2.

The rejects were not doomed entirely.

‘Two months,’ the elder said.

She was standing in front of the podium, addressing both our groups.

‘You’ll receive two months’ worth of our tutelage, after which we will grant you a weapon of choice and release you.’

‘That’s it?’ Jax spoke up. ‘You abandon us just like that?’

His jaw was trembling. Not in fear. But in anger.

The elder grinned in that not-smiling way of hers.

‘Your life is bought with your own strength or lost with lack thereof.’

She produced a silver chain with a blue tag hanging down the middle.

‘Every accepted initiate will receive one of these. Do not lose it. It acts as a sign of identification and proof that you are an accepted student.’

She turned to the group of rejects.

‘After your expulsion, we will send the accepted students on a mission into the second layer of the valley. Should you manage to acquire one of these tags before they finish, you’ll be allowed back into the academy.’

My pupils weren’t the only ones that widened at that statement.

‘So, we’re not safe yet,’ Fahim muttered.

Of course, the elder heard. She side-eyed him.

‘No hunter is ever safe. Not when you’re out on a mission, and certainly not when you’re out exploring a dungeon. To hunt is to risk your life at all times. Even when you rest. Especially when you rest.’

A group of black sentinels (that’s how I heard someone else call them) gave us our tags, and we were led out into the academy grounds.

3.

image [https://i.imgur.com/HtrRizV.png]

The Academy was on top of a mountain-like formation.

Around this mountain-esque structure curved a winding, stone pathway that spiralled upward into a complex of pagodas built on successively higher tiers. There was a shrine at the highest tier. Atop the tower of this shrine stood a stone statue of a cloaked hunter with a bow riding a tiger. The Divine Emperor. Or as most called him: The First Hunter.

Despite the cold welcome, this place was a sight to behold. And this will be my home for the next three years.

One of the black sentinels gave them a tour of the grounds. He did not give them his name, and whispers soon said that all sentinels were nameless. Each cycle of the stone pathway brought into view a new complex of buildings and training grounds.

He showed them the library and the mess hall, and the outhouse, which was right beside a rushing brook that sliced down the mountainside, cleaving the campus neatly in two.

‘First bell is at sunrise,’ the nameless sentinel said. ‘Classes start half an hour after that. Breakfast is before that.’

He ended the tour where they had started, on the first tier, where their separated dormitories were located. The boys had a four-story building while the girls had a two-story one. Girl hunters were a rarity at the Academy, apparently. There were only five of us.

First was of course May, the sole S rank in our midst. Next was a girl my height, whose eyes were fixated on the ground; a reject if I recalled correctly. The two others were both accepted students. One with auburn hair and freckles. Another who was a head taller than even May.

Her size did not make her confident, apparently. She continuously scanned her surroundings as if she expected an attack at any moment.

‘Boys are more expendable,’ May said, jerking me out of my thoughts.

She was walking next to me, so we entered the dorm at the same time.

‘Sorry?’ I said.

‘Our low number,’ she said. Her brows furrowed in irritation of having to repeat herself. ‘Someone has to rear the talents.’

The red-haired girl bit her lip as she spoke. A personal grievance, maybe? Either way, I could not relate.

‘My mother refuses to meet me again until I become a hunter,’ I said.

May’s stare fixed me in place. She dropped the subject and did not speak further.

Despite having a two-story building, they placed us all in one room. We had bunker beds. I ended up sleeping with May after a few rounds of rock paper scissors, to the dismay of the girl that was constantly looking around. She had to sleep with the reject.

‘Lynne, was it?’ Mrs. Tall And Wary said. ‘You’ll be sorry if I catch you touching any of my stuff, you got it?!’

She put her finger in Lynne’s face. The reject did not fight back, which made me feel bad for her. But it was not my place. I had my own problems to worry about.

Such as the upcoming training session.

4.

We gathered on the third tier of the mountain on a flat field filled with grass.

No one had told us to, but we split into two groups: the rejected and accepted initiates.

Some among us traded barbs. I did not. Yet that didn’t stop me from getting disgusting glances shot my way. From disciples in both groups, mind you.

It left me stranded. Luckily for me, I wasn’t the only one. May, for whatever reason, was being ostracised as well. Was it because she was an S rank?

That didn’t make sense because Fahim seemed pretty popular. Mrs. Tall And Wary, and the girl with auburn hair were already swarming him like flies. A few male students had followed their suit. It could be because they were jealous and wanted to keep an eye on him. Whatever the case, Fahim wasn’t alone.

The elder, an old man with a fully white beard and hair, sat in the middle of the field and watched it all happen with keen disinterest. His robe was way too big for him, and when he sat, he resembled a sack of potatoes. Next to him was a basket of scrolls, whose purpose was not clear to me.

I focused my attention on my present issue and considered my options. Mother had taught me once: weak fish swim in schools. Not because they enjoy company, but because it increased their chance at survival if a predator struck. Right now, I was that weak fish, and isolation would get me killed quick.

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So, I strode towards May, who had a wide, empty patch of grass around her position. We shared a bunker. We had also already traded words. My odds should be decent.

‘Do you mind if I sit here?’ I asked.

She glanced up at me. The other initiates in the vicinity snuck glances at me as well. May’s answer wasn’t immediate. Instead, she lost herself in thought for a moment.

‘Go ahead,’ she said eventually.

I nodded and gave her a smile. She did not smile back. Huh. Mother said smiling always worked. Weird. Maybe I need to curve my lips more.

As if he had been waiting for our interaction to finish, the elder spoke up right as I sat down.

‘My name is Elder Muyue.’ The elder’s voice, contrary to his appearance, was rough. ‘I will now give you a brief overview of our energy source:’

‘Maura.’

Elder Muyue raised a wobbly hand, and the essence drew out of his palm and into the real world in the shape of a puddle. It was ethereal. More wind than anything else.

‘It is the essence stored in the well of power below our navel—the core of our body. There are two principal elements to its majesty.’

As the elder spoke, the puddle changed shape. It elongated and solidified, forming into a spear.

‘Shaping—’

The form changed again, mimicking a sword, then a dagger and then a shield. At last, it became a ball of energy so compressed it trembled in the air, begging to implode.

‘—and nature,’ the elder said.

I did not catch what he did, but the energy in his palm literally transformed into wind. The wish of the sphere was granted, and it was released as a wave that ruffled our robes and blew away our hair.

The scent of fresh grass carried on the artificial breeze and invaded my nostrils. Amazing. I had to stop myself from gaping. Mother had spoken of the energy but never explained it to me fully. So, this was maura?

‘There are five principal natures,’ the elder continued. ‘Earth, water, fire, air, and thunder. Every hunter has an inclination for one. I will help you discover which one you are in a moment.’

Elder Muyue stood with the heaviness of a truck.

‘It is important, especially for the unfortunate among you, that you grasp these two components as quickly as possible.’

He motioned towards the scrolls. They flew into the air one by one, landing in our laps.

‘These scrolls contain instructions for shaping and nature manipulation. Study them as if your life depends on it. Because it will.’

I snatched mine out of the air and glanced over the contents. Something about there being levels. Both shaping and nature manipulation would register as abilities in your status screen. There was also a way to strengthen your limbs using maura.

That sounded interesting for sure.

‘Now look here—’

The elder raised his index finger.

‘This concept is beyond you for now. However, maura can carry an intent. An aura if you will. This aura can leave an impression on the target. Depending on its use, this could be visions of death, for example.’

We shivered collectively. Is that what Elder Sui had wielded during the introduction? Maura filled with intent?

‘I will cast a neutral intent on you,’ Elder Muyue said. ‘Your nature will respond, revealing your element. Earth will make you experience choking. Water, drowning. Fire, burning alive. Air as if your head is exploding, and thunder users will think they are crumbling apart.’

My heart rate spiked. None of those sounded pleasant.

‘Take a deep breath,’ Elder Muyue said. ‘On three.’

‘One.’

All one hundred students breathed in, their faces scrounged in worry.

‘Two.’

I heard someone whisper for their mother.

‘Three.’

That last statement had made me chuckle a little—

The jolt of ice cold made me lose all my breath. What the hell? My legs kicked but the motion was slowed. I swung my arms to reach for something solid and found nothing. I breathed in involuntarily. I tried to cough as a large volume of liquid entered my nose and pierced into my throat but couldn’t. My hands went to my throat to stop it from getting in any further. It was useless.

My head sunk and rose at the same time, and I clawed at my skin. Something hot touched my fingertips. Then my limbs went limp. It was like they were filled with pure lead. The cold pulled me in and swallowed—

A big gulp of air entered my mouth. An immediate, coherent chain of thought escaped me. I simply leaned forward, resting my arms on the ground, and heaved.

New ability unlocked!

Basic Maura Nature Manipulation (water) - rank E: you can turn small amounts of maura into water.

‘Water. An expected outcome, I will say.’

I peered up. Elder Muyue was standing in front of me. My brain told me to stand and show respect, but my limbs didn’t move.

‘Rest easy, initiate,’ he said.

Then he left.

I watched him go and frowned. Was it my shocked mind or were there multiple versions of the elder pacing through the groups of students?

Minutes passed, and I recovered my breath.

Water, I thought. Like Mother. I was glad.

I turned to May. Her previously pale cheeks had turned wholly red. Fire, maybe?

‘Call on your status and turn to your scrolls,’ the elder said. ‘I will aid any who need it.’

May began staring in front of her, so refrained from speaking up.

Status screen, I thought. The screen flashed to life in an instant.

Status Screen for Djina Marshall.

Hunter Nickname

N.A.

Hunter Rank

N.A.

Affiliation

Hunter Academy

Physical Status

Disturbed

Maura

29/50

Physical

E

Mind

E

AP

E

Talent

N.A.

Abilities

Basic Maura Nature Manipulation (Water) - rank E.

Basic Maura Nature Manipulation...rank E. The scroll had mentioned something about levels. I unfurled the parchment again.

There were three levels to the Basic Maura Nature Manipulation skill: E, B and S. What changed over the levels was the strength of your nature.

An ability formed with a lower rank of the manipulation skill would lose against one formed with a higher rank. If they were the same level, they would most likely cancel each other out. But. Shaping could also play a role. A more solidly shaped sword would win against a sloppily formed one.

When an elemental advantage was at play—fire versus water, for example—you needed to be of an entire tier higher to win. Yet, this was also solely true if the water user’s shaping wasn’t up to par.

Simply said, it was nuanced. Figuring out who would win in a clash should always be considered moment to moment. From hunter to hunter.

The booklet recommended one hour of practise with turning your maura into the respective element every day for two weeks. It also suggested the initiate surrounded oneself with their element. Easy for me since water was everywhere. A lightning user would find this a hard task, though.

The explanation for shaping manipulation was much of the same. Higher levels won out against lower levels. The difference was in the method of practise. You still had to do one hour a day, but the practise should be deliberate.

First, I should try to form a puddle as the elder had shown and get it to rotate. Second, I should try to form a stick-like object and solidify it. So the list went on, stating more than ten levels that could be achieved in the Basic Maura Shaping skill.

My last hour of the lesson I spent working on my shaping skill. It was a lot harder than it looked. The actual shaping was only the second part of the equation. First you needed to call on your maura.

To do this, I had to form a mind-muscle connection with the core inside me and pull, guiding the maura from my navel to my arm, then finally out of my palm. This guiding process was also the way in which you could strengthen your muscles with maura. Instead of expelling it, however, you stored it inside the muscle you wanted to strengthen.

I needed half an hour to get the guiding down and start forming the puddle. Keeping it stable was difficult.

Elder Muyue gave me a pointer.

‘Don’t focus on the entire body of maura,’ he said. ‘Imagine a paddle ball. Your hand is the paddle and what connects you with the maura is the string. Strengthen the string, and the ball won’t go anywhere.’

It’s that which allowed me to barely keep the puddle of water intact. Rotating it was still out of question. One, because the technique for doing so was many times more difficult. Two, because my head was starting to hurt; I was still recovering from the elder’s wave of intent.

That’s why I was glad when one student raised their hand and the elder motioned for them to speak. It allowed me to place my attention on anything other than the scroll.

‘Elder. Apologies if this initiate overlooked it. But is it correct that we did not receive any time schedule for our next, required lesson?’

Elder Muyue nodded.

‘Well noted. All students are free to do what they please with their time. All Elders have a set time their lessons occur. You can view the roster on the notice board on the first tier.’

Fahim raised his hand.

‘So, we don’t have to go to the lessons?’

‘Exactly,’ the elder said. ‘Either you’re there or you aren’t. Keep in mind that the elders do not take responsibility for students who join their lessons later on and thus cannot follow the advanced material.’

The elder gazed at May.

‘Yes, initiate May.’

‘Are we allowed to go outside the school gates as well?’

Elder Muyue smirked.

‘We recommend it, in fact. Do be careful. The school gates close at midnight exact. If you miss that timing, you cannot get back in until sunrise the next morning.’

With that the elder closed the lesson, leaving all of us with time to choose what we wanted to do.

May stood up.

‘Where are you headed?’ I asked immediately, afraid to lose her.

She turned towards me and stilled. From the corner of my eye, I saw the too-slow movement of the other initiates. They were listening in.

I stood.

‘Let’s speak as we walk,’ I said.

And so, the two of us strode down the steps.