A heavy huffing sound which seemed to be of Danava, a giant demon used by the enemy clans to wipe out entire villages woke me up.

"Bali. Wake up our men and tell them to evacuate the succubus's and the cambions (kid demons) immediately."

Still half asleep, I quickly got up from the bed in an attempt to take a defensive stance. My legs got entangled in a cloth and I fell on the floor chin first.

Thanks to which I was completely awake. My legs were intertwined in my blanket. I looked outside the window and saw a sports car on the front road with its high bass exhaust.

The mother had already left and an omelet was prepared for the breakfast, along with some money for lunch.

It had been a week since I was reincarnated into this human body. The goddess said that one cannot be reincarnated as a new individual but only as an already existing one. Apparently, the previous owner of this body poisoned himself to death. That explains the empty glass bottle on the bed when I first woke up.

I am supposed to start attending college starting today. I had a habit of waking up early but by the time I got up the mother had left for work.

Even though this world was completely new for me, it didn't take me long to get bored.

Every day was the same, sitting alone in my room. At this time I had taken a liking to human entertainment sources like video games and watching tv series.

The clock hands hit 8:45 am. I put on my uniform and stepped out for college. The sun was up in the sky, shining brightly. 9 am is a common timing for job employees and colleges.

There were adults in a hurry on their way to work and teenagers in uniforms walking in groups chit-chatting, gossiping and laughing. Are they pursuing something, looking forward to today or just surviving, finding ways to keep themselves busy to avoid thinking about their doom with no destination…

"Move out of the way!" A voice came from the left at an intersection. I saw a flicker of movement. I took a step back but it was too late. Thud!

"Ow, Ow, Ow. Are you deaf? I told you to move."

We were both down on our butts, on the footpath, facing each other. The girl was wearing the same college uniform as me.

"The warning was given just a moment before the collision, so I don't think it can be considered as a warning"

"Tch.. I know guys like you. You bumped into me on purpose. Disgusting perverts."

Pervert..? How dare she call me a pervert. I wasn't interested in female humans.

She had big emerald green eyes with a sharp touch to them. Her dark black hair traveled down her hips with two thick braids of hair in front of her shoulders. She had a slim but well-endowed body and neatly pressed clothes.

But then my eyes spotted something that I couldn't identify or recall from the information that the stupid goddess put in my memory. It could only mean one thing.

It is a completely new sight for a 16-year-old boy. Something underneath her skirt seemed to be captivating my eyes. One look at its bright red texture and you can tell that it was silky and soft.

Wait.. I remember something, it is a girl's pa..pan...panties. A cold sensation ran down from my nose. I had a nosebleed. Are panties a powerful mana source?

I looked up and our eyes met. Her eyes were filled with disgust.

"You Pervert!!" She pressed her skirt with one hand covering her panties and closed her legs.

She swung her right arm. I caught it with my hand instinctively, just before it was about to hit me on the face. Her annoyed face turned red.

"Ho.. How dare you touch me? You lowlife pervert!"

Jerking off her hand free, she quickly stood up. She brushed off the dirt on her skirt, turned her back towards me and started to walk away. After walking a few steps she stopped.

"Don't you dare tell anyone at college about this incident" she said without looking back and continued walking once again.

Something gleaming caught my eye. It was a blue-colored fountain pen. The pen had a marble-like polish which made it appear smooth and shiny. The girl must have dropped when she bumped into me. I picked it up and kept it in my pocket. 

I wiped off the blood and waited for her to put some distance between us, to avoid crossing paths with her again.

                                                  *****

I saw more students in the same uniform outside the college. Some of them were in a rush as it was already late others had books in their hand shuffling through pages hurriedly.

Do they have a test? Isn't today the first day of college?

The college was located on the outskirts of the city. So the surroundings were quiet with not much activity. The college had no playground for sports and no club activities. But the infrastructure was relatively decent.

By the time I reached my assigned class the teacher had already started with his lecture.

On entering the class, the teacher noticed me. With a raised eyebrow he remarked almost in a taunting attitude, "Coming late on the first day of college and that too walking in without asking for permission."

I ignored his poor attempt to tease me. I have seen better.

I took a quick glance at the class. All the students were on their seats with open books and pens out. To my surprise, the girl I bumped into this morning was in the same class. Our eyes met, but she quickly averted her eyes.

"Wait a minute. Where is your bag?"

"We had to bring bags!?" I asked.

"Tsk. Pathetic delinquents'' the teacher murmured, "Forget that I asked. Everyone's introduction is over, so why don't you introduce yourself and let's just get this over with."

I was facing the class. All pairs of eyes were on me.

"My name is Asura Singh and I will crack the NEAT exam."

A few eyebrows were raised. But it was logical that everyone who is here sitting in this class has come with the same goal in mind.

"....on my first attempt," I added.

This time the eyes of every student and even the teacher were wide open in surprise.

"That was stupidly bold of you Mr. Asura considering the fact that only a few percent of students clear the exam on their first try. And you certainly don't look the type."

There goes my first impression down in the dumps. Not that I care about it."You can go and sit on the last seat there." said the teacher while pointing at the last seat second from the right wall.

On my way to the designated seat, I noticed a few faces that looked at me with anger. I just wanted to make it clear from the start that I wasn't just another human in a crowd like them.

I sat down in my seat. The girl from the morning sat on the seat adjacent to me. She kept a straight face.

"I'll introduce myself once again. My name is Piyush Watwani and I'll be teaching Physics. I am also your Classroom teacher. So I request all of you to cooperate with me."

Mr. Piyush opened a book and started flipping pages.

"Hey dude, your introduction was so badass." said the guy sitting in the seat on my left. 

I wanted to state that I am superior to these livestock. How is that badass?

He seemed to be fairly shorter than me and had a slim body. He had field-drab, brown coloured spiky hairs that is cut to show all of his face. His eyes were pineapple yellow in colour.

"Take out the 2nd volume of Physics and open to page no. 17."

We had to bring books!? And that too volume 2?

"Isn't today the first day of college? I asked the boy.

"Yes, today is the first day." he replied.

"Then why skip directly to Vol. 2?

"The portion covered in the first volume mostly consisted of basics and theory chapters like units and dimensions. Any Physics teacher won't waste a lecture teaching elementary course."

"So what are we supposed to do with it?"

"What do you mean? You haven't read it yet? All of the students have already read it a few times and the teachers assume it too."

A few times?

The boy continued, "Most of the NEAT aspirants start studying immediately after their 10th board exams. What were you doing during the vacations?"

"Anime and games," I answered.

"Woah! A NEAT student who plays games and watches anime. Man. You really must be a genius."

Yeah, he is right. I don't have to worry. I will give it a reading once I buy the books. If these humans can do it, then meh- I wouldn't even have to break a sweat for it. Now let's focus on the ongoing lecture.

He stood up and moved his seat closer to mine and slid his book towards me.

"Here. We can share the book for today. I am Rahul Prajapati. Let's study together." He said with a smile on his face.

Why is this guy helping me? We just met a few minutes ago. There must be something that he thinks he can gain from being nice to me. I know how these meetings end.

Half an hour has passed since Mr. Piyush had started teaching. All students had their focus on the blackboard and the teacher. The knowledge of a 16-year-old human student was put in my mind and I, previously a higher species, should find human education easy. Then why am I having trouble keeping up with the speed of the teacher?

After taking a deep breath. I asked Rahul, "Why is he teaching at such a fast pace? Isn't a teacher supposed to explain things and stuff? Is this how they teach things on earth?"

He rubbed his chin, "Well, I don't know what you mean by 'teach things on earth' but he is teaching at a comparatively faster pace. That's how all the teachers at this college teach. The reason for that is because all the students read the topic that is supposed to be taught in the next lecture at home so that they can get a better grasp on the topic, and the teachers expect that too."

There is a little too much reading at home and expecting things from the teachers going on at this college.

The lecture ended and the next started without a break. A lecture after that and another one after that, until it was 1 pm. Finally, it was time for lunch.

My head felt heavy and my neck was hardly managing to keep it up. It felt like attending those lectures drained the mana out of my body. Sitting in the same spot for 4 hours not understanding a word that was spoken was maybe the closest thing I experienced to demon torture on earth.