It was the class's second full day in the capital, and they had been told their return had been delayed for a few days because Crozonia wanted to quote ‘play with blood contracts’. Having already gotten their sightseeing out the way, they weren’t entirely sure how to use the now extra time they had.
As they were lost in thought on what to do, they heard a knock at the open door to the living room they were sitting in. At the door was Alex with Yuu.
“Hey, kids, me and Yuu are going out to hunt. Want to join?”
“Hunt?” Daisy repeated.
“Yeah, we’re going to the Adventurers guild to do an easy job to kill some time,” Yuu explained.
“Well, we would join, but all our gear is back home,” Maxwell replied.
“Don’t worry, we bought some bargain barrel stuff for you,” Alex said with a grin.
“Bargain barrel?” Maxwell repeated, grimacing at using substandard gear.
“Yes, you kids have some nice toys back home, but you need to learn to deal with substandard stuff. You’ll stunt your growth using gear that's too good,” Yuu explained.
“How does Elissa put it?” Alex began while tapping his chin in thought. “That you should make your equipment strong, not the other way round.” Having little else to do, the class reluctantly agreed to accompany them on a request from the guild.
Going to a side room, they found piled on the table were sets of cheap and poorly made gear, Chainmail with rust and breaks and swords and bows that looked fifth hand if anything.
“You expect us to use this?” Maxwell said, looking at the gear with an even bigger grimace.
“Chief, let me get some metal, and I can hammer out something better,” Gunter offered.
“No, if we would do that, Yuu would’ve done it,” Alex said with a shake of his head. “And it would defeat the point of this little lesson. So put on the stuff and stop whining.”
The class, with much grumbling, in the end, did put on their equipment—each strapping on their preferred equipment. The only boon was they had each been bought a hook stone knife.
“Off we go, kids,” Alex said as he led the way out of Sloth’s capital estate and down the road towards the Capital Guildhall. Squeezing between the crowds of the city and the various merchant carts, they eventually found the building. Looking at the building, they were surprised to find it was identical to the one in Academy city.
“Sir, it looks the same,” Bea said, looking up at the building.
“Huh? Oh yeah, they use the same blueprint for every big city guildhall. The founder of the guild system paid a student architect to design a building and reused the design endlessly to save cash,” Alex explained as he stepped into the guildhall.
Following close behind, the class confidently walked in, only to freeze as they could feel a swathe of gazes in their direction. Looks that felt far more potent and unwelcoming than the ones they had felt in Academy City’s guildhall.
Unphased by the looks, Alex walked up to the counter as if he were taking a stroll through a city park. Leaning against the counter, he gave a playful wink to the bored-looking receptionist.
“Hello, I’d like a temporary transfer of location for, say… three days, maybe four, for me and these kids here,” Alex said, gesturing to the class.
“Guild tags, please,” the receptionist replied, holding out her hand. Standing aside, Alex gestured for the class to hand over their tags. Each did so, and a small light-up display shone under the desk. This they knew from experience must’ve been their details showing up.
“Ok, me and Yuu next,” Alex said with a grin as he handed over Yuu’s tag. The receptionist still looked unimpressed, even with Yuu’s higher-ranked tag.
“Last and by no means least mine,” Alex said, handing over his tag. When she checked the details, her expression changed for the first time.
“One moment, sorry,” she said, quickly retreating into the back.
“What’s happening?” Kline asked, looking over the desk curiously.
“Oh, this happens every time I transfer; they probably saw my problem marks,” Alex replied.
“Problem marks?” Tasha parroted, clearly confused by the term.
“If a guildmember is known to cause problems or get into trouble when messed with, they get marks attached to their guild details. It’s like a VIP status that screams don’t mess with them,” Alex explained.
“So you get away with anything?” Bea asked, looking interested at the prospect of trouble getting her bigger marks.
“No, not anything. It has to be within reason; anything outright a crime can actually get you banned from the guild system entirely. As long as you aren't the instigator, though, you get more carte blanche,” Alex continued just as the back door opened and the receptionist returned with a spindly old man who had a guildmaster’s badge.
“Hello sir, may I ask why you are here?” the old man asked in an imperious tone.
“Just taking my kids for a walk,” Alex said, gesturing to the class.
“Not to break every bone of everyone here?” the old man asked with an arched brow.
“Huh? Why would I do that?”
“One of your trouble marks says if we mess with you or injure you that in retaliation, everyone in the guildhall will suffer such injuries.”
“Oh… that would be my sister who does that.” The old man looked visibly relieved at this explanation.
“Oh good; When Tanya reported someone with three problem marks, I was concerned.”
“Three?” Alex repeated with shock. “So the fourth one expired? Then again, I did burn down the harvesting hall quite a long time ago… wow… time sure does fly.” The old man now looked more worried than he had when he came out.
“Anyways, we aren’t here for trouble. We’re here just to kill some time and help the kids get some practice,” Alex explained.
“Very well… please do not do anything illegal,” the old man said with a nod before he returned to the back room.
“With that sorted, shall we can go to the boards and pick out a quest,” Alex said as he went over to the iron-ranked board.
“Sir, we are bronze ranked?” Daisy reminded him.
“I know, but I am steel, and Yuu is even higher. Collectively our party would be iron on average. Plus, you can select a rank above yours if you want.”
“Oh, this one should be interesting,” Ale said, taking down a request page.
“What is it?” Yuu asked, stepping beside him.
“Mumble boars, need to kill eight of them before breeding season starts; that’s one for each of us,” Alex explained, showing her the request form.
“Oh yeah, those will be good practice for them,” Yuu said with a nod.
“Mumble boars?” Daisy repeated. “I’ve never heard of that species?”
“They are boars that make sounds like people mumbling to themselves. Pretty easy to hunt, actually,” Maxwell answered.
“Yes, but we won’t be on horseback, and you kids have crappy gear. Should be a nice challenge,” Alex said as he went up to the counter to accept the quest for them.
“Any advice for us, Maxy?” Bea asked.
“Hard to say they are nasty things if you get caught alone; they apparently hunt people for extra food, so when mating season starts, they can spend an entire month making babies.” Maxwell’s explanation did not improve the apprehension the class had.
“Oh, don’t let him worry you, kids,” Yuu said. “Mumble Boars are still easy to kill if you do it right.”
“Ok, it’s all been registered; off we go,” Alex declared as he led them out of the guildhall.
“So where are they?” Daisy asked as she followed close behind him.
“Where are who?” Alex asked.
“The boars?”
“Oh, in the forest an hour to the east of the city,” Alex explained, pointing in the rough direction of the goal.
“We’re going outside the city walls?” Kline asked, panic clear in his voice.
“I got the permission slips all before we set off here, so I have your folk's permission to drag you wherever I want now,” Alex replied with a devilish grin.
The class made their way through the city streets to the eastern gatehouse and quickly passed through after flashing their guild tags. With an hour of hiking ahead of them, they settled into general conversation with the odd game of I-spy. Eventually, though, the forest began to appear on the horizon, their goal closer now than ever.
“I spy with my little eye, something beginning with D,” Alex said from the middle of the group as he was no longer at the front of the pack.
“Uhm…” the class looked around in the fields and towards the forest to see if they could see anything that began with D.
“Daisy?!” Tasha suggested pointing to the girl in question.
“Nope.”
The class were again stuck with what to answer until Bea looked upwards as she tried to think, only to scream at the sight of what was flying over them.
“D-Dragon!!!” Kline cried out, seeing what Bea had seen.
“You win!!” Alex cheered.
“What do we do?” Daisy asked in a panic, as a large blue dragon was flying overhead.
“Do?... Nothing; Dragons won’t bother with us if we don’t bother them.”
“But I heard they attack on sight?” Daisy asked.
“Nah, that’s only in the Dragons Nest Mountain range. They are very territorial. But the free-roam ones like that little beaut don’t bother with stuff like that. They know as soon as they attack, they will get a big ole target on their neck,” Alex said, gesturing to the dragon that flew into the distance.
“Like Tiamat?” Kline asked.
“Yes, the king of dragons was one such beasty. Though the dragon slayer corp led by Sir Cliffton dealt with him,” Alex answered as he slowed his pace as the treeline was getting closer.
“So, sir, is this where we part ways?” Daisy asked with a grumble.
“Pardon?” Alex asked, furrowing his brow and approaching Daisy.
“N-nothing,” Daisy replied, realising she had been rude to a teacher.
“I won’t abandon you, kids, here. The sewer had been made a tad easier for you kids so you wouldn’t be in real danger, and besides, if you were, I had hidden protective wards on you. I would’ve rushed to save you if any of you got hurt. Here though, I won’t let you guys out of my sight.”
“Awh, Alex is a big mama bear for his students,” Yuu teased.
“Quiet Yuu!”
“Oh look, he’s all embarrassed now,” Yuu continued teasing.
“You kids don’t have to worry at all, you got Alex and me here, and unlike back at school, here we don’t have to worry about the property or other people being nearby. If needed, we can do a lot more destructive spells.” Yuu explained.
“So let’s go in, kids; I can also teach you about the herbs and edible plantlife as we go,” Alex said with a grin returning to his face as the class took their first step into the forest.
“By the way, sir, what is the forest named?” Daisy asked.
“The Forest of Unbearable Agony,” Alex replied, ignoring the worried looks on the class's faces.
“C-c-care to explain that name?” Kline asked, stammering out his question.
“What is there to explain? The name should be self-evident?” Alex replied, looking at the class confused.
“So we can expect unbearable agony?”
“I really hope not,” Yuu replied, looking equally confused.
“Is it too soon to turn back?” Maxwell asked.
“Feel free; me and Yuu can handle this quest though you kids will be left alone to wander back,” Alex replied with a shrug ignoring their protests and going further into the woods.
The class stood still, hesitating for a minute before quickly catching up to Alex and Yuu deciding that their best bet would be to stick close to their absurdly powerful teachers.
“Ok, kids, while we make our way to the boar's habitat, I want you to pick up plantlife you think is edible,” Alex said, gesturing to the plants surrounding them.
“Like this,” Alex picked up a small red berry that had just fallen from a tree ahead of them.
“This is a red delight,” Alex explained, holding it up for them to examine. “Supposedly, you eat this; you will never want to eat anything else.”
“It’s that delicious?” Tasha asked, reaching out for the berry.
“Apparently, the most delicious thing in existence. But it contains a chemical that causes rapid addiction. Eventually, you eat so many; the capsules within break and release cyanide and kill the host.”
“WHAT?!” Tasha exclaimed, retracting her outstretched hand from the berry.
“Yeah, nasty little devil. Most of the red delight trees are grown out of victims that died. Perfect fertiliser for a budding red delight tree,” Alex explained, squeezing the berry a little before popping it in his mouth, his face contorting in unrestrained joy.
“SIR?!!!” Daisy cried out.
“Oh, don’t worry, eat them in moderation; you’ll be ok. The pods only release the cyanide when they reach a critical mass,” Alex explained as he pressed on between a grove of trees.
The class, unnerved by his display, decided to at least get a plant for him to identify as if half of what he said was true. It didn’t bode well if they got separated.
“What’s this one, chief?” Gunter asked, holding out a mushroom that was pitch black with purple dots.
“A night mistress. That has a nutty flavour to it, but it’ll err…. It’ll make you stand to attention for a few hours,” Alex finally said after pausing in thought.
“Oh, like a soldier? Daisy asked.
“Oh, Daisy… you are far too innocent,” Yuu said, looking at the oblivious girl.
“Don’t worry; I’ll tell her,” Bea said, scrambling down onto Gunter’s arm and whispering into Daisy’s ear. Daisy nodded a few times before her cheeks flushed bright red.
“That’s what that means?!!”
“Yeah,” Bea said with a nod.
“Alchemists use it in special aid potions,” Alex added.
“Oh…” Bea hopped off Gunter’s arm and scrambled under a root, grabbing what looked like a root vegetable.
“What’s this, sir?” she said, holding up what looked like a purple carrot.
“Wow… no idea… You got any idea Yuu?” Alex said, turning to Yuu, who shook her head.
“I didn’t spend years homeless, so I know even less than you.”
“So, how can we check if it’s edible?” Bea asked.
“Two ways; one, there is a detect poisons spell, but it is long, and even the magic circle is complex,” Alex explained as he took the root vegetable from Bea. “Especially bad if you need to avoid detection and not use magic.”
The class nodded, understanding that it would be impractical if they were trying to avoid pursuers only to use a long spell just to find out something was toxic.
“Is there another way to check?” Daisy asked.
“Yeah, you do this,” Alex said as he snapped the vegetable in half and pressed some of the exposed flesh against his wrist.
“You hold for about a minute, then wait half an hour. If there is no reaction, it is probably not toxic.”
“Probably?” Daisy repeated.
“In a survival situation, you can’t afford to be picky.”
“What about this, sir?” Kline said, holding up a plain brown mushroom. Instantly Alex rushed over and smacked the mushroom out of Kline’s hand.
“That was an endless whispering night. They shouldn’t even grow in this forest?” Alex explained, looking confused. “Contact with that one can lead to a nasty rash, be grateful you are wearing gloves.”
“If it is only a rash, why did you bat it out of his hand, chief?” Gunter asked.
“The rash rapidly spreads across the body, and if there is a small scratch anywhere, it’ll enter the bloodstream and make its way to your lungs which will stop working. It is why it’s named the endless whispering night. You die within one night of it getting into your blood, and as it destroys your lungs best you can manage is a whisper.”
“T-terrifying…” Kline said, looking at his hand with fear.
“Oh sir, look, skipping beans,” Tasha said, pointing out vines wrapping around a few trees.
“Well spotted,” Alex said as he went up to one of the trees.
“And how do you know what they are?” Maxwell asked accusingly.
“How? I’m an elf from the ironwood woodlands? That one is a widespread edible plant,” Tasha replied with a tilt of her head. “Learning about other plants is fascinating still.”
“Ok, sir, why do we even need to know this?” Maxwell asked, losing his patience at Tasha’s rebuttal.
“You have no idea if you will ever be in a survival scenario,” Alex answered.
“So you are going to abandon us here then,” Maxwell replied, his tone of voice having a bite to it.
“I already said I wouldn’t. Listen, there are things going on; I want to prepare you as best as I can in the next few years.”
“What things?” Daisy asked.
“Doesn’t matter right now. Nothing for you to worry about. The point is you should never turn down the chance to expand your skills and knowledge. I myself have learnt from everyone I could, so I have a wide berth of skills. Not all are well developed, but better good at some than a master of one.”
Conversation quietened down after this, and they made their way quietly through the woods, with only every so often Alex pointing out edible plantlife and the ones that were very toxic. But eventually, they began to hear mumbling voices in the distance.
“What’s that?” Bea asked back on her perch.
“Mumble Boars,” Alex answered as they neared a clearing in the forest where a pack of eight boars were quietly milling around and resting.
“So what do we do?” Maxwell asked.
“All on you, kids, me and Yuu will watch and help where we can, but ultimately we each are responsible for one boar,” Alex replied, leaning against a tree with Yuu by his side.
“I could shoot one with my bow, and we use that surprise to ambush the rest,” Tasha suggested taking her bargain bow from her back.
“Yes, that seems doable,” Kline replied as he stood at the ready.
“Ok, everyone ready?” Tasha asked in a whisper. The class all nodded while Alex and Yuu watched on with amusement.
Readying her bow with an arrow, Tasha drew the string back as far as it would go, the wood of the bow itself starting to creak. With a release of her fingers, the arrow flew out towards the boar. When the arrow impacted the boar, it bounced off its hide.
“What?!” Tasha yelped in surprise.
“Their hide is tougher on the side; aim for the joints,” Gunter suggested. Following his advice Tasha knocked a new arrow and rapidly shot a fresh shot; this one struck true and penetrated the boar by the joint of its front leg, sinking in deeply.
“Right in the heart,” Tasha said with an approving nod. But as the first arrow was a failure, the boars were already aware of the attack, and all bedlam broke loose.
Realising the element of surprise had been lost, the class all charged in to fight the boars directly. Rushing in quickly, Gunter swung his bargain hammer down against the side of the boar's skull. A loud crack sounded out as the boar collapsed to the ground, twitching, its head misshapen where its skull had obviously shattered.
With Gunter’s success, Bea closed her eyes and began to mutter a chant. A flash of light shot out, and a hellhound wreathed in flame appeared in front of a boar that was in front of her. Charging at the boar, the hellhound ripped the boar's throat out and ignited the entire body.
With their success, the pair turned to watch Daisy and Maxwell, who had paired up against a boar, with Daisy using rapid stinging spells shot with a light circle, while Maxwell, who had partially transformed his hands into large vicious-looking claws, kept the boar at bay. Eventually, their combined effort won out, and they downed the attacking boar.
Kline was having less luck as he had been cornered by two boars that were both frothing at the mouth as they approached him. Panicking, Kline closed his eyes, held out his hand, and began his chant.
“Come forth, for I seek the greater beyond!” A flash of light like Bea’s shot out and the full-sized form of Marty appeared.
“I HAVE COME TO AID YOU, MY MASTER!!!” his booming voice echoed out as, with a swift slash of his claws, he tore one of the boars to ribbons. Rapidly, Marty spun around, knocked the second boar with his tail, and pinned it to the ground.
“MY MASTER, HAVE THE HONOUR OF THIS KILL!!” Reluctantly Kline approached the struggling boar and thrust the spear he had picked down, ending the boar's life.
Having watched all this unfold, Alex and Yuu decided it was their turn to take down their chosen boars, which were the dominant patriarch and matriarch of this group of boars. Approaching the female boar, Yuu kept a calm and steady pace as if she were approaching a cute puppy that she was going to pet.
“Your skin is going to make me some nice new shoes,” Yuu mumbled as she reached out towards the boar.
“Look out, big chief!!” Gunter cried out as the boar opened its mouth wide and chomped down on her outstretched arm. Yuu, though looked unimpressed despite having her entire arm chewed on.
“I’m too tough to be a chew toy!!” she roared as she brought down her free arm onto the boar's snout and twisted the entire head, causing a loud crack to echo out as its neck snapped under the force.
“Well, now, just you and me, big boy,” Alex said to the snarling patriarch of the boar group. The boar huffed angrily at Alex as it began to scrape its hoof along the ground, clearly readying to charge at Alex.
“Lumus rex!” Alex chanted the light spell and stomped his foot on the ground just as the boar began its charge. The boar itself got no further than three steps before the ground gave out beneath it as it fell into a pit trap.
A pained squealing sounded out from the bottom of the pit. Cautiously approaching the edge of the hole, the class could see the boar had been impaled on spikes at the bottom of the pit.
“Lumus Rex!” with another stomp of his foot, spikes shot out of the hole's walls and impaled the boar's head, killing it.
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“One more for luck, Lumus Rex!” with one final stomp, the bottom of the hole rose up, leaving the boar’s remains on flat ground.
“We did it!!” Bea cheered in celebration, quickly joined by the rest of her classmates. They had faced monsters and won using nothing but crappy gear. Looking at Alex and Yuu, the class’s celebratory mood lost all momentum as the pair of teachers looked unimpressed.
“Kids… what was that?” Alex asked, his tone becoming harsh.
“We fought the boars?” Maxwell answered.
“Clearly, but you each worked alone,” Alex replied, looking annoyed by their enthusiasm.
“Huh?” Tasha asked, confused.
“You all fumbled your way through that fight using your own way to do it. You should’ve sprung into action the moment Tasha shot her arrow.”
“But it failed?” Daisy replied, confused.
“Shouldn’t matter the moment you lost the initiative, the situation became more dangerous than it needed to be. Gunter, for instance, your strike killed your target boar instantly.” Gunter nodded, looking proud.
“But afterwards, you stood around like a lost child. Kline, there was facing two boars. Could you really not have joined in and backed him up?” Gunter looked down, avoiding Alex’s baleful gaze.
“Hey, lay off him!” Bea shouted, coming to his defence.
“Bea?! You were by far the most egregious idiot of the lot in that fight!” Bea retreated half a step in shock.
“Whuh… How?... Why?” Bea stuttered out.
“Bea, you summoned a hellhound.” Bea nodded, looking panicky and confused.
“A hound wreathed in hell flame!” Bea still nodded, which caused Alex to exhale an exhausted sigh.
“Where are we, Bea?”
“A forest… Oh.” Bea said, suddenly realising her folly, summoning a fire-based demon in a woodland.
“If you want to start a forest fire, you sure as hell went the right way about it.”
“Kline.” Kline winced as Alex turned his attention to him.
“Good job with your summon, well-thought-out action given the circumstances,” Alex said, giving an approving nod to Kline.
“INDEED, MY MASTER IS THE WISEST ONE HERE!!” Marty added.
“Finally, Daisy and Maxwell. I applaud your teamwork; it is what should have been done with everyone from the start. But you focused too much on your opponent. You, like Gunter, were left gawking like idiots when it was dealt with. Look for your next foe till there are none left. In a fight, there are no rules. Gang up six to one if it’ll improve your odds.”
“But that is unhonourable, sir!!” Maxwell protested.
“Honour is the currency of fools and deadmen. I will not teach either!” Alex shot back. “Live to fight another day, and best your enemies where they can be bested.”
“Well, it’s all well and good coming from you. You two stood there and watched, doing nothing!!” Maxwell shouted back, angry at the tone Alex was taking with the class.
“I was prepared to rescue you all if it was necessary,” Alex replied calmly.
“You always say that. But have we seen any evid-” Maxwell’s rant was cut off as Alex snapped his fingers, and six spikes shot up out of the grounds impaling the boar corpses where they lay.
“I set up a multi-earth spike array before even stepping out here. With a snap of my fingers, the battle would’ve been over,” Alex’s response left them all stunned. They hadn’t even sensed the array beneath their feet. Alex just let out a resigned sigh as he softened his features.
“You kids are still learning, so I won’t hold this against you. But you need to realise the faults now so they don’t become ingrained. A real battle is just a mashup of lots of little fights.” Alex dismissed the spell, and the spikes sunk back into the ground.
“But you should always aim to make those little fights as easy as possible. For instance, if you held by the tree line where you started, the boars would’ve tried to retaliate only to be funnelled, and the six of you would at most face two of them. That number is far easier, is it not?”
The class could only reluctantly nod in agreement. Daisy felt worse as she once again let her arrogance get the best of her, like in her first lesson. She had become so sure of herself now she could use the light circle method that she lost sight of herself.
“Now, come on guys, let's get these materials harvested,” Alex said as he drew out his own hook knife.
“WOWZERS, YOU KIDS FOUGHT LIKE LOONIES!!!” A voice that grated on the nerves of the entire class. Looking to the source, the class saw a half-naked man wearing a bush on his upper half looking at them with wild eyes.
“Oh gods, Go away, Agony!!” Alex shouted at the strange man who had wandered out of the tree line.
“AWH, NO FAIR, I SO RARELY GET VISITORS!!”
“I wonder why Agony; maybe it is because you are unbearable to be around?!”
“MEANIE!!!” the strange old man named Agony cried as he ran back into the forest depths.
“Oh, so that's why it’s called the forest of unbearable Agony.”
“So why was he naked from the waist down?” Daisy asked, gesturing to the retreating figure.
“They like to bear all to nature,” Alex answered with a knowing smirk.
“But really, chief, what is his deal?”
“He is a werebear,” Alex explained; while the majority of the class looked more confused, Maxwell and Kline both grimaced.
“Gods, it’s good he’s gone then,” Kline said, looking where Agony could no longer be seen.
“What’s wrong with werebears?” Bea asked.
“They’re the most annoying werebeasts in existence,” Maxwell replied.
“He didn’t seem that bad,” Tasha said as she dug her hook knife into her boar.
“Because we didn’t engage in any real conversation. Werebears are a bizarre mix of multiple races with the werebear gift slapped on top. The gods were either being really weird or drunk the day they made them.” Alex explained.
“A mix of what?” Daisy asked.
“Nature spirits like pig spirits, so they are unpleasant to be around food with. Next, there’s supposedly a mix of human in there, and finally, a lot of contrarian mentalities all stirred in a pot with a sprinkling of werebearism on top,” Alex explained.
“They compulsively disagree with any opinion you discuss with them. They will always hold the opposing opinion regardless of evidence,” Maxwell added as he took out his boar’s stone.
“It is bizarre. Like if you argue that their race should procreate and have them argue their race should end,” Alex added with a chuckle. “Though they are useful if you want a null hypothesis made up,” he quickly added.
“So they get isolated to remote regions, live as hermits and annoy only the odd traveller,” Yuu explained as she expertly skinned her boar and removed the stone with her high grad hook knife.
“So they’re annoying, so what?” Daisy asked, not seeing the point.
“Daisy, they are fundamentally unpleasant to be around to their very core. It isn’t just their behaviour; their very souls are voids of joy that make them unbearable to be around,” Alex explained, emphasising the bear part of unbearable, only to have Yuu slap the back of his head for the attempted pun.
“They sound rather tragic if you ask me,” Daisy muttered as she finished removing the stone of one of Kline’s boars.
“Tell that to the children they’ve eaten,” Maxwell muttered.
“What they eat, kids?!” Bea asked in shock.
“Yeah, there’s an old story about that girl that stumbled upon a werebear home in the woods, and a lot of their stuff wasn’t pleasant for her and in the end, they returned and ate her,” Kline explained.
“You mean Goldilocks?” Daisy asked.
“Yeah, that was her name.”
“That’s real? I thought it was a fairy tale?” Daisy exclaimed in surprise.
“Daisy fairy tales have morals. What moral is there in stuff being bad or just right only to end up being murdered? The story is a warning to avoid werebears at all costs.” Yuu explained.
“Though I read the report on the incident, Goldilocks was apparently just her nickname. She was a tax collector sent to lock down owed gold. But the werebears were anti-establishment and refused to pay their taxes and tried to bribe her with the stuff in the story, only to be murdered when she couldn’t be swayed.” Alex added as he finished harvesting his own boar.
“Enough about that guy. What do we do with my boar?” Bea asked, gesturing to the charred Boar.
“A lot of the material is ruined,” Yuu said. “Best you can do is harvest the stone, though we could pack away some of the meat as it is at least a little cooked and could be a snack for our journey back.”
“One moment, guys,” Kline said as he held his hands out to Marty. “My will hath been done, and I have seen the way.” with the de-summoning chant said, Marty returned to the beast planes.
With all the materials they could get harvested, the class packed up and began making their way back toward the city, every so often picking up edible mushrooms and plants as they planned to use Bea’s roasted boar for a big meal.
It was as they were travelling that they all began to feel it. The sensation of gazes boring into them from various directions. Eventually, the pressure got too much, and Kline spoke up.
“Sir, surely you feel people watching us?” Kline asked in a hushed whisper.
“Of course I do,” Alex replied with a nod.
“Who are they?” Daisy asked, joining the whispered conversation.
“Hard to say; their presences are muddled. Could be guild employees sent to keep watch on us because of a certain someone,” Yuu said, gesturing to Alex.
“Could also be soldiers on patrols; you guys are kinda kids of important people, so they may have been sent to keep an extra eye on you,” Alex added. “Or they could be…” Alex’s voice trailed off as he glanced at the tree line in the distance.
“Or?” Bea parrotted.
“Or bandits coming here to rob and kill us,” Alex replied nonchalantly.
“What?” Maxwell asked in a hiss.
“Bandit groups operate in these forests; they might be looking at us and working out whether to rob us,” Alex elaborated.
“Why?!” Kline hissed in terror, already colouring his voice.
“Well, I dunno,” Alex replied with a shrug.
“Surely they saw us fight the boars?” Tasha asked.
“Not necessarily,” Yuu replied. “That is near Agony’s area, so they might have watched us go in and waited for us to return with stuff they can steal.”
“To be honest, we probably look like easy marks,” Alex added. “A bunch of kids in bargain gear accompanied by one adult would be easy to rob us, kill me and enslave you kids.”
“Enslave?” Maxwell whispered in shock.
“Yeah, it may be illegal here, but Lord Virtuous needs people for his slave empire. These bandits kidnap people ship them overseas, and make a profit,” Alex explained to the now worried class.
“But sir, we have two adults?” Daisy said, pointing to him and Yuu.
“Yuu doesn’t look much older than you guys to outsiders. Hell, Bea looks like one of my kindergarteners. Gunter is the only other one they might think is an adult.”
“Should I act big, chief?” Gunter asked.
“Best not; they will target the obvious threat first,” Alex said with a shake of his head.
“So what do we do?” Kline asked, his eyes darting to every shadow and rustling tree branch surrounding them.
“Press on like we haven’t noticed them. If they are bandits, maybe they’ll see us as too small pickings. Maybe they won’t want to bother with us; they might not even be bandits.”
With Alex’s suggestion, the class pressed on, ignoring the increasing hostility of the gazes following them. It didn’t take long for them to start hearing footsteps getting closer. After a while of their obvious encircling, when they neared a small grove, Alex stopped.
“Ok, it’s clear they are looking for a confrontation. This will be a good lesson for you kids, always claim the initiative in a fight.” Alex said with a side glance showing an ear-to-ear grin.
“COME ON OUT; I DON’T LIKE VOYEURS!!” Alex shouted to the surrounding woods. But there was no reply.
“I SAID COME ON OUT; I COULD JUST USE A WAND OF FLAMETHROWER AND BURN DOWN THE SURROUNDING TREES IF I’M IMAGINING THINGS!!” A branch cracked underfoot as half a dozen men, that were a mix of orcs, elves and one clearly a vampire, stepped out in front of the class blocking their route towards the capital.
“Well done, you sensed us,” one of the men in filthy bloodstained armour said as he readied a sword and shield.
“Indeed, oh, this one will be fun,” the vampire added as he flicked his dagger around before holding it up to his face.
“Oh gods, don’t lick-” Alex’s request couldn’t be finished as the bandit ran his tongue along the flat of the dagger in his attempt to look sinister.
“That is just gross, you know?”
“I don’t care what you think. I like the taste of blood on steel,” the vampire replied, giving a crooked yellow-toothed grin.
“So here is the way it’ll go, you give us all your stuff, then we will kill you,” the knife-licker said as he pointed at the class.
“Don’t you mean or we or we will kill you?” Tasha asked.
“I know what I said,” the knife-licker shot back.
“Can we negotiate?” Alex asked. The bandits all chuckled.
“Sure, you can try to negotiate with me,” the knife-licker said with a sinister grin as he looked over the girls of the group. His gaze made the girls all shudder as it felt like he was licking them with his eyes.
“Ok, so what can I offer for you guys to let us pass through untouched?” Alex asked, turning to a different Orc bandit with an axe on his back.
“I am the one you will negotiate with, human,” the knife-licker demanded, snarling at Alex.
“But you all looked at him when I asked to negotiate, and you only entertained the notion when he gave you a hand gesture,” Alex explained, turning his attention back to the axe-man.
“So here is my offer; we will give you some of the boar meat, and in return, we will leave and won’t kill you all,” Alex offered, to which the entire group of bandits burst out into uproarious laughter.
“You kill us?” the axe-man repeated between bouts of laughter. “You may as well be alone. You got a group of milksops barely off their mother's teets behind you. We are more than a match for all of you,” axe-man said as a sinister grin spread access his face. A grin that even made Alex’s skin crawl.
“I’ll counter your offer; I will kill you and that big one back there,” he said, gesturing to Gunter. “Then we will take your little girls and have some real fun before we sell them off to one of Virtuous’ traders.”
“Is there no way we can not do that?” Alex asked, trying one last time.
“No, now Vail shoot the big one!” axe-man shouted. Obeying his boss, one of the elf bandits shot a crossbow bolt that flew through the air before anyone could react and landed directly in Gunter’s chest, right where his heart would be. Like a marionette with its strings cut, Gunter collapsed to the ground.
“GUNTER!!!” Bea cried out in terror as the Axe-Man began manically laughing.
“You are needlessly evil!!” Maxwell shouted as his hands began transforming into claws.
“I AM EVIL, WUHAHAHAHAA!!!! But a werewolf? I can get a good coin for your pelt, transform all the way, will you.” axe-man said with an even larger sinister smile.
“Stand down,” Alex said, his voice a barely audible whisper. The class froze to look at Alex, who was standing stock still. The surrounding area's temperature began to drop rapidly, and they started to see their breath in the air.
“Crap-crap-crap-crap,” Yuu rapidly said as she began dragging the students closest to Alex as far back as possible.
“Miss, what about Gunter?” Bea cried out as she dragged her away.
“We don’t have time to get back now!” Yuu cried out in a genuine panic.
“Oh, look, your kids are abandoning you. WUHAHAHAHAA! How pathetic,” axe-man said, looking at the kids with disgust.
“Men, deal with this piece of shite and get me my new toys!” Axe-man commanded as the bandits began to surround Alex.
“Lumus rex,” Alex whispered the chant, all energy gone from his voice, as he raised up his right foot and waited for the right moment.
“Thanks for making this easy for us, you stupid piece of sh-” Knife-licker didn’t finish his statement as Alex brought his foot down and launched a sandwall defensive spell up between the man's legs. Cutting him and the bandit directly behind him in vertically two.
Spinning around on one foot, Alex chanted the light circle spell and smacked his foot into the side of the sandwall. All at once, a chunk solidified into a rock that shot out and went through the chest of the flanking bandit who had shot Gunter.
The bandits were now in a full-blown panic, realising they had stepped on a proverbial dragon's tail. They began to try to step back, but Alex was moving too fast for them to effectively manouver away from him.
“LUMUS REX!!” Alex shouted the chant, his voice releasing an overwhelming aura of pure unadulterated bloodlust. As he flicked his hand up, Ice spikes shot out at a forty-five-degree angle and impaled one of the bandits.
Spinning as he approached the impaled bandit, Alex held his hand near the body, and the blood drained out the remains, forming a sword in his hand. A spell Yuu recognised as the necromantic spell blood blade. Continuing his spin with the sword now in hand, Alex sliced the fifth bandit's neck, cutting down to the bone and all but decapitating him.
Now with all but the bandit boss dead, Alex calmly approached axe-man, who was now quivering. The class noticed a distinct wet patch begin to grow on his trousers as he stood there shaking.
“No one harms my wards,” Alex’s voice contained the ice of hell, similar to when he killed the mercenaries in the classroom raid.
“But I shall grant you a temporary reprieve,” Alex continued, a unhinge grin showing on his face as he leaned in, so his mouth was right next to axe-man’s ear.
“Run… Run back to the den of thieves you came from… tell them death is coming on the swiftest wings for them. Let them know they will not live to see the sunset,” with his message given, the axe-man’s eyes glazed over as he turned around and ran off.
“Yuu keep the kids safe; I am going to crush these pests who would dare hurt one of my KIDS!!!” Alex roared as he ran after the retreating form of Axe-man.
“What did he do?” Daisy asked as she collapsed, her legs shaking like jelly.
“Soul whisper,” Yuu replied. “Anything you command a person to do with it will be forever compelled to obey. It is one of the evilest parts of the necromancy school. You could order someone to go on a massacre, and they wouldn’t be able not to,” Yuu explained.
“What about Gunter?!” Bea cried as she ran over to the still-down young Titan.
“Let’s treat him quickly!” Tasha said as she took out some herbs she had picked on their way to the boars and readied to heal him up.
Rushing over to the downed Gunter, the class quickly did a check to assess the injury. Touching the bolt, they could tell it was firmly stuck in his chest.
“Do we pull it out?” Maxwell asked with growing concern.
“Leave it in. It’ll keep him from bleeding out!” Yuu ordered as she approached him.
“Ok, let’s see the damage,” gripping the chainmail he was wearing under his everyday clothing, she ripped it open as if it were nothing more than cloth.
“Yeah, definitely pierced the skin,” Yuu muttered as she looked under the layers of gear.
“I-is he going to be ok?” Bea asked, tears already flowing down her face in a torrent.
“I can see the bolt head, so it only just pierced the skin,” Yuu said, looking more concerned than before.
“That’s a good thing, right?” Daisy asked with hope entering her voice.
“Normally, but why hasn’t he gotten up?” Yuu replied as she held the flat of her hand around the hole the bolt had pierced into his chest.
“KNITAROX, COVALES, CUNFORMA!” Yuu chanted as she yanked the bolt out of his chest in one swift motion. As she did so, a green light began to shine beneath her hand.
“I will close up the wound,” Yuu explained to the panicking students. Holding her hand there for a few minutes till she was satisfied, Yuu finally stepped back.
“Ok, the wound has been closed; luckily, it was just a flesh wound; the real question is,” Yuu held the bloody bolt to her nose and sniffed, only to pause. Holding it up to the light filtering through the treetops above, there was clearly a small opening in the bolt head.
“Poison,” Yuu muttered as she lowered the bolt down and glanced at Gunter, who was starting to sweat profusely.
“POISON?!!!” Bea shouted in terror as she rushed over to Gunter’s side.
“YOU ARE A TITAN; YOU ARE MEANT TO BE RESISTANT TO POISONS!!”
“Resistant doesn’t mean immune Bea,” Yuu said, resting a hand on Bea’s shoulder to comfort her.
“What can we do?” Tasha asked.
“Synthesise a general detoxifier potion,” Yuu replied as she took out a potion bottle, pulled the cap off and emptied it.
“Get me three shadow fax flowers, some monkey paw mushroom and some water!” Yuu shouted as she knelt down and held her hands out. “Lumus Rex!” with the chant, a circle for shape earth appeared; with a tap of her hand, the circle lit up, and the soil beneath it shaped up into a basic alchemical stand.
“I’ll get the fire going,” Yuu stopped to look at the paralysed students. “WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? GO!!!”
The class knocked out of their frozen state, began rushing off to grab the named herbs that Alex had identified on their way to the boars. A branch snapped as Tasha returned holding a handful of mushrooms that looked like small hands slightly curled up.
“I got the monkey’s paws,” Tasha said breathlessly.
“Good, mash them up as best as you can,” Yuu commanded as she focused on keeping Gunter’s growing fever down. Maxwell and Kline rushed into the spot they were sitting in with an armful of dark purple flowers.
“We got as many shadow fax flowers as possible,” Kline huffed as he dropped them down.
“Good, dice them up,” Yuu ordered as she added the mashed-up monkey’s paw mushrooms with some water from a waterskin to her now empty vial.
“Ok, Maxwell, use your werewolf nose and get Daisy back here. I’ll focus on completing the potion!” Yuu said as she added diced-up shadow fax flowers.
Yuu placed the vial on top of the little station and then closed her eyes. Every so often, she would shake her head left or right only to finally nod. “Lumus Rex!”
The light circle began to appear, but it was slowly filling out; the class watched on with wonder as the most complex magical circle they had ever seen drawn with the light method began to take shape.
“Ok, stand back, kids!” Yuu ordered as she manoeuvred the now complete magical circle beneath the vial and tapped her hand against it. All at once, a pillar of intense purple flames shot up high into the sky above. The heat was so fierce that the leaves of the nearby tree began to visibly wither and dry.
“Miss the vial!!!” Bea shouted as the vial began to rise off the station.
“Crap!!” Yuu muttered as she thrust her hand into the flames and grabbed the vial. The class watched in horror as the fire began to consume Yuu’s equipment and burn down, exposing her bare arm that, to their surprise, was covered in tattoos. As quick as it began, the flames settled down, and Yuu was left with her hand unscathed, holding the vial.
“Damn, that still hurts,” Yuu muttered, looking at her hand.
“Miss, was that forge fire?” Daisy asked as she had just returned with Maxwell.
“Yes, surprised you recognised it,” Yuu said with a look of surprise as she walked over to Gunter.
“But that can produce enough heat to melt steel!”
“I know it’s why I used it; the reaction becomes hyper-accelerated at that heat,” Yuu replied as she knelt down next to Gunter’s head. “Can one of you tilt his head up?” Moving over, both Kline and Maxwell helped manouver Gunter to a seated position. Holding the vial to his mouth, Yuu began trying to pour it down his mouth. Rapidly Gunter’s complexion began to clear up.
“Did it work?” Bea asked, looking just as concerned as she had at the start.
“Yes, though a healer will need to give him a once over,” Yuu replied before collapsing against Gunter.
“Honestly, I don’t know how he can deal with such high-pressure situations like they were nothing,” Yuu muttered, looking at her hands.
“Ok, with that sorted, what do we do now?” Maxwell asked, looking as relieved as the rest of the class.
“Catch up with Alex,” Yuu replied.
“Why did he leave us?” Bea asked, looking angry.
“He made a promise,” Yuu replied as if it were simple.
“What promise?”
“That he would kill all the bandits, the best way to ensure our safety would be to remove any chance of retaliation and focus their attacks on him,” Yuu explained.
“But he abandoned us again!!” Daisy protested.
“He left you with me as I can treat you. Alex is very specialised in the combat side of things. I’m more of a support mage in comparison. I'm not as strong if I don’t have my toys.”
As she said this, the sky above them began to darken as black clouds began to swirl above the entire forest. Bolts of blue light could be seen dancing within the clouds.
“A lightning storm?” Daisy muttered, looking up.
“No,” Yuu said, shaking her head. “Death on the swiftest of wings.”
“Urghh,” Gunter groaned as he sat up and rubbed his forehead.
“What happened?”
“GUNTER!!” Bea squealed as she dove into his chest to hug him.
“You got shot,” Yuu explained.
“Oh, I know that; I did my best to follow the chief's orders of don’t act big, so I didn’t resist the poison. Where is the…” Gunter’s voice trailed off as he looked at the carnage of the bandits that had attacked them. “Where is the chief?” Gunter said, rapidly standing up.
“He ran that way,” Yuu explained, pointing in the direction Alex and the bandit had run off in.
Rushing through the brush at a steady pace, the entire class made their way in the direction Alex had run off in. Eventually, though, they began to near the eye of the storm above. Stepping out into a large clearing, the class froze at the sight before them.
An old ruined fortress on a small hill had blue fire raining from the clouds above it. Swirling around the fortress was a whirlwind that was only visible due to the dust being kicked up. Every so often, they could hear the screams for mercy from within. Only for them to gradually silence.
The falling flames did not stop even when the fortress was quiet. Standing on the open area between the treeline and the fortress entrance was Alex standing and watching the ordeal.
“What is he doing?” Tasha asked.
“Looks like he’s watching his handy work,” Kline suggested.
“Oh no, he’s likely unconscious,” Yuu said, shielding her eyes to take a look.
“But he’s standing upright?!!”
“Yeah, the best trick I ever taught him,” Yuu replied with a grin. “Me and Alex are really good at assessing our manastores. We can tell down to the very last spell when we will mana out. I taught him how to mana out and remain standing to intimidate his enemies.”
“How?!”
“Use the freeze body spell on yourself,” Yuu replied. As they watched the carnage unfolding before them, they began to hear rapid footsteps approaching behind them. Worried it might be backup for the bandits, the class readied themselves only to relax when they saw the uniforms of the capital military.
“What in the gods’ names is going on?” a man with a plume on his helmet asked.
“We encountered bandits and had to defend ourselves,” Yuu replied.
“Listen, little missy; I don’t want any lip. This whole show can be seen from the capital!! Who is responsible?!” Yuu just pointed at Alex.
Glancing at Alex, the captain paled as he only now could fully see the sheer onesided slaughter that was raining down upon the fortress.
----------------------------------------
Alex left his students behind with Yuu to ensure they remained safe while he went on the offensive and blocked off any attempts to retaliate against the kids. He knew Gunter would likely be ok due to his physical nature.
Right now, he had to focus on making sure these bandits wouldn’t continue to be a threat to his students or anyone else. Chasing the Orc bandit who had pissed himself, Alex kept a steady distance.
Coming to a clearing, Alex slowed down to a walking pace and watched as the Orc bandit ran into an old ruined fortress likely constructed to help defend the capital during one of the earlier crusades.
Alex observed the walls of the fortress only to see an uptick in activity as the whole fortress came to life. “Come forth, for I seek the greater beyond!” with his chant completed, Munin appeared and flew down to his shoulder.
“Hey, boss, whatcha want from me?” Munin asked.
“Fly over the fort and scout out how many bandits are inside,” Alex ordered; not saying another word Munin flapped his wings and flew up into the sky and over the fort itself. Sharing Munin’s sight, Alex closed his own eyes to focus.
Looking down on the fortress, he could see dozens of bandits rushing around, preparing for an attack, while the orc bandit stood in the middle of the courtyard, mindlessly repeating an attack was on the way. A large titan who was clearly the true boss of the entire bandit group stood barking orders.
Sending a thought command, Munin began to fly carefully around the entire fortress’s outer walls only to see a few breaks in the walls. Alex couldn’t help but click his tongue in annoyance.
“Tch… Guess this is going to be the hard way,” he muttered as he casually walked into the clearing. Quickly spotting him, the bandits all began to swarm the walls readying bows and crossbows.
“Hello!” Alex shouted, waving at the bandits, who, in a panic, unleashed a volley of shots that he quickly blocked with a normal shield.
“You the bastard who killed my men?” the titan roared as he arrived at the wall.
“I am. Did the Orc deliver my message?”
“Yes, very cute, death on swift wings. Tell me, where are the rest of your men?”
“Nowhere I will suffice,” Alex replied, shooting a grin from behind his shield spell.
“Lumus Rex!” Alex held out his hand and conjured a light spell circle that floated in front of him. Holding his hand in the circle, it began to flash rapidly.
“Chief, that looks like a fire shot circle,” one of the keen-eyed elf bandits said, pointing to the circle Alex held his hand in.
“Fire shot?” the titan repeated before bursting out in laughter. “The weakest fire attack spell? You’ll need a whole lot more than one of those to deal with us.”
“I know,” Alex replied casually. “Lumus Rex!! Lumus Rex!!” Alex double-chanted the light spell creating a pair of interlocking magical circles that rotated within one another. “Let's just block off any escape,” with a flick of his wrist; the merged circles flashed and vanished.
“Enough of this farce, Grug; get down there and kill him!” the titan barked. Nodding to the chief's order, an orc from the wall hopped over the wall to land on the ground and attack Alex. Only when he landed, his entire body was ripped to shreds. His remains became smaller and smaller till they got swept up and made the spell Alex had cast visible.
“WHAT WAS THAT?!!” The Titan cried out in terror.
“Wind wall and sand slice merged to create a hurricane of blades,” Alex explained, still holding his hand out in the fire-shot circle.
“But… It matters little Frank and Neil go around the back. He can’t have surrounded the entire fortress!!” the titan roared. Obeying their boss, the two bandits returned inside the fortress. A minute passed before their pained screams could be heard, even from where Alex stood.
More dust began to be picked up by the whirlwind of death encircling the fortress, and it began to become visible how extensive the spell that had them trapped truly was.
“Fire at him!!” The bandits all launched shots at Alex; only their bolts and arrows, this time, were shredded and added to the debris swirling around the fortress. Looking up, the sky began to darken as the air pressure rapidly dropped to maintain the whirlwind around the fort.
“WHAT DO YOU WANT?!!” The Titan asked, desperation finally entering his voice.
“I already told your orc friend. I am here to deliver death upon all of you.” Alex replied in as casual a tone as if he was commenting on the weather.
“WE WILL GIVE YOU GOLD!!! NO, WAIT, I KNOW LORD VIRTUOUS MYSELF; HE CAN PROVIDE YOU WOMEN, MEN, CHILDREN, ANYTHING TO SATISFY YOUR NEEDS!!!”
“Those words alone would’ve sealed your fate,” Alex replied as the fire shot circle finally flashed.
“Your friend there, though, was slightly mistaken; that circle was a modified fire shot circle. It will fire a shot of heat so high it can melt mithril,” Alex explained as the dark clouds above began to rumble.
“I call this little trick Argheddons Wrath!” bringing his hand down in a chopping motion; the sky opened up in a deep blue colour as hundreds if not thousands of blue fire shots began raining from the sky.
“Choose your death, gentlemen, my whirlwind of blades or hell fire!!” Alex roared as the first man was hit by a fire shot and burst into flames, his agonised screams terrifying the entire gang. Thrashing around only to fall over the edge, his pained screams coming to a sudden halt.
Watching the horror unfold before him, Alex knew he could not look away. To do so would break his code. Death may be necessary, but it should never be enjoyed, and he would burn these lives he was ending into his memory.
“ARTICIAH, HARAIS, VAMTO,” chanting the freeze person spell, Alex paralysed his body to not let him turn away. He was still a few spells away from going mana out, but he knew he could not let weakness take hold and avert his eyes for anything.