The training only got more intense since the first years became the only occupants. Feats were more complicated than any of them ever imagined. So far, they were able to unlock enhanced speed and strength for a few seconds. The first-year classes were only two months from ending. Yuri surely felt stronger, and so did all of them.
“Are all your weapons locked and loaded?” Master Baldwin, one of the only two masters left behind for the year, asked them as they walked across the bridge to the northern woods.
“YES, MASTER BALDWIN.” They said in unison.
The night was empty, with no stars or no moon. It felt creepy but exciting. This was the first time they were going to put their skills to use. The bridge creaked violently with each step, sending a shiver across his spine.
“Let me tell you again, Master Hanshon will provide you with further instructions on the other side.” Baldwin came to a stop as they reached the end of the bridge. “While, I will be standing here, making sure of your safety. Good luck,”
They nodded and walked forward. The only thing visible in the darkness was a lamp, held at a distance by Master Hanshon. Yuri felt eerie as he got closer to him. The noise of rustling leaves, the hissing of leaves, and the sounds of other wild animals was the only thing filling the silence. The air was chilly but there was no wind, perfect for the activities planned for the night.
“Heed my words, or you shall die.” Hanshon said, with an unusual seriousness in his voice. “Not really. Remember, this is a friendly competition. Keep it that way.” Hanshon said, normally this time. “Split into pairs of two,” he instructed.
Yuri paired up with Stu. Tumes with 048, and Ada with Tatsu. They placed space between each group.
“Now, the objective is to exorcize as my ghouls as possible. The team with the highest kills will be deemed the winner.” Hanshon declared. “Master Baldwin and I will not be interfering in your competition. Also, this is an excellent opportunity for you to put your practice to work.” He broke the lamp by throwing it to a tree next to him. From the lamp emerged more than two dozen ghouls.
Apart from the Mendthonel from Pelgus, This was the first time Yuri saw a ghoul. They were pale gray with a million teeth, their form was hard to make out. They had legs but they appeared to be floating. Their eyes were menacing red and their arms were itching to scratch them off with long and sharp nails. They were the embodiment of creepiness. A few seconds later, they scatter throughout the forest. They were faster than he thought too.
“Good luck.” Master Hanshon exited the area and left them alone in the woods.
“That’s it?” Tatsu asked.
“That’s it.” Hanshon replied.
“Is there a time limit?” Ada asked as she gripped her sword.
“Stop when all the ghouls are slashed, or when the sun comes up.”
They all nodded to each other and split off. Yuri and Stu headed east, where a good part of the ghouls scattered off. The only problem was that there were more trees and vines in this section, which made it harder for them to navigate their way through the forest.
“What’s the plan?” Stu asked.
“Keep your eyes open. Ghouls don’t stick together. They hunt their prey individually. Yuri answered. “They will be hiding everywhere, waiting to strike when we are distracted.”
It wasn’t long before they found their first ghoul. It came in charging from Yuri’s left, as fast as lightning, but Yuri was faster. He inhaled calmly and slashed it down. His katana turned green momentarily and the ghoul disappeared into thin air.
“Good job.” Stu said, not losing any of his focus.
A short white line appeared on the handle of his katana. He reckoned that it was his kill count.
“Another one!” Stu said. He slashed it with all his might, but it managed to slip off. He kept at it and slashed again, successfully killing it this time.
“I think I saw one that way.” Yuri pointed in another direction. Stu nodded and followed him. His eyes didn’t lie. It was a bigger one and it was almost yellow.
A bigger target means an easier hit, Yuri thought. He jumped in with enhanced speed and slashed it. It dodged and headed for Stu.
“This one’s feistier.” Stu noted as the ghoul managed to escape his attacks.
“All right, keep it distracted. I will cut it down.” Yuri waited for an opening. Stu kept the ghoul busy.
There, he found the opening. Yuri crept up on the ghoul and slashed it instantly. It hit the ghoul, but it did not go down. Instead, the ghoul turned back dramatically and hissed at him. Together, Yuri and Stu struck simultaneously. It went down.
“Did you get the line this time?” Stu asked. Yuri checked and replied. “I did.”
A few minutes later, they spotted another set of ghouls, both heading in two different directions.
“Should we split up?” Stu asked.
“Yeah, for now. Meet back here.”
Yuri chased after the ghoul, deep into the wild. Weirdly enough, there was no trace of it. He was so sure that he had seen it go this way, or maybe it was just hiding somewhere to ambush him. Either way, he knew he had to be careful.
To his left, he heard the slow but increasing sound of rustling. There was definitely a strong Gia presence near him, but he could tell that something was off. He gritted his teeth and launched a surprise attack on the spot where he heard the sound. There was no ghoul, nothing, except a porcupine which was looking at him with suspicion.
Huh? he asked himself.
Within the blink of an eye, the porcupine burned red, melting into flames. He was caught off guard. He made the wise choice and backed off. Once he established a safe distance, Yuri observed the anomaly.
This is not just another ghoul. He remembered learning about a special class of ghouls, the mutators, they were significantly stronger than a normal ghoul, and faster too. The mutator ghouls could only be killed by slashing one of the viral spots.
He gathered his confidence and analyzed the situation. The porcupine had completely melted off, all that was standing was a scary molten ghoul in front of him. It had a crooked sword in its hand too.
I can’t let it touch me.
The ghoul’s body was the equivalent of lava. A touch from it was not something he could shake off.
Before the mutator made its first swing. Yuri leaped to the trees, finding cover among one of the bushes. The mutator screamed and followed in. He cut through the trees like it was paper and searched for his prey. Yuri was scared to the bones, the arms on his hair standing up. He swallowed his fear and continued observing. The ghoul turned his back on him, checking one of the bushes opposite him.
Now!
In one swift move, he jumped from the bush and slashed the mutator’s neck mid-air. He was successful in his attempt, but the ghoul was still standing, almost an inch from death, but more furious than before. His eyes were fuming and he yelled out. Yuri had to finish him off before he recovered. He struck the katana to its heart, completely through to the other side.
The mutator grunted and then stopped. He was turned to ashes.
Yuri felt satisfied. He checked his katana grip again to find another line appearing on its hilt. This time it was orange.
That’s neat.
He encountered a few other ghouls as he went back to the place where he came from. Defeating them was easy now that he had killed a mutator. His confidence was at an all-time high. The feeling died down when he found no trace of Stu in the place where they last saw each other.
Maybe he’s just late, he convinced himself, Maybe he’s in danger?
He got his mind together and decided to wait it out for a few minutes. He grew concerned as time passed on.
Yuri lost his patience and went to check for his friend. The right track was even wilder.
Maybe he really is lost.
He heard the sound of a battle nearby, it was pretty intense. But there was something else, he was sure he heard footsteps next to him, and heavy ones at that. He tightened his guard and looked in that direction.
“Yuri?” The person behind the vines asked out, he stepped out into the clearer part of the area, revealing his huge body with ‘048’ stamped on his right chest.
“Forty?” Yuri asked, lowering his katana.
“Yeah.” 048 answered, he was holding his great sword. It was as long and thick as himself. Yuri had no idea how he was able to hold it.
“Do you hear that? That fighting sound?”
“That’s Tumes fighting a camo-ghoul.” He answered. Camo-ghouls were another variant with camouflaging abilities, and they too were stronger than an average ghoul. He wanted to see one for himself, but he had other things to worry about.
“So no sign of Stu?”
“Stu? No, I don’t think so. You’re the first one I’ve run into. We should probably split up again.” He positioned his great sword.
“Yeah.” Both of them parted ways. Yuri went in the direction where 048 came from.
Where the hell is Stu?
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Yuri wandered for a long time while encountering a few normal cookie-cutter ghouls. He had no watch, so he had no telling how long Stu had been missing.
In the middle of the forest, he found a swamp, with gurgling bubbles in the middle of it. The darkest of thoughts ran through his mind. He was truly terrified.
“Stu!?” Yuri yelled out, praying to god that he hears Stu’s voice in return.
“Yuri?” yelled out another voice from the swamp, but it was not Stu’s. He tried to locate the source of the voice. It came from the other end of the swamp. Yuri hurriedly ran through the edges and reached there on time.
“Ada?” he asked. She was partially under the swamp and still continuing to sink.
“Yeah. Help?” she asked, embarrassed.
She was still too far away to reach by hand. So, he picked up a stick from the ground and gave the other end to her. He pulled her in without much struggle.
From the waist down. Her body was entirely muddy. Her yellow shirt was the only color she had on her body. She tried to clean herself up.
“I was chasing a ghoul through here.” She cleaned her hands on the ground and used them to tie back her hair.
“I got it, but I couldn’t see the swamp ahead of me while I jumped through the air.” She smiled stupidly. Yuri laughed.
“Your sword?” Yuri asked. “Is it safe?”
She used her head to point to her waist. It was still on her but the muddiness made it invisible. Yuri nodded.
“I can’t find Stu. I think he’s lost.” Yuri said.
“I can’t find Tatsu either. She might be searching for me.”
They looked at each other. Yuri felt oddly comfortable, which he wasn’t expecting. He smiled and asked her, “Wanna team up temporarily?”
“Temporarily.” She smiled and then nodded.
They headed in the direction from which Ada previously came from, it was much clearer and less wild. He was relaxed but not too much, for there might have been ghouls lingering behind every single tree.
“Yuri, I’m sorry about the other day.” She said,
“No, It’s ok. I’ve moved on. It’s fine.”
“Really?”
“I mean, Yeah.”
He really did move on but he still wanted to know more. He couldn’t wrap his head around it.
“Although, did you always just see me as a friend or was it something else?” Yuri asked.
“I don’t know. You’re a great guy but I can’t afford to get distracted.” She said,
“Is there any particular reason why you joined the academy?” Yuri was sure that it was the right question to ask.
“Yeah, I need to find my mother.”
“Your mother?” he asked.
“Yes. I don’t know much about her, but she left me when I was four years old to explore the world.”
That’s just irresponsible, he wanted to say.
“What about your father?”
“He’s an engineer in Tefot. He takes great care of me. Even though he never tells me much about mom, I’m sure he misses her too.”
“I hope you find her.”
“I will.” She looked at him and smiled.
“What about you? What’s your reason?” she asked him.
“Closure.” he answered.
“Closure?”
“Yeah, I want to know why they killed my family. The Proximians.” They both stopped and stared at each other. She was shocked.
“The Hisantrost tragedy?” she asked after a few seconds.
“The Proximian ship crashed and burned our city to the ground. I was the only survivor in my family.” His ears started ringing and he could feel himself losing control. Screams and cries echoed in his ears. Flashes of dead bodies, fire, and smoke were still fresh in his mind, like open wounds. “I just want to know why.” He inhaled deeply and tried to keep it together. “Becoming a Valor would make it easier for me to know.”
“I’m sorry for your loss.” she said, unsure of what to say.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”
Just talking about it brought him back. To talk about it was to relive it, and that was his worst nightmare. He knew he would eventually lose it one day if he ever saw a Proximian again.
“Look out,” Ada yelled. Yuri was thrown to the ground with incredible force. He couldn’t believe it. It was his own fault for getting distracted. Fortunately, It was just a regular ghoul. His chest was scarred with its claw mark. He immediately got up to face it but Ada was already quick to exorcize it.
“Sorry,” he said.
“It’s okay. You should clean your wound before it spreads.”
Ghoul scratches would render a regular person unconscious for hours. That made it easier for the ghouls to feast on their bodies. The Valors were smart to come up with an antibody that would heal the scratches when applied just after the injury.
Yuri checked his belt and found the spray. He had never used it before. It hurt like hell, but it worked. The scratches disappeared as if they never had been inflicted.
“You got hit?” said Stu, who was hiding above one of the trees.
“Stu? What are you doing here? Where were you?” Yuri asked.
“I got lost, and I was fighting a camo-ghoul a few moments ago. I think the bastard ran away.”
“I think Tumes is fighting it. Atleast, that’s what 048 told me.” Yuri said.
“Are you sure that was 048? It could have been a camo-ghoul tricking you.” Stu climbed down.
“No, he knew my name and he knew Tumes. Camo-ghouls cannot access memories. That can only be done by a Jorien.”
“Fair enough.”
“Where’s Tatsu?” Stu asked.
“I think she’s lost, or I am lost. I don’t know.” Ada said.
“We’ll stick together till we find Tatsu.” Yuri declared.
“No. I am going to find her myself. You guys go another way.” she said.
“You sure? It won’t be a problem.” Stu said.
“No. It’s okay, and thanks.” She said to Yuri. “For the talk.”
“Yeah.” They smiled and went their separate ways.
“Show me your hilt.” Stu said to him as they went back to the swamp. He flipped it and flexed it to him.
“Thirteen ghouls and one mutator.” Stu noted. “I’m short on both.” He showed his hilt to him. There were eleven white lines and no special ones.
“And the camo-ghoul is gone. Damn, that could have been a good win.” Stu said irritatedly.
“Don’t lose your hope. I’m sure we’ll get plenty more special ones.”
As time passed on, they encountered more ghouls. Each easier to kill than the other. Both of them became confident in both their forms and feats. It was beyond fun, Yuri felt alive. When the dark got less and less intense, and when there was a hint of sunrise flowing through the forest, Stu found something incredible.
“What is this?” He said with awe as he dropped to his knees next to a tree.
“What?” Yuri came closer to find the hilt of a sword sticking out of the ground. It was crimson and when Stu lifted it off the ground, the blade flashed with sharpness.
“Finders keepers.” Stu said instantly.
“Damn.” Yuri touched the sword’s polished body. It felt as if the blade was made out of silk. He felt jealous.
“Do you think one of the masters left it here?”
“Maybe? This might be a special prize or something.” Yuri guessed.
“Property of Hlans Ozik.” Stu read the inscription on the bottom of the hilt.
“Hlans Ozik? Who’s that?” Yuri asked, gently grabbing the sword and checking the inscription himself.
“No idea, but this is undoubtedly cool. What should I name it?” Stu stood up and assumed a fighting stance with the sword.
“Name it?”
“Yeah. You should name a sword if you really like it.” Stu said, making up the logic. “I think I should call it the Ground Slayer.”
“The ground slayer?” Yuri asked mockingly. “Really? Because you found it from the ground? That’s lazy.”
“What? I think it’s cool. The ground slayer it is!” Stu said out loud. Yuri laughed and rolled on the ground.
The ambiance in nature was suddenly disturbed by a deafening buzzing sound. It sounded like a loudspeaker starting up.
“ALL RIGHT, COMP’S OVER. RETURN HERE.” Master Hanshon spoke through the speaker. They saw a green flare rising to the sky as soon as Hanshon finished his announcement.
“That should make it easy.” Yuri said.
They followed the flare and reached the starting point within no time. Tumes and 048 were already standing there, talking to Master Hanshon.
“Yuri. Stu. What’s your total count?” Tumes greeted them.
“Now, now. Don't be hasty. Leave the counting to me.” Hanshon turned and walked up to them.
“Your swords please,” he said to them. Hanshon carefully examined the hilt with an impressed look on his face.
“What’s that?” he asked Stu, who was holding Ground slayer in his other hand.
“You don’t know?” Stu asked. “Well, I found it near a tree, stabbed to the ground.”
“Mind if I take a look at it.” Hanshon extended his hand.
“Sure.” he handed it to him in exchange for Stu’s original sword.
“Interesting.” Hanshon said while examining the hilt.
“The name on the hilt. Hlans Ozik. Do you know who that is?” Yuri asked Hanshon.
He stared at him, lost in thought.
“I do.” he finally answered. “But I think you will find it best to ask Chief Buldum about it.”
“Why? Was he the one who forged it?” Stu asked.
“I’m not sure, but he definitely knows more about this sword that I do.” Hanshon gave it back to Stu and went to attend the next team who arrived.
“All right. This was a test, and you all did very well. I am pleased to say that this year’s combined kill count is more than last year’s.” Master Hanshon, along with the others, gave themselves a round of applause. “This drill or, let’s say experience, has proven all of you a capable Valor. You will be receiving your first robes now. Master Baldwin, if you will.”
Master Baldwin stepped forward. He was holding a lot of white robes in his hands. “Receiving your first robe, that is, the white robe, is the one of the five stages of becoming a full fledged Valor. Treat your robes with respect and dignity.” He started handing it out to every student. “A white robe Valor can officially help out in a battle with the permission of a full Valor. I don’t want any of you to abuse your power. I cannot say for sure when you will be asked to help out, but you will be.”
“Does that mean I can exorcize ghouls now?” Tumes put on his robe and tied his waist. There was a capital ‘V’ with a circle around it in the chest pocket.
“Not unless you are ordered to by a senior Valor, or under special circumstances, where you are supposed to protect the life of a civilian from such forces.” Hanshon repeated. “You will still be studying here for two more months to polish your skills, but you have officially graduated year one.”
“All right!” Tatsu and Tumes gave each other a handshake.
“So… we’ll be traveling the country next year?” Ada asked the masters.
“After four or five months of advanced technique training and fighting forms, you will be exploring the country and fighting every type of ghouls.”
All of them were beyond excited. 048 was looking very proud wearing the extra large robe that was made for him, and Stu was still checking out his Ground slayer.
“But master, who were the winners?” Tatsu asked him.
“Yeah right, almost forgot about that.” Master Hanshon examined his notes. “In last place with a combined 21 regular kills and 0 special kills, Ada and Tatsu.” he announced. “In the second place, with 29 regular kills and 2 special kills, Tumes and 048.” They were shocked. Yuri and Stu excitedly glanced at each other.
“With a combined 36 regular kills and 1 special kill, Yuri and Stu wins the competition,”
“As expected.” Stu said jokingly, raising his Ground slayer to the air. “We are the strongest after all.”
“Ahh, I’ll get you next time.” Tumes commented. Yuri nodded. It took him ten months to get this far, and he was already far more powerful than he anticipated. He felt satisfied.
They were asked to go back to the island to get back their hours of lost sleep. The sun had already risen. The birds had started their chirping and the animals in the forest came to light. Yuri, along with the others, didn’t feel sleepy. Their excitement and sense of accomplishment drowned any thought of sleep. Together, they crossed the bridge, as graduates of the first year.