isn't your average academy, we do things the hardcore way here. I care not if you die, I simply write you off on the expenses list. These rules are absolute, and nothing will ever be added, subtracted, or bent."

"Number 1! No intentionally killing people!"

"Number 2! You are not allowed to implicate us in any criminal activity!"

"Number 3! There will not—

"Yo shut your bitch ass mouth up!" Shouted a bold student from the back half of the lecture hall. "We've all already seen the rules, and they're pretty basic. Besides, nobody gives a flying shit about your stupid anime 'there isn't anytihng prohibiting it' mantra. There's nothing to be gained by doing that."

"Augh!" exclaimed the now embarrassed vice-principal. "How dare a measly student whose parents probably left them on our doorstep declare that the rules of this academy are 'basic'! I'll have you do the worst labour punishment allowable!"

"You could try that, but there isn't a rule that specifically dictates that we are forced to comply with your demands" I interjected. "Now if you don't mind, show us where we can actually accomplish something other than wasting time."

I, and the portion of the students that had done our homework and looked at the rules before hand, burst open the unnecessarily intricate mahogany doors, and followed the clear white signs marked 'Testing Rooms →' According to the handbook that the escort to the academy gave each of us, we would have to choose to specialize in one of the 4 core stats. Within each stat group, there were also 10 divisions, from Division X to Division I. As I expanded my knowledge of this academy, I decided to choose to specialize in AGI, or Agility. As I opened one of the doors marked "AGI Test Room 1" A crisp smell of apples flooded into my nose. A soft feminine voice flowed out from behind a desk,

"Welcome. You are my first tester of the day. How would you like to be tested, combat or demonstration?"

I thought about the choice for a bit. Why would there be a choice? What's the difference? Demonstration is probably for the nepotism add-ins, children of rich parents who can't do anything practical, they can only show off flamboyant attacks with no real substance. But what if the combat option is less admirable? I doubt it. A further point is that demonstration really only allows for one attack to be seen, any more and it's probably seen as just showing off. I better pick combat then.

"Combat"

The serene woman immediately launched herself at me, forcing myself to stretch the limits of my flexibility, and yet, I was still struck in the chest, sending me skidding a few feet before I recuperated.

(A/N: I'm going to switch to third person for fight scenes because it's frankly more enjoyable. And I can use it for cliffhangers!)

James then activated Battle Sense, effectively putting a hard cap on this fight, in exchange for actually being able to stand a chance. He drew his sword from the cerulean void of his pocket dimension and stepped forward to engage. He then leapt at the woman and slashed downward, forcing her to jump back, as it was clear that she would pose even more of a challenge than Lucan.

The two parties engaged in a close combat sword fight, neither one have a distinct advantage, although the woman had vastly more battle experience. The tables drastically turned, however, when she whispered,

"Hasten"

She immediately got what appeared to be a 20% boost in speed, and began to overwhelm James with her attacks. What used to be an easily detectable feint turned into a quick and deadly strike, what was once a harmless slash is now an attack that could end the match. James knew that he had to do something to gain back an advantage, or he would be pushed into the corner bit by bit, as he had to take chances of getting hit constantly, and his stamina was being drained by the second.

James decided to jump away from the fight toward the only lamp in the room, and unleashed a small amount of shadow. Instantly the space was plunged into crippling darkness, and James could use his Assassin Job Class for it's intended purpose. He snuck back around to the woman, and pointed the tip of his sword at her throat, ending the sparring match.

"Heh. Congratulations James Skylia. You've exceeded the Division one conditions. See to it that you are on time to class tomorrow. It starts at 3 before noon."