“You can see me as just another monster to slay.” Drim tried to ease the students' reservations about genuinely fighting their teacher. “And as such, you’ll be using your real weapons, no blunt training arms. If you don’t come at me with the intent to kill, you’ll fail. The goal is to land a decisive blow, one that either hurts me or forces me to stagger. If you do that, you’ll pass. Though it’s not so simple.”
“This test isn’t only a trial of physical strength and competency, but also a mental one. You’ll have to prove that you’ve actually learned something during all my lessons. As such, while we’re engaged in combat, I’ll be sporadically quizzing you with random questions.”
“It will be a wide variety from monster weaknesses, to weapon techniques, and even hunter etiquette. And I won’t lie and say I won’t be biased about the questions you receive. You’ll be asked at least a few in the categories you struggled with on your previous tests. So if there’s any travel time during your hunts, I’d suggest taking that time to brush up on your studies”
“If you get a single answer wrong, you must disengage from our fight and face a penalty. Since these fights will be one-on-one, there will of course be a line, and if you’re penalized, you must go to the back of it. If there’s no one else around, you’ll be forced to sit out anyways for at least a quarter-hour—good time to cram a bit. While a fight against any one student could go on for a while, the longer you dawdle, the more aggressive I’ll be to ensure everyone gets a proper chance.”
“The reason the penalty is important is because my time here is finite and rapidly running out. If you don’t complete your hunt and defeat me by the time my tenure as your teacher comes to an end, you’ll fail automatically. I’ll be clocking out at the last bell on the last day. So don’t waste any time.”
“To speed up matters, I’ve provided a selection of appropriate monster hunting jobs that all fulfill the requirements. Some are even sponsored by the school to eliminate a few monsters that still remain nearby. I’d suggest giving them a look since traveling will also eat into your time. While there aren’t enough of those for everybody, I’ve scouted to ensure that there are sufficient hunts within a reasonable radius so that everyone can complete this exam. And if you don’t want any of the ones I’ve handpicked, you’re free to find your own.”
“Are there any questions?” the teacher let the sudden silence in the room marinate for a solid few moments before continuing, giving the students a proper chance if needed. But while some stewed on their thoughts, none ever came forward. “Very well, then we’ll waste no more time. Let the final exam begin.”
◆◆◆
“I knew you’d be the first one back,” The Slayer locked eyes with Hagath in the training yard. It had barely been an hour and she’d already returned from her mission. The woman dropped a giant Elesloth tusk onto the ground that sent dust flying in every direction, proof that she’d completed her hunt.
But despite the quick turnaround, the woman had clearly at least made one mistake. She had a nasty bruise on her neck. By her teacher’s best guess, the monster had probably whipped her with its trunk. While slow moving, they were incredibly powerful. She’d missed the brunt of the attack, or her neck easily could have been snapped.
Really the injury shouldn’t have existed at all. Someone of her level should have been able to dodge or deflect it entirely. However, in her haste to complete the exam as quickly as possible, she’d mawhged up. The instructor wouldn’t bring it up since it wouldn’t disqualify her, and more than likely she was already beating herself up over making such a stupid mistake.
“Before we get started, I do have a question,” Drim put forward. “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, since it’s more of a simple curiosity. But I’m interested to know what drives you, Hagath. You’re always outperforming the rest, yet never seem content with your results. Are you aiming to be the best hunter in the world and surpass even me?”
“Not really,” the woman immediately dismissed the notion. “It all goes back to that bastard, Wricker. On my very first day as a new student he hit on me, offering to protect me from all the dangerous monsters. But when I turned him down, he got defensive and pissy, zjik-talking that I looked too weak and would get eaten by a monster in no time.”
“So I wanted to prove him wrong, and that’s why I try so hard. I don’t have to be the best, just better than him. But now it’s been a few years and I think he’s forgotten entirely. Still doesn’t dull the satisfaction whenever I show him up, though.”
“Well spite can be a powerful motivator,” Drim nodded along. “But it won’t last forever, unless you plan on teaming up with him. Once you’ve both graduated and have moved on, he’ll just become a memory and that fire will fade. Hopefully, you can find a new enjoyment in monster hunting for another reason, perhaps whyever you originally came to this academy.”
“But you don’t have to figure that out right now. Whenever you’re ready, we can begin.” There was no real reason to rush the start of their duel. It would be quite a while before the next student returned. And even if one did while they were in the midst of their fight, Drim would just amp up the difficulty to end things quickly.
“I’m ready,” the woman didn’t hesitate, drawing her sword and brandishing her shield. She dove in for an attack immediately, and the fight began. Though it probably wasn’t exactly what she expected. “You’re attacking like a Bobcan,” Hagath quickly took note of the instructor’s unusual fighting style and adjusted her own.
“Well spotted,” The Slayer continued to swipe at her with his fingers curved like claws. “So answer me this, how many Alphas can there be in a Bobcan pack?”
“Three,” she gave a definitive answer.
So the instructor asked a trickier follow-up. “And what happens if a fourth wants to become an Alpha?”
It took the girl a second longer to think of an answer, but she still delivered it perfectly. “They attack whichever of the three they think is the weakest, and if they win, eat its remains to boost its own strength.”
“Correct,” Drim decided to reward by changing things up. He suddenly dropped to all fours and lunged forward, trying to headbutt her like a Freer. But the woman managed to get her shield up in time, causing the man to bash his skull. The sheer force, however, still made her stumble back a few steps, letting the man charge up for a second rampage.
To an onlooker, it might look as if The Slayer had lost his mind, prancing around like an animal. But to Hagath and the other students that would come to challenge him, he could only be seen as a ferocious monster.
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Hagath eventually got her win, though it would take her longer than most since Drim felt he’d just be bored standing if their fight ended too quickly. She got him with a proper stab through the leg when he was imitating an Ostrichroo. Then after she withdrew the weapon and apologized, Drim only stood firm and congratulated her on passing, holding out his hand.
But when they shook, the man made sure to siphon away just a little bit of her life energy, as he’d do with the rest of the class. Drim would use that energy to accelerate his regeneration and keep him energized. After all, he wouldn’t be taking any proper breaks for food and rest until either every student had passed or his time ran out.
The handshake also served as a last little bit of teasing for his pupils as their instructor. When they touched him, they’d suddenly feel weaker and inferior but not know why, as if he was someone they could never hope to surpass. Maybe it would push them to try even harder.
To aid in Drim’s gambit, however, he did have the drinks that the Fiends regularly used for training to help restore their vigor and prevent fatigue. It wouldn’t really make the days to come any less of a gauntlet, but it would ease the burden a bit.
The next student up to bat was Wricker, having come back with a Gorrizard head that had mostly rotted away. Hagath, who was now sitting off to the side to observe, could only snicker at the size comparison when placed next to her massive trophy tusk. Though the man knew not of their competition, he still challenged it, beating the woman’s time by a few minutes, embedding his axe into Drim’s shoulder.
Fortunately, there were no other students until much later in the afternoon, giving the man time to heal properly. But then they started to trickle in steadily, an actual line forming, waiting for their fights. While The Slayer didn’t want to keep any of them waiting, he had to give each student the respect of a proper chance, letting them build up momentum and break through their wall.
By the end of the day, when the queue had been cleared, about half the students had completed their hunts and won their bouts. Given who was left, the teacher honestly wasn’t surprised, but he still had faith in them, so he waited as promised. Only two more came back in the middle of the night, choosing to fight him without resting. Some came first thing in the morning, wanting a good night's sleep before tackling their biggest ‘monster’ yet.
Over the course of the second day and into the third, that’s where the real struggles began. The students who weren’t as experienced or proficient as the others failed multiple times, forced to take their penalties and try again. And by the end of the last day, it was starting to look like everyone might not complete the trial in time.
But no one ever gave up, and those who had passed didn’t abandon their peers either. They stuck around, sitting on the sidelines for almost the entirety of the remaining days, cheering on their classmates, giving them support and encouragement. While they weren’t allowed to blatantly shout the answers to the instructor’s questions, they could provide tips and reminders of when they might have learned the answer.
At the end, Kleff was the last student to remain, doing his damndest to strike down his teacher. It wasn’t due to any failing or in adequacy on his part. Overall, he was roughly middle of the pack in terms of skill and should have passed that morning at the very latest. But his busybody nature made him put the others above himself, letting them skip ahead of him in line until all of them had succeeded.
Now, with only a few minutes left on the clock, he was fighting the hardest he had in his life, eager to prove himself just as all the others had. Drim danced around him, swaying and skittering like a Scobrian, striking suddenly with blazing speed every few seconds.
On one final lunge, Kleff managed to dodge out of the way and swing his tonfas towards the back of Drim’s head. He managed to hook his instructor’s neck and push the momentum forward, slamming the teacher straight into the ground.
As the student helped his teacher up, grinning ear to ear from his victory, the rest of the class rushed forward, cheering at the fantastical finish. And then together, all the students formed a line. As the final bell rang, they all bowed deeply, thanking their instructor for all he’d taught them, that he’d given his valuable time to train them, swearing that they’d live up to his expectations.
“You’ve all done incredibly well,” The Slayer gave his final speech as a teacher. “I’m prouder than I ever thought possible. When I first met this group, I was certain at least a few of you would drop out or fail to live up to my high expectations, but you’ve proven me wrong. Now, no matter what happens next to me or any other hunters, I can be at ease knowing that we can leave the world in the hands of the next generation.”
“Well then,” Drim turned around, mostly to hide his own tears that he could feel coming on. “So long for now, but I’ll see you out on the hunt.”
Fiends For Hire Job Report
Job No. 339919
Status:
Completed
Date Received:
2/34/2081
Date Accepted:
9/10/2081
Date Completed:
10/8/2081
Client: The Angler, CEO of Smooth Shores, and Chairman of Weathered Woods Academy
Reward: Full year’s teaching salary for teaching one course and access to a new line of unreleased products.
Original Request: Slayer, I would like to request your expertise for a non-traditional job. For however much time you could spare, ideally a month or more, I would like you to become a teacher at my academy and help the students break through to their full potential. It can fully work around your schedule, and you can teach the course however you wish. Please reach out to me for further discussion.
Requirements for Completion:
* Give the students the best education that you can within the time frame. Whether they pass or fail the course is irrelevant to completion.
Job accepted by:
* Drim Drazah
Additional Notes:
(Drim) Not a bad group of kids. I don’t think I’d be opposed to the idea of teaching again, but it might be nice to have a bit more time so I wouldn’t have to be so crude and rush to whip them into shape.
(Phon) I think your teaching methods were spot on. Those kids needed to be hit with hard reality. It was fun to watch.
(Kada) Wish you’d let us know further ahead of time about this because I totally would have come along! This time I think I would have taught creative writing.
(Xard) There’s no way you would have managed to clear your schedule for a month, Kada, and I doubt they even teach such a course at a Monster Hunting academy. But I do agree it would have been nice to know. Glad to hear that Kleff and Jordi are doing well, even if I still can’t wrap my head around how they ended up there.
(Jaid) I met with that Hagath girl during my time as a substitute. Turns out she was actually a squire at Guzrinn before the king dissolved the peerage! Good eye Drim! Though she only joined after my departure. And she was one of those we watched in the recent knight games with her helmet always on. She came in third. It was fun to reminisce about the old days of the country. I wish her well.
(Andi) Encroaching on my territory now, are we?