"Keep up Bar!" Fergus shouted at his brother "It'll be night time soon and you don't want to be out here when the beasts come out!"
Baraq ran to keep up with his brother's quick pace stumbling here and there as his eyes stung from the sweat entering them
Soon Baraq and Fergus reached a clearing near the town. Fergus stopped and looked at his brother who was exhausted. His face and green hair were dirty and his clothes were drenched in swear, he panted heavily as he came to a halt beside his brother
"Let's take a rest here"
Baraq heaved a sigh of relief and sat on the floor taking slow calming breaths, Fergus smiled and sat beside him and ruffled his hair
A cool breeze blew across the clearing, gently sending the blades of grass into a rythymic motion along with the leaves on the trees
Fergus laid flat on his back as the wind blew across is face "This sure is nice"
"Hmm"
Fergus looked at his brother with gentle eyes
"Ok, what's on your mind?"
"Hm?"
"I know something's bothering you, you have that lost look on your face"
Baraq smiled weakly, he knew he could always count on his brother to find out if something was wrong with him. Ever since they kids Fergus looked out for him as if he was his parents
Their parents never devoted much time to them as both were workaholics and their father was a drunk, it was only his brother he could confide in
But something told him not to bother his brother
"It's nothing"
Fergus arched his eyebrow
"It's not about the fight you just saw, is it?"
Baraq shuddered as he remembered the savage fight between a beast and his brother. Fergus chuckled
"You know, there's a reason why I brought you out here to witness it" Fergus stared right into his brother's cool emerald eyes with concern "Being a hunter isn't all fame and wealth, there's also an unbelievable amount of mental trauma that comes with it, pain, regrets and even death"
Fergus paused and appraised his brother before continuing "Are you sure you still want to be a hunter?"
Baraq looked perplexed as he taught about it in depth. He remembered all the nights he would wake up to find his brother staring out of their room window looking at the stars sometimes with tears streaming down his face
The numerous scars from the beasts and Ani-beasts that left his body looking disfigured. All the times he waited by his hospital bed as his brother was knocking on death's door
Baraq shook his head resolutely and stared Fergus straight in the eyes
"I don't care about fame or wealth, all I care about is you" Baraq turned away "I'm doing this so as to share the unbearable burden you've been carrying for all this time, to help you cope with the pain that makes you stay up at night"
Baraq faced Fergus once more "I want to be your shield and not just yours but everyone, to make sure that nobody will have to go through what you did, after all that's why I have this Morph complex"
Baraq stretched out his hand and various green like scales appeared from his hand and formed a turtle shell covering his arm from his shoulder all the way to his fingers
"I'll definitely become a hunter and be a shield for this curse that accompanies hunters" Baraq crossed his arm along his body "I'll be Aegis to to this petrification"
Fergus smiled 'He's definitely grown' Fergus ruffled Bar's head "You have to pass the tournament and program at your school first"
"I will!"
Suddenly the ground shook violently
"B...Ba...Baraq"
"BARAQ SEQUINA!"
"Huh!?"
Baraq's eyes shot wide open as quickly he sat back in his sit and was faced with the scowl of his home room teacher
"Don't make me repeat myself young man, fall asleep one more time and I swear I'll throw you out of this classroom!"
"Yes Mr Rochester" Bar said while scratching the back of his head
Mr Rochester sighed and returned to the front of the class grumbling all the way
Bar looked around and sure enough the class was nearly empty except for the ten students seated including himself
Seating right in front of him was Damian who was looking out if the window to his left, disinterested in all that was going on
Sitting next to him was Shayla who, unlike Damian, paid rapt attention occasionally pulling a strand of her white hair behind her ear
'Not in class huh...' Bar was staring at the empty seat to his right which belonged to Adrian 'Hope he's alright'
Bar quickly focused on Mr Rochester and tried to follow along with his explanation
"...So in conclusion to what I said being a hunter is going to be strenuous but if you keep your wits you'll survive"
Mr Rochester stressed the survive which made nearly everyone in the class shudder except me and the two in front of Bar
'Emphasis on survive huh...' Bar frowned has he remembered his brother's battle the day before
"In order to ensure your safety we'll be checking your Ability rank and Affinity rank one after the other"
Mr Rochester but a machine on the table that looked like a scanner that had a screen the shape of a palm
"Now would one of you mind explaining to the class about the Morph and Affinity rank?"
Shayla raised her hand and Mr Rochester signaled for her to go on
"Ability rank stands for how powerful or useful an ability a morph possesses is, it can be subcategorised into offensive abilities, supportive abilities and defensive abilities. The rank starts at F the lowest all the way to S the highest. There are also ranks with either a '+' or a '-' denote the extent of the ability within the rank, with the exception of ranks S and D. Affinity ranks stands for how intuned a morph is with his or her abilities. The Affinity of a morph is determined since birth and cannot be changed. It also ranges from F to S. Depending on how high a morph's Affinity is, the morph can sometimes increase it's Ability rank. For example in the case of Hasashi Fumikage, a famous hunter, who had a D rank ability but an A rank affinity, thanks to his high affinity he was able to raise his ability to the A rank in a few months"
"Thank you Shayla"
Shayla nodded as she took her seat gracefully
"But it should be noted that even if a morph has a high Affinity they rate or how far there rank can increase varies, in Hasashi's case he was fortunate"
Mr Rochester cleared his throat "When I call your name come forward. Paul Rivers"
A boy sitting at the front stood up and walked towards the teacher. He had silky black hair and dull green eyes and wore a simple green button up shirt with a white under shirt and black shorts
He walked clumsily towards Mr Rochester, struggling to familiarize himself with his new height from a recent growth spurt
He placed his hand on the scanner and his body lit up in a golden glow and the hologram of a lion appeared next too him with different body parts highlighted before it returned to the scanner and a blue screen appeared in front him
"Paul Rivers, Lion Morph, Ability rank D-, Affinity Rank E-"
Paul sighed as he staggered back to his seat, his head facing the floor dejected
"Cheer up, your innate ability doesn't always determine how well you'll do as a hunter" Mr Rochester encouraged with a warm smile
Paul smiled weakly and hit his head on his desk
"Next up Shalom Wills"
Next up was a petite girl of a medium build with black hair tied into a neat ponytail that reached her scalpulars and Dazzling brown eyes
She repeated the same steps but a panda appeared and she glowed a deep grey
"Shalom Wills, Panda Morph, Ability rank E+, Aptitude Rank D+, Accepted"
She flicked her ponytail has she giggled a bit and went back to her seat. The process went on but Bar didn't pay much attention until a name was called
"Shayla Quil"
Shayla moved to front and elegantly placed her hand on the scanner and an almost blinding radiant white emanated from her body, Bar had to cover his eyes
When the light died down a hare appeared beside her and shortly after a blue screen appeared
Mr Rochester smiled "Shayla Quil, Ability rank D+, Affinity rank D"
Shayla whispered under her breath and walked back to her seat. On her way she locked eyes with Bar and smiled warmly while waving
Bar smiled and nodded in return.
As Mr Rochester recovered from his minor shock he continued on
"Damian Hills"
Damian got up and walked toward the scanner and at the same time the door opened and Adrian entered the class
"Good morning sir" He greeted Mr Rochester
Mr Rochester was shocked that Adrian was in the class but tried his best to hide his surprise with a warm smile "Adrian! I'm happy to see your doing well"
Mr Rochester looked around the class for a bit and then whispered to Aiden "We'll have a talk after the ranking, alright?"
Adrian nodded and made his way to his seat beside Bar. He nodded his head at Bar and focused on the ranking
Bar was stumped, this was the first time in a year that Adrian even decided to look at him not to mention greet him
Damian looked at Adrian for a moment and went on to place his hand on the scanner. His body glowed a gentle but intense gold light and a lion appeared
Mr Rochester Smiled"Damian Hills, Ability Rank D+, Affinity Rank D+" he said with a sigh
Damian looked straight at Adrian and it looked as if they were having a wordless conversation. An uneasy silence fell on the class but Mr Rochester wouldn't allow it to go on for much longer
With a simple cough Damian came back to reality and sat down
"Last but not least, Baraq Sequina"
Bar took in a deep breath and eased his tension. He stood up and made his way towards the front of the class
His heart was beating madly as he knew the implication of what the determination of his rank meant for him. His rank would determine whether he would be able to protect those he cared about or of he himself was in need of protection
He mind was in turmoil 'what if I'm weak? what if my ability isn't strong enough?'
The memories of his injured brother crept into his mind as he remembered his brother's unwavering determination. No matter what had happened to his brother he always had a smile while declaring that he would keep not only him but everyone he could safe
Bar was now in front of the scanner. He steeled himself 'No matter what I'll hold fast to my promise'
Bar placed his hand on the scanner and a green light emanated from him and a turtle appeared followed by a blue screen
Mr Rochester rubbed his eyes as his jaw became slack in shock
"Wha...It can't be... try again"
Bar was frozen to the spot as he broke out into a cold sweat
"Baraq try again..." Mr Rochester urged
Bar came back to reality and tried again, but it was already set in stone
Mr Rochester wore a sullen. expression as he announced "Baraq Sequina... Ability rank E-...and Affinity rank...Nil"