The days and lectures that followed the first were long and grueling. Mr. Newmier served as a sort of homeroom teacher and was the senior instructor at the academy. Every day we covered a variety of subjects so our time was fairly busy.
Mr. Newmier covered general studies and basic training for new agents, as well as answering any questions we had from other classes. Mr. Lombard, a well-built man with blonde hair, served as our close combat instructor, and taught us how to fight against humans as well as “entities”.
Mrs. Trynn, an older woman with grey hair that was always slicked back in a bun and always seemed to hunch over slightly due to age, was our survival skills teacher. Apparently, as an agent of the EEB, you were required to know basic survival skills such as starting a fire, finding shelter, food, and water, detoxifying poisons, and so on.
We also had a firearms instructor who taught us how to use a gun. The classes started simple and easy with things like basic firearm safety and cleaning your gun, which quickly evolved into marksman practice and taking apart and reassembling your weapon quickly, to finally even having us run two-man close-quarters combat drills.
Our firearms instructor was very mysterious, especially when compared to our other instructors. He never once told us his name and hardly ever spoke to us in class outside of anything absolutely necessary for instruction. His class was very interesting, however, so I paid it no mind.
Early in the morning, all of us headed to homeroom, where Mr. Newmier awaited us.
“Alright Cadets, as of now, you are entering the final stage of your Recruit phase.” Mr. Newmier informed us. “We have prepared you to the best of our abilities in the classroom and in drills, but the final test before you can become official agents is your practicum.”
Hearing this, the class looked at each other excitedly. We had been learning the basics of being an agent and how to fight for two weeks now but much of what we had to learn for the job was hidden behind a vital barrier, real-world experience.
“All ten of you will, at random, be assigned to a Senior Field Agent for a mission. Do not worry, the missions you are assigned to will be at D-Class or lower.”
The class system was a system we were taught about on our second day at the academy. Classes ranged in letter grades from E to S or higher. The average human was designated at E with the high end of normal humans being F, most low-level hunters were at least D class.
Your class was subject to change as you improved your skills, also, it had no direct correlation to your ranking as a field agent.
On the second day, we were also taught about field agent ranks. After we were promoted from recruit, there would be two major categories of rankings to look at. Field Agents and Senior Field Agents.
Field Agents had five separate rankings, starting at a Class Five Field Agent up to a Class One Field Agent. Senior Field Agents, the step up from a Class One Field Agent, had four separate rankings, from Class Four Senior Field Agent to Class One Senior Field Agent. There existed other rankings outside of these brackets for things like desk positions or special agents, but we hadn't been taught that yet as it wasn't important to the job at the time.
Mr. Newmier began to walk across the class, placing an envelope on each person's desk before returning to the front of the class. “Contained in your envelopes is who you will be working with as well as your mission details. All of you will be working on elimination missions.” Mr. Newmier said.
“Your designated Senior Field Agent will meet you at the front, dismissed!” Mr. Newmier barked as he dismissed the class. We silently opened our letters and began reading them as we walked out the door of the classroom and down the hall to the entrance. As I walked out the entrance door and down the steps of the academy, I looked up from leading my letter as I met eyes with a woman.
“Ms. Watanabe?” I asked the woman directly in front of me. She stood in front of me, shorter in stature, probably around five foot six, and had brunette hair as well as deep hazel eyes that seemed to read my every movement and gesture.
“That's me.” She replied, her voice sounding like she was purposely trying to make it sound deeper than normal. “And that's Senior Field Agent Fourth Class Watanabe to you,” she added.
At this, I scrunched up my face slightly at how abrasive she was, which may not have been the right move.
“Do you have a problem with me Cadet?!” She growled, placing her hands on her hips and moving her face closer to mine.
“No Ma’am!” I replied back
“Ma’am?” She said incredulously
“No, Senior Field Agent Fourth Class Watanabe.” I sighed, hoping our first impressions would not be the guideline for the rest of the mission.
“Good,” she said as she turned around. “Get in.”
Behind Watanabe stood a Mercedes-Benz C-Class, and it was one of the newer models. I couldn't help but whistle as I walked up the side of the car to hop in the passenger side seat.
“Nice ride,” I said as I got in the car.
“The privileges of a Senior Field Agent, recruit.” She replied as abrasive as ever, a small smile tugging at her lips proving that she wasn't as stone cold as she let on.
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Ms. Watanabe turned the car's engine and began to drive out of the main lot of the Academy.
“So, what are we hunting today?” I asked. Ms. Watanabe turned her head towards me, shooting me a glare. In the confined space of the car, I realized how beautiful she was for the first time, her beauty was understated yet undeniable, subtle but definitely present. Which made the difference between her looks and the way she talked all the more apparent.
“You dumb or something?” She said flatly. “Didn't you read the fucking letter you were given?”
“Oh!” I said, beginning to fumble with the letter that I was still holding.
“Oh my god, don't even bother,” she said, taking the letter from my hands and throwing it in the back seat of the car.
“Our target is a Wendigo Fawn, HQ says that animal carcasses have been popping up in the area, and eyewitness reports match the description.” Ms. Watanabe told me.
“A Wendigo?” I asked her. “Isn't that a B Class Entity?”
“Normally it would be.” She replied. “But the children of Wendigo are only D Class. Don't worry, we shouldn't run into any adult Wendigo, Wendigo Fawns separate from their mothers only a few days after birth, and Wendigo will never step into another Wendigo’s territory.”
The rest of the car ride was spent in silence, we must have driven for a few hours, but upon looking out the window we were still surrounded by a dense forest.
“We have arrived at the estimated location.” Ms. Watanabe said as she opened her door and stepped out, heading towards the trunk. I quickly got out and followed her.
“So uh, Senior Field Agent Watanabe, how are we going to kill this Wendigo Fawn?” I asked.
“With these,” She stated as she popped the trunk. In the trunk lay two pistols, Baretta 92’s, with three magazines each, as well as two combat knives, and four-cylinder grenades that had a fire symbol on it. “Silver bullets, a silver blade, and incendiary grenades.” She said, a wild smile crossing her face.
“Hey, kid.” She said, turning to face me.
“I am twenty-two,” I replied.
“Whatever, like I care, what are your stats looking like?”
I paused, it had been a moment since I had checked my level and stats. I got a few notifications of leveling up or unlocking a skill but had been so busy and sleep-deprived with my lectures and classes that it slipped my mind to check.
“Profile,” I said aloud before that same familiar screen popped up before my eyes.
Name: Jared Wilson
Title: The Broke Paramedic
Level: 10
Class: Medic
Stats:
STR: 20
AGI: 15
INT: 21
CHA: 20
RES: 10
EVA: 13
LUK: 1
Skills:
Close Combat (Passive) [Level 1] - ((NEW))
Marksmanship (Passive) [Level 1] - ((NEW))
Beastiary (Passive) [Level 1] - ((NEW))
Medical Knowledge (Passive) [Level 3]
Practical Medicine (Active) [Level 2]
First Aid (Active) [Max Level]
“New Skills?” I thought to myself, focusing on them to get some more details.
Skill: Close Combat (Passive) [Level 1 / 5]
Description: Gained by training in close-quarters combat and improved by further training or combat experience. Improves your efficiency in a close-quarters fight.
Stat Boost: +3 STR
Skill: Marksmanship (Passive) [Level 1 / 5]
Description: Gained by training in marksmanship and improved by further training or combat experience. Improves your focus and ability to aim while under pressure.
Stat Boost: +2 AGI +1 EVA
Skill: Beastiary (Passive) [Level 1 / 3]
Description: Helps you identify the entity you are looking at. Skill improves with the more entities you encounter or learn about.
Stat Boost: +1 INT
I told Watanabe my level and stats and she thought for a second.
“Not bad kid,” she said, looking slightly impressed. “You must have been paying attention in class, your lower level D Rank already. This mission should not be too difficult for you,” she said as she smiled warmly, her tough facade fading for a moment before she realized what she was doing.
“I mean uh,” she said as she cleared her throat. “You better not slow me down.”
“Yes Ma’am” I replied back, and she shot me a glare that sent shivers down my spine.
“Yes, Senior Field Agent Watanabe.” I sighed once again, trying to fight back a small smirk.
“Good, our hunt begins now.”