"And so Instructor Feng Hai told us that we were selected for the representative team!"
Dong Fang Yue Chu finished off his story to a captivated audience. Harvey watched him in wonder, his eyes shining.
"Awesome! Vice-president Richard is really awesome!" he turned to me. "You've to teach us how to nuke monsters too!"
"Uh…if you're willing to change your specialization and become an archer, sure." Then again, it wasn't as if I was purely an archer. I knew swordsmanship as well, because Dad trained me in both archery and swordsmanship. Unfortunately, I sucked at bare-handed combat. Fighting with purely my fists (and kicks) would be to my detriment, especially against a skilled combatant. And obviously I couldn't handle a spear, staff, axe, hammer or other weapons. I mean, I was not even proficient with a whip (Ophiuchus). Honestly, that was just me randomly flailing around than actually wielding a whip effectively. As long as it worked, I didn't care.
"Hmm…that will be difficult. I think I should just learn the sword from you."
"If that's the case, you're better off learning from my dad."
Harvey nodded thoughtfully, conceding the point. After all, I learned everything from Dad. So it was natural that learning from the master himself was the most efficient method to grow stronger.
Stan seemed to agree.
"We should head to your dad's dojo afterward. He's in today, right?"
"Yeah." There was a reason why Stan sought confirmation. Dad sometimes left for missions, which normally took several days or even weeks. When that happened, there was no point going to the dojo except for self-training. And we could just do self-training at home. That said, the dojo was still an ideal place to train undisturbed. "My dad is home today."
"Sounds good. Let's all go together after this." Dong Fang Yue Chu asserted his position as the president and made the declaration. Everyone nodded their consent, even Wang Fei, who was the least enthusiastic of us.
"It also sounds like your fire magic has gotten a lot stronger, President," Stan remarked as he returned to the topic at hand. Dong Fang Yue Chu grinned as he puffed his chest out.
"I know, right?"
"President Dong Fang, can you nuke monsters like Vice-president Richard?" Harvey asked somewhat innocently. Dong Fang Yue Chu grimaced.
"I…don't think so. I don't have a fire spell that massive."
"…oh."
Harvey sounded disappointed, which annoyed Dong Fang Yue Chu.
"Hey! Come on! I contributed to the battle too, you know?! It wasn't as if Richard was the only one fighting and killing monsters!"
"Yeah, Yue Chu incinerated a lot of those Crimson Spiders, even though they are heat-resistant. You should know how impressive that is." I was trying to cement Dong Fang Yue Chu's authority. After all, he was the president, and deserved respect. He had clearly earned it. "Without him, I wouldn't be able to cast Rigel at all."
"That's true," Harvey conceded. "I guess that's why teamwork is so important." He scowled. "The education system places too much emphasis on individual ranking and neglects teamwork and cooperation."
"It happens." I shook my head bitterly. It wasn't just in the present. In the long distant past, where I came from, the Asian education systems had tended to emphasize too much on grades and test scores, valuing rote learning and memorization over creativity and flexibility. Sports and other activities were overlooked in favor of academic results. It was the same no matter what time period you were in. "But they've realized it and began to change."
Fortunately, that also happened in the past, where the government realized the changing needs of the present and altered the academic curriculum accordingly, to allow for more flexibility and creativity. After all, not everyone could be a white-collar worker. A nation also relied heavily on blue-collar workers and a vast repertoire of technical skills.
"Anyway, let's get ready. My dad is waiting for us."
Okay, that wasn't really true. Dad was most likely spending his time watching anime, and would only pause his recordings to train us in the dojo.
We were in the midst of preparing to leave when there was a knock on the door. Dong Fang Yue Chu glanced up.
"Come in!" he hollered.
The door swung open, and Alicia walked in, relief evident on her pretty face.
"Oh, good. You guys haven't left yet."
"What's up?" I asked, puzzled to see her. The president of Black Rose rarely visited our society room in person.
"Are you guys available this Saturday?" Alicia asked.
"Nope," I replied, but the others answered in the affirmative.
"Yup!"
"Yeah."
"I think so."
"I'm always available!"
Obviously that last one was from Dong Fang Yue Chu.
But more than that, everyone turned to stare at me, especially Dong Fang Yue Chu. He scowled at my reply.
"Make yourself available," he ordered as he pointed at me. I gave him a droll look, but he refused to give in and maintained his fierce glare.
"Uh…" Alicia began somewhat uncertainly. Not wanting to put her in the spot, I sighed and raised both my hands in surrender.
"Okay, okay. I'll make myself available. I just wanted to do some training."
"Training, training, training…is that all you think about?" Dong Fang Yue Chu rolled his eyes, annoyed. "You should go out more often instead of staying cooped up in your dojo, training everyday. Are you a training maniac or something? Even your dad complains about you staying home everyday to train. You know, maybe going out and having a break once in a while might give you some new ideas for your techniques and spells."
It wasn't as if I never went out, but I decided not to argue with him. Instead, I turned to Alicia and cocked my head quizzically.
"What's happening on Saturday?"
"We're planning to have a campfire party on Saturday evening," Alicia explained with a smile. "And I wanted to invite all of you."
"Campfire party?" I repeated incredulously. That sounded so random. "Why are you organizing a campfire party?"
"To celebrate the completion of the training camp." Then when she saw the expressions on my juniors, she quickly added, "But everyone is invited. It's not just you guys. all of Black Rose, Holy Saints, Superpower, Crimson Spear, Thunder Hammer, and more…the whole school is invited. Those students who want to come are welcome to join us, regardless of whether they took part in the training camp or not. It's open to everyone, and so far we've received quite the warm response."
"We'll be there!" Harvey assured her excitedly.
"That's good." Alicia nodded, and then, as if she just remembered something, snapped her fingers. "Oh, and it's also a combined celebration of Sheng Ri Kuai Le's birthday. We're also throwing a birthday party for her while at it." She hastily raised her hands. "Don't bring any presents, though. It'll be a nightmare if all hundred plus attendants bring a present. She has no way of bringing all of them home. Just come for the food and enjoy yourselves."
I personally wasn't a fan of parties, and preferred to hide at home, but I couldn't let my friends down. Plus, there was no way in hell I would pass the chance for free food. I was already salivating at the thought of a campfire buffet. The barbeque!
The feast alone would be worth any trouble and awkwardness I went through in the party.
The members of Ultimate Outcast were certainly excitedly. Even the usually reticent Wang Fei was smiling as he chatted with Harvey about the prospect of meeting a few cute girls at the campfire party. Stan was bragging about how this would be his hundredth cameo or something, as if someone was capturing him on film. Dong Fang Yue Chu joined Harvey and Wang Fei, particularly because his specialization was flirting with girls…or something like that. Alicia was smiling as she watched all of their antics, but she hadn't left yet.
I wonder why.
Then a thought occurred to me while I was watching her beaming at everyone.
"Wait, where are we having the campfire party again?"
"Outside Jing Tian City," Alicia replied. "On the outskirts of Jing Tian Forest. There's a valley at the foot of a couple of hills – it's a pretty visible landmark. We chose it because it's easy for everyone to locate."
Outside Jing Tian City? On the outskirts of Jing Tian Forest? In other words, we were having the campfire party outdoors?
Yeah, that sounded obvious, but it was precisely the obviousness that allowed realization to dawn upon me.
"You're having the party outside the city?" I repeated cautiously. "I don't mean to be a wet blanket, but isn't that kind of dangerous? You know there are monsters roaming outside the city, inside Jing Tian Forest."
"Jing Tian Forest isn't as dangerous as Sen Lin Forest," Dong Fang Yue Chu assured me. The guy evidently wanted the party to go through, no matter what. Most likely because he wanted to hang out with cute girls. "Even if there are monsters, they will be low ranked at best."
"That's right. We are all mages." Stan nodded in agreement. "With a whole group of combat mages, we should be able to handle any low ranked or even mid ranked monster quite easily."
…while they had a point, I had a feeling they were tempting fate. After all, high ranked monsters emerged when we least expected them to. Certainly, research had shown that monsters were usually territorial. Just like in a certain game where you captured monsters in balls, monsters tended to dwell in a specific habitat.
That didn't mean they weren't open to migration, of course.
"We'll be constructing a barrier as a precaution, of course," Alicia assured me. "A high-level barrier that ought to keep most monsters out and render us invisible and undetectable to them. So there's no need to worry. Everyone's safety is the top priority here."
"…okay." That sounded a lot more prudent. I would feel a lot safer having a party inside a barrier than being naked in the open. Even so, I still felt as if they were being a little too reckless. On the other hand, I was overthinking it. If we were worried about monsters every time we left the city, then we might as well not leave the city. No one would ever be able to hold campfire parties or travel outside. While we would certainly keep ourselves safe, that would make life a lot…boring and meaningless.
I mean, surviving alone wasn't the same as living. If you get what I mean. Some people probably wouldn't, but whatever.
"We'll definitely be there!" Dong Fang Yue Chu reassured Alicia, who nodded in delight.
"Okay! I'll let Senior Miranda know. I'll see you guys then!"
I watched her leave silently, an unsettling feeling still in my heart. I had an ominous premonition about this campfire party. Maybe I should just find an excuse on the day itself and skip it…