7.

Elder Kang’s lesson finished.

Students groaned and moaned. Most would’ve left the training field under normal circumstances. Now, they only cried as they picked up a weapon from the weapons rack.

I tried to quietly zombie walk over to our dorm, but May, being the witch that she was, threw me a wooden sword.

‘Congratulations,’ she said.

She’d heard Elder Kang’s remark on my status.

‘Thanks.’

I swiped the blade out of the air and looked it over.

The weapon was a bit longer than a shortsword. Nicks in the wood around the shaft made the sword grip tighter in my palm, and the edge curved like that of a scimitar.

‘Shouldn’t I be training with daggers?’ I said, glancing towards May.

She was weighing her sword in her hands, comparing the weight to that of her real weapon.

‘Daggers are specific,’ she said. ‘They excel in close-range, speed-based combat, tight spaces, and quiet kills. But in a direct confrontation, they’re best used as a secondary weapon.’

May’s bare feet carried her over the sands. She took position in front of me and refastened the bun she had tied her hair in. As she did, the space around me slowly begun to feel heavier, like it had beneath the siren’s gaze.

‘So, I have to pick up a different weapon?’

May nodded.

‘A sword or spear will work best for you. We’ll try a spear next training and see which one you like more.’

My teeth locked onto the inside of my cheek.

‘I like my daggers,’ I murmured.

I wasn’t the best at using them, of course. But I thought I was learning.

‘Were you listening?’ May said. ‘You’re not throwing them away.’

A smirk formed on her lips.

‘Or maybe you are, since it’s your favourite attack.’

I rolled my eyes.

‘That’s—’

‘Sword up,’ May barked.

My arm rose right away, blood pouring through my head…that caught me off-guard.

May advanced on me, critically eyeing my stance.

‘Regular training is not in the cards since we’ve got less than two weeks. Which is why I’m going to pound the footwork and distance management into you through repeated beat downs.’

I swallowed and braced my back foot.

‘I don’t like the sound of that,’ I said.

She chuckled.

‘Don’t worry—you’ll learn quick. Your instincts are the real deal, shrimp.’

‘Huh,’ I said, tilting my head. I hadn’t expected her to compliment me. Ever. ‘Thanks—’

May dashed forward with two quick steps. Her blade released in a horizontal swing, and I hastily raised my own sword to block. Wood banged on wood. The reverberation travelled down my forearm, shaking the bones on the inside. It resonated down to my legs, shocking me in place. God—

My world flicked upside down as something swept my ankles, and the back of my head hit the floor.

The tip of May’s blade came to rest against my throat.

‘Don’t catch heavy swings,’ she said. ‘Your muscles will grow tired quick in a real fight. Deflect them or step out of the way.’

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

She removed the blade and offered a hand.

I sighed, settling in for a brutal round of training.

8.

image [https://i.imgur.com/V3efkVw.jpg]

The tiers of the academy had pavilions. Large, hooded spaces with a set of benches and tables that initiates could use to rest.

They were a blessing. My legs weren’t taking me down any significant flight of stairs after Elder Kang’s lesson and sparring with May hadn’t helped either. The darn witch had made it her mission to crush me as hard as she could.

I rubbed my arms, where she had struck me repeatedly, and eyed the pavilion. We weren’t the sole tired initiates. So, the pavilion was almost full. Unlike what I’d expected, the students were mixed. Some were Rankers, some rejects.

They must be too fatigued to enforce the divide, I thought. Luckily, they weren’t too tired to cuss each other out.

One boy jumped out of his chair and pointed at a reject. He told the other he’d noticed an error in the alignment of their teeth and offered a free dentist session tomorrow evening during class. That got more than a few chuckles.

May shook her head.

‘Amateur,’ she said.

I scoffed and said nothing.

My gaze landed on a half-empty bench near the edge of the hood and—

Huh. Two boys. One wearing a bamboo hat and the other fiddling with a flute. It had to be them, no?

I pointed to the seats and May followed. I set my pouch down on the table and nodded to two boys, who nodded back. They were definitely Rankers. Though I couldn’t remember which rank they’d received.

A sheathed blade rested at the side of the bench where Bamboo Hat (as I chose to call him) was sitting. His weapon of choice. Did that make the flute a weapon, too? The thing had multiple tubes, all of a different length. Quite strange. Maybe he was a support type hunter.

I sat down and May sagged into the cushioned seat next to mine like a bag of water.

Bamboo Hat sneakily glanced up from underneath his headwear, paying close attention to the buoyancy of her chest.

I chuckled.

‘Don’t act like you’re tired,’ I said, taking a seat. ‘Elder Kang will yell at me, too.’

Whenever one student failed, he was quick to make everyone pay with extra repetitions.

‘I’m convinced he gets a hard on for making teens suffer,’ May said, resting her feet on my lap.

I tried to stifle a snort, failed, and started laughing.

‘Stop—’ I bent over ‘—making me laugh, dammit. It hurts.’

May smirked cheekily.

She paused, then threw herself upright in a burst of energy. Her hand went to the unlit oil lantern on the table. After a moment of focus, the wick caught fire and chased away the encroaching night.

I shook my head. Her shaping was seriously too far ahead of mine—I could only shape my water if it was in contact with my body. Tonight, I thought. There was much to work on.

‘Impressive,’ Flute Boy said.

The fire lit half of his face, casting the other part in shade.

‘You can already shape your flames through a barrier?’ he said.

May fell back on the bench with a grin.

‘What can I say, I’m gifted.’

Bamboo Hat’s lips curved, too, and I could hear him silently think: “In more ways than one.”

Well, I couldn’t blame him. He was right, after all.

The boys’s attention returned to themselves, and they chattered amongst each other, stealing looks our way occasionally.

For myself, I leaned closer to the flame, enjoying the warmth, and fished inside my pouch. I considered for a moment. Mother’s schedule or the encyclopaedia…

Too many eyes, I decided. I’ll continue reading Mother’s schedule when I’m home.

So, I removed the booklet Elder Chinju had given me and flipped to a random page to get a feel for the book.

My quiet, studious activity lasted all of a minute before May decided to disturb me.

‘Why are you reading.’

‘Why does that sound like a complaint,’ I responded.

‘Because,’ May said, drawing out the word, ‘watching you act like a smarty-pants irritates me.’

I rolled my eyes.

‘Too bad. I’m not stopping.’

‘It’s that good?’

‘Yep. Unless you’re happy hunting inside the first layer the whole year, we’re going to need protection.’

May raised an eyebrow.

I flipped the book around and showed her an image of a monster called Claymore Toad, which was literally the first entry I’d skipped to in the pamphlet.

May craned her neck to read.

‘A species of toads that camouflage themselves as fallen leaves,’ she said. ‘Stepping on them releases a poisonous gas that knocks any hunter below D rank unconscious on the spot.’

She pulled an ugly face.

‘Sounds way too dangerous.’

‘Right? Good news is that they only appear in certain parts of the valley. The Trading Centre should sell an ointment against the poison, too. Works for an hour.’

‘Huh,’ she said, letting her head fall back on the bench. ‘Didn’t see it. But then there was quite a lot to pay attention to.’

‘Like?’ I said.

I flipped to another random page. The image of the next creature showed some sort of wisp of smoke with swirls in the centre of its body that looked like warped eyes. According to the title its name was: Shadow Mimic. What an eerie name.

‘Ability scrolls,’ May said. ‘Lots of them.’

That dragged me away from the book. The chattering of the boys stopped, too.

‘They’re divided into ranks,’ May said. ‘Fire-based E rank spells are mostly fledgling ranged attacks. Flame lances you can launch from the air, sharp waves of fire shot from your blade. I feel like I can master those techniques myself given enough time, though.’

Truth. She already had the “ranged” part down.

‘There was a D rank ability I could start learning at E rank,’ she said, ‘which would enhance my speed. But it was expensive.’

‘How expensive?’ I said.

We could always pool our money to get it.

‘Two hundred credits.’

Sheesh. That was expensive. Did we even have that much money?

May turned to me.

‘The water abilities were interesting. Almost made me jealous.’

My ears perked up and Bamboo Hat leaned forwards.

‘Oh?’ I said.

May counted up with her fingers one by one.

‘A barrier that slows or negates attacks, underwater breathing, ice control—though not everyone is capable of it—and, hear this—’

She jumped up again, placing her hands between her legs and leaning so far forward she nearly kissed me.

‘—water clones!’

I blinked.

What?