Inside of what seemed to be a classroom there were people of a different variety of ages. In the far back, there was Kenny, looking down at a paper with questions on them. He was now taking the written portion of the Recruitment Trails. Many around him were scratching their heads, confused by the test''s complexity. Kenny on the other hand was calm, not seeming fazed by the test.


    ''Alright, next question. "How many ranks are demons categorized in and what are said ranks?" This is easy, there are 7 Ranks demons are categorized in, starting from the bottom is F-Rank, then E-Rank, then there''s D-Rank, C-Rank, B-Rank, A-Rank, and S-Rank. There''s also another Rank but Vanquishers consider them a whole different species due to their absolutely overwhelming power, they''re known as "Devils". I can understand why, it''s said that a S-Rank to a Devil is a massive jump in power.''


    On the other side of the room was Claire, with her golden blonde hair and forest like green eyes. Her slim and calloused hands holding a pencil. An anxious look was visible on her face. Unlike Kenny, she seemed like she was really struggling.


    ''Dammit why do they have to make this test so hard! Okay, calm down, let''s see, "how does a Vanquisher seal a pathway?" Oh, that one''s easy, by retrieving a key from a sky island.''


    Minutes passed by, Kenny stood up from his seat walked up to the front of the room. 3 men were standing in front of a podium. He placed his paper on the podium and turned around to go back to his seat, but one of the men stopped him with a surprise expression.


    "You''re finished already?" The man asked with a surprised look.


    Kenny nodded and went back to his seat and sat down. He rested his chin on the palm of his hand and looked out through the window beside him. His messy brown hair danced to the air''s current that came from the open window.


    ''I know I definitely passed the written test, but, what I''m worried about is the next test where it''s all about combat ability. If I perform too poorly, my written scores won''t make up for it. Well, I did my best the past 5 years training with a sword. I even touched some hand to hand combat so if I don''t make it, it just means I was too weak. No point in fretting about it.''


    Soon, all the other cadets turned in their paper, many looking visibly worried. They sat in their seats for about 30 minutes. With each minute they only grew more nervous, with their hearts beating out of their chests, the results were announced.


    Half of the cadets had failed.


    The next test however, was where most of them were going to be weeded out. The remaining cadets walked out the room, all looking anxious except for a few. Kenny sighed and put on a serious face, reading himself for the challenge to come.


    ***


    Upon reaching the testing grounds, dozens of white circles made of sand could be seen. The cadets were free to chose any wooden weapon of their liking. Kenny grabbed a wooden sword and then walked up to one of the white circles and took his battle stance, putting his left foot far in front of his right while bending his right knee a little. He raised his sword up to the back of his neck and horizontally placed it there as he lifted his left hand, plam open, towards his opponent. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    Across from Kenny was a dark haired muscular man. The man looked at Kenny with pity, clearly underestimating him.


    Outside of the ring of sand was a man who seemed to be a Vanquisher. Actually there were dozens of Vanquishers there. each at a ring observing the newly started battles.


    The muscular man put his wooden axe to his right with both hands and charged towards Kenny. He swung his axe nearly missing Kenny''s chest as he dashed backwards to avoid the attack. Once kenny had touched the ground he immediately dashed towards the man swinging his sword with all his strength. The man instantly raised his axe, blocking Kenny''s swing. Kenny took his blade back and prepared a barraged of attacks.


    The man was struggling to keep up with Kenny''s onslaught of attacks. Although he was strong, his muscular body was restraining his speed making him unable to counter attack.


    Kenny retreated back, catching his breath. The man looked angered and inwardly insulted Kenny as he dashed towards him. Kenny jumped into high the air avoiding the horizontal swing and with a kick, hit the man straight in the jaw with the back of his foot. The man slowly stepped backwards clearly in a daze and fell backwards.


    The Vanquisher that was observing the battle looked somewhat astonished at the way Ken had defeated his opponent, but didn''t pay it any mind. A win is a win after all.


    ''It''s good that I defeated him, but what they are looking for his capable fighters that can kill demons, not other humans so he still might have a chance. Anyway, how is Claire doing?''


    Kenny exited the Circle and walked around for a few minutes, trying to find the circle Claire was in. He eventually found her fighting against yet again, a muscular man.


    ''Do all these people only care about their muscles?'' Kenny questioned himself.


    With incredible speed Claire lunged towards the man. She swung her wooden sword, striking the man on the neck winning the mock battle. Claire had noticed Kenny observing her fight. With a smile on her face she walked over to her childhood friend.


    "Wow you already finished your match? That was quick."


    Kenny put a faint smile and responded.


    "Yeah, I was lucky to get a weak opponent." Kenny responded.


    "That''s good, so are we Vanquishers now?" Claire questioned.


    "Unfortunately, not yet."


    "Tch, yeah that was too easy. So what''s next?"


    With a calm expression Kenny pointed behind himself with his thumb then responded to Claire''s question.


    "It''s another mock battle, with the ones who won."


    Claire didn''t look surprised. She knew that there was more to it then what she had experienced. Now that the weaklings had been disposed of, the remaining ones were undoubtedly going to be strong. Kenny also knew this in fact it was the next mock battle that had him worried.


    Even if your defeated. If the Vanquisher Corps sees you have potential they''ll still pass you on to become one of them. Claire might be fine, but Kenny on the other hand had isn''t so fortunate. Even he himself knew he had almost no potential. The only reason he had the courage to enter the Recruitment Trails was due to his swordsmanship and hard work developing it, and with his useless gift, it only made it worse. The thought of all of those grueling days that he had spent swinging a sword going down the bin, frightened him to his core.


    After all of the first mock battles were finished, the arrangements for the second battles were already in place. Kenny walked over to his designated ring. He looked at his opponent and his fear he had felt earlier struck him, a cold sweat ran down his cheek, for his opponent for the second battle was none other than the most promising cadet among them all. It was the Generals second son, William Yemel.


    Kenny took his battle stance readying himself for a fight he knew he was going to lose.