“Yes, they’ll be ready to depart in a few minutes,” an unknown voice spoke as the students first entered the classroom, finding their instructor already deep in conversation with a man who's back was turned to the group.
“Alright, I’ve already worked out things here,” Drim briefly glanced over to the students and then back to the man. “Just give me a few minutes to explain things.”
“Of course,” the man replied, finally turning back around himself to face the class.
“Wait a second,” one of the students quickly caught on. “Wasn’t he a Fiend in the tournament?”
“Yes, my name is Preston Groan,” the Fiend introduced himself, not trying to hide his identity. “More commonly known as The Pressured Peer. I look forward to working with you all soon.”
“He’ll be a teacher here starting next year,” The Slayer added a bit to the explanation.
That stirred a bit of a commotion amongst the class and murmurs spread like wildfire. One even audibly commented, “Are they crazy? Letting that mawhger teach us after what he did in front of everyone.”
“I see I’ve already left an impression,” Preston could only grin and bear it. “I’m afraid the competition only let you see the worst side of me. And I’ll admit that the acts I performed were shameful, but I hope you can also understand my perspective. I was in a desperate position, and believed winning was the only way out of it, so I had to use any measure necessary.”
Their teacher then chimed in, “You all will find such a personality to be the most reliable when it comes to monster hunting. Doing whatever it takes to defeat your opponent and survive. There’s no shame in that.”
“Yes, I feel the same,” the soon-to-be teacher agreed. “And thanks to my placement in the tournament, I was able to use the winnings to clear away all my debts and flex the notoriety to ensure that I could be free to choose my own path in life. So I chose to become a teacher, wanting to help students in similar desperate situations, which led me to this academy.”
“I’ll be fully licensed by the end of the year, both in teaching and Monster Hunter Certification. Like Mr. Drazah said, I won’t be beginning until next year, but when I heard that he was currently teaching here, I couldn’t miss the opportunity to learn from him myself.”
“Yes, we’ve been corresponding for the past few weeks,” Drim corroborated, “And I’ve also been meeting with some of the Fiend students for solo lessons on weekends and other free time when I’m not with you all. Preston asked that I lead a monster hunting trip with all of them, so he and the students could get more experience—which I was hesitant to do since I didn’t want to take away from this class’ already short term.”
“But my colleague here has gone through the trouble to organize it all, so I find it hard to refuse them. I’m sorry to have to do this, especially after the incident yesterday, but I’ll have to take a brief leave of absence today and tomorrow. However, I’ll be back by tomorrow evening to send you all off on your final camping trip.
“And in the meantime, I’ve prepared a few substitutes to ensure you continue to make progress while I’m gone. However, it does mean no hunts today or tomorrow, though I’m sure that will get made up for over the weekend. Rather, they’re going to train you in specialties that I myself might be lacking and provide insights that I can’t. So just like any other lesson, please do your best to absorb all you can.”
“I’ll summon them now.” Drim pulled out his tablet and sent a message, moments later, two Fiends and two Lessers popped up at the front of the room. Clearly they’d been waiting for it, not too surprised by the sudden change around them.
“First we’ll start with Jaid,” the teacher waved towards the green-haired woman at the front of the line. “She’ll be helping you with strength and control, knowing how much force to apply in any given situation. Those of you who wield heavier weapons will want to learn all you can from her.”
“Next, we have Gatrim. He’s the Lesser I mentioned on my first day that beat me in combat, so don’t doubt his abilities. Finesse and precision are his specialties, so he’ll help you with landing hits on monsters’ vulnerable spots as well as your footwork and keeping yourself agile.”
“Third, is Kaizu. Honestly, she mostly wanted to come because Gatrim is here. But she’s also a master of stealth. She’ll teach you how to stalk prey properly along with how to minimize your presence.”
“And lastly is Nachi, our personal trainer at the Fiends For Hire. She’ll be working with each of you to tighten your daily training regimens to ensure you’re getting the most out of them possible. And I’ll be frank, there’s a good chance she will break you, but you should welcome it, because that’s how you grow even further.”
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“Now then, I’m off. Be on your best behavior, and treat them like you would me.” The teacher sent another message, and he and Preston Groan vanished from the classroom. All the students were left staring at their new instructors, fearful of what the day might bring.
◆◆◆
When Drim returned to the classroom the following evening, he was a little later than he’d initially planned. The substitutes had already departed at the end of their shifts, meaning the students were left waiting unsupervised. But when the teacher opened the door, he didn’t find the chaos he was expecting and the gaggle of lively youths goofing off without supervision.
Instead, he found each of them slumped over their desks, almost all either asleep or half asleep, exhausted from the past few days. Just what exactly had his substitutes done to them? Well… he could guess and empathize all too well when he thought about it. But they began to perk up when they saw their teacher.
Many of them excitedly welcomed him back. Though they didn’t say it out loud, their eyes pleaded for him to never pawn off his role again. The teacher couldn’t lie and say it didn’t make him feel appreciated. Though it was a nice sentiment, it still wouldn’t stop him from continuing their education properly. And now it was time for one of the toughest trials they’d face.
“Your camping trip will be rather different for this last weekend,” The Slayer got right to it. “In the sense that it can’t even be called camping. No, it can only be considered as survival in its purest sense.”
“When you leave this classroom, you will head straight for the western forest. You won’t return to your rooms, you won’t grab any supplies, you won’t stop for dinner. Empty your pockets, leave your weapons behind. It’ll just be you and the clothes on your back. I apologize for the late start, because it’s already gotten dark outside, but nature doesn’t care. I’ll see you at the start of the week. Dismissed.”
As per usual, the teacher monitored the students over the weekend. This time, he went to the top of the tallest tree he could find—non-monsterfied—and made a crude house where he could scout the majority of the area. From his little hut among the tops, he watched the students scramble around over the coming days. He watched them forage, hunt, and build their own shelters.
He also watched them fall, get attacked and chased, fight for their lives. The teacher heard their cries in the night and prayers to be free of their personal hells. But despite the turmoil he witnessed, he also saw progress. Mental barriers were overcome, strength was broken through, pride and restrictive decency were cast aside. All to survive. But he didn’t just watch them survive, by the end of the weekend, Drim watched them thrive.
On the first morning of the week, the students all came stumbling out of the woods. Even those who had taken baths in the rivers were disheveled without exception. Several had clothes that were completely tattered and had to be replaced. More than one had obvious injuries, and two had burns from wounds they’d cauterized. There were splinted limbs and handmade crutches, but not all the souvenirs were tragic ones.
A lot of the students had brought back tools and weapons they’d crafted or carved. Some had blankets and tarps they’d woven from plants. A few even had pelts from animals they’d hunted and skinned. From a glance, they’d look more like savages than students, but more than anything, they looked like survivors who could tackle anything. And that’s what they’d need to pass their teacher’s final test.
It didn’t come right away, though. For the first two days after their morning lessons, he divided the students into groups. Then, he instructed them to go out into the world to find monster hunting requests of their own. They could complete as much or as little as they wanted to in the afternoon, as long as they completed at least one hunt. Their dinner was also on the line, since they had to pay for it solely using the reward money from the jobs and part selling, though they usually made far more than that.
But then on the third day, “It’s time for your final exam,” The Slayer declared boldly in front of the class first thing in the morning. “I’m sure you expected this to happen on the last day. But frankly, if we waited until then, most of you wouldn’t finish it in time.”
“Here’s how it’s going to work. As you’ve been doing for the past few days, you’ll start by leaving here and completing a monster hunt. However, there are two conditions you must fulfill. First, and most obviously, you must complete the hunt entirely on your own. No teaming up with your classmates or any other hunters you come across during this time. There will be cameras following you, so I’ll know if you try to cheat. Exceptions might be made if someone interferes against your will. Contact me for a ruling if you’re unsure.”
“The second requirement is that the monster bounty must at least contain a single 2nd tier monster. I’m sure you’ve seen the requests out there by now. Sometimes they ask you to clear out a certain location, grouping all the monsters together regardless of the disparity in difficulty. But if that’s the request you take, you have to see it through. You can’t just kill the 2nd tier monster and abandon the rest of the mission.”
“Whether the job is for one monster or fifty, it must be completed in full. Because that’s what we as hunters do. If you half ass it, the monsters could retaliate or breed and return with an even deadlier force. So you have to complete, turn it in, and then bring back proof to me.”
“I’ll be waiting for you here in the training field. Just like the first day we met, you’ll be facing me in combat, and this time, I’ll be fighting back. Not only that…” The teacher raised his wrists and undid the cuffs, letting them clank to the lectern a few inches below. “But you’ll be fighting me at my full strength. While I won’t be using any of my powers or weapons, you’ll be properly facing a Fiend.”