"Everyone to your seats class is in session".

  The professor instructed the students that were standing in groups in the auditorium, then began his lesson.

  "Magic is an unrestrained way of interacting with the world, more precisely mana. Perception relying on senses is limited, your assignment is to find a way to perceive the world through space and time. It can be done and you will do it".

  Noir immediately understood, he was already doing something similar, everywhere there was darkness he could see unrestrained if no other magic was interfering with his but the time part came as a surprise to him.

  (Looking at the world through time, meaning precognition and retro cognition. Is it really possible, to look everywhere and everywhen?).

  "Today we'll be focusing on the quality and potency of magic. The world has abstraction they cannot be determined in terms of quantity but quality. Apostles are unbound by the laws of the world but are still bound by high order laws. This is also true for non abstracts that are determined by quantity, think of a spear and shield whose difference in quality cannot be overcome by quantity. A spear that breaks any number of shields or a shield that doesn't break even when attacked by any number of spears..."

  Noir had been reading books but this was his first time hearing of such a thing as high order laws. He could not imagine what they could possibly be and the part about apostles was more shocking. When he read the book of The Old ones he thought the matter of apostles was exaggerated now he was realising how wrong he was.

  "We'll end today's class here. Tomorrow you'll be getting another assignment".

  With class over he went to the library in search of a book that might provide insight into what exactly these high order laws were but he found nothing. He was left with no other thing to do besides the assignment but he could not make any progress on that either. Their first assignment was hard enough that he feared what the second one would be like. Being familiar with an irregular perception did not help much in the first place how does one look at the world through space not to mention time. Bothered by the assignment he went out on a night stroll, being the only one staying in the academy dorms there was no way he could run into anyone, but this also made the place look lonely. He found a place to sit down and looked at the night sky. He saw the spot in the sky devoid of stars, it was much smaller than before. There was cosmic restoration at work thanks to mana, this he was okay with. He wasn't one to enjoy star gazing but still he could not believe that in all the excitement he had missed it.

  "There's no way I would be able to see the present state of the constellations. That's not how light works. Without even realising it I've been using precognition... no that's not it what I'm seeing isn't their future state but present so pseudo precognition would be right or perception through space".

  With knowledge from his previous life he knew that thanks to how light works, the stars one sees at night is actually their past state and not present state. With this realisation he finally found his answer to the assignment if he can see the present state of the world not dependent on light then he was already perceiving the world through space and maybe time. Being familiar with the idea of spacetime continuum, past, present and future existing simultaneously then what is there preventing him from seeing it in its entirety and not just the present, if there was he just had to reject that something. He closed his eyes and when he opened them again he saw the sky in the normal state.

  (Now I'm looking forward to what the next assignment is).

  On the next class the Professor continued his lesson on quality and potency and how quality acted in similar fashion to providence, in situations similar to when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. Their assignment was to increase the level of their magic. With one week gone they were given a week off and after that it would be the practicals. On this assignment he had chosen to seek help.

  "I guess I'll be relying on you Xeta".

  "I have time to spare, just name the time and place. Speaking of time I hope you haven't forgotten what I said".

  Of course the prince didn't believe Noir had forgotten, such a thing as forgetting was impossible for demons. They did not have photographic memory but they never forgot something. They were an ageless existence living with no end when not met with outside interference, if they forgot there would be a great number of disasters.

  "I can think of no better place than the library, and how does the day after tomorrow sound. And how about we do both on the same day".

  "I'm fine with that. Is it okay if I bring my sister?".

  Having no issues with the idea Noir did not mind the extra company, with that settled the two then went their separate ways.

  The academy library unexpectedly no one used it, except for him. This may have been caused by the fact that as nobles they had their own libraries or book rooms. Noir was the last to arrive, he had already met the princess before but he was still not aware of her name, which he found out to be Luna, after their introductions.

  "Well this is much easier than it seems, you just have to advance your magic like it did when you you first awakened".

  (So the change in my magic was actually it advancing).

  "What exactly is awakening, it seems to be more than I thought it was".

  The one to answer his question was Luna, who had remained silent the entire time.

  "When a demon is born their existence is unstable hence the need to bind it to the soul and physical body, so that they don't get absorbed into the darkness around them".

  By darkness Noir knew that it included other demons as well.

  "After awakening they appear to be much stronger than before but this is not the case. The fact of the matter is most of their strength was used to prevent their dissipation, so pre-awakened state is a weakened state".

  (That explains why my mana didn't increase even though I could use more of it than before. It makes sense without a way to keep their true self protected new borns can easily dissipate or absorbed into already existing darkness. I guess being darkness itself isn't all advantages).

  "Another thing about absorption, never attempt to absorb anything that is from magic that's a level higher than yours. In the best case scenario you'll fail to absorb it, worst case the mana is parasitic and overwrites your own and you cease to be you".

  Said Xeta with a serious tone. After further discussion he and Noir were ready to leave, and go to the castle to change his social status.

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  "I came today to tell you I was knew about the hero beforehand"

  Luna said after stopping them for a moment. Noir thought about what she said for while then replied.

  "Now that I've met you, I see you're not that expressive, so if my guess is right you wanted me to express an interest as to why you had such an expression. To be honest I don't feel much about the whole thing, it's almost unreal to me".

  His guess was right if she just told him about the fact there would be less of an impact than when he asked. But in the end he did not ask and that's how they ended up here. He also knew not much would have changed, but knowing she knew, was a revelation of her already using magic he was only just learning. It is possible that's what he thought as he continued on his way to the castle.

  "Between you and Luna who is better at magic?".

  "Hard to say, I think we're about equal".

  "How do you compare to the rest of the class then".

  "It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say I'm leagues above the professor. I'm just there to pass the time and assess talent".

  In the eyes of the prince the academy was the best place to choose the next generation of demon lords. Them being of similar age and generation was a bonus. When they reached the castle they went to one of its studies.

  "You can sit right there, let me take the documents".

  Xeta took a few documents from the shelf and put them on the table. With the documents was something unfamiliar to Noir.

  "You can sign the papers now. After that we'll get to the turning into a noble part".

  Like the Xeta said the paperwork was a formality. The difference between common demon and noble demon was not something that could be breached by signing papers. When he was done signing the paperwork Xeta explained what followed.

  "Normally you would have to be an apprentice to a demon lord then find a way to exceed the limit of unreachable infinity. But we are in a hurry so here's the shortcut".

  Noir already had an idea that there was more to it then just signing so he did not question the prince as to what it was for and accepted the item. Inside was what appeared to be black liquid maybe gas, its state was hard to tell.

  "What exactly is this?"

  He said while shaking the substance inside. He could not analyse it at all.

  "That is the diluted essence of the grail. It can increase your mana but too much of it would overwrite your own".

  With no hesitation Noir turned the item into a syringe and injected the diluted essence into himself. The effect was immediate he felt his head splitting the vast knowledge and mana it had made his seem like nothing.

  "If there's nothing else I think I'll go back. Ah, before I forget what rank am I".

  He could feel himself losing focus, his conscious drifting in and out.

  "By exaggerating I was able to grant you the highest I can. You are now a Count without territory. Now that you're noble you'll need a family name".

  With his authority he could grant titles below marquis without consulting anyone granted they would not have territory.

  "A family name. I'll think about it for now I'm going".

  The diluted essence gave him the same experience the first nobles had although for them it was accumulated gradually for him it all came at once. The nobles at the time were like finite sized squares that became infinitely sized by studying cubes.

  "They could have just given me the mana why the knowledge too".

  His awakening had improved his magic and his turning into a noble increased his mana. Thankfully they were on a week break, giving him time to adjust to his increase in mana.

  The week passed and it was time for their practical class of magic. They were assembled in the academy field waiting for the professor to do a demonstration.

  "I see you've adjusted to the mana already."

  "Well it was days ago it's to be expected, now I'm just left with advancing my magic. That reminds me since you're even superior to the professor in magic how old are you?".

  "Like most of our classmates I'm a year old".

  By looks no one there looked to be below eleven years old and the Professor who looked to be in is early thirties was actually pasted 5 digits in years.

  (So the royal family is above both noble and common demons in both mana and magic. Explains why I can still feel the pull from him).

  "I always miss my chance of asking you what high order laws are, assuming you know".

  "It's not surprising you don't know them, they are rarely talked about. As mages it's something we try to avoid, them being truths we lack the ability to affect let alone reject. I'll explain it later for now we should focus on what the professor is saying".

  "As much as a mage rejects the world's truth there are those that we are simply to lacking to reject. They are the proof we aren't at the level of grand mage. One such truth is the dual of Dark and Light. So we are left with no choice but to compromise. You will learn how to go right when you can only go left".

  Noir was disagreeing with the professor's choice of words, that made it harder to understand the message, and just on queue, he added.

  "Maybe I didn't phrase it right, what I'm trying to say is doing something inversely to how it's done, to produce the opposite effect. In all honesty it is not necessary unless you want to play with light".

  The Professor sighed and with resignation he continued while forming a ball of darkness.

  "I'll be demonstrating inverse for something we cannot achieve without. For us demons it is impossible to directly manipulate light thanks to some inflexible dual. Now observe as I produce and manipulate light".

  The students watched as light emerged in the ball of darkness, when all the darkness move to a single spot while maintaining the ball, it made it look like light was pushing the darkness to single spot while getting brighter and brighter. The darkness became so small that the ball looked to be made of just light.

  "When darkness is removed, light has to remain. If it's not dark then it has to be light".

  The man looked proud of his statement even smiling unlike his earlier self.

  "Now we can move on to testing your combat sense".

  With a wave of his hand a fighting platform was created. The first combatants were called.

  "Grand, Domic you two are first. You are allowed to use magic to whatever extent you want".

  The two students walked onto the platform. Immediately after the command the two wasted no time both manifested a weapon of darkness, standing opposite of each other on the platform they moved at speeds comparable to one another meeting in the middle. Their weapons clashed, their movements were excellent, a small misstep would be fatal. But to the observers something strange was happening, they could see ahead of the battle. This was without a doubt precognition but to those who managed to advance their magic something more strange was happening.

  (So this is what quality is. I can see two futures, one in which they fight without seeing the future and the consequent one where they fight after seeing the future. So seeing further into the future wasn't quality but the potency)

  Thanks to their magic being a level higher than the fighters they were aware of a future the fighters could not see. Then was the future of them fighting without being aware of the future even real?, no one would be able to give a definite answer to such a question. But this did give them an idea why a mage had to advance their magic, it would give them an edge in a battle. In the end Grand was victorious, after them there was one more match before class ended.

  "I'll be absent for the next four days but you'll be fighting in the order of your progress in my lessons. Starting tomorrow Vincent will spar with Claire, Bell with...on the third day Noir with Van, Drag with..."

  Not everyone was included in the sparring and considering Xeta and Luna were some of them the rest had to atleast be on the same level as the Professor to not be included in battle tests, that's what he concluded. When everyone went their separate ways he went to Xeta who he had unfinished business with.

  "Class is done for the day, now you can explain to me what high order laws are".

  "I was done with the explanation so I'll just tell you about one them. A major one would be how no one including my father, the demon king can kill the person who will be the hero no matter how much they want to and what they do. The person will find a way live somehow, rescued, resurrected it could be anything. The law will protect them till they become the hero. And after being reborn into the hero they are under the protection of another law, which in short translates to the hero can only killed by the demon king and the opposite is also true. My sister and I are also under the protection of a similar law. Making us immortal till one of us becomes demon king".

  What came to mind was the book of the old ones. It seemed it had more meaning to the world than one might assume.

  (So a law that ensures the demon king and hero will fight to their deaths one way or another. Most if not all of these laws should be traceable to the book of the old ones).

  This got him thinking if that's the case even if he managed to get as strong or even stronger than the hero, wouldn't it be pointless if he did not surpass this so called the One, grand mage and creator of the world. If not that then the not so obvious but harder one would be for him to be the demon king, but that wasn't something so easily achieved by sitting on the throne. Killing the demon king was also equally challenging and if he could, why not just outright kill the hero.