A few hours before dawn, Lev awoke to an examinee yelling for everyone to wake up. Scrambling out of his tent, he realized none of the hunters were present.
If I didn’t have to worry about impressions, I would’ve laughed at how badly staged this feels.
Lev was almost certain that the hunters were observing the camp, scrutinizing their response. There was still a small chance that this ambush was not staged, but Lev was not worried. They hadn't seen anything his group couldn’t deal with this far into the forest.
The trees around them were almost 15 meters tall. As Lev and his friends donned their newbie armor, he signaled Amelia. She turned on her Heat Perception and scanned the surroundings before turning back to him.
“They are all hiding in the trees in the distance, definitely observing us.” She informed him with a small laugh. “Monsters are coming in from each direction, a lot of them.”
“What do you think, Jack?” Lev turned towards him once the large man had put on his armor.
“I say we hit ‘em hard and fast like real men,” Jack’s exaggerated voice boomed, successfully completing its purpose of making the girls roll their eyes. Lev just laughed.
Moving out in formation, Lev kept an eye out for directions where currently no examinees were paying attention. Lighting up a wooden stick created by Kayla, they marched into the forest from their side of the camp. Amelia pointed out the pack of wolves about to show themselves. Getting the jump on the wolves, Lev killed two of them outright, whereas Kayla killed another before they even knew what had happened. The last one was put down by a few swings of Amelia’s swords.
Moving counter-clockwise to reach the other side of the camp faster, they felled another two packs of wolves that put up decent resistance. When they reached the other side, they realized where all the monsters were.
“Kayla, can you cast the buff on me?” Lev asked her while looking at the tree branches, forming a plan. Feeling the increase in his main attribute, he jumped on a barrier before floating up. “You guys go help the others. I’ll support you from above.”
While the others moved into the fray, Lev jumped from tree to tree. Using his barriers as stepping stones, he reached his destination within seconds. Almost directly in front of the examinees, Lev noticed how five heavily armored warriors, including Jack, were holding back the monsters while examinees were launching spell after spell in a controlled panic. Amelia and other non-defensive warriors were protecting the mages.
****
Lory was rethinking her life decisions. When her Ma had warned her about the dangers of monster combat, she had ignored them and put on a brave face. She even believed it, ready to make a name for herself and do her parents proud.
Now, the resolve was slowly falling apart. Her earth mage class gave her all the necessary tools to fight, but her tremor sense also vividly allowed her to sense the dozens of monsters attacking them. More still slowly streaming into the clearing. She barely noticed something jumping in the trees, gone before she could focus on it.
If monsters start jumping on us from above, we’re dead.
Firing an earth bolt at a wolf lunging for a melee fighter, she moved on to trip another, trying to circle around. Before she could do anything, however, its head separated from its body. The darkness of the night and the shadows formed by the torches masked the attack.
What?
Unable to spare any more attention to the weird occurrence, she focused on supporting the frontline. Lory was casting another earth bolt when a thornling jumped at a water mage next to her. Lory wanted to shout a warning, to push the mage out of the way with her earth manipulation, but before she could do any of that, the thornlings body was split in two. She briefly noticed something flying away.
What the hell is going on? What was that?
To her left, a warrior launched a fireball from her sword towards a group of five goblins, throwing them all to the ground. Before they could get up and move any further, three of the same circular objects tore them apart.
Are those some energy constructs? Barriers?
Slowly, the monsters fell to the examinees. When the last wolf corpse hit the ground, a screech pulled everyone’s attention to the treetops. A thornling, bigger and bulkier than its brethren, was about to get a jump on the hybrid warrior. Before anyone could react, round barriers lodged themselves into it one after another. By the end, the thornling was embedded into a trunk, very much dead.
Everyone stared at the terrifying corpse, wondering the same question.
Who did that?
****
Lev felt something to his far left, away from the clearing when the monster jumped at Amelia.
Probably Sara or someone else was about to launch an attack. Guess my perception was high enough to pick up something even at that distance.
Lev recalled his five barriers, still stuck in the corpse. Jumping on them, he landed next to Amelia and Jack. Everyone present was giving him looks of respect and gratitude, which he graciously ignored. Despite everything, he noticed that nobody was injured beyond a few scrapes and bruises. Everyone present was competent enough to be selected as a candidate.
“Wooh, that was fun,” Lev exhaled, looking at the carnage they had caused. Jack laughed while Kayla shook her head. Amelia was silent, gazing solemnly at the corpse of the thornling.
She jumped when Lev suddenly put an arm around her shoulders. “Cheer up! I’m pretty sure you could’ve dealt with it by yourself anyway.” Lev tried to lighten the mood.
“I froze when it mattered the most.” She muttered in a small voice.
“Then it’s a good thing you froze when we were still around. Besides, I’m pretty sure Jack was a moment away from jumping in front of you, and Kayla’s roots were almost done casting. The whole thing wasn’t nearly as bad as it looked.” Lev laughed and ruffled her hair. Expecting her to move away, she made no move to stop Lev.
Damn, she’s not taking it well.
Taking a deep breath, she looked at him with steel in her eyes. “I just have to not freeze the next time. Simple enough.” She nodded to herself as if it made all the sense in the world.
Never mind.
Two minutes later, the hunters returned and announced that there would be a briefing about why this happened and who did what wrong. Before long, they told everyone to go back to sleep. They all slept like logs.
****
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Lev and his group ate the same tasty stew after they woke up. Gathering in the clearing, they chatted about the last night before a ranger from Paul’s team stood up and garnered everyone’s attention. When he spoke, his voice was hard but not unkind.
“I am sure some of you have guessed why we set up the ambush last night. For those who have not, we let it happen because it is the reality of being a hunter.” He paused, letting his words sink in. “Being a hunter is not easy. We roam the plains under the constant threat of monster waves and ambushes. It takes mere minutes for monsters of an area to band up and form a small wave. We do not know how, but it happens far too fast to allow any sort of preparation. All of you were brought here as adventurer candidates, aiming for the very top. Some of you did well, some of you did subpar.” He gave everyone a long look, as did the rest of the hunters. “Think, and think hard about if you still want to be an adventurer. Last night was an average night for a hunter. The other regions of Monarch, while barely explored, are far more dangerous than the plains. Be smart.” With his speech finished, he moved back to stand by his team.
Half of the examinees looked resigned, wary. Some looked conflicted, while others looked even more determined. Lev’s group was part of the latter. Lev himself just looked around casually.
I already expected this, but others seem to have just realized what it means to be outside the walls.
Dale took the ranger’s position and proclaimed loudly. “The exam was supposed to test individual prowess today. We have already seen enough through last night. The monsters showed up in greater numbers than we expected, giving us ample opportunity to see how everyone performed.”
Five minutes later, they were again in the carts going back to Whitefall. On their way back, Lev checked his notifications.
[
Your group has slain [Brown Wolf - Level 13]
Your group has slain [Brown Wolf - Level 14]
…
You have slain [Thornling - Level 38]
Heavy Lifting has Leveled up to 2
Bladewalker has reached Level 12
Bladewalker has reached Level 13
…
Bladewalker has reached Level 19
40 Free attribute points
]
Lev distributed his free points according to his plan, putting 18 in intelligence, 6 in perception and wisdom, 4 in dexterity and constitution, and 2 in strength.
He felt his manipulation range and mana capacity increase slightly, along with a warm tingle across his body from the physical attribute increase. The sensation vanished after a few seconds. He joined his friends in idle chatter afterward.
****
A heavy voice told Dale to enter moments after he knocked at the impressive wooden doors. Stepping inside, he found himself in a simple office. Whitefall’s Guildmaster Hakim motioned for Dale to take a seat.
“How’d it go?” Hakim inquired, looking up from the reports he had been reading.
“It went well, Guildmaster,” Dale answered respectfully.
Hakim rolled his eyes. “How many times do I have to tell you to drop the formalities?”
“Ah, but it wouldn’t do to address the exalted Guildmaster so casually,” Dale answered with a smirk.
“Then just don’t do it in front of anyone else, idiot.”
They both chuckled at that. Dale had known the man for decades, during which they had become close friends.
“Anything you want to add to these reports? I still don’t really understand why the exam ended early.” The Guildmaster asked as he reclined in his chair.
“It wasn’t supposed to. That only happened because more monsters followed us than intended. The amount was just enough for the kids to handle without overwhelming them. By the time they defeated the monsters, we had seen enough to conclude the exam.” Dale clarified.
“I see, I see. Hmm. What brings you here today?” Hakim put the papers into a drawer, no longer in business mode.
“Actually, I came here because of the exam. Open the reports on Oriana’s kids.” Dale replied. Hakim perked up at that.
Opening the mentioned pages, Hakim found out they had the approval of every hunter and were recommended for an immediate bronze promotion. “Impressive but nothing special. What about them?” He asked Dale in confusion.
“It’s about the boy, Lev. Out of the 81 monsters his team killed during the night, Lev killed 35 of them, including a level 38 thornling.”
Hakim perked up even further, scanning the reports intensely. “Interesting, very interesting. And what type of class does this young man have?”
“Barrier Mage.”
Hakim blinked. “Barriers? A defense-focused class?”
Dale shook his head. “No, his barriers are sharp and fast. They were almost invisible in the night, cutting through monsters easily. They also spin really fast, making them even sharper.”
Hakim leaned back in his chair again. Barriers were notoriously hard to form properly at a level that low and ate through mana. “Any clue how he managed that?”
Dale nodded. “He is a disciple of Alec Zar. Even if the apprenticeship lasted only two months, Lev achieved his class in that time.”
All the pieces clicked in Hakim’s mind. Oriana personally oversees the progress of an orphan, apprenticing said orphan to a prodigy, the boy’s exceptional showing, and Dale’s visit.
“You want me to ensure that the boy gets treated well. Why?” Hakim asked Dale.
“Because he has both the potential strength and drive to become a good adventurer. I gave it some thought. Lev’s class can fill a lot of different roles. If nurtured properly, he could prove valuable in the near future.”
Hakim chewed on the information, conceding about the usefulness of a barrier mage. From great offense to defense, the class also offered a remarkable level of utility. It would indeed be very useful.
“Makes sense, makes sense. Anything else you want to add?”
Dale thought for a moment. “He and Oriana seemed fairly close.”
That brought a genuine smile to Hakim’s face. “Good, that is good. If anyone deserves better in life, it's that poor soul. Keep an eye out for anyone trying to mess with her orphanage. It cannot be allowed.”
Dale, already aware of Oriana’s personal strength and kindness, gave him a stern nod. Making small talk for a few more minutes, he bade farewell and left the office.