Chapter 32: Hatching Plans

As I squinted for a better look, the bird suddenly took off into the sky. I couldn’t help but hope that wasn’t some kind of bad omen.

We soon reached the clearing with a few minutes to spare. A catering truck had just arrived, with stacks of takeout boxes loaded on a nearby table.

“All that walking’s gotten me famished!” exclaimed Jonah as we queued up. “I hope lunch is good!”

We picked up our takeout boxes and headed back to our tents. While Ms Reina had made it clear that boys and girls couldn’t sleep in the same tent, she hadn’t said anything about us eating together. This led to us deciding to all squeeze into the boys' tent. The tent was made for three people to sleep in, so there was just enough space for the five of us to sit together.

Jonah was the first to open his box. Inside was a generous portion of noodles with a few pieces of chicken, along with a solitary apple. He gave it a cursory glance before diving in with his chopsticks.

“It’s not gourmet, but it’ll do,” he said, trying to sound upbeat.

I opened my own box, and it looked much the same as the others. The noodles were rather clumped together, and the chicken appeared a bit dry. Still, it beat having to make our own food out in the wilderness. I’d heard that was something older students had to do if they were interested in careers like wilderness survival or outdoor operations.

“I wonder what’s our next activity,” Kaede thought aloud, poking at her food.

Scarlette slurped her noodles lazily. “Since combat’s off-limits today, maybe we can just chill? Have a picnic? Enjoy the outdoors?”

I gave a feeble laugh. “Ever the optimist.”

Before anyone could respond, Ms Reina’s voice cut through the air from outside, answering the question on all of our minds. “Next up, we’re hiking to the coastline. After a short rest, you’ll be running back here—stamina is an essential part of combat.” She paused briefly for emphasis. “And just to be clear, no Abilities are allowed during the run.”

That wasn’t too bad. Personally, I enjoyed running. Jonah and I used to go for runs in the evening back at school to keep our bodies fit. I believe the girls had their own exercise sessions as well. For this reason, I was hoping that there would be a competitive element added to the activity.

----------------------------------------

A short while later, we were done with our meals.

“Okay, this is surprisingly filling.” Jonah got up and stretched.

“I heard walking helps in digestion” smiled Kaede.

We had finished our lunch and started sorting our items. Instead of hauling our huge camp bags, we had brought smaller bags to carry our essentials. I took a peek inside my lunch box to ensure that our egg was still intact.

Good, it was.

I stepped out of the tent, slinging a small haversack over my shoulder. The sky was a little cloudy, offering a much-needed respite from the afternoon sun. The trail to the coastline seemed to stretch endlessly ahead, but our class, restless from sitting around for the past hour or so, seemed raring to go.

We set off, with Ms Reina taking the lead once more, her athletic wear highlighting her slender frame. She was typically seen in a business uniform, but today’s sports outfit gave her a different look.

“Do you have a thing for older women?”

I turned to see Kaede looking at me curiously.

I shook my head. “It’s not like that. But you have to admit, she’s in great shape. I wonder if she’s an alum of this school. And if she is, what’s her Rank?”

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“I mean, teachers, especially from the Combat Division, tend to have high ranks. Most of them should have 5-Stars at least, with maybe a couple of 4-Stars,” Kaede reasoned. It did make sense that they would have to possess power capable enough to control a bunch of teenagers.

It also occurred to me that, despite being here for a month, we hadn't seen our teachers in action. I suppose it makes sense since they’ve been focusing on theory first.

“Why don’t you go and ask her?” winked Scarlette, overhearing our conversation.

“I’m shy around girls, especially older women,” I shrugged.

“I wouldn’t say you’re shy, just awkward,” Scarlette retorted.

“That doesn’t really make me feel better.”

I tried to ignore my friends snickering and focused on mapping the surroundings in my head. It was always good to have a solid visual of environments such as this. I made a mental map of the general directions of anything that was easy to remember.

----------------------------------------

A while later, we finally reached the edge of the beach. We gazed into the horizon, admiring the view.

Ms Reina gathered us together. “Take a short break here. Hydrate and stretch if you need to. We’ll be heading back in about fifteen minutes.”

Looking to our sides, we could also see the other classes standing around. A couple of students were taking photos of each other.

One thought stood out to me. With that many people here, surely one of them was a Water-Ability user? They must have felt right at home here.

I nudged Scarlette, gesturing to the sea with my head. “Good place to try your flame surfboard.”

She sighed. “You’re really going for me today, aren't you.”

“Anyone wanna build sandcastles?” asked Jonah.

“Sounds fun, but I’d hate getting sand in my shoes,” winced Kaede.

Our jovial banter was interrupted by an unwelcome figure—Eric approached our group by his lonesome. “Mind if I speak to Scarlette alone? Leader to leader?” he asked innocently.

He was met with confused looks. Scarlette stared at him incredulously.

“What’s the big idea? If you’ve got something to ask us, you can ask us as a whole,” she growled.

“Hey, chill, I was just joking. Anyway, there are a lot of students here, right? Which means many people can attack us for our sashes. I was thinking, would you guys like to form an alliance?”

Scarlette paused. Eric’s intentions were obviously suspicious. I was about to voice out when Scarlette cut in.

“Thanks for asking… but give us some time to think about it.”

“Alright, just let us know by dinner,” he waved as he walked back to his group. We watched him go.

“Uh, that was weird,” Jonah broke the silence. He turned to Scarlette, confused. “Why didn’t you just reject him?”

"I thought about it," she admitted, "but if we rejected him outright, his team of five might team up with Kazen's team of four. Beating them isn’t the issue—it’s the hassle of keeping track of all of them."

To be honest, that was my first thought as well. If they were to team up, Scarlette could probably handle Kazen on her own. The rest of my team weren’t as combat-savvy, but I had a good sense of the Abilities in Eric’s group, and none of them seemed like they’d give me much trouble either.

The thing was, Eric didn’t strike me as someone who relied on brute strength, unlike my past opponents. He seemed more the type to outsmart his enemies than overpower them, and I was sure he had something up his sleeve.

Still, he wasn’t the only one thinking ahead. I had briefly considered another option: backstabbing them and stealing their sashes on the final day so they wouldn’t have time to retaliate. But I quickly dismissed the idea, knowing my team wouldn’t be too thrilled with that approach.

Lastly, I had a question in mind to gauge his seriousness, but I decided to hold off until after the run. I didn’t want to stir things up with just a few minutes left to rest before we began.

Soon enough, Ms Reina blew her whistle, indicating that it was time to set off. “Try to run in your groups,” she advised. “I want everyone to be accounted for by the time we return to the campsite. I’m sure I don’t need to remind you which member of your team is responsible for this.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it already,” Scarlette grumbled. “She’s really going for us team leaders.” She turned to face us. “Cadel and Jonah, you two are pretty fast so y’all can run ahead of us. I want you guys to run as a pair though, so no one is alone. Mira, Kaede and I will run together as well.”

Since there was no combat on the first day, I was okay with us splitting up. Scarlette was actually nearly as athletic as I was, but I understood she needed to support Kaede and Mira, who (while still fitter than average), were less physically inclined than us. Well, I’m sure the three of them would do just fine.

“Oh, did I mention all five classes will be running together?” Ms Reina added. “It’s not a race, so there won’t be any rewards for this. Everyone will gather at the start of the trail. This is a simple exercise where your goal is to run back to the campsite. If there aren’t any questions, off you go now.”

We were directed to a dirt path that was larger but more even than the path we had taken to the beach. Vehicles probably used this path, so the trail was big and easy to navigate. After all five classes had gathered, a whistle sounded and we set off.

Our group had formed up near the back of the pack. It would keep us more organised, especially for the start of the run. Additionally, we would be able to observe the other teams as we overtook them. It was optimistic thinking, but I was hoping we would be able to gain some useful information.