Today the sun was unusually hot. A severe heat wave had been hitting Fiji for several days and it was not about to stop.
The date was April 18, 2079. Today the town of Suva was very quiet. Temperatures were exceeding 45°C and accompanied by scorching sun, the few people moving around were only doing so out of necessity.
Among these people outside, a young girl was waiting patiently next to a bus. This bus already contained more than a dozen people and, although there was still room left in it, this young girl was standing there under the sun's.
This young girl was nobody else but Sora. In spite of the high temperatures, she was wearing a very long dress with long sleeves. The main reason why Sora wore such unfamiliar clothes was that they were her only white clothes. In fact, she was able to learn from her previous lessons and tried to dress in the least black she could.
Even so, on such a day it was difficult not to feel hot. Everyone would prefer to wear short clothes, but Sora could not take the risk because of her albinism.
It was almost cruel to leave such a young girl alone under the sun, but Sora didn't pay any attention to it. Indeed, she had been given a task and she was going to carry it out.
It was ironic, though, that the last person to arrive, who was also about fifteen minutes late, was their head teacher. Moreover, strangely, this were happening every Tuesday mornings since exams last months
From twenty minutes late, Sora would start to get angry.
'Another five minutes and I'm back in the bus... Who does she think she is to be so late? I'd make her eat the holographic tablet for sure...'.
Five minutes went by and although Sora was tempted several times to go in before her deadline, she resisted. Until those five minutes, of course.
Sora turned back to the bus, a little disappointed that she couldn't take her anger out on someone else.
That's when, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a vague shadow moving quickly.
"Tss... And it is now that she arrives? "
Lorena was running towards her. Her physique, hardened by the battlefields, was well above average; she covered the few dozen metres separating her from Sora in a few seconds. The most surprising thing is that when she arrived, she was not out of breath at all.
"Sora! I'm really sorry for being late."
"What do you mean 'I'm really sorry'? You made me wait for more than twenty minutes for nothing below 47°C. No, but seriously... You're lucky to be my teacher and I owe you a minimum of respect, otherwise you would already be having a hard time. "
Sora, tired of hearing her teacher, entered the bus. Lorena sighed for a long time and then entered the bus:
"And now she's arguing with me and threatening me... She's really not an easy student..."
When Sora entered the bus, she scanned the different rows with her eyes. She noticed that two seats next to each other were free. There, alone, no one was going to disturb her. So she decided to sit there, near the window. Only a few seconds later, however, a young girl came and sat next to her. It was Lei. Sora couldn't help but sigh.
Seeing Sora's slightly annoyed reaction, Lei couldn't hold back her laughter, which annoyed Sora even more. So Lei decided to strike up a conversation.
" Hi! "
" Hi..."
Sora's harsh voice slightly repulsed her friend, but the latter took up the slack and continued:
"Come on, come on... You're not going to sulk all the way, are you? We haven't even left yet, and the journey is supposed to last eleven hours! We'll arrive in the middle of the night."
Sora didn't answer, so Lei decided to let it go. The bus started a few seconds later and they were gone.
Thirty minutes passed and Sora's anger had faded. Even though she didn't notice it, Lei started the discussion again.
"Tell me Sora. How is life in Japan? We've known each other for three months, but you've never told us about your life in Japan."
Sora's eyebrows raised, and she directed her gaze towards Lei.
"To be honest, life in Japan is not much different from life in Fiji. I would say the big difference is the size of the country. Japan is quite small unlike Fiji!"
"Fiji has been a big country since terraforming, but less than a quarter of the land has been explored, and its surface area is not equivalent to the new Argentinian land."
"Otherwise, I would say that the big difference is the management of the arcanists, which is much better there than anywhere else in the world. The Arcanists are revered, and the best known are national stars!"
"Haha, you guys are a bit weird though. But that certainly explains why you've the best arcanists in the world."
"I know that Fijians are trying to apply the same conditions to their arcanists, but because of the different mentalities, it is more difficult to get people like war machines into the national propaganda."
Lei lowered her eyes and lost herself in her thoughts. As for Sora, she raised her gaze to the sky.
'Unfortunately, generating such fanaticism necessarily imposes certain forms of hatred...'.
…
The journey took exactly eleven hours and fifteen minutes. When they arrived, it was two o'clock in the morning.
When they got off the bus, everyone was amazed. Although they were in the middle of nature and there was no artificial light to illuminate the surroundings, they were completely visible to them thanks to the full moon.
When everyone was out of the bus, the students gathered in front of their teacher.
"Good, everyone. Welcome to the Misty Mountains. This is the border between the known world and the unexplored one. These mountains are well known for one thing, and they happen to get their name from it: mist. The land around here is very humid, and with the surrounding heat, the land at the foot of these mountains is constantly misty, and their tops are constantly hidden in the clouds. This is where our training camp will take place. Indeed, these mountains are home to many wild animals, from simple squirrels to bears and wolves. The animals that live here are from very rare and aggressive species, unique to the region. Well, you will quickly understand what I mean once you see them."
Lorena looked at her pupils, who all seemed to be absorbed in her speech. But when she stopped abruptly, many questions arose.
"What do you mean, madam?"
"Well it's simple, this camp is not just about meditating and invoking your techniques, no. This will be your first real situation. Each of your team will go to these mountains for a fortnight. Your objective will be to hunt wolves and bears. The team that will hunt the most wild animals will win."
"But what about feeding us? To drink?"
"In these mountains, there are many wild animals that you can feed on, and many rivers. Moreover, these rivers often contain many fish, most of which are edible. For the more discerning among you, you can try your hand at mushrooms, but beware, some of them are poisonous. Why do you think we trained all of that for so much time ?"
"And the team that wins, are the members rewarded? "asked Hyacenthe.
A small, muffled laugh escaped from Lorena's mouth.
"The winners of this edition will receive several spiritual calming pills for each member of their team. I want to make it clear that, of course, there will be nothing for the runners-up."
Following this announcement, exclamations and mood swings were numerous among the students. Divided between anxiety and excitement, they went to bed in the nearby dormitory, before setting off on their two-week adventure the next day.