3rd POV:
„Silence." Says Kalego-sensei as he enters the class, stopping the weapons sprung at him with a magical barrier and redirecting them on the ground. He looks highly annoyed, walking to the front of the class and taking his seat. "Tch, I wasn't present at the meeting and was assigned this class in my absence. This isn't as bad in itself, but this also dragged in a demon that doesn't need your influences. Afterall, it was promised I keep an eye on them." He says, his eyes focusing on you. The class around looks curious at what this means, but no one dares ask out loud. Kalego looks down at his hands where he takes out a book and starts the roll call. You sit quietly while taking in the appearances of your classmates, lost in thought until you hear your name called. "[L/N]." Kalego says, his eyes on you again. "Here." You reply simply, getting a nod as he moves on.
This goes on for a while, and when done he stands up. "Alright you idiotic troublemakers, today we determine your ranks. Gather outside." He commands. Following, you all go down into the cave systems and then take a demon elevator to the top of a flat landing in a valley that has many sharp peaks scattered through it. "This year's first exam is a flight race. You will race to the end of the valley to where the red flag is. Your rank is determined based on your familiar summoning ritual and today's race. [Y/N]," he starts, grabbing your attention "you can't fly, so you sit this race out. You will get a worse rank, but it's better than plummeting to your death.". This gets a few more curious looks, especially from Iruma. "Don't." You hear a soft whisper and recognize Oracle standing beside you from the corner of your eye. "You can race too, just way less efficiently. You got one thing you can use, plus there's stairs both from this landing and from the landing with the flag." They say, and you realize what they are implying. You look Kalego in the eye and bite your thumb, summoning your familiar Kutsu. Behind you the fleshy beast emerges, getting a few sounds of surprise from the class around you. "I can still race, Kalego-sensei... Just not in the sky." You say as the beast obediently walks to your side. He himself looks at the creature in surprise, and then at you. Then he huffs, a pleased smirk forming on his face. "Very well, but don't expect me to help if you get lost." He says, and your invisible companion leans in. "Good move. I'll be with you all the way, don't worry." They say.
"Start." Kalego suddenly commands, and the demons except for Iruma fly off. You jump onto Kutsu's back and grab onto some of the bony protrusions, commanding it to go. It races off with you down the floating spiral of stairs at the side of the landing, racing down quickly. You already know your limbs will hurt at the end from holding onto it. The air squeals in your ears from the speed, and you quickly make it to the ground from where you continue the race. You can see your classmates are already far ahead, and despite you being disappointed, you keep your spirits up and follow. You feel arms around you, and immediately recognize the Oracle. "This brings us back, we met in a place similar to this. I'm quite proud of you, seeing how you're growing. Anyway, we want to tell you something about Kutsu. It's made up of two familiars: Shadow Wolf and the elusive Mountain Cat, with our bond in the mix. Funny enough, from the Shadow Wolf it inherited the skill Intimidation, which is used to instill fear in opponents. A brilliant skill mixed with its appearance. Then it also inherited Innocence from the Mountain Cat, the complete opposite which instead works to appear less intimidating. Keep those in mind." They say. You race through the dry grounds and a blue flower field, around plants that attack anything that flies and keep on moving. Kutsu has no issues, breathing heavily as it carries you towards your goal.
But there is a reason why demons can fly. You are 2/3 there when you happen upon a field of grass, and there are many pack bulls, large creatures with giant horns and hooves, but also long crocodile maws. They take notice of you, and you command Kutsu to stop. "You need to instruct Kutsu on what to do. Put your hands on it, feed it the feeling of your worst fear and make him use it with the intimidation skill. Magic is all about imagination." The Oracle whispers. You obey, closing your eyes and thinking of your worst fear. The most common of fears is death itself, and then you recall when you thought you were going to die when the Oracle invaded your system those years ago, how its flesh tore into yours to shove itself inside you through your back. If anyone would stick their hand into the slit in your back, they would feel your insides – The Oracle. The flesh in there is a large chunk covered in eyes, working as your stomach, heart and everything else. You think of your fear back then, feeling it again and giving the same feeling though your hands into your familiar. "Kutsu, Intimidation." You order, and the beast under you quivers. Its red skin grows as dark as dead grass, turning an ashy black and the creature grows into twice it's size, its bony spikes growing significantly. It's larger a bit than the bulls, it's newly yellow eyes staring at them with clear intent to consume. Then its maw opens and out comes a loud piercing rumbling cacophony made of many voices screaming in agony, the air around it's jaw vibrating. Even if you are the rider, you feel goosebumps on your skin from the noise that penetrates your very being. The bulls back off and break into a run, the whole herd fleeing. You make Kutsu continue running, and with a newfound vigor it chases the herd since they are going the same way. "Don't let go of the feeling, keep the fear." The Oracle says.
The animals flee as if their life depends on it, some stumbling but they keep on going from the fear of death. Your hearing is filled with the sound of their hooves hitting the ground and their panicked breathing, but you grow numb to your surroundings and focus on the feelings you are feeding your familiar. It's slightly gaining on them and breathing heavily. Suddenly you see something ahead. The bulls keep on running past it, but one gets snatched by the large being. A bipedal winged lion beast holds the bull in its jaw as if it was nothing, and notices Kutsu. "Don't panic," your companion says, setting their hands on your shoulders "scare it good.". You are a bit numbed to the surroundings, so you indeed don't panic and instead draw a deep breath. "Kutsu, Intimidation." You say, your mind laced with confidence and fear. Kutsu quivers under you, it's throat rumbling as it gains the same determination to scare the beast. It's jaw clenches before it opens wide, energy coursing through its body to carry out your order. The sound that comes out is as if something five times Kutsu's size roared out, utter terror and despair basically palpable in the air. This noise drives the point home, and the lion beast's heart clenches as it senses death. It spreads its wings and flies away in a hurry, even leaving the dead bull behind. The noise echoed through the valley, and everything from insects to predators seeks refuge in hiding spots. With your way clear, you continue the race. "Great job, my Martyr. This manipulation of feelings is the bread and butter of our abilities. Learn it well." The Oracle says, and you feel it quiver with delight inside.
It doesn't take long for you to reach the final landing, and you let go of your feelings, making Kutsu revert to its original size. You advance up the spiraling stairs around it, and finally reach the top. Everyone except Iruma and Sabnock is here already, and some jolt in surprise when you come from elsewhere than the direction they flew in from. Kalego notices the commotion and seems pleased when he turns around. "[Y/N], check." He says out loud, filling in his clipboard. You slide off of Kutsu and drop down on the ground, chuckling a bit when Kutsu sits beside you and pokes you with its snout. "Hey, I'm Jazz." Says the tall demon with spiky black hair, squatting down beside you. "I know. [Y/N]." You respond, relaxing your tense shoulders. "If you don't mind me asking, why didn't you fly? And what does Kalego mean by keeping an eye on you?" He asks, Lied and Goemon also coming over to hear the answer they were itching for. "I lost my wings in an accident and due to it I have Evil Cycles that come and go randomly, so I need some extra supervision. And yeah, can't fly." You say, shrugging with a smile. "Wow, you got it hard. If I were in your place, I wouldn't have raced. You got guts!" Jazz says, patting your shoulder. "Mhm! I would have probably done the same." Lied says, rubbing his neck awkwardly. "I know this is off topic, but I am curious – Since you were on the ground, you probably know what made that terrific roar earlier. Kalego-sensei was debating fetching you when he heard it, but then you showed up." Goemon suddenly says. "I know this is hard to believe, but it was Kutsu." You admit, not wanting to lie to the three. "You mean your familiar?" Lied perks up. You nod and pat Kutsu, who makes a pleased snort. "It is kind of hard to believe, but you wouldn't lie about this if you couldn't prove it. Will you show us sometime?" Jazz smiles, and you reluctantly nod as you unsummon Kutsu.
Before you can start another topic, you are interrupted by a few gasps. You turn your head and see a large owl beast with two red eyes fly toward you, and Kalego protectively stands in front of you all. "The Guardian of the Cutthroat Valley... What is it doing here?" He thinks out loud, and then out of the beast's fluff pokes Iruma, waving at us all. Despite this grand entrance along with Sabnock, they are both put to kneel in time out as a punishment for going through the Valley and not the main route. Then out of nowhere a three eyed white owl with a pocket on its belly lands on Kalego-sensei's arm. "This is a ranking owl which has followed your entire race. You will draw badges with ranks from it and depending on your proficiency you will get your rank. You will draw in the order you arrived here in." Kalego explains, and the draws begin as the owl lands down on a stone table.
Asmodeus – Dalet(4)
Jazz – Gimel(3)
Kerori – Bet(2)
Clara – Gimel(3)
Everyone else before you gets Aleph(1), and you approach the rank owl nervously right after. The Oracle stands besides Kalego-sensei, smiling at you. You put your hand in and feel a metal badge, which you take out and then look at. Upon looking at it, your brain freezes and stops altogether as you see your rank. A drop of water falls on your hand, and you realize you are crying. You wipe your face while clenching the metal as the demons behind you start getting curious, and Kalego glances at you confused as well. "I refuse to believe this. I don't have wings and I'm not very strong, this can't be real." You say, and those around realize you did better than you thought. "What did you get?" Kalego-sensei asks, walking over to you. Silently, you present your badge to the demon. "Dalet(4)?!" He says, taking the badge from you and inspecting it to see if there's some sort of trick to it but finds nothing. He looks at you with surprise evident on his face, and when he sees your tears of both joy and confusion, his expression softens. Someone like you wouldn't cheat, you're bawling your eyes out! He huffs, and then pins the badge to your collar for you. "Good job, [Y/N]. The owl wouldn't give you something like this if you did less than perfect." He says, and when you make an awkward smile mixed with some tears, he sighs and pats your head "And stop crying, it's not fitting of a dalet!". "Yes sensei." You squeak awkwardly and make your way to your classmates, where the trio you chat with gathers around you. "A dalet? How'd you do it?" Lied says, leaning in too close. "I scared off a few things with Kutsu..." You squeak. "Let the man be, he's overwhelmed." Goemon says, but Jazz grins and grabs your shoulders, shaking you. "Stop crying, stop crying." He chants as he does so, and you playfully slap his hands away. "Okay, okay! I'm not crying." You say, slowly regaining your composure as the three smile at you.
Sabnock then draws a Bet(2) and Iruma gets all the attention again by getting a ring instead of a rank, automatically assigning him to Aleph(1). Following a small fiasco with the ring leeching off of others' magical powers and Sullivan showing up to stop Kalego from blowing Iruma's hand off to protect everyone you all end the day on a good note.
After getting home and sharing the news with the family, you go to your room to rest. "Great job today, [Y/N]." The Oracle says as they manifest besides you while you sit on your bed. "It was a lot, I'm still processing it all." You admit, and they smile. "I know. But today was also a great step towards you controlling my powers. Controlling emotions will help you greatly, along with spells. Still, I urge you to be also attentive to those around you as our powers stem from the minds of others. You will have to rely on them, but not in the way you think." They say as you lie down completely. "What do you mean?" You ask, and they smile once more "It means I will teach you great things, [Y/N]. You will be my heir."