Zash checked his watch as he left the building. He blinked in surprise when he realized it was already 6 pm. Remembering that dinner ran until 6:30 on the base, he started jogging toward the dining hall. When he arrived, he barely had time to gulp down the burnt chicken and withered salad before the kitchen crew kicked him out.
As he ambled toward his room, he considered what would happen next. He knew that following awakening, an eight-week program was held to train hunters for real dungeon training, dubbed the Hunter Development Course (HDC). Following it would be the Hunter Examination (HE), a rigorous 2-day ordeal focusing on a written portion and a physical demonstration designed to push hunters past their limits. Though the government strictly forbade sharing any details of the examination, (only those that had taken it knew, and they were bound to silence), its reputation preceded it. An entire online forum was dedicated to a list of examiners including who was lenient, and who would spell failure. After the HE, most attendees would go on to work as professional hunters and join a guild or start freelancing. However, Zash had a different path set out for him. He had to repay the government for the cost of Artificial Awakening, and that would take six years. But, that was all ahead of him, so Zash decided not to worry about it until it arrived.
The HDC started tomorrow, and Zash knew he needed to be well rested. When he arrived at his dormitory for the next eight weeks, he knocked on the door and was almost slammed when another recruit overzealously swung it open. His new roommate was a tall, gangly kid with flaming red hair and freckles. “Hey, I’m Andrew! Welcome to the dorm!” As he motioned an equally tall, brown-haired guy who looked more reserved, he mentioned, “That’s Timothy, and the other one is James.” The other one was blond-haired, giving Zash the impression that he had intruded into a Neapolitan-flavored dorm room. Zash completed the group with his jet-black hair, and his tall, lean but muscular form fit in with them. After exchanging greetings and pleasantries, James broached the topic. “What ability did you guys get?”
Andrew replied, “Intermediate Magic Understanding. It’s absolutely AWESOME!” For impact, he lit flames hovering in both hands. The exertion of summoning two flames seemed to tire him, because he quickly let the one in his right hand die, and the other flickered out not long after.
Timothy chimed in, “I got Intermediate Blade Energy.” To demonstrate, he summoned a knife-sized blade. But, instead of being metal, it was blue and flickered like electricity. To finish, he threw it, but it fizzled out before it hit the wall he was aiming at.
James had received Intermediate Archery Sense, but couldn’t show it off because he hadn’t been issued a bow yet.
Finally, it was Zash’s turn. The others looked at him expectantly, and he debated whether to tell them the truth. They had just met, and he didn’t want to make enemies or make them think he was lying. After a moment’s hesitation, he decided. “I received Sword Sense, but the grade following it was Bronze. I don’t know what that fully entails, but…” he trailed off. The others looked at him mouth agape, trying to decide if he was joking. After a quick glance at one another, they decided to trust him. James spoke for the group, “Well, that’s awesome! I can’t wait to see what that looks like in combat!”
Relieved, Zash climbed into bed. As he drifted off to sleep, he couldn’t be more pleased with his roommates.
Early the next morning, a loud siren went off to wake the trainees. As they filed into the mess hall for an early breakfast, they were greeted with runny eggs and burnt biscuits. Andrew looked sourly at the food, “Ugh. This is disgusting! Is this all that they’re going to serve for the next 2 months?”
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James agreed, but half-heartedly said, “Well, at least they tried.”
Timothy joked, “I’ve heard that you can gain abilities once you are already awakened. Maybe they’re trying to get us to develop Mythic Poison Immunity.”
While everyone laughed, Zash noted the chefs’ expressions ranged from displeasure to a slight smile. He thought there might be some truth to that joke.
They made their way out to the field, where, to Zash’s surprise, the supervisor from yesterday introduced himself.
“I am Major Clark! Although I come from the States originally, I moved here forty-five years ago. As an A-ranked hunter myself, I will be whipping you all into shape before the examination. For the next eight weeks, you all have one goal; survive. My assistants are going to throw everything we’ve got at you, so that you are ready for the HE.”
As his eyes moved through the candidates, they paused ever so slightly on Zash, but they fully stopped on the guy next to him. He was stifling a yawn. The Major shouted, “All of you, drop and give me 75!”
As they started the push-ups, he continued, “Hopefully that will wake you up. You must be fully awake when entering training, or you’ll miss something. Furthermore, you’d better be awake when you enter a dungeon or that place will swallow you like a delicacy. Anyway, your mornings will be dedicated to exercise. After that, we’ll review the topics on the written portion: laws and dungeons, relics, strategies, hunting in a group, guild responsibilities – and all the other boring stuff. In the evening, you will have time to work with and develop your ability. Remember that you can have a good ability grade, and still not know how to use it, but also, by working with it, you can level it up. Curfew is at 10:30 because you get to do it all again the next day.”
Although Zash considered himself to be fit, he quickly realized that this training would be no picnic. No less than 7 of the 100 trainees had already washed out. As the day continued, Zash grew more and more weary. Finally, lunch arrived. As he stood in the line, waiting to gather his food, a hand grasped his neck from behind. Twisting around inquisitively, he recognized Nathan, and his heart sank.
Nathan grunted, “Move out of the way. We’re trying to eat.”
Zash instinctively flinched, and in a mixture of shock, surprise, and fear, he stood still as they passed by. Nathan had grown up with a silver spoon. When he said he wanted to be a hunter, his parents immediately found him the best instructor money could buy.
After reuniting with his friends at a table to eat the molded sandwiches, Timothy grunted, “So, who was that?”
Zash chose his words carefully, “An acquaintance who dislikes me.”
Andrew snorted, “Anyone could see that. Why?”
Zash paused, “I don’t know. First time we met, he used me to practice throwing punches.”
“What are you going to do about it then?”
“Avoid him, I guess. No sense causing problems.”
Timothy tutted, “No good. He’ll see you as weak.”
Frustrated, Zash responded, “Then what? I’m too weak to fight back. He’s trained every day for 8 years for this with the best!”
James sighed, “Well, the way I heard it, you have a pretty good ability now, and I’ll bet you didn’t just decide yesterday you wanted to be a hunter.”
Timothy added, “Yeah, so when he pushes you, push back. You’ve got to keep your dignity, even if it costs you a beating. He’ll learn you won’t roll over anymore.”
Zash considered for a moment, then conceded, “You’re right. Thanks.”
Andrew started to say something, but it was time to get to the next class. As they walked into the hot and cramped classroom, Major Clark stepped up to the lectern, gave a wicked grin, and introduced the day’s topic.
“If y’all thought the exercise regimen was tough, just remember we’ll be ramping it up for future weeks. And it’s gonna pale in comparison to these laws. Dungeons are a tricky place, legally speaking…”
Zash attempted to make good notes, but eventually realized the government had just made a set of laws telling people to deal with it themselves. Apparently, as long as he didn’t steal any relics, he was OK, but Major Clark kept insisting that the minutia of these details would be covered, so he stayed attentive.
Finally, it was over, and the four made their way to the practice rooms. The stone bricks outlined the building, and Zash was reminded of a medieval castle, save for the absence of torches. Along one wall was a weapon rack, and on it, one basic, but similarly beautiful, curved sword seemed to call Zash. He stepped over to it, picked it up, and…